When Yukimi entered the classroom, she was met with a sight that wasn't usually occurring in their rowdy room. Most of her classmates were crowding around her desk. Furrowing her eyebrows and tightening her hold on the school bag over her shoulder, she made her way towards her desk with measured footsteps.
"Hey, Kazahana-san is here!"
"Your morning will be a good one, Kazahana."
"I want that to happen to me, too."
From that last remark, she incredulously stared at one of her classmates who had their hands on their faces, a dreamy look painted on it. What was that about? She shifted her attention to her desk and there was an enveloped letter placed directly on the center of the table. What made her blanch was that the envelope was pink and it had a heart to seal it. This was definitely not her cup of tea.
Out of reflex, she took a glance at Romio from the corner of her eyes and she noticed that he was not looking pleased at all. This surged Yukimi's heart with hope, thinking that it could be from Romio. Even though the envelope wasn't Romio's style at all, she still wished it would be from him.
"Oya? A love letter?"
Kuroo was grinning at her like the Cheshire Cat and Yukimi was not liking that at all. Just like yesterday, his uniform was slightly open and his tie was still loose over his collar. Yukimi swore that she heard some of her classmates sigh. With half-lidded eyes, Kuroo snickered under his breath and stared at the enveloped letter clutched in the short-haired girl's hands.
"Read it first before you conclude something," he told her with a smirk.
"What-?"
"Yeah, read it first, Kazahana-chan!" Yaku yelled from the other side of the classroom.
Thinking it best to listen to them, she sat down and hung her school bag in the small hanger of her desk. Feeling bored of a sudden, the short-haired girl then took out another book from her bag, this one her mother brought home late at night yesterday. Delving into the underwater world of whales and children born from the sea, her mind drifted to the book she finished late last night, deciding that she should return it to the library when the lunch bell would ring.
The teacher seemed to be running late so Yukimi turned chapter after chapter until she felt a hand lightly hitting her head. She looked up at the front and was met with their teacher preparing for another lesson in calculus. Huffing a breath, she took out her notebook from her bag and listened to whatever lesson they left off the last time. Being in the college preparatory class, their workload is more than the average classes and now that they were in their final year, them being third-years, they were always pressured by some of their teachers to pursue technical courses when they would go into college.
Kazahana Yukimi wanted an art course but being a neurologist wouldn't be so bad.
In their calculus class, their teacher would always write problems after every lecture so that their class could test if they paid attention to the concepts well. However, in today's class, their teacher decided to make them solve countless problems without starting the class with the usual concepts. Almost groaning, Yukimi remembered that she was excused in their last meeting in calculus because she was appointed to be in a contest regarding renewable energy. It wasn't that she regretted entering the contest but she missed an important class because of it and she should've thought of her grades first instead of being in a research convention.
"Pst," Kuroo whispered behind her.
She subtly turned around when their teacher was busy writing on the board and gave the rooster-haired boy a glare. "What?" she spat.
"You weren't here last time so I figured you couldn't catch up with the lesson," Kuroo started.
Yukimi scoffed. "Obviously, big brain," she whispered.
The boy rolled his eyes. "I was thinking of teaching you yesterday but it seems like fate has other plans," he retorted.
This made Yukimi flush a bright red that nearly made Kuroo laugh out loud. Nobody has seen her that vulnerable before and she intended to keep it that way until the end of her stay in Nekoma Metropolitan High, and as Kuroo said it, fate has other plans.
"Well," she bristled. "I'm sorry that my being emotional ruined your plans."
Kuroo's eyes widened. "That's not it at all," he retaliated. "You even left me here in the classroom if you don't remember after you just poured your feelings out to me."
"If you wanted to maintain your class standing, Kuroo-san," Yukimi hissed at him. "I suggest you let us attempt to solve the problems written on the board because unlike you, right now, I wanted to learn."
Kuroo held his laugh. "Attempt," he parroted, putting his fist on his mouth to hide his escaping sniggers.
