Haikyuu!! Tobio's Girl Chapter 13

"Yes, this outfit might be the best so far. However, you haven't yet tried all of the clothes in your closet," Haruo, Reina's older brother was having a blast observing her excited preparations.

"Oh, just shut up!" Reina checked herself in the mirror one last time and rushed to the door. It was late, but she still should make it right on time.

"I'm leaving now." She said to her brother.

"Have fun, I guess," he wished her unwillingly. "But behave yourself. High school boys can be such dogs. Remember you can always call me-"

"Oh, not every guy is a womanizer like you. See you later."

She briskly took off to the station, but she was stopped in her tracks by her phone ringing.

She checked. It was Kageyama. Oh no, what if he wants to cancel... She answered it anxiously.

"Reina, forgive me. I'm really, really sorry. But I lost track of time in the gym, and I only got home now. I don't think I'll get to the station on time. Can we still go if we catch the next train?"

He didn't cancel, at least. And she sort of liked that reckless, anxious tone. Usually, he seemed so formal.

"It should be fine if we go with the next one. It comes in 35 minutes."

"Ok. If you're on your way already, you can stop by my house, and we can go together. I don't want you to wait alone in the cold. Again, I'm so sorry."

It made sense. It was a bit chilly. Reina changed direction, and in 10 minutes, she was at his house.

His sister opened the door, again. But this time she was with a suitcase and ready to leave.

"Hello, Reina-chan." Miwa welcomed her with a wide smile. "Tobio, Reina-chan is here already!" she called into the house.

"Oh, that boy... He should be picking you up, not the other way around. But Tobio is Tobio, so please forgive him. So you guys are going to see the illuminations?"

"Well, that's the plan," Reina answered excitedly.

"Nice. Oh, if you two still have time, you can eat some of the birthday cake Mom bought. It's in the kitchen, so help yourself. As you can see, I'm about to leave. Mum and Dad had some emergency at the company, so they had to go there."

A car parked outside the house.

"That's my ride. And where's Tobio? Honestly, I don't know where's his head at today. I even had to make him change, or he would go out with you in his tracksuit. But the last time I saw him, he was ready and waiting in the living room. Anyway, I need to go. Have a nice evening. Bye, bye," she said with a wink and was gone.

The house became quiet.

"Kageyama, are you there?" she called.

No response. She took off her shoes and went into the living room.

He was there alright. Sitting on a couch, all ready to go. It was the first time she'd seen him in casual clothes. He, or probably Miwa, had good taste.

The only problem was that he was asleep.

"Tobio?" she tried calling him softly.

"Tobio... Kageyama! Wake up!" Still nothing.

Ok, so let's try it his way. She touched his face hesitantly. He mumbled something and turned his head to the side. He furrowed his brow but didn't wake up.

Resigned, she flopped onto an armchair and checked the time. And what was she supposed to do with him now? They had to leave in 5 minutes. To make it on time, she would have to shake him or shout at him and drag him to the station. She didn't want to do that. She knew he was exhausted, pushing himself the hardest to prepare for nationals. She worried she might get him sick if she treated him that way.

Reina sighed. She should have known better. This date didn't have much chance to succeed from the beginning.

She felt sorry, nonetheless. She wrapped her hands around her legs and stared at him, trying hard not to cry.

Should I go home now? It was still early. She didn't want to go back just to hear the mocking from her brother. If Kageyama wakes up soon, they could still do something. She wanted at least to say goodbye to him and give him his present.

After struggling with disappointment for a few more minutes, she stood up with resolve. She wouldn't give up on spending this evening with Tobio. She took off her coat and turned on the TV. Maybe this will make him wake up on his own.

"This time of year has come again. Time for that special experience with a special someone. Come and visit our Christmas-"

She changed the channel...

"To get into a romantic mood, lets-"

Another channel...

"In tonight's program, we will rank the best places to go on a date in Tokyo..."

It was as if the TV was trying to depress her personally. She looked around and saw a stack of DVDs. She checked the titles:

"World championship 2006", "Vleague Finals 2010", "Brazil, Olympic gold 2004"...

She took the first one from the stack and paused over a DVD player. Is she really going to watch volleyball matches on her own? Well, it's possible it would wake Tobio up.

She put the DVD in and pressed play.

