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"Are you sure it has gone bad? This seems fine to me."
That sentence pulled Daichi mentally from the empty thoughts occupying his head since he woke up that day in the training camp. He was grateful that Karasuno had the opportunity to practice with other powerhouses, really, but their schedules were bizarre. Daichi couldn't be up at 6 in the morning and was expected to have some coherent thought without at least shoving some food down his throat first. Well, at least they had the choice to warm up or eat breakfast first. Daichi always chose the latter, of course. Sometimes he also had to physically slam his face to cold water to even open his eyes properly—although this one was normal back at home as well. Even with that, his mind always wandered everywhere else before his stomach was filled. Suga, being a morning person, liked to tease him about it, which Daichi never remembered because he was still half-functioning. Sometimes Asahi told him about it when Suga was out of earshot.
Hold on. Where was he again? He felt like he was rambling here.
In front of him, Yamaguchi waved his hands frantically. "I think so, Kuroo-san. It smells bad."
Ah, right. The milk jug in Bokuto's hand.
Some strays from other schools always ended up at the Karasuno table in every eating time somehow. Daichi never complained though. He liked the added chaoticness—though he never said it out loud or some Karasuno members would get even more out of hand. Today, their guests were Kuroo, Bokuto, and Akaashi—Kuroo said Kenma ran away, Daichi would later check in on him with Kuroo when he finished his breakfast to make sure the quiet setter ate something. Somehow the former two even ended up befriending one of the shyest members of Karasuno, Yamaguchi, who sometimes still looked flustered everytime they talked to him. It was a bit weird to see him not with Tsukishima on his side, but the camp had been bringing Karasuno's members out of their shells and Daichi couldn't be happier.
Nishinoya and Tanaka, however, had no problem jumping in and out of the conversation.
"I'm pretty sure the color has changed," Nishinoya commented, furrowing his brows to squint inside the jug. "That's not how normal milk should look like."
"It's green. It's literally green," added Tanaka with a disgusted face, also peering into the jug.
"See, Bokuto-san, Kuroo-san," Akaashi sighed. The poor setter had been trying to throw the milk away before Bokuto insisted it was still good.
"But," Bokuto visibly deflated, "it just seems like a waste, you know."
Kuroo nodded, agreeing with his friend. It did seem like a waste, the jug was still half-full with untouched milk.
Seeing the dire situation, Daichi, half-awake and trying to be a good person, decided to chime in. "Let me see."
"Oh, he speaks!" Kuroo's eyebrows shot up, a grin forming in a teasing manner. Well, Daichi did stay quiet throughout the entire morning, only nodding or shaking his head if talked to. He didn't have any brain capacity for it ten minutes ago. Now, halfway through his breakfast, he could at least understand a situation.
So he half-heartedly glared at Kuroo, only dampened by his sleepiness.
Bokuto eventually passed him the jug and Daichi peered inside, seeing what his teammates had been saying. The color of it was indeed weird, though he couldn't smell anything from the jug. It could be because different brands had different colors, not necessarily because it was bad, his mind argued.
"So what's the diagnosis, Sawamura?" Bokuto asked, genuinely serious. The rest of the people on the table looked at him curiously.
Daichi took a big gulp from the jug.
The audible gasps and shouts of "Daichi-san!" and "Sawamura?!" were ignored by him, instead opting to stare at the jug, writing up an analysis mentally. It didn't taste bad, but…
"Yeah, that's super expired," Daichi said with an air of finality to it, as if he was truly giving a verdict in court.
The people on the table stared at him in shock—poor Yamaguchi even looked like he was going to pass out. But when Daichi put the jug in front of Bokuto again, Akaashi recovered from his shock.
"Did it … taste that bad, Sawamura-san?" the setter asked, unsure whether to ignore or address the shocking display.
"Not really," Daichi answered as he shifted on his seat and focused on his breakfast again. "I swallowed chunks though."
When the table fell into shocked silence again, Daichi failed to notice it, already shoving another mouthful of his breakfast to his mouth.
"Are you sure your captain is human, guys?" Kuroo whispered, eyes trained at Sawamura and the jug.
"I was, but now…" Tanaka muttered, visibly shivering with Yamaguchi.
"He swallowed chunks of milk," Bokuto frowned, glaring at the jug in front of him like it was its fault. "Is that good? Is that bad? Should we bring him to the infirmary?"
