Together, Always. [Kageyama Tobio]

6. Researching and Cracking

Karasuno's male volleyball team was taking a break, so the captain asked Tobio to look for Hiromi. The team was going to start with running drills and she had promised to help them. Her practice was supposed to be done by now but she still wasn't in the gym.

The girls' track team was practising drills outside the school, so he stood some distance away from the school gate and waited.

Someone from the school walked up to him. "Kageyama-kun! I was just looking for you. I'm Ando Kazumi, I'm sure you know me, many people do."

She realized that he hadn't even noticed her, much less heard her. It irritated her but she brushed it off and tapped his shoulder. This time, he noticed.

"Hiro? Oh.... Hello...." He nodded his head at Ando and looked away.

Ando thought that this meant he was finally listening so she started to ramble all about herself. She ended her monologue by confessing to him that she and her friends liked him but she was the only one who dared to tell him. She also added that she hoped they could go out sometime.

Once again, he hadn't been paying attention to her. He wasn't being rude, it's just that he was too engrossed in his thoughts, he was mega analyzing.

His mind was mostly ever occupied by a few, very important parts of his life, including volleyball, food, milk, and Nakai Hiromi. At the moment she was dominating his thoughts. The thought of her always brightened his mood but there was one problem.

For a while now, every time he thought of her or was with her, he felt a weird but pleasant fluttering sensation in his stomach. Thankfully, he was used to it by now, considering they spent so much time together. It puzzled him for a long time, but now he was starting to get it. He just had to make sure he was right. He was not very good at understanding these things so he didn't want to jump to conclusions.

"I know you're very close to that Nakai Hiromi but you are obviously not dating her. And don't you think she's weird? It's best if you hang out with us more than her."

He snapped out of his trance and he looked at the girl beside him. He gave her a confused look. Was she talking to me? He shook his head and asked, "Have you seen Hiromi? I need to get back to volleyball practise soon."

"Huh?" Ando didn't understand why he was asking about that girl. It was irrelevant to what she had been saying to him. She looked at his perplexed expression for a few more seconds and then her eyes widened in anger. He had been deaf to what I was saying the entire time. Are she and volleyball the only things in his head or what?!

She shot him a deadly glare and then stormed off which only increased his confusion. But the whole ordeal was forgotten the moment he saw the person he had been waiting for. He thought she looked so cute in her black and white practice uniform and with her short, black hair tied in tiny, low pigtails.

The girls stopped just a few meters away from him after they completed the round. Hiromi immediately spotted him and her heart swelled at the sight of him. She gave him a big smile and a wave then looked at her third-year captain, Chisaka Haru. "Captain, is it fine if-"

Her captain looked up to see Tobio as well. "Oh, your boyfriend is here! No need to ask, you can go to him now." She smiled at her knowingly. Then she announced, "Practice is done for today, good work everyone!"

"He's not my boyfriend," she squeaked.

"He might as well be."

"Captain! Wha-"

"Hiromi-chan, you both will start dating sooner or later. I just know it!" The third-year vice-captain, Sahashi Miyo gave her a thumbs up.

"I.... don't like hi-"