Chapter Text
It was a daily routine for the brown-haired girl to write furiously in her notebook, just as it was for Yamamoto Takeshi to hide behind his perched-up notebook. If he wasn't napping, he was observing her. With his head buried in his crossed arms, he watched her with keen curiosity. She sat two columns to the left and three desks from the front. It was the perfect view for Takeshi and the perfect seat for the girl. It was a window desk, so her hair glowed golden in sunshine rays, acting as a halo.
In English, Math, and Modern Japanese, she would always have two notebooks out: one for the class and one for something else. The latter was filled with more notes, drawings, and scribbles than her class notebook. It amazed Takeshi how she can multitask so rapidly. The teachers didn’t care about the lack of attention they received from her, he noticed. In between sections of time, she would bite on the end of her mechanical pencil, and the way she pouted, her signature deep-thinking pose, was cute. With hawk eyes like his, he could see the flutter of her eyelashes and the callouses on her small hands. Takeshi wondered how she got them. He also wondered how her hair would feel through his own calloused fingers. Like silk maybe? How did she look like with her hair u-
“You’re staring again, idiot.”
Takeshi turned his head right and looked at the desk next to his. His best friend glanced right back at him with a bored expression. Her head and body were faced towards the boards as she rested a cheek on the palm of her right hand. She looked like she was about to sleep any minute. Takeshi couldn’t blame her; she was leagues ahead of the class and the teachers in terms of knowledge. The only things that grabbed her interest were UMAs, conspiracies, cats, and volleyball. The last one confused him. They were childhood friends, and not once had she shown interest in the sport. It was always the piano or archery. When he asked why, she had a sour face as she held her newly purchased volleyball, yet her eyes held humor, confusing Takeshi even more.
“You noticed?” He whispered and softly laughed with a sheepish look. But then again, his best friend was perceptive, even with his notebook shielding his face.
Hayami rolled her eyes. “You’ve been staring at Tsuna every single day, of course I would,” she muttered. Her free hand tapped a soft and steady rhythm on her desk.
“What’s that red notebook Sawada’s writing in?” The one she was always occupied with.
“Oh, that?” Takeshi blinked at the exasperated yet fond tone in her voice. “That’s her volleyball journal, and it’s not her first. She writes every detail about the team and what we individually need to work on. She also writes formations and strategies. I wouldn’t be surprised if she also has information on our likes and dislikes.”
Before he realized it, he thought out loud, “She plays volleyball?”
Hayami facepalmed with a sigh.
“Yamamoto, come up here and translate the sentence.”
He stood up and nervously laughed. “Sorry, Mr. Kondo. I no listen?" He said in heavily accented and butchered English. Whoops?
Kondo-sensei shook his head with a sigh. Reverting back to their native language, “Yamamoto, I need you to pay attention in class, and not talk about who does or doesn’t play volleyball.”
“Yes, Sensei.” The class snickered.
“Good. Sawada, come up.”
She paused in her writing marathon before standing up. Wordlessly, she walked to the board with grace that Takeshi, sadly, didn’t notice until now.
“Please read the sentence and translate,” Sensei said in English.
With fluent English, almost perfect, she read out, albeit softly, “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.” Then, with quick precision, she wrote it in Japanese for the class to understand.
Kondo-sensei nodded. “Well done. You may sit down, Miss Sawada.”
Wow, Takeshi mouthed from his seat. When he turned back to Hayami, he was met with an unimpressed look with a raised brow. “What,” he whispered, taken aback and feeling somewhat offended.
“I expected you to know already that she’s part of the girls’ volleyball team and can speak English, considering how much you stare at her for the past four weeks. Basically since school started, dumbass.”
“...I may have been asleep during those moments.”
Cue another roll of eyes. “No wonder. Anyway, don’t get caught staring by your girlfriend. God knows what crazy things your fanclub is doing just to get your attention.”
Right, he had a girlfriend. Almost the whole school knew about Takeshi’s unofficial dating policy. It didn’t matter who asked him out, he would agree, but his fanclub created a truce amongst themselves to not pursue him if he was already dating someone. It was to make things fair, despite the envy and jealousy that spread. Takeshi began dating on a whim; after all, he was a carefree guy. It was ironic, though, a constant cycle. They all gave him the same reasons for why they like him and why they broke up with him. “I like everything about you” and “You weren’t how I thought you were.”
