Fate Is a Tricksy Cousin (Ushiwaka x Reader) [Haikyuu]

*ೃ༄ Chapter 3˚◞♡ ⃗

A proposal? That's both intriguing and scary.

"And what would that be?"

"I would like to practice receiving from a left-handed player."

You turned your head away the moment you understood his implication: he wants you to play. But can you really serve the ball? It's useless if you can't put some power behind it and you haven't been properly spiking since that game in junior high.

"I don't know..." you start before trailing off and pinching the tips of your fingers. "I haven't played properly in a while, I don't think my spikes will be powerful enough."

"If you spike as hard as you did on the day that we met, it will be enough."

Your eyes shot up to him, twinkling. This was your moment. This was the moment you had secretly been hoping for. Finally, someone had asked for your strength. You hastily accepted his proposal and ran to your locker to grab your indoor gym shoes, thus warming up. When you got back, Wakatoshi had already gathered all the balls for you, ready to be served.

You pick one and calm yourself. You hadn't done a jump serve in years. You glanced at Wakatoshi to see that he was waiting patiently, probably expecting you to do it before closing.

You threw the ball with your right hand, ran and jumped. It wasn't one of your strongest hits and it landed in the net.

"Sorry," you yell across the bright gym. He raised his hand in response and resumed a receiving position.

You muttered to yourself "I know it's been long, Y/n, but this is perfect. Don't mess this up."

This time you succeeded in serving the ball. Ushiwaka easily positioned himself in the correct place, but you could tell that he had trouble with the rotation. He got it up but it was long and came back to your side of the court.

Completely possessed by your instinct, you were already on the court, ready to hit it back. Ignoring the rules of the game, you approached the ball with an angle and cross-spiked it at the net.

"YESSS!!" you roared in celebration, feeling immense relief and happiness. Glancing over at Ushiwaka you saw him smiling. He had not been expecting you to hit it back, and it had been a great cross shot – it would have been impossible for him to reach.

Still smiling he commented, "You are a talented attacker."

Blushed and flushed you thanked him. "But honestly I don't think I could do it again. Something just came over me."

He nodded in understanding. "But why did you switch to setting?"

Immediately after he uttered those words your smile dropped and you stared at him blankly, not knowing how to reply. The more you remembered the real reason the more you wanted to cry, but you couldn't. Not in front of a boy you had known for less than a week. Not after such a victorious moment.

But you just couldn't help it. Tears started falling like rain from the clouds. The clouds were dark and heavy just like your memories weighing over your head.

Clearly flustered, Ushiwaka checked his pockets for a pack of tissues while you stood there whimpering. You can't stop rain from falling when the clouds are dark and stormy, it's only over after the storm.

After some unsuccessful searching Ushiwaka ushered you to sit and placed his volleyball jacket on your shoulders.

"I'm sorry for making you cry with my question."

"No, I'm sorry for crying," you laughed and wiped your tears with your wrists. He was looking at you intently. You couldn't hold his gaze and looked down, your red locks covering your face like a curtain.

Moments later you felt his fingertips brushing against your ear as he tucked your hair behind your ear. This time you couldn't not look at him in response.

Once your gazes met, he gently asked, "Did you love spiking?"

"I did," you admitted. "Or I do. At least I think I still do."

"I love it as well. I couldn't imagine someone forcing me to stop."

"It was kind of my fault as well. I didn't hold onto it strongly enough."

"You held onto your love for it."

"But maybe it's something I should let go. Finally move on. Find something else."

"I think you'd be miserable if you let go of your love. It is much more beautiful to suffer because of love than to suffer without love."

"Do you think that I should continue playing volleyball then? Even if the girls' team has people that," you paused here to consider your wording but decided not to hold back, "...got me benched? I don't think I could go back there."

"It's up to you. But there are different ways to enjoy the sport without playing."

"Like becoming a coach," you chuckled.

"Something like that, but I think that you could start with becoming a manager."

Truth be told, it was something that you had thought about before, but hadn't had the courage to talk to anyone about it.

"Do you think I'd be useful as a manager?"

"You love volleyball, and you get along with the team. I think that goes a long way."

Feeling cheered up by that compliment, you continue in a brighter tone. "Do you even need a manager?"

"The team will find out after we graduate."

You hum in response, looking around for the clock. Ten minutes to nine.

Snapping out of whatever mushy atmosphere you were in you shot up. "We need to quickly clean up and leave!"

Ushiwaka, still sitting, grabbed your wrist, preventing you from dashing off. Confused, you turn around to ask for an explanation with your puzzled facial expression. You don't just do that and say nothing.

Before he said anything though, he stood and took a step closer. "But, Y/n, will you play volleyball with me at least until we graduate?" He let go of your hand as he spoke, but his hand hovered near yours.

You chuckled. "I'd love that."

He just smiled in response, and that was better than anything he could have said.