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When her roommate extended the invitation to attend a V. League match together, Mikasa found herself immediately saying yes.
It was the perfect opportunity to take a break. It also didn’t hurt that Sakura was her long-time crush, and the prospect of spending time with her outside of study dates was too good to pass up.
Unfortunately, Mikasa knew next to nothing about volleyball. She didn’t even know how a point was scored, let alone who played for the MSBY Black Jackals and the EJP Raijin, but the sunbright smile on Sakura’s face made her grin back and think: it’ll be worth it.
Sakura left after sharing the match details with her, but not before spotting the expression on Mikasa’s face. It was obvious that she didn’t even know which team they would be rooting for, and Sakura helpfully mouthed “Black Jackals’’ at her, tongue curling around the name.
That day, Mikasa’s research started. After all, the match was on Saturday; she only had three days to learn everything she could about volleyball, all so she could avoid looking like a fish out of water in front of Sakura.
She was turning on her computer when a text came through her phone.
Sakura<3: Btw, Mika-chan, I won some fan meeting tickets too! :D Hopefully, we get to meet Ninja Shouyou and Bokuto-san!!! I've been a big fan of them since High School!
The message, at least, gave Mikasa a clue as to what to search for.
Once her browser loaded, she read through the basics of volleyball before looking up some team-specific videos. After half an hour, she was fairly certain she got the gist of it—or at least, some clue on how points were scored and counted.
Mikasa also found it really cool, in the way some coincidences were funny, that she shared her name with one of the most famous volleyball brands in the world. She decided to bring it up to Sakura when they met up again, even though she was probably already well aware of that fact.)
Feeling the tiredness seep into her bones, she looked at the clock and noticed it was almost 7 PM. Mikasa headed to the kitchen and quickly prepared a mug of green tea to the hum of a marching band before continuing.
She was taking a sip when she stumbled upon a compilation of the Black Jackals’ Best moments,’ as dubbed by the poster. It seemed like as good of a place to start as any, and settled in as the video started.
It wasn’t hard to see why Sakura was such a big fan of ‘Ninja Shouyou’ and ‘Bokuto-san.’ They were both heavily featured in most of the clips and often stole the spotlight, though the other players weren’t too shabby either.
She learned that Ninja Shouyou’s real name was Hinata, and that he could jump higher than anyone she had ever seen —as if wings pulled him from the ground each time he ran to score a point. Bokuto-san had a habit of drawing attention too, both breathtakingly bright and a force to be reckoned with on the court.
Five minutes into the video, she was mentally cataloging information about Sakura’s favorite players when the focus shifted to two other players. She hadn’t focused on them before, but the beautiful moment made her stop and take a second glance.
She watched with bated breath as a blonde player—his jersey read ‘Miya,’ and according to her research, he was the team’s ‘setter’—delivered a toss that felt almost ethereal, as if he did his best to ensure that his teammate would have the most perfectly positioned ball to score with.
At the same time, running up along the side of the court, there was a curly-haired man with ‘Sakusa’ branded on his back. He was entrancing as he jumped—it looked effortless, like he put just enough strength in his movements and not an ounce more, his palm slamming against the ball with a calm, deadly gleam in his eye.
They were both fairly attractive—so were Ninja Shouyou and Bokuto-san. And well, if Mikasa was being honest, the entire team was pretty handsome.
After twenty more minutes of video footage, Mikasa started to see a particularly striking pattern. Sakusa always seemed to recoil from team hugs or high-fives of victory, and of all his teammates, the only one who seemed to respect his aversion to physical contact was the blonde setter. Miya seemed to constantly reassure his other teammates with words of affirmation and adrenaline-fueled high-fives, but Mikasa noticed that he took care to carefully keep his distance from Sakusa.
On top of that, she didn’t feel like she was imagining the understanding looks they exchanged each time Sakusa scored a point from one of Miya’s sets, or the way Sakusa’s almost perpetual scowl seemed to soften whenever Miya tossed to him with a shout of, “Omi-kun!’’
Mikasa sipped her green tea and continued to watch the video, a smirk growing on her face as she watched the duo score another point. It was enlightening to see how Miya shared a grin with Sakusa, while Hinata and Bokuto high-fived just a few inches away from them.
Interesting.
