Haikyuu!! Tobio's Girl. Chapter 6

It was long after class and most of the clubs finished their meetings already. The cloakroom was getting empty. But Reina dawdled. Instead of going out, she peeked from behind a column at the people passing through the school's gate.

"Takenaka, what are you doing?"

She jumped, startled. But she knew that voice.

"Oh, it's you, Kageyama," she said with relief.

It was a while since they talked. After Kageyama and Hinata failed their tests, she met them and Yachi once to help them study for the makeup. But she was coerced to help Hinata with English this time around. It made her question why she got into this in the first place. Later, she only heard from Yachi about dramatic events in the volleyball club, but she didn't yet talk with Kageyama himself. He was disinterested in class like before and didn't seem to give her much attention either.

She looked around anxiously.

"You're acting weird. Why?" Kageyama asked.

"It's complicated."

He kept staring at her expectantly.

"Ok, well... do you know Yamato from class 4?"

"No idea who that is."

"He's the top student in our year—he scored top in most of the exams. But since I scored top in science, he came to see me a few times. At first, he seemed angry that a girl had beaten him. Afterward, it only got weirder, like he wanted to study with me. Or, according to him, teach me. And saying some stupid things like 'elite people should hang out with the elite.' Anyway, I'm trying to avoid him because he caught me walking home last time, and it was dreadful." She thought back to half an hour walk when she could only nod to Yamato's continuous boasting, unable to speak up. Acting like a timid, soft-spoken girl was a chore sometimes.

Kageyama was still looking at her without a word, his head bending more and more sideways in bewilderment.

"Because I was trying to walk a bit home. As an exercise, you know. But I certainly don't want his company along." She finally stopped talking. Wait, why am I ranting about other guys to Kageyama? It's pretty embarrassing. What would he think of me?

It was just not her day. Recently everything seemed so tedious. Earlier, she planned to impress Kobayashi-senpai with food that she made in Home Ec class. But when she saw how much he received from other girls and was giving it away to his friends, she decided she didn't want to be a part of that. It wasn't a charming event she envisioned. And this Yamato guy, she loathed him. Miyako and Sawako were envious that he talked to her. He was quite popular. But she just couldn't stand that arrogant prick.

"Are you sure you're ok to walk home alone?" was Kageyama's retort.

"I'm not a preschooler! I can manage. I need to anyway. Get accustomed to normal things. I've told you that I'm healthy now. I just need to get stronger." Now she felt stupid for talking about 2km walking challenges to someone who spends hours a day in intensive training.

"What are you doing here anyway, Kageyama? Is volleyball club over?" she asked to change the subject. He was still in training clothes, though.

"Oh, right. Do you know if the staff meeting has finished?"

"I saw no teachers leaving yet, so I don't think so."

Kageyama looked disappointed. "Yachi had to go home early today, so I wanted to check if Takeda-sensei was free. I need help with something. Everyone else is busy." Then he looked at her, and his face brightened up.

"You!" he shouted as he rapidly approached, smashing a hand into the wall next to her. "Are you free? Didn't you say that you're not in a rush to go home?"

"Well, I have some time," she said, with her heart pounding unexpectedly. What's the deal with kabedon?

"And you wanted some exercise, right? Some movement? Are you sure you're feeling ok?"

"I'm fine!" she answered, irritated, but what kind of movement was he implying?

"Then can you please come along with me, just for a little bit?" he asked politely, but there was an intensity in his eyes.

"O... ok", she didn't dare to say no.

"Great! Follow me, then."

She went after him. But she couldn't stop thinking about the weirdness of it all.

They've reached the main gym. Reina took off her shoes and hesitantly entered after Kageyama. She saw some guys bouncing a ball from the wall and another group sitting together and watching something.

"Sorry to intrude," she said, looking at the floor. Suddenly everyone fell quiet. She heard some whispers and subdued laughter.

"Wait here a moment," Kageyama said and started to set some bottles under the net.

Other guys nodded their heads in welcome and were looking at her curiously. She felt completely out of place.

"Oi, guys. Focus!" the volleyball team captain said, and everyone went back to what they were doing.

"Ok. It's ready," Kageyama said after aligning bottles in a straight row. "Now. Please stand here near the cart. And all you need to do is throw a ball over my head."

"Eee..."

"Can you?"

"I'll try." She realized it was the first time she held a volleyball in her hands. She threw it. It went where it was supposed to, but she knew it wasn't good.

"Sorry," she said.

"It's ok, but can you please throw it slower, like a parabola? Try with your hands coming from below."

Soon she caught the rhythm and was throwing one after another. Kageyama, on the other hand, was having a hard time. It didn't go his way. At first, she didn't understand what the drill was about, but she figured it out after looking for a while. She was shocked that Kageyama thought he could learn it. The skill was unhuman.

"Ugh!" he signed after another missed shot. "Next one, please."

"Um... I need to gather them first," Reina answered and started to pick up the balls. The ball cart was already empty.

"Oh... you rest. I'll pick them up," Kageyama said.

Reina looked at the clock, and then outside, the sun had already set.

"It's done. We can resume". Kageyama had already picked up all the balls and was waiting for her.

"Right..."

"Is everything okay?" he looked at the clock. "Is it this hour already? Sorry. Do you need to go now?"

"Oh, I don't have any plans," she said. "It's nothing... I just never went home this late. That's all," she admitted unwillingly. After I said all those things about managing by myself.

"Don't worry. I'll walk you home." He said as if it was the most obvious thing ever. "We can take the bus if you want."

Reina looked at him, surprised. Well, they did live not far from each other.

"We can stay a bit longer then," she said.

Kageyama practiced till they threw all the balls once more. Then he told her to wait for him at the gate as he and his teammates started to tidy up. She was surprised to see him come to her so quickly.

"Kageyama," she heard another player call him, "are you coming with us to Sakanoshita to grab something to eat?"

"Not tonight, sorry," Kageyama answered.

"Right. I see. Bye!" was the response. Did Reina imagine, or did she hear some giggling too?

When she arrived at the bus stop with Kageyama, they realized they needed to wait for the next one to come.

"We could have gone to the store after all," he said.

"If you're hungry... " Reina pulled out the onigiri that she made at Home Ec class.

Kageyama's eyes lit up.

"Seriously?! Itadakima... But you need to eat some too. You need food to get stronger," he said

"Ok." She took one piece and gave the rest to him. He devoured them in 3 bites.

"That was really good, thank you."

Reina wondered why she couldn't stop smiling.

They rode the bus and got out in silence. Kageyama seemed to be lost in thought.

"What are you thinking about, Kageyama?"

"The set. I cannot make it right."

"I'm astonished that you're even trying something so complex. I mean, to make a ball go in a straight line and die off in an exact location, you need to apply different forces and spin for each location to take advantage of drag and make the ball fall. Although I understand the mechanics, I don't know how you can control it with your fingers. I mean, the Magnus effect on the spin direction alone is..." Reina realized she was nerding out, so she stopped. Nobody likes that. Especially in a girl." Sorry..."

"It's ok. I have no idea what you're saying, but if I listen more, it might help to visualize it." Kageyama was looking at her expectantly. She hesitated only for a second, then kept talking all the way home.

"Thank you for practicing with me today, although I dragged you into this. I keep owing you favors." Kageyama said, abashed. She didn't expect to see that expression on him. It was cute.

"It's ok. Let's say I'm doing it for the sake of the Karasuno volleyball team. I hope to have fun at your matches again." She said with a smile and waved him goodbye. Yes, she was doing it for the team. She almost skipped to the door. She didn't understand why she was in such a good mood.