Pulchritudinous

6

"Please, ni~ I'm so tired!" Chura complains, a pout on her lips as she stomps like a little kid.
"I'm not going to carry you, Chu. Ask one of the boys when we get there." Koushi rolls his eyes, a smile on his lips as they walk to the school.
"I can't believe we had to wake up this early! This isn't natural! Who is even awake at this time?!" She groans, rubbing her eyes.
"We're almost there, stop being such a baby! You can sleep on the bus if anything."
"How can I sleep when there's people named Ryunosuke Tanaka and Yu Nishinoya?" She glares at nothing in particular, the thought of those two most likely interrupting her sleep making her extra angry.
"Whoa, chill, Chu. You're close with them, I'm sure if you ask them nicely to shut their mouths they will listen. Or even ask Kiyoko to ask them." Koushi shrugs.
"Separate them." Chura slams her fist in her palm, "I'll stay with Noya and keep him quiet."
"Where would Tanaka sit them?"
Chura looks at him with puppy dog eyes. He tries to resist but he sighs in defeat.
"Alright, only because I'm scared if you don't sleep you'll rip someone's head off."
"Yay! I love you, Ko~" she hugs his arm.
"You're lucky I don't mind sitting with him." Koushi ruffles her hair.
Arriving at their school, Chura yawns, waving to everyone who is here already. She walks up to Yamaguchi and Tsukishima since they are in the same grade as her. Yamaguchi blushes at her cute nature. 'Even tired and just woken up, she's pretty.' A chuckle escapes his lips when she rubs her eyes tiredly.
"I'm guessing you're not a morning person?" Tsukishima smirks.
"No, I'm not. That is why I'm sleeping in the bus next to Noya." She gives a thumbs up.
"Next to... Noya?" Yamaguchi slightly frowns.
"My brother is taking Tanaka, that way if they're separated they won't be as loud as if they sit together." She explains.
"Ahh, makes sense." His face lights up after realizing it's not because she likes him.
Yamaguchi mentally face palms. 'This isn't like you. Get yourself together, Tadashi.'
Out of the corner of his eye, the blonde middle blocker observes his childhood friend. He knew he's been acting weird around her, but he finally gets it. Tsukishima glances to the side in annoyance. He would help Yamaguchi get closer to her, but there was no way he would trade seats with Chura to sit next to the loudest person on the team. Maybe another time.
"Alright! Everyone is here so let's start heading over!" Takeda announces.
"Yes!" Everyone cheers, making Chura jump at the loud noise.
Tsukishima doesn't even try to hide his snickering at this. Chura glares at the boy, emitting the same fiery aura as when Kageyama and Hinata were trying to find a way to still attend the Tokyo trip. Yamaguchi squeaks in fear at this unusual side of her, taking a step back. Koushi grabs his sibling's face, making her pout.
"One day, Kei Tsukishima will never see it coming. That jerk." She growls, trying to glare at him from her position but he ignores it.
"Yes, yes, he will. But today is not the day, Chu, and you are not the "it" he won't see coming." He pats her head.
"Fine." She grits her teeth, trying to calm herself down as he goes to talk to the captain.
"I can't believe we can't go yet." Hinata sighs from behind her, scaring the girl again.
"Hinata? Kageyama? I didn't know you came to send us off."
"We weren't gonna at first but... We wanted to say bye to... you." Kageyama mutters, looking away.
"And we wanted to say we will see you later!" Hinata smiles confidently.
"We will pass the exam and go to Tokyo." Kageyama says with a determined expression.
Chura smiles, placing her hands on her hips.
"Pumpkin."
"Eh?" The two first years tilt their head.
"That's your nickname, Hinata. You wanted to know it, right? I've called you that in my head since we first met."
"Whoa! I love it! You're the bestest, Chura!" He bounces up and down.
"That's not a word, idiot!" Kageyama yells at him.
Chura smiles at her classmate and the first year setter. She can't help but giggle at their behavior, stepping towards them. She leans towards the ginger first, pressing her lips against his cheek. He squeaks, his whole body feeling warm. She smiles before turning to the taller, raven haired boy. She has to grip onto his shoulder to steady herself as she goes on her tip toes to kiss his cheek. Air blows out of his ears, his face red like a cherry.
"W-what was that for?" Hinata manages the courage to speak up.
"Good luck. I really hope you pass and join us in Tokyo. I'd love to watch you two outshine everyone there." She smiles brightly.
