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It's a miracle in it of itself that they're able to get everyone's schedules to line up, especially considering that it's Keiji's final year of high school and his seniors' first year of pursuing higher education. Not everyone is able (or wants) to make it, though. Former managers of Fukurodani's boys' volleyball club, Shirofuku and Suzumeda, elected to go to a cake buffet as opposed to surviving the sun and heat.
(Keiji himself usually has the honor of at least an invite from the girls whenever they go on their food excursions, but ever since Bokuto recently became interested in joining their trips and has a penchant for making things… interesting [to put it nicely], Keiji's rights have been revoked by association…)
As of now, the usual suspects are messing around in the shallows of the sea, doing who knows what in terms of shenanigans. (Bokuto should be relatively safe from peril… Theoretically. Washio and Konoha are with him at least…) As for Keiji himself? He's scrupulously collecting sand and an assortment of sea shells for the humble castle he wants to build. Nothing too ambitious, considering this activity is something he hasn't attempted since he was in grade school, but competent enough to look back upon it as a pleasant memory.
A shadow covers him that doesn't feel like it's from a cloud. Keiji looks up over his shoulder to see Konoha holding up the towel he had hanging around his neck as shade for the both of them. The person in question does a little two finger salute.
"Yo."
Keiji blinks once in surprise. "Hello, Konoha-san. And, thank you. For the shade."
Konoha smiles, with a touch of mischief that speaks of nothing good. "Well, yeah. We can't have the captain of Fukurodani's volleyball club of national fame get a heat stroke, now can we?"
Really, Keiji should have expected as much. Still, isn't this laying it out a little too thick?
With a quiet sigh, he replies, "While I appreciate the gesture, I don't exactly need the reminder. I'm all too aware of the responsibilities and honor I have to uphold."
At least Konoha has the decency to look somewhat repentant. "Ah, my bad, my bad. But, well, that's what this hang out is for, no? To let loose and mess around without getting into too much trouble. Youth, and all that good stuff."
Huh.
"…I thought spring or fall is the season to get sentimental."
"Oi."
"So even you have gaps like that, Konoha-san. One would never guess considering your looks."
Though Keiji admits he can't really imagine Konoha actually looking and acting like a thug…
Konoha's eye twitches. "Akaashi. You trying to pick a fight?"
Keiji raises a free hand for peace. "Not at all. It's refreshing, actually."
The other person sighs, the momentum of the exaggeration causing his shoulders to deflate. "Okay, now you're definitely dissing me."
Keiji opens his mouth to protest, but Konoha cuts him off with an 'Anyway, just pretend I'm not even here and keep doing whatever you're doing. Go on, go' and a couple juts of his chin.
With a sigh of his own, Keiji resumes his initial task of gathering materials. Usually, a person will offer help… Huh. Why does he feel like this has happened before?
Oh, right. Something similar occurred back when they first properly met. Konoha came by to see him unannounced with Komi close behind, declaring he would help distract Bokuto if training with him ever got too intense. With some shame, Keiji admits that the him of that time was too preoccupied with thinking about what an honor it was to even get to practice with a star player, blissfully dismissing the well-meaning, albeit backhanded, warning that went out of it's way to come to his classroom on a different floor.
Still, Komi's retort then had more truth in it than probably any of them realized at the time.
Konoha, truly, by all means and accounts, will never offer to take anyone else's place for any reason if he thought it would inconvenience him.
The average person, especially one with Japanese sensibilities, will find that side of Konoha brazen and insincere, but Keiji actually admires this part of him. After all, only a person with a strong sense of self can set boundaries like that.
As for himself…
Thankfully, Konoha's quiet, 'Ah,' stops Keiji from going down a negative thought spiral.
"When my little sister found out where I was going, she kept spamming me so many texts, nagging me not to take any of those shells that you can 'hear the ocean from,' 'cause they're potential homes for hermit crabs. Dunno why it came to me just now, but— Huh? Akaashi??"
Keiji's hand freezes in its tracks as a jolt of dread runs through his body. After a very painful and noticeable pause, he dumps out his bucket and promptly double checks for any of the aforementioned shells he may have picked up by accident.
"Whoa, whoa, hold on! It's not like you planned on taking it all home or anything, right?? Sorry, sorry— I was just running my mouth about some random thing I remembered. My bad…"
While he sorts through the sand for any culprits, Keiji replies, "No, your sister is completely right. I shouldn't be so careless."
He glances up in time to see a fond expression on Konoha's face, followed by a matching laugh. "So you have a side to you like that."
Keiji quickly returns to busying himself with his work, feeling slightly flustered. Konoha rarely shows such an unguarded side to him, after all.
