"YER A CHEATER, 'TSUMU!!"...

"AM NOT!! I WON FAIR AND SQUARE! TELL 'EM, SHŌYŌ-KUN!"

"shōyō, I should've won, right? don't ever be afraid to call 'tsumu out on his shit", osamu stated.

     "u-umm...I...I..."

     "don't forget who's clothes yer wearin' right now", osamu darkly whispered.

     "I'll set to ya anytime ya want if ya tell him I'm right", atsumu bargained.

     'oh shit! my very own setter?!'

     "YOU MEAN IT?! YOU'LL SET TO ME WHENEVER?!", shiyumi asked.

"HEY! THAT'S NOT FAIR!! YER BRIBING HIM!", osamu complained.

"WELL YA WERE DOIN' THE SAME!", atsumu rebutted.

"SHŌYŌ, WHAT DO YA SAY?!", both twins aggressively questioned.

     "o-ohhh, look at the time!! I think it's time to go to bed, since call time is eight in the morning. too bad, guess we'll have to play another day", shiyumi awkwardly chuckled.

     osamu muttered something beneath his breath, as suna also got up to leave.

"have a goodnight and see you two tomorrow!!", shiyumi waved.

"see ya tomorrow", osamu replied, before slamming the door.

shiyumi then texted kozume to tell him that the other two inarizaki members had left.

"you know, oikawa-san's been in the shower for a long tim—"

"I was just enjoying my bath without the annoying chitter-chattering of those who aren't supposed to be here. no need to worry, chibi-chan", oikawa suddenly appeared, looking all refreshed and relaxed.

"well that's good to hear! I'll get ready for bed first then", shiyumi proclaimed, as she went to go brush her teeth.

once kozume had returned, the rest of them were already dead asleep, except for shiyumi, who seemed to struggle to find her usual comfort position.

"is something wrong?", kozume quietly asked.

"oh nothing...I think I'm just feeling a little homesick, that's all", shiyumi answered, laying flat on her back, as she stared at the boarded bed above hers.

"homesick?"

"yeah...natsu, my little sister, usually always sneaks into my room and sleeps with me", the girl explained.

     "umm...I'm not really good at comforting people. usually kuroo's better at talking....", kozume honestly admitted.

"it's alright, kenma. it's not a big deal anyways. I'm sure I'll fall asleep in no time", shiyumi assured, though kozume could tell that the girl was still wide awake with her downcast eyes.

     "I...I can stay beside you until you fall asleep...if you'd like...", kozume muttered, as he was barely audible even though the room was filled with atsumu's inconsistent snores.

     shiyumi rotated her head towards the pudding-headed boy.

     "really?"

     kozume simply nodded, questioning his dignity for offering such a ridiculous idea in the first place.

     "then can you lay with me? I'd feel bad if I just made you squat beside my bed for a while", shiyumi innocently stated.

     kozume awkwardly crawled onto shiyumi's bed, laying beside her like a stiff board, as she cracked a small smile, gently clinging onto kozume's arm.

     "goodnight kenma", shiyumi mumbled.

     "g-goodnight".

ʚ♡⃛ɞ

     shiyumi was already up by 5 a.m, jogging around the center and stretching by herself.

     when the orange-haired girl had reached the gym, she had found kita already there, seemingly to be cleaning the bleachers and equipment.

     "OHAYO, KITA-SAN!", shiyumi cheerfully greeted, causing the stoic male to ever so slightly flinch.

"ohayo, hinata", kita calmly greeted, somewhat surprised by how early the latter was, considering the majority of the group was still asleep.

"sooooo, whatcha doin' this early in the morning?", shiyumi asked, skipping over to the gray-haired male.

"cleaning", kita simply answered.

"it's part of my routine".

"then can I help? breakfast doesn't start until 6:30 anyways", shiyumi stated, as currently her phone read 6:04 a.m.

"sure".

shiyumi then grabbed another towel and bottle of windex, spraying down the volleyball net poles.

"by the way, kita-san, do you know what 'samu likes?", shiyumi asked, as she sat opposite of the third-year, who was focusing on making sure there was no dirt on anything.

     'now that I actually look at him...he's not as intimidating as I thought he was. he's kinda cute like a fox', shiyumi mused to herself.

     "—nata? hinata!", kita called, bringing the girl out of her trance.

     "ah, yes?! sorry, what were you saying, kita-san?"

     "what were you thinking about? you didn't answer me for a while", the captain asked.

     "ah, nothing much! just thinking about how cute you—r volleyball was...yeah...the colors are real nice!", shiyumi chortled out, staring down at the towel, as she aggressively started wiping the pole clean.

     kita replayed the sentence in his head, displaying a small close-eyed smile.

     "you're quite the humorous one, hinata", kita commented.

     "ahaha...you think so?", the girl awkwardly laughed.

     "but to answer your previous question, osamu likes anything food based. specifically onigiris", kita responded.

     "onigiris??"

     kita nodded.

     "are you going to make some for him?"

     "oh, probably not. I'm not very skilled in the kitchen area", shiyumi said.

"I see..."

"how about you?", shiyumi asked.

"what about me?"

     "are you good in the kitchen? I feel like you would be the type to be good at making food", shiyumi stated.

"mm...I haven't really tried. usually my older sister or granny cooks for us", kita answered.

"huh? kita-san's not the oldest?"

"did I give off that impression?"

     "well...from afar, kita-san just looks very responsible and mature. it seems to me that your teammates hold you to the utmost respect as well, so I just thought that perhaps you're used to handling children and such", shiyumi shrugged.

     "a bit presumptuous of me, I suppose..."

     "not at all. though I must say, you're more attentive to your surroundings than I thought you were", kita admitted.

     shiyumi playfully gasped with her hand across her chest — almost in an offended manner.

     "is this your way of calling me an airhead?! I thought we were getting along, kita-senpai~ you truly wound me", shiyumi fake sniffled.

     kita tilted his head to the side.

     "my apologies if I offended you in any way".

     "I was just kidding, kita-san. you don't have to be sorry", shiyumi waved it off.

     "oh. in that case, I take back my apology", kita slightly teased.

     shiyumi childishly huffed.

     "meanie", she muttered.

     "what was that?"

     "n-nothing!! anyways, it's about time for breakfast. should we head to the cafeteria?", shiyumi asked, clearly starving.

     "I'm going to put these away first", kita stated.

     "I'll help! two people working together is faster than one", shiyumi insisted, hurrying to stack away the cleaning supplies, as kita just nodded.

     "say, kita-san, what's your favorite food?"

     "mm...maybe tofu hamburger?", the older one answered.

     "tofu hamburger??"

     "they're pretty good".

     "I like purin, ya know, the flan-like dessert?"

     "I've never tried it", kita said, causing shiyumi to loudly gasp.

     "kita-san, what a bitter life you've lived!! you should try one. it's really good. the caramel drizzled on top is like when you hit a ball perfectly! actually, why don't I just bring you one since I'm already buying 'samu onigiris? is that okay? I can give it to you after practice today", shiyumi rambled, as the two had started heading towards the rowdy cafeteria.

     "wouldn't that be troublesome?"

     "not at all! you must try the delicacy; I promise it's worth it!"

     before kita could say anything else, shiyumi was called over by nishinoya and tanaka.

     "oi, shōyō!! over here!", they two upperclassmen waved.

     "anyways, see you later, kita-san!", the orange-haired girl exclaimed, rushing over to get her food before practice officially starts.

     "later", kita mumbled.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: in case you couldn't tell who (one of) my favs are ^^^

anyways, please don't forget to comment and vote! thanks babes <33