Takeshi wilted at those sometimes, not that anybody noticed anyway. Expectations were hard, and living to them was even harder. Dating eventually became a game to him (just like life) to see how long his relationships could last. He knew he was being cruel--oh, he was very aware--but he lost the motivation to take everything but baseball seriously.
“Stand!” His class president’s voice prompted screeching chairs and standing students. “Bow!”
“Thank you very much!”
Lunch came the moment Kondo-sensei exited and closed the door. Almost everyone formed their groups with bentos or money in hand to buy food from the cafeteria. Students came and left as they pleased.
“Off you go, Takeshi. Your girlfriend is here.” Hayami nodded towards the door closest to them.
Sakuragi Mai peeked her head into the classroom, shyly looking around until her eyes landed on him. She visibly brightened and met him at his desk. “Where do you want to eat, Yamamoto-kun? I made lunch for both of us!” She held up two wrapped bentos, one blue and one pink.
Takeshi mustered a grin with as much cheer he could force out, false it was although. “Thanks, Sakuragi!” Like usual, his fake grin enticed a cherry-faced girl.
Hayami, used to his antics, sighed and got up with her own bento that was wrapped in red cloth. “The team and I are taking over the roof. If you need me, just text or something.”
Takeshi blinked. “The roof? The one that Hibari-senpai doesn’t allow anybody to enter?” Sakuragi shuddered next to him.
“Yep,” she popped, “we got permission thanks to Tsuna’s ‘childhood friend privileges,' as she calls it. See you later.”
“Wow…” Takeshi breathed out. Sawada never ceased to surprise him. What else was he missing about Sawada? If only he could find the opportunity to talk to her. He turned back to his girlfriend, and when he saw the sullen pout on her face, he tilted his head. “What’s wrong?”
He had to strain his ears to hear her.
“Many things, Yamamoto-kun,” she mumbled before she straightened her back and proclaimed, “Let’s eat in the courtyard. Alone.”
“Sure,” Takeshi shrugged. Girls are hard to understand, he thought. Well…
He took one last glance at a certain brunette.
Maybe except for her, he finished with a secretive smile before Sakuragi pulled him out of the classroom with a strong grip on his arm.
(Had he looked back again, he would have caught amber eyes curiously following his figure.)
Throughout English class, Tsuna felt someone’s gaze right on her. It wasn’t like Kyoya’s fond and protective gaze, as he viewed her as a childhood friend he needed to shield. It wasn’t like her friends’ gazes, which were warm and trustful, as they viewed her as a close friend and an important teammate. It wasn’t like her opponents’ wary gazes, watching what her next moves would be as a formidable setter. It also wasn’t like those girls' who often glared at each other, eyes burning with jealousy and disdain. No, this gaze was more...curious. Playful. As if to see what surprising secrets she held. Tsuna thought it odd because she was a terrible liar and not one to keep so many secrets.
She felt it since the start of her second year of high school. At first, Tsuna tensed whenever those eyes landed on her, but as the days passed, she brushed it off, focusing more of her class times writing her volleyball notes rather than trying to figure out who the gaze belonged to. Tsuna just so happened to catch Yamamoto-san glancing at her when he walked out with a girl from the class next door.
“Tsuna, ready?” Hayami-san walked towards her, glancing with a lifted eyebrow at her notebook.
Tsuna quickly closed it. Even if Hayami-san was her friend, she didn’t want anybody to see her messy notes written in a hurry. With an embarrassed smile, she replied, “Yeah, let’s go.” Along with her pastel-orange bento and another violet one, Tsuna grabbed her dark-blue duffel bag that carried her volleyball. Seeing her other friends waiting at the entrance of her class sparked happiness within her.
Hana-san rested her weight on her right leg with a hand on her hip. “Took you long enough.”
Tsuna thought her to be intimidating when they first met but turns out she was like Kyoya. They were both curt, straightforward, and overly protective of Kyoko and Tsuna. Although they were usually laid-back, they could be quite fearsome when serious, especially Kyoya. Well, their protectees were used to it, so rather than shivering in fright, they would be grinning in delight. Tsuna thought it was amusing to see her opponents quiver whenever Hana-san shut them down with her blocks, followed by her glare. After being with each other since they were toddlers, Kyoya may have rubbed off on her...
“Geez, Hana-chan. It hasn’t been five minutes yet,” Kyoko-chan replied playfully on Tsuna and Hayami-san’s behalf.
