astrella

;; ✑ 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗲 senior screenwriting student who spent most of her teenage years holed up like a hermit. shoujo romance girl living with perpetual imposter syndrome. rsbf but I honestly just don't know what to say.

𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄𝐒 video games, a good book, cute snacks, ballet, journalling, stickers.

𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄𝐒 loud noises, crowded places, misogyny, ai writing/art.

𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐒 fire emblem, collar x malice, one piece, haikyuu, cup noodles, my gaming set-up, cinnamonroll, pink, my boyfriend <3.

𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 ⇢ resident evil 4!

;; ✑ 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀

𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥. I can withstand criticism, writing is and will be my livelihood after all. But please address them calmly and respectfully. Don't use it as an excuse to attack me as a person.

𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞, 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐦𝐞. I won't take offense to it. But please also don't flood my DMs and ask box because you decided to read something of mine you didn't like. It's a waste of both of our time.

𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭, 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧. I am very protective of my writing and trust me. I will find you.

𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞! Start a conversation with me in the ask box. Especially if you know me from Wattpad, Ao3, or Tiktok! I'll do my best to get back to you, Just please don't trauma dump. I'm not a professional and quite frankly, I get stressed by it.

𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐦𝐞. I'm in my final semester of college, so there are a lot of things piling up. Capstone projects, internships, job searches, immigration documentation etc, etc. If it were up to me, I'd be writing fanfiction every day. But sadly, there are lots of other things in my life that take priority.

𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬. I haven't decided if I want to write 18+ or nsfw content yet. But if I do, please please please heed the warnings. I am not responsible for what you've actively chosen to ignore.

𝐁𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐞! Any form of racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, ableism, harassment or bullying (etc.) will not be tolerated.

To be added if necessary.

The ceremony went by relatively quickly. They walked the stage, sang the school anthem, then the student council president gave a farewell speech as a representative of the graduating students.

When Chiyo went on stage to receive her diploma, she was surprised to see her father sitting at the back of the gym, amongst the sea of parents with the proudest grin she’s ever seen. He had taken the morning off to be present at this major milestone in his daughter’s life. But alas, money didn’t make itself and the Amari family still needed to eat. So after a few heartfelt words, taking a couple of photos and giving her the tightest hug humanly possible, Chiyo’s father was back in the car on his way to work. 

Being a graduate meant she also had a half-day of school. So after seeing her father off, Chiyo spent some time with her friends and classmates. They took pictures with the teachers, signed each other’s yearbooks and spent their last hour or so reminiscing on the past three years they’d spent together. In which Chiyo spent most of her time wiping away her friends’ snot and tears with tissues.

Once the midday mark hit, her classmates said their final goodbyes. Everyone made promises that this wouldn’t be the last time they got together. She then went to go find Nishinoya, catching a glimpse of him and the other graduates in the volleyball gym, giving a few last words of encouragement and advice to their underclassman.

She hesitated at first, but in the end, decided to head home on her own. He was going to come over for dinner anyways and he deserved time to say a proper goodbye to the volleyball team he loved so much.

Chiyo squinted a little, holding a hand against her eyes to block out the glaring sunlight. She thought of her classmates and friends – people she’s grown accustomed to seeing every day. Soon, that routine will change and those people will melt into a distant memory. Maybe they’ll be dug up once or two per year to gather and reminisce over drinks and dinner. But otherwise, they will remain just that — a memory. A memory that’ll contribute to shaping who she’ll become in the future.

She then thought of Nishinoya. Unlike most of her classmates and friends, she’s known him for far longer. Sure, he will probably still drop by for dinner every now and then. But without the excuse of school and tutoring sessions, they probably wouldn’t be able to see each other as often as they used to. Someday, would Nishinoya become nothing but a distant memory as well? 

A pain began to swell within her chest.

Chiyo took a deep breath. She was about to shake off those nagging thoughts and continue on her way when a familiar voice suddenly called out to her from behind.

“Hey!”

Chiyo spun around, to see Nishinoya sprinting towards her at full speed with his messenger bag and certificate tube. He stopped in front of her, hunching over with his hands on his knees.

“Yuu?” Her eyes were wide.

“You… You just ran off!” Nishinoya panted, wiping some sweat from his chin. “I thought we were going to your place.”

“For dinner, tonight.” Chiyo raised an eyebrow. “It’s only midday. You can go home, you know.”

“But there’s nothing to do at home,” Nishinoya pouted as he stood up straight, readjusting his messenger bag over his shoulder. “We also don’t have any food. Well, we don’t have any instant noodles but you get the point.”

“My house isn’t a restaurant, Yuu.”

“See, you always say that but you end up feeding me anyways,” Nishinoya grinned cheekily.

“Fine,” heaving a sigh, she turned on her heel and began to walk. “What do you want?”

“Yaki udon!” Nishinoya cheered, following after her with a fist pump.

“Alright, alright,” Chiyo chuckled at his enthusiasm. “Can you pick Hotaru and Kaito up from school then? I wanna clean the house  before dinner.”

“Yeah, of course,” he nodded. “What are we having by the way?”

“Sushi. Dad said he’ll get some on the way home.”

“Oh, is Amari-san coming home early tonight?”

“Yeah,” a small smile grew on her face. “He was at the ceremony too.”

“Oh, I saw! He said hi to me as we were heading back to our classrooms,” he then stretched his arms upwards with a satisfied sigh. “Man, Eguchi-san’s speech was great.”

Chiyo's face fell.

“Especially that part about how life is like a song, except it’s all jumbled up. And graduating is getting the melody straight so we can spend the rest of our lives figuring out the lyrics. It’s such a great, erm…” He snapped his fingers. “What’s the word for that again?”

“Metaphor.”

“Yeah, that!” Nishinoya nodded. “Anyways, it was great! Super inspirational. But I guess that’s the student council prez for you.”

Chiyo’s eyes flickered to the ground. She stayed silent for a moment longer before finally asking, “So, what are your plans now?”

“I told you already, didn’t I?” Nishinoya raised an eyebrow. “I’m gonna keep working at gramps’ bike shop for a while to save up money.”

“I mean your travel plans, dummy.”

“Oh, that!” He laughed. “Right, I haven’t told you where I’ve decided yet. My first destination will be…” He rolled his tongue for a bit to imitate the sound of a drumroll. “... Peru!”

Chiyo dropped her school bag.

“South America?” She stopped and stared at him. “That’s… pretty far.”

“Well, I figured I might as well strike big on my first step, you know?” Nishinoya stopped a little ahead of her, glancing back with a huge grin. “Go big or go home!”

There was a brief pause.

“...Sounds exciting,” when Chiyo finally spoke, her voice was quiet yet honest. “It’s very… you.”

“Thanks!” Nishinoya then turned his attention toward the blue skies above and let out a deep sigh. “This is it then, huh? Like Eguchi-san said in her speech, it feels like the end of an era.”

Chiyo’s lips parted.

There it was again - that pain in her chest. That nagging fear that one day, Nishinoya would grow out of her reach, like the fleeting pink petals caught in a breeze. Her hands clammed up around the plastic certificate tube.

“I like you.”

The words came out before she even had the time to process them and Nishinoya’s eyes went wide.

“What?” His words were barely audible as he turned to face her fully.

“I said I like you.”

“Chiyo-”

“I know,” before he even had the chance to respond, Chiyo cut him off and covered her face. “I know this is selfish of me. And I know it’s unfair 'cause you’ve asked me out so, so many times but I just…” She could feel her nose sore. “I don’t know…. I just… I didn’t think I deserved all that time and energy you wasted on me all these years.”

“And I also knew you wanted to travel the world and that just… it just wasn’t in my plans for the future,” she crouched down, trying to hold back the tears that stung at the rim of her eyes. “I was supposed to stay in Japan for the rest of my life. Get into some big corporate company and slave away until I die. So we would’ve been long distance. Like super long distance… I just… I can’t handle that. But now things are different and I…” she choked. “I can’t imagine a future without you.”

The cherry blossoms rustled as Chiyo pressed the base of her palms into her eyes to stop the tears from leaking out.

“It’s okay if you don’t like anymore,” she whispered. “It’s okay if you’ve moved on. I just want you to stay in my life, even if it’s-”

But before she could finish that sentence, a pair of arms were thrown around her neck, toppling her over as she gasped in surprise. Chiyo tensed at first, only to relax when she realized what was happening.

“Yuu?”

“Say it again,” he murmured into the crook of her neck.

“Huh?”

“Say it again please.”

Chiyo blinked as a tear rolled down her cheek. Did he not hear her?

“I-It’s okay if you don’t like me anymore-”

“No, not that part,” Nishinoya shook his head, pulling back to stare her dead in the eye. “That part’s irrelevant. Never gonna happen. I mean how you feel about me. I wanna hear it again.”

A surge of heat rose to her face as Chiyo realized what he was implying. She dropped her head.

“I… like you,” after a moment of trying to calm her rampant emotions, she finally managed to squeeze those words out as she met his gaze once more.

“I like how outgoing you are…” She continued to speak as Nishinoya pressed his palms to her cheeks. “I like how kind and funny you are. I like how you can cheer anyone up, just by being yourself. I like how you always do your best to help other people. I like how you can always push forward with a smile,” her eyes crinkled. “I really really like you, Yuu-”

Through her rambling, she failed to notice Nishinoya slowly leaning in with every word. But once she finally did, his lips had already crashed against hers like a gentle wave. Chiyo’s eyes grew wide with surprise as warmth blossomed in her chest.

Nishinoya smelled faintly of sweat and oxidized metal. And combined with the smell of sulfur from his shampoo, it was almost dizzying. His lips were wet and a little stiff, but before Chiyo could fully process what was happening, she let her eyes fall shut and kissed him back.

After what felt like an eternity, Nishinoya slowly pulled away. “That’s good,” his voice was barely a whisper. “Cause I really really like you too.”

At his gentle words, Chiyo’s heart swelled. Her nose was all stuffed up and she could barely breathe, but this was the most exhilarated she’s felt for as long as she could remember. Her blue eyes started to water once more as she pursed her lips.

“Hey, hey,” Nishinoya’s face flooded with panic once he noticed the tears brimming the corner of Chiyo’s eyes. He jumped back, letting go of her and holding his hands in the air as if he’s done something wrong. “Oh god, I’m sorry. Please don’t cry. I don’t know what came over me, you just looked so cute so I wanted to kiss you and-”

“No, you idiot,” Chiyo laughed a little between hiccups, rubbing the moisture away with the sleeve of her uniform blazer. “These are happy tears.”

“Really?” Nishinoya blinked, relaxing a little once she nodded. “Alright. Cause I was gonna ask if I can kiss you again.”

Chiyo glanced at him. For a moment, her gaze wandered from left to right, as if she were afraid to be spotted by someone on this secluded street. But she then bit her bottom lip and turned to face him straight on. She rested a hand against his cheek and guided his lips towards hers for another kiss.

This time, it was soft and chaste. Perhaps Nishinoya had already gotten used to the sensation and adapted accordingly. There were no sparks flying or booming fireworks like in the movies or mangas, just a simple spring breeze that weaved through her hair. But to Chiyo, it was more than enough. It was simple, sweet and intimate.

It was all she could’ve asked for. 

When they separated, Nishinoya leaned forward to rest his forehead against hers. And to her surprise, his cheeks were dusted a light pink like the cherry blossoms swaying overhead.

“So what’s the plan?” He placed his hands over hers on the concrete roads. “Did you wanna come with me?”

Chiyo nodded. “I’m thinking I wanna become a food journalist,” she said, studying the faint twinkle in his brown eyes. “I want to travel and write about all the different kinds of delicious food the world has to offer,” she paused for a bit. “Then someday, when I’m older, I want to settle down somewhere. Maybe in Japan, maybe somewhere far, far away.”

She hesitated a bit but Nishinoya squeezed her hand as if encouraging her to continue.

“And I wanna try maybe opening a… restaurant.”

Nishinoya’s entire face brightened.

“That sounds like a great plan,” his response was as swift and sincere as ever. “It’s very you.”

“Thanks,” Chiyo chuckled but her face quickly fell as a looming sense of anxiety took over. “Do you… think it’s possible?” She asked nervously and Nishinoya shrugged.

“Who knows,” he hummed, slowly standing up and dusting off the dirt and flower petals that stuck to his pants. After making sure they were clean, he then extended a hand down towards her with a smile that rivaled the shimmering sun.

“But we can find out. Together.”

Chiyo’s eyes widened.

Growing up, Amari Chiyo always thought she had to have the answers to everything. It was drilled into her head as a child and enforced upon her by herself as a teen. She was the eldest daughter. It was her responsibility to lead by example and live a well-planned and stable life.

But when Nishinoya walked into her life, it felt like a hurricane tearing through a perfectly organized stack of papers.

And for the first time, she began to look forward. She began to have hopes and dreams of a future. Not a future for others, nor to set an example, but a future for her and her only.

And while it was still scary to not live by a perfectly planned script. For the first time, she was okay with that. 

Placing her hand in his, Chiyo smiled as he pulled her up to her feet.

“Yeah,” she grinned. “That sounds great!”

She was grateful to Nishinoya. For calling out to her after school, for helping her find Hotaru on that rainy afternoon, for getting to know her so wholly and sincerely, and for encouraging her to follow her own path.

She wondered how she could make him happy. Someone who was so aware, yet oblivious at the same time. Perhaps a simple hug and kiss would do, or perhaps she could try and gift him the mountains and oceans they would one day travel together.

“Come on,” still holding her hand, Nishinoya pointed in the direction of her house. “Let’s go home!”

But for now, she knew a large bowl of her homemade yaki udon would do just fine.

Her father teased her, asking if the outing was a date – to which Chiyo vehemently denied. Though deep down, she wasn’t quite sure. Nishinoya had gotten so excited and cheered so loudly when she agreed to his invitation, she didn’t have the time to ask for his intentions.

Or perhaps she did but simply lacked the nerves.

Either way, she took the day off work and got all dolled up in the red and gold floral-print yukata she received from her aunt and uncle as a birthday gift earlier that year. She even called up Honoka and asked her to come over to do her hair, to which the aspiring hairstylist agreed on the condition that she got all the details about this ‘date-but-not-a-date.’

She couldn’t help but feel a little nervous as she made her way toward the temple. She wondered if she looked nearly as pretty as the group of teenage girls walking not far in front of her. Perhaps she looked weird in the yukata, perhaps her hair had somehow gotten messy on the walk over, or perhaps her lip gloss had accidentally smudged due to how many times she pressed her lips together. 