"Forget the infirmary, let's go to the hospital." Nishinoya was ready to stand up before being yanked down by Tanaka.
Akaashi looked like he was in a crisis. "I don't know how to react."
"Sawamura-san," Yamaguchi called, though he was still shivering, "are you … okay?"
The teen called blinked his eyes a few times before nodding. "I am. The milk isn't though. You probably need to throw it out."
The answer just made all of them fall into silence again, glancing at each other.
"Make sure Sa'amura doesn't get sick from this."
"Sick? I think he will drop dead sometime today."
“You are late to breakfast,” Kuroo commented as he stared Daichi up and down. “This is peculiar.”
It was peculiar, indeed, for Daichi to be late for breakfast at the training camp. Despite not being a morning person, the teen always put in the effort to wake up on time to usher himself to the dining hall, even with all of his body running on autofunction mode until he finished eating.
Daichi sat down in front of Kuroo rather harshly, surprising poor Asahi beside him. He gave him a lazy pat in the back as compensation before glaring at the mangy cat.
“Overslept,” he grumbled as he put down two plates he was holding. He turned his head to glare at someone in particular with light grey hair, standing a few meters in front of their table, feigning innocence with a smile. Said teen seemed to realize he was being stared at by Daichi, then waved a hand towards him. The gall of this man.
“Aw, it’s okay, Sawamura! I sometimes oversleep too! But Akaashi usually wakes me up every morning,” Bokuto exclaimed, trying to comfort him. “At least you still got some good breakfast.”
“Sure.” Kuroo looked at what foods were on Daichi's plate in doubt. “The rice, fish, and soy sauce is great,” he said as he pointed at one plate then switching to the other. “Cereals are great too. But…”
Bokuto frowned at the plates in front of Daichi. “Are you planning to eat both options or is this just what the cook gave you?”
Asahi blanched as he realized what would happen. “Daichi, don’t tell me you are doing it again.”
“Do what?” Kuroo asked as Daichi stared at Asahi with dead eyes.
“No, Daichi,” Asahi pleaded. “We talked about this."
“Desperate situations call for desperate measures,” Daichi deadpanned.
“There is nothing desperate about this! You can ask for more rice or fish!”
“They don’t. That’s why.”
“Hold on, hold on,” Bokuto cut them, confused. “What do you mean? What is Sawamura going to do?”
“A grave mistake,” Asahi murmured as he sighed tiredly, which just made both Bokuto and Kuroo even more confused.
“What mistake?” Kuroo asked again. “And, hold on, Sa’amura. Are you not eating your cereal with milk?”
“See,” Asahi tried to clarify, “that’s the problem.”
“I’m still not seeing it,” Bokuto mumbled.
Asahi opened his mouth, closed them again, opened his mouth again, then closed them again. He might as well be shaking with nerves at this point. Nothing could explain what horrendous thing Daichi would do with those two plates.
The aforementioned captain was staring at them, mostly blank, but Asahi could see some amusement in there.
“No, Daichi,” the ace pleaded with him one last time.
Daichi stared at all three of them with dead eyes as he dumped his sweet cereals to his rice bowl. He was still staring at them as he poured the soy sauce to his rice and cereals then ate a spoonful of his breakfast.
“No, Sa’amura!” Kuroo stared at him, eyes wide. “You did not.”
“I did,” Daichi deadpanned again.
“Sawamura, wait, what?” Bokuto, usually the one with weird antics, was now being flabbergasted by someone else’s antics.
“Daichi, no,” Asahi repeated his pleas, though it was already too late. His friend should be banned from breakfast and this was all Suga’s fault.
The subtle sound of crunching—which probably came from the dry cereals on Daichi’s rice—was the only sound heard from the table for a while. All the occupants were too shocked while Daichi was trying to enjoy his food.
“I can’t digest my food correctly if you are all staring at me like that,” he grumbled between his chewing. He was eating another bite of his breakfast before a loud sigh from Kuroo could be heard, the teen slumping his body towards the table, eyes not meeting any of them in fear having to look at the horrendous sight of Daichi eating. Bokuto, on the other hand, was awestruck and shaken at the same time.
“Bro,” he addressed Kuroo.
“Hm?”
“Should I try one like that?”
“Fuck no, buddy,” Kuroo answered at the same time as Asahi cringed, “Please don’t.”
