With Love

1: a hedge wall

2012, 1st of January...

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"Shouyo, slow down!"

(Name) yelled after her friend of six years -- Hinata Shoyo -- who he heeded her request. Before them, the new school presented itself as a concrete building, just a regular building as any other. But (Name) stared at it, and she could feel her anxious thoughts from last night rolling around inside her heart.

"(Name)-chan, we're here! We're finally at Karasuno!" Her friend exclaimed, unaware of her nervous thoughts. (Name) couldn't help but sigh when she had realized something when her eyes cast downwards.

"I know, but Shouyo ..."

"What is it, (Name)-chan?"

"Your shoelaces are untied."

He blushed in embarrassment before quickly make work of his shoes. (Name) shook her head but could only look fondly at his fumbling figure.

Shouyo has been her friend for many years. Theoretically, (Name) would've thought that they both wouldn't have anything in common: Shouyo was social and extroverted, while she was quiet and bumbled through social conversations on her own. But it wasn't as if (Name) had stuck to his side out of obligation.

Shouyo was her first friend, and despite their differences, (Name) found herself growing closer and closer to him every time they spent time, and eventually, he introduced his most loved activity to her: volleyball.

At first, (Name) had chalked it up to just a dull hobby of her friend's. But each time they visit each other's house, Shouyo would show her a passion she felt was missing from her life.

Volleyball was simply fun, and she understood why her friend loves it. Over time, (Name) came to realize volleyball as something as a mark of their friendship.

(Of course, she would get dragged to practice with him, but she could never find it in her to reject his invite. Wherever Shouyo goes, it was bound to be fun.)

"Done!" Shouyo announced, and (Name) saw his white shoelaces tied in bunny ears. He turned to her, grinning from ear-to-ear, "Let's go check out the volleyball club, (Name)-chan!"

She nodded, and this time, they walked at a moderate pace side-by-side.

Karasuno wasn't (Name)'s first choice for high school. There were other schools that would've been better for her, but she felt a flicker of annoyance upon remembering her parents suggesting her to enroll in another school simply for the status. Mainly, Shiratorizawa was their most recommended choice.

Although it is indeed a prestigious establishment, (Name) had immediately disliked the idea of a dorm school. Something about sharing space with a stranger for the entire school year had sounded much like one of her introverted nightmares.

She immediately snapped out of her thoughts, and discretely glanced over at Shouyo. He was absent-mindedly smiling, and for a moment, (Name) was mesmerized. At the back of her mind, she had thought to herself - no matter what Shouyo did or said, she found herself captivated by him. But that was a fact that she had known long ago.

He looks cute.

A hot rush was sent straight through her heart, and she suppressed the heat threatening to overtake her face from the shameful thought.

Being in Shiratorizawa couldn't possibly compare to being with Shouyo. No, absolutely not, (Name) had decided then and there. Even if the school was better than Karasuno in every aspect, nothing can wile her away from her best friend.