But all those worries melted away when she locked eyes with Nishinoya at their meet-up spot. Maybe it was just the festival lights, but his cheeks seemed to grow a little redder at the sight of her.

“Hey,” he pushed off the sidewalk pole he was leaning against. He too wore a cream-coloured yukata, decorated with dragon prints outlined in maroon. He eyed her from head to toe, looking like he was at a loss for words for the first time in his life. “Wow, you look… great.”

“You think?” Chiyo murmured and Nishinoya nodded vigorously.

“Yeah! I mean you always look great, but the traditional clothes are a nice touch.”

 Tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear, Chiyo smiled. “Thanks.”

Nishinoya stared for a few seconds longer. It wasn’t long enough to be considered rude or creepy, but just long enough to let Chiyo know that he genuinely appreciated her outfit. Eventually, he clapped his hands together and turned towards the lines of festival stands. “Alright, let’s get going,” he said. “The festival isn’t gonna last all night.”

“Mhm,” holding her kimono purse with both hands, Chiyo was about to follow him down the path when Nishinoya suddenly paused.

“Oh, right!” He turned back towards her and extended his hand. “Here!”

Chiyo blinked.

“So we don't get separated, you know?” Nishinoya said.

That was a lie. Karasuno was a relatively small town, even by Miyagi’s standards. And while the firework festival was a hot gathering spot for most of its citizens, it was still difficult to get lost or separated that easily.

Chiyo knew that. She did, but she still chose to gently place her hand in Nishinoya’s open palm. She could feel her face burning as her blue eyes flickered between the ground and his wide-eyed expression.

“It’s…” She pressed her lips together. “It’s just so we don’t get separated… Okay?”

Nishinoya was flabbergasted for a moment. Perhaps he had expected her to turn him down, to swat his hand away like she always did. But when the initial shock wore off, an eager grin spread across his cheeks.

“Of course,” Nishinoya laughed, tugging her along. “Come on, I wanna get some yakisoba.”

Usually, the main temple of Karasuno city was relatively quiet, save for the occasional wedding. But for one night each summer, the area would truly come to life as families and friends gathered to celebrate the local shrine’s deity. Various food stands and game stations lined the sides of the path and traditional music played through the mini speakers.

Underneath the strung-up wax paper lanterns, Chiyo walked alongside Nishinoya, peering down at the bite she took out of her crimson candied apple.

“Is it good?” He asked, now wearing a white kitsune mask over his forehead.

“Yeah,” Chiyo nodded. “It’s just been a while since I’ve had one. Hotaru used to love these when she was little.”

“Really? I’m more of a chocolate banana guy myself,” Nishinoya hummed. “Hey, what time do the fireworks start again?”

“Seven-thirty, I think,” she checked her phone. “We still have a little more time. Is there something you want to do?”

“I wanna go to the shooting gallery!”

Chiyo raised an eyebrow. She looked around, trying her best to spot one with no avail. “I think I saw one a little further back there,” she said, pointing her sweet treat behind herself. “Do you wanna go?” 

“Perfect!” Nishinoya’s grip on her hand tightened. “Let’s go!”

Chiyo’s eyes crinkled a little at his enthusiasm. They made a quick turn and set off in the direction they came from.

“By the way, where is your grandpa tonight?” She asked as she took another bite of her candied apple. 

“He’s on a date with that uhh…” He twirled his finger in the air. “Flight attendant, I think.”

“Ah, Kasumi-san?” Chiyo said after a moment of thought, barely remembering the woman’s name from her last visit to the Nishinoya residence. “I thought she left for Thailand already.”

Nishinoya shook his head. “Nah, that’s tomorrow,” he glanced up at the velvet sky for a bit before turning his attention back to Chiyo. “What about Hotaru and Kaito? What are they doing tonight?”

“They’re with dad.”

“Oh, nice!” Nishinoya smiled. “Did Amari-san manage to get the day off?”

“Yeah, I think he took them to the library and rented a movie for the night,” Chiyo looked down at her outfit. “Honestly, it feels a little weird being here without them.”

He cocked his head to the side. “What do you mean?”

Chiyo met his gaze. “It’s just…” She began after a moment of thought. “Every summer, I would take Hotaru and Kaito to the firework festival. You know, just the three of us.”

The realization dawned on Nishinoya and he immediately stopped in his tracks. “Wait, don’t tell me I dragged you away from them or something?!”

Chiyo shook her head. “I was the one who wanted to come, Yuu. Don’t worry about it,” she looked straight ahead. “I just feel a little bad. Like I’m breaking family tradition,” she sighed. “I need to do better as their older sister.”

Nishinoya hummed. “I think you do a lot already though."

“I do?”

He nodded. “I mean you’re way more responsible than my sisters, that’s for sure.”

Chiyo blinked a few times before looking away.

“Thanks.”

After a little more walking, the shooting gallery booth came into view right as Chiyo finished her candied apple. Nishinoya’s face brightened.

“Hey! Hattori-san!” He waved at the old man sitting behind the table who wore a white tank top and straw hat.

“Well!” The old man’s eyes widened and he laughed. “If it isn’t my favorite customer. How are you, Yuu?”

“Same as always! Pretty good!”

“Good, good,” he fanned himself with a Japanese fixed fan printed with the festival logo. “And ol’ Mineo? Where’s he tonight?”

“Grandpa’s out on a date tonight, so it’s just me,” Nishinoya grinned. “Oh, but I brought a date with me too!”

He gestured to Chiyo and the redhead took it as a cue to introduce herself. “Hello,” she lowered her head, albeit a little awkwardly. “My name is Amari Chiyo.” 

She couldn’t help but feel her face warm at the fact that Nishinoya referred to her as his date.

“Ain’t that nice? Yuu’s got himself a girlfriend,” the old man chuckled. “Nice to meetcha, little lady. I’m Hattori. Yuu and I go way back.”

Chiyo gave him a small nod and Nishinoya slapped a few coins down on the table.

“Hattori-san, gimme two tries.”

“You got it!”

As Hattori turned around, Chiyo leaned in. 

“How did you manage to get all chummy with the shooting gallery guy?” She whispered.

“Gramps used to bring me here every summer,” Nishinoya wasn’t nearly as discreet. “He’s big into town festivals.”

“Yuu was just a little boy when we first met,” Hattori said as he handed Nishinoya an air gun “Wouldn’t stop crying til he won something.”

“I was like three, Hattori-san,” Nishinoya frowned. “And for the record, I still have that Ultraman figure. It’s on my desk at home.”

“I’m honored!”

“Ever since then, gramps always made sure to stop by whenever we come to the firework festival,” Nishinoya then turned to Chiyo. “We’d each take two turns and see who can get the most prizes. It’s kinda a tradition of ours,” he then winked. “So don’t worry ‘bout it. You’re not the only one breaking family tradition tonight.”

Chiyo’s eyes widened. She felt her heart flutter a little as Nishinoya turned to face the shooting gallery. He readied his air gun, aiming down the scope and lining it up with an action figure on the top shelf. 

The first and second shots just barely missed the action figure, but the third one managed to hit the masked superhero right in the chest. It fell off the shelf and hit the ground.

“Whoo!” Nishinoya cheered.

Hattori whistled. “Nice job! You have five bullets left.”

Nishinoya then lined his scope up with a box of strawberry chocolate cones. The cork flew out and clipped the side of the box, knocking it down with a light rattle.

“You’re pretty good at this,” the redhead hummed.

“I had a lot of practice,” Nishinoya beamed proudly. “Hey, do you want something?”

Chiyo shook her head. “No, I’m good. Just get something for yourself.”

Nishinoya’s gaze lingered on her for a little longer. “Okay,” he murmured before squatting down, lowering his stance just enough to line his scope with a large cat plush toy on the bottom row. 

The first shot whizzed past its ear, but the second one hit it in the left eye. The cat plush rocked back a little and Nishinoya was just about to cheer, but it quickly swayed forward and returned to an upright position. 

“I hit that thing!” Nishinoya shouted. “Hey, Hattori-san! You saw it right?”

Hattori let out a hearty laugh. “You know how it goes, Yuu. Gotta knock it over for it to count. You got one shot left.”

Nishinoya frowned. He narrowed his eyes at the ginger cat plush that stood defiantly on the dark brown shelves of the shooting gallery booth. Chiyo watched as he turned back and crouched down into his previous position. He was so focused, even she began to feel a little nervous from the sidelines. It reminded her of his behavior whenever he stood on the volleyball court - calm and quiet. 

He blinked a few times and shook out his hand before lining the scope up with the cat plushie once more. Nishinoya took a deep breath and finally pulled the trigger.

The cork flew out of the muzzle of the air gun, hitting the plushie on the forehead with just enough force to knock it backwards. It fell off the shelf and landed on the grass below with a soft thump.

“Alright!” Nishinoya threw his arms up in celebratory victory and Chiyo clapped. 

“Good job,” she chuckled as Hattori bent down to pick up the plushie, action figure and box of chocolates.

“Gotta say, you’ve improved Yuu,” Hattori wore a big smile as he handed Nishinoya all of his prizes. “Seems like little Yuu from all those years ago ain’t that little anymore,” he teased, ruffling Nishinoya’s hair.

“You say that every year, Hattori-san,” Nishinoya laughed, accepting the brief yet affectionate gesture. “Thanks as always.”

He then turned to Chiyo and presented the stuffed animal.

“Here ya go!”

“Wait, for me?” She asked and Nishinoya nodded. “Yuu, I told you to get something for yourself.”

“And what I wanted for myself is to get something for you,” Nishinoya replied cheekily. “Come on, just take it!”

Chiyo blinked a few times before glancing down at the cat plushie in her arms. The fur was surprisingly soft, made of some kind of synthetic fibre with ginger and white stripes. Its eyes were large and green, staring at her with an expression that practically begged her to bring it home with her. She pursed her lips and cleared her throat.

“Fine,” she averted her gaze, trying to hide the redness that threatened to set her cheeks aflame. “Only because you went out of your way to win it for me.”

Nishinoya grinned. “Of course, of course.” 

“Noya-san!”

Chiyo glanced over her shoulder at the voice, spotting a few familiar faces approaching from the nearby takoyaki stand.

“Oh, Ryuu!” Nishinoya waved at the boy with a shaved head and sharp eyes. “Chikara and Kazuhito too!”

Chiyo quickly recognized them as members of the volleyball team, as well as Ennoshita Chikara, who was a classmate of hers.

She gave him a small neck bow. “Good evening, Ennoshita-san.”

“Amari-san,” Ennoshita shot her a polite smile. “Nice seeing you here.”

“You too. How’s your summer been so far?”

“Pretty good,” he went along with the small talk, ignoring Nishinoya and the bald-headed boy as they made a ruckus only a few feet away. “Are you here for the taiko drum performance too?”

“The taiko drum performance?” Chiyo was a little confused.

“Tanaka’s sister performs at this festival every summer,” Ennoshita explained, briefly eyeing the bald boy. “So Narita and I came along to support them today. It’s the least we can do.”

“Saeko-neesan is super cool,” the boy with short black hair, presumably Narita, said. “She’s brought along her taiko crew to cheer us on at every competition since Spring High last year.”

“Saeko…?” Resting a hand on her chin, Chiyo thought for a moment. “Wait, is she the one with blonde hair that goes up to here?” She held her free hand just above her shoulder and both Ennoshita and Narita nodded.

“Yeah. Do you know her?”

“I don’t know her personally, but I saw her at the interhigh preliminaries this year,” Chiyo explained. “She was yelling at us to cheer louder during your match against Date Tech.”

“Speaking of which, where’s Kinnoshita?” Dropping whatever he was doing with Tanaka, Nishinoya turned to Ennoshita.

“He couldn’t make it,” Narita replied. “I think he’s in Kamakura visiting family.”

“Ah, that’s too bad.”

Ennoshita then noticed the ginger cat plushie Chiyo was carrying. He glanced at the shooting gallery they were standing by, now servicing a mother and her two children and quickly put two and two together.

“Hey, Amari-san,” he called out to her. “Are you here with Nishinoya tonight?”

“Huh?” Chiyo blinked a few times, squishing the cat plushie’s doe-eyed face further into her chest. “Erm… yeah. We’re here to watch the fireworks together.”

“Wait, seriously?!” That quickly derailed their previous conversation as Tanaka’s eyes grew wide. “You’re gonna watch the fireworks together? Like together, together? Did you finally ask her out, Noya-san?”

“Hey, that’s rude,” Nishinoya pouted. “For the record, this is our second date. We already went on our first date like a year ago,” he puffed out his chest proudly. “But yeah, I asked her out.”

“No way!” Narita’s jaw dropped.

Tanaka’s lips tightened into a thin smile that teetered the line of being scary to Chiyo. He stiffly grabbed Ennoshita and Narita by the shoulder and spun them around back towards the Takoyaki stand. “Well, if that’s the case. We won’t bother you anymore,” he said in a sing-song voice. “Come on boys, let’s go.”

Following Tanaka’s very obvious attempt to leave them alone, Ennoshita gave an awkward laugh. He then glanced back at Chiyo.

“The fireworks should be starting soon,” he told her. “You guys should go find a spot for that.”

“Ah, okay,” not knowing what else to say, Chiyo could only nod.

“See you guys!” Nishinoya waved, watching as his friends’ silhouettes disappeared into the crowd before turning to the redhead. “Alright,” he extended a hand outwards. “Let’s go! I know a spot with the best view!”

Chiyo stilled for a moment but she quickly took his hand with a sweet yet bashful smile.

“Yeah,” she chuckled. “Let’s go.”

“Thank you for waiting. The firework show will start momentarily.”

As the announcement played through the speakers, Nishinoya and Chiyo arrived at a riverbank just outside the temple. A crowd of people began to gather alongside them – families, couples and large groups of teenagers, presumably still in the early stage of high school. Chiyo watched as a group of girls much younger looking than her chatted away by the black railings.

“Yuu,” she murmured just loud enough for him to hear. “We’re gonna be graduating soon, huh?”

Nishinoya glanced at her. “Yeah,” he hummed. “How is exam prep going?”

Chiyo shrugged. “The same as always.”

“Have you decided what you wanna do?” 

“I… I have a general idea but,” she met his gaze for a brief moment before looking away. “I don’t know.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Nishinoya assured her. “You still have your entire life to figure it out.”

“I know…” Chiyo’s expression gave way to a half-hearted smile. “I know that. But it’s just… scary. I thought I had my entire life figured out. I wanted to set a good example for Hotaru and Kaito,” she let out a half-hearted laugh. “But turns out I didn’t and I feel like I’ve let everyone down.”

