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Lately Yachi had been staying up until midnight or so trying to keep up with her homework after getting home from practice. The team manager wasn't required to stay for individual practice hours, but inter-high was approaching and tensions were high. If it weren't for the persistent optimism of the Single-Cell Organism & Hype Brigade, Ennoshita might have crashed weeks ago. It didn’t feel right leaving him to hold down the fort alone.
Overall, Ennoshita was a fantastic captain, exceeding even Sawamura's expectations. But matches aside, Ennoshita had been stressing out about whether or not to retire after inter-high, since Tanaka and Nishinoya would almost definitely stay and what kind of captain was he if he left, but he didn't want to pressure Narita and Kinoshita to stay if they wanted to retire, and then his parents were pushing him to focus on the entrance exams… So on and so forth..
Ultimately it was his decision to make. Yachi couldn't do much there. But she stuck around until the very end of practice to help the gears run smoothly, leaving pamphlets with stress-reduction techniques in his locker and trying to keep the Pocari Sweat flowing.
Luckily, she was only a second year. She didn't have to worry about entrance exams and early retirement. Still, the advanced placement classes had a fair amount of homework and she couldn't afford to slack. So here she was, jumbo-sized mug of green tea on her desk, one headphone earbud in her ear, trying to memorize the different branches of Japanese government for her quiz tomorrow.
She shifted under her cocoon of blankets and sighed. Maybe life was easier as a single-celled organism.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her phone light up, vibration and ringtone starting a second later. "Can't stop feeling—!"
Her chest tightened. She had forgotten that she'd set that song as a customized ringtone. After graduation last year, she hadn’t expected to hear it again.
Yachi fidgeted under her blankets, struggling to free herself so she could reach across her desk for her phone. Flipping it face-up, her suspicions were confirmed. The ringtone song continued to play. Yachi eyed the screen for a few terrifying moments before yanking out her earbud and tapping the button to accept the call.
"Hello...?"
Why was she responding like there was any question? Everyone had caller ID nowadays! Was she some kind of idiot?
"Hitoka-chan?" The voice on the other side of the line was soft, only barely audible over the speakers. Yachi could hear the gentle smile in her breathy tone. It was a wonder that she didn't pass out then and there.
"Sorry to call so late. Is now a bad time?"
"N-No, of course not!"
Even if it were three in the morning, Yachi would have said the same thing.
"It's good to hear your voice again, Shimizu-senpai."
Stupid! Who says things like that?? She fought the urge to throw her phone across the room. Good thing she didn't, otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to hear Shimizu chuckle on the other end of the line.
"It's good to hear your voice too, Hitoka-chan. What are you up to?"
"Studying." Yachi sighed. "But I was just thinking of taking a break, so I can talk. How's college life?"
Lots of boys, she imagined. But not boys. Rather, tall, intellectual college men who would probably look really good with Shimizu... Maybe an English major, the sensitive type who would be able to understand Shimizu's needs without her having to say them out loud. He probably had a scholarship and worked at the university library.
"It's going well," Shimizu said. "Now that it's getting colder, commuting to class is a little rough..."
"At least they probably run the heater in the library, right?"
"The library...?" Shimizu sounded confused at the sudden jump in topic. Yachi cringed at herself. Come on, couldn’t she at least keep her delusions and reality separate?
"Ahhaha, Karasuno is as cold as ever. Even when they open the library during lunch, they refuse to run the heater."
Nice receive, Hitoka.
"I remember," Shimizu said. "It was especially tough during exam season. How are the third years doing?"
"They're... doing." Yachi laughed half-heartedly. "But don't worry! I'm doing my best to support them. I'm sure they'll be alright."
"Glad to hear it."
Was it possible for words to glow? Yachi could only hear them filtered through a phone line and they still made her insides all warm and goopy. Shimizu went on.
"Actually, I think I'll be coming back home to visit for the next long weekend. Do you think you'll be free at all?"
The following moments were disorienting. Her entire body tensed up and the room seemed to go fuzzy around her. Evidently her brain needed to shut down some functions in order to process the incoming information: Shimizu was coming back to visit. Not only that, she wanted to hang out. These two things were both fantastic news and her heart soared at the thought.
On the other hand, Shimizu wanted to hang out with her. Last year they only spent time together during practice with a common goal, so there were only a few ways that Yachi could mess up, but casual hangouts were a whole different game. What if Shimizu realized that Yachi was actually extremely uncool and never invited her to hang out again?
"I understand that you're busy with your studies," Shimizu added quickly. "If you don't have time, that's fine."
Crap, she took too long to respond!
"Nonono, I mean, I do! Have time. I'm definitely free." It wasn't graceful but it got the point across.