Kageyama mutters words that don't sound like they're from Earth, causing Chura to panic slightly.
"Suga-san, I think your sister broke them." Tsukishima nods his head towards the trio.
Koushi notices this and rushes over, slinging an arm around his sister's shoulders.
"Chu, why don't we get you on the bus so you can sleep already?" Koushi laughs nervously, pulling her away from them.
"O-okay! Bye, boys! Message me when you're coming!" She waves to them as she gets pulled away by her brother.
"Yo! Tanaka!" Koushi waves for him as they approach him and Noya.
"Yes, Suga?" He blinks at him in surprise.
"Why don't we sit together for the ride over? I have some plays and strategies I've been wanting to try out with you so I wanted to see if you liked them." Koushi smiles.
"Oh! Sure thing!" Tanaka turns to Noya, "Are you gonna sit with Asahi-"
"I can sit with him." Chura raises her hand.
Both second years freeze up, making the Sugawaras raise an eyebrow in confusion. Noya clenches his heart while Tanka yells in excitement, something about him being a lucky guy.
"SHUT UP! IT'S EARLY IN THE MORNING! YOU'LL WAKE THE NEIGHBORS! GET ON THE BUS!" Daichi yells at them through the window on the bus.
The team clumsily enters the bus, sitting in empty spots. The Sugawaras sigh in relief and follow the two to their respective seat mates. Noya watches the girl walk to the back of the bus, taking in every move she makes. It's almost like she's going in slow motion: her stride, the way she slips a piece of her hair behind her ear, the way the rest of her hair seems to bounce every time she steps. God, is this what it's like to fall for someone...?
"Hey, Noya." She smiles at the spiky haired boy, taking the seat beside him.
"H-hi, Chura."
"The ride should be about a few hours, right?"
"Yeah. I hope it's longer though." He mumbles the last part to himself.
"Do you mind if I rest my head on your shoulder? I didn't get enough hours of sleep last night and I'm gonna need it if I'm gonna deal with even more boys this weekend." She laughs.
That's right. There's gonna be about four teams full of boys attending. They'll be all up on her. Noya's face darkens at the thought. There'll be so much competition this weekend, not just in volleyball.
"Goodnight, Yu." She yawns before leaning her head on his shoulder without his approval, instantly falling asleep.
"Amazing! She's passed out already!" Narita laughs from across the aisle, along with Kinoshita.
"Y-Yu?" Nishinoya whispers, cheeks becoming warm.
"She looks so innocent when she's sleeping." Asahi smiles as he peers over the top of his and Daichi's shared seat.
"Don't complain if she snores, Noya." Koushi smirks.
"Eh?!"
~
Noya couldn't sleep even if he wanted to. The entire ride over, he begged his heart to stop being so loud but it wouldn't shut up. Every time he looked down at her sleeping figure, it would pound faster and louder. He distracted himself by looking out the window and trying to find random things, but in reality he was talking to himself and trying to convince himself this is no big deal.
Karasuno's bus is only thirty minutes away from the location when Chura stirs in her sleep. Koushi wasn't wrong about her snoring, though it was very quiet and honestly kinda cute to him. Chura rubs her eyes as she sits up. Once she's fully awake, she looks at the short boy beside her. They blink at each other, staring in silence.
"Oh! I forgot I was sitting with you, Noya! Good morning!" She smiles.
"Noya." The libero frowns, remembering how she had called him Yu before.
"How far are we from the place?" She leans over him to look out the window.
"U-um..." Noya's cheeks redden at how close her face is to his.
"We're about fifteen minutes away, Chu." Daichi informs her from the seat in front of them.
"I can't wait to meet all of the other schools! And we get to see Yamamoto-san!" Tanaka cheers.
"Y-Yamamoto...?" Chura tenses up.
"Chura? You alright?" Noya asks.
"Did you say Yamamoto, as in Taketora Yamamoto?" Chura looks at Tanaka with wide eyes.
"Chura? You know Yamamoto-san?" Koushi blinks at his sister.
"Oh my god... I didn't realize Nekoma will be there... I'm an idiot! ...I don't feel so well." Chura gags, covering her mouth with her hand.
Koushi's eyes widen, standing up to go to her, but Tanaka holds a hand up to the boy. He smirks, holding up a plastic bag.
"I'm prepared now." Tanaka laughs hysterically before giving it to Noya to give to the girl.
Noya hurriedly gives the bag to Chura but she waves him off. She points to the window.
