- twelve -

〚 third person 〛

☾☾☾

A few weeks after the small photo incident, Momo stood in her room. Her eyes were trained on her body as she stared at herself in the mirror.

She turned to the side slightly, smoothing out the fabric on her body. With a soft sigh, she turned around and faced the people before her.

"Does it look bad?" Momo questioned worriedly, scamming each of the first years' expressions for an answer.

"It looks fine." Akiyama spoke up, dismissing the matter quickly.

Kaitō nodded, agreeing as he imagined Yachi in that outfit. Nao gave a cheesy grin with a thumbs-up.

"Cute." Ichirō said as he admired the cute yukata that was quite small because of her stature.

Smiling thankfully, she turned around to finish getting ready. As she fiddled with her hair, she frowned since it wasn't turning out the way she liked it.

"Let go." Akiyama muttered as he grabbed her hair and a brush. Momo's eyes slightly widened as Akiyama began to style her hair the way she wanted it.

Momo gaped at herself in the mirror, "How are you so good?"

"My parents are always gone, so I do my sister's hair." Akiyama muttered, glancing around the room at the males who were preoccupied with themselves. "I assume your family is the same way."

His presumption was quite correct. Momo only replied with a weak nod that made Akiyama quickly change the topic.

"Let's go then." Akiyama said, picking up his phone that was sat on Momo's dresser. Together, they all exited Momo's house and began to make their way to the shrine where everyone else was already waiting.

When they arrived, they saw the group of upperclassmen who waited nearby for the six first years who took their sweet time.

"What the hell took you guys so long?" Kageyama snapped, impatient as hell because they were almost ten minutes late.

Nao jut a thumb in the direction of Momo who was currently sat on Akiyama's back. "Doll face over here almost caught a heat stroke."

Ichirō fanned Momo while Kaitō held a water bottle they bought from the convenience store for her.

"They must really like her." Yamaguchi pointed out, making Tsukishima's eyes slightly thin. "They all treat her like a princess. It's cute."

[ a/n: who's team r u on yamaguchi?!??? kidding lmfao ily ]

Tsukishima didn't say anything. Just simply watched as the first years babied Momo.

"You can go on ahead. I'll stay here and watch-" Before Akiyama could finish his sentence, Yamaguchi cut him off.

"Actually, Tsukki should do it. It might make Momo-chan feel better if she's around Tsukki." Yamaguchi persuaded, choosing a terrible excuse for this. Nonetheless, Akiyama shrugged and swapped spots with Tsukishima.

Tsukishima sat on a nearby bench with Momo at his side. Her head was leaned against his shoulder as he leisurely fanned her.

She returned to normal about two minutes after being fanned and had some water.

She smiled at Tsukishima, thankful for what he did for her. "Thanks, Tsukki-senpai. I hope I'm not being a burden or anything."

Despite his indifferent expression, he internally frowned at her words. She's still...

They sat on the bench for a while longer, waiting for it to turn dark before they began to scope out the festival.

"Where's everyone else?" Momo asked, curious as to where the upperclassmen and the other first years were.

Tsukishima walked beside Momo, shrugging as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Don't know."

"Should we call them?" Momo reached for phone but got it snatched out of her hand. Tsukishima placed it into his pocket and pinched her cheek.

"You wanna run away from me so bad?" Tsukishima taunted, making Momo's cheeks slightly redden. She timidly reached for his sleeve, latching her small fingers onto the cloth.

"..No, I really wanna be with you." Momo mumbled meekly, leaving Tsukishima feeling slightly disconcerted but also relieved. She was somewhat herself.

Grabbing her hand, he pulled her closer to him and began walking through the crowds that was beginning to increase. Momo felt her heart rate quicken as she felt his calloused, slender fingers wrap around her small hand tightly, but not too much to inflict pain.

"Where are we going?" Momo asked softly, looking up at Tsukishima who led her over to certain stalls.

"Where else?"

☾☾☾

Momo held onto Tsukishima's hand after she slowly swayed slightly. The night was nearly coming to an end, but Tsukishima has dragged Momo off to one last place.

She was sleepy, and her feet were sore, so she was struggling to walk straight. But Tsukishima continued to lead her to the destination wordlessly.

"Are we there?" Momo questioned as she peeled her eyes open slightly to see a small hill. Tsukishima pulled her up the hill and sat at the top, allowing Momo to sit beside him.

"Yeah." He muttered, handing her some takoyaki he bought from a stall earlier. The intoxicating smell made her mouth water, instantly waking her up.

Digging in, she stared at the stars that were absolutely beautiful tonight. The way the moon lit everything up was ethereal.

"Why are we here?" Momo asked, looking at Tsukishima who checked his watch.

"It should start about," As soon as he said that, fireworks began to fly into the air and explode. Momo's eyes widened as she stared at the sky show with glee. It was immaculate. "Now."

The fireworks went on for a few minutes before it finished with a huge and loud firework. When it did finish, Momo turned to Tsukishima with wide eyes and a bright smile.

"That was amazing! I loved it! The colors were so pretty, and they all looked so nice! It was loud, but so worth it!!" Momo exclaimed, gushing to Tsukishima who simply chuckle and ruffled her hair gently.

The mood settled down and a soft smile lingered on Momo's lips.

"You know," Momo fiddled with her hands, not looking Tsukishima directly in the face just yet. "I was feeling really down these past few days, but this really cheered me up."

She turned to Tsukishima, smiling genuinely as her eyes gleamed. "Thanks, Tsukki-senpai! I love you!"

Despite the confession being wholehearted and direct, Tsukishima simply smirked and pinched her cheeks.

"How cliché, shorty. Confessing under the stars after a fireworks." He teased, earning a small giggle out of her lips as she swatted his hands away.

"Hey, I was being serious!" She shouted playfully, grabbing Tsukishima's arms to prevent him from ruffling her hair. "Want me to say it again?!"

Tsukishima smirked down at her. "Go ahead, shorty."

"I lo-"

"Okay, lovebirds. It's time to go home." Ennoshita said as he interrupted Momo and Tsukishima. He stood at the foot of the hill with the rest of the group behind him.

Both Tsukishima and Momo got down from the hill and joined the group who were quietly making fun of them.

"I love you, Tsukki-senpai!" Nao mocked in a high-pitched voice, getting a smack from Ichirō. The first years all shut up when they realized that Ichirō would beat them if they said anything else.

"Are you also trying to help Momo get with Tsukishima-senpai?" Seno asked quietly as he spoke to Yamaguchi. The green haired male tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"Huh?" He realized that Seno was referring to earlier and shook his head." Oh, Uh, no. Tsukki was the one who asked me to do that."

Seno's eyes drifted over to Tsukishima who was covertly peering at Momo out of the corner of his eyes.

"I see."