It was subtle, but Nishinoya’s grip on her hand tightened ever-so-slightly. “There’s nothing wrong with not knowing,” he said. “Not everyone’s gonna know what they wanna do the second they graduate high school. If anything, I think not knowing and pushing forward makes you even more admirable.”

Though there was still a lingering sourness in her expression, Chiyo smiled. “Thanks,” she whispered. “For everything.”

“Of course! I’m always in your corner, no matter what,” he grinned cheekily. “Even if you’re a baby-eater.”

“A baby-eater?” Chiyo raised an eyebrow. “Where did that come from?”

“You! It came from you,” Nishinoya laughed. “You said that when we first met!”

“Did I?” She gave him an appalled look and Nishinoya nodded. 

Chiyo was about to argue when a loud boom echoed across the riverbank. The water beneath them rippled and she turned her head just in time to see a blossom of red and orange bloom against the dark velvet sky.

Then one after another, sparkling trails continued to launch into the sky and erupt in a flashing light. There was blue, purple, green, yellow and pink. The colors shone so brightly they almost felt like daylight reflecting in her eyes. 

Chiyo stood there, entranced by the magical view before her. The flickering lights were mirrored in the river below, smelling faintly of gunpowder and smoke as the sound resonated through her entire body like a drum. She felt a light squeeze on her hand and tore her eyes away to meet Nishinoya’s gaze, finding that he was staring at her rather than the brilliance before them. 

With that same goofy, love-struck grin, came those familiar words.

“I like you.”

Her eyes widened.

Amari Chiyo was stubborn, but she wasn’t stupid. She realized what her feelings were long before she cared to admit it.

At first, it seemed absurd and Chiyo wondered if Nishinoya’s stupidity rubbed off on her, resulting in such a disturbing revelation. But she soon realized that she did not, in fact, have any loose screws in the head.

At some point in time, she fell for Nishinoya.

Clutching the cat plushie closer to her thumping chest, Chiyo felt her face heat up. She swallowed hard, then opened her mouth. Riding on a certain high, the words began to tumble out of her mouth.

“Yuu, I-!”

A familiar ringtone suddenly blared out, overtaking the booming fireworks in the background as Chiyo suddenly came to her senses and held her tongue. Nishinoya stumbled and began digging through his yukata. 

“Shoot, that’s me!” He mumbled, quickly finding his cell phone and checking the caller ID. “Ah, crap. Sorry, I gotta take this.”

“Oh,” Chiyo blinked. “No, go ahead.”

Nishinoya gave an apologetic smile before answering the call.

“Hello? Sato-san?”

Chiyo recognized that name. Sato Akari - one of Nishinoya’s classmates and his assigned partner for the summer history project.

“Sorry, now really isn’t a good time… Yes, I know we need to look over our notes…” Nishinoya sighed. “Look, we’ll set up a time later, ‘kay? I’m on a date right now… Yeah, it’s fine… I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Nishinoya quickly ended the call and shoved his phone back into his belt. “Sorry ‘bout that,” he rubbed his neck awkwardly. “What were you gonna say?”

Chiyo’s lips parted but her voice fell short on the tip of her tongue. She was suddenly reminded of the day when he first confessed to her. He had asked her out so suddenly and with little to no context, she didn’t take him very seriously. Granted, his reasons at the time were as shallow as they could get. But even as he continuously pursued her, she brushed him off with the same mindset, thinking he would eventually get bored and move on.

Yet he never did.

Instead, he faced her head-on with nothing but patience and sincerity.

And now after hearing that brief exchange, a thought sank into Chiyo’s mind.

Do I even deserve to accept his confession?

“I…” Chiyo’s eyes flickered down to her yukata as her drumming heartbeat echoed in her ears. “The fireworks,” she blurted out, meeting his gaze once more with a wistful smile. “They’re really pretty. Thanks for coming out with me today.”

Nishinoya’s face lightened and he grinned as brightly as the fireworks behind him.

“Yeah, no problem!”

They did surprisingly well, losing in the quarterfinals and ranking Top 8 in the country. Chiyo made sure to congratulate Nishinoya by making him a feast of his favorite foods once he got back to Miyagi. And as he sat at the table, telling stories upon stories of the rivals he faced at the large-scale national tournament, Chiyo could tell that Kaito was becoming more and more intrigued.

Maybe to some extent due to Nishinoya's influence, Kaito began to demonstrate great interest and talent in volleyball. He even joined a youth volleyball class at the local community center and became a star member after two years of playing. Perhaps one day, he would go on to play at a national tournament just like Nishinoya did. 

Regardless, spring was right around the corner. The current third-years would be graduating in three weeks while Chiyo and Nishinoya would be moving into their final year of high school. So before their students can get too wrapped up in another wave of examination hell, the school sent them off on their final school trip — the last chance to truly let loose before exam prep starts.

“Hey, Amari-san!” A girl from her activity group called out, waving as she descended the staircase to the subway platforms. “What’d you get for lunch?”

It was the second day of the school trip, and they were on their way to visit the Tokyo Skytree when the teachers decided to stop in the metro station to let everyone take a quick lunch break. 

“Just an onigiri from the convenient store,” she swung the little plastic bag in her hand. “I’m not that hungry.”

Her classmate peered into the plastic bag. “Really? I’m absolutely starving.”

“That’s because you skipped breakfast, Kikuchi-san,” Chiyo pointed out. She was about to say more when she heard a familiar voice call out.

“Oh, it’s Chiyo!”

She turned around to see Nishinoya standing at the top of the stairway, waving at her with one arm while carrying a large collection of snacks in the other. Chiyo smiled a little and waved back.

A train pulled into the station and the metal tracks let out an ear-piercing screech. Chiyo held a hand up to her hair, holding back the long red wisps that threatened to get caught up in the heated gush.

“Nishinoya-kun from Class 2-2, right?” Kikuchi said, just loud enough for Chiyo to hear over the ensemble of footsteps of white-collar workers making their way onto the platform and up the stairs. She eyed him from head to toe. “You know, I’ve been meaning to ask you, Amari-san. There’s a rumor going around that you two are dating. Is that true?”

“N-No!” Chiyo immediately shook her head. “We’re not! We are not dating!”

“Really?” Kikuchi hummed, eyes wandering back to Nishinoya. She watched as he did his best to weave his way against the flood of people heading upstairs. 

“Then, can I have him?”

Chiyo’s eyes widened.

“Have him?” She repeated under her breath. “What do you…?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” Kikuchi met her gaze pointedly. “He’s good-looking, has a cute personality, and he’s part of a sports team which is totally up my alley. Unless… he secretly has a girlfriend?”

Chiyo looked down, her grip tightening on the convenience store bag. “N-Not that I know of…”

“Then that’s perfect!” Clasping her hands together, Kikuchi’s face brightened. “Hey, will you help me put in a good word with him? I wanna try getting some alone time during the school trip.”

Chiyo’s lips parted. Suddenly, all she could see were flashes of the rest of the trip. And whenever she looked in Nishinoya’s direction, Kikuchi was somewhere nearby. She sucked in a harsh breath.

“No,” the words came out harsher than she would’ve liked, but her tone was resolute. 

“Hm?”

“You can’t have him.”

“Wha-?” Kikuchi looked confused. “But you’re not even his girlfriend. He’s not yours to give-”

“He’s not anyone’s to give,” Chiyo cut her off, her free hand clutching onto the hem of her jacket sleeve. “But even so… To me, Yuu is… special. Which is why I won’t give him to you!”

Her words were simple, but it felt as if it took all her energy to speak them.

After what felt like forever, Kikuchi finally broke the silence with a hum. “So you do like him,” she mused and by the time Chiyo looked up she was met with a smug grin.

“I figured.”

Chiyo’s face flushed a bright red. “T-That’s not what I was trying to say!”

“You know, Amari-san, you shouldn’t patronize your romantic rival like this.”

“But-!”

Kikuchi held up a hand.  “A maiden with a broken heart doesn’t need your pity,” she said with a wink.

“Hey!” By that point, Nishinoya had finally made it past the crowd and stepped onto the platform. “You wouldn’t believe what I found,” as he approached, he shifted his backpack around and began rummaging through it. “There’s this little store just a few blocks outside the station, and they were selling Calpico! I know you love this stuff so I bought two. A regular one and a peach one-” As he plucked one of the two bottles out, his brown eyes darted between the two girls, finally picking up on the awkward tension that loomed between them.

“Did something happen?” He asked.

“Nah,” Kikuchi waved nonchalantly before gently patting Chiyo on the shoulder. “Nice to meet you, by the way. My name is Kikuchi Sora. I’m part of Amari-san’s activity group.”

“Nishinoya Yuu, Class 2-2,” Nishinoya returned her greeting with a cheerful one of his own as he secured his backpack over his shoulders once more. “Thanks for taking care of Chiyo.”

“Why are you the one saying that?” The redhead raised an eyebrow and Nishinoya gave her a thumbs-up.

“Because I can!”

A loud chime echoed underground, followed by a cool female voice telling passengers that the subway doors will soon close.

“Oh,” Nishinoya glanced up at the fluorescent lights. “Let’s get on. Don’t wanna be late,” he said as he readjusted his backpack and stepped into the subway cart.

“Wait, Yuu,” Chiyo reached out after him, subconsciously taking a few steps forward. “We’re supposed to meet the teachers on the platforms, not at-”

“Doors will now be closing.”

“Amari-san!”

“Huh?” Chiyo’s eyes widened at Kikuchi’s voice. She spun around just in time to see the subway doors shut behind her. She could see her classmate staring through the glass with panicked eyes. Quickly, she pulled out her phone and mouthed ‘text me’ as the vehicle began to move.

“I can’t believe you,” Chiyo grumbled as she and Nishinoya stood by a telephone pole on the bustling streets of Tokyo. “Were you even listening to the teachers before they let us out? We were supposed to meet on the platform! Not the skytree!”

“Honestly, no,” Nishinoya admitted bluntly as he took another sip of his energy drink. “I was so hungry I could barely think about anything besides food.”

“You-!” Chiyo tried to find the words to scold him but ultimately settled for a sigh of resignation. There was no use scolding someone for a genuine mistake or someone who’s already apologized a million times. “We’re just told to meet them at the Skytree for real this time,” she scrolled through Kikuchi’s messages with an awkward laugh. “Apparently, we’re in a lot of trouble.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Nishinoya hummed. “I’ll just tell them that you only came after me 'cause I was being stupid.”

“Won’t your punishment be worse if you do that?” Chiyo pointed out and he shrugged.

“It’s the truth anyways and we have Kikuchi to back you up,” he then glanced back with a reassuring smile. “Besides, you’ve never been to Tokyo before, right? I want you to enjoy your time while you’re here.”

“But-”

“I was literally just here,” Nishinoya cut her off with a cheeky grin. “And I’ll be back this fall and the spring after that,” he paused for a second to examine Chiyo’s troubled expression. “My point is, I’ll have plenty of time to explore this city. But you only have this trip until you’re swamped with exam prep. So let me try and take the blame for this, yeah?”

Chiyo’s brows furrowed, she was about to open her mouth to protest but held her tongue. “Alright, alright,” she relented, figuring that even if she were to resist, Nishinoya would still somehow find a way to direct the teachers’ indisputably harsh punishment towards himself. “Let’s try to find a way to get to Tokyo Skytree first.”

“Yeah,” remembering their current predicament, Nishinoya rubbed the back of his neck and looked around. “Uhh, I honestly have no idea where we are right now.”

“Really? I thought you were the expert on Tokyo, considering you’ve been here once already,” Chiyo teased with a small smile tugging at her lips.

“I’ve never been in this area before, that’s all,” he retorted with a laugh. He briefly skimmed the crowd. “Want me to ask around?”

Chiyo nodded. “You do that. I’ll try to look up some directions.”

“Alright, go team!” He gave a small cheer before hurrying off, quickly finding someone to ask for directions.

“Hey, excuse me! Do you know how we can get to the Tokyo Skytree?”

Chiyo narrowed her eyes at the options her phone presented. She was about to pick the route with the fastest travel time when a familiar voice stopped her short.

“Take the Ginza line towards Asakusa and get off at Ueno station. It’s a five minute walk from there.”

“I see. Thanks!”

Chiyo looked up, easily spotting Nishinoya’s bleached tuft of hair in the crowd. And sure enough, before him stood a very familiar woman. 

Chiyo felt her entire world stutter to a halt. She couldn’t move, nor could she think. All she could do was stare blankly as the woman pointed to various spots on Nishinoya’s phone.

Sure enough, the woman soon noticed her gaze and glanced up. Her bright blue eyes widened with recognition. 

“...Chiyo?”

The world began to move again and Chiyo suddenly became acutely aware of the sea of people that crossed the little distance that separated them. She soon found her voice again and the words came out in a choked squeak.

“Mom…”

“Here’s your Sprite,” a waitress set down a tall glass on the table before him.

Nishinoya didn’t know what to do. One minute he was asking some random stranger on the street for directions, and the next he was sitting in a cafe with said stranger and Chiyo, neither of whom said a single word since they’ve sat down.

He had no clue the woman who sat before them was Harada Yuuka, the mother of the Amari siblings. But upon closer inspection, the similarities became more apparent. She had the same brown hair as her children, and her brilliant blue eyes hidden behind her metal-rimmed glasses shone with intelligence. In terms of the way they carried themselves and their overall presence, Chiyo probably resembled her the most.

“You dyed your hair red,” her voice was even, perhaps a bit robotic.

“Yes,” Chiyo replied quietly as she poured some milk into her tea. “I did it last year.”

“You should get rid of it. Universities and businesses won’t accept a delinquent with colorful hair.”

Chiyo didn’t say anything. Instead, she picked up the small, provided spoon and began to stir.

“How have you been?” Yuuka glanced at her. “Everything alright?”

Chiyo nodded as she set the spoon down and took a sip. “Yeah.”

“And your siblings? How are they doing?”

Chiyo nodded again.

“That’s good then,” Yuuka took a sip of her coffee. “As long as you’re all doing well, that’s good.”

Nishinoya shuffled in his seat. He took a sip of his drink, trying to find something to do amongst the awkward tension.

“Chiyo,” Yuuka set her cup back down onto her saucer, effectively shattering the momentary silence with the light clink of porcelain meeting porcelain. “I’ve been meaning to contact you soon, but this is perfect timing,” she set her hands down on her black pencil skirt and looked her daughter dead in the eyes. “I’ll be leaving for Iceland soon. I want you to come with me.”

Nishinoya’s eyes widened.

“Huh?”