It didn't have much effect on Kageyama, but watching volleyball put her more at ease. Finally, her mood lifted enough that she started to think about food. After hesitating a little, she decided to order delivery. They were supposed to go to dinner anyway, right?

8i8

Kageyama woke up to the smell of fried chicken. He was even more surprised when he saw Reina sitting next to him and munching on a piece while watching the volleyball world championship.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Oh, you woke up. So the food worked," she said, throwing him a glance.

"Did I fall asleep?"

"As you can see."

"But how? I sat down just for a minute because I needed to catch a breath after running home from practice, changing, and.... The date! Weren't we supposed to go to the city? What time is it?"

"We were. It's too late for that now."

"Why didn't you wake me up?!"

"I did try. But even touching your face didn't help, and I thought slapping you would be a bit too much," she said, continuously staring at the TV.

"But didn't you really want to go, to see the lights and all?"

"I don't want to talk about it." She still wouldn't look at him. Kageyama wondered what she was thinking. Her condition, check her condition. He looked at her closely. She sat curled up, and her back was almost trembling. She was looking intently at the screen, and it seemed she was holding her breath. Other than that, she looked especially beautiful, dressed up in a skirt and a fluffy sweater. He remembered how happy she was when he asked her out. Crap, I messed up. I messed up badly.

"I'm so, so sorry. Force of habit, I usually nap after training. You should have woken me up, even if you had to punch me. Maybe we still can go out and do something?" he said with a tortured expression on his face. Reina finally looked at him.

"It's ok. We can stay here. I mean, if it's ok with you. I can go home if you're tired," she said.

"No, please stay! But are you sure you're fine with this?"

"Well, at least we get to hang out on our own for a bit. That's rare in itself." Good, she smiled. Although, it wasn't that super happy smile he had seen before.

"You've chosen a great match," he said while looking at the screen, "but are you sure you want to watch volleyball?"

"Don't you dare change to a TV program!"

"O... osu." He looked at the food.

"Oh, just eat. You must be hungry. You always are."

"Itadakimasu."

8i8

They finished eating and just kept watching the match. Oddly, Kagayema wasn't commenting on the game. And he was glancing at her every few minutes. They both were very rigid. It wasn't much fun. Then Reina remembered something. She jumped up to get her bag and reached inside.

"Um, Tobio... Congrats on your birthday. This is for you." she said, awkwardly giving him a present.

"Oh... You didn't have to. Thank you." He unwrapped it."Eee... It's a book?" He tried hard to hide his lack of enthusiasm. As she thought, giving books to Kageyama was a risky business. But his expression changed when he took a look at the cover. "It's about volleyball! But this is in English. Pass...Set and..um.."

"Pass, Set, and Crush. You said that you want to play on an international level, so I thought a book in English would be good for you. It has a lot of diagrams and pictures anyway. And I can always help you if you don't understand something," she said casually as if it wasn't her secret plan to make Kageyama spend a lot of time with her under the pretense of studying the book. She wasn't desperate. Not at all.

"Seriously? I'll be grateful. Though the terminology is the same." He was studying some diagrams from the book already. "Thank you, I like it a lot. I didn't expect a present, especially one volleyball-connected," he said.

"Well, to tell the truth, I wanted to give you something more couple-like... I mean, more typical! And I did get you one more present, but I wonder what your reaction will be. Look inside"

Kageyama searched through the wrappings and pulled out a little box. He opened it. Inside there was a tiny charm shaped like a black crown. He looked at Reina askingly.

"I just... I thought it would be fun to have some matching items. Look, I have mine there," she pointed at her bag. Hers was in rose gold. "It was hard to find something suitable. Everything was so cringingly sweet. But then I saw this, and I thought it'll be the best for the King." She laughed anxiously.

"I thought I told you once why I don't like being called the King."

"Yes, you did. But I thought you came to terms with it after the last match with Dateko."

"Well, maybe... But still..."

"So you just want to forget about it? Should you even?"

"It was the worst thing that ever happened to me. I cannot forget it even if I wanted to."

"Worst thing, huh? Some people have all the luck," she said, rubbing her chest. Tobio remembered what she once told him about her childhood. "The way I think of it... Life isn't fair, and you cannot decide what struggles it throws at you. Sometimes you just want to forget the past. But if you run away and never deal with it, it won't get better. It's how you respond to those struggles that define you. And I know them calling you King in middle school was mean, but... wasn't it on the point, kind of?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, being a king is the opposite of doing everything by yourself. And isn't that something you should remember as a setter?" Reina asked teasingly.

