𝚂𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝙳𝚊𝚢 𝙵𝚘𝚘𝚕 - 𝙺. 𝚂𝚊𝚔𝚞𝚜𝚊 𝚡 𝙾𝙲

Chapter Five - Let's Go On An Adventure

Chapter Five

Sakusa was still determining how he felt about how things went after his volleyball match. Sajima was thoughtful enough to try and help him out of an awkward situation. Still, with the way Hinata said he shouldn't be embarrassed by her, he didn't know what to expect when he saw her next. She didn't seem upset about it, but Sakusa didn't know her well enough to see if she was pretending. It wasn't that Sakusa cared much about her, he hardly knew her, but that didn't mean he wanted her to feel insulted by something stupid Hinata said...which is why he found himself much more eager than usual to get through his morning routine the following Saturday morning.

With her dark hair piled on the top of her head and secured with chopsticks, Sajima looked more like herself to Sakusa. Not that she didn't seem like the same person when she put care into her appearance, of course. Once he retrieved his red-eye coffee from the barista, he walked over to an empty table but hesitated to sit down. It didn't feel right to ignore her now that they'd interacted a few times.

Sajima saw Sakusa when he walked in the door. She hoped he would still come by and was surprised when it seemed a bit earlier than she remembered seeing him. He seemed like the kind who was a creature of habit, but she didn't know him well enough to make a solid conclusion on the matter. Sajima waited, not acknowledging him first because she didn't want to make him uncomfortable. Still, it took more self-restraint than she anticipated. She wasn't exactly the quiet type.

When Sajima saw Sakusa approaching, she flashed him a friendly smile and gestured to the chair across from her. "Hey, Sakusa. You're welcome to join me if you'd like. Well, as long as you don't mind if I keep working, of course. Don't worry, though; I'm pretty great at multitasking."

Sakusa hummed, acknowledging the situation and still took a seat. "That's fine. I don't get enough peace and quiet during the week, so it's always a nice break to have some quiet time on the weekends."

"That's understandable," Sajima nodded, looking back down at the character outline she was working on and picking up her needle-tip marker.

"There was something I wanted to talk about, though...."

Curious, Sajima glanced back up at him and raised an eyebrow. "Is there?"

"What Hinata said yesterday...I really didn't say that. My teammates have been brainwashed by Miya teasing me, and they're not all bright. Hinata is quite impressionable." Sakusa watched her expression soften as she looked back down at her page. She'd been trying to forget that.

"Sakusa, you don't owe me an explanation. Even if you did say that to them, you're entitled to your opinions and feelings." Sajima shrugged and tried to quickly change the subject. "Oh, I meant to tell you I followed your advice yesterday."

She was practical; he'd give her that much. She didn't want to talk about it, so there was no point in pushing the subject. "You did?"

"Mhmm. I talked with my team about how I've been feeling, and we devised an idea to try out."

"This seems like a good opportunity to say I told you so," he mused. "But I am glad to hear that you were able to come up with a possible solution."

"Yeah," she smiled. "So, thanks for that. Now I've just gotta figure out how people live when they aren't working seventeen hours a day."

Sakusa's eyes widened momentarily. "There's no way you've been working that much."

"It's usually closer to nineteen." Sajima continued drawing. "But considering how stuck I've felt lately, I'd guess around 2 hours is spent pulling at my hair to find inspiration."

Sakusa sipped his coffee, surprised by how dedicated she was but a little saddened. Sakusa's entire life was volleyball or related to it. He knew how lonely that kind of commitment could make a person, but nineteen hours was just too much. It's no wonder she was struggling. "That doesn't exactly sound healthy, Sajima."

Sajima chuckled. "Welcome to the world of manga where every waking hour is occupied, and your health doesn't matter."

"That can't be sustainable. What was the solution your team came up with?"

"Adventures."

Sakusa's head tilted to the side. "Adventures?"

"Well, that's what I'm gonna make of it. My assistant will pick up more work so I can go out and live a little. Honestly, your game was the first time in two years that I went somewhere that wasn't a necessity," Sajima admitted, her gaze wandering up to Sakusa's when all he did was voice the softest hum to acknowledge what she'd said.

Staring down at his white ceramic mug, Sakusa contemplated what people did for fun. What he found fun probably wasn't her cup of tea, but perhaps he could think of something Hinata or Bokuto did that might suit her better. "What have you always wanted to do but never have?"

"Hmm...well, I've never been ice skating. Or to one of those drive-in movies; those always seemed fun when I heard others talk about them." Sajima tapped the end of her pencil on her chin as she thought more about it, but there were some things she was a little embarrassed to admit, and her cheeks began to warm. "I haven't been on a date in years, but it's not as if my schedule can be feasible for that sort of thing anyway, so that's out of the running. Oh, maybe go on a boat? I haven't been on a boat before. I also haven't travelled outside of Osaka so it might be nice to visit somewhere else on a day trip."

"You should write those down," Sakusa instructed. "And then start crossing them off one by one."

Sajima shook her head from side to side. "Is it really an adventure if it's planned?"

"It doesn't have to be impulsive to be an adventure."

"No, but I bet it's more fun than way." The dark-haired woman's eyes lit up as the opportunity slapped her right in the face. "Hey, what are you doing today?"

"It's Saturday so I'll be headed to the gym in the afternoon and then meal prepping in the evening," Sakusa informed, raising an eyebrow at the woman across from him and the gleam that appeared in her amber eyes. "Why?"

Sajima began packing up her papers, placing them snuggly into her portfolio before carefully sliding that into her messenger bag along with her pencils. "Perfect! So you're free for the rest of the morning," she stood up with a smile and stepped around the table beside where he was seated. "Let's go. You look like you could use more fun in your life, too."

He blinked up at her. "No."

"Aww, c'mon," Sajima pouted. "Please?"

"No way. Your plan has nothing to do with me."

Leaning to be at eye level with him, Sajima tilted her head in front of him so he couldn't ignore her. "Two hours. That gives us until eleven, which is still before the rest of your schedule today. It'll be much more fun if you're there with me."

"I'm not exactly anyone's go-to person for fun, Sajima," Sakusa sighed, waving away her persistence despite the slightest flush beginning to tint his cheeks due to how close she was to him. "You'd be better off on your own than with me."

Sajima shook her head defiantly though she refused to lose eye contact with him, hoping she could convince him of her sincerity. "Going to that volleyball game was the most fun I've had in a long time, and that was because of you. Maybe you're not someone else's go-to fun person, but you're mine. So, please? Pretty please?"

What was Sakusa supposed to say to that? As much as he didn't want to go with her to whatever she was now determined to do, there was a little piece of him that did. A little piece that wanted to explore...a little piece that wanted to spend more time with the curious woman gazing back at him that refused to budge. "Fine, but two hours and that's it."

Sajima smiled brightly, nearly blinding Sakusa. His stomach fluttered when she wrapped her arm around his and tried to tug him up from his seat. He didn't fully understand why she wanted him to go with her, but he didn't need to know right now. Right now, he only wanted to keep her smile exactly where it was. Sajima didn't immediately let go of his arm when he stood up. Instead, she led him toward the door, glancing up at him with those eyes that looked like liquid gold when the sun illuminated them as they passed through the door.

"Let's go on an adventure, Sakusa."