ᴏɴᴇ ᴋɪss (ʜᴀɪᴋʏᴜᴜ x ᴏᴄ)

¢hptr 33 : 𝘛𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘞𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴

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Both of them flinched violently with fearful expressions and blue shadows on their faces while holding their burning cheeks.

She looked back and saw Tanaka and Hitoka standing at the entrance. Both flinched when they saw her turn to them. "Tanaka-san, can you handle these two after this?"

He saluted, "Yes maam!"

Hitoka fumbled and saluted similarly too and Nanami tilted her head, "maam?"

Tanaka marched up to Hinata and Kageyama past her who looked at him in wonder for a moment. They regretted it a second after seeing his stormy expression, "You guys... how could you trouble Nami-chan and Hitoka-chan like that huh?!" He lifted them up by the backs of their collars, "You better get out of here right now in a few seconds and stay away from each other until you cool down!" he tilted his head up, looking down at them in a glare.

Nanami felt it was rather better if one of the boys took care of them than her even though she managed to do most of the damage control. After all, why make the effort?

She watched them with a slight frown though, they've pulled together many times, but this time's quite extreme.

Hitoka walked home with Hinata.

And Tanaka insisted on walking Nanami back too while Kageyama was left to go alone.

She didn't refuse.

"It must be hard huh?"

"Hm?"

"Handling a hot headed bunch like us" Tanaka said grinning with closed eyes.

She sighed, "You think?"

"But you still handled them, you were so amazing there but also scary!" he patted his chest in self-consolation to his heart that he won't die today and that it was just a false alarm.

"Well, whatever I didn't want them to get too injured, and I knew I wouldn't be able to fully hold on, too much effort for me, so I sent Hika-chan to find one of you. It kind of worked out in the end."

"Do you still think you don't do enough for us? I mean you did say that before when you became assistant coach, but you were already doing enough for us weren't you? And now you're doing so much for us. Of course, not that you shouldn't be! All of us respect you like that." he raised his hands awkwardly and then put them back in his pockets, "What changed your mind? Is it because we lost that day?"

She was surprised, 'Tanaka isn't a complete bald muscle brain who only thought about volleyball and girls... nevermind I am a girl too, but whatever,'

"I don't know about right now. I am doing my best. But as for that... it wasn't just because we lost that day, it was more like..." she paused for a bit, imagining that moment when she knew Oikawa had expected it, "Basically I knew Oikawa expected Kageyama and Hinata's freak quick at the end. No, at that point there was nothing else you guys or I could do. But after a long time, it gave me the feeling of how it is to lose a game, like when I used to play. I didn't think I deserved or wanted to feel that way. It was just me getting over my shadow of despair. You guys don't have to feel like you owe me, Tanaka-san, it couldn't compare to the vice versa."

Nanami looked up and startled when she saw Tanaka-san with his lips pursed up, trembling and tears lining his eyes, "Did-did we really do that much for you? You know we thought you could also actually go back to Fukurodani since you're all okay now and stuff, that school's stronger and especially with all your close friends there but you still stayed..."

She flinched, "Tanaka-san, you don't have to cry for that! And I will be graduating from here no matter what, so you don't have to worry about that!"

He wiped his eyes in his sleeve, and then grinned at her, "I feel relieved. It actually seemed too good to be true until now. We thought you ran away at that time because we lost against Seijoh until Ukai-san said that it was actually like a vacation."