october, 2013
there was nothing more stressful in the world than teaching. atleast that's the case for second year honor student kisho inoue who usually turns down the request of her teachers to tutor students who aren't as productive in class like she is. she wanted to help, of course, but she really isn't made to teach. however, in some cases, she does decide to make exceptions and help a fellow student in need.
and one of the lucky few is suna rintaro– inarizaki's middle blocker who had to pay inoue for a couple after school english lessons.
"are you finished?" inoue turns away from her phone, bumblebee colored eyes moving to the boy on her right.
suna doesn't respond at first. instead, he continues answering the worksheet inoue had prepared before their session. she usually made a small assessment test of what they learned the week before to refresh the boys memory.
suna would then put his pencil down, stretch his arms, and look at inoue.
"you're too impatient." he then sighs, "can we take a break?"
inoue hums, agreeing, "yeah. after we finish checking your work."
"no fair."
suna wanted to roll his eyes at her. from their previous meetings, he had noticed that inoue has exceptional skills in teaching. they were already advancing to lessons which were yet to be discussed in class. with that, he knows better than to complain because she was actually helping him. he was actually getting his money's worth.
this all seemed too good to be true though. there has to be a downside with being tutored by kisho inoue.
and guess what? suna was right. a problem he encountered with inoue was her temper– suna will always think it's funny that she'd blow a fuse over the fact that he can't pronounce an english sentence correctly.
all in all, she was entertaining and fun, but things can get pretty dull real quick.
suna's eyes would then trail to a volleyball near the glass sliding door leading to his backyard. like the genius that he is, an idea comes to mind. suna then calls for the girls.
"inoue."
"what?"
"lets play some volleyball."
inoue scrunches her nose, a bit taken aback by the request, "why? you tryin' to skip?"
"no, dummy." he then pauses, "maybe, but who cares? i'm starting to go numb from sitting for hours. and doesn't exercising stimulate the brain? c'mon, i'm going to die of boredom here."
amused with his answer, inoue raises a brow and smiles. she thought about it for a moment– she wouldn't have to teach him when their time is eaten away by playing volleyball. doesn't that sound nice? inoue then sighs in defeat, standing up and placing her phone on the table.
inoue humors him, "fine, sure. anything to help that big head of yours understand."
she begins rolling up her sleeves.
"but lets make it quick." she didn't want to take advantage of the situation. it would be unfair if he paid in full and she didn't teach him the entirety of their lesson.
a small smile tugs on the corners of suna's lips. it doesn't take long for the duo to head outside and decide who's starting the game with a simple coin toss. they each took a side in the backyard, making sure to mark where their net would be as suna doesn't own one.
"do you know how to play?" suna questions, holding the ball. he was going to serve first.
inoue shrugs, tying her dark blue hair into a ponytail, "i've watched plenty of your games and i've played with friends before. i think i get the gist."
suna scoffs, "really now.."
a smirk appears on the girls face, "i'm a fast learner, y'know?"
the boy prepares to serve. he was going to play as if warming up for practice– aside from the fact that his backyard isn't as large as most courts and his serves would just go in the neighbors yard, he didn't want to put inoue through the hell of receiving his strong serves.
what he'll do, though, is get rid of the smirk on her face.
glancing at her one last time, suna throws the volleyball up before smacking it with his palm. his serve was short and to the left of the yard.
inoue had to rush, almost slipping as she struggled to get the ball up. she might've succeeded, but before she could return to the center, suna has already striked the ball down. inoue didn't even see it go to her side– however, the ball hitting the fence behind her indicates that she has indeed missed the ball.
"so.. you were saying, inoue the fast learner? you're moving like a sloth." suna lets out a chuckle. her reaction time was fast, he has to give her credit for that, but her actual speed wasn't as impressive.
"i'm still warming up, okay!?" and there her true colors come shining through. suna knew it wouldn't take him long to rile her up.
"if you say so."
this time, inoue is the one serving the ball. she takes a deep breath, now focusing on hitting the ball with just the right amount of force. suna's eyes were on her– he's watching her every move like a hawk. when inoue does hit the ball, suna is quick to receive it.
inoue sends it back to his side of the yard and suna does the same. he spikes the ball down, but this time, inoue was able to catch it before it hit the ground. her heart races, amazed she was even able to do that.
"ha! in your face, asshole!"
suna was unable to receive the ball– it was short and he was too lazy to chase after it. the boy raises a brow at the girl who seems to be celebrating.
