Shy

Chapter 28

He wasn't special.

No matter what he did, Tanaka couldn't get that thought out of his head.

The only thing he could do was throw himself into practice. He always gave it his all, but today, he gave even more. It was completely noticeable too.

His spikes had just a bit more power, his plays were just a bit more reckless, and his eyes were just a bit more ferocious. Normally, there wouldn't be an issue with any of this but there was one glaring difference.

Tanaka was oddly...quiet.

He didn't shout, he didn't jeer, he didn't even take his shirt off.

He wasn't exactly at the top of his game, but he was performing just as he normally did, if not better. It was a stark contrast to how he became when he was gloomy about a certain first-year girl.

As a result, the other members of the team were concerned, but couldn't actually say much to him.

Ennoshita, of course, knew exactly why Tanaka was like this. He constantly tried getting the wing spiker's attention, but it always ended in a failure. Seeing as how practices usually are, there was rarely a chance for him to pull the other aside for a talk.

Even when they did have a few water breaks, Tanaka would constantly be on the move. He had to do something. If he stopped his body for even a moment, his mind would shift its main focus onto the charms. He did anything to distract himself, and as such, Ennoshita never got the chance to talk to him.

Eventually getting so annoyed with him, Ennoshita pulled Tanaka aside during clean up time. He pushed him into the dark storage room. "Will you get over yourself?" He nearly shouted.

Tanaka's eye twitched at that. "W-What are you talking about?!?" The other boy sighed in annoyance. "Look, you've been having some serious mood swings ever since you've met this girl. I don't care what you do with your relationship, but would you stop being a complete pansy about everything that deals with her? You're worrying everybody on the team because it's so not like you."

Tanaka looked down in shame. Was it really so obvious? He thought he hid his emotions much better this time.

Noticing that he had no intention of responding any time soon, Ennoshita grabbed his own charm and nearly shoved it in Tanaka's face. The action was quick, causing the boy's eyes to widen.

Upon actual inspection, however, his eyes opened even further and his mouth was agape. Ennoshita looked at him expectantly, one eyebrow raised.

"Do you get it now? Yours is completely different." Tanaka hesitantly reached for the charm in his pocket. It seemed like he was afraid to check, even though he already knew what it looked like.

He laid the charm flat on his palm and stared at it. He looked up at the charm held by Ennoshita. The wing spiker alternated between the two, as if in disbelief. He wanted to make absolutely sure that his eyes weren't just playing tricks on him.

"Everyone got the same one, even the coach and Takeda-sensei. You're the only one with a special charm." Ennoshita clarified.

Special.

That word had been circling in his head the entire practice, but it had a much more positive effect now.

Ennoshita sighed in annoyance once again. "You're honestly hopeless. How dense can you be? Even if you did get the same charm as everyone else, you'd still be the only person to receive it from her personally."

Tanaka's mouth dropped again at that. Ennoshita was right! Tsukiko gave all the charms to Daichi to pass out, but she went out of her way to give Tanaka his. He gripped the charm tighter, tears threatening to spill from his eyes.

Unable to hold back any longer, Tanaka started comically crying. "ENNOSHITAAAAA!!!" He lunged toward the boy for a hug of appreciation but was avoided. "Wipe your face first!!" Ennoshita shouted with disgust.

"When did you get so cool, Ennoshita?!?" Tanaka asked between sniffles. The boy just shook his head. "I'm really not going to warn you anymore. I'm swiping that regular position right from under you."

Tanaka jumped. "C-Come on, man! I won't give it to you that easily!" The two bantered like so for the rest of the clean up time.

Tanaka was alone on his walk home, the charm firmly in his grasp. His eyes just would not stray from it. He even nearly got run over by a couple of cars when crossing the street because of the distraction.

This charm was the only one different. This charm was the only one she handed out personally.

This charm was special.

Tanaka grinned to himself and giggled like a maniac, so content with himself that he was unable to hold it. One could almost see the pink aura and flowers blooming around him. His cheeks were a matching light pink.

The boy began skipping, just thinking about Tsukiko and how flustered she was when giving him the handmade charm. She was just too cute! How lucky was he! He vowed that once he got home, he would give her a call to thank her again.

For now, he would give her a text. About to place the charm back into his pocket in exchange for his phone, Tanaka felt something odd. It was like something was stuck to the back of the charm.

He felt the fabric, his fingers searching it. He stopped along the bottom when he felt a slight bulge across it. Being nighttime, it was too dark to see exactly what it was. Using his other hand, he pulled out his phone and flipped it open to use as a flashlight.

Illuminating the back of the charm, Tanaka's eyes widened at the hidden message.

I'm rooting for you!

He stopped dead in his tracks, the light from the phone dimming because of the inactivity. Even so, he continued staring at the words, no longer needing the light to see them because of his intense focus.

I'm rooting for you!

The boy read it over and over and over again. He read it in Tsukiko's voice. He imagined her up in the stands during his game, cheering this - cheering him on. He saw her shouting her heart out, a blush on her cheeks.

Tanaka's legs pulled him forward. His walking turned into a light jog that turned into a full sprint. Before he knew it, he was in front of the Kita household.

"TSUKIKO-CHAN!" He shouted, not remembering that it was the middle of the night and that he could possibly be disturbing her neighbors. Due to the adrenaline and his overwhelming feelings, he didn't even remember that this was the first time he used her first name.

Tsukiko opened the window to her room, poking her head out with wide eyes. "T-T-T-Tanaka-s-senpai??!! W-W-What's g-going on?!" She looked left and right frantically, hoping that nobody would come out of their homes to shout at the loud boy.

"This!!!" Tanaka thrust his hand up, the charm in his grasp. "Thank you so much, Tsukiko-chan!!" She blushed at the use of her first name again.

"Also!! Please come to my games tomorrow and cheer for me!" She had already promised him before that she would be there, but he wanted to make sure that she was coming for him. He deliberately said me and my instead of the team.

He hesitated to say the next part. "...P-Please cheer for me, like you wrote on this charm!" His blush matched her own. His eyes fierce and staring straight up at her.

Tsukiko nearly fainted at his words, the heat on her cheeks getting to her. Secretly, she had been hoping that he wouldn't find the secret message, but she was also ecstatic to know that it made him this happy.

She firmly nodded her head. "O-Okay! I-I'll be s-sure to ch-cheer for y-you tomorrow!" She barely got the words out.

Tanaka beamed up at her, his smile so bright. He gave a deep bow. "Thank you!! Sorry if I disturbed you! Good night!!!" He dashed off before she could respond.

When he was finally out of sight, Tsukiko collapsed to her knees. The only thing supporting her from completely falling were her arms propped up on the windowsill. She turned around so that she could sit with her back against the wall.

Tsukiko lifted her hands to encase her cheeks, feeling the heat and the upward tug of her lips.