Sands Through The Hourglass

Chapter 1: Take A Break

characters: shiratorizawa and reader.

warnings: none

word count: 3k+

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Shiratorizawa Academy is known as one of the top schools in the prefecture, not only because do their students excel in sports; they make sure that they excel in academics as well. Students are expected to perform their best, especially those who were accepted through the school's sports scholarships. Student workloads increase as they reach their second year and third year, while the first years were still lightly breezing their way through high school.

So when morning practice came (Y/n) was quite surprise when most, if not all, the upperclassmen regulars were looking quite sluggish. They were quiet, as she had observed from her spot on the bench, as they entered the gym already in their practice clothes and started stretching. She blinks, surveying the area to look for her fellow first year to see that he was as energetic as ever. Nevertheless, she just shook her head, dismissing it as some sort of morning blues; morning practice starts quite early so she understands if they were wishing that they were still in bed.

However, when afternoon practice came, she can still see that they were still looking a bit tired, stressed, was what she would call it. They seem to be back to their normal state however, as Tendou was already bothering the others like he normally did.

"Ne, ne" she called, catching Goshiki's attention "Are the senpais okay?"

Goshiki blinks at her question, as he stood beside her observing them himself. Unfortunately, Goshiki was not blessed with the same skill set as her so he just shrugs his shoulders and said, "They seem fine"

"No, no. They look..." she paused for a moment as if trying to look for the right words to say "...tense"

Goshiki hummed, rubbing his chin "Now that you mention it, Shirabu-san does look a bit cranky than usual"

"Right? Right?"

"But Ushijima-san's looking fresh as ever though" he pointed out as they turned their attention to the said captain, who as usual was donning that serious and intense look on his face as he talks to Semi. They sweatdrop, before turning to look at each other.

"It's probably because they have more requirements than us, I remember Tendou-san complaining about another research paper yesterday"

They stayed quiet for a moment before (Y/n) spoke up "What do you say we throw them a surprise party?"

He turned to look at her in surprise, as she continued to explain "We haven't done anything fun since the training camp and I'm sure the senpais would like to have a break once in a while"

At this, Goshiki immediately agreed to her suggestion, she claps her hands in delight before she started to write the idea in her notebook.

"We'll talk about it later at dinner, but for now, let's keep this a secret okay?" he nodded his head, jogging back to the court as Coach Saito blew the whistle, signifying that break was over.

Later that evening, the two of them sat at a table separate from the ones the other regulars were using. Normally, they would eat their meal with them, however, they need to start planning early if they want that party to be a success. By now, they had already picked out the date, choosing the last day of the month as it was a day off for the team, decorations had already been decided as well as the food they were going to serve.

"But, where are we going to get the money though?" Goshiki questioned as he read through the plans.

(Y/n) drummed her fingers on the table, biting her lip. Racking her brain for any ideas to raise money.