"I guess you're right." He kept looking at the little crown. A smile, of the sinister kind, showed up on his face. "I think I'll put it on my bag too. It's a good reminder of many things, good and bad. Reina, you're so thoughtful."

"Well, to be honest, I didn't think about it that much. I just wanted a crown too. I'm kind of tired of people calling me a gentle princess. I want to move up in life."

"I never understood why they call you that." Kageyama smiled at her.

She forced herself to smile back. The atmosphere was better now. But she wondered if that is how a date is supposed to be. She appreciated Kageyama as an athlete. She really did. She was even glad they could talk so openly. For sure, they were friends now. But why did thinking about it make her heart hurt?

The match was still playing. Tobio started commenting on it.

"Look at that setter. No matter how askew the receive is, he still gets the ball to a perfect spot."

"Right, I can see that." Discussing the game together—the same thing they usually did at school. Why did I expect anything different?

But something was slightly different. Kageyama seemed restless as if he couldn't sit still. And she could feel that he was glancing at her when she was looking at the screen, but he wouldn't meet her gaze. Then he stood up.

"I'll bring us something to drink, and cake... you want some cake?" he said and left for the kitchen.

Soon, Kageyama came back with tea and cake. He sat down closer to her than before.

"Oh, pay attention now. Those are the best rallies of the whole game," he said while pointing at the screen. Then he put his hand on the backrest behind Reina. She stiffened. Is Kageyama trying to make a move on me?

Warily, she leaned forward to get her drink. No way, right? Although she was his "girlfriend" for a while now, she wasn't sure if he even liked her that way. Nervously, she slowly moved back to rest on her seat. Kageyama's hand moved to her shoulder. She tensed up when she felt his touch. Quite aware of that, she tried to loosen up. She dared a glance at Kageyama. He was looking back at her with a genuine, not creepy, smile. He's too close! She looked back at the screen. But she couldn't get over the look on his face. She just had to ask; she had to. There was no other way to figure out what was in Kageyama's head but to ask directly.

"Tobio, what are you so happy about?" She gave him a nervous glance.

"Because you didn't run away."

"Huh?" She looked at him, confused.

"You know how sometimes you would see a cat or other fluffy animal, and you just want to stroke them?"

"Huh?!"

"Whenever I want to stroke an animal, they run away, as if I scared them... But you didn't."

Reina stared at him, completely stunned. Suddenly she started to laugh hysterically. "You know I'm not a pet, I hope," she said when she regained her composure.

"I know! But you look so fluffy. I mean your sweater. And your hair seemed so soft that I wanted to touch it so badly. Sorry..." He moved away.

"Hmm... it's fine though." She cuddled up to his side, letting her guard down completely. Hesitantly he put his hand back on her shoulder and started to play with her hair. They watched the rest of the match, feeling very fuzzy inside.

"Do you want to watch something else?" Kageyama asked when it ended.

"I think I should go. It would get late if we watched another one." She stood up reluctantly.

"I'll walk you home." He said and started to get ready to leave too.

She put on her coat and shoes and waited for him at the entrance.

"I knew it, no hat, no scarf, you never put them on, do you?" He said when he saw her.

"Well, it's not that cold," she said.

"Yes, it is. Here, this is for you." He gave her something packed in a fancy bag.

"You didn't have to get me anything. It's your birthday, after all," she said while eagerly taking it.

"But I'm supposed to get you something for Christmas, right?"

"What is it? What is it?" She reached into the bag and pulled out a super soft, knitted hat with cat-like ears and a matching scarf. "I'd never think you'd buy me something so cute! But cat ears? I'm starting to sense a pattern here." she said, chuckling.

"Well... when I saw it, I thought it would suit you because it's cute. Here..." He put the hat on her head and wrapped her in the scarf. "Now, we can go."

When they were outside, she deliberately slowed down her step. She knew she should get home soon but didn't want to part with Tobio. She didn't know if he felt the same way, but he matched her pace.