"oho. is that what we're doing?"
they continued, their match slowly becoming more violent with each point scored. inoue was cursing like a sailor whenever she'd fail to receive the volleyball and suna was contemplating wether or not he should play like he's loosing a volleyball tournament just to piss inoue off.
despite the trash talking and obvious need to score the most, they were both having fun. inoue has never felt this exhilarated before at a game of volleyball and suna was having the time of his life destroying the pride of his poor tutor. not only that but inoue keeps noticing the way suna would smile to himself when he scores, and suna could see how happy inoue is when she gets a point.
they finally decided to stop when the sun had set. almost two and a half hours of volleyball. they couldn't declare a clear winner which was a bummer– both inoue and suna lost track of who was scoring the most and focused on keeping the ball up.
when did they get so carried away in the game?
"that was.." inoue inhales, catching her breath, "really intense, suna. i'm sure your brain's stimulated enough for more tutorin'."
they return to the dining area, with suna grabbing a pitcher and two glasses from the kitchen. inoue takes a seat at her spot from before.
"you call that intense?" suna chuckles as he walks back in, handing inoue a glass and pouring her some water before himself, "it's childs play for me."
although it was true, he still enjoyed the match nonetheless. he thought he'd be the first to get tired and call it quits, but no. even he surprised himself when he kept going– maybe that's just the effect playing volleyball has on him and going againts the hot-headed inoue.
he was entertained to say the least. he wouldn't be surprised if they do play the next time she tutors him.
"of course it is. i'm no volleyball player and i'm not as athletic as you are either." inoue playfully rolls her eyes, gulping down the water inside her glass. she then takes a look at her arms- both were red and kinda stung to the touch, "you serve like a beast."
suna shrugs, "sorry, i got carried away."
inoue only hums as a response.
"but hey, you were doing great for someome with little experience." he compliments, showing her a thumbs up, "never knew you could focus on playing with all that screaming."
the girl shakes her head, "you're pretty amazing yourself, suna. naturally. well, you were probably going easy on me."
"i was."
atleast he wasn't dishonest, right?
with a laugh, inoue would then pick up her phone, turning it on. her eyes slightly widen when she sees the clock– it was already 5:30 in the evening. the usual time she'd leave suna's house.
"fuck. oh no.. we didn't get to finish." she glances at the english books and suna's unfinished activity on the dining table before she looks at the boy, an apologetic look on her face.
"ah." suna starts, "don't worry about that. let's continue tomorrow."
"uh, well.."
"you had fun, didn't you? playing volleyball?" the boy has a brow raised, his arms crossed over his chest as he questions her.
she couldn't deny it because she really did enjoy the rush of playing volleyball.
inoue sighs in defeat, smiling.
"yeah i did, suna. i had lots of fun."
suna hums.
"good. atleast we weren't wasting time on nothing."
december, 2013
after that, it became mandatory for them to use their spare time after tutoring sessions for a game of volleyball. it quickly became their favorite part of the afternoon– the playful banter between them, the intense matches, and the bragging over who loses. there came a point in time where inoue started declining suna's payment for their lessons as she would sometimes come over to solely play. not long, suna has even started to teach her how to receive and serve properly.
today was no different.
three months after their first ever match.
"suna, hurry up already." inoue glances at the time on her phone, "you're so slow."
"i can't focus with you." suna mutters, turning so she wouldn't see his face. in contrast to his words, suna was rushing to finish the activity inoue gave him.
they started a bit later than usual since suna was preoccupied with practice and inoue had to wait for him to finish. despite telling suna that they should take the day off as he's tired from training, the boy was persistent– saying they should still study. inoue didn't know if it's because he, by some miracle, suddenly wants to learn for once or if he just wanted to play a set with her after studying.
as silence begins to fill the dining area, inoue watches the boy with curiosity in her eyes.
a smile appears on her face when suna begins to nod off. it's clear to her that he's tired and in dire need of sleep but his attempts to hide the fact was cute.
inoue reaches for him, placing a hand on his shoulder and gently shaking him awake.
"hm?"
he blinks.
"what?"
inoue laughs as he looks at her, confused, "you're startin' to doze off. i told ya we should've canceled."
while inoue began cleaning up the books on the table, suna grabs his paper before the girl could take it, "no, wait. let me finish and we can go play one game."
her hunch was right. he does want to play.