“I’ve built some pretty strong connections there through my company. A position opened up at the main branch and I accepted it,” her eyes were clear. “Iceland is ranked second in the world in terms of education. With your exceptional academic performance, I can secure you a better future than you’ll ever get rotting away here.”

“You ran back to your father once, but I trust you see now how that was a mistake. Taking the easy path and staying in Miyagi will do nothing to help your future-”

“Hold on now-!”

Nishinoya was about to interject but Chiyo held him back with an arm over his chest.

“I still don’t think you understand,” her voice was almost as sharp as her mother’s. “I didn’t go back to dad because I was scared of going to school in Tokyo.”

Yuuka remained silent, as if asking her daughter to elaborate.

“Mom, why didn’t you ever come back to visit Hotaru and Kaito?”

Yuuka blinked a few times. Her eyes then trailed out to the large cafe window, watching as a group of rowdy schoolchildren ran past.

“I figured if I came back to visit, I’d just disrupt their adjustment to living with a single parent.”

“Then why didn’t you at least take Hotaru or Kaito?” Chiyo’s voice cracked. “I would’ve been fine. Why out of the three of us, you chose to take me?”

“When your father and I separated, I realized I couldn’t advance my career while taking care of three children. I took you with me because I didn’t want to uproot Hotaru and Kaito’s lives while they were still so young. And besides,” Yuuka turned her attention back to her daughter. “I saw the most potential in you .”

Nishinoya felt a chill run down his spine. He briefly glanced at Chiyo, whose eyes only widened.

“Hotaru is too naive and Kaito is too blunt. Neither of them would survive well in a business setting,” she interlaced her fingers. “I wanted to be sure I was making an investment that would pay off. Besides, I figured you would use your success to support your siblings anyways. So I didn’t need to worry.”

Nishinoya took it back. Chiyo was nothing like her mother after all. Throughout the years he’s gotten to know Chiyo, no matter how much she’d scold either him or her siblings there was always an underlying sense of love that accompanied her harsh words. But when Yuuka spoke, there was no tone in her voice. There was no scolding, no love. Only a cold calculating chill. It was as if she were staring at pieces on a chessboard rather than her own flesh and blood.

He figured Chiyo must’ve come to the same conclusion because he saw her lips quiver as they pressed together. Under the table, he instinctively reached out, placing a hand over her trembling one. To his surprise, she immediately latched on like he was her lifeline.

“So take your future into account and-”

“No,” Chiyo said after taking a deep breath and Yuuka’s expression soured. “I’m not going with you, mom.”

The shock was only momentary however, as a tinge of annoyance soon reflected within Yuuka’s deep blue eyes.

“Be rational, Chiyo,” she tilted her head a little. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. An exceptional secondary education will get you into a good university. And graduating from a good university will secure you a good job that pays lots of money.”

Those words rang familiar in Nishinoya’s ears. Those were almost the exact same words Chiyo repeated to him every single time the topic of the future came up. Sometimes she said it with so little enthusiasm that Nishinoya even wondered if she truly meant what she said.

As if to confirm his longtime suspicions, Chiyo gently shook her head.

“But… What if that’s not a life I want to live?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

Yuuka’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“What if that kind of life scares me, mom?” Chiyo replied, a little louder this time. “What if I don’t want to be trapped in an office for eight hours a day, working a job I don’t even care about?”

“What do you want to do then?”

“I-I don’t know,” Chiyo shrank a little under her mother’s sharp gaze. “Maybe I’ll travel or do something creative,” for the first time while talking about the future, Nishinoya saw a small smile playing on her lips. “Maybe I’ll open a small restaurant or bakery-”

“You do realize none of those options will make you happy, right?” Yuuka cut her off. “I’ve told you this before. Money makes the world go round. In order to be happy, you need to be successful and make money.”

“Who says?” At that point, Nishinoya had enough. He felt a light squeeze on his hand and soon he found the words tumbling out of his mouth without a second thought. “Who says you need to make money to be happy? My gramps and I aren’t loaded, but I’d say we’re doing pretty well.”

“Doing well is very different from succeeding ,” though she looked a little annoyed at his interruption, Yuuka turned towards him with a pointed look. “Doing well is being able to put food on the table, meeting the bare minimum of a person’s needs. Happiness and success is to be able to live in the lap of luxury. Do you and your grandfather have the luxury to eat out at expensive restaurants? Can you buy name-brand clothes or bags? Can you buy whatever you want, whenever you want?”

“But that’s just your idea of happiness, isn’t it?” Nishinoya retorted. He could see Chiyo watching him from the side, but he didn’t want to break eye contact with the older woman. Now that he was looking straight into them, they came off as a little empty. In comparison to Chiyo’s which were filled with warmth.

“Each person has their own idea of what happiness looks like. Even if you’re Chiyo’s mom, hers can be completely different from yours,” he said, absent-mindedly tracing his thumb over Chiyo’s knuckles as if to soothe her. “I don’t think it’s right for you to force your ideals onto your daughter like they’re facts.”

Yuuka opened her mouth to say something, but Chiyo beat her to it.

“Mom,” she took a moment to study her mother’s neutral expression. “Our family… what we want in our lives isn’t success… or a perfectly planned out future,” her voice choked a little and Nishinoya held onto her hand even tighter as if to encourage her. “What we really needed… was a normal mother who would love and accept us for who we are.”

Yuuka’s eyes widened. They wandered to the side, as if she were in deep thought.

“I do love you though. All three of you,” she said in an even tone. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t care if you three were sweeping the bathroom or the streets.”

Nishinoya frowned, he glanced over at Chiyo who took a long stare at her mother before pressing her lips together.

“Let’s talk about this when I’m older,” she sounded defeated. “Thank you for the drinks, mom.”

Nishinoya watched the back of Chiyo’s head as she focused on her phone, trying to follow the directions they received from her mother towards the Tokyo Skytree. They had since parted ways with her, apparently she had a meeting to attend soon.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, not sparing him a glance.

Nishinoya didn’t sense a lie in her voice, nor did he hear it quivering. But for some reason, he was met with an intense desire to see her face. So he grabbed her wrist to stop her in her tracks. Chiyo spun around, her face reflecting a sense of exhaustion that squeezed at his heart.

“Are you okay?” He asked again.

“I’m fine, really,” Chiyo said. “That’s just how she operates.”

“For the record,” Nishinoya took a step forward and looked straight in her eyes. “I think your plans for the future are great.”

“Thanks,” she gave a half-hearted laugh.

“No, I’m serious,” his grip tightened on her wrist, as if to convey his sincerity. “You should do what you wanna do. Not what your parents or siblings, or whatever anyone else wants. Not even me.”

Chiyo’s eyes widened.

“Be it a restaurant or bakery, or hell, even a lemonade stand on the side of the street. Whatever makes you happy,” he gave her a warmest smile he could muster on that chilly, early spring afternoon. “And you know what? If you ever get lost and don’t know what to do, I’ll be there to support you.”

He leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her knuckles. “Because that’s the least I can do for the kind and capable girl I fell in love with.”

Chiyo’s cheeks were dusted bright pink as he made that final statement. She averted her eyes downwards, but the corners of her lips soon curled upwards. “Thanks, Yuu,” she murmured before meeting his gaze with a weary smile. “That means a lot to me.”

Nishinoya hummed. She didn’t look happier, per se. But it seemed like some of the worries she’s been carrying for years had finally been relieved from her shoulders.

“Now let’s go,” releasing his grip on her arm, he nudged his head as if telling her to keep up. “We’re already late.”

Chuckling a little, Chiyo nodded.

“Okay.”

If it were up to him he would've spent the entire weekend practicing volleyball receives, be it with a wall or a local team. He had no plans to do anything else after their most recent loss against Aoba Johsai in the Interhighs. But there he was, on his way to the shopping district. For what purpose though, he wasn’t quite sure.

He glanced at Chiyo, who looked down at her phone, presumably to check the time. Her long hair was tied into a neat ponytail, which has since been dyed red, a result of her off-handedly mentioning how she wanted to try coloring her hair one day. Hotaru and Kaito took it seriously and after a lot of pestering, Chiyo finally agreed to let them use the drugstore box dye on her. Of course, Nishinoya was all for it. He was the one who helped them buy it after all. As he expected, the deepred suited her well, but to his surprise, she actually decided to keep and maintain it. 

His eyes then trailed down to the flowy sundress and white tote she carried. Over the few years he’s gotten to know her, Nishinoya learned that she preferred to dress simple. Especially on days when she had a mountain load of housework. It wasn’t often he got to see Chiyo in anything aside from their usual school uniforms or a plain t-shirt and shorts. 

Nishinoya then noticed about six or seven bandages wrapped around her fingers and his brows furrowed. He didn’t remember seeing them the last time they met, which was less than two days ago.

“Wait, Chiyo.”

“Hm?” She glanced over as he took her hand. 

“What happened?” He asked, tracing his thumb over the outline of the bandages. “Did you hurt yourself?”

“Y-Yeah!” With her cheeks dusted pink, Chiyo quickly hid her hand behind her back and averted her eyes. “I dropped… erm, a plate! Yeah, I dropped a plate and cut myself by accident.”

“Oh,” Nishinoya blinked. He took a peek at her other hand, only to find it in the same state. Chiyo must’ve felt him stare a little too long because she soon hid that one behind her back too.

She pressed her lips together. “I’m fine, really,” she met his gaze. “Don’t worry about it.”

Nishinoya raised an eyebrow. He found it hard to believe that she of all people was clumsy enough to try and clean up broken ceramic with her bare hands. But alas, her doe eyes and reassuring voice got the better of him.

“Alright, if you say so,” he huffed. “But just in case, you know if you can always ask me for help, yeah?”

Chiyo breathed a sigh of relief.

“Of course,” she nodded, a faint smile tugging at her lips.

Nishinoya had no idea what the day’s schedule looked like. So one could only imagine his surprise when Chiyo led him to the movie theater and pulled out two tickets for the latest superhero movie.

“I got them from my boss,” Chiyo explained. “She said she watched the movie with her grandkids and they seemed to like it. So she thought I would too. You know, as a bonus for being a good employee,” she paused. “Or did you not want to see it? We can always watch something else if you want-”

Nishinoya shook his head. “No, no! This is perfect,” he took one of the two tickets for closer inspection. “Ryu was talking about how good this movie is the other day, so I’ve been meaning to see it. I guess I just didn’t see you as a movie-goer type.”

“What do you mean?” Chiyo gave him a weird look. “We watch movies at home all the time.”

“Yeah but those are DVDs. I didn’t think you’d like to actually watch them in theaters, since they can be kinda expensive.”

“I don’t,” she shrugged. “But these were free, and every once in a while the theaters can be a good experience,” she handed her ticket to the usher. “Besides, seeing movies on the big screen is a completely different experience than at home on TV.”

“Right? It’s way cooler,” Nishinoya handed his ticket in before hurrying to catch up with her, only to pause when he noticed the concession stand on the way to the screening rooms. “Oh! Do we have time to grab a bucket of popcorn? My treat!”

Chiyo nodded. “I’ll buy us some drinks then,” she reached into her tote for her wallet. “You want Sprite?”

He gave her a big grin and thumbs up. “You know it!”

“Man, that movie was great,” Nishinoya said between bites of his shaved ice.

“It really was!” Chiyo clasped her hands together. “Rhea’s last line was especially awesome! So heartfelt and romantic!”

“Rhea?” Nishinoya cocked his head to the side. “Who was that?”

Chiyo gave him a blank look. “The love interest, Yuu. She was literally the second most important character in the entire movie.”

“Oh yeah. Anyways, you know what was super awesome? That car chase scene!” He pointed at her, eyes twinkling. “The way Justin was swerving around on the streets while the protagonist shot that giant rocket launcher at the bad guys? Man, that was awesome!”

“Yeah, I know. You were yelling the entire time,” Chiyo said dryly. “You know, that’s fine when we’re at home and everything. But you probably shouldn’t do that when we’re out in public. People in the theater were giving you dirty looks.”

“Were they?”

Chiyo sighed. “Just… try to be more mindful of others, okay?”

Nishinoya nodded, scoping another spoonful of shaved ice into his mouth. “Mm, this is really good. You want some?”

“Yeah, sure-” Chiyo was about to take the plastic spoon from him when she abruptly stopped and pulled her hand away. “Um, actually nevermind. I’m okay.”

“Hm?” Nishinoya gave her a confused look. “You can have a bite, you know? I don’t mind.”

“Nope, I’m okay! You can have it!” She turned away, face flushed a brilliant red that almost matched her hair under the bright summer sun.

Nishinoya peered down at the blue shaved ice drenched in soda-flavored syrup, curious as to what she could be so embarrassed about. It definitely wasn’t the flavor, he’s seen her eat soda-flavored popsicles before. Heck, that’s all he’s ever bought and she never said a word about it. He twiddled with the plastic spoon, wondering what it could be when the thought struck him.

“Chiyo,” he hummed in amusement. “Don’t tell me you’re getting all embarrassed over an indirect kiss.”

Chiyo jumped midstep before slowly glaring back at him.

“S-So what if I am?” She murmured just loud enough for him to hear and Nishinoya felt like his heart was about to explode.

“Aw, come on,” he waved a spoonful in front of her face. “I know you want a bite. Shaved ice is what summer’s all about!”

Nishinoya had a hard time hiding his lovestruck smile, watching as Chiyo’s dark blue eyes darted back and forth, following the frozen treat like a curious kitten. Eventually, she got fed up with his teasing and caught the spoon in her mouth, eating the shaved ice with puffed out cheeks.

“Happy?” She asked after swallowing and Nishinoya couldn’t help but laugh.

“Yeah,” he said, taking another bite. “Super happy.”

“Oh, this one is good too,” Nishinoya pointed to another manga spine. He pulled it down and passed it to Chiyo who began flipping through. “It’s a spin-off of a different manga I’ve read. But honestly this one is a lot better. And you don’t even need to read the original to understand what’s going on, so I recommend you give it a shot.”

Chiyo hummed. “The art is pretty.”

“It also has some sci-fi elements,” Nishinoya pointed to a giant laser beam firing out of the protagonists’ finger. “Which I know you like.” 

“Really, trying to sell it, hm?” Chiyo briefly glanced at him. “Alright, I’ll read it.”

“Nice!” He mentally high-fived himself. “Let me know what you think, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Chiyo began walking towards the cashier when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. “Oh, the new Shonen Jump magazine.”

“Is it out already?” Nishinoya followed her gaze, spotting an unfamiliar cover. “Crap, I forgot to buy it.”