"C-can I open the w-window?" She mumbles.
"Of course." He opens the window for her before switching places with her.
She closes her eyes, as she sticks her head out the window. Chura mutters under her breath, her body shaking slightly. Noya looks at her older brother, concern on his face.
"I didn't realize... we were going to a train camp in Tokyo at Nekoma High School... Who else is attending, Sawamura?" Her voice is stern.
"W-well, there's also Ubugawa, Shinzen and Fukurodani." Daichi's voice cracks, which would've been funny if it weren't for the tense air surrounding the girl Sugawara.
"F-Fukur-rodan-ni?" She starts to breathe abnormally.
"Ch-Chura! P-please breathe normal!" Noya also stands up, grabbing her hand in fear.
She looks at Noya with a pale face, taking deep slow breaths as he motions to do so. She closes her eyes for a second, nodding and taking a seat. Koushi climbs over Tanaka and walks over to their seat. Noya looks at the grey haired setter, understanding he wants to comfort her. Noya tries to let go of her hand to move but she squeezes it, looking at him.
"Thank you." She whispers, finally letting his hand go.
"Y-you're welcome." He bows a bit and carefully walks to where Tanaka is seated.
The Sugawaras move to the very back of the bus and start whispering to each other. The entire team is curious of what they're saying, but they're also worried. Kiyoko and Yachi look at each other with frowns. Could Nekoma be her old high school...?
They finally arrive at the location, the boys completely forgetting what happened only moments ago. They pile out of the bus and examine their surroundings. The hyper second years become the most excited.
The Sugawara siblings stay behind, Koushi letting go of his sister once everyone is out of earshot.
"You're really not gonna tell me what that was all about?" He asks.
"W-well," She sniffles, "You're about to find out." She stands up, placing her hands in her jacket pockets and walking out of the bus without another word.
"BAHAHAHA!" Nekoma's captain cracks up when he hears the second years ask if a transmission tower was The Skytree.
"Don't tell me they actually asked that question." Chura laughs as she walks up to the second years.
"You look much better, Chura! I'm glad!" Tanaka hugs her, ruffling her hair.
"Wah! Tanaka!" Chura pouts.
"No way... Chura?" Kuroo's eyes widen, his laughter disappearing.
"Oh my god." Kai covers his mouth in shock.
"You know Chura too?" Daichi raises an eyebrow.
"Ch-Chura-san!" A voice shouts, running towards her at full speed.
"Yamamoto- Oof!" Chura is tackled onto the floor within a second.
"We missed you so much! Why did you have to leave us?!" He bawls his eyes out, squeezing her.
"Y-Yamamoto! C-can't breathe!" She squeaks.
"O-oh! S-sorry!" He stands up, also helping her up, "Its been so long though! You never message in the group!" He pouts.
"Just wait until Kenma sees you." Kuroo smirks, walking up to her.
"Kuroo." Chura glares at him, a growl escaping.
"Aww come on! Why do you have to hate me so much?!" He groans.
"Chura, it's nice to see you again. You're looking well." Kai nods in acknowledgement, going to hug her.
"Thanks! You too, Kai." She smiles, hugging him back.
"You hug him and not me?! That's so unfair!" Kuroo groans, stomping his foot.
"Deal with it." Chura shrugs before going to grab her luggage.
"I'm so confused on what is happening." Asahi blinks at the Nekoma members who came to greet them.
"Oh? Chura didn't tell you? Nekoma is her first high school." Kai informs.
"Eh?!" Everyone looks at the girl who is now blinking innocently.
"You didn't think to tell us you used to attend our main rival's school before coming to ours?" Koushi places his hands on his hips.
"I didn't think it was important. I left for a reason." She scoffs.
"Y-you didn't leave because of us, right?" Yamamoto looks at her with watery eyes.
"Of course not, Toto~ You were my favorite boys." She pats his cheek, walking towards the staircase to get to the main buildings.
"Gosh! Chura!" Koushi rushes after her.
Kuroo watches with a blank expression as the girl walks off. Kai looks at the captain of his team.
"What do you think happened to her?" Kai asks with a slight frown.
"I don't know, but it's not my problem if she doesn't want to tell us." The black haired captain shrugs before looking at the rival team's captain with a sinister grin.
"Chura! You can't just walk away like nothing happened! Will you stop?!" Koushi pulls her to face him, his expression softening when he sees tears in her eyes.
