Chapter Text
“Finals, huh?”
Shoyo grinned and nodded at his older sister. “We’re playing against your school too.”
Their mom had made a big meal to celebrate Shoyo’s big upcoming game.
Riko did remember hearing a school announcement about it. “Ah. That means you’ll be going against Ushijima.”
“You know him?!” Shoyo shouted from across from her. “He’s a real jerk! Told me my school came from concrete.”
She rolled her eyes. “He’s a school celebrity. Girls fawn over him. Some guys too,” she giggled. “And we’re in the same class. We’ve worked on some projects, but I wouldn’t say I know him.”
“Are you going to the game tomorrow then?” he asked.
“I wasn’t going to go, but now that I know it’s against you. I’ll go cheer you on,” she grinned at her younger brother.
“Can I go too?” Natsu asked next to Riko.
“You have a playdate,” Their mom chimed in.
“Sorry,” Riko ruffled her sister’s hair, “next time.”
“If you want, my teammates’ sister can drive you,” Shoyo’s eyes sparkled. Finally, someone to cheer him on. “Although I do have to warn you, she’s a crazy driver.”
“I’m okay with that. Sounds good.”
Shoyo said he would let her know once he got the okay from his teammate’s sister.
After dinner, Riko went to brush her teeth. She didn’t like that she lied to her brother, but she didn’t want him to freak out. She did know Ushijima. Those projects they worked together on brought them a lot closer than she had intended. Her first kiss.
But that was over with. He returned to his standoffish self; he avoided her at all cost. She would text him to see if he wanted to spend time together. He made some excuses that he had to study or to practice. She offered to study with him, but he blew her off. She got the message. Loud and clear.
Riko did some homework but could hardly concentrate. She took out her phone and scrolled to Wakatoshi’s.
It had been a few months since things fizzled out. She got a good month with him though. Where things seemed perfect. She figured he was embarrassed to be seen with the scholarship girl. Riko worked her way into the best academy around. She had several scholarships to get her in. She was offered to stay in the dorms, but her mother couldn’t afford that, and the scholarships wouldn’t cover it. So Riko got up early every day to take two buses to get to school.
At school, she was known as the poor student. She didn’t have the money. But she was great academically. The top of her class. The girls in her school were vicious. Always judged her much older uniform. The same one she had since the first year. The same shoes.
Riko never cared about what they thought. She was there for education. Wakatoshi seemed not to care because he spoke to her like a regular person. He didn’t look down at her.
But he lived in a different world. His father was rich and worked overseas. He told her that. He had confided in her. He didn’t seem to care about her financial status, but why did he blow her off? He seemed to change overnight.
It didn’t matter.
Her brother was in the finals. She knew very well that was a big deal. Their mom wouldn’t be able to miss work to see him and since she had not gone to any of his games, she needed to be there for him. It was her last year at her school, so she didn’t care what others would think.
She didn’t have friends. It made things easier.
There were soft knocks on her door. Shoyo opened her door.
“Tanaka’s sister said she’d be delighted to pick you up. She said to be ready at 10.”
“Thanks, Sho,” she grinned. “I can’t wait to see you play. It’s been a while since we used to practice in the backyard.”
Shoyo’s eyes were filled with fireworks. “I can’t wait for you to see how much I’ve grown! Our special attack!” He jumped high, so high he hit the ceiling. He groaned in pain when he landed back on his feet and rubbed his head.
“Hey, cool it,” she laughed. “I’ll be sure to have a good seat! Do your best!”
Shoyo started to cry and then hugged his sister. “Thank you, big sister!”
She laughed and hugged him back.
**
Saeko Tanaka was indeed a crazy driver.
“Th-thank you for the lift,” Riko stuttered as they sped down the highway.
“It’s good to meet Shoyo’s family! He doesn’t really talk about his personal life.”
“Uh-uh…yeah…it’s complicated,” Riko blushed.
“And it’s your first volleyball game?” she asked.
Riko nodded her head. “I mean an official game. I used to watch games on TV with Shoyo.”
“What school do you go to? I work in the Karasuno kitchen and haven’t seen you around.”
“I go to Shiratorizawa Academy,” Riko replied.
“Wait! You go there?! Wow! Shoyo never mentioned that!”
