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Takanobu Aone is always at loud places. He could be at parties, where everyone’s having fun, singing and drinking. He could be at class, where people either listens to the teacher or whispers with each other, thinking the teachers can’t hear them. But really, they’re just tired of their bull shit. He could be at home, Where his family members talk nonstop and laugh at the dinner table, or it could be on the volleyball court, the sound of shoes squeaking and balls hitting the floor.
Takanobu’s favorite type of loud is probably the volleyball court.
It’s not that he hates loud places, it’s how people would start asking him questions and opinion, trying to include him to the conversation. To him, loud places is like studying, when he’s alone, he’ll stare at people, trying to understand them. but people would mistake that as glares and call him weird. They might think he’s creepy and scary, but he’s just a guy who himself can’t even speak out loud.
The first time Takanobu fell him love with volleyball was when he was eight years old, his father forced him to watch a volleyball match with him.
He stared at the players, watching every move and every point being scored. He watched how they set the ball to one another and smack it on the other side, making a point that causes the crowd to cheer. You may not see it, but Takanobu’s eyes lit up slightly, just slightly, and for the first time, he actually found something loud entertaining.
That night, he asked for a volleyball.
His teammates seem to be frustrated about how he doesn’t talk much, and honestly, he can’t help it, he’s always too nervous to speak up and ends up stuttering whenever he does. When he first joined the volleyball program, everyone thought he was weird and let him out, thought it changed after they spent time playing volleyball together.
“You have to talk more,” his parents will say. “You’re just acting like you can’t, you’re not scared, you just want attention.” Takanobu would always flinch at those words. It’s not that he wants attentions and acting like it, he just can’t do it. Takanobu himself doesn’t even know how to describe that feeling. He never wanted people to think him as a guy who can’t speak or seeking attention, he just wanted to get along with them not by speaking.
The first time when he actually blocked a ball was when his teammates seem was playing a practice match against another team. His eyes followed the ball and the spiked. As they get ready to swing their hand, he zoomed in front of where the spiker is and jumps. The ball smacks into his arms and falls on the other side with a tump. His team got the point. Everyone fell into silence.
that night, his team won the game.
“Aone-kun, you’ve improved!” His coach said with a big smile, putting his hands on his shoulder. Takanobu stared at nodded, but he was happy.
On his first day of middle school, he was called ugly and scary because of how he looked. They made fun of him for his unusual hair color, his serious expression, and how he doesn’t have eyebrows. Takanobu didn’t say anything, just frowned a little, and ended up scaring the bullies away.
No one really talks to him, not even the teachers, but he doesn’t mind. His volleyball team doesn’t seem to care about him, mostly because of how quiet he is.
“Have you got yourself a girlfriend?” His sister, Makoto Aone, once teased at the dinner table. At that time, their parents were on a work trip, so that explains why she asked that.
Takanobu shakes his head, confused on why she would ask that.
“Figured, with that face of yours, you’ll never find one.”
Don’t think it’ll be possible for anyone to fall for me. He thinks, going back to eating.
In his first year of middle school, he met Kenji Futakuchi, someone who is disrespectful to his elders and likes to tease people a lot, though is always sarcastic. He has brown hair and eyes banged that are styled to the side. And for some reason, Takanobu felled in love with him.
“Woah, aren’t you Aone Takanobu? The great blocker!” He hears someone chirps behind him, he turns around to find the person who sits behind him in class. He nodded, not knowing his name since, you know, it was day one after all. “I’m Kenji Futakuchi, nice ‘cha meet ‘ya.” He says with a grin on his face, stretching out his arms for Takanobu to shake it. “Guess we’ll be teammates.” He says as he let go of his hand and walked towards the gym. “Gonna have lots of fun the next three years.”
Takanobu didn’t really like him at first, him being disrespectful to his elders wasn’t a nice thing to do, though it’s just ends up being teasings. He gots a serious expression whenever he’s on court though.
His feelings for Futakuchi started off small and slow, when he realized it, it was already the last year of high school. He was first scared that Futakuchi wasn’t into guys, and he was too scared to ask. But since it was the last year, it’s best to give it a try.
"Have you dated anyone before?” Futakuchi once asked when they were on a train to get home. He shakes his head, just like when his sister asked him. Futakuchi just nodded, then went back to whatever he was doing. Takanobu never questioned why he asked that.
The reasons why Takanobu felled for Futakuchi was, first, he’s cute. Okay, yea, simple enough. Second, is that he’s basically the only one who knows what he’s trying to say, even though he doesn’t talk. Futakuchi doesn’t mind that he doesn’t talk. Third, he never made fun of him (unless it’s teasing or joking around). Unlike others, back in middle school, calling him names. These reasons might be very stupid, but to him, what Futakuchi was doing is enough to make him more and more close to him.
Takanobu invited Futakuchi to watch the sunset right after the graduation ceremony.
“Huh? Sure, I don’t have anything to do either way,” Futakuchi said at the graduation ceremony when Takanobu asked, wearing the stuff that people wears when they graduate (whatever it’s called).
They sat next to each other as they watched the sunset. Futakuchi keeps glancing at him, which he assumed was because he was confused. He had a frown on his face.
“I like you..” Takanobu says out of nowhere after he gathered the courage to ask. Making Futakuchi flinch. At first, it was silent, Takanobu staring at the ground and Futakuchi staring at him, his eyes wide open. He turned his head away, the tip of his ears getting redder and redder, later covering his whole face.
“oh my god, took you long enough!” He yells as he covers his face, though he can still see the red.
“…?”
“Nothing, I like you too.” He says after a while, face still red as a tomato, but this time, he has a smile on his face and jumped on Takanobu for a hug. (Totally didn’t choke on accident, nope).
Just like that, the actual starts.