End of Camp

"Dammit, don't think you have gotten one up on me just yet okay!?"

"Here, have a rice ball."

"Huh! What do you—Hmph….. These taste really good! What did you put inside?"

"They said it was tuna mayo."

Haruto smiled and bit into his own rice ball after calming down Bokuto who was still talking about their first loss against Karasuno.

"You seem to have gotten the skills to manage that loud owl huh."

"I had a really good mentor after all."

Haruto and Kuroo look at Akaashi who was offering Bokuto some ice tea after seeing him choke on his food for eating too fast.

"Puwha, that was good. But Haruto, you better make it to nationals so we can finally play an official game between both of our teams."

After he stopped chewing on his rice ball, Haruto noticed that Bokuto was giving him a serious gaze that was stronger than he had ever given before

"Don't worry I don't plan on losing so don't be surprised if I beat you on the national stage."

"I would like to see you try!"

The two of them smiled broadly after hearing each other's responses and grabbed more rice balls to stuff down as they waited for the meat to arrive.

The loud voices of various players, managers and coaches began to increase as more people started to fill out the large grassy field behind the gymnasium.

Players were also helping out by carrying the large grills on the field and the stuff needed for the barbeque.

"If you eat too much rice you won't have any room for the meat you know."

"Meat goes into a different space in my stomach like how it does with desserts."

Mahiru stared blankly at Haruto who was carrying a large grill beside her and just shook her head to let him be.

She knew the limits of his stomach already but she just wanted to make sure he could have room for the meat he was craving so much during the last game he played.

After guiding him to a spot on the field, she gave instructions on where to place them alongside the other grills that the other players were carrying.

While the players passed around dishes and arranged everything that would go on the grill, she and the other managers began to prepare the coals needed to cook the food.

"The meat has arrived!!"

""OHHHHH!!!""

Everyone on the field yelled out loud as Kuroo told them the meat was here. Throughout the field, various grills had a large assortment of meat and vegetables that were being cooked with hungry students surrounding them.

"Is this heaven…"

"I think it is…"

Haruto felt a tear drop down his face as he tried the tender slice of cooked meat and Hinata made the same expression as him. He looked at the grill and poked the pieces of corn to see if they were ready and offered them to the people around him.

"The corn is done grilling, do you want some?"

"Mhmphm."

"Please talk once you're done chewing."

"Kuhumm!!"

Kageyama, who was stuffing down food, felt a solid piece get stuck near the side of his throat and began to cough a whole lot. Haruto quickly grabbed a cup of tea to help him wash it down to prevent him from choking any further.

The barbeque continued to go on despite some small incidents and everyone began to thoroughly enjoy the food that was provided to them after a hard week long of training.

"I'm going to get some more rice balls."

"Alright."

"Don't get lost~"

Haruto got up from his seat next to the grill and made his way over to the small hut that was filled with food that people could just take.

He scanned the table and saw that there were no more tuna mayo and all that was left was pickled plum which was the last choice.

'These should be fine too.'

He shrugged his shoulders as he took a bite and felt like the taste wasn't half bad.

'Hmm?'

As he was walking back he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder and felt a weird sense of deja vu. He fought the urge to turn around in the direction he felt the tap and he stood still for a few seconds.

"Tsk, you didn't turn around this time."

"I have seen through your tricks, you can't fool me anymore."

"Just you wait, I'll get you next time."

Haruto grinned as he turned around to see Mahiru laughing as she held her own plate with some vegetables and a rice ball on top. They walked together to a tree that offered some shade and stood there talking.

"Tsk tsk I don't see any protein on your plate. How else can you grow big and strong."

"Just so you know I did eat my fill, well I tried my best to."

"You tried your best?"

Mahiru gave a wry smile as she told Haruto on how some of the girls had a surprising appetite that they started to grill more meat than some of the guys and their supply couldn't keep up with their demands.

'A big appetite huh.'

Haruto looked at Mahiru and thought in his head how she had a slightly larger average appetite if he was to compare to the people he knew. Subconsciously his gaze landed towards her stomach but he suddenly felt a cold gaze stare at him.

"You didn't think anything strange did you?"

"I was just wondering how you managed to keep such a beautiful and slim figure.".

Haruto lied through his teeth with no change in his expression as he felt like he would step on a landmine if he spoke his true thoughts.

"Oh, did you now."

