Sparklers

Kanoka heard a voice and saw that it belonged to Kageyama who had a stoic face and was holding a can of strawberry milk.

"I um felt bad for forgetting about that moment you talked about before so I wanted to give you something…"

"Ah! No it's fine, it was just a small incident so…"

Kanoka whispered her last sentence and the area between the two of them turned quiet.

""....""

'How does Haruto keep conversations going? This is way harder than it looks.'

Kageyama thought in his head as he stood near Kanoka who sat down watching the current games going on.

"Kageyama, right? Do you like strawberry milk?"

"Oh uh yeah. My friend introduced it to me and it became my favorite flavor."

Kanoka decided to break the silence by asking him a question and they started to make some small talk.

"That's surprising for me since you don't look like the type of person to drink this kind of milk."

"I usually drink it when I crave something sweet or when I feel down. I saw that you looked dejected so I thought it could also help like how it does with me."

Kanoka's eyes widened a bit as she glanced at Kageyama who was busy drinking his can of milk. She held the can in her hands and took a sip, tasting the subtle strawberry flavor.

Although the drink in her hand was cold, the sweet strawberry taste it had gave a warm feeling that she didn't know the reason for.

"That was delicious…"

"I guess it was since you drank it all in one go."

He felt surprised to see her suddenly chug down the can and felt happy that another strawberry milk connoisseur had joined.

They began to talk about small things such as other flavors of milk and Kanoka's mood felt a bit better after talking with Kageyama. Maiko who was watching from afar saw the smile on her face and fell deep into thought.

"Amanai-san! It's your turn to play."

Some guys yelled out towards Kanoka and she stood up trying to find Maiko so that they could go on the court.

"Excuse me, would you mind taking my spot since I feel a bit weak from eating earlier."

Maiko rushed up to Kageyama and asked him a favor, wanting him to take her spot. Kanoka tried to ask why but Maiko just smiled at her.

"I would be fine with playing but is it alright with you?"

"Ah! It will be fine."

Kanoka nodded her head and the two of them headed towards the court together.

"Hirai-san! Let's do our best to win, just count on me!"

"Uh sure…"

Daiki smiled brightly towards Ririka and pushed out his chest proudly. Ririka had an awkward smile on her face and just nodded to whatever he said.

Daiki held the ball in his hand and went to the service line, getting ready to serve since Ririka won the rock paper scissors to decide who had first ball.

Kageyama and Kanoka split the court in half to receive and waited for him to serve. Daiki served the ball and it crossed over slightly wobbling due to the wind.

"I got it."

Kanoka quickly said and glided her feet across the sand and gave an underhand pass to Kageyama. He saw the ball go up and gave a meter set towards her, near the middle of the net.

Ririka saw how Kanoka jumped up and did the same trying to block her dominant arm to reduce the paths she could hit from.

'I should be able to reach.'

Kanoka said in her head and stretched her long arms to hit the ball at a higher point. With her efforts she contacted the ball earlier than Ririka had thought and smashed it down cross.

Daiki tried to reach it but the sand slowed him down and he watched the ball land right in front of him.

"That was a nice hit you did."

"A-ah thank you!"

Kageyama went up to Kanoka and gave a compliment as he saw how she tried to contact the ball at a higher point. She felt slightly embarrassed by the sudden compliment but she pushed it away getting ready to continue playing.

***

"That was quicker than I expected."

"I think our height might have given us an advantage."

Kageyama and Kanoka walked off the court with a smile since they won their game against Daiki's team. Kageyama looked at her and thought back to the game where she showed her skills.

"Do you play for your volleyball team?"

"Hmm? Yes, I play as a starter for my volleyball team."

"That makes sense. With your height and skills, your team must be really strong."

Kageyama said in an earnest voice remembering how her defensive and offensive skills reached a high level. Hearing his praise she was a bit surprised with how he complimented her height.

"Do you not get weirded out by my height?"

"Why would I? I adore it, actually."

"H-HUH?!"

Kanoka jumped up with a deep blush on her face looking at Kageyama's stoic face. He looked at her and wondered if she had the flu seeing her face so red.

'Having a tall height in volleyball brings so many advantages so why would I get weirded out? I love my height but I wish I could grow a few more inches…'

Kageyama fell into deep thought, imagining all the plays he could do if he was just a bit taller than he was right now.

"A-adore…"

Kanoka started to stutter as she whispered back the words Kageyama said to her, fanning her hot cheeks.

"Do you think something is happening between Kageyama and that girl who's beside him?"

"Maybe."