Like any other student in Namimori High, Tsuna saw Kyoko-chan as a sweet girl who was fair and unjudging, unlike Hana-san, but she was also incredibly hardworking. Within less than a year since Tsuna encouraged her to join the girls’ volleyball team, Kyoko-chan became their ace, boosting her popularity further in the school. The speed and power in her spikes supported her status despite her slim appearance. It goes without saying that she would hurt another if they dared to insult her or her friends. Mentally, of course. Physical damage was her brother’s job.
“Yo, Hana, Kyoko. Where are Chrome and Haru?”
“Hi, Hayami-san! They went ahead first to secure our spots. Hello to you too, Tsuna-chan!”
They started walking to the roof after their first greetings of the day. Along the way, they talked about their classes, exchanging information about what to expect from their shared teachers. While adding in her own input, Tsuna glanced around.
Some students stood in the hallways next to the windows, chatting and eating bread, rice balls, or anything that can be held with one hand. Others decided to eat on the stairs or outside on the grass where there were spaces for small groups. Some decided to not eat at all in favor of studying or playing. Tsuna would have chosen to eat lunch and practice volleyball in the gym, but the building was often occupied with students who wanted to play basketball. As a result, she chose the roof where her childhood friend frequently napped. It was a spacious area enough to toss the ball, and certainly more than enough for her group. With the widespread fact that the roof was Kyoya’s main place of rest, Tsuna was lucky to reserve a peaceful space. One must be bold and, dare she say, stupid to take a single step in their “sacred” place, with or without Kyoya occupying it. “Childhood friend privileges,” indeed. Speaking of which…
“Kyo-kun,” Tsuna called out right after she opened the door to the roof, “I got your lunch.”
Kyoya jumped out from above the entrance and landed in front of her. He held out a hand with an inquisitive look. “Today?” Perhaps third after her dad and herself, Kyoya was a fan of her mom’s cooking. He would often come by Tsuna’s house for breakfast or dinner, and not once has she seen him eat anything from the school cafeteria, restaurants, or convenience stores. Besides her mom’s cooking, was he eating properly?
“Mama added stir-fried vegetables and karaage with rice. I think she also added in some fruit for digestion.” She placed the violet-clothed bento on his hand, and in return, she received a nod and a gentle head pat. Tsuna beamed. Head pats were always nice.
“Captain, you’re finally here!”
She tilted to the side to look around Kyoya’s tall stature. Haru-chan was waving frantically, excited as usual to see them, as she sat on her deep green blanket that was already laid out with Chrome-chan. Their lunches were yet to be opened. It was obvious they were waiting for everyone else to arrive before eating. How sweet of them, Tsuna thought happily.
“Yes, sorry for the wait, Haru-chan.”
“No worries!”
Haru-chan was a bubbly and energetic girl. So energetic that Tsuna thought she would be perfect as a libero. It didn’t take much convincing to get her to join the team, because according to Haru-chan, she was already looking for another sport to play after having enough of gymnastics, a sport that her mom wanted to do. Tsuna was quite flattered when Haru-chan said she was inspired by her to play volleyball, but as a fellow player, Tsuna was envious of her libero’s flexibility and quick reactions. She was a force to be reckoned with if any player wanted a solid land on their court.
“Chrome, how are you feeling?” Hana-san asked as they all but Kyoya, who went back to his higher platform, sat down on the blanket. One by one, they unlid their bentos. The aromas from their containers flew into the air, stimulating their appetites.
“I’m feeling great. Thank you for asking, Hana-senpai.”
Since birth, their underclassman has had a frail body. The slightest change in the weather could cause her body to collapse, but ever since she joined the girls’ volleyball team, doing minuscule tasks as their manager, her body has gotten stronger little by little. Of course, the team made sure Chrome-chan didn’t exert herself too much. Otherwise, they would get the scolding of a lifetime from her overprotective older brother, who was also the student council president and supposedly Kyoya’s archenemy. Not that she and the girls would admit it, but Rokudo-senpai was a total siscon.
“By the way, we saw the monkey with a new girl in the hallway. Do you know who she is, Hayami?”
“Takeshi? Ah, the idiot’s with Saku-something. Sakurano?”
“Do you mean Sakuragi-san? She’s in our class,” Haru-chan piped with their manager nodding.
“Yeah, her. I stopped counting his girlfriends a while ago, so I don’t bother remembering their names anymore.”
Tsuna laughed dryly before taking a sip of Kyoko-chan’s tea. “I think she was in the same piano competition as you last month.”