“I guess that means you haven’t read the new One Piece chapter, right?” Chiyo smirked and Nishinoya immediately shook his head.

“No, I haven’t! And don’t spoil anything!”

“I know, I know,” she mused. “I’m not you. I don’t spoil stories and ruin other people’s enjoyment of them.”

“Hey, that’s not true! I’ve literally never done that before.”

“You spoiled what happened to Jiraiya to the entire class on the day that chapter came out!” Chiyo reminded him, still sounding somewhat bitter about the incident. “Honoka was actually about to kill you for that.”

Nishinoya looked away. “Really? I don’t remember that at all.”

That was a lie. He remembered that day like it was yesterday. He was talking about the latest Naruto chapter with his friends when his excitement led him to shout a bit too loud. Next thing he knew, he was being chased around the classroom by his classmates carrying pencils like pitchforks.

“Speaking of Okazaki, how’s she doing these days?”

“She’s okay,” Chiyo shrugged. “She always calls me up at like midnight, complaining about how hard the homework at Johzenji is. I think we’re planning on going out for lunch next week.”

“Oh, tell her I said hi.”

Chiyo gave a nod in acknowledgment before reaching for the Shonen Jump magazine. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Wait, I thought you already have a copy of that edition,” Nishinoya asked, hurrying to catch up with the red-head at the checkout line. “Why are you buying another one?”

“It’s for you,” she said, trying to make her voice sound as natural as possible. “What? You haven’t bought yours yet, right?”

“No, I haven’t,” he shook his head and Chiyo shrugged.

“Then I’ll buy it for you. Consider it a gift.”

Nishinoya released his hands from the wheel, letting out a loud cheer as his car crossed the finish line on the arcade screen. He then glanced over at Chiyo, who was still struggling to round corners without crashing into the walls. 

“You know, maybe you should avoid getting a license when we turn 18.”

After leaving the bookstore and wandering around the shopping district for a little while longer, the two of them passed by an arcade, of which Nishinoya immediately dragged Chiyo into.

“Shut up!”

Frustrated, Chiyo stomped on the gas pedal, only to ram headfirst into another corner. Nishinoya keeled over laughing. 

“Need help?”

“No!” She tightened her grip on the wheel. “Just watch me, I’ll finish this race in under two minutes!”

And so, two minutes and a ton of laughing, shouting and bickering later, Chiyo’s car finally inched across the finish line.

“Finally,” she staggered out of the seat with a groan while Nishinoya patted her on the back. 

“Good work,” he snickered. “You know, I didn’t think you’d be so bad at video games.”

Disgruntled, Chiyo abruptly snapped her head around. “I’m not bad at video games,” she glared at him. “That wheel was just weird. It was probably broken or something. And um… these bandages! They make it hard to drive!”

“Uh-huh, uh-huh. Keep making excuses.”

Chiyo pouted at his chaff response. She looked around the arcade, quickly narrowing in on a two-person shooter. “There,” she pointed at the machine. “Let’s play that!”

“Alright,” Nishinoya pulled out an arcade token, flipping it in the air before catching it with a cheeky grin. “Game on!”

“Man, I’m beat,” Stretching an arm up towards the vermillion sky, Nishinoya let out a loud yawn before slumping back into the park bench.

After a few rounds of shooter games, air hockey, then finally spending the rest of their tokens on those obviously-a-scam claw machines, the two made their way to a local park near the bus stop to rest. Chiyo handed him a bottle of soda, to which he gratefully accepted.

“Me too. We did a lot of walking today,” she said, taking a seat beside him.

As he pulled the can tab open, Nishinoya glanced over, studying Chiyo’s silhouette against the orange and gold stretches of light. He watched as she snapped open her oolong tea and took a sip.

“Hey, Chiyo?”

She met his gaze with a hum.

“Why’d you call me out today?”

The echoes of a crow squawking could be heard in the distance. Nishinoya watched as Chiyo’s lips parted slightly before pressing shut. She looked away. 

“Did you have fun?” She murmured.

“Huh?” Nishinoya was taken off guard by her question. “Yeah, of course I did! You know I love spending time with you!”

There was a soft smile on Chiyo’s face as she took another sip of her tea. “That’s good then,” she shuffled a little in her spot before taking a deep breath. “I just… I wanted to cheer you up,” she spoke just loud enough for him to hear.

“You haven’t been yourself after Interhighs,” she said, absently tracing the indents of the plastic bottle. “I know that match meant a lot to you guys, and you came really close to winning. So I wanted to take you out on a… hangout, to… get your mind off things…" She seemed to grow more embarrassed the more she spoke, eventually turning away from him completely with her cheeks flushed red.

Nishinoya felt his stomach flutter.

“Can I hug you?” He blurted out and Chiyo blinked in confusion.

“What?”

“I’m taking that as a yes.”

Then, without another word, he pulled her into the biggest hug his smaller stature could manage. 

“Wait-! Yuu!” Chiyo struggled, her chin lodged snugly in the crook of his neck. “Let go of me!”

“Nu-uh!” He nuzzled her hair with a bright laugh. “There’s no way I’m letting someone so precious go!”

Eventually, after lots of prying and smacking his arm, Chiyo finally managed to break free of his grasp.

“Jeez,” she grumbled, smoothing out the wrinkles in her sundress. “Watch what you’re doing next time. We’re in public, remember?”

“Sorry, sorry,” Nishinoya chuckled, though his tone suggested that he wasn’t apologetic at all. He helped her smooth out her hair before leaning back on the park bench. “Thanks for worrying about me.”

Chiyo huffed. “So? How’s the rest of your team taking the loss?”

“They’re fine,” Nishinoya took a drink of his soda. “We’re aiming for the Spring Tournament now. Oh, and the third-years decided to stay on the team, believe it or not.”

“Really? Even with college entrance exams?”

Nishinoya nodded. “First-round preliminaries are in August, so we’re gonna be busy,” he then peered up at the passing clouds with a smile. “Honestly, I’m really glad they stayed. I really wanna try getting to nationals with the team we have now.”

“You will,” Chiyo assured him. “They have you on the team after all.”

She was about to say something else when a thought seemed to strike her. “Oh, that’s right!” Turning to her tote, she pulled out a small gift bag and handed it to him. “Here, this is for you.”

Nishinoya took the gift bag with two hands, surprised to be receiving more on top of the already eventful day they shared. “Can I open it?” He asked excitedly and Chiyo nodded.

“Go ahead.”

He reached a hand in, pushing past the colorful tissue paper and brushing against something hard. Curious, he pulled it out to find himself holding a very familiar looking silver Nintendo DS.

His eyes widened.

“I know you said not to worry about it,” she folded her hands over her lap. “But I fixed it up for you regardless.”

That Nintendo DS was originally Nishinoya’s. It was something he often brought over to the Amari residence to let Hotaru and Kaito play on. But about a week ago, right before interhighs, the two got into a fight over who got to clear the boss level and managed to break the handheld device by ripping the top half clean off.

Chiyo was very apologetic and even offered to pay for a replacement, but Nishinoya didn’t really care. Sure, it was a gift from his parents when he graduated elementary school. But he never held it with much sentimental value. He didn’t see either of them very much anyway, so it might as well have been a gift from a distant aunt and uncle.

But now, holding the device in his hands, he hadn’t realized how much he’d missed it.

“I bought the replacement parts from the shop. My boss gave me some pretty good advice on how to link everything back together,” Chiyo continued to explain, completely unaware of the emotions bubbling inside his stomach. “But we couldn’t find a new shell since the model is so old, so I had to super glue it back together. I tried to put some epoxy clay between the spaces but it was too tight and wouldn’t close properly. So I just got rid of it.”

He ghosted a finger across the still visible cracks on the hinge, traces of dried glue still lingering here and there. He glanced at Chiyo, watching as she fidgeted with her bandages, waiting anxiously on his response.

It then hit him that the bandages on her fingers were probably a result of her poking around with the inner workings of the DS.

Suddenly, he felt something lodge in the back of his throat.

“Chiyo.”

“Y-Yes?” Her hands instinctively clenched on her dress.

“I’m gonna hug you.”

“Wha-?! Again?” Chiyo was about to protest, but she held her tongue when she met his honest gaze. She pursed her lips, then slowly opened her arms. 

“Okay.”

Nishinoya took the opportunity as soon as it presented itself, burying his face into the crook of her neck with a tender smile.

“Thank you. Thank you so much,” there was something faint in his voice. Though whether it was a laugh or sniffle, even Nishinoya himself didn’t know.

On the bus ride home, Nishinoya couldn’t stop toying with the DS, repeatedly opening and closing it to see if it really worked like it used to. From what he could tell, Chiyo did a good job at putting everything back together.

He always knew she was somewhat handy. Being the caretaker of two children meant she often had to repair her sibling’s electronics or toys whenever they broke. But as far as he knew, this was her first time working with something so complex. 

As he gently closed the handheld console for what was probably the sixth time that ride, he felt a sudden thump on his shoulder. He looked to his side, surprised to find Chiyo fast asleep.

His eyes flickered down to her hands. And all he could imagine at that moment was Chiyo burning the midnight oil, single-mindedly tinkering with his DS. He couldn’t help but smile at the thought.

A strand of red hair fell in front of her face, brushing against her nose. Nishinoya gingerly reached down to tuck it behind her ear.

“I like you, Chiyo,” he whispered. “I like you a lot.”

So when April rolled around, Nishinoya and Chiyo were once again attending the same school. Though with Chiyo’s better grades, she ended up in Class 1-4 – a college preparatory class – while Nishinoya was put in Class 1-2.

The day club applications began, Nishinoya immediately joined the volleyball club. He encouraged Chiyo to join a club of her own or even run to become a class rep again like she had in middle school, but she refused.

Instead, she put all her energy into applying for a part-time job. She was hired at a small media and repair store near school, run by a little old lady and her grumpy calico cat. They sold all kinds of electronics, from old VHS tapes to the newest gaming consoles. They also had a huge catalog of DVDs that the old lady often insisted Chiyo borrow for the week to watch on her own. 

Despite the two of them being in different classes and volleyball practice running longer than they did in middle school, Nishinoya’s visits never stopped. He’d drop by after a quick text, eat dinner, do homework, play some volleyball with Kaito, watch a movie then head home for the night. He became such a regular presence that even Chiyo’s father, who was rarely home due to his busy schedule, knew his name and often included his portion whenever he brought back desserts for the kids. 

Chiyo would scold him, telling Nishinoya to go home to rest and that his body must be tired after a long day of volleyball and school. To which Nishinoya would simply remind her that he had to return the lunch box she brought him. Something Chiyo started doing after she found out Nishinoya often only bought banana bread for lunch from the school store.

And that day, Chiyo was on her way to the gym as usual. She preferred to deliver his lunch in the mornings, right after she got to school. Like that, she wouldn’t have to spend her lunch time trying to track him down between the classroom, the gym, or the vending machine.

As she climbed the staircase, she could hear the sharp screeches of sneakers scraping against the gym floor. Despite not being a powerhouse school, Karasuno seemed to take volleyball pretty seriously. 

“Nishi-”

“Kiyoko-san!” Before she could call out to him, the sound of two boys’ boisterous voices interrupted her. She instinctively hid around the corner so as not to bother them. It took a second before it registered in her head that one of the two voices belonged to Nishinoya. 

“Kiyoko-san, do you need any help carrying anything?” Someone asked.

“Kiyoko-san, you look beautiful as always today!” Nishinoya shouted.

“No thanks.”

Chiyo felt her heart drop.

She snapped her head around in time to see Nishinoya and a boy with short, fuzzy blond hair run up to a girl just as she entered the gym from the back door. He wasn’t kidding. With shoulder-length black hair and large black eyes, the girl had an air of adult maturity to her, someone who was stoic and passionate yet aloof with their intentions.

Suddenly, the name Kiyoko jogged her memory. Nishinoya had mentioned her during dinner a few months back when he told her all about the club. Her name was Shimizu Kiyoko and she was their one and only manager. 

He spoke highly about her, going on and on about how pretty and responsible she was. But Chiyo had always sort of disregarded his comments. After all, Nishinoya did the same thing with a character in their old literature textbook. But seeing him fawn over another girl, a real one at that, made Chiyo’s heart clench with an emotion she couldn’t quite put her finger on. 

“Guys, stop bothering- Oh!” An upperclassman with short brown hair approached the gym from behind her. “Hey, are you looking for someone?”

Chiyo blinked. “Um, I’m looking for Nishinoya. I have his lunch.”

“Nishinoya!”

“What is it, Daichi-san, ah!” Nishinoya’s eyes lit up upon seeing her. “Amari!”

As he began to make his way over, Chiyo suddenly felt the urge to run. There was a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach and in the moment, she wanted to be anywhere but there. But she still had his lunch in hand, and there was a part of her that stubbornly wanted to complete the delivery.

“Here,” she shoved the neatly-packed boxed lunch in his hands, not even bothering to make eye contact. “It’s leftovers from last night, so don’t expect too much.”

“I’m sure it’s delicious,” Nishinoya took the box and grinned. “Thanks as always!”

“Noya-san, this girl’s always bringing lunch for you. What’s up with that?” At this point, the boy with blond hair began to approach them. His eyes then widened as an idea dawned on him. “Wait, don’t tell me she’s your girlfriend or something?!”

“She’s-”

“No, I’m not!” Before Nishinoya could respond, Chiyo cut him off perhaps a bit too loudly. “I’m just his middle school classmate. I’m only making him lunch 'cause if I don’t he’s just gonna end up buying banana bread for lunch and be short forever.”

“Excuse me?!” 

“You have your lunch now, right?” Meeting Nishinoya’s offended look with a sharp one of her own, Chiyo quickly turned on her heel. “I’m leaving. Bye!”

She walked briskly away, feeling more and more breathless the further away she got from the gym. She wanted to outrun it all, the sound of her beating heart, the emotions that bubbled in her chest and the hot tears that pricked at her eyes. When she saw Kiyoko, all she could think about was the day he first confessed to her under the cherry blossoms nearly three years ago. She had warned him that he would lose interest overtime. But when faced with reality, she felt like she was the one who lost something.

Her steps slowed as she reached her classroom. It then occurred to her that this wasn’t anything new. Nishinoya has been fawning over other girls for as long as she’s known him. And thinking back on it, the only reason he gave for confessing to her initially was because she was pretty, nothing more. 

A classmate opened the door, cocking her head curiously at Chiyo who stared up at their classroom tag in a daze.

“Amari-san? What’s wrong?”

Chiyo looked at her.

“Boys are stupid.”