“I think he’s been so caught up, he forgot,” Riko joked. “But I’m going to cheer for my brother. I really couldn’t care less about Shiratorizawa.”
“Ah, bad blood?”
“You can say that,” Riko muttered thinking about Wakatoshi. His olive eyes. His surprisingly soft lips. How his embrace made her feel like the world stopped during the duration of it and everything was all right.
“OOOHHH, what’s his name?” Saeko giggled. “I see that blush.”
Riko didn’t have a lot of girl friends, so she wasn’t used to this kind of talk. She had a sister, but obviously it wasn’t something to talk about to an eight year old. But something told Riko that Saeko would be a good listener.
“Uh…the captain of the volleyball team of Shiratorizawa,” she confessed.
“WHAT?!” Saeko screamed in shock. “Does Shoyo know?”
“Of course not. Plus, it’s not like it was a big deal. We kissed here and there,” Riko shrugged. “He and I don’t even talk anymore.”
“Anymore, so you guys were close. I mean you did kiss.”
Riko sighed. “I thought it was going somewhere. We did spend some time together after his practice. I would watch him practice and... he stopped talking to me.”
“Ah, young love,” the blonde laughed, but then turned serious. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out.”
She shook her head. “He had his reasons. What they are, I don’t know, but today all that matters is that I get to see my little brother play. He’s worked really hard for so long. I know that. He’s been coming home late a lot. I can’t wait to see his hard work pay off.”
“That’s right!” the older one shouted. “Who cares about men!”
Riko laughed and was happy she was able to talk about it to someone. She’s kept it inside of herself for weeks and it was nice to have some support.
They arrived at the center in one piece. They went to the ticket booth. Riko took out her school ID and was given a free ticket.
“You get it in for free?” Saeko asked.
“Shiratorizawa pays for them. Might as well save some money,” Riko laughed. She had also shared how snob the girls were at Shiratorizawa because she didn’t have a lot of money and she was on a scholarship.
“I like you; may I call you Riko?” Saeko asked.
“I’d love that if I can call you Saeko,” she told her.
“Yes, of course!” Saeko clapped her hands. “Have you met the team?” They walked inside the building and Riko grew nervous.
“No,” she told her. “Are they here?”
She was nervous of running into Wakatoshi, but she doubted he would care. She wasn’t in the school uniform so it would be weird for her to be there and not cheer her school.
Saeko pointed to the group of boys wearing black jackets. Riko recognized her younger brother. He had the same hair as their mother. Riko got her dark hair from her father. It was why everyone was surprised to know she and Shoyo were related all of the time.
“Shoyo!”
Her redheaded brother turned to her and grinned.
“BIG SIS!” he waved at her. The others with the jacket all had shocked faces.
She and Saeko reached them. She hugged her younger brother tightly and then released him.
“BIG SIS?” some questioned behind Shoyo.
He turned to his teammates and pointed to her. “This is my older sister Hinata, Riko. She’s a third year at… Shiratorizawa.”
They were several gasps.
“I’m here to support my brother,” Riko clarified at once. “I’ve never been to any of his games.” She gestured to Shoyo.
“Won’t your friends at school be mad at you?” one of the older ones asked. He had silver hair.
She shrugged. “Don’t have friends there, so it doesn’t matter.”
“Oh! I’m Koshi Sugawara,” the silver haired one held out his hand. Then she met the others. Ryu, as he insisted to be called, definitely looked like his sister. Asahi was a cute one with his hair back. Daichi was the captain and Riko could tell. There was an aura around him that reminded her of Wakatoshi. Leadership. Daichi had really kind eyes.
“You must be Tobio Kageyama,” she pointed to the dark-haired boy with blue eyes. He seemed shocked. “Shoyo talks a lot about you.”
“I do not!” Shoyo defended himself.
Riko and the others laughed. The rest of the team introduced themselves. She recognized some of the names. Shoyo tended to talk a lot during dinner and she might have been paying attention.
Riko even met the coaches and the managers. They were all kind.
“Just can’t believe Shoyo has been holding out on us!” Nishinoya slapped Shoyo’s back. “You have a cute sister and didn’t tell us.”