"Hmm. I guess there's no chance we will see snow today." She looked at the sky, disappointed. If it at least snowed, the date would regain that romantic Christmas spirit she longed for. She was still sorry that they didn't go to see illuminations. Maybe I'm too greedy. Tobio even got her a present. She put her face deeper into that fluffy scarf. And he did show her some affection, although his reasoning for that was well... Am I his cat or his girlfriend?!

''Do you like snow that much? I can't say that I do." Kageyama said.

"But wouldn't it be pretty and rom... I mean, Christmas-like if it was snowing?"

Kageyama looked at her doubtfully.

"Never mind. It won't snow today. The sky is so clear." she said.

"Oh, you're right," he admitted looking up.

"I have an idea." He stopped suddenly and looked at her. "Can you come with me for a bit? I want to show you something. Though we will need to climb a little."

"Ok," she was glad to prolong their time together. He led her to a street going up a woody hill. They started climbing, but halfway, he turned to a trail leading into the surrounding woods. It was dark.

"Are you sure we should go there?" she asked anxiously.

"It's safe. Trust me," Tobio said and took her hand. She liked that. Now she followed him without any questions.

"Oh, I was right. It's a good night for this. Look," he said when they came out on a little clearing on the other side of the hill. There were no lights below them, and above, they could see multitudes of stars. The place seemed bright with their light.

"Wow!" Reina was in awe.

"Do you like it?" he said, looking at her instead of the view.

"It's amazing. But how did you find it?"

"While running. I often sprint up this hill. It doesn't look like this always. You need a clear sky. So I hope you're not disappointed with the lack of snow anymore."

"I've never seen anything like this," she said with her head raised up high. Kageyama stood behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. She twitched.

"Oh, it's just in case. So you don't fall down the hill. A normal person wouldn't, but you're so terribly clumsy."

"Hey! That wasn't ni-" She turned around to him and stopped mid-word. Tobio was looking straight into her eyes. His face was so close, just right above hers.

Then it was closer.

She didn't move back.

And closer.

She didn't want to move back.

Tobio's lips met hers hesitantly at first, but he was more daring with every kiss. She didn't mind. They were kissing and kissing as if they couldn't break off from each other.

They stopped only when they heard rustling noises from above.

"Who is there at this late hour?" someone called.

They looked at each other in panic. Then Kageyama grabbed her hand and led her running down the trail.

Suddenly they were again on a well-lit street with cars and people passing by. They felt so self-conscious that they even stopped holding hands.

"So... your house is that way, I think." Kageyama pointed down the street.

"No, the opposite."

They slowly started to go in the right direction. But no matter how slow they tried to walk, they reached Takenaka's residence eventually.

"About today... sorry once again that it didn't go as we planned." Kageyama turned to look at her. "Oh, you're smiling."

"Hmm?"

"Nothing. Have a nice holiday." He looked pleased.

"We won't see each other before the tournament, so good luck with your matches. I will definitely watch you play, so go get them."

"Osu! Hmm..." Tobio moved closer to her. Maybe he wanted to kiss her again, but he stopped in his tracks when a car drove past them. He laced his hands with hers instead. They just stood like that for a while.

"It's getting late. You should go home and rest. You have training in the morning," she said.

"You're right. Sorry about falling asleep before."

"It's ok. I had a good time. I mean..." Reina blushed. "Anyway, message me. And good luck once again."

"Thanks, you go in first."

"Okay... Bye, bye..." Reina reluctantly let go of his hand and went inside. She ran straight into her room and buried her head in pillows to cover up her squeak. Who cares about illuminations and Christmas dates. Kageyama kissed her! He kissed her. And it was better than she could ever imagine. She felt shivers when she thought of it.

8i8

Tuesday, in the Karasuno Volleyball Club room.

"Ah, this special night. I wish I had a girlfriend to go out with." Tanaka was dreaming aloud. "Kageyama, did you plan something with your girlfriend?"

"She went abroad for the winter break already. But we've met on Sunday."

"Nice. Where did you guys go?"

"We planned to go to the city, to see illuminations and go out to eat..."

"Kageyama, you bastard. Having a legitimate date. Right before a tournament at that."

"But we ended up staying home and watching volleyball."

"Oh, right. It's you we're talking about. I wonder why she still puts up with you? Wasn't she disappointed?"

"Hmm, was she? I wonder about it... " Kageyama replied with a smile.

"Kageyama, you bastard!"