“As long as I win, does it matter?” Hayami-san shrugged.
Tsuna sighed. Hayami-san may be a strong opposite hitter, but she had no sportsmanship when it came to people she was up against, whether it’s volleyball, piano, archery, or even gaming.
Suddenly remembering about the gaze she felt during class, she muttered while chewing, “Has Yamamoto-san been staring at me?”
“Yep, since school started.”
“...Eh?”
“My, is he interested in Tsuna-chan?”
“Eh?”
“You seriously didn’t realize until now? I thought you would have a long time ago with that intuition of yours.”
“...You’re not in the same class, Hana-san. How do you even know?”
She shrugged. “I got sharper eyes than most.”
Right, Tsuna forgot about that. “I don’t think he’s romantically interested in me though. If he doesn’t like any one of the girls he dated, then why would he like me. We rarely talk to each other.”
Even when they were middle school classmates, Tsuna didn't find any reason to communicate with him. Even if she wanted to, Yamamoto-san was... unreachable. There was something about him that bothered her. On the exterior, he was outgoing, friendly, and chill, almost as if he was forcing himself to get along with everyone or please them. He was the center of the school, right next to Kyoko-chan, and always surrounded by people whether he liked it or not. Tsuna, like everyone else, thought he was cool because of his skills as a baseball player, but that was all she thought. She didn't know him enough to consider him as a romantic partner, and surely Yamamoto-san thought the same. So what's with the sudden interest?
Chrome-chan nervously looked between Tsuna and the platform where her childhood friend laid. "Um, Captain, if you don't mind me asking… Have you and Hibari-senpai ever considered dating each other?"
"Oh," Hayami-san paused her chopsticks, "I was wondering about that too."
"I think we all were," Kyoko-chan giggled.
"...I never actually thought about it." Tsuna blinked at the surprising question. She turned her head towards the resting figure. "What about you, Kyo-kun?"
A grunt.
"He said he hasn't either."
"Really?" Haru-chan gaped. "But you two would look so good together."
Tsuna laughed. "I can see why you think that. I don't think our already close relationship would change much though if we started dating. Perhaps we would have if I wasn't so occupied with volleyball, and him with his disciplinary committee. Right, Kyo-kun?"
Another grunt.
"But we don't see each other like that, beyond close childhood friends or siblings." Tsuna grinned at her libero's pout. "Sorry we don't have a love story, Haru-chan."
The libero turned to her next target. “What about you and Yamamoto-san?”
Hayami-san scowled, causing a wave of laughter.
He internally grimaced with the lack of distance between him and Sakuragi as she forcibly pressed herself against his side.
“How is it, Yamamoto-kun?” She asked hopefully with a tint of fear.
With a smile that never left his face, “It’s good, thanks for cooking.”
He was telling the truth, the bento was good, neither bad nor great. Takeshi wasn’t a picky eater, considering the fact that he would eat anything given to him, but even he had opinions about the food. The asparagus in the beef rolls were soft with a light crunch and packed with the beef’s natural flavor, and the omelets were neither slightly raw nor dry, just right. But the sauce that stuck to the rolls was a little too salty and the omelets were a little too sweet for Takeshi. Seems like Sakuragi had stronger tastes than him, but his words were enough to send her over the moon.
“That’s a relief!” She breathed out as her shoulders relaxed before moving onto another topic.
Truth to be told, Takeshi was hardly listening. He moved his chopsticks mindlessly and chewed mechanically. His lifeless responses were fluid and covered with his smile--it was the same conversation as he had with the other girls. How long will this game continue, he wondered, as Takeshi slowly detached himself from reality.
When he looked down, he saw an empty bento. How much time has passed already? Why didn’t he realize until now that he was tired? Takeshi needed to get away, but he didn’t want to hurt Sakuragi’s feelings. At the very least, he needed a distraction.
“Watch out!”
The shout came from above, so he looked up. A volleyball was flying towards them. From the roof.
Is that Sawada’s?
The ball landed with a thump just a few feet ahead of Takeshi and Sakuragi.
"I'll be down there, so please hold onto the ball for me!"
Yeah, although it was the first time he heard her that loud, that was undeniably the brunette.
He glanced at Sakuragi, who was visibly annoyed that their time was disturbed. Nice distraction, Sawada. Takeshi closed the bento with the lid and set it to the side. As he stood up to grab the ball, he chuckled, amused at the turn of events. “That was pretty surprising, right, Sakuragi? Good thing it didn’t hit us.”