Aloud, he says, hoping his tone is business as usual, "It's a given."
Konoha's tone is clearly teasing. "You do seem like the type to make sure everything is sorted out properly on trash day."
With a quirked eyebrow and mild disappointment, Keiji shoots back, "So you don't, Konoha-san?"
The flustered look on his face with a shade of pink to match is also refreshing. "Of— of course I do! That damn hag will kill me if I didn't." In a painfully obvious bid to salvage some pride back, Konoha changes the subject. "Anyway, it's my fault all your progress is pretty much gone now. So. I'll help you out. Don't expect this to be a regular thing though."
Keiji blinks in surprise. "Oh. Thank you…"
It's quite unfortunate that Konoha's face is now currently covered by his towel, so he can't get a proper read on his expression, but…
…Help? Konoha, helping? Well. No, it's not as though Konoha doesn't like to help others. It's just that it's usually more… roundabout in execution. Unless, of course, he's trying to impress someone.
Impress…? Come to think of it, this isn't the first time and probably not the last; at least Keiji doesn't think it is. When considering Konoha's character, honestly, it's quite odd— the things he goes out of his way for despite all his complaining.
Perhaps… Konoha likes him in a romantic sense? Even if that is the case, he never makes it obvious. And, of course, he's never spoken to Keiji about his feelings, either. Or anyone else for that matter, from the look of things. This part, Keiji can't fault him on. Washio and himself aside, their team is full of blabber mouths and teasers.
Maybe because they're at the beach, but Keiji can't help but think about the original 'The Little Mermaid.' A soul who gave up everything she's ever known for love, only to turn into sea foam in the end. It's the opposite, but, perhaps, Konoha believes that if he confesses his true feelings, he'll dissolve into sea foam…
…
Keiji pinches the middle of his brow with a wince, all too aware of the fact that he now feels several degrees warmer.
How brazen of him…! To jump to such wild conclusions based on a single conjecture like that—!
"Eh? Akaashi???? Dude, you good???? Is the heat getting to you or something?!"
If only… The truth is far more mortifying…
Konoha shoves Keiji's hat onto his head before gently grabbing him by the arm. "Okay, up you go. Let's get you to some shade. We can always try again when you're feeling better."
"Yes…"
Keiji doesn't even have the will to resist, let alone protest. After all, he's still processing multiple levels of shame at the moment…
For better or worse, it doesn't take them very long to reach their designated spot. (To say it was a trip all on it's own to set the umbrella up properly is a understatement… If the seven of them had issues with stabbing an open umbrella into some sand, Keiji doesn't want to imagine what a proper camping trip would look like…) Sarukui is on shift, watching over their stuff. He looks up from his phone, both eyebrows raised, and asks what's wrong.
Thankfully, Konoha explains the situation with his much prettier version of events.
Sarukui grimaces. "Ah, that's no good." Like clockwork, he makes room for his junior to sit and helps him down onto the mat.
Keiji thanks him but, silently, in his heart, apologizes to his seniors for the deception.
Before any of them can say anything else, Bokuto decides then to come over, energetic as ever. "Everyone!!!! Let's play a game of chicken! Then beach volley, beach volley!!"
Konoha and Sarukui exchange concerned glances.
"Okay!" Konoha quickly throws an arm around Bokuto's neck, steering him right back around. "But first, let's get together some sand and shells to see who can build the biggest and coolest castle!"
Keiji looks up with a start, now feeling warm for an entirely different reason.
Konoha-san…
"Eh?" The question mark is so clear, it's practically floating over Bokuto's head. "Eh?? Eh??? Uh, sure? Sure! I won't loose, though, Konoha!"
"Hah? You know just throwing sand into a huge pile doesn't count, right?"
"Oh, come on! Of course I know that!"
As their voices fade off into the distance, Sarukui makes a show to clap his hands together in prayer and thanks Konoha for his sacrifice under his breath, then hands Keiji a cooling sheet and a bottle of lukewarm water with a knowing smile.
As expected of this senpai of his, former or otherwise… Keiji braces for impact.
"You're not really feeling unwell, are you?"
Keiji sets aside his bucket and tools, then accepts the given items with a slight bow. He removes his sun hat before carefully placing the sheet on his forehead, mainly using it as an excuse to continue to avoid eye contact.
"Yes… Konoha-san overreacted."
Sarukui hums softly. "Well, to be fair, being around Bokuto for that long would raise anyone's sense of panic."
All the times where they all thought the season was preemptively over due to one Bokuto-related incident or another flash through Keiji's mind in an instant.