"Of course! Ahem, here have some of the meat I cooked myself. Say Ahhh."

Haruto took his chopsticks and picked up a piece of meat that was still steaming to give towards Mahiru. She felt taken aback by the rapid development but still took the piece that was offered to her.

"I'm surprised you cooked this and didn't burn it."

"Hey I can at least cook something this simple alright."

Mahiru giggled hearing his response and took a piece of food from her plate and fed it to Haruto this time.

"Hmm? Is this squash?"

"Take it as repayment for the meat you gave and just so you know, I work hard to keep my body toned so I could look attractive to a certain someone next to me."

"Pfft!.... Well I find you attractive regardless of what you look like."

Haruto almost choked by the surprise sentence Mahiru had said to him but still managed to speak his feelings. Mahiru smiled as she glanced at him, pleased with his response.

"But, a girl still wants to look good for her special someone, so I must continue to put out my best."

Mahiru placed a serious and playful look on her face making the both of them laugh at her expressions.

"Haruto, could you get me some rice balls while you're there!!"

"Same for me too!!"

Haruto heard Bokuto and Hinata yell out loud and he gave a small smile after he saw them waving their hands around.

"Do you wanna come with me to our grill?"

"Sure if that's fine with you."

"Don't worry I'll bring Yachi for you know who."

He gave a cheeky smile and brought Mahiru alongside the leftover rice balls that the two people sitting by the grill were asking about. The group around their grill grew as new people joined and various topics began to pop up.

"But who are Sakusa and Kiryu you keep talking about?"

Haruto asked as he took the grilled meat that Maihru cooked for him. Kuroo bit into a piece of corn, about to tell him as Bokuto was too busy telling Hinata his stories on the times he's been to nationals.

"You know Ushijima who you faced in the finals in your prefecture right? Well those two are the other guys who are part of the top three aces."

"The other top aces huh…"

Haruto began to remember about his match against Ushijima and felt a stronger urge to know what skills those aces had to put them at the top.

"Well I would love to play against them but I wonder if they have the same cannon-like firepower that Ushijima has."

He began to mumble under his breath and Kuroo who was explaining to him couldn't think of words to say and chose to ignore him since he was used to his actions.

They continued to talk and eventually all the food was eaten up and desserts began to be passed around. Slices of large watermelons were given and smores were eventually made from the leftover heat from the large grills.

The day sky started to turn orange and the festive outdoor dinner was put to a close as everything was packed up and placed away. Near the front of the school many people were gathered and each of them were saying goodbye.

"Until next time."

"Yeah come visit anytime you wanna do something like last time."

"I better see you beat that Ushijima guy alright!!"

Haruto put on a bright smile and fist bumped all the members of the teams that attended the training camp and said his final greetings. He stepped inside of the bus and made his way to the back where it was empty.

"Let me sit here with you."

Placing his bag under the seat in front of him, he heard Mahiru and she pointed towards the seats where Hinata and Yachi were at.

"Giving up your seat huh. What a great wingwoman."

"Of course. But I also wanted to sit beside you on the trip back."

Her sweet tone came out of nowhere and gave a slight surprise to Haruto but he just curved his lips and patted the seat beside him. Mahiru let out a small jump in her step and made herself comfortable beside Haruto.

The standstill bus began its long drive back to Miyagi and the people went to their own devices to keep them busy during their trip.

Mahiru pulled out a notebook to organize some items she had and Haruto started to play a movie he had downloaded on his phone. As he watched, he felt his eyelids get heavy before he gave into the urge to close them.

Taking what he felt was a brief second he opened them back up and noticed that the bus was silent with the exception of small snores.

He noticed that everyone was asleep and he turned his head to the left to see what Mahiru was doing. Haruto saw her head lean gently on the window, her eyes closed and her small breaths steady.

The notebook he saw beforehand was still open on her lap and he smiled gently realizing she must have fallen asleep while she was working on it.

He took the notebook and placed it into his bag and shifted slightly in his seat. He carefully slid his arm around her shoulder and placed her head on his.

The small movement she felt made her vaguely know what was happening but once she felt his warm shoulder, she nestled closer to the source feeling the comfort it provided.

Haruto just smiled as he got into a position that provided the best comfort for both of them. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes to also fall asleep, wanting the trip back to pass by quickly.

***

Summer training camp done! I hope you enjoyed it. Peacu.