69 Advice

During a hot afternoon, various people in yellow jerseys were on the bottom of a hill breathing heavily as they had just finished their punishment for losing a game.

Haruto placed his hands on his hips and walked around slowly while he controlled his breathing to help calm down his rapid heart after the intense sprint he just finished.

"Fukurodani still managed to overtake us even with the small lead we had."

"Well they are a nationals team so it's kinda expected that they're more in tune with each other compared to us."

Tanaka who was melting onto the grass floor spoke out loud thinking about their last practice game of the day against Fukurodani. Daichi heard his words and mentioned the way Fukurodani moved in sync when they were faced against them having a lead.

"You guys can rest up now. Just remember that we only have two more days here so try to fit in as much practice as you guys want before we reach the end of the camp."

"""Yes!"""

Ukai gathered all the members who were scattered around and said his final words before going inside the gym to talk with the other coaches.

"Here's a towel and some water for you."

"Ohh thank you madam Shiina~"

Mahiru rolled her eyes at Haruto's frivolous response but still had a slight smile on her face when giving him his items. She watched him wipe the sweat off his face and couldn't help but notice his current appearance.

'He looks really handsome right now…'

She said to herself as Haruto looked especially attractive with the red flush he's gotten from the hot sun.

She remembered the nickname he was given and furrowed her eyebrows thinking about the attention they would get once they go back to school after the break.

'I need to assert myself once we get back.'

"Hey is everything okay?"

Mahiru snapped out of her thoughts as she heard Haruto talk in a curious tone since he noticed how she started to furrow her eyebrows quite a bit.

"Yeah I was just thinking about how I don't want a certain group of people to get any funny ideas when it comes to you."

"...I'm not too sure how to react to that but good luck?"

"Hmm, I will show them."

Mahiru cutely nodded her head and said in a serious voice that Haruto couldn't help but ruffle her hair.

"Hinata here's some water."

"Ahh thank you!"

As Mahiru tried to comb her disheveled hair from Haruto's actions, they heard Yachi and Hinata speaking to each other in excitement.

"It looks like she's trying her best…"

Mahiru whispered as she gazed at Yachi and noticed how she tried to give subtle actions towards Hinata. But despite her intentions, it seemed like Hinata didn't notice them and went on his way to get something to eat before he goes and plays again.

Yachi just nodded to his words but Mahiru was able to tell that she was a little discouraged.

"I'm going to help gather the jerseys. See you!"

Maihru wrapped her arms around Haruto to give him a quick hug and ran towards Yachi who was gathering jerseys while mumbling to herself. Haruto saw Mahiru run off and stared at her for a while before going to the faucets to wash his face.

***

"Nothing seems to work Mahiru…"

"Don't worry I'm sure it's just because we're on a training camp so he has his mind set at the moment."

Mahiru gave an encouraging smile to Yachi who was slumped over the washing machine.

It had been a few hours since the end of the practice matches and the two of them have been busy with cleaning up and also organizing some records from Karasuno's practice games.

The two of them are currently waiting for the jerseys to be finished drying so they had some time to talk about the advice Mahiru gave Yachi.

"But I feel like even back then, he acted the same with everyone so I wonder if he even thinks of me as a potential interest."

"Of course he would! You guys are very close with each other and I think that you're the only female friend that he acts differently around."

"Really?"

Yachi looked at Mahiru with a hopeful gaze which she nodded her head furiously to thoroughly convince her. They went silent as they tried to think of other options that they could do.

"How did you show Haruto that you were interested in him?"

"With Haruto? I didn't really know either since it was a first for me to be interested in a guy so I just did small occasions of physical contact."

"Physical contact…"

Yachi tried to imagine herself doing the same gestures she had seen Mahiru doing with Haruto and her face flushed up.

"I think it might be too early for me."

"I see.."

Yachi looked at Mahiru's pondering face and felt admiration for how she was able to show her affection to a person she likes so directly.

"If nothing else works we could also ask Haruto what he thinks."

"Ask me about what."

""KYAAAHHH""

The two girls who were talking together screamed out in surprise when they heard a voice appear behind them. Quickly turning around they saw Haruto with a wry smile on his face as he felt bad for scaring them.

"You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"My bad."

Haruto's mouth cracked a small smile after seeing how Mahiru glared at him but it just looked cute to him.

"So what are you here for?"

"I was told to find some mops in the laundry room since the coaches dropped some beer on the floor when they were drinking."

He remembered Takeda's flushed face as he tried to keep up with the Nekoma's head coach's drinking speed. Haruto was impressed with how many cans were near him and was surprised that he still looked sober.

Figuring out what he was looking for, Mahiru took him to a door and pulled out a large mop that he needed to get.

"So I heard that you need to ask me about something."