"Oh. That's, um. I'm glad."
Did Shimizu sound relieved? She seemed to let out a pleased sigh, almost too quiet for the receiver to pick up.
"There's no practice on Sunday, right? Let's do something in the afternoon."
"Yeah, let's! Just text me where you'd like to meet and I'll be there!"
"Okay. I'll let you get back to your work now," Shimizu said. "Don't stay up too late."
"I won't! I just fall asleep with my face in my books if I try." Yachi laughed at herself and, thank god, Shimizu laughed with her. "Good night, Shimizu-senpai. Thank you for calling."
"It was my pleasure." Oh god, Shimizu just said the word "pleasure." Yachi held back an inappropriate noise as Shimizu added, "Good night, Hitoka-chan."
Just as quick as it had begun, the call ended. Yachi pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it blankly. Shimizu's profile image occupied the screen for a few more moments before the display reverted to Yachi's home screen.
She had just scheduled a date to hang out with the most beautiful woman in Japan—no, the whole world as far as Yachi was concerned. Not only that, but said amazing woman had contacted Yachi of her own accord.
Yachi turned back to her desk and took one look at her government homework before flipping the textbook shut. She could wake up early and finish it before class. There was no way she'd be able to focus before going to bed.
Moving in a sort of daze, she unwrapped herself from her cocoon and crawled into bed. Fragments of the phone conversation replayed themselves in her head like a flashback sequence in a shoujo manga. Shimizu had said that college was going well, but she hadn't elaborated much on that. Yachi would ask her in person, if Shimizu felt like talking about it. Maybe she could even ask for advice about the Ennoshita situation.
Once she was under the covers and her alarm was set, Yachi lay her phone beside her pillow and lazily navigated to her music player. She found the song that she had set as Shimizu's ringtone and with a tap, the music began to play quietly.
Yachi closed her eyes and pressed her face into her pillow. Something told her that she'd have good dreams that night.
She made a good call in choosing an outfit the night before. If she had chosen to do it that morning, she would have almost certainly been late. It took longer than she was willing to admit, but she settled on a fluffy white sweater over a constellation-print navy blue skirt and black leggings. The matching gold star earrings and hairpin were her lucky charms, so that was an added bonus.
The ensemble was cute and showed that she put effort into looking nice, but not an ostentatious amount of effort that would make it seem like she was trying to impress anyone.
Because it wasn't a date.
It definitely wasn't a date.
She had agonized over the level of formality for at least half an hour. Eventually, she decided that it would be better to look a little dressier rather than run the risk of looking frumpier than Shimizu. Yachi standing next to her was already enough of a crime as it was.
She fidgeted from side to side, pulled her phone out of her purse to check the time every few minutes. Twenty minutes early was excessive, she knew that, but she still scanned the crowds through the ticket gates every time a train pulled into the station.
"Hitoka-chan?"
Yachi spun around so quickly that she nearly tripped over her own feet. (Why didn’t she consider that Shimizu would approach from the road??) Recovering her balance, Yachi took in the first sight of Shimizu in several months.
Compared to Yachi’s mental image of University Student Shimizu, she had hardly changed at all. She still wore her hair long, falling luxurious and thick over her shoulders. The same thin-rimmed glasses sat gingerly on the bridge of her nose, a faint smile on her lips.
"Did I keep you waiting?" she asked.
"No, you're early! I mean, I am too, but." Yachi cut herself off before she dug herself any deeper. "Did you walk here?"
"Mm, my house is just a few minutes from the station." Shimizu reached up to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear and turned slightly to face the street again. "Shall we?"
Yachi made an enthusiastic noise of assent and fell into step beside Shimizu. Side-by-side, she noted that with her slightly-heeled boots and Shimizu’s flats, their height difference was less pronounced. At least, Yachi came up a little higher on Shimizu’s shoulders.
Shimizu didn’t need heels or accessories to look amazing. She wore a simple white blouse with a coral and chiffon skirt and a gauzy black cardigan that draped down below her waist. Now that she was in college, Shimizu probably wore outfits like this every day. Yachi held back a sigh, cursing her luck for being born two years too late.
“Was there anything you wanted to do today?” Shimizu asked. “I remember how busy high school was, and it’s one of your days off…”
“Oh, no! I’d just be watching TV in my pajamas! If anything, you’re the one that’s only in town for the weekend, so—”
Shimizu giggled, hiding it behind her lightly curled fingers. Yachi’s cheeks warmed.
“B-But if you’d like—Do you like sweets, Shimizu-senpai?”
Yachi did not miss the way that Shimizu perked up at the suggestion.
“I do,” Shimizu confirmed.