After her shift at the media store that evening, Chiyo was surprised to find Nishinoya waiting outside with two soda-flavored popsicles.

She initially thought that he wouldn’t want to speak to her for at least a good while, after how strangely she behaved in front of his teammates. But to her surprise, he simply gave her his usual greeting and smile before tossing the extra popsicle in her direction. 

“Come on, let’s go home.”

“Oh, okay…”

As they set off, Nishinoya tore his popsicle packet open and began chomping down. Chiyo watched him, fidgeting at the sound of crinkling plastic.

“Hey, Nishinoya,” she swallowed hard. “I’m sorry about what I said today.”

He gave her a confused look. “What are you talking about?”

“Well, I… I called you short in front of the entire volleyball team,” she murmured, still refusing to make eye contact. “I didn’t mean it. I was just in a bad mood and I… I’m just really sorry.”

"Oh, what, that?" Nishinoya scoffed. "Don't sweat it, it's whatever. Kaito's been calling me that for like a year."

“Kaito’s still young,” Chiyo shook her head. “But I… should’ve known better than to make petty remarks like that.”

“Like I said, don’t worry about it,” he waved a hand before quickly finishing his popsicle in two bites and checking the stick. “Dang, another dud.”

Chiyo’s lips quirked up a little before falling. “So Shimizu-senpai, huh?” She opened her popsicle packet. “She’s really pretty.”

“Wait, you know Kiyoko-san?!”

Nishinoya sounded so excited and Chiyo felt a lump forming in her throat. “I saw her when I dropped off lunch for you today.”

“That’s right, that’s right,” he tossed the wooden stick into a public trash can. “Yeah, she’s super pretty, isn’t she? A literal goddess. I heard she’s been the club manager since last year.”

Chiyo nodded before averting her eyes, pretending to admire the street view she’s seen more than a hundred times already. “Well, I better not hear any more of your random confessions from now on,” she said half-jokingly.

“Huh, what are you talking about?” Nishinoya stopped walking. “I still like you, Amari.”

Chiyo nearly dropped her popsicle. She turned to look him in the eye. 

He was dead serious.

“Why would you say something like that?” She snapped, immediately losing all composure. 

Nishinoya cocked his head to the side. “Because it’s true.”

“What do you mean ‘because it’s true’?” Chiyo’s eyes widened with exasperation. “You were literally just gushing about how pretty Shimizu-senpai is. Don’t tell me you’re like one of those sleaze bags in shoujo manga that’ll flirt with anyone you find even mildly pretty.”

“What? No! I mean yeah, Kiyoko-san is pretty and all. But,” he then thumped his chest with a confident smile. “In the end, my heart will always belong to you.”

Her lips parted slightly.

“Don’t say stuff like that, you idiot!” Those were the first words she found herself able to say. “You idiot. You’re such an idiot! The biggest idiot that’s ever existed in the history of idiots!”

“I’m not an idiot!”

“Yes, you are! You’re a shallow, stupid idiot!” Chiyo shouted back, trying to ignore the sore feeling in her nose. “You can’t tell me you don’t have even a little bit of a crush on her. I saw you and that blond kid trying to get all cozy with her. You even call her by her first name even though you’ve only known her for like, what? Two months?”

“Amari, I-”

“I’m completely fine with being friends with you, Nishinoya,” she cut him off, trying her best to avoid his pointed gaze. “I just… I don’t want to date someone who only wants to get to know me half-heartedly.”

Nishinoya rubbed his forehead, eyes flickering up to glance at the setting sun. Taking a deep breath, he then gingerly took her hand and pried her fingers off the hem of her jacket sleeve.

“Look, Amari,” he spoke as softly as he could. “Kiyoko-san to me is more like… a goddess. Someone you put on a pedestal and admire, but still way outta your reach. But when I’m around you, I feel… way more comfortable. Like when I get to see you at home cooking dinner, not giving a damn about your hair, and getting mad at us, I get really happy. Cause it feels like a side to you that only I get to see.”

He looked up to see Chiyo’s dark blue eyes glassy with what seemed to be tears.

He mentally cursed himself.

“I get what you mean though,” he gave an awkward chuckle. “I mean I literally asked you out the day we met without knowing anything about you. But I promised to get to know you better, and you know…” there was a faint tug at his lips. “The more I get to know you, the more I like you. So trust me. I’d never ask you out with anything other than pure intentions, m’kay?”

Chiyo felt her heart stop as he smiled at her. Her breath was caught in her throat, and when she reminded herself to breathe again, her heartbeat became so erratic she was sure the entire prefecture could hear it. 

“Y-You idiot!” Those were the only words that came out when she found her voice again.

“Wha-?” Nishinoya looked genuinely confused. “Why am I still an idiot?”

“Because you just are!” Chiyo turned away, biting down on her popsicle in a feeble attempt to stop the rising heat in her cheeks. She couldn’t understand how he could say something so cringey with a straight face. She then peeked over her shoulder, watching as Nishinoya became lost in thought, wondering exactly what he said that made him an idiot.

“But… Do what you want, I guess,” she murmured just loud enough for him to hear.

Nishinoya’s eyes lit up.

“You got it!”

After that little kerfuffle, the two of them continued on their way home under the setting sun when Nishinoya spoke again.

“But you know, if you wanted me to call you by your first name, you could’ve just asked.”

Chiyo averted her gaze. “When did I ever say that?” 

“You got all jealous over how I call Kiyoko-san by her name,” he reminded her with a mischievous grin. “Come on, I’ll start calling you by your first name too.”

“I wasn’t jealous,” she grumbled.

“Come on, Chiyo.” Ignoring her obviously false remark, Nishnoya poked her arm. “Say it. Yuu~”

Chiyo’s eyes wandered from their surroundings to Nishinoya to her feet. She pressed her lips together, struggling for a moment to find her voice.

“Y-Yuu…” Her voice was barely a whisper. 

Satisfied, Nishinoya smiled. “I like you, Chiyo.”

Nishinoya was always more than happy to come over. Sometimes he’d be too busy with practice. But there were times when he’d drop at eight o’clock in the evening to join the Amari siblings for dinner. If it was Chiyo’s home cooking, he wouldn’t miss it for the world. 

There were a few things Chiyo learned about Nishinoya since he started going over to their place. Firstly, he lived alone with his grandpa, who ran a local bike shop. Apparently, he has three older sisters, but they were all much older than him and going about their business elsewhere in Japan. Secondly, they liked the same manga and regularly bought the newest edition of Shonen Jump magazines. Thirdly, he loved over-the-top action movies. He gets so excited that he often starts yelling in the middle of it. Fourthly, he took his role as a libero very seriously. Chiyo realized that fact after poking her head into a few of his volleyball matches lately.

Last but not least, he was a terrible student. 

As a class rep, Chiyo already vaguely knew about that fact. It was hard to miss all the 40s and 50s marked in red in the top corner of his tests every time she was tasked with handing them back. But she didn’t realize exactly how bad it was until she started helping him with his schoolwork during his occasional visits.

On top of all that, he was an awful procrastinator.

Which was why they were sitting in the local library, on a hot summer afternoon, doing their summer homework.

Chiyo knew if they stayed at her place, Hotaru and Kaito would pester them to the point of distraction. And if they went to his place, Nishinoya would get carried away talking about the latest manga. So the only alternative was to work in the public library, free from interruptions.

Or so Chiyo thought, because judging by the big grin on his face, even she was considered a distraction to him.

“Nishinoya, I need you to focus,” she said.

“I am.”

“No, you’re not. You’re just staring at me.”

“I’m thinking.”

Chiyo’s eyes flickered up and she raised an eyebrow.

“If you keep doing this, I’m just gonna move to a different table.”

“Wait, no!” That seemed to pull him out of his trance. He sat up straighter, jotting down a few more answers before groaning. “It’s just, this is so boring,” he slammed his forehead on the table. “Summer’s almost over and it’s a nice day out. We should go out and swim or something.”

“Then you’ll never gonna get this done on time,” Chiyo tapped the edge of his English workbook. “Besides, you had training camp all summer. Haven’t you had your fun?”

“Training camp isn’t for playing, Amari,” Nishinoya gave her a serious look and Chiyo cocked her head to the side. 

“But don’t you get to have sleepovers with your teammates and stuff?”

“You do, but you spend most of the time training, hence the name,” Nishinoya leaned back in his chair and spun his pencil. “By bedtime, most of us are way too tired to stay up and chat like we do on school trips. So it’s not as exciting as you think it is.”

“I see.” She hadn’t realized. From what she’s heard from her friends in the softball club, training camps were more like school-organized sleepovers where they spent goofing off rather than training. She didn’t realize the volleyball club actually took things seriously.

From what she’s heard, they were supposed to be a powerhouse school.

After finishing the last question on her page, Chiyo glanced up at Nishinoya who seemed to be actually working. She hummed. 

He must’ve heard her or felt her eyes on him because he soon looked up. 

“What’s up?”

“Nothing,” she readjusted her reading glasses – a result of developing farsightedness earlier that year. “Let’s take a look at what you’ve got so far.”

“Sure!” His reply was assured as he slid his workbook across the table. 

Chiyo caught it with a wry smile and began skimming through his answers.

Her smile quickly faded.

“Nishinoya.”

He perked up. “Yes?”

“Here,” she slammed the workbook onto the table and pointed to one of the questions. “‘Please translate the words below into Japanese.’ ‘Shine’ isn’t ‘go die!’ That’s just Japanese!”

“Dang, so that was a trick question!” He clenched his teeth in frustration. 

“No, it’s not!” She then pointed to the next section. “Here! Multiple choice! Circling all the answers and writing ‘one of these’ does not work!”

“But I’m not wrong! It is one of them!” 

“And circling all of them is not answering!” Chiyo narrowed her eyes. She then flipped the page over. “‘Yuuto needs help identifying all the animals in this zoo,’ and you wrote ‘They’re all just animals, Yuuto!’ in Japanese. Seriously?!”

“What am I supposed to do? Actually know the English for those animals?” 

“Yes!” Chiyo slammed his workbook shut before letting out a long sigh in frustration. “Seriously, what have you been doing during English class?”

“Staring at Nakano-sensei,” Nishinoya gave her a huge thumbs up. “She’s super hot, isn’t she?”

“Uh-huh,” she returned his confidence with an exasperated look. “And for math class it was Sato-sensei, and for history it’s… Wait, why weren’t you paying attention in history? Takahashi-sensei is a guy.”

Nishinoya pulled out his history workbook and pointed to the cute girl mascot on the front page.

“Cause of Aya-chan, of course!”

“Start paying attention in class, you idiot!” Chiyo flicked him on the forehead, causing him to recoil in pain.

That was another thing she learned about him in the past few months. Nishinoya had a huge appreciation for pretty or hot women. 

Not that she cared.

“Seriously,” crossing her arms over her chest, Chiyo sighed. “High school entrance exams are coming up soon. What are you gonna do? You know schools are allowed to reject you, no matter how good you are at volleyball, right?

“Hm? What are you talking about?” Nishinoya looked a little confused.

“I mean, even if you get scouted by a powerhouse school, they can still say ‘no’ if your grades are not up to their standards.”

“Oh, I don’t really care about that,” Nishinoya said, taking his workbook back and flipping to the page he was previously working on. “I’m not gonna go to some powerhouse school.”

“What? There’s no way!” Chiyo’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor. “You won an award for the best libero. There’s no way there isn’t at least one powerhouse school trying to recruit you!”

“Oh yeah, there are,” his response was relatively nonchalant. “I think there are about four already? But I’ve already decided where I want to go.”

“And where is that?” 

“I wanna go to Karasuno,” he grinned. “You know the one not far from your place.”

Chiyo thought about it a little. “Why?”

As far as she knew, Karasuno wasn’t really known for their volleyball. She did remember briefly seeing them on TV at some national tournament many years back, but they haven’t really come up since.

“Because,” Nishinoya’s expression turned oddly serious. “I like the girl’s uniform there. A lot.”

Chiyo blinked.

“I mean hear me out,” he continued. “Don’t you think our uniforms are kinda lame? Brown and in blazers? Way too bland. Karasuno’s uniforms, on the other hand, are those cool, black military uniforms.”

“Are you serious?” Chiyo rolled her eyes. “All that talent and you’re picking a school based on their uniform?”

“You gotta understand, Amari. Black uniforms are what youth is all about! That’s how it’s like in all the shonen manga! Plus the school is pretty close to where I live, so it’s pretty much a no-brainer.” 

“Uh-huh, uh-huh.” At this point, she just started tuning him out. “You better pray you end up with a team that’s good enough to actually follow up on your receives.”

Nishinoya looked a little surprised at her comment. “Hey, Amari?”

“Hm?”

“Have you been going to my games lately?”

Chiyo’s pencil snapped from the sudden added pressure. “Wha-?!” She glanced up. “What kind of question is that?!”

“Well, you just seem like you know more about volleyball now,” he pointed out. “Don’t you remember the time Kaito and I were playing outside? And you thought volleyball was a sport where you had to throw the ball into the opponent’s net? But now you actually know about follow-ups and receives,” a big smile slowly began to spread across his cheeks. “You’ve been going to my games, haven’t you?”

“I’ve been to a few,” Chiyo looked away, feeling her cheeks heat up under Nishinoya’s prying gaze. “But it’s only because Kaito keeps asking me how you are during big games! S-So I had to go!”

That was a lie.

“Still, that means you went,” Nishinoya looked like this was the best day of his life. “What did you think? I’m pretty cool, aren’t I?”

He was. When he played volleyball, he was almost like a completely different person. Calm, collected, and focused. There were some saves he made during games that had Chiyo’s heart hanging in her throat, and the way he roared in victory each time their team scored a point gave her butterflies.

Not that she would ever admit it.

“You were fine, I guess,” her reply was curt and Nishinoya pouted.

“What? Only fine? You didn’t think I was awesome, or handsome? Or oh my god, I want that guy to be my boyfriend?” He batted his eyelashes at her. “Because I want you to be my girlfriend, Amari.”

Chiyo glared at him as Nishinoya grinned. She then abruptly gestured to his workbook before going back to her own.

“Still, I can’t believe we’ll be graduating soon,” Nishinoya murmured as he took an eraser and began scrubbing out his nonsense answers. “By the way, which high school are you aiming for?”

“Karasuno High School,” she replied off-handedly.

“Really? Then we’ll be together even after graduation,” Nishinoya’s face lit up at first before falling. “But that’s surprising. With your grades, you could definitely get into some top high school here in Miyagi.”

“I’m going for the same reason as you.”