“What’s wrong with it?” Daichi pulled a face. His choice of breakfast might not be what usual people would mix, but it tasted just fine. The crunchiness of the cereal worked with the soft rice and fish. Not to mention the cereal also brought some hint of sweetness between the savory taste of the fish and soy sauce. It was great. He didn’t see why Asahi was horrified when he first saw it some time ago, and now Kuroo and Bokuto this morning as well.
“You are a menace to society, Sa’amura, I hope you know that,” Kuroo replied, still not meeting his eyes.
Daichi nodded at him as another crunch was heard from his mouth. “Thanks.”
The dining area was a mess. The reason was the boxes of pizza laid nicely on top of the tables.
It was a rough day of practice in the training camp. Probably the toughest one. Everything just seemed out of place today. So their coaches decided to team up and treat them to pizza as dinner.
That was a successful move, of course. The mood in the training camp was lifted up all of a sudden, students talking excitedly over their food.
The only student who wasn't eating any food was Daichi, sitting at a table, only talking animatedly with his friends without any food in sight, which was weird for him. The teen was a big eater and he definitely wouldn't let the chance of eating free pizza go ignored.
Turned out his coach said he had a surprise food just for him. Daichi decided to take it as it was and waited for his coach to come back to bring his surprise.
"It's kind of weird to be eating when Daichi-san is not," Ennoshita commented in the middle of a bite to his slice. His statement met only agreement all around the table.
Daichi was sitting with some of Karasuno's second and first years along with some strays from another school as well, like usual. Kuroo and Bokuto sitting at his table was also becoming a common sight for him. On the contrary, Suga and Asahi were roped up in another school's table. Daichi didn't really mind it, his friends could make friends with anyone they wanted to, but it did feel weird to be eating without either of them in sight.
"You sure you didn't want to eat anything, Sawamura?" asked the captain of Shinzen. Daichi was sure his name was Ogano, though he could hear the Ubugawa's captain saying "Broccoli" in his head. He was surprised to find both captains were at his table, resulting in some strays from both schools joining them as well. Again, Daichi wasn't complaining. He did want to get to know them better and not always in volleyball matches.
"It's okay. I'm sure my coach will be back soon," Daichi refused with a smile. Sure enough, Coach Keishin finally came back, this time bringing another pizza box with him.
"Your sensei had the idea to buy you this one so we split up the bills. Don't worry about it though," he said, showing what was inside to Daichi only. The captain's eyes went wider and he turned to his coach quickly, ready to refuse.
"Just eat it, Kid. We know you will get hungry again if you eat just a slice or two," Keishin cut him, nudging the box to him.
Daichi thanked him profusely until his coach was nowhere in sight. He opened the pizza box to reveal what was inside to the people around him. Just as expected, it was a pizza.
Scratch that. Two pizzas, as in two trays. With extra meat toppings.
"Are you sure they aren't playing favorites?" Bokuto murmured as some of the others gawked at the sight of another pizza.
"You gonna eat all of that, Sa'amura?" Kuroo asked. He tried to ask it as a joke, but his tone showed his confusion.
"Yep," the other captain answered seriously as he smiled wider, staring at the pizzas. "Coach and Sensei bought it after all. I can't let it go to waste."
"If you can't finish it, we can help after," said the Ubugawa's captain—Daichi thought his name was Goura, though he could hear Ogano yelling "Fish Lips" in his head. He looked both concerned and curious at the same time.
"If Fish Lips got some, I want some too, eh, Sawamura?" Ogano chimed in, though he was just finishing his second slice.
"I don't think Daichi-san will need the help though," Daichi could hear Narita murmuring.
"Agreed," Kinoshita said in agreement, while Ennoshita just nodded.
Tsukishima curiously—though he tried not to show it much—looked up from his first slice of pizza, half-eaten, to see what the fuss was about. When he realized his captain was involved, he tried to nudge his plate, full with another slice of pizza, to him.
"If Sawamura-san is willing, I'd rather only eat one slice," he said when Daichi looked at him exasperatedly.
Daichi sighed at him as he started picking up one of his own pizzas. "Just eat it, Tsukishima."
Now that Daichi has brought his pizza higher to eye level, the people around him noticed one unusual trait.
The pizza wasn't cut.
Daichi was picking up the whole circle.