✸✸✸
When Saturday morning came, Mikasa felt fairly certain she could root for the MSBY Black Jackals alongside Sakura when the time came. Although it did nothing to quench her nerves, she felt slightly more relieved, especially after all the studying she did. At least she had an idea of who the players were and—most importantly—how volleyball worked.
They strode into the stadium and walked in tandem, hands gently brushing together as they moved towards the Black Jackals’ fan meeting.
All of the players seemed to do their best in the match, as expected of a Division 1 V-League team. Thanks to her three-day crash course, Mikasa was kind of excited to meet some of the players, though she hoped they got to meet Hinata and Bokuto for Sakura’s sake.
Unfortunately, when they arrived at the assigned meeting room neither Bokuto nor Hinata were present; Miya Atsumu and Sakusa Kiyoomi were the only players attending the fan meet that day. Mikasa glanced to the side, anticipating the worst, and felt relieved. Sakura still wore the same enthusiastic smile, bouncing excitedly while they waited for their turns.
Upon spending 5 minutes in line to meet the players, however, Mikasa felt grateful she wasn’t too invested in this team. Had she been a big fan, she was pretty sure she would’ve been pissed at the way the two players were blatantly flirting with each other.
They didn’t ignore the fans, per se, but it was incredibly obvious their attention was fixed on each other. Miya’s eyes barely left Sakusa’s face whenever he wasn’t speaking directly to a fan, while Sakusa kept sending furtive glances in Miya’s direction. Mikasa found it difficult to imagine they were focusing on anything aside from each other.
When it was her and Sakura’s turn, she had to hide her grin as they approached the table. Both players were whispering, not quite brushing against each other but close enough for Miya to playfully lean into Sakusa’s personal space. Mikasa watched Sakusa move away every time Miya got close, but despite the seemingly perpetual frown on his face, the hitter’s annoyed expression was ruined by the red tips of his ears, almost unnoticeable to anyone other than Mikasa or Sakura.
The girls shared a look, and a question hung in the silence between them: Did you see what I just saw?
Once Miya realized they were waiting, he quickly gave them a wide grin. His eyes fell on the name tags placed upon their chests. “Hi, Mika-san? Saku-san?’’
Both girls nodded but Mikasa stayed quiet, waiting for Sakura to speak, since she was the one living her dream of meeting one of the people she admired most.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Atsumu-san!’’ Sakura’s voice was bright and felt like bliss to Mikasa’s ears as she looked at the blonde man in front of them. “I’ve been a fan for so so long!’’
Atsumu grinned and leaned forward, hands sprawled on the table. “Honor’s all mine, Saku-san!’’
In contrast, Sakusa gave them a polite nod. “Welcome, Sakura-san, Mikasa-san.’’ He bowed slightly towards them, carefully keeping his distance, and Mikasa remembered the way he seemed averse to touch, even on the court.
“You're so polite, Omi-kun! Probably jealous that they only got eyes for me, yeah?’’ His smirk was mischievous as he glanced at Sakusa.
“As if the way your ego continuously grows from even the smallest compliment is something to be jealous of.’’ Sakusa rolled his eyes and leaned over just slightly, giving a not-quite-there smile to the girls. “I’m sorry you had to deal with this. Miya forgets we’re just subbing for Hinata and Bokuto. But if you’d like, we can still sign anything you’d like.’’
“Well…’’ Mikasa nudged Sakura glancing pointedly at the newly acquired Bokuto jersey her roommate was holding.
“I got a shirt. It would be great if you could sign it, Sakusa-kun?’’ Sakura’s voice wavered as she looked at them and extended the shirt in their direction.
Sakusa nodded and looked at Miya, as if expecting him to do something.
When the setter took the shirt from Sakura’s hand, Mikasa realized that Sakusa probably hadn’t wanted to be the one to directly touch it.
Miya smirked at them as he spread the MSBY jersey across the table. He made sure it didn’t touch Sakusa, but it was close enough for him to gingerly scribble his name on the shirt anyways.
“Miya, don’t make the signature as astronomical as your ego.’’ Sakusa’s quip made Mikasa quietly cackle.
“Omi-kun,’’ Atsumu drawled, shifting on his chair to look directly into Sakusa’s face, a pout forming in his mouth, “You're misbehaving again in fan meet? What am I gonna do with you?’’ His smirk was playful and Mikasa could only watch as Sakusa scowled, looking away. “Should I tell coach?’’