“The girl’s uniforms?”

“No,” Chiyo shot him a dirty look. “Because it’s close to home. And close to Hotaru and Kaito’s elementary school.”

There was a moment of silence before Nishinoya spoke again. “You know, I can always help you pick them up. Why don’t you aim for a better school?”

“It’s fine,” Chiyo shook her head. “I need to find a part-time job once I turn fifteen. Being at a better school will probably mean they have policies against it.”

“A part-time job?”

“Money’s been tight recently,” Chiyo shrugged. “Whatever highschool I end up at, I’ll just work hard to get into a good university on a scholarship. Then I’ll graduate and get a good job in the city that’ll make enough money to be happy and successful.”

Resting his chin in his hands, Nishinoya hummed. “That sounds so boring.”

Chiyo’s brows furrowed. “Well, I’m not like you. I don’t have the choice of becoming a professional volleyball player just because I’m good at it.”

“What do you mean?” Nishinoya looked her dead in the eyes. “I never said anything about wanting to be a pro volleyball player.”

“What?”

“I mean, I like playing volleyball and all. But even if I were to become good enough to go pro, I don’t think that’s what I wanna do in the future,” Nishinoya peered out the window, watching the fluffy clouds drift over their heads. “I wanna pack up all of my stuff and go somewhere far, far away. Go experience things I would never be able to here in Miyagi. A backpacking around the world, type thing. You know?”

“You’ll need a lot of money for that,” Chiyo frowned.

“Who says?” Nishinoya retorted her statement with a smile. “I’ll just save up a little, then go from there. If I’m short on money in some town, I’ll work at a local diner or something to rack up enough cash for my next adventures.”

He turned his attention back towards the sky and Chiyo followed his gaze, just in time to see a  sparrow take off into the sun.

“Grandpa always told me that limits are whatever you put on yourself,” he said. “And I choose to make the sky my limit, so I can go as far as I want. I’m gonna do whatever I want and be the freest person in the world.”

At that moment, Chiyo felt entranced by him. Nishinoya looked so excited and unburdened, she was a little jealous. She wished she could think like that – that the world was her oyster and she could do anything she set her mind to.

But she was too afraid.

“Hey, look!” Suddenly, as if snapping out of a trance, Nishinoya jumped out of his seat with sparkling eyes. “The firework festival!” He pointed at a telephone pole out the window. Chiyo followed his finger and saw a brightly coloured poster, obnoxiously advertising the festival coming to Miyagi in a week’s time.

“Do you wanna go together? You know, just the two of us?”

Chiyo felt all the admiration she had for Nishinoya drain out of her body and her face returned to a disgruntled expression. She knew the implications of going to the festival alone together. And her answer was simple.

“In your dreams.”

“Ouch!” He laughed. “Shot down again.”

“Now focus on your work,” she tapped the top of his workbook as Nishinoya sat back down.

Shaking her head, Chiyo quickly tucked a few strands of her hair out of her face before turning her attention back to her workbook. She was about to move onto the next section when she felt Nishinoya’s gaze still lingering on her.

“What?” She asked, feeling herself grow a little self-conscious.

"I like you a lot, Amari." He said, a lovestruck grin dancing across his lips.

"I said focus!"

That’s why Chiyo came back. She couldn’t move to Tokyo with her mother, knowing that she’d leave her younger sister, who was only seven at the time, to pick up the slack.

It was a lot at first, trying to juggle her school and home responsibilities. She did all of the cooking and cleaning, alongside taking care of her younger siblings. After school, she would run around like a madman, trying to make it in time to pick up her brother from kindergarten before meeting her sister at the local elementary school. But things became a lot easier during her third year, once her brother moved into first grade at the same elementary school.

So that day, just like she did for the past month or so, Chiyo headed to the elementary school to pick them up. But when she got to their usual meeting spot, her little sister was nowhere to be seen.

“Sis!” Standing under the big traffic mirror, a little boy waved at her.

“Kaito,” Chiyo smiled. “How was school today?” 

“Good. We played volleyball in gym class today, and I was the best in the class!” He said proudly.

“That’s great,” she gave him a little pat on the head before glancing around. “And Hotaru? Where is she?”

“I dunno,” Kaito shrugged, and Chiyo’s brows furrowed.

“What do you mean? Wasn’t she here when you got here?”

He shook his head. “Nope. She probably just went back in to grab something,” he pouted, twiddling with his fingers. “She’s stupid.”

Chiyo pinched his nose. “Don’t call your sister stupid, Kaito,” she chided before breathing a sigh. “Alright, let’s wait a bit, I guess.”

So they waited. Five minutes passed — ten, then fifteen. Chiyo exchanged a few nods with some parents she recognized, and Kaito waved goodbye to a few of his friends — but there was no sign of Hotaru.

Chiyo glanced up, noticing the dark clouds that began to gather above. She suddenly remembered that the weather forecast predicted a storm would be rolling in late that afternoon. Not wanting to get caught up in the rain, Chiyo figured it’d be best to head in and look for her sister.

Taking Kaito along, Chiyo found Hotaru’s homeroom teacher still in the classroom, packing up her things.

“Amari-san?” The teacher hummed thoughtfully. “She ran out right when the bell rang. Could she have gone home?”

“No, we usually meet right outside the school gates.” Chiyo frowned. She pressed her lips together, trying her best to remember if Hotaru mentioned going anywhere when someone knocked on the classroom door. 

A little girl dressed in a gray jacket walked in. “Hayashi-sensei, I forgot my pencil case in my desk.”

“Oh, Ito-san! Perfect timing,” the old woman readjusted her glasses. “Did you know where Amari-san ran off to? Her siblings are looking for her.”

“Hotaru?” Upon a closer look, Chiyo recognized her as one of her sister’s friends. “She said she was going to see her mom today. She was so excited, it’s all she’s been talking about.”

“What?!” Chiyo’s eyes grew wide “I’ve never heard anything about this!”

“But Hotaru said you guys were saving on money for the trip,” the little girl looked a little confused. “She said it’s why she couldn’t buy lunch.”

Chiyo felt like she had been doused in a bucket of cold water. Now that she thought about it, Hotaru had been exceptionally hungry every time she came home from school for the past few weeks. She had chalked it up to her sister nearing a growth spurt, but based on her friend’s words, it’s very possible Hotaru has been saving her lunch money towards travel funds in order to visit their mother. 

Chiyo’s stomach dropped.

“Oh my god,” she muttered under her breath. Her hands ran through her hair, unwittingly pulling at it. “She’s trying to get to Tokyo.” She then snapped her attention to the little girl, holding her by the shoulders. “Did she mention how she was gonna get there?”

“Not really,” the girl in the gray jacket shook her head frantically, looking slightly terrified. “She just said she had to go catch the bus.”

“She probably took the number 12 bus,” the old woman chimed in. “That takes you to Sendai Station, which should get you on the JR train to Tokyo. Oh but,” she looked up at Chiyo. “I think all the bus services will be shut down soon.”

“Really?” Chiyo’s voice was barely a whisper.

“Yeah, because of that storm coming in later today. It’s too dangerous to drive in that kind of weather.”

Her eyes lit up. There was still hope.

“Come on, Kaito. Let’s go!” She immediately grabbed her younger brother, who was far too busy exploring the magic of a fourth-grade classroom to notice the chaos unfolding around him. 

“Wait, where are we going?” The boy protested to no avail. “We haven’t even found Hotaru yet!” 

But Chiyo didn’t bother to respond. Instead, she murmured a quick ‘thank you’ to the teacher and little girl before hurrying out of the classroom.

Nishinoya was on his way home with his friends, munching on a popsicle when he saw her. He thought it was his lucky day. Coach ended practice early to ensure everyone could get home before that nasty storm could hit. So he said a quick goodbye to his teammates and hurried over to her.

She was standing by a bus stop, her index finger hovering down the list of the stations the bus was scheduled to stop at. Beside her was a little boy, whom he assumed to be her little brother. 

“Chiyo, I’m tired.” He heard the boy whine.

He figured she must've gotten lost trying to navigate the area. He thought that this could be his chance to swoop in and help her like a knight in shining armor would. But as he got closer, he noticed something was off.

“Hey, Amari!” Nishinoya greeted her as casually as possible. “What’s up?”

Chiyo met his gaze, and Nishinoya realized he was right. She had an expression like the world was ending.

“Nishinoya,” her voice cracked.

Beside her, the little boy tugged at her sleeve. “Sis, who is that?”

“He’s… my classmate.”

“Yo!” With a big grin, Nishinoya then crouched down in front of him. “The name’s Nishinoya Yuu. Nice to meetcha, buddy!” He extended his fist, to which the boy gladly returned with a fist bump.

“I’m Kaito,” he replied before cocking his head to the side. “Nishinoya, are you the same age as my sister?”

“Yeah, why?”

Kaito glanced back and forth between Nishinoya and Chiyo. “Then why are you shorter than her?”

Nishinoya swore he heard something snap. “Excuse me?! What did you just say?!”

“Kaito, you shouldn’t say that to people,” Chiyo hurried to scold her little brother. “It’s rude.”

As much as Nishinoya didn’t want to admit it, the kid had a point. Chiyo was now about an inch and a half taller than him, courtesy of girls hitting their growth spurt earlier. But Nishinoya knew one day, he would be taller than her.

One day. 

Setting aside his disgruntlement for later, he cleared his throat. “So, what are you guys doing out here? I thought you lived in the other direction?”

Chiyo pressed her lips together.

“We’re looking for my sister,” Kaito told him. 

“Your sister?”

“Our other sister,” Chiyo elaborated. “It’s a long story, but I think she ran away from home.”

“What?!” Nishinoya nearly dropped his popsicle. “Wait, how old is this kid? Where the hell is she going?”

“She’s nine,” Chiyo said. “And I think she’s trying to run off to Tokyo, but the buses are out of service right now.”

“Ah, ‘cause of the storm,” Nishinoya hummed, studying the dark clouds that were rolling in at a steady pace.

“I checked every bus stop in the nearby area. If something happens to her, I… I-!”

From the corner of his eye, Nishinoya saw Chiyo’s hands clench onto the hem of her skirt. She looked like she was about to burst into tears.

“Alright then!” He shouted, quickly finishing his popsicle in two large chomps before looking her directly in the eye. “I’ll help you look for her. In the meantime, you and Kaito should head home.”

“What?” Chiyo looked surprised. “Wait, you don’t need to-”

“You guys haven’t been home since school let out, right?” He pointed to their bags and school uniforms. He then thumped his chest, gesturing to the much more comfortable t-shirt he changed into after practice. “Just leave it to me.”

“But there’s a storm coming soon!” Chiyo reasoned. “You’ll get caught in it!”

“Oh, that’s true,” he thought about it for a moment, then fished his cell phone out of his bag. “Here, gimme your number.”

“What?” 

“Text me your address and take my stuff with you. I don’t want my volleyball shoes and stuff to get wet.” He opened his phone, creating a new contact entry for Chiyo to put her number in before handing his phone to her. “Trust me. I’ll bring your sister home safe and sound.”

Her weary eyes darted between his phone and him. “I don’t want you to go through so much trouble for me.”

“What’s wrong with doing something for the girl I like?” He retorted with a cheeky grin. 

At his confession, Chiyo’s cheeks suddenly tinted a bright red. “Nishinoya-!”

“I like you, Amari. So let me try and act cool in front of you, yeah?” 

Chiyo looked like she didn’t know how to respond. Her lips parted, probably about to make another attempt to resist his help, when Kaito pulled on her sleeve again.

“I wanna go home,” he said quietly. 

In the face of her brother’s request, Chiyo seemed to have lost all will to fight. She quickly entered her number into Nishinoya’s phone and gave it back to him in exchange for his school bag. 

“Please be careful,” she whispered just loud enough for him to hear, and Nishinoya felt like his heart was about to burst.

“Don’t worry. She’ll be back before you know it.” Leaving her with one last reassuring look, he then ran off.

“Chiyo, is that guy your boyfriend?” He faintly heard Kaito ask.

“N-No! He’s not!”

Nishinoya smiled.

One day.

Nishinoya scoured the area, double-checking all nearby bus stations and even dropping by the elementary school for a more thorough search. No sign of any girl matching the picture Chiyo sent over by text. 

The sky was already tar-black by that point, and the rain came in a downpour. Water soaked through the soles of his sneakers, making those squelching wet smacks as he continued running through the empty streets. He mentally cursed himself for not bringing a jacket, but in hindsight, any jacket would’ve given up on keeping him dry long ago. He made sure to keep moving, as that was the only thing still keeping him warm. 

He wondered where the girl could be. Sure, when he was little and his sisters’ teasing became too much, he used to have those ‘runaway’ phases too. But these moments were nothing more than locking himself in the bathroom and pouting until one of them apologized or coaxed him out with food.

He was just about to run past a local park when he suddenly noticed a red backpack on the ground. It stuck out like a sore thumb underneath the blue playground set. Figuring it couldn’t hurt to check, he approached the playground and took a peek under the slides.

There, sitting on a little plastic table with her knees to her chest, was a girl that matched the photo exactly. 

“Hey, you’re Hotaru, right?”

The little girl met his gaze with the same deep blue eyes as her sister.

“Who are you?” Her voice was hoarse, like she had been crying. 

“My name’s Nishinoya Yuu, a friend of your sister,” Nishinoya said, taking a seat beside her on the plastic stool. He knew Chiyo introduced him as just a classmate earlier, but that could be changed with time. “She’s really worried about you, you know?”

Hotaru looked away.

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“Mommy and daddy said I shouldn’t talk to strangers.”

“Wha-? I just said I know your sister!” He took out his phone and pulled up his very brief text history with Chiyo. “See? We’re friends!”

“Oh,” Hotaru hummed in disinterest. “Don’t tell her you found me. I don’t wanna go home.”

Nishinoya raised an eyebrow. “Amari said you were trying to run away to Tokyo. What’s up with that?” He asked as he leaned back in his seat. “I mean if you wanted to go see the Skytree or something, I don’t blame you. I just don’t think running away from home is the best way to do it.”

At the mention of Tokyo, Hotaru’s lips began quivering. She pulled her legs closer, if that were even possible. “I wanted to see mommy,” she murmured.

“You mom?” Nishinoya repeated and Hotaru nodded. 

Now that he thought about it, there was a rumor going around class that Chiyo’s parents got a divorce. He remembered there was about a month or so during their first year when she was exceptionally quiet, but he didn’t know her well enough at the time to make a judgment.

Guess that rumor was true.