"Hold on," Bokuto interrupted, "how can you eat it if it isn't cut?"
His genuine question was instead met by a confused stare.
"Bite it?" Daichi answered, unsure of what Bokuto meant.
Before anyone could comment even further, Daichi rolled the pizza and then bit a quarter of it in one go.
Daichi ate another bite before noticing the stares directed towards him.
"...What?" he asked, bemused by the atmosphere. He turned to Ennoshita who was the closest to him. "What happened?"
His underclassman was also staring at him in shock before realizing Daichi was asking him.
"Nothing, Daichi-san!" Ennoshita quickly answered. Kinoshita and Narita shook their heads too. "It's just…"
Tsukishima looked like he was conflicted between furrowing his eyebrows and smirking, but Kuroo chimed in.
"With all due respect, Sa'amura, what just happened? Please tell me you didn't just eat a whole pizza like a burrito," he pleaded, staring at him in horror.
"I did," Daichi answered easily, biting his pizza roll again. "Kinda? I have only tried a burrito once before."
Kuroo's whine of "That's not the point!" was buried by Bokuto's loud laughter. Daichi threw a look at him, worried the big guy would choke on his pizza.
"I joined Karasuno's table for the first time and this is what happened," Goura said with a small voice, visibly flinching every time Daichi took a bite. Ogano from beside him was staring at him with wide eyes, uncharacteristically quiet.
"This is wild," Kuroo muttered as Daichi finished his first pizza, moving to the second. Like before, he also rolled the whole pizza and bit one end. "You are not human, Sa'amura."
"I have to agree, Daichi-san," Ennoshita said as he watched his captain gulp down half of the pizza. "I know you eat a lot, but not like this."
"Are you sure you don't want my second slice, Sawamura-san?" tried Tsukishima, still trying to dodge his problem.
"No," Daichi shot him down immediately.
"Are you refusing because you are full or because you want your underclassman to eat more?" Ogano asked, making sure.
"No, I'm okay. Tsukishima just needs to eat more."
Daichi suddenly heard a bang somewhere from beside him, realizing it was because someone banged his head on the table. Before he could make sure they were okay, Kuroo cut him off.
"'Okay' doesn't mean you are full," Kuroo said like he was reading a hex. "You are not full yet."
"Not necessarily."
Bokuto's laughter just got louder.
Seeing the situation starting to escalate, Daichi paused his chewing and sighed. "This is the fastest way to eat them. I can't just eat them slice per slice. That will take way too long, you know?"
"No, no, Sa'amura, you are misunderstanding something here," Kuroo replied, his unfinished pizza slice forgotten on his plate. "You eating two whole pizzas is surprising enough. That would last me at least a week. Then you decided to do that." He gestured vaguely to Daichi and the pizza roll. "You are a psychopath. That's the only explanation for this."
"It's efficient."
"It's ridiculous!"
"It's brilliant," Bokuto interrupted before Daichi and Kuroo could banter all night long. The teen was wiping tears from his eyes.
"Bro, no," Kuroo interjected, half-whining.
In the end, Daichi finished both of his pizzas before anyone on the table even finished their second slice.
"You eat so much for your size, Sa'amura," Kuroo commented as he wiped the pizza crumbs on his hands to his shorts.
Daichi glared at him in response. "Is that a jab towards my height?"
When the other teen let out his hyena laugh, Daichi scoffed at him, but Bokuto interrupted them again.
"I think it's incredible, Sawamura! No wonder you have those muscles!"
Daichi turned his glare towards him, horrified at the loud voice. Give it to Bokuto to make genuine compliments that sounded embarrassing.
"Nishinoya eats a lot too," Daichi tried to protest.
"I don't think Noya can finish two boxes of pizza in one go, Daichi-san," Kinoshita chuckled.
"I don't think anyone in this camp can finish two boxes of pizza in one go," Ogano agreed with him. "It is incredible, Sawamura. But I do think your way of eating it is weird."
"Efficient."
Daichi could hear snorts all around the table. "Weird."
He half-heartedly glared at all of them as he ate Tsukishima's pizza crust. Eventually, the crowd around the table started to disperse, bringing their used plates to be washed, and eventually Suga and Asahi approached him.
Seeing the two pizza boxes Daichi was holding, Suga cackled in laughter while Asahi just smiled nervously.
"You and food, Daichi."