Bet (Oikawa Tooru x Reader) Haikyuu!!

Thirty Six: Unexpected

Oikawa blenched, hearing [Name]'s surprisingly accurate words.

"What?", he slowly moved his eyes on the girl.

Seeing his confused face, [Name] turned her head away from Oikawa and started fidgeting her fingers nervously.

"W-Well, I mean...", she stumbled. "I figured they are the ones you want to surpass the most, aren't they?"

The boy widened his eyes in surprise.

"How-", he wanted to ask about how she knew about his enemies, but the girl cut him off.

"The first time I saw you playing", she started quietly, "was when Kageyama-kun invited me for your practice".

Oikawa turned his head towards [Name], but her fringe was covering her eyes and cheeks, which were probably flushed. It was rare for the girl to talk about her past without being asked, so Oikawa remained silent and listened carefully to every word she said.

"A-And even though it was him who invited me, from the very first moment I saw you, I just couldn't focus on anyone else. I'm not a professional if it comes to volleyball but it was obvious for me that you were filled with passion, not to mention your amazing skills and cooperation with the team", the girl continued, without turning her head to Oikawa whose heart was currently speeding up.

So she was always there? Always watching?

How could he have not noticed her up until recently?

All of these questions were popping in his mind but he didn't say a word. He was just quietly observing the girl from the side.

"Either way", [Name] woke him up from his thoughts, "I have to own up that I lied when I told you about the day I called Iwaizumi-san for help", she lowered her head. "On that day I saw your practice match. I saw you panicking and being replaced by Kageyama-kun".

Oikawa widened his eyes, suddenly recalling the memory of the unfortunate match. The sole image of looking at the court from the bench made him clench his fists.

"And I saw your painful expression", [Name] added after a while. "It was filled with jealousy, anger, and, above all, fear. I believe you were blaming yourself for not being good enough to win the game".

Oikawa froze. She didn't even know him back then, and yet, she understood him perfectly.

"After the match I had this feeling that you would be too frustrated not to stay longer at school so, for some reason, I also stayed. I know it was strange - I didn't know you, yet I somehow worried about you. Maybe if I wasn't this shy, I would just go straight off to you and tell you everything I thought. Tell you that, at least for me, you're a way more amazing setter than Kageyama-kun. But I guess hearing this from me wouldn't change much", the girl paused for a while, and peeked at Oikawa hesitantly.

His face was turned away from her, so she couldn't see what kind of expression he was wearing. This made her even more anxious. Did he find her strange for observing him so closely in the middle high school? Was he resisting the laughter? Why wasn't he looking at her?

Meanwhile Oikawa was praying that the girl couldn't see the growing blush on his cheeks. He tried to keep his cool but hearing that [Name] was thinking about him even back in the middle high school was making him extremely happy.

"Anyway", the girl decided to continue what she started saying, "I saw you overworking yourself and called for Iwaizumi-san. And... I happened to hear what he told you. Then I could be sure that my assumptions were right. You really were afraid of being surpassed by Kageyama-kun. And I also came to know that there was someone called Ushiwaka whom you've never managed to defeat".

Oikawa was still silent. [Name] sighed.

"I'm sorry, I guess it's not my business after all", she said with a grim face. "But what I wanted to tell you is that I don't think that having enemies is bad. I mean, they are the ones that keep you motivated to constatly get better. And for me, you're still the most amazing one".