Haikyuu!! Tobio's Girl. Chapter 10

It was the last away training with the Fukurodani group before the October prelims. The long day had already finished. Nekoma and Karasuno players were hanging out before bedtime as usual.

Suddenly a disturbance came from the group of first years.

"What?! Kageyama has a girlfriend! Like... seriously?!" Inouka was shouting. He simply asked Hinata what was up in their daily life, and that was the answer. Suddenly the entire room became interested.

"Impossible, but how?"

"You must be joking, right?"

Nekoma players knew Karasuno setter's skills on the court, but he wasn't talkative outside of it. It was hard for them to imagine his love life. They would never think he had one.

Just at that moment, Kageyama walked into the room. Everybody's eyes turned to him.

"Kageyama, is it true? They say that you have a girlfriend!" Inouka asked.

"Yes."

"NOT FAIR! How did you manage that?!" Taketora, the second-year spiker of Nekoma, said.

Kageyama felt obliged to answer his senpai, "I asked her to be my girlfriend."

"How did that happen? Did he scare some poor girl into dating him?" Kuroo asked Tsukishima.

"Well, actually, Takenaka-san is one of the most popular girls in our year," Yamaguchi answered instead. "She's got that princess-like look. Frail, porcelain skin, long hair. And she's smart too. You know, a type of girl most guys don't dare to approach."

"But our Kageyama has no fear. It's basically about opposites attract. She is frail, refined, and smart, and Kageyama is an athletic simpleton." Tsukishima added, smirking. Kageyama gave him an angry look.

"I don't believe it! Kageyama, show me a picture of your girlfriend." It was Liev this time.

"I don't think I have one. She's the one that always has a camera."

"I don't believe you then!"

"I don't care," Kageyama said. Btr everybody was staring at him.

"Okay, I'll ask her." He reluctantly took out his phone and wrote to Raina.

" Hi, Takenaka. Can you send me your picture?"

"Why?"

"I need to show it to someone."

"..."

"That's weird. But ok, just don't send it away to anyone. You're in luck. I was hanging out with my friends today, and somehow we ended up shooting pics of each other for half the time. Good luck with your bragging."

Kageyama looked at the picture Takenaka had sent him. Wow, those eyes. She looked straight into the camera. He got used to talking with her every day, but because of the height difference or something, he sort of forgot how beautiful she was. He felt a sudden urge to see her in person. Unwillingly, he passed his phone to Liev. "Ok, that's her. Now piss off."

Suddenly everyone was looking over Liev's shoulder to see it.

"Impossible! I refuse to believe it!" Taketora was wailing again. "What's with the Karasuno team and hot girls?"

"This picture looks too pro to be true. It must be a fake!" Liev said.

"It's true. Believe me. We see them together a lot at school, acting all lovey-dovey," Hinata said, disheartened. Kageyama surpassed him in something again. He didn't know how to retaliate even.

"When did I act like that at school!?" Kageyama asked.

"But just this week, I saw you two in the corridor, leaning toward each other, looking together at her smartphone, as if you were shooting some cute couple pics. You, particularly, seemed all excited," Hinata pointed out.

"Huh? This week?... Oh, I know. It was probably when I was explaining Takenaka different types of combination attacks, and we were watching some videos of those."

"Is that what you do with your girlfriend? She's wasted on you," Liev commented.

"Wow, she does look like a princess." Somehow Kuroo snatched Kageyama's phone.

"Yeah, it's true. Their class was making a modernized Snow White play for the school festival, and I heard it was because they hoped she would play the main role and gather the crowds," Yamaguchi said, "but she refused. Apparently, she said it was better to have a girl with more acting talent and give her a princess makeover."

"Considerate, because either Kageyama would need to play the prince himself or see another guy play opposite her."

"So she starred as the villain instead, and Kageyama played her evil lackey. He was just following her everywhere on stage, but he was the highlight of the show. He aced that role. Look, I've made pictures." Tsukishima grinned, showing his phone to Kuroo and others.

"Buahahahaha," Kuroo laughed out loud." Kageyama, how did you manage to reach such a high level of acting? You have the most villainous face I have ever seen."

"It was Takenaka... my girlfriend's doing. She said I should visualize winning with Seijoh whenever I'm on stage."

"I told you, brain and muscle. People like that can rule the world together. Our royal couple," Tsukishima added, chucking.