"Koushi... I'm guilty. Once again, I s-stopped talking to people I love and care about. I-it's all my fault!" She hiccups, fighting back so many tears.
"Chura?"
Chura tenses up, sucking in her breath when she hears the familiar voice. Koushi looks up to see two boys he's never seen before. His eyes wander to the name of the school on their sweaters: Fukurodani.
"Hey hey hey! It is our Chuie~!" The white and black haired boy yells, running towards her.
"B-Bokuto! Don't- ah! Haha stop tickling me!" Chura laughs uncontrollably as the boy tickles her in the stomach.
"I will not stop until you agree to tell us why you disappeared without a word!" He demands.
"Bokuto." His friend simply says, which makes him stop.
"Oh thank god." Chura calms her breathing, looking towards her savior.
"Hi." The boy smiles softly.
"Akaashi." She breathes.
"It's been a while, Chuie."
"Akaashi!" She starts bawling, running into his arms, holding onto him like a koala, "I'm so sorry!"
"Shh. It's okay. I know." He strokes her hair, burying his face in her neck and closing his eyes as he sighs in relief.
"Hey! You're never that happy to me, Chuie!" Bokuto whines.
"Okay, what the hell is going on?" Koushi's jaw drops to the floor.
"Oh, shit. Sorry, Ko." Chura's face flushes in embarrassment as she lets go of the setter of Fukurodani, "Um... Koushi, this is Keiji Akaashi and Koutarou Bokuto. Guys, this is my brother, Koushi."
"Oh! You're her brother! It's nice to finally meet you! We've heard so much about you!" Bokuto shakes his hand furiously.
"Oh? She talked about me?" Koushi looks at Chura in surprise.
"Of course I did, Koushi. I don't know how many times I have to tell you but you're my idol."
"She's always looked up to you." Akaashi nods.
"Chu..." he stares at her, speechless.
"Oh! Does Kenma know you're back?!" Bokuto turns to the girl with glimmering eyes.
"No..." she bites her lip, looking at the floor.
"We have to go see him! He'll be so happy! Let's go!" He throws her over his shoulder and runs off.
"Wait! Put me down! Bokuto!" She groans, placing her hand under her chin as she gives up.
"I'm assuming that's normal for them?" Koushi points at the two.
"Yeah, we're all pretty close." Akaashi says and nods to walk with him, grabbing the bags she had dropped.
It's quiet as they walk a few steps, Koushi trying to figure out how to start with all of the questions he has in mind. Luckily, Akaashi speaks first.
"So Chura didn't tell you anything, huh?"
"Not a word. I know literally nothing at all about her first six months of high school." Her brother sighs in defeat.
"Typical Chura." Akaashi shakes his head, "It makes since though. A lot of things happened, she probably didn't want you worrying so much about her."
"S-so you know everything then?" Koushi stops walking and stares at the boy.
"Well, I think so. The only person who would know more than me is Kenma."
"Kenma? Kenma Kozume?" The grey haired setter tilts his head in confusion.
"She really didn't tell you anything. That girl..." The Fukurodani member shakes his head, "Kenma was her best friend at Nekoma when she attended."
~
"Kenma! Look who I found! Look who I found! You'll never guess who!" Bokuto yells as he enters the gym, gaining everyone's attention.
Kenma turns his head to look for the source of the voice. When his eyes land on Bokuto, he sighs, not wanting to deal with his shenanigans. His eyebrows furrow together when he notices someone hanging over his shoulder. Bokuto sets the girl on the floor, letting her straighten herself out, laughing in embarrassment when she glares at him. Kenma's eyes widen when his brain registers who it is. Chura slowly turns around and looks at the short setter, her mouth opened slightly but no words form.
"Wah! It's Chura!" Inuoka jumps excitedly.
"Chura?" Nekoma's libero perks up at the name, looking away from what he was doing only to get hit in the face by a volleyball and fall to the floor.
"Y-Yaku!" Chura's eyes widen and she rushes over to him to check if he's okay.
"Sorry, Yaku! I thought you were ready!" An extremely tall grey haired boy also rushes up to him.
The libero looks at Chura who is hovering over him with wide eyes. He laughs a little before putting on a smile, making her blush.
"Hi, Chura." He sits up.
"Yaku! You just g-got hit in the face! A-are you okay?!" She examines his face.
"I'm fine! I'm even better now that you're back and safe." He hugs her tight.
"Y-Yaku." Her heart pounds and she silently prays that he doesn't feel how fast it's beating.
