Chapter 17, Just a Club

THIRD POV

Time went by, and the girls were having fun at the camp so far. Being with the boys made them confident as they train with them, and polish each others' skills. Pointing out their mistakes, weakness, and strongest. It wasn't awkward for the parties, in fact they felt like a big family. Volleyball connected them in a way, having to share experiences and whatnot. They survived the first day of the training camp.

Shirome finished showering, wearing black shorts and a black shirt. She went to the other building where the girls are waiting, but she heard someone call out to her.

"Shiro!"

Turning around, she saw a giddy owl waving at her with a big grin.

"Kou, keep your voice down," She laughed and approached him.

"Sorry! Anyway, can you come block for me?" He pouted, making puppy eyes.

Shirome almost teared up, so she pinched Koutarou's cheek on her tiptoes. He was taken aback and stared, flustered. She laughed, "Who could resist such a cute owl?"

He grinned widely and scooped her over his shoulder, he carried her with one hand and took her inside the gym.

He ran to a side of the gym, the guy stared wide eyed. Koutaro looked like he kidnapped a girl.

Placing her down softly, she stumbled a little and held her forehead. Koutaro's face paled, "S-Shiro are you okay?!"

"Kind of?" She blinked and straightened herself. She looked up and saw guys staring at her.

"Koutarou, you have some guys to block you. Why did you drag me here?" She turned to Koutaro who just noticed how the guys stared at her.

"Well, I need more than one person block. Kuro is training Lev, Tsukki is the only one blocking," He explained.

"Oh, I see."

"Bokuto-san, are you really going to let Shiro-san play in that outfit?" Akaashi blankly said, taking a sip from his bottle.

"Ah!" He took off his one long knee pad and shyly offered it to Shirome.

"It won't cover both, but it can support one of your knees atleast," He grinned, blushing slightly.

"Thank you, Kou. This is why you're my favorite ace," She said and wore the knee pad.

Tsukishima from afar, "Gross. Isn't that kneepad covered in his sweat?"

Her brows shot up as she saw how the knee pad fit her right leg.

Wait if this fit me, it must have been tight on Koutaro. She thought, impressed.

She approached Tsukishima's side as Koutaro ran to the other side. They began playing.

"Tsukki, right? Koutaro calls you that. It must be nice to have a name like the moon," She smiled, Tsukishima put his hand infront of his face, she was too bright.

"Well, no. It's actually Tsukishima," He said, looking away.

She hummed, "Nice to meet you, Tsukki. I'm not that experienced in blocking, so I apologize in advance if I mess up."

He scoffed, "You literally blocked a simpleton on your first encounter with him. Or was it your first?" He squinted at her and brought his face closer to her, checking if she lies.

She tilted her head slightly, "I don't think so, no," She said unfazed, her breath fanning Tsukishima's face.

Strawberry toothpaste? How childish. He thought as he pulled away and fixed his glasses with his finger.

Koutarou saw the encounter and loudly cleared his throat to get their attention. Kuro snickered at him, Akaashi sighed and rolled his eyes, Lev just stared in confusion.

"Akaashi, give me a good toss!" He threw the ball up to Akaashi.

"Here you go!" Akaashi said as he tossed to the hyper owl.

He jumped and spiked the ball, the two blockers jumped as well. Tsukishima read his attack so Shirome was calm, but Koutarou spiked on the line. Line shot.

He kept spiking and celebrating his spike, Akaashi complimented him boredly.

"You know you just beat two blockers, right? Not to mention they don't even look like they're taking you seriously," Akaashi sighed, feeling bored.

"Shut up," He pouted at Akaashi.

Shirome and Tsukishima exchanged looks and turned to Koutarou, "Uh, no. You spike really well, we can't just match up to it," She lied but coughed after, confirming that they were holding back. Tsukishima cringed at how much of a bad liar she is.

He whined for a few moments, Akaashi had to deal with him. His eyes were twitching out of annoyance but Koutarou still continued. Until Kuro came.

"Well, how about three?" He said, standing at Shirome's left side.

Suddenly I feel smaller. The smaller captain shivered.

The small phoenix and tall crow glanced at the back, they saw Lev sprawled on the floor in his own sweat puddle.