“Y-Yeah.”
Sawada arrived a few minutes later while panting lightly. Her blazer was gone, he noticed, as he took in her slightly disheveled appearance.
Takeshi laughed. “You didn’t have to run, Sawada.” His chest warmed with glee when he saw her flush. He handed back her volleyball.
“I’m so sorry, Yamamoto-san, Sakuragi-san! Are you two hurt?” She asked sheepishly.
Sakuragi shook her head with a frown. “No, we’re alright. Why would you play on the roof if you knew this would happen?”
The brunette smiled lightly as she fiddled the ball by tossing and spinning it in her palms. “This is the first time actually. My friends and I are usually careful even with the fences, but there was a huge wind that sent the ball flying. It can get pretty windy on the roof sometimes.”
“I see. Well, since you got what you needed, you should go back now. Your friends are probably waiting.”
Takeshi twitched at Sakuragi’s dismissive tone. He thought that she could have at least hide her annoyance, but in the end, she was like the other girls he temporarily dated--clingy, possessive, and jealous. Was it really worth the trouble continuing this game, he wondered, if they were all the same?
Sawada stopped her hands with a firm grip on the ball. Perhaps it was just Takeshi’s imagination, but she sent a knowing glance at him. He blinked in surprise, his smile turned even more stiff.
“You’re right, sorry I interrupted your time together.”
Under her breath, Takeshi barely heard Sakuragi mutter, “Glad to know you underst-” before she got cut off.
“By the way, Yamamoto-san, I met Eguchi-sensei along the way. He said he needed to talk to you about the upcoming baseball match.”
Ah, Sawada wasn’t a distraction, she was a blessing. “Really? Thanks for letting me know.” He grinned before turning to Sakuragi, who was gapping like a fish. “Sorry, Sakuragi, I gotta go. Thanks for the food!” Takeshi and Sawada began to head back inside the building.
“H-Huh? W-Wait, Yamamoto-kun?!”
He chuckled as he walked right next to the brunette with hands clasped behind his head. Students in their path stepped aside, some of which stared at the pair with curiosity, and a few others murmured behind their hands, no doubt gossiping about their nonexistent relationship beyond classmates. Takeshi ignored them.
“Thanks for saving me, Sawada.”
“No need to thank me. Instead, thank Eguchi-sensei.”
“Huh, that was true?” He thought she made up an excuse for him to leave.
Sawada laughed softly. It sounded quite nice. “I’m a terrible liar, Yamamoto-san. Yes, he called me out in the hallway for running before telling me to find you. Of course, I still ran,” she said with a cheeky grin.
Takeshi mentally cursed, Crap, she’s too cute.
“But the wind thing I mentioned was a lie. I actually tossed the ball over the fence on purpose.”
He blinked. Why would she do that?
“Intuition.”
“Eh? Did you read my mind?”
She giggled as they walked up the stairs to the second floor. “It’s hard to explain, but I have a stronger intuition than most. Apparently, it runs on my dad’s side of the family. Think of it like clairvoyance.”
“That’s amazing,” he exclaimed.
Takeshi watched a couple of shows on TV of people showing their magic and superhuman skill, but this is the first time he met one with innate abilities, and she was so close. Turns out there was more to Sawada than he thought. He wanted to know more about her.
“Oh, but what does that have to do with tossing the ball over?”
She stopped in front of Eguchi-sensei’s office and turned her body towards him. Takeshi’s breath hitched when he looked back at those amber eyes that stared up at him, almost boring into his soul. Her intense gaze matched with her wry smile was suffocating. “You of all people should know, Yamamoto-san.”
It dawned on him that Takeshi called for her unconsciously, and she responded with perfect timing, although she didn’t know why until she saw him in the courtyard. He was right, Sawada was a blessing.
“You should break up with Sakuragi-san and stop if you’re going to be uncomfortable every day. I never had any dating experience, but even I know that you can only have a happy relationship if both parties agree to be with each other.” Sawada looked down at her wristwatch and gasped softly. “I have to go back now. I’ll see you in class, Yamamoto-san.”
“Uh, yeah. See ya, Sawada.” His eyes never left her jogging figure until she disappeared from sight.
Her words left an indescribable feeling in his chest. Sawada saw through the facade he had built for years to the point where his face was almost paralyzed with a smile. A person he did not talk to until now, despite observing her for weeks, cracked his walls with only a single glance. What else did she see?