Haruto who noticed Kageyama and Kanoka whispered to Mahiru who sat beside him and they started to watch them from afar.

The games continued to go on and eventually the blue sky that was above them started to turn orange.

"The sun is setting.."

"Ahem I guess it's time for the next event always needed when people go to the beach."

"Akane, are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Haruto gave a deep glance towards Akane who was near him and she nodded her head with a serious expression. Seeing that he was right on the money, he took the bucket that was near him and ran towards the sea.

"What are you guys talking about?"

Kuroo who was listening was confused but once he saw what was in Akane's hands, his eyes glowed with excitement.

"Ahhh I want to play with some fireworks!!!"

Bokuto saw the large package of fireworks in Akane's hands and jumped up in excitement, gathering the attention of the people around him..

Akane smiled and told everyone to fall into line as she started to hand each of them the fireworks of their choosing.

*WOOSH

"Watch me do a flip while holding both of these sparklers in my hands."

"Bokuto-san! Stop, you're going to burn yourself!"

Akaashi ran after Bokuto who was attempting to do a run up so that he could continually do backflips with sparklers in both hands.

Near them were Kuroo and Kenma who both held long sticks and waved them around like they were swords.

"I have something I must say to you.."

"What is it?"

"Kenma, I am your mother."

"You butchered the line you know."

Kenma corrected him as he waved around the stick in hand with finesse. Kuroo's face froze before giving a small cough and attempting to say the line again.

"Kenma, you are the father."

"What the hell are you saying."

"Screw it, this is spartan!"

Kuroo gave up saying the line and just rushed at Kenma while waving the stick in his hand. He deflected his strike and began their epic fight near the beach's shore.

"Here take 4 of these sticks."

"Thanks, let's go light them up."

"Y-yesshh!"

Haruto gave a wide grin as he watched Kageyama lead the flustered Kanoka near a water bucket to light up the sticks he gave them. Haruto looked around and saw everyone spread out with fireworks in their hands.

"You still haven't gotten your share right? Here's some sticks that I saved up."

"Thanks, I was starting to get worried that there won't be any left."

Mahiru stood beside him and gave the small sparklers she had in her hands. They went to a small rock together and sat down, trying to light them up.

*Woosh

"Wow.. it looks like I have a wand in my hand."

"Just make sure you don't cast any deadly spells."

Haruto chuckled at Mahiru words and they sat together still watching the sparklers in their hands slowly go off. Amidst the silence Haruto glanced at Mahiru and watched her smiling face be entranced by the glow the sparklers gave off.

*Swoosh

Feeling a cold wind go by, Mahiru who was still in her swimsuit shivered from the wind. Haruto saw her actions and took the sweater he was wearing and placed it over her shoulders.

"Here, wear this."

"But you're wearing nothing on top.."

"It's fine, the heat from the sparklers is enough to warm me up."

Haruto smiled lightly and returned his focus towards the sparklers in his hand. Mahiru, feeling the warm sweater over her shoulders, stubbornly refused to let Haruto be without his sweater.

Thinking for a bit, she suddenly got an idea and opened up the sweater near Haruto's side to let him in.

"Here come near me and we could share it."

"It's fine.."

"I won't lower my arm unless you share it with me."

Haruto saw the stubborn look in her eyes and shook his head before sitting right beside her. She placed the sweater on both of their shoulders and leaned closer towards him, wanting to cover the majority of their bodies.

"Did you have fun today?"

"Of course. This was my first time coming to a beach with everyone and I enjoyed it more than I thought."

Mahiru began to tell Haruto of all the moments she enjoyed. It ranged from building a big sandcastle to hearing stories of the other managers eating tons of food.

Haruto listened carefully as he was enchanted by her beautiful smile.

*Psst

"Aw it ran out…"

Haruto snapped out of his daze as the sparklers in their hands burnt out leaving them with the gradual darkness of the day.

"Can we buy some more fireworks?"

"Yeah I would still like to light up some more."

Bokuto yelled out as the stick in his hand went out. With his suggestion everyone started to agree and they decided that they would buy more.

They had a group of people go into the town to buy more since the majority said they wanted to continue. The people who were left behind went into their own groups and waited for them to return.

"Can you come with me to the locker rooms? I want to grab my sweater so I can give this one back to you."

"Oh? Sure, let me just tell the others."

Haruto agreed to Mahiru's request and told them that he would go with her to the locker rooms.

Looking ahead, Haruto watched Mahiru who was smiling gently towards him while gesturing to him to hurry up.

Seeing the lovely smile he so loved to see, he took a deep breath and took a step forward catching up to her.

***

I hope you enjoyed it. Peacu