A/N: Enjoy :)
「 Yamagata Prefecture 」
Y/N taps her foot in irritation outside the boy's room. Those jerks better let her in before she does something to ruin their lives.
"Atsumu, if you don't finish changin' in five seconds I swear-"
"Calm down woman! I'll finish soon!"
"He's not even changing, Y/N. He's just been doing his hair for the past 10 minutes, refusing to put on a shirt." Suna states matter-of-factly, sounding bored as usual.
"If it's just the shirt he's missin', then I can come in-"
"Ahh! Don't come in yet! I'll get changed!"
"Then hurry up!" Y/N groans in irritation, scowling at the door as she continues to wait. They'd just arrived in the Yamagata prefecture earlier that day, ready for Interhigh tomorrow. They're supposed to be relaxing, but Y/N can feel her patience running thin, maybe she should have stayed back in her room with Kagawa and Inoue.
Hearing the twins bicker incomprehensibly, Y/N finally has enough. "That's it. I'm comin' in."
"Wait-!"
Throwing the door open, Y/N's surprised to only find Suna and Ginjima lounging around. Silently, they gesture to the bathroom door.
Y/N cautiously approaches the door, still hearing the twin's bickering as a few bangs and crashes are heard. Turning around, she mentally asks if it's okay for her to just barge in, to which Suna gives her thumbs up, taking out his phone to film.
Rolling her eyes at this, she throws the door open.
"..."
"Are you seriously bleaching your hair right now??"
"'Kay, first of all, we ain't bleachin', just colourin'. Second of all, how couldja just barge into the bathroom like that??"
"You guys are colouring?? Osamu's hair doesn't even have a colour??"
"That's why I'm colourin' his hair, genius." Osamu mutters, hands still on Atsumu's head.
Y/N groans in exasperation. "You guys couldn't pick a different day??"
"Like what? Tomorrow? Or maybe in our matches we'll be like 'Referee! Timeout! I needa colour my hair!'" Atsumu rolls his eyes. "Now's the best time, N/N. I needa look good for those cameras tomorrow."
"You needa look good? Then why'd you pick that disgustin' colour again?"
"What d'ya have against my hair colour??"
"According to some comments on your last selfie, your hair colour is best described as 'dehydrated piss yellow'." Suna calls from the other room.
"What?!"
"If you're gonna dye your hair blond, at least go for platinum blond or somethin'??" Y/N sighs as she facepalms. "I'm done, come out whenever you're done or somethin'."
Slamming the door closed, Y/N sighs as she sits down with Ginjima and Suna, they pat her back in attempts to comfort her.
"It's alright, Y/N, he'll realise that his dehydrated piss yellow hair's ugly one day." Suna says. "Whoever made that comment is a genius."
"Weren't you the one that made that comment, Suna?" Ginjima deadpans.
"Was it? I must have forgotten."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
「 Interhigh National Tournament 」
Day 1
Stepping off the bus as they arrive at the gymnasium, Y/N takes a deep breath. It's finally the day. The soft smile on her face is quickly replaced with a deadpanned expression when she hears the twins start bickering behind her.
"Atsumu, Osamu, we are here to represent our school and prefecture in a national tournament. There is no need for your immaturity to ruin the experience for our teammates." Kita scolds, shaking his head at them as they instantly shut up.
"Yes Kita-san..."
"Oh? It's Inarizaki!"
The Nakiusagi team waves at them as they also get off their bus, cheerfully coming over to greet them.
"It's nice to see ya again!" Their captain exclaims, approaching Kita. "I see your team is in good shape?"
"Yes, the team is in top form, we are lookin' forward to our matches."
"Nice!"
Atsumu smirks at Matsumoto as he glares back in irritation. "Oh? I forgot that second place also gets to go to Interhigh~"
"Tch... Watch your back Miya, second place or not, we're gonna win this."
"What a coincidence! We're gonna win too!" Atsumu gasps in fake shock. "How strange! There'll be two winners this time!"
"Stop bein' such a jerk, Atsumu." Y/N rolls her eyes as she grabs the back of his shirt and pulls him back. "Sorry 'bout him, Matsumoto-san, the best way to deal with Atsumu, is to not deal with him at all."
"L/N-chan! It's nice to see you again!" Matsumoto cheers, ignoring Atsumu as he smiles at her.
"Right... Likewise I guess."
"Was there a scheduled pre-game meetup I wasn't aware of?" Itachiyama's captain asks, smiling as he approaches them, his team following behind him. "Or is this a Hyogo-only meetup?"
"Geh-! Acchan... It's Itachiyama-!" Nakiusagi's captain whimpers as he hides behind his Libero, despite the obvious height difference.
"Iizuna, it's nice to see you again." Kita greets him as he nods in acknowledgement. "We happened to cross paths while gettin' off the bus, this interaction was not scheduled."
"Ahh I see. Well regardless, it's nice to see that your team's in good shape, Kita."
"Yours too, Iizuna."
"Miya! L/N-chan! It's been a while!" Komori exclaims as he approaches them, Sakusa reluctantly following behind. "We're looking forward to playing you guys again!"
"They need to win their matches if they want to play us." Sakusa mutters under his breath, much to Atsumu's irritation.
"Oh yeah? Well the same goes for you y'know." Atsumu scowls. "Don't get ahead of yourself Sakusa, we're gonna beat you Tokyo jerks."
"Don't you love friendly interactions?" Y/N deadpans as Komori laughs.
"Well, they're not wrong~ Anyone can win or lose at anytime~!" He chuckles taking notice of Matsumoto who's still awkwardly standing there. "Ohh! I know you! You're Nakiusagi's Middle Blocker right?"
"Y-yeah..." He mumbles, feeling intimidated under Komori, Sakusa and Atsumu's powerful presence. He subconsciously takes a step back, accidentally bumping into Y/N. "Oh- Sorry L/N-chan!"
"It's fine." She smiles. "There's no need to be intimidated y'know, you're a great player too."
"Huh? Who are you?" Sakusa asks, squinting at Matsumoto who sweats under his piercing stare. "What team are you on? What year are you in? What's your name?"
'SAVE ME!' Matsumoto mentally screams, wanting to run away.
"Haha! Sorry about him! He's a real downer!" Komori sheepishly laughs, turning around to whisper at Sakusa. "Oi! Don't be rude! He's from Nakiusagi! His team is literally right here!"
"Whatever..." He mutters, turning to leave to get back to his team. "I'll see you later." He nods towards Y/N as he leaves with Komori, purposely ignoring Atsumu and Matsumoto.
"Argh... that jerk... I'll show him!" Atsumu grits his teeth in irritation.
"Why don'tcha save your trash talkin' until after you beat him?" Osamu deadpans suddenly approaching them with Suna and Ginjima.
"I'm, umm... gonna go..." Matsumoto trails off nervously, awkwardly walking away. "S-see you guys later..."
"Yeah that's right, leave." Suna says once he's out of sight, turning to Y/N with a smirk. "Don't you love friendly interactions?"
"Yes. Delightful." She deadpans.
"Heh... 'friendly'."
The four of them groan as Suna keeps smirking, finding something incredibly amusing.
"...Let's just get to the openin' ceremony..." Ginjima mutters.
"Thank you for waiting. We will now begin the opening ceremonies for the National High School Volleyball Tournament, otherwise known as the Interhigh Tournament."
"The championship flags are now entering, and the 56 representative schools from across Japan are now entering as well."
Y/N watches with Kagawa and Inoue from the side as they begin announcing the representative schools. Inoue glances around nervously, not used to the high tension atmosphere, while Y/N and Kagawa stand proudly, waiting for the Inarizaki team to be called.
"Hyogo Prefecture's first representative, boys, Inarizaki High School."
The Inarizaki team follows Kita as they enter the stadium, walking proudly as they represent their prefecture and school. Y/N smiles softly as she watches them, contemplating if she should take her phone out to take some pictures. But she decides to just watch the moment, she can screenshot the videos later.
"Hyogo Prefecture's second representative, boys, Nakiusagi Tech."
The Nakiusagi team walks out and stands beside Inarizaki. Atsumu smirks at them competitively. The first day of Interhigh has just begun.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
「 Interhigh National Tournament 」
Day 1 – Qualifying Round
Having won third place at the previous Spring Tournament, Inarizaki is exempt from the first day of matches. Instead, they freely spend the first day watching the Qualifying Round.
"Bokuto-san!" Akaashi calls as he tosses the ball to Bokuto, who in turn spikes an amazing cross shot.
"Hey hey hey!" He cheers, hyping up the crowd.
"He's as noisy as ever." Atsumu comments from his seat in the crowd. "Wouldn't it be super drainin' to have someone that energetic on your team?"
"Can't be more drainin' then havin' to deal with you." Osamu mutters, rolling his eyes as he keeps watching.
Blinking heavily in his seat, Suna nearly falls asleep until Y/N jabs him in the side.
"Oi. We're here to watch Fukurodani play, not for you