Let's Cheerleader! [Haikyuu story]

Chapter n°23

"Hoy, Tobio!" I yell from downstairs impatiently to make my brother move a little faster. It's second day of playoffs and if Karasuno wins the first match they go to semifinals. I walk around our kitchen nervously trying to calm my heart down which is pounding rapidly. I really want our boys to win and achieve their dream of going to the nationals in Tokyo.
"Shut up, you don't have to yell that loud." Tobio mumbles as he walks down the stairs with bag over his shoulders. He yawns widely and goes through his messy hair.
"You have stayed up watching volleyball vids whole night, haven't you?" I groan a bit before pulling his arm and forcing him out of the door to move ahead finally.

"Yo, Kageyama!" Hinata runs up to us as we appear in front of the Karasuno High where we are about to get in the bus to get to the gymnasium. I leave the two alone so Shoyo could wake my brother up a bit by teasing him as usual. I approach Harumi who is standing next to the bus with Sugawara and smile at them.
"Good morning. Ready for the match?" I look at Suga with teasing-like smile as he responds to me the same way.
"I hope you are ready to shout your hoarse because our win depends on your cheering." The silver haired boy teases me back smirking at me as he sees my startled look for one second.
"Yah don't put it like that, now I'm double as nervous." I groan making him laugh.
"All right, get on everyone!" Takeda sensei calls out to makes us move into the bus.

"This is important, we need to be loud and cheerful as ever. The victory is going to be ours." I speak to the girls as we stand in a circle already dressed and prepared for the first match. They watch me with serious and maybe even nervous expressions as if they relly on me and that I know what I'm doing. Honestly I'm as freaked out as they are but I try not to let them know and act as if I'm all relaxed about this.
"Let's go! KARASUNO! FIGHT!" I yell out our cheer and they repeat after me loudly enough to drag attention of the whole gymnasium towards us. Since it's second day we won't perform our choreography so we can spend all our energy on cheering on our team. I walk on my spot on bleachers from where I can see the court clearly. The boys are warming up and when they notice us taking our positions they wave at us energically making us to wave at them back the same way. I giggle excitedly and look around scanning the other teams. Finally I find our first opponents, the Wakutani South High School. They don't look intimidating like Date Tech for example but I can't help but to sense the feeling of unease. They won't be easy to play against for sure.

We shout loudly as Karasuno scores the winning point earning the victory for them. I jump while waving my pom-poms and yelling our cheer spirit as the players rejoice at their win. I keep smilling until I notice a familiar color move in my visual field. I turn my head to see the Aoba Johsai High School team preparing for their next match on the bleachers. My eyes find their captain who is smirking while watching Karasuno on the court. Tooru probably senses my gaze because he turns his head and meets my eyes with his. I failed to look away in time so I return his look trying not to seem worried about our team. He waves at me with kind of a sweet smile which seems to be threating at the same time. Chills run down my spine making me look away finally. Why do I feel so weird about him now? He freaks me out. Please, boys...you need to win this...

I didn't talk with Tooru today, I don't even know why. I just don't feel like it. Maybe Kuroo was right and I should end this sick relationship. I can't stand his arrogancy and that competitive nature espacially because of my brother. I stand on the stairs and watch the court with other girls as Karasuno warms up again. I can't help but to feel nervous and cautious I mean who knows what can happen this time. The teams start taking their spots and I watch my brother and Shoyo to grin excitedly at the opponent's court. Please...

The match finally begins and we start to cheer even harder than during the previous match. Everyone feels nervous so we try to let it out as we cheer and scream the spirits. Aoba Johsai plays well or rather perfectly as usual and Tooru seems to be in a very good condition. Of course they won't let them lead the game easily, they are also hyped to get into the nationals. The boys might be enjoying the match but who watches them is dying from nervousness. The points aren't moving either so we try our best to hype them up just a little more. It seems that our cheering is annoying the opposite team since we get some looks from  them from time to time. I also keep smiling to not show how scared I am and satisfy Tooru like that. 

-match skip-
Karasuno won the match against Seijoh and we start packing our stuff and head to our changing room. On the way we keep talking about the awesome victory and how the boys surprised us during the match with new moves and tactics. I change into sweatpants and t-shirt in school colors and take my bag with pom-poms. I can't wait to congratulate to the team and especially my brother so I keep smiling on my way to the exit. As I walk carelessly I bump into someone.
"Ouch." I mumble and massage my nose looking up to discover the obstacle's face.
"Tooru!" I call out surprised stepping back in front of the captain of Seijoh. His face is a bit swollen from crying and he looks kind of... pissed.
"Tamiko." His voice is cold enough to make me lift one eyebrow in shock. I stop smiling and wait for him to do anything as my heart begins to pound faster.
"Congratz. You won." He steps closer to me frowning at me like it was actually me who beat him on the court. I stand on spot speechless not knowing what to do or say.
"Are you happy? For your little brother. I bet you are. But." He leans to me with an intimidating sparkle in his eyes making me shiver.
"This is the first and last time Tobio could win. Next time I'm gonna show him." He lowers his voice and keeps a close gap between us. I can't believe my eyes and ears as I stand there silent with thoughts running through my mind. Suddenly a wave of anger trembles with my body as I take a deep breath and suddenly grab the male in front of me by his colar.
"What the hell Tooru? How old are you, huh? My brother and the rest practiced harder than anyone to stand here today, you were his lead model who pushed him forward! And look at you now, playing not for fun but to show your kohai that you are better? What the actual heck?" I push him away from me hard enough to move with him as I try to calm down my heart and nerves a bit. I notice everyone around us is staring at us because I was maybe too loud. I look at the male again and he stands there actually frozen on the spot by my sudden outburst of anger.

I take a deep breath again and step closer again so I don't have to talk that loud. He still remains speechless so I grab the opportunity.
"I want to end this Tooru. You know that this is meaningless, we were better friends than lovers. Plus I would always pick my brother before you." I lower my voice and my sight as well because I know I'm blushing. It's hard to break up with someone especially when you even weren't dating. I lift my eyes to meet his and to see that his are again full of tears. Maybe it was too harsh to break up with him today.
"Tamiko-chan..." He whispers suddenly with soft voice again. His anger and all the negative emotions faded away as he watches me with a tear running down his cheek. I bite my lip and step closer to him to wipe the tear slowly off.
"You know it wasn't real, Tooru..." I whisper and wrap arms around his waist to pull him towards me into a hug. He hugs me back and holds me tight to him. We stay silent like that for a while enjoying each other's company now when we both said something that bothered us for a long time.
"It seems I can't make anyone stay, huh?" He jokes with low and sad voice making me smile a bit and sadly as well.
"I will always be here for you, you know that. We are best friends." I whisper still holding him around waist.

A/N: Hi, I'm sorry to update so late but I have my graduation and entrance exams coming up so I focus on my studies. I will try to continue with the story but I can't promise to update regurarly. Thank you for your understanding.❤️