"Can I have my phone back now?" Kageyama asked Kuroo.

"Of course. And come here for a while. Let this senpai advise you about love and volleyball." Kuroo dragged Kageyama to the side.

"Kenma, is Kuroo really so experienced that he can give advice about dating?" Hinata asked his friend, who seemed disinterested during the uproar, and was staring at his phone as usual.

"Not sure, he might be. He probably keeps it quiet. He is popular with girls. And he's always awfully interested in hearing about others' love life."

"So, Kageyama-kun, I didn't expect you to be the type who cares about love and dating." Nekoma's captain was interrogating Tobio in the other corner of the room.

"I'm not, not really."

"Then how did you end up with this girl? You asked her out, right?"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time, so I just went for it."

"Impressive. But do you have time for dating with the games coming up? Many great men have fallen before because they've lost their head for a woman."

"It's not like that. We just hang out at school. Why in the world would I put dating over volleyball?"

"Why did you ask her out, then? And before a tournament at that?" Kuroo was worried about Kageyama disregarding volleyball because of a girl, but apparently, it was the other way around.

Kageyama seemed reluctant to answer.

"C'mon, I won't tell anyone. Confide in your senpai." Kuroo said with a sinister attempt of a reassuring smile on his face.

"Whenever I talked with her, other guys were commenting on it, and it was getting annoying. So I figured that it was better to make her my girlfriend than deny it all the time." Kageyama admitted unwillingly.

"Buahaha, you're something different. Is she ok with that?"

"I guess? Actually, I think she asked me the same questions before she agreed. So she knows that I have neither time nor interest in dating."

"And what was her face when she heard that?"

"Ah...hm. I'm not sure." Kageyama became dismissive all of a sudden. He recalled Reina's face when he said that to her. Maybe she wasn't ok with it after all.

"That girl must like you. Otherwise, she wouldn't go with it."

"You think so? At first, I thought she agreed because she was bothered with other guys chasing after her."

"Hmm? Was it she that was bothered, or you?"

Kageyama fell silent, struck by sudden self-awareness.

"You like her, don't you?"

"Well, did you see her picture? And she's smart. Not only does she help me study, but, more importantly, when I talk to her about volleyball, she actually listens and makes insightful comments and..." Self-awareness was hitting Kageyama deeper and deeper.

"Does she know that you like her?"

"Umm... How would I know?"

"Well, did you tell her that? I think you're lucky to find someone who appreciates your dedication to volleyball. But if you don't treat her well, it might not last. You need to keep that fire burning."

"Huh?"

"Unless you actually don't care...."

"No. Please tell me what I should do, senpai."

"For starters, make sure she knows how you feel about her. That's crucial. Girls are very into that. Even if you don't have time to go out with her, at least text her sometimes to stay connected. And think of some other things to do with her besides talking about volleyball. Well, besides talking in general. She's your girlfriend, for God's sake."

"Osu, thank you for the advice," Kageyama said sincerely, but his face looked troubled.

"Cheer up, that's a real gem you snatched. Other guys will want you dead now." Kuroo finished his advisory session on a positive note.

Kageyama went back to his futon. He looked at his phone. Wow, now that he checked, he realized he didn't write to Takenaka almost at all. Let's try this.

"So, did you meet with your friends today?"

"Yeah, we just hung out at home."

And what was he supposed to write about now?

"How were the games today?" Takenaka wrote to him.

"Our stats are getting better. And we started to win some sets. But we still cannot overcome Nekoma."

"Fighting!'"

Kageyama wanted to write more about Nekoma, but then he reflected. It was about volleyball again. But what else should he write about? "Let her know how you feel." He couldn't figure that out even for himself.

"Takenaka, it is possible that I like..."

Erased...

"Takenaka-san, you are pretty and smart."

Somehow doesn't sound right. Erased...

"Reina-chan, you are..."

Too weird. Using chan made him think of Oikawa's annoying habit. Erased...

"Reina,..."

It was still uncomfortable. Erased...

He looked at her picture again. He didn't think to ask for one before, but he was happy to have it.

"Thank you for that picture. You look really pretty."

Send. Oh, she read the message immediately!

"..."

1 minute, 2 minutes, 4 minutes. No response. Did I make her mad somehow?

"Thanks :)"

"They are turning down the lights now. Good night."

"Good night :)"