"Is he okay?" Shirome was about to approach him but Tsukishima held her wrist.

He rolled his eyes, "He's probably dead, leave him be."

She nodded hesitantly and faced the other side of the net.

Koutarou threw the ball to Akaashi which he tossed, he jumped and the blockers followed.

In slow motion, he looked to the side, Shirome almost snickered at how obvious he was. Kuro noticed too and smirked. He blocked the way where he was going to spike.

"Uuey," Kuro cheered with a smirk. Shirome scoffed along with Tsukishima as they simultaneously rolled their eyes with Akaashi.

"Damn it!" The owl captain whined.

Shirome just watched, amused. She sighed as she ducked under the net and went to Akaashi.

"If you're tired or bored, and maybe both, I can cover for you," She patted Akaashi's shoulder lightly as she watched the boys bicker.

Akaashi sighed, "Please do."

She smiled at him as he went to drink again, a slight blush on his cheeks.

"Koutarou, Keiji took a water break. I'll be tossing for you for now," She said and grabbed the ball on the ground.

"Yes ma'am!" He saluted and caught the ball Shirome gave him.

This goes on for a few times, Akaashi hummed as he watched Shirome's movements. He was amazed at how she can easily pair up with his captain.

Suddenly, Kuro said something that kind of pissed Tsukishima off. Shirome just awkwardly stood there, blinking.

Akaashi approached them as Tsukishima left when others entered, "Looks like you said something to piss him off, Kuro-san."

"Tsukki-san looks like he doesn't enjoy volleyball, does he?" Shirome sweatdropped and said softly. The other hummed, agreeing.

Yaku yelled at Lev as other players entered the gym, joining the block for Koutaro.

"I'll go after him, I feel kind of sad," She told Koutaro, he was about to stop her and tell her to stay but Akaashi stopped him, shaking his head.

•

"Tsukki!" The girl jogged as she called out. He stopped just before he was about to enter their room.

Tsukishima raised a brow at her and she stared for a while. He was a little uneasy, "What are you staring at, creep?"

"Creep? I'm not a creep," She frowned.

He sighed and leaned on a wall with his arms crossed, "What are you doing here? This is the boys' building, you know."

"I wanted to ask if you're fine. You left with a pissed off face," She said as she leaned on the wall opposite to him.

"I'll tell you if you stopped staring at me like that," He frowned.

"Like what?"

"Like a creep," He huffed.

She sighed and looked at her side, "Is this fine?"

"Yeah," He snickered quietly to himself. The reason why he didn't want her staring is because her stare seemed to look through his soul. It creeped him out, but he couldn't help but feel captivated.

Her eyes were sharp but clear. Heavy, but soft. Bright, but slightly michievous. Not to mention her red eyes, it made her intimidating. Even though she looks childish, but matured.

"You heard right? He told me that if I don't do better, Hinata will outshine me. But like, I don't really care? It's normal, really. His job is to take the spotlight. I'm not the slighest bothered by that fact," He rolled his eyes.

She hummed, "It's bad to constantly think you're inferior, you know? But Tsukki, it won't hurt to be a little competitive. It's nice to see your own hard work pay off if you put effort. Whether it's just one block, or one spike. Shoyo is like that because he wants to prove everyone that he is a good player but that doesn't mean you have the same reason to display a better performance. Competing with an ally motivates both parties. You're more, more capable than you look."

Tsukishima was silent. Her words sunk and made him feel slightly annoyed, but he can't deny that she has a point.

He sighed and lightly rubbed his eyes, "What's the point besides that? This is just a club."

She smiled and looked down, "Yeah, this is just a club. It still isn't enough reason not to play better though."

"Right," He slightly yawned, "I'm tired. I'll go take a shower and sleep after. Unless you still want to follow me there?" He raised a brow.

Shirome looked at him straight in the eyes, "Why would I?"

"Nothing," He looked away.

"Okay," She hummed and walked near him. He slightly flinched when he felt her pat his shoulder.

"Have a nice night, Tsukki. I'm looking forward for tomorrow."

She left him and he lingered outside a little longer. The girl was awfully a little motivating. He frowned and continued to make his way to the bath.

Even if I did play better, the results are the same in the end.

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