Chapter 42: Studying Together
"Okay guys you can take a break while I discuss some things with Sensei over here." Ukai yelled out as he went to a corner with Takeda to talk about the trip to Tokyo.
Some people started to go to the benches while others decided to still stay on the court to practice their skills a bit more.
"Hey Kageyama wanna play a game?" Haruto bounced the ball near the service line as he called out to Kageyama who was near him.
"What game are we playing?"
"I'll place a bottle at a small corner of the court and we would need to try and serve at it. The first person to do it, buys the other person a cookie from the cafe."
Kageyama thought for a second and agreed to the game. They both lined up to get ready to serve.
"Ready and go!"
Haruto yelled out loud and the two of them began to serve relentlessly at the bottle that was on the far left corner of the court. The two of them kept on jump serving the ball and ran to the other side to quickly grab their balls back to kept on serving.
"Woah Haruto's ball almost touched the bottle."
"Kageyama is also getting really close to it."
The guys on the bench watched the competition between Haruto and Kageyama and felt like it would be fun to join in. Haruto threw the ball lower than usual and palmed the ball towards his target.
'This one felt good!'
Haruto smiled as he saw the ball gradually reach the bottle. When it was about to touch the bottle he saw another ball also make its way towards the bottle. He looked and saw that it was Kageyama's and they were both silent as they waited to see who would win.
*Tap
Both of the balls touched the bottle at the same time making the two guys at the service line quiet.
"..So does this count as a tie."
"..I think so."
They both gave out a sigh and returned to the bench after grabbing the bottle they were aiming at.
"Umm! Can I have a quick minute with you guys?"
Kiyoko called out to the members of the volleyball team as she wanted to announce something. All of the guys turned their attention towards her and began to notice two people hiding slightly behind her.
One was a girl with short blonde hair and a side ponytail who tried to hide behind the other girl who was with her. She had long blonde hair and had an innocent smile on her face as they appeared from behind Kiyoko's back.
"Ehh Mahiru and Yachi?"
Haruto saw the two of them and had a confused expression on his face as he was wondering why they appeared with Kiyoko at their practice.
"Well everyone I just want to introduce you guys to these two who will be our newest members serving as managers of the team."
"I am Mahiru Shiina and it is nice to meet you."
"I-I am Hitoka Yachi and it is nice to meet you too!"
The two of them gave a quick greeting and Mahiru gave a quick smile towards Haruto who once again had his jaw hanging open towards her surprise.
'His shocked face never gets old' Mahiru covered her mouth to giggle and thought back to yesterday during lunch.
***
"Shiina! Yachi! A third year is calling for you guys near the door." A girl called out towards the two girls who were sitting together eating lunch in the classroom.
"D-Do you think we're in trouble?"
"I don't think we did anything wrong to be called out like that."
Mahiru reassured the nervous Yachi and made their way to the doorway of their classroom. The person they met was Kiyoko who was holding a piece of paper while waiting for the two of them.
"Oh hello, you were the person who was sitting at the bench during Karasuno's games right?" Mahiru said as she remembered seeing her during the time watching the Inter High games.
The three of them gave a quick greeting and went to the side of the hallway to talk about what Kiyoko called them out for.
"You want us to be managers for the volleyball team?"
"Yes, I wanted to find some first years who weren't in any clubs and also I noticed that you two attended the Inter High games, so I thought you may have an interest in volleyball…"
Mahiru was silent as she thought about the offer that Kiyoko said. Yachi was staring at the paper given to her and thought back to the games she saw at the gym. The excitement of each of the players and how they played hard to win each point.
The one moment that also came to her mind was how when each player jumped, it looked like they were flying, especially remembering that short guy with orange hair.
"I will join. What will be the responsibilities for being a manager?"
Yachi snapped out of her thoughts and saw that Mahiru accepted the position. Yachi looked at the paper in her hands one last time and also agreed to join.
"Really? Thank you! I will come by this classroom again tomorrow after school to introduce you to the rest of the team." Kiyoko smiled and squeezed both of their hands and thanked them again for accepting.
***
"So that was how you joined?"
"Yup, surprise!"
Haruto once again smiled at Mahiru's surprise as he got caught by it once again.