Haruto said casually after pulling the mop close to him and Mahiru glanced at Yachi. Sensing the look she gave, Yachi nodded her head and Mahiru told Haruto what was happening.

"Hmm… to be honest I don't think you need to do anything fancy."

"Eh, what do you mean?"

"Well you might have not noticed but Hinata shows a really happy expression that is different from usual whenever he talks with you. Plus you might have also missed some clues he's given that show's his interest in you."

Haruto chuckled as he remembered Hinata's embarrassed face when Yachi came to greet him in her swimsuit.

"So just keep on with what you're doing but also don't forget to do something like this too…"

"Umu I see…"

Mahiru didn't know what to say as she saw Yachi suddenly pull out a notebook and jotted down some of the things Haruto was saying to her.

"Thank you so much!!"

"No problem but don't forget to discuss with Mahiru since she's pretty good at showing her affection and also her input as a girl helps too."

Haruto winked at Mahiru who just stuck out her tongue to hide her embarrassment from his words. Taking in what Haruto said, Yachi started to fall into her thoughts to imagine the things he had told her.

*Ding~

"Ah it's done drying now."

Mahiru heard the drying machine ring and started to place the freshly dried jerseys in a basket to organize them.

"Mahiru let me bring it to the storage room!"

Mahiru was about to bring the basket down but Yachi stopped her from going. She was about to say no but she insisted to which Mahiru eventually relented. Yachi grabbed the basket and rushed her way down the stairs.

"I guess she wants to meet Hinata since it's near where he's practicing."

"She seems fired up now."

The both of them let out a smile as they watched Yachi's back disappear down the stairs with a quick speed.

"You gave her some good advice that I'm jealous."

"I guess a guy's perspective really helps but you also gave some really good ones too."

He said in a relaxed tone since the stuff Mahiru suggested would really work as her actions were very straightforward but sadly Yachi would need to do them to a guy who only has volleyball on his mind.

"Should I also show Hinata some gestures that he could do towards Yachi…"

"I'm kinda worried with what you want to teach him."

"Ehh don't worry it's nothing too bad."

"Don't teach something too weird, okay."

"Have more faith in your boyfriend…"

Mahiru giggled at his sulking face and he just gave a sigh seeing her smiling face.

"Wait, how about I show you."

"Show me?"

She gave a questioning tone and watched how Haruto placed the mop he had on the wall near him. Mahiru slowly watched as he gradually approached her and she unconsciously stepped back seeing his tall figure.

Eventually she felt her back press against the solid wall of the hallway and watched how he leaned his arm over to trap her in. She felt her heart start to race as she felt his finger tilt her head upwards to meet his gaze.

"So how is it?"

"I think it's pretty bold."

With their faces a few inches apart, they gave some small talk but the mood around them started to subtly shift.

With the silence suddenly appearing around them, Haruto started to forget the reason why he did this but his attention became fully focused on the person in front of him.

They looked at each other for a moment and noticed each other's slight features from close up. Haruto looked at her soft dew-like eyes and her sharp nose until it fell towards her rosebud lips.

He paused for a moment and saw how she noticed where his eyes landed and gave an upturned look towards him. He felt his heart spike and eventually leaned in.

The distance between them became smaller and smaller until….

"TSUKIIII!"

The two of them jolted upwards as the sudden scream of Yamaguchi entered their ears. They created some distance from each other and looked at the window where the sound came from.

"...I guess he wanted to call Tsukishima for some reason…"

"..Hmmm…"

The two of them were silent as the mood beforehand disappeared and left them feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Let me grab the mop."

Haruto tried to break the silence as he walked towards the mop he left by the wall while also cursing at Yamaguchi for his bad timing. Behind him was Mahiru whose face was fully flushed as she realized what was about to happen.

She also felt frustrated with the sudden interruption and felt like something slipped out of her grasp and wasn't satisfied leaving like this.

"Come let's bring the mop to the coaches room."

"Wait for a second."

"Hmm?"

Haruto didn't have time to respond to Mahiru as he felt his shirt get pulled down and his body leaned forward.

For a quick moment he saw the shimmering sight of golden threads dance around in front of him. A sweet smell filled his nose as he felt a soft and plump sensation graze upon his right cheek.

"I-I think these actions would be too high of a hurdle for them right?"

"Yeah I think so…"

Haruto replied absentmindedly and touched his right cheek which made Mahiru who saw it, blow up into a radiant blush.

"I didn't quite feel it the first time… do you mind doing it again?"

"Shameless."

Mahiru ignored his words and started to walk forward with Haruto trailing right behind her. The two of them began to bicker and didn't realize the red complexions they had made the atmosphere around them glow in radiant warmth.

***

I hope you enjoyed it. Peacu.