It's so hard to find pictures that match the seasons. Lol
Yoshino Hiroyuki is also the voice actor for Tōdō Heisuke in Hakuouki and Debito in Arcana Famiglia!
***
June 10th was Iwaizumi's birthday. However, without any way of contacting him directly, Ai didn't have many options. Given that it was a Sunday, she couldn't simply go to his school to meet him, and Karasuno was busy that day with a practice match with Ohgi Nishi, too. There was a respectable boundary between research like Momoi and undignified stalking.
———
Monday
At Aoba Johsai Private High School
(June 11)
Iwaizumi sat at his seat like any other day for class. He joked with his friends about his birthday the day before as the students waited for the teacher to come to the classroom.
"Alright, settle down," the teacher said as he came in through the sliding door. "Hope everyone had a good weekend, but it's back to studying."
The students groaned. They were under a lot of pressure already for being seniors and cramming for college exams.
"Before we start announcements, though," said the man at the front podium, "Iwaizumi."
"Yes?" He straightened his back at being called on.
The teacher waved a baby blue envelope in his hand. "This came for you through the school mailbox. From Irihata-sensei."
Iwaizumi stood and walked to the front to retrieve it. "Thank you," he nodded politely.
"So, as you know, midterms are coming up in a few weeks...," the homeroom teacher reminded them as the volleyball ace took his seat again.
He read the front of the small envelope, which had his name beautifully written in the English alphabet. Clearly, it wasn't the head coach's handwriting. The letters were in cursive, and he wasn't used to seeing them, but he recognized his name "Iwaizumi Hajime" on the front middle, along with Aoba Johsai's school address in regular Japanese. It left him intrigued, while his classmates around him also stared with curiosity.
As the teacher continued with the week's announcements, he decided to open the envelope. While listening to the instructor's rambling message, Iwaizumi nonchalantly picked at the envelope's glued flap and took out its content. Inside was a single rectangle of decorated card stock, appearing to be handmade. It read:
Dear Iwaizumi-san,
Happy belated birthday.
I look forward to seeing you at the next tournament.
—Akatsuki Ai
A short but sweet message.
Wasn't she...? Iwaizumi thought and consulted the back of the envelope. The return address seemed to be for a residence, not a school.
Then, he remembered Oikawa having said something about one of Karasuno's managers. The memory of seeing an attractive girl standing behind the black flag on the first day of Interhigh came back to him, but he couldn't recall if he'd asked for her name. The girl he was flirting with...
Just as his homeroom teacher finished double-checking attendance, the wing spiker's face became scarlet red and flushed.
Did she read their article in the Monthly Volleyball magazine? Was that how she knew he was staying on the team for Spring High and wasn't retiring from the club yet?
Upon closer inspection, he realized that the envelope was also handmade to fit the matching card inside, and skillfully crafted at that.
For the duration of the entire first period, his classmates teased him on his fluster and inability to form a complete sentence. If only he could keep this occurrence a secret from that annoying Oikawa... Matsukawa and Hanamaki would probably have his back. It was a disaster just waiting to happen once school was over, and Iwaizumi knew that he wouldn't hear the end of it.
Thank stars they didn't have club on Mondays.
***
Author's Note:
June 10th is also Kiyoshi Teppei's birthday!!
I know I'm skipping over some birthdays, like Hyūga Jyunpei (May 16), Tendō Satori (May 20), and Kiyoshi, and it's because Ai hasn't met them yet or doesn't really know them. She does send a birthday message to Rakuzan's team members through Akashi, even though she hasn't met them. (Like Nebuya)
***
Reference:
In Japan, the students have a homeroom class that they stay in, and the teachers move classrooms for lessons. Students only have to move for subjects like science labs and PE, so they can keep their textbooks and stuff in their desks and also leave their backpacks in the classroom. (Some high schools have lockers in addition to that; mine did, but I don't think they all do.)
The teachers have their own desk in the faculty room and mostly stay there (like Takeda-sensei does), unless they have a specific classroom, like the cooking room for home economics or a computer room for example.
Second thing, I think most high schools in Haikyuu (like Karasuno) and Kuroko no Basket (like Seirin) still use chalkboards, but the private school I went to had whiteboards. Just a small difference between newer classrooms and more affluent schools, I guess. 🤷♀️
Also, I use the phrase "thank stars" from Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles because I think astrology is awesome!✨
***
Aoba Johsai doesn't have volleyball practice on Mondays.
So,...
How would the Seijoh guys spend their time?
(Oikawa goes to his nephew's Kiddie Volleyball class.)
Total Word Count: 873