@karasukaii
standing in front of the sakanoshita store, takeda is starting to second-guess his decision to wear a suit. it’s the only one he owns, and rather ill-fitting, too large on his small frame, as many things are; he just doesn’t go to enough formal occasions to have ever gotten around to tailoring it. he’d thought, when putting it on, to put forth the best possible impression, he’s now realizing that it might be a bit absurd to dress like this just to walk into a general store. he’s hovering just around the corner, trying to fix his tie, smooth down his lapels. he’d wanted ukai’s first impression of him to be someone competent, well-put-together, willing to put obvious effort into his endeavors.
now, he just worries he’ll look a bit silly.
well, too late now, he tells himself, and thinks of the volleyball club. lately, all he has to do to banish his self-conscious awkwardness is to pull up the image of those kids in the gym, the first years’ enthusiasm, the passionate perseverance of the third years. he only met them recently, but already they’ve begun to infect him. they’re working tirelessly to achieve their goals, no matter how many walls lie in front of them. doesn’t takeda owe it to them to do all he can to take one of those walls down?
he takes a breath, and when he walks around the corner and pushes open the door of the store, a bell chiming at his entrance, his eyes are lit with determination. what he’s wearing isn’t important. what’s important is that he has a goal ahead of him, and he intends to meet it. if phone calls aren’t working, then he’ll try something else.
ukai keishin is leaning over the counter. takeda hesitates for just a second to take him in -- he’s seen pictures of ukai in old karasuno yearbooks, which was how he discovered that ukai ikkei had a grandson to begin with, but that was years ago, and the ukai before him, aproned and sporting bleach-blonde hair, looks quite different. if takeda gives himself the chance, he knows that he’ll start to feel uncertainty and guilt creep back in; this is a person with his own life, his own priorities, that takeda is hunting, not just a voice on the phone or a picture in a book but a person who never asked to be hounded by phone calls and unwanted visits just to serve takeda’s ends.
but because he knows himself, he doesn’t give himself time for those thoughts to creep in. this is for the students.
he takes a step forward, clearing his throat politely. “ukai keishin?” he dips into a bow when ukai looks up. “my name is takeda ittetsu. we’ve spoken on the phone.” when he raises his head, there’s a spark lit in his wide brown eyes. “i’m here to discuss the karasuno volleyball club with you.”