Yukimi rolled her eyes. "Not all of us are geniuses, okay?" She then turned back to the front but not before a blue notebook slid in her peripheral vision. Scared that their teacher might catch them, she quickly snatched it and placed it on her desk. She gingerly opened it and saw Kuroo's tidy scrawl of equations and derivations that made her notes feel insecure for some reason. Smiling out of the blue, she continued grinning as she flipped through Kuroo's notebook, finding it helpful in calculating some of the problems.
Thinking about it, the enigma that is named Kuroo Tetsurou has been at the very bottom of Yukimi's priorities, if not, it should never be listed there in the first place. Well, the very first one in her long list of priorities being the dedication to her studies and following close behind are her feelings for Romio, but that would be unlikely to hold on since the boy never showed any motives in wooing her. But, as much as she hated to admit it, the school's star has always intrigued her since she entered Nekoma. She once overheard the volleyball team when she was passing by the gym back when she was a first-year, and by volleyball team, it's Kuroo talking. She heard his determination to be in the nationals just as everyone else, but there was something in his voice that made her stop in her tracks.
Though she promised herself to steer clear from the boy, Yukimi found herself changing her view of Kuroo on her birthday. Because, apparently, Kuroo is a subject of everyone's wants. People wanted to have his brains and wits when it comes to academics. People wanted to have his way of fabricating words that could charm, not only girls but their male schoolmates as well. People wanted to have his skills in being one of the most talented middle blockers in Tokyo (Yukimi studied the positions when she was very young because her childhood friend seemed to pursue it). And lastly, people wanted to date him.
Kuroo definitely has a reputation among the girls in their school. With looks like that, everybody is expected to be bewitched. However, while many girls braved themselves in confessing their feelings for him, Kuroo politely (take note of the politely) declined and rejected every single one of them. One time, Yukimi caught their class representative bawling her eyes out in the classroom, surrounded by her friends because Kuroo told her she was not his type. Yukimi thought Kuroo was being picky seeing as their class rep is a beautiful young woman, she knew how to hold herself up pretty well and Yukimi appreciated that.
"He told me that his type was the silent type," their class rep cried at that time. "I don't even understand him! I can be the silent type if that's what he wants but he directly told me he likes someone else. Well, I don't see him set his eyes on another girl here in school! How am I supposed to believe his words?!"
Yukimi pitied her. Their class representative deserves someone better. Better than that smirking, arrogant, and rooster-headed freak.
Letting out a small sigh, Yukimi settled under the shades of the many trees lining the school's courtyard. With her feet happily feeling the grass beneath her (she liked to take off her outdoor shoes and socks whenever she sits on any grass plain, a habit she picked up when she had picnic dates with her mother), Yukimi took out the bento she prepared. She quickly dove into the egg rolls she put all her effort into perfecting while having her eyes on the books opened on the grass in front of her. The shouts of the students surrounding her drowned as if being underwater when she immersed herself into the origins of galaxies and ocean festivals as her eyes skimmed the words.
Kazahana Natsumi, a woman who always lifted herself up despite all the hardships, was the one who gave her the book, also greeting the short-haired girl the happiest birthday. Their household only consisted of the two of them, as it always was. Just like any other day, her mother would go out early in the morning, even before she would wake up, to report to her office and would go home late at night, making Yukimi learn all of the household chores. When her mom would have the day-off, the bubbly girl would then proceed to try making the desserts she watched on the internet and let the older woman judge.
Unconsciously smiling at the banana milk her mother left for her early that morning, Yukimi didn't notice the hazel gaze drilling into her from the other side of the pathway.
"You know," Yaku mumbled through a mouthful of cafeteria bread. "With that stare of yours, one would think you want to shoot lasers at Kazahana-chan. Tone it down, man!"