The crepe shop around the corner, a new addition to the shopping center, had only gone up last May. By that time, Shimizu had already gone off to college. As they made the short walk, they exchanged the pleasantries common between people who had not seen each other in a while.
How was school? Good, how was university? Very different, but interesting. How was the team? Also different, but interesting as always.
Slowly but surely, Shimizu’s presence beside her began to feel normal again.
The trendy crepe shop was hard to miss, especially in a quiet Miyagi suburb. With its bright pink and white decor and continual stream of j-pop, the shop quickly became a popular attraction for local middle and high school girls.
As they approached, Yachi felt a sudden clench of panic in her throat. Was this place too childish for Shimizu? Yachi came here all the time with her friends, but they were practically babies compared to university students.
She glanced up at Shimizu and opened her mouth to say that it was okay, they could go somewhere else after all. As she did, she saw Shimizu squinting at the brightly colored sign advertising the crepe flavors, her brows knit together in deliberation.
Yachi shut her mouth.
The shop was primarily a take-out stand with only three small tables tucked in the back of the restaurant. There were already a decent number of people lined up, typical for a Sunday, so they’d probably have to take their food elsewhere to eat—
Yachi’s eyebrows rose as she noticed one couple picking up their things and getting ready to leave.
“Be right back!” She squeaked, darting forward. Just as the couple exited the shop, Yachi slipped past them and slid in beside the newly-vacated table. She pulled her sweater off and draped it over one of the chairs. So smooth.
Outside the shop, Shimizu flashed her a solemn nod and a thumbs up. Yachi saluted gravely in return. Shimizu’s face cracked into a smile.
After some consideration, Shimizu settled on a salted caramel coffee crepe. Yachi thought about getting a more mature version of her normal order, but she abandoned the idea as soon as she had it. Some things in life were not worth sacrificing.
They sat down at their small round table in the back. Yachi plucked a cut strawberry from the opening of her crepe and dabbed it in the fresh whipped cream. Shimizu went ahead and took her first bite.
Yachi’s hands slowed, watching the neat folds of the crepe pinch between Shimizu’s lips, the shifting of the muscles in her cheek as she chewed. How could somebody look so good even while they were eating? The way that she licked the puffs of coffee cream off her upper lip was nearly pornographic and Yachi immediately felt bad for thinking about it. She stuffed her own crepe in her face so she didn’t say anything stupid.
“I haven’t had a crepe in ages,” Shimizu said, staring down at the dessert in her hands as if it were an object of wonder.
“They must have all sorts of cafes and shops in Tokyo, right? That is, if you’re not too busy with your studies.”
“I’m not that busy.” Shimizu cast her glance down. “To be honest, I don’t know if there’s anybody who I would want to go with.”
Yachi blinked. The words of a reply wouldn’t form. It seemed impossible that Shimizu wouldn’t have anybody with whom to eat crepes. In her memories of Shimizu at Karasuno, there were always other third year girls around her. The boys on the volleyball team all quietly pined after her. (Some less quietly than others.) Or maybe...
“Are Tokyo people… really mean?” Yachi asked.
Shimizu smiled, half amused and half something that made Yachi’s chest hurt.
“No, they’re not particularly mean.” She fiddled with the edge of her crepe wrapper, making a small tear. “But it’s very different from being at Karasuno, where I knew the same people ever since elementary school. I hadn’t realized how hard it would be to make new friends.”
“Oh.” Yachi lowered her crepe from her face. It felt inappropriate to eat. She had no idea how to make friends either, but the least she could do was be a good listener. “Well, it’s only been a few months? When I first entered high school and my friends were all in different classes, it took me until second semester to start talking to my classmates. Apparently some of them thought I had a speech impediment.”
She was rambling. She rambled when she got nervous and didn’t know what to say. But this was supposed to be about Shimizu. Yachi clamped her lips shut.
“I wouldn’t have guessed that, having seen you at club practice,” Shimizu said. She caught Yachi’s eyes. “You found your place on the team much faster than I did as a first year.”
“That was only because you were there, Shimizu-senpai! You and Hinata-kun helped me feel comfortable, like I really belonged.”
A genuine smile spread across Shimizu’s face.
“I’m really glad to hear that. I couldn’t have left the team in better hands.” Shimizu’s expression shifted slightly. “Maybe that’s what’s missing in university, that feeling of belonging.” She looked down and took a bite of her crepe.
Yachi waited until Shimizu was finished with her bite before she ventured in a small voice,
“Did you join any circles?”
“I joined the women’s track club.”
Yachi perked up despite herself.
