Hey Mr. Moon! ~ 𝚃𝚜𝚞𝚔𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚖𝚊 𝙺𝚎𝚒

Twenty Eight | 二十八

Everyone pulled back into a group huddle before the second set and as I high-fived everyone walking off the court, I turned to Nishinoya with a bright grin. "Nice saves, Nishinoya-senpai!" I beamed.

His face lit up instantly, and he straightened up with a proud smirk. "Of course! I'm the guardian deity of Karasuno, after all!" he declared, puffing out his chest and I clasped my hands together dramatically, eyes shining. "Nishinoya-senpai, you're so cool!"

As he walked off the court, Tsukishima let out a dry chuckle, adjusting his glasses. "Wow. I always knew you had questionable taste, but this really confirms it." 

I turned to him with a playful grin, tilting my head. "Oh? Then what do you suggest? Should I start praising you instead?"

Tsukishima raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips. "Oh, so now you're all about giving compliments? I must be really special, huh?" I flashed him a playful grin. 

"Oh, for sure. If only you weren't so busy ignoring me, you might actually hear it more often," I replied, teasing. "But hey, keep up the 'too cool for compliments' routine. It's honestly kind of cute." 

Tsukishima clicked his tongue, adjusting his glasses as he glanced away.

"Ignoring you was a lot easier when you weren't saying things like that," he muttered, his tone softer than usual.

I grinned, taking a small step closer. "Oh? So you were ignoring me?"

He scoffed "Don't get ahead of yourself. You're just... distracting."

I gasped in mock offense. "Me? Distracting? And here I thought you missed me."

Tsukishima paused for a moment, his lips twitching like he was holding back a smile. He cleared his throat awkwardly, looking away.

"Wrap it up, you two can argue later," Kageyama said as he walked off the court beside us, heading toward the rest of the team. The group was mostly gathered, though Ennoshita and Sugawara were still talking, while Tanaka was making faces toward the other team and Daichi was trying (and failing) to pull him away.

"You're making me look bad, you gangster," I sighed, shaking my head as I turned toward the rest of the team. Tsukishima glanced at me, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "You're the one running your mouth, shrimp," he replied, his tone cool but with a hint of amusement "But... I guess your voice isn't exactly unbearable to listen to."

"Geez, I guess I'll take that as a compliment," I said, shooting him a sideways glance as we neared the rest of the group.

Tsukishima let out a small scoff, pushing up his glasses. "Not my fault you're desperate for validation."

I placed a hand over my chest and pouted. "Ouch. And here I was thinking we were having a moment" He rolled his eyes, but the faintest hint of pink dusted his ears. "Yeah, keep dreaming."

---

"We can't afford to get discouraged," Kageyama said firmly, his eyes locked on Hinata. "We'll take back the next set."

Coach Ukai nodded, arms crossed. "There's no such thing as an unstoppable spike," he added "Don't think otherwise."

"You'll score next time, Hinata!" Tanaka cheered, throwing a fist in the air.

"Yeah! Like—WHAM!" Nishinoya added enthusiastically, mimicking a powerful spike.

"Don't give up! It's only just beginning!" I cheered as I gave him a smack on the back.

Hinata, who had been looking a bit down, perked up at their encouragement. A grin spread across his face as he nodded eagerly. "Right!"

The referee blew his whistle, signaling for the teams to break. Coach Ukai sent Kageyama, Daichi, Nishinoya, Hinata, Asahi and Tanaka back onto the court, leaving Tsukishima on the bench for the time being. He stood at the end of the bench, right next to where I sat beside Yamaguchi.