"suna, it's fine. i swear. i don't mind." a look of genuine worry flashes in her eyes, "we won't finish anything if you're knocked out. get some rest, okay? or else i'll kick your stubborn ass."
inoue admired his efforts and determination, but she just couldn't let him continue anymore. not when he's exhausted and half asleep. plus, she might not understand his handwriting if he keeps this up.
suna contemplated.
of course she was right. practice was tiring. well, it always is, but something was different– it was more intense. inarizaki was on the way to playing in the spring high national tournament and that meant having to practice extra hard and for longer.
suna then looks at the paper in his hand with tired eyes and to the girl who was looking at him with concern.
"fine.."
he begrudgingly hands over the unfinished worksheet and inoue takes it from him with a smile on her face. they sat in silence for a few minutes as inoue continues tidying up. once finished and ready to leave, she speaks up.
"i can tutor you some other time after interhigh, 'kay? don't want you shouting nouns in the court."
suna nods, ignoring her little tease, "okay, but you'll watch our games though, right? you'll be there?"
the question came as a small shock to inoue.
she then nods, smiling fondly, "yeah, of course! i'll cheer for you."
inoue suddenly raises her arm, her hand turning to a fist as she held it out in front of suna. the boy tilts his head slightly, amused at the gesture.
"go crush 'em to bits, suna."
with a small chuckle, suna fist bumps inoue.
"i will."
there was something comforting about the moment that suna couldn't quite put a finger on. maybe he was too used to their bantering that seeing the girl like this felt kind of different. though what he knows is inoue's support now meant something to him. it warmed his heart.
she used to be just a hot-headed tutor until they started playing one on one. seems like volleyball really does connect people.
suna clears his throat.
"..well, i'm better at blocking but whatever."
"then go block 'em! stop nitpicking!"
march, 2015.
a lot of time has passed by, but it all felt like a blur to the duo. many tournaments came and went during the year and many exams needed studying for– despite all of that, they stuck together, making volleyball after tutoring sessions their afternoon routine. it's their favorite, actually. with that said, the now graduated third years, inoue kisho and suna rintaro, found themselves rolling up their uniform sleeves and once again heading out to play at suna's backyard.
this time, they felt like they had all the time in the world on the palm of their hands. after all, it was still summer vacation.
"i can't believe we're doing this instead of, i dont know, actually relaxing?"
inoue clips her bangs to the side, her hair too short to even be tied up like before, "well, this is for old times sake."
suna raises a brow in amusement, chuckling.
"for old times sake? you're being dramatic, kisho." suna waves a hand dismissively, his other occupied with the ball, "i crushed your pathetic ass last week and the week before."
"i know. no need to boast, but isn't it cool?" inoue starts, grinning, "i never expected volleyball with you to be the highlight of my afternoons. heck, i never knew i'd get into playing!"
suna stares at his best friend from across the yard with fondness in his eyes. he shared her sentiments– suna thought he'd be sick from how much volleyball is involved in his life, but no matter how tired he gets after practice, he always finds the energy to go againts inoue who was, slowly but surely, improving along the way.
there's definitely no forgetting the many memories they shared.
"okay, you're right. i admit. i have fun too." the boy admits, "so.. thanks for sticking around, kisho."
suna would suddenly blurt out, taking the girl by surprise. she blinks, processing his words.
inoue tucks her hair behind her ear, a small blush appearing on her face "awe.. you turning soft now, rintaro?"
oh how he'll never get tired of humbling her.. suna throws the ball up, preparing to serve. inoue notices this and immediately gets ready, her confidence oozing.
she receives perfectly, returning the ball with ease. however, suna is quick to shut her down with a powerful spike. inoue runs after the ball which bounces off her outstretched arm. she winces as it makes contact but immediately brushes it off. suna's eyes slightly widen as the ball came flying to his face. his first instinct was to block it with his palm. after the ball hits the grass, the backyard remained silent for a few seconds.
"yes! take that!" inoue laughs, rubbing her arm that is now a bright red as she celebrates, "what, rin, you rusty?!"
suna huffs, his competitiveness starting to show. he smirks, "you wish."
once again, inoue and suna began their afternoon routine, playing fiercely as if their life depended on it. like usual, they forgot to count points again because of how focused they are on shutting eachother down. there was no stopping them, though it's not like they wanted to either– after all, this might be the last game they play together before getting busy preparing for college.
that time will come eventually, but for now, they wanted this moment to last a little longer.
even for just a bit.