"Chura! It's been too long!" Shibayama exclaims, joining the hug.
The rest of the team adds to the pile, crying and shouting how much they missed her. Chura laughs as tears roll down her cheeks for the nth time today. She tries her hardest to hug as many of them as she can with her short arms. This is home and she truly missed it.
"Am I missing something? Why are they so happy about this girl? Who is she?" The tallest boy looks at their setter in confusion, who wasn't in the huddle either.
"Hmm? Who's he?" Chura happens to meet her eyes with green ones.
"Oh! That's right, you haven't met him. He came right after you left. That's Lev Haiba. He's a first year." Yaku explains.
"Hi! I'm going to be the ace one day!" Lev pushes everyone off of her to shake her hand.
"I-I'm Chura Sugawara. Nice to meet you." She shakes his hand, laughing at his hyper nature, "Ace, you say? You remind me of someone."
"Shoyo. He's like Shoyo Hinata." Kenma finally approaches her.
"Kenma." Her bottom lip trembles.
"Just hug already! We know you missed him the mostest!" Bokuto slaps her on the back, laughing loudly.
"Kenma." She repeats, standing up and hugging him tight.
He stands there with wide eyes for a few seconds, taking in her presence for the first time since she arrived. He sighs in relief, hugging her back making everyone whistle and cheer when he does.
"I missed you." She whispers loud enough for only him to hear, "So so much."
"Same." He replies.
That's all he has to say for her heart to ache. She's such a bad best friend. She should've contacted him at least. He was always there for her and yet she didn't appreciate it enough. She holds him tighter, letting out a groan.
"I'm such a jerk." She places her forehead on his shoulder.
"Yeah you are! You didn't think to message us once?! We were so worried about you, Chu!" Inuoka punches her arm.
"I know, I know. I'm so sorry." She let's go of Kenma and bows in apology, "Please forgive me!"
"I-I was just j-joking." Inuoka's eyes widen, waving his hands around in panic.
"I know. But I feel like I really do have to apologize to everyone on the team."
"Including me, right?" Kuroo purrs in her ear, sending shivers down her spine.
"Everyone except Kuroo." She smiles cheekily, pushing his face away like nothing.
"Ahh! Come here you!" Kuroo chases her around the gym, earning stares at first but they begin laughing when they realize it's just Kuroo and Chura doing their normal routine.
"Whoa! Chura, watch where you're going!" Daichi grabs her by the waist, but she scrambles to hide behind him.
"We're gonna steal her for the day, if that's alright with you." Kuroo smiles innocently as he places her over his shoulder like Bokuto did.
"Eh? But she's our manager! You can't just take her from her team!" Tanaka makes a scary face, Noya mimicking him.
"Oh? Chura, you're a manager, not a team member? How interesting." Kuroo smirks.
"I don't want to hear it, especially from you." She digs her elbow into his shoulder.
"Ow! Ow! Okay okay! I'll stop!" Kuroo grumbles in pain.
"Chura, why didn't you tell us you went to Nekoma before Karasuno?" Ennoshita frowns in disappointment.
"E-Ennoshita..." Chura's eyes widen.
She didn't think it would hurt her teammates by not knowing. She pokes her tongue on the inside of her cheek. She needs to explain to them, both Karasuno and Nekoma.
"There's a lot of things she didn't tell us. We'll talk later, Chu. Just let her go with them for now, Daichi. I... I saw them crying when they saw her again." Koushi looks to the side as he walks up to his respective team.
The Karasuno team all widen their eyes at what he says. They were crying...?
"Fine, but she better come back in one piece otherwise we'll have some problems." Daichi smiles but there was obviously a threat behind it.
"Oh, believe me. If I hurt her in any way, my teammates would actually kill me." Kuroo laughs humorlessly, turning back to go to his team and waving, "See ya."
The Karasuno boys watch as Chura pulls at his hair, acting like a child as he drags her away. They argue like siblings, unlike how Koushi and her fight.
"Those must be her original boys." Yamaguchi is the first to speak.
"Her... boys..." Noya's face deflates, realizing she had mentioned them before.
"She obviously didn't tell them everything either. She's been hiding stuff from all of us." Koushi turns to look at each of his teammates, "I think she went though a lot more than we realize when she was there."
"Do you... do you think she'll trust us enough to tell us soon?" Narita asks with a frown.
"If she doesn't tell us soon, I'm scared she might break."