Tomorrow [Tsukishima Kei x Reader]

18

Tsukishima Kei's POV

There are things you try to stop from happening to avoid a larger problem.

Like how [Surname] was stopping herself from training herself on the sport she was deeply in love with. But that didn't mean she didn't want to go back to volleyball— it was obvious that she was trying so hard not to fall back into her old habits just from how she looked at the ball in her hand.

"[Surname]-chan really looks like she misses playing," Yamaguchi said.

"Oh really? I didn't notice," I said, not taking my eyes away from her.

The away games for Tokyo were already finished. Now, we were all packing up our stuff and preparing to leave. Since Nekoma was planning to practice some more after we and the other teams leave, they told us not to bother with handling the equipment. While we took a shower and fix our things, the managers offered to gather the scattered balls around the gym we used. It seems though that after they had finished, [Surname] decided to stay behind.

While Yamaguchi and I were walking to the bus, Shimizu-san asked us to pass by the gym and tell [Surname] that we're leaving soon which led us to where we were now.

"Oya?"

Yamaguchi, [Surname], and I all looked at the person who was stepping inside the gym through the other door. 

"Huh?" [Surname] said. "Oh? Are you going to need the gym?"

"Oh, not really. I was just wondering how long you're gonna stare at that ball," said the captain of Nekoma.

"I was? I didn't notice," she said, looking down at the ball she had in her hands.

"Can you serve it?" 

"Oh? I can."

"Then," the captain said, walking to the other side of the court. "Serve it to me and I'll receive it."

"Serve it?" [Surname] said, surprised. Her lips then shifted to a smile as she gave him a nod. "Okay!"

[Surname] hit the ball against the floor two times before placing it in front of her and doing a jump serve. The ball went towards the Nekoma captain which bounced off his arms. A whistle escaped from him as he watched the ball land to the floor.

"That was something," he said. "Hey! What's your name?"

"[F-Full Name]!"

"I'm Kuroo Tetsurou! Nekoma's captain. Say, are you a volleyball player?"

"I used to be," [Surname] said, her tone a little sad but Kuroo-san didn't seem to notice.

"Used to? With that skill, I thought you were still one. Why did you stop?"

"Um." 

[Surname] looked down and pressed her hands together. She bit her lip as she rubbed her thumbs against each other. I frowned when I saw her react that way. I could practically feel from where I was how anxious she got when her quitting volleyball was brought up.

I sighed as I decided to help her out.

"[Surname]! Shimizu-senpai wanted to tell you that we were leaving soon," I said.