“Because it’s none of your business,” Shoyo muttered.
“Well, everyone, do your best,” Riko encouraged. She knew Shiratorizawa’s team was powerful. She never saw them play officially but just watching them practice was enough to know they were good. But she had faith Karasuno was good as well. Being in their presence told her that they were hungry for victory.
“Thank you,” they all said back. They all walked away and Riko groaned and doubled over.
“I have to use to the restroom,” she told Saeko. The blond told her where she would be waiting. Riko found the women’s restroom and there was a line to use it. She waited patiently and then after she was done, she exited.
She turned right and froze in place when she saw Wakatoshi at the end. The way she was supposed to go. His eyes already fixed on her. Like an eagle who found its prey.
“I thought you didn’t come to games,” his even tone said he was actually curious. “You’re not in uniform.”
“Actually, the school you’re playing against? My brother is the middle blocker,” she told him. They were still a few feet apart, but he took a step towards her and she remembered just how short she was compared to him. It took him two or three steps to reach her.
“You came to cheer him then.” He concluded and could she hear a hint of disappointment. Then his eyes narrowed. “So…were you a spy all this time.”
Did she lose her hearing? Did she imagine that? Riko blinked at the accusation. Then being the smart person that she was, she connected it all. It all made sense and it made her furious.
“Wait, did you know I was related to someone from the Karasuno? And did you think I got close to you to get dirt or something?” she clenched her hands at the outright audacity of him.
His face softened. Just a little. She had learned it well enough to know when he was caught off guard.
“Is that why you stopped talking to me? Why you shut me out?” she shook her head in anger. “You clearly don’t know everything Ushijima because you’re a complete idiot.” She turned to walk away from him, but he grabbed her hand. Not tightly, but enough for her to stop.
“I met your brother in the street. Remember when I got in trouble for bringing outsiders? It was him and another player. When he said his name…I thought it was just a coincidence because you didn’t look related. Then…when I went to your home, I saw the picture of your family. I went to the conclusion you were just using me to help your brother.”
“Why didn’t you just ask me?” she pulled her hand back. “I’ve always been honest with you.”
“I was afraid. For once in my life…I was afraid of hearing that it was true,” he disclosed. “I thought a clean cut off was the best for both us.”
What she liked about Wakatoshi, in the beginning, was that she didn’t have to guess where she stood with him. When he told her he liked her, it was straight forward. No guessing games. When he said he liked spending time with her that was it, she believed it. For him not to confront her spoke volumes.
Then it was clear that it wasn’t because she was poor that he ended things. That brought some relief. Very little though.
“I thought you were embarrassed to be with me,” she confessed.
“Why would I be? You’re a smart and honest person.”
“Apparently you thought I wasn’t,” she hissed with narrowed eyes. “I thought you didn’t want to be with the poor girl. Because I couldn’t afford those fancy restaurants. Because I don’t live in the dorms and I have to take a bus and a train just to get home.”
“That was never a problem. I never thought about that. You are an excellent student. You deserve to be at Shiratorizawa. They only accept the best and that means you are the best.”
“And apparently with no integrity,” she sighed dejectedly. “If you would have just asked, I would have told you the truth. I know you have trouble with social cues, so let me spell it out for you, Ushijima, you’ve offended me and my honor.”
His eyes widened for a moment. Regret flashed through them. Something she had never seen in someone like him. Every move he made had purpose. She also knew that him realizing how wrong he was, was going hard for him to take.
“I’m sorry if I hurt you,” he bowed. “That was never my intention. I wish the circumstances were different and you were here for me.”
Riko blushed at his admission. This was the Wakatoshi she liked. The one she fell for. He wasn’t afraid to admit things, but he had been afraid to confront her.
“It’s in the past,” she told him.
“I hope you give me another chance. After we win.”
Riko was not surprised by that. Wakatoshi was filled with certainty. Not confidence. He just knew their school was extremely good. But she had seen the fire in the eyes of her brother’s team and there was something about them. A need to prove themselves. And that just might be what could get them the win.
“Do your best, Toshi,” she touched his arm and walked away. She made sure to walk fast. If she had stayed any longer, she probably would have forgiven him or kissed him. But most of all, she didn’t want him to see the tears he brought.