Hours went by of nothing but struggling, my hair getting pulled in dozens of different directions and clothing being thrown off and on to try and pull together the remaining parts of my outfit. I allowed them to do so much as straighten my hair, but as soon as I seen Isozaki reach for one of her eyeshadow brushes, I began thrashing like a wild animal. Makeup hasn't touched my face once since I've been living, and I refused to let this be the first time.
Finally, when everyone agreed that this was as beautified as they were gonna get me, we leave my completely trashed room and head to the downstairs part of my house. There, we just sit on the couch and relax for the next half hour before Kuroo was suppose to arrive.
Seconds hasn't even passed before I was ripping into another chocolate bar, but everybody else around me kept a nonchalant expression. "Did he say anything about where he was taking you?" Mika poked, sitting in a white armchair we had by the window. "There's just so much for you guys to do in Tokyo."
I give a tiny shrug as I walk around the couch and plop down onto the cushions, earning a disapproving, yet still humorous, glare from Kiyomi. She was probably just afraid I would mess up my hair, which they had finally gotten untangled. "He hasn't told me much, only that we would be taking the train to get there."
Just this piece of information seemed to excite them. When you live this high up in the mountains, you don't usually travel into the big city much, probably because it's a completely different change of scenery than living deep in the woods. I've been into Tokyo a few times for competition, but never just to look around for fun. This would definitely be new to me.
Everybody then continued into a big conversation, talking about all the things Tokyo had to do. I heard the Skytree mentioned a few times, or maybe a walk in the park. Honestly, I didn't know what to expect, or what I wanted to expect. I've never thought about what my first date would be like, let alone being in Tokyo. I guess I just had to trust that Kuroo knew what he was doing.
A few minutes passed before the back door to the patio suddenly gave a loud creak, and a big, muscular man scuffles inside while wiping his oil covered hands on an already filthy rag, bringing the conversation in the room to a stop for a moment. Nobody was startled though, the dusty old camo hat he wore in his head was almost unmistakable. "Hey, dad." I nodded in his direction as everyone eagerly craned their necks to be seen over the couch.
He hadn't even looked up yet as he spoke. "Damn engine out in the shed just spewed oil on me." He growled jokingly. "May as well just blow it with a grenade."
When a chorus of laughter rose in the room, his attention is finally taken off his hands and to the number of girls that were actually present. I almost snorted when I seen the look on his face to follow, as if he had finally realized this was becoming a normal thing. "Oh look." He says with a teasing, deadpan tone as he heads into the kitchen to get a beer from the fridge. "It's all the girls who never seen to hang out at their own houses."
"Hi, Nakeyama." Everyone giggled, giving small waves to my dad. He was a common favorite among the team, attending every one of our games and using his soldier voice, as we like to call it, to cheer louder than the whole crowd. He knew everyone by heart, and even if he acts annoyed, loves when they come to visit.
I couldn't tell though that right now, looking at me all dressed for my date, he was anything but thrilled. "So the boy is coming here?" He asked, leaning over on the couch beside me as he takes a sip from his can. "And he's taking you... to Tokyo?"
"Dad, you promised you wouldn't get all weird." I growled, giving him a swift punch on the shoulder from below. "Kuroo is a nice guy-"
"A nice guy that kissed you." He interrupts, turning his head to look at me. Usually dads would be angry at their daughters for doing such things, but he stayed calm through it all, knowing that he could trust me. He showed this by just giving a warm chuckle. "If he was able to get that far, he must be made of gold."
"He's better than gold." Etsuka spoke up from the floor, sitting on her knees. "And it wasn't Kuroo that kissed Akiraa... she was the one that kissed him first."
I make a slashing motion across my throats to make her stop talking, but my dad didn't seem to care. He just responded with a laugh. "I don't need to know all the details, Tumbler." He says, making Etsuka give a wide smile at the use of his personal nickname for her. "If your mom were here, that would be her line of work. Course, if your mom was here, she'd have hunted this boy down and sliced his neck for even looking at her baby girl."
"You think I don't already have a switchblade in my pocket for just going into the city?" I asked, reaching into the boots I wore and pulling out the black leather knife I had snuck in before I left my room. Dad had given it to me years ago, it was one he used while he was deployed. "I ain't afraid to use it on Kuroo either if he steps out of line."
"That's my girl." He whistled, extending a hand for a strong high five.
I felt a pair of disapproving eyes on my skin again, and I look to the side to see Kiyomi as she just glares through the top of her glasses. "Must you have to be armed on your date?" She growls, crossing her arms bitterly.
"Aww, come on, Kiyo." Dad picked, turning his head toward her. "Not everybody can weaponize a tablet like you can."
I see her arm move forward as she holds her stupid tablet up in her lap, almost like she was gloatingly showing it off. Hell, when we were kids, my dad would help her build her arm strength with exercise because he said she 'had the upper body of a full grown bull'.
Shinobu just gives a low scoff, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. "You act as if the knife is going to be the thing that scares Kuroo away." She fires.
She tried to hide it, by I noticed her subtle glance at my dad as he bursts out laughing. A look of praise spread across her face as he reaches out for their usual little fist bump, followed by the explosion sound from their mouths.
Surprisingly, as much as Shinobu despised me, she absolutely adored my dad, and be liked her too. Any time she would come over to study, they would team together and just bash me like it was some kind of sick game. They enjoyed it, while I was just left roasted on the floor.
We were interrupted by scratching at the back door, then loud barks followed as they echoed throughout the house. I watch as my dad leans up from the couch and walks to open the door. Just as his hand had turned the doorknob, it explodes wide open and a very hyper German Shepard begins running laps around the couch, barking excitedly as everyone begins gravitating towards the dog.
"Sit, Ranger! Sit!" I ordered before she could bulldoze somebody over. After she was obediently sitting on the floor, she was flocked by the girls as everyone took their turns giving her head pats and chin scratches.
Ranger was my dad's dog while in the force, now retired from that work just like my dad was. There may have been hints of grey around her muzzle, but anybody who didn't know her like we did would believe she was just a juvenile puppy, never letting her age show. She even still wore her original dog tag around her neck, along with my dads also hooked to her silver collar, which continued to jingle as her head bounced around excitedly at the attention she was receiving.
I reached out to wrap my arms lovingly around the dog, but was quickly pulled away by Isozaki as she shoves me back into the couch. "Oh no you don't!" She scolds. "I didn't pull together that outfit for you to just ruin it with dog fur!"
"Why worry about the dog's hair when Akiraa's is already a mess!" Etsuka points out, running to her bag and grabbing the brush she had used before. "Seriously, girl, how hard is it to keep yourself neat for a few hours?"