Metanoia [Ushijima x reader]

Chapter 24 : Coffee, Candy, and.. Clouds?

A/N:

Like seriously, even I surprise myself at this update.

Hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

Long chapter ahead, obviously (you guys should be used to this at this point)

!!! SPOILER ALERT !!! 

'I will be inserting characters from Haikyuu that haven't made an appearance in the anime. The reason behind this is the fact that only the Shiratorizawa and Fukurodani teams are the ones who were able to get to Nationals and were actually shown in the anime. 

Basically, I had no choice.

If you do not want to be spoiled on who these characters are, details on what they look like, their names, etc. then I suggest skipping this chapter as well as the next one I will be posting as both chapters will have manga-only (for now) characters inserted into them. Sorry and thank you for understanding.'

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"Haaahh..." you exhaled loudly while languidly walking towards the hotel lounge, a warm can of coffee being your sole companion for the night. Overflowing feelings of anxiety plus agitation make for the right combination a person needs for a good night's rest apparently, not. Facing such a combination was, of course, nothing new to you, and your experience with the matter made you forgo all thoughts of getting a good night's sleep—because let's face it, that's a battle you were bound to lose—and to simply muscle through the night with coffee... lots of coffee.

You arrived at your destination and weren't surprised at the scarcity of people present. You scanned the area, trying to find a good place to settle down for the night when you caught a glimpse of a familiar ash blonde male. You would've mistaken him for someone else were it not for those unnatural darkened tips.

"Why is he still up?" you pondered to yourself, already omitting the idea that Semi was up due to his frazzled nerves making it difficult for him to sleep (much like your case). Semi wasn't as weak-willed as you were. But in your defence, this was the first time you were going to be playing an active role (as a manager) at Nationals.

Judging by his current demeanour, you knew it was wise to leave him to his own devices, pretending that you didn't see him, however, your faulty sense in direction and curiosity didn't really give you that option. Slowly so as not to startle him much, you made a beeline towards the second-year setter.

A light tap to his shoulder alerted the blonde setter to your presence, glancing over his shoulder with a start.

"Can't sleep?" you asked with a light smile, more as a means to get his guard down rather than as a greeting.

He visibly calmed down for the most part but you could still see the faintest signs of hesitation in the way he was avoiding your gaze and how his shoulders remained tense and bunched up against him, like he was trying to move away from you. This only fuelled your curiosity further; this wasn't like Semi at all. It was bad to meddle with other people's business but if their problems involved volleyball or if it will affect the way they play—in this case, staying up all night a few hours before their first match at Nationals—it was your job as manager to help them out of their slump and get their head in the game. (#highschoolmusical)