As the two players continued to exchange insults, Mikasa couldn’t help but think that the redness dusting Sakusa’s cheeks and the glint in his eyes after each of Miya’s silly jokes looked awfully akin to the way Mikasa herself looked at Sakura.
After their time to meet the players was up and the girls thanked the men for their time, Atsumu waved them off with bright eyes and a teasing smile.
“Bye, Mika-san! Saku-san!’’
For his part, Sakusa said, “Thank you for your support.’’
As the two girls turned around and exited the room, Mikasa thought about the way Miya and Sakusa fell easily into their whispered banter, familiar and easy.
Somehow, after watching the two players and reminiscing on their easy-going dynamic, she found the courage to finally grab Sakura’s hand between hers.
—
Years later, Mikasa had gotten quite accustomed to volleyball—she could even list all of her favorite players from different teams. So this time, when her roommate-turned-girlfriend invited her to watch the Olympic bronze medal match for the Japanese National Team, Mikasa found herself accepting in a heartbeat.
Under the luminescent lights of the stadium, Mikasa grabbed Sakura’s hand and watched the players enter the court, presented to the public by name and position.
When a familiar, curly-haired man entered the court, she was probably the only person in the crowd to bite back her laugh as the announcer presented him as ‘Miya Kiyoomi.’ The hitter was sporting the name ‘Miya’ on his back, matching the ‘Miya’ on the blonde’s jersey.
Mikasa was testing the name under her breath (‘Miya Kiyoomi’ felt good on the mouth) when the crowd started to murmur, and she turned her attention back to the court at just the right moment.
The blonde Miya had gravitated towards the other Miya—towards Kiyoomi—and was standing up on his toes, grabbing no-longer-Sakusa by the cheeks and tugging the man down to press a kiss against his forehead. Kiyoomi’s eyes were tightly shut, his expression free from all worries as the blonde man softly pecked both of the moles above his eyebrow, and watching them made Mikasa flush. It felt like she was intruding on a private moment, and she couldn’t help but look away at such an intimate display of affection.
It wasn’t nearly as bold as the viral video of the Argentinian setter hungrily kissing Japan’s athletic trainer, but it still shook the crowd to the core.
Before the match, Sakura had mentioned that players on the National Team could choose their own jersey numbers, provided no one else complained. Thinking back on that, Mikasa idly wondered if the jersey number on the curly-haired Miya was a mere coincidence or if it was a deliberate choice. If she remembered correctly, the blonde Miya wore the number 13 on the MSBY Black Jackals—and now, it was Kiyoomi’s turn to wear it.
As the referee blew the whistle to start the game, Mikasa’s eyes drifted back to Kiyoomi. Even from where she was sitting, she could see that his lips were pulled up in an almost imperceptible smile, redness dusting the tips of his ears.
Japan quickly scored the first point, cheers resonating through the stadium, and Mikasa let herself get swept up in the euphoria and adrenaline as she roared with the crowd.
✸✸✸
Hours after the game, Mikasa was lying on her bed, idly checking her social media apps. Opening Twitter, she scrolled through the Trending Topics tab only to stop short. Her brow furrowed, a niggling feeling eating at her when she saw that the number one topic in Japan was something called ‘Sakuatsu’.
Somehow, the word felt oddly familiar, though she wasn’t sure from where. She clicked the hashtag out of curiosity, and the very first post made her chuckle.
It was a screenshot of Miya Atsumu’s most recent Instagram post. The picture depicted the very scene she had witnessed just hours earlier, and she realized that someone on the court must have taken the photo.
Quickly switching to Instagram, Mikasa typed in the username. The most recent post was a slide of two pictures—the first one captured the tender scene both Miya players had shared before starting the match, while the second showed both of them with medals around their necks. The blonde Miya was lifting it towards his mouth, biting one edge playfully as he stared at his companion, and the brunette was holding his own medal up with a fond, matching grin on his face.
Despite being surrounded by the rest of the team, the picture seemed to perfectly capture how, at that moment, it felt like it was just the two of them.
Mikasa quickly scrolled down to the caption and snorted upon reading it, a grin quickly making its way to her face.
miyatsumu: kissing my favorite pair of moles @miyakiyoomi ;) / looking at my very own gold medal in the eyes ;) fantastic new jersey, omi-kun! way better than ur ugly last one! #sakuatsu
miyakiyoomi: Not Sakusa. You messed up your own hashtag.
miyaatsumu: Omiiiiiii-kun :(