“When mommy and daddy split up, mommy only took Chiyo,” she continued. “But then Chiyo came back and mommy went to Tokyo, and I haven’t seen her since.” She buried her face in her knees as her body began shaking violently. “Why didn’t mommy take me too?”

Watching as the little girl beside him broke down into a series of sobs and hiccups, Nishinoya patted her on the back.

He didn’t really know what to say. He himself sort of experienced a similar situation, with his parents leaving both him and his sisters with his grandpa in the countryside while they went to work in the city. But Nishinoya didn’t really think much of it; perhaps it was because he never actually grew up with them. Sure, he’d miss them, especially on the days following their departure post-holidays. But his grandpa always made things fun, to the point where it wouldn’t really bother him.

His gaze wandered to the side, taking in the sights of the late spring flowers drooping under the weight of the raindrops. Then, he took a deep breath and turned his attention back to her.

“I’m sure your mom will come back for you,” he said in the most reasonable tone he could muster. “Right now, she probably just needs time to get used to Tokyo. But once she settles down, she’ll come back for all three of you.”

Hotaru peered up at his question, staring at him with glossy eyes.

Nishinoya smiled a little. “But no matter what, I don’t think running away is the right thing to do. Just like how you miss your mom, your sister misses you too. She’s super worried about you,” he said, gently ruffling her drenched hair. “So let’s get you home, and we can all wait for your mom together, okay?” His right hand reached out towards Hotaru while his left remained on his lap, clenched tight.

The silence that followed felt like it lasted a decade. Nishinoya was never really good at comforting people. He was always more of a “take the bull by the horns” type of person, after all. But in this situation, there wasn’t really anything to take, so he could only say whatever was on his mind and pray that his words struck a chord.

His prayers were soon answered, however, when Hotaru unwinded from her defensive ball curl and grasped his hand. She sniffled, but quickly wiped away the snot with her sleeves.

“Together?” She looked at him expectantly. “You’ll wait with us?”

“Yeah!” Pulling her off the table and onto her feet, Nishinoya nodded with a wide grin. “I’ll wait with you guys til your mom comes back.”

Hotaru’s eyes flickered down to her feet, and she pressed her lips together.

“Okay,” she nodded. “Let’s go home.”

Mentally patting himself on the back, Nishinoya reached down to grab her red backpack. He then took out his phone to pull up their home address when Hotaru’s stomach let out a loud rumble.

“I’m hungry,” she murmured, and Nishinoya laughed heartily.

“Let’s hope your sister has snacks ready when you get home then!”

Sure enough, by the time they got to the Amari residence, Chiyo had piping hot food ready for both Hotaru and Nishinoya. That was the first time Nishinoya’s ever tried her home cooking, so it was definitely worth all the trouble. 

But before anyone could eat, they spent a good ten minutes or so in the foyer where the Amari sisters spent crying their eyes out. Chiyo hugged Hotaru, scolded her, then hugged her some more. She then wrapped Nishinoya in the tightest embrace he’s gotten in a good while and proceeded to mutter incoherent words of, what he assumed to be, gratitude. 

Maybe it was because she was literally crushing his bones, but his heart hurt.

That was the first time Nishinoya had ever seen her cry.

And as long as he could help it, he never wanted to see it again.

Not that Chiyo has been paying any attention.

Sure, she made sure to congratulate him when he immediately came bragging to her about his accomplishments. But she was far too stressed out with her personal life to pay attention to Nishinoya's growing popularity.

Between her first and second year of middle school, Chiyo's parents got divorced. Her father's start-up business took a turn for the worse, and her mother decided to jump ship while she was still somewhat financially stable. And though the Amari family had three children, she decided to only take Chiyo — the eldest child, along with her. But after living with her mother for two months, Chiyo decided, of her own accord, to return home to her father and siblings.

Despite all that, Chiyo did her best not to let any of it slip. She kept up with her grades, laughed with her classmates, and occasionally entertained Nishinoya's attempts at getting to know her better. And in her second year, she was elected as one of the two class representatives for their class.

And after four weeks of endless planning and stress, Chiyo was just glad the Sports Festival seemed to be running relatively smoothly. A few minor hiccups aside, everyone was having fun, which was the most important part.

After an eventful morning and fulfilling lunch, Chiyo was busy looking through the list of classmates she needed to gather when someone tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey, Amari!" It was Nishinoya. "Whatcha doing?"

"Trying to round up the people for the tug-of-war and class relay." Chiyo gave him a tired smile. "Speaking of which, you should probably go get ready."

Chidoriyama Junior High was a school that separated sports festival teams by class, and tug-of-war and the class relay were the two most important events. Both had the class's pride and dignity riding on the line. And being one of the fastest runners, Nishinoya was chosen to be the anchor of the relay.

"Yeah, I know." Despite the acknowledgement, he continued to linger. In spite of the heavy burden he carried, Chiyo noted that he looked relatively carefree.

"Are you gonna watch?" He suddenly asked.

"Hm?"

"The class relay," he clarified. "You're gonna watch, right?"

She shrugged. "Of course. What kind of class rep would I be if I didn't?"

"Great. And you're gonna cheer for me, right?"

Chiyo raised an eyebrow. "I'm gonna cheer for the class, Nishinoya. Not just you."

"Yeah, but I'm the anchor," Nishinoya thumped his chest with an air of unyielding confidence. "Nothing gets the crowd going more than when you're neck and neck against an opponent. Especially in the last leg of the race. And I'll need all your love and support to squeeze out first place for our class."

She rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh. Now go get ready." Spinning him around by the shoulders, she gave him a light shove in the direction of the announcer's booth. "We're counting on you to win."

After being coaxed along for a few steps, Nishinoya began to walk on his own. He quickly glanced over his shoulder with one of his big goofy grins.

"You betcha!"

If Chiyo were being completely honest, that smile had her heart fluttering.

Just a little.

The tug-of-war event came and went, with their class barely scraping by at third place amongst the second-years. Now everything was riding on the class relays, and the runners were beginning to look especially nervous.

Chiyo pressed her lips together. She wondered if she should say something to encourage everyone when Nishinoya suddenly slapped one of the other runners on the back.

"Hey now, don't start freaking out," he hollered. "You guys got me running the anchor! There's no way we'll lose." He gave the guy beside him a reassuring look. "Come on, let's show 'em how we Class 2-2 do things!"

Upon hearing his call, the class exchanged a quick look amongst each other before raising their fists and letting out a collective battle cry in agreement.

Watching as the tension that loomed over her classmates vanished into the cool fall air, Chiyo couldn't help but feel impressed. She briefly glanced in Nishinoya's direction, who quickly caught her gaze. He winked at her, and she immediately turned away. Then, a familiar jingle played through the PA system, followed by a voice.

"Participants for the 4 x 100 class relay, please gather by the starting line. The race will begin shortly."

Upon hearing the announcement, the runners shared one last cheer with the rest of the class before heading towards the gathering point for the race.

"Good Luck!" Someone called after them.

"We're counting on you!"

"Yeah!" Nishinoya yelled back, raising a fist in the air. He looked like the protagonist of a shounen manga.

"He's pretty cool, isn't he?" Someone suddenly whispered into her ear, causing Chiyo to jump.

"Honoka!" She shot the dark-haired girl a look of annoyance before clearing her throat. "I mean, yeah, Nishinoya's part of the volleyball team. He's probably used to encouraging his teammates and stuff."

"Now that I think about it, you've never really been to his volleyball games, have you?"

Chiyo shrugged. "I'm not interested in sports."

"You sure you're not just saying that 'cause you're bad at it?" Honoka snickered.

"I'm not!" Chiyo frowned. "Besides, how fun can volleyball be? It's just a bunch of guys trying to hit a ball over the net, and wow, touch down! Three points!"

Honoka raised an eyebrow. "Okay, first of all, there were so many things wrong with that sentence. Second, you know he's gonna lose interest if you don't take some level of interest in his hobbies, right?"

"Why would I care?" Chiyo gave her friend an incredulous look. "He literally asked me out without even knowing my name! He's shallow, and cocky, and, and-!"

"Uh-huh," Honoka hummed dismissively. "Regardless, you gotta admit he's pretty cool. Enough to make your stomach get all the butterflies. I mean, your face is all red," she playfully poked at Chiyo's cheeks, to which she immediately slapped away.

"This is... It's 'cause it's hot out!" Chiyo reasoned. Honoka was right — her cheeks were scalding.

"Hey, Amari! The nurse is looking for you!" One of their classmates called out from the back.

"Anyways, excuse me." Huffing out a breath, Chiyo began to march off while Honoka waved after her.

"Good luck~!"

The meeting with the nurse was uneventful. One of her classmates got hurt during the tug-of-war event, and the nurse simply called her back to update her on how said classmate was doing.

By the time she returned to the field, the relay race had already begun. She climbed onto the upper landing of the staircase and hugged the concrete pillar. From there, she could just see over the sea of heads to get a good idea of how the race was going.

They were in the third quarter of the race, and the batons were just about to be passed to the final runners. Their class was second, and the batons were coming in. Nishinoya began jogging forward, then broke into a full sprint the second the baton was safely in his hand.

Chiyo's hand clenched into a fist, resting stiffly against her chest. She could see Nishinoya pick up speed as they rounded the final corner, catching up to the girl who was in first place. Her heart was pounding in her ears, and she realized Nishinoya wasn't kidding. Nothing gets the crowd going more than when two runners are neck and neck for first place.

"You can do it," she murmured.

She saw him clench his teeth and started yelling, summoning the last of his energy as they crossed the finish line. Chiyo's eyes snapped to the scoreboard, elated to see Class 2-2 highlighted in red at first place. She figured Nishinoya must've seen the same thing because she soon heard him screaming.

"Let's go!" He threw his arms up in the air. Then immediately pointed his finger towards the crowd, skimming through the students in search of someone. "Crap, where are you?" He cussed before eventually giving up and opting to scream at the sky. "Did you see that?! That was for you, my future girlfriend!"

Chiyo jolted. Was he talking about her?

She pressed her hands to her cheeks, only to feel them heat up once more. Quickly, she climbed down the stairs and began weaving through the crowd of students. She wanted to talk to him — she needed to.

But by the time she reached a distance where she could call out to him, she realized that he was surrounded by people. Guys and girls, some from their class, some she didn't recognize. He was being praised, high-fived, and getting his hair ruffled. He laughed and threw his arms up in another cry for celebration.

For the first time, Chiyo noticed.

When did he get so popular?

Growing up, his grandfather brought home a different lady every other week. They were pretty, sure. But he never thought much of it.

For the first time, he was enamored.

At the time, she was about the same height as him, with long, neatly styled brown hair and dark blue eyes. How could he not have noticed her earlier? He tried to remember her name, fishing through the introductions their homeroom teacher made them do only to draw a blank. Thinking back on it, he sorta nodded off to sleep after doing his own — a result of not getting much sleep the night before due to the sheer excitement of starting at a new school.

As he sat there pondering, the girl put the last of her textbooks into her school bag and headed out. Suddenly, Nishinoya was struck with the realization that if he let her leave now, he'd lose the chance to make a stellar first day introduction.

"Be bold," his grandpa always said.

With those words pushing him on, Nishinoya hastily shoved his textbooks and school supplies into his bag and ran after her.

"Hey!" He caught up to her just a few feet outside the school gates, right under the blooming cherry blossom trees. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears. This was perfect.

She glanced back upon hearing the call.

They made eye contact and she watched him in a mixture of curiosity and confusion. His scruffy black hair was styled upwards, with a small tuff falling forward that was bleached dirty blond. And judging from how dry it looked, it had been that way for a good while. He had a bit of a goofy grin, one that she couldn't quite make out the reason for, but she found kinda adorable.

She recognized him. He was the one who's self introduction was the most loud and energetic of all their classmates. Though what Mister Confidence wanted to do with her, she didn't know.

"Nishinoya-kun, right? Is something wrong?"

She remembered his name. He could feel his cheeks sore from how wide his smile was growing.

"I think you're really pretty," he said, eyes twinkling. "Will you go out with me?"

A gentle breeze blew by, ruffling the nearby cherry blossom trees and whisking up a rain of pink. Nishinoya took a deep breath. He said it, just like how he saw on TV. And amongst the falling petals, he saw her lips part slightly.

"No."

With that simple answer, she turned on her heel and began hurrying away, leaving Nishinoya a little shell-shocked.

This was definitely not how it went on TV.

Once he got over the initial shock, he quickly shook it off and gave chase. He soon caught up and gently grabbed her by the shoulder.

"Wait, why?" He asked earnestly. "I'm being serious — you're really pretty!"

"That's not the problem here," her face was tinted slightly pink. Perhaps from the cherry blossoms, perhaps from embarrassment. "We just met today. I barely know you."

"And?" Nishinoya looked genuinely confused.

"You could be a weirdo for all I know!"

He certainly was acting like one.

"Well, you can trust me." He pointed to himself with an air of absolute confidence. "I'm definitely not a weirdo."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that makes it so much better."

"I don't get it," Nishinoya cocked his head to the side. "Isn't the point of going out to get to know each other?" At least, that's what the dating reality shows said. "Why does it matter if we do now?"

"Because you know absolutely nothing about me!" She then took a deep breath to try and settle herself. "Look, you said you like me 'cause you think I'm pretty, right?"

He nodded.

"What if we start going out, then you find out I'm a thief? Or a baby-eater? Or uhh, someone who steals lollipops from kindergarteners? Would you still want to date me then?"

Nishinoya thought for a bit. "No, I guess not."

She gave him a questioning brow raise. Guess? If she found out the person she was dating was any of those things, she'd be super angry. She'd maybe even call the police.

Either way, she shook her head in exasperation. "See?"

After hearing her explanation, Nishinoya gave it some thought. "So if I get to know you, then ask you out again. Will you say yes?"

"W-Well," she felt her cheeks heat up at the prospect. "Depends if I like you, maybe. But most likely not, cause I already think you're a huge weirdo!"

Despite her insults, Nishinoya only grinned. "Nice," he laughed. "I still have a chance."

"Don't look so happy," she crossed her arms over her chest. "For all you know, you could stop liking me once you know me better."

"That won't happen. I know it," he assured as she rolled her eyes and marched on ahead of him. He waved after her.

"I look forward to getting to know you, erm..." He then stumbled over his words, realizing he forgot to ask something extremely important. "Hey! What's your name again?"

A few feet ahead of him, the girl spun around, her long brown hair fluttering amongst the cherry blossom petals. She pulled down her lower eyelid and stuck out her tongue at him.

"My name is Amari Chiyo," she shouted back. "Don't forget it!"