"That's true…"
Keiji wrings the bottle in his hands. Granted, he identified Sarukui as a blabber mouth mere moments ago (apologies for that), but… Surely, as one of Konoha's closest friends, Sarukui would know…? No, he can't. That feels… underhanded, somehow. To ask someone else how another person might feel. Not to mention, extremely, extremely egotistical on Keiji's part…
(He's dug himself enough proverbial holes…)
Thankfully, Keiji doesn’t have to deliberate on a conversation starter for very long.
With a sigh that seems to toe the line between playful and sarcastic, Sarukui remarks, "Ah, youth."
Unfortunately, Keiji is still ill-prepared and struggles with the follow up. The best he can come up with such a short notice is:
"You're still young yourself, Sarukui-san."
He laughs. "Yeah, you got a point. Still, it's pretty wild seeing people change in real time."
Who…? Keiji? Konoha? Bokuto? Keiji isn't sure if it's because of his current perturbed state of mind or if Sarukui was always this difficult to talk to, but he doesn't recall having this much of a hard time before? Did the few months his senior's spent in college take that much of a toll, it altered his personality somehow?
No, no, that can't be it. No, this is all because of Keiji's inability to bounce back quickly enough from embarrassment…
All Keiji can manage is a weak, "Yes."
The response earns him another round of amused laughter. Thankfully, Sarukui explains it with a, "Never thought I would see the day Konoha would willingly throw himself to the wolves. Well, more like one really overactive puppy the size of a pony, but, still, to Konoha, Bokuto might as well be a wolf sometimes."
Keiji's can't stop his hands from stilling. Surely, this must be a sign that his earlier conjecture is correct…?
He refuses to look at Sarukui out of fear he's being read like a book again, but the amusement in the other person's tone renders the effort completely useless.
"Well, that's just one side that improved, I guess. He's still got that habit of holding back over the strangest things. Don't even think he's aware of it, really. Then again, it's not like you can just tell him upfront about it. I'm not all about getting kneed in the butt like Bokuto is."
Perhaps this is retribution for taking advantage of a situation, but Keiji is all too aware of how Sarukui managed to back him into a corner.
As if to drive the point home, Sarukui asks, "What do you think, Akaashi?"
He could feign ignorance, but…
Throwing up his proverbial white flag, Keiji replies with, "I'm… not entirely sure…"
After all, it was only approximately less than twenty minutes ago that he was even aware of the possibility that a love flag, to borrow from the type of games Kozume occasionally plays, is waving in his direction, and from Konoha of all people…
Sarukui snaps his fingers. "Ah, that reminds me! Do you remember that girl who confessed to Konoha after our graduation ceremony?"
Keiji's eye twitches at the memory. It wasn't anything to him before, but, suddenly, he irrationally wishes to burn her with his mind.
(Much later, when the realization finally hits, he'll mentally apologize to her repeatedly for his irrational behavior.)
Sarukui laughs once more, but makes no comment on Keiji's tell— which is somehow worse.
"Despite all his talk about wanting a girlfriend, he immediately turned her down. I've never seen him bow that many times in my life— that deeply either."
"Yes…"
Maybe… Maybe Konoha knows how painful it is to accidentally hurt someone… Maybe… because he doesn't want to put Keiji in that position… he never plans on saying anything about it.
A curse Konoha decides to put on himself.
Out of the corner of his eye, Keiji watches Sarukui idly drawing circles in the sand. "Konoha can be surprisingly timid like that sometimes. Not wanting to be hurt. Not wanting to hurt others. Emotionally, at least."
Timid?
"I… I don't think that's the case at all."
Careful, perhaps. Sensitive, but not in a bad way. It's considerate, if anything.
Perhaps… to a fault.
Sarukui hums softly. "I see. My bad."
Keiji shakes his head. "No, you have nothing to apologize for."
Silence falls between them after that. Both of them end up watching the others goof off. Currently, the lot are engrossed in their sandcastle building competition. Apparently, they decided to split into teams of two, with Onaga as judge, from the looks of things.
Sarukui breaks it by asking, "So? What do you plan on doing, Akaashi?"
Keiji's gaze ends up on Konoha— the person in question is currently spluttering out mouthfuls of sand and reaching out, presumably, to strangle Bokuto.
He carefully peels off and disposes the cooling sheet, then rises to his feet. "I'll be heading out now, Sarukui-san."
"Have a good time~" Sarukui waves at him with that knowing smile of his. "Good luck."
Keiji bows slightly in thanks, then puts on his sun hat, least Konoha or any of the others mistake him for being affected by the heat again.
He clenches a fist, resolve set.
Don't worry, Konoha-san. I'm not under such curses.