𝚂𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝙳𝚊𝚢 𝙵𝚘𝚘𝚕 - 𝙺. 𝚂𝚊𝚔𝚞𝚜𝚊 𝚡 𝙾𝙲

Chapter Thirty-Two - That One Doesn't Count

Chapter Thirty-Two 

The cheers of the crowd and the bright arena lights combined with the prideful victory roars of his teammates a second after Miya's unexpected and perfectly executed setter dump had Sakusa's heart racing. His mind was moving a million miles a second, not having time to stop analyzing every single thing eleven other people were doing, but once Bokuto smacked him on the back and pushed him forward, he came to his senses. They'd won the V. League championship, and to top it off – Sakusa had received incredible news right before he had to go into their team meeting and warm up for their final match. Several of his other teammates were talented enough to have received the same call that day, and Sakusa was beside himself.

Looking at the stands, Sakusa knew exactly where Sajima was seated, and once he saw how excited she was, grinning from ear to ear as she cheered with everyone else while she focused on him, he smiled right back. Everything was falling into place. Everything he had poured the entirety of his being into was finally paying off, and he couldn't wait to see Sajima. He couldn't wait to tell her that all of the trials and tryouts he'd gone through landed him a position in the starting lineup for Japan's Olympic men's volleyball team. He couldn't wait to celebrate the news she called to share that morning about Yusuke and The Spirit Legion Prophecy jumping to second place on Shonen Jump's popularity poll after the first published chapter since her hiatus. Sakusa also could not wait for the next step he was about to take with Sajima. Well, once he asked her, that is. He couldn't imagine her refusing to move in with him when they practically traded spending half a week at one of their apartments and half at the other.

From her seat in the audience, Sajima watched Sakusa celebrate on the court with his team. Her pulse had been racing the entire last set of the match. She knew how much Sakusa's heart and the whole team's hearts were invested in winning this title. She was proud. So incredibly proud of Sakusa and absolutely elated for him and the team.

Sajima was finally learning what it meant to be happy. Accepting that even though her story was her baby, she needed to rely on others and give up a little control to maintain her health was incredibly frustrating and challenging. At many points in the process, she felt depressed. However, now that she was working through it, Sajima became much more aware of her unhealthy routine and was relieved that the burden of the inordinate responsibility on her shoulders had lightened. Knowing how to balance her life to go on adventures with Sakusa or even by herself when she wanted to was huge for her, but also for Sakusa.

After the teams headed for the locker rooms, Sajima shuffled through the crowd and made her way to the player's exit. She leaned against the wall, too excited to bother pulling out her phone to pass the time while she thought of what the first thing she wanted to say to Sakusa was. Another woman waiting nearby couldn't help but notice Sajima's nervous excitement and wondered if she could give her some advice.

"Excuse me?"

Sajima's gaze flicked in the direction of the voice and landed on a woman with dazzling silver hair swooped over the right side of her face, her tanned skin only making her tresses that much more striking in comparison. She didn't smile, but it wasn't in an unfriendly way; it reminded her of how Sakusa was often told he had a resting bitch face. "The women's washrooms are just down the hall and around the corner on the left," she smiled.

"Oh, I'm not lost," she tucked her hair back behind her ear, but it almost immediately fell back into place. "I'm actually here because my brother really wanted to come to the game but ended up getting sick and having to stay home. I was going to try to get an autograph from his favourite player, but I'm not sure if the guy would actually do it, he seems like an asshole to me. You're the only one not...there," the woman waved her hand toward a gaggle of women checking their makeup and hair in pocket mirrors or taking selfies. "And judging by the sweater you're wearing that looks a little too official to be from the merch store, you probably know someone on the team. I was wondering if you could tell me if I'm wasting my time or not? I'm running late for something, and if he's going to brush me off, I'll just head out."