Kozume Kenma, the childhood friend of the said person who shoots lasers, looked up from his game with the echoing 'Game Over' a few milliseconds later and stared blankly at his friend. "Please don't scare Kazahana-san," he quietly said. "She's the only girl I have taken a liking to."
At this, Kuroo swiveled his head towards the dyed head of Kenma, who was ducking his head to take out another bread they bought from the cafeteria. "Kenma!" he shouted. "Don't tell me you've fallen in love with her when she handed you her charger?! You should be respecting my feelings, Kenma, I thought you were my friend!"
Kenma furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Kuroo weirdly. "And what's it to you if I like Kazahana-san?" Kuroo looked like he has been struck by lightning. "And by the way, why don't you tell that to Yaku-san, he obviously likes Kazahana-san."
"Yakkun is different!" Kuroo practically shouted.
"How is that supposed to be different?" Kenma pointed to Yaku, who had flowers in the background from daydreaming many scenarios revolving around the lovely Kazahana Yukimi.
"You bastard!" Kuroo told Yaku.
"Now, now," Kai reprimanded them with sweat dripping his brow.
Just a regular situation of the volleyball club, indeed.
Meanwhile, as the two third-year regulars of the volleyball club bicker, the subject of their adoration tidied up her bento, wrapping it with an orange handkerchief. Taking out her thermos tumbler from her bag, she chugged the cold strawberry juice she found in the refrigerator and returned it in its compartment, along with the book she was currently reading. Noticing a pink stationery paper, she lifted it and was met with the supposed love letter she received earlier. Eagerly opening the flap, she unfolded the piece of paper.
The scent was a mellow lavender, she noticed, making her smile.
However, the content of the letter wiped the smile from her face. The familiar handwriting was not mistaken and the manner it was written and the words used. But she couldn't help but let out a chuckle at the annotation in the margins of the paper.
Kazahana-san (-chan! / -senpai!),
We know you expected someone else to send this letter but we couldn't help but send it this way (actually it was only Taketora and Yaku who wanted to write and wrap it this way, saying it would make you swoon but I doubt it. - Kuroo). As we were saying, with the permission of the faculty, namely our adviser, and the two coaches of the Nekoma volleyball club (they are the kindest! - Fukunaga), we, the volleyball club, want you to be our manager for the rest of the academic year.
This will not overlap with your academic priorities because the top of the class of the third-years is within our clutches as well (Why do you make it sound like I'm imprisoned here? - Kuroo). In fact, we want you two to study with each other! (Okay, who the fuck wrote this? This wasn't in our agreed outline. - Kuroo / As if you don't want that, tee-hee. - Fukunaga / I want to study with Kazahana-chan as well! - Yaku <3)
We will be terribly disappointed if you won't accept this and it would terribly affect our practices and plays as a team. (I feel ashamed to be a part of this team. - Kenma / Shush it, Kenma. - Kuroo).
We will be in your care.
- With lots of love (mostly from our captain / STOP IT! - Kuroo), NEKOMA VOLLEYBALL CLUB
After reading the paper, Yukimi was left dumbfounded. From what she heard from her friends, the volleyball club is a rowdy group of people. They even have the student who sported a gangster get-up, though Yukimi doesn't see anything wrong with having your hair in a Mohawk. In contrast with her friends' opinions, the volleyball club for her is a group of kind people. Well, Yaku Morisuke is one of them and she always felt comfortable talking to him (except those times when he would remind her how radiant and lovely she is) and also Kozume Kenma, the second-year Yukimi gave her charger to. Not to mention, Kai Nobuyuki from Class 4, the always smiling schoolmate of hers.
It definitely is a happy club, based on the notes scribbled from different handwritings.
Thinking that she had finished the letter, there was a scribble at the back of the actual letter. Yukimi widened her eyes when she read it.
You will never be sad when you're with us. You are everything we need.
Unbeknownst to her, and the constant times she will deny it, Yukimi finally found her place in the many solar systems of Nekoma High and it just so happened that hers was the most incredible out of all.