Kunimi was looking forward to a relaxing afternoon without volleyball practice, but when a random girl on the streets suddenly collapsed, his own plans had to wait. Reluctantly he helps her, though to the boy's disliking, she turned out to be a real...
Today was a special day for me, because the volleyball club had a practice match planned for this afternoon. This was the first time I was going to see the guys play against another high school volleyball club from Miyagi. To be exact, they were playing against the team of Karasuno.
[Disclaimer: This is not the practice match of Haikyuu season one. It's already later into the story. As I already said, I don't follow the original storyline exactly.]
I didn't know much about them, so as a good manager I researched on Karasuno. The team used to be really successful a few years ago, but the generations that followed up didn't seem to be able to keep that up. A shame, really.
Anyways, after changing into my track suit, I helped the coach set up the field and a few extra benches for the other team to sit on.
I wonder if Karasuno has a manager too. Akira told me not every team can find a manager, so it wouldn't be unusual if they didn't have one. Though if they do have one, I hope we can get along.
I could have just asked Hito-chan about all this. I'm sure she'd know. After all, she goes to Karasuno.
The boys were warming up as a knock was heard from the door. The coach went to open it and invite our guests inside. He shook the hands of two men, one quite short and wearing a pair of glasses, the other fairly tall with blond hair. They greeted each other as I went up to them to politely shake their hands too.
After the two men followed a girl with dark hair which loosely hung to her shoulders, and a pair of pink glasses sitting on her nose. Her beauty was honestly overwhelming as I was sure any girl would be envious of her looks. I presumed she was the manager as it made me smile. This is the first other manager I got to meet.
The whole team entered the gym. Among them was a variety of different boys, from first years to third years, from tall and intimidating to short and energic. Though I noticed another person hiding behind one of the team members. A petite girl with short blond hair, which she pulled into a left side ponytail. Wait, I know someone to that description!
"Hito-chan!" I yelled happily. She jumped a little at my sudden loud voice, but when she noticed it was me, her expression beamed just like mine.
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"(Y/N)-chan! What are you doing here?"
"I'm the manager of Seijoh's volleyball club! What are you doing here?" I laughed.
"Why didn't you tell me? I'm the second manager of Karasuno's volleyball club!"
"Really?! I only became the manager after the last time we saw each other. Now, why didn't you tell me?" I excitedly rambled.
"I told you I would be joining a club soon." She defended.
"Oh, you're right! So, you meant the volleyball club." I concluded.
Suddenly the other girl came up behind Hitoka. "Hello." She greeted me in a soft voice. "I didn't know Aoba Johsai had a new manager. My name is Kiyoko."
"Do you guys know each other?" a boy with bright orange hair suddenly butted into the conversation. I also felt a presence behind me and the aura told me it must be Akira.
"Hello, I'm (Y/N)(L/N). Hitoka and I were best friends in middle school, but we don't see each other all too often these days." I introduced myself and answered the question.
I turned to my boyfriend. "Akira, this is Hito-chan. Say hello." I instructed him to be polite.
"Um- hello, I'm Akira Kunimi." He briefly introduced himself as well.
Suddenly Hitoka grabbed his hand to shake it. "You are Kunimi? Thank you so much for always taking care of (Y/N)!"
He seemed a little taken aback by her energic response. "Y-yeah, sure. No problem..." he hesitantly answered.
A few more people flocked around us, one of which was a guy of the tall and intimidating type. His dark hair hung into his face and his Prussian blue eyes had a hint of confusion in them. He was probably wondering what the small crowd of people over here was all about.
Suddenly I felt Akira's arm around my waist as he pulled me closer to him. What's up with him?
"Hey, what's the matter?" I quietly asked him.
In the same lowered voice, he answered. "That's the king of the court, Tobio Kageyama." He slightly gestured at the ravenette. Really? That's him? He doesn't seem so arrogant to me... And I know damn well what an arrogant aura feels like. After all, Oikawa is on our team.
Before I could share my thoughts with Akira, he pulled me away from the small crowd back to where our team was standing.
"Ah- See you later, Hito-chan!" I managed to say, before fully being dragged away. Even though I really wanted to chat with Hitoka a little longer, I had to respect that Akira didn't want me near someone he genuinely disliked. Though I hope I'll have the chance to talk to my friend after the match.
Right as we left the crowd, Oikawa took our place and seemingly started a staring competition between him and Kageyama. "Tobio-chan~" the captain cooed playfully with an intimidating undertone. Maybe it's not so bad that we left... I don't really fancy being in the middle of whatever it is they're doing.
Soon the match started, so I sat down on the bench next to the coach. The match was really intense. Our team played amazing as always, but to my surprise so did theirs. All the articles I skimmed through never said this. Maybe the new players on the team, so the first years, made the difference. After watching for a while, this presumption was definitely confirmed. Yeah, their older players were good, like the captain or the libero, but the combination of the king and the boy with the orange hair was particularly striking. That Kageyama guy was an amazing player in general. I'd even say he's almost on the same level as Oikawa. Though the quick spikes he and the short boy played together were astoundingly fast. That was great team play, so not at all what I imagined the 'king of the court' to be like.
After the match, I talked to Akira about it. "From what you told me, I expected him to be very egotistical, but he seems to get along with his team just fine..."
My boyfriend seemed really frustrated. "I know. He used to be so different in middle school. I didn't know he could get along with a team either!"
"So, he has changed for the better. That's a good thing, isn't it?" I smiled.
"But it hasn't even been a year! How can he be like a completely different person?!" he questioned in a loud tone.
I smiled at him calmly. "Babe, people don't change with time. They change by choice."