“You run, Shimizu-senpai??” Her voice wavered perhaps a bit too much. She was already imagining Shimizu running in a marathon, her form most likely perfect, her expression composed. Would it be weird to go to Tokyo to cheer her on in her races? She was pretty sure she could get Hinata and Kageyama to come too.
“Yeah, I picked up running after I became a manager for the volleyball team. It’s a good way to stay in shape, plus it’s relaxing.”
“That must be nice, to be so athletic,” Yachi sighed. Not once in her short life had she ever described running as “relaxing.” She always opted for the three-legged race during the sports festival so she wouldn’t have to actually run.
“I think you could be athletic too, Hitoka-chan. You just haven’t found a sport that fits you yet.”
“That… is unlikely but I appreciate your faith in me.”
Shimizu laughed. Yachi smiled and released some of the tension in her shoulders. Shimizu seemed more relaxed.
“Thank you again for meeting me today,” Shimizu said. “I appreciate it. Maybe you’re right, it’ll just take more time before I feel at home in college.”
“Yeah! I definitely think so. And, um.” Yachi crinkled her crepe wrapper. “If you ever feel lonely, or like you miss Karasuno, you can message me any time.”
Shimizu’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly.
“Would that… be okay?”
Yachi nearly threw her crepe on the table. Was it okay?? Of course it was okay! The idea that Shimizu was asking her for permission was ludicrous. Instead of saying that, she simply nodded vigorously.
“Yes. Very okay. I actually.” Yachi felt a blush coming on and she averted her eyes. “Really like talking to you, so. It’s not any trouble at all.”
When Yachi looked back at Shimizu, she seemed to have this aura of contentedness around her. She was looking down at her crepe and pressing her lips together in a shy smile.
“It’d be a little uncool of me, I thought. Messaging my high school friends when I’m supposed to be in college. But I feel the same way, Hitoka-chan. I really missed talking to you.” She raised her eyes. Her smile broadened. “So you don’t have to call me ‘senpai’ anymore. Just ‘Kiyoko’ is okay.”
Was her heart still beating? Was her head even still attached to her body? Wait, she needed to say something. She couldn’t just freak out and lose consciousness now.
“O-Okay. I can do that.”
Shimizu grinned devilishly.
“Want to give it a try?” she asked.
Oh god. Yes. Her heart was definitely still beating. Her body shook so much that her knees were nearly knocking into the table.
“D-Do you want to get coffee after this? ...Kiyoko-chan?”
Shimizu lit up brilliantly.
“I’d love that.”
Yachi went home exhausted and happy as if she’d spent the day at practice instead of sitting around in cafes. If she were to put her emotional energy expenditure in terms of physical exertion, she felt like she’d run a marathon. An amazing, dreamlike marathon with the best running partner ever. She’d run it again in a heartbeat.
She flopped down face-first onto her bed. Just thinking about the analogy was making her even more tired.
‘Thank you, lucky earrings. Thank you, Shimizu Kiyoko. For existing.’
With a very un-cute groan, Yachi rolled onto her side and fished her phone out of her purse. A lazy, delighted grin crawled across her face as she flipped through the day’s photos, plus the photos that Shimizu sent from her phone.
She thought about uploading some of them to her twitter or instagram, but decided against it. Just this one thing, she wanted to keep to herself.
Then a different thought occurred to her. Yachi leapt to her feet and threw herself into her desk chair, booting up her laptop.
[Kiyoko] Hitoka-chan? What’s this file you shared with me?
Yachi received the text from Shimizu shortly after sending the email. She smiled to herself as she tapped out a response.
[Me] It’s an online calendar that I’ve been using since the beginning of this year. Every day I log something good that happened to me, or something I accomplished.
[Me] Not that I’m trying to brag!! It was actually my mom’s idea. But it’s helped me work towards some of my goals and feel better about how I’m doing and I thought maybe
[Me] If you wanted, you could log things too? And then we could see each other’s and it would help us both do better
[Me] BUT IT’S KIND OF STUPID AND I TOTALLY GET IT IF YOU DON’T WANT TO
[Me] It’s okay to ignore the email |
As Yachi typed out the last message, a response from Shimizu popped up on the screen.
[Kiyoko] No, it’s a really good idea.
And then another.
[Kiyoko] Plus the calendar app is cute. :)
[Kiyoko] Can I write one now?
[Me] Yeah of course!!
Yachi trained her eyes on the screen as she watched a new entry appear for the day, followed by slow, deliberate text input.
Sunday: Today I got Hitoka-chan to call me “Kiyoko.”
Yachi clapped a hand over her mouth to muffle the high-pitched shrieking noise that erupted from her throat.
Then she loosened her grip to let just a tiny squeal escape.
Some things in life were not worth sacrificing.