Teach Me How To Fly (A Koutaro Bokuto Story)

Cheer Up

The coaches weren't thrilled about Bokuto bringing an owl to practice. But they reluctantly let me stay. I guess they figured it was better to put up with me instead of having to deal with Bokuto when he's in one of his moods.

In the beginning, I sat on the bench and just watched. There was little else I could do otherwise. But when the boys went out for a run, I decided I should use this time to do something too. Maybe I could practice flying. But first I had to find a way to get down from this bench.

I looked over towards the team's managers. They wouldn't be any help though. The two girls had looked as disapproving as the coaches and Akaashi about my presence here. No, I was on my own without Bokuto.

Mentally sighing, I wandered over to the edge of the bench. If I could fly, getting down would be no problem. But then again, I wouldn't have to do anything if I could fly. I looked down and the floor. It was a short drop, so I probably would be okay if I just dropped like earlier when Akaashi had told Bokuto to throw me.

Silently hoping this would work, I launched myself over the edge. The managers watched as I hit the ground and then stood up, giving my body a little shake. "Think it'll go looking for Bokuto?" the younger one asked the older one.

"It seems pretty attached to him," the older said. Even though it might have seemed that way, I really only stuck with him because he was the only chance I had for surviving. Pretty bad luck having to rely on someone like him, huh?

Okay, time to figure this flying thing out, I thought to myself. There had to be a reason why I hadn't been able to get it so far. Maybe I had to move my wings perfectly at the exact same time? I decided to try it.

First attempt: failure. Second: failure. Twentieth: I managed to float for about a foot before failure. It was progress, but not good enough. After forty-seven attempts, I decided to take a break. The boys were finally back from their run anyway.

After walking back over to the bench, I convinced the younger manager to put me back up there. As the boys continued with their practice, I sat and quietly watched. But as it went on, Bokuto started messing up. Soon, the mistakes got bigger and bigger until finally, he self-destructed.

While I might never have been close to the ace or even had a conversation with the guy, I'd at least heard about his little mood swings. However, this was the first time I'd ever actually seen them. It hurt to watch him.

He didn't look like he was going to snap out of it anytime soon. Even if I didn't really know him that well, I felt like I had to do something. Without thinking or hesitating, I jumped off the bench and flew over to the depressed ace.

Landing safely on his shoulder, I quickly rubbed the top of my feathery head on his cheek. "Cheer up, Bokuto. You can do it," I said to him, though I knew he couldn't understand what I was saying. But hopefully he could at least pick up on the fact that I was trying to cheer him up.

It wasn't until this moment that I realized how I'd gotten up there. All my previous attempts to fly had ended in failure and a collision with the floor, but just now I'd flown without even trying. But could I do it again? That question was quickly answered when I made an attempt to fly back to the bench that resulted in me falling straight to the floor.

Shaking it off, I walked back to my previous place and smiled when I noticed that Bokuto was recovering from his breakdown. I stayed there watching him until the end of practice.

As the boys were getting things put away, I decided to help. I was here, so why not try to be useful? Being an owl though, I couldn't do much besides roll a few volleyballs to where they had to go. The two managers, as well as Bokuto and a few of his teammates, found this amusing.

When all was done, I found myself being scooped up and set on the ace's shoulder. "So it can't fly, huh?" the younger manager, Kaori I think her name was, asked.

"He's been trying to do it all day, but he just keeps falling." As much as I wanted to correct Bokuto, it was currently impossible. Even if I tried, he'd never understand what I was trying to say. So for now, I had to let him go on calling me a boy. "He's a stubborn little guy."

"Your mother is never going to let you keep it," Akaashi's calm voice interrupted the conversation. He was probably right, but I was counting on that very slim, almost non-existent chance that he would be wrong. "Even if it is smart and can't fly."

"I'm keeping him." Bokuto sounded so certain of it. All I could do now was hope that he was wrong. Never thought I'd ever be taking Bokuto's side over Akaashi's...