Karasuno's after school practice ended early since Takeda said that they still needed to study for exams and shouldn't practice for too long.
During the practice Kiyoko taught Mahiru and Yachi about the duties of being a manager and they learned quickly since it was just simple tasks that needed to be done.
Haruto quickly packed his stuff and called out to Kageyama and Hinata since they would have another study session together after school.
"Mahiru are you going home now or do you still need to do something at school?" Haruto asked her since practice was now over.
"No, I'm going to be with Yachi to continue studying for exams."
Haruto heard this while Kageyama, Hinata and Yachi went towards the two of them so they can continue with the plans they have. Seeing that the two girls will be doing the same thing as them, an idea came to Haruto's head.
"Would you like to study together since we're also planning to do the same thing?"
Mahiru and Yachi heard his suggestion and agreed since they were going to the same destination and studying in a bigger group could also help them.
The five of them made their way to the library and luckily saw a table that was able to fit their whole group. Mahiru sat down and Haruto sat down beside her while the other three sat right in front of them.
They spread out their textbooks and notebooks to start and after a while the quiet atmosphere settled in as the sounds of hushed whispering and pencils scratching paper were the only things heard.
"Yachi your notebook is really easy to read!"
"Well it's nothing special, I just learned some tricks from my mom…"
Yachi felt embarrassed by Hinata's praise as she showed him something from her book since Hinata asked her a question on a certain topic.
"Hmm so I use this word in this sentence.."
"Yeah but also make sure to read the passage before this one since it may help you figure out which word would be better."
Haruto slid Kageyama's book to him and he returned to his own space as he tried to figure out the other questions in the textbook on his own.
"You are a pretty good teacher Haruto."
Mahiru whispered to Haruto as she saw how he explained the question to Kageyama and how he should approach it to get the answer.
"I wouldn't really say that I'm good at it. It's just I have some experience teaching since when I was little I would help Akane out with some of her homework when she had troubles or when she forgot."
"Really? Who knew that Akane was the type of person to forget to do her homework."
The two of them continued to whisper to each other and quietly laughed as some topics of Akane that came up. If she had heard what the two of them were saying she would felt that her image of a reliable older sister would fade away.
"How are you faring with studying for the upcoming exams?" Haruto asked her as he solved some equations in his book.
"I just need to review some of the topics since I was studying the material beforehand a few months back."
"Woah, a few months back.. I guess that's why you're on top of the year for grades."
"Hehe it's nothing really." Mahiru gave a small smile as she saw the appreciative look Haruto was giving her.
"You really put the effort into studying huh. I also remember you reviewing even after dinner when I was busy washing the plates."
"Well I guess it's because I need to do my best…"
Mahiru slightly looked down at her book and her tone was blank after she had said her sentence. She looked like she was trying to endure an unpleasant feeling and Haruto stared at her steadily as she quickly switched back over to her usual expression.
'Mahiru..' Haruto vividly remembered that it was the same expression she always had when talking about her family. Haruto felt stuck as he wanted to help Mahiru but an issue about family was a difficult one to approach.
After a while Haruto reached for his bag and went to a small pocket where he had some small chocolates stored as he bought some earlier during lunch time.
"Mahiru."
"Hmm?"
Haruto quickly placed a small packaged square chocolate on her notebook and Mahiru just stared at the sweet that was on her book.
"I heard sugar can help your brain function better so have some." Haruto gave a smile towards Mahiru who was just staring blankly at him.
Haruto also gave some of the chocolates to the rest of the group as he felt like they needed the energy since the two guys looked like they were about to sleep.
'Although I can't help you right now. I wish to at least try to be there for you when you have these types of unpleasant feelings.'
Haruto thought in his head as he ate the chocolate that he gave out. Mahiru also took the chocolate that Haruto gave her and took a quick bite from it.
"It's sweet…"
Mahiru felt the sweet chocolate cover her tongue and turned to look at Haruto who was staring at his book trying to solve some questions.
She felt her bitter emotions from remembering her family being washed away as the chocolate Haruto gave her filled her with such warmth. She scooted her chair over in Haruto's direction and their shoulders slightly touched each other.
They didn't turn their head and focused on their books but the subtle touches their shoulders did, made them feel happy in their own special way.
***
I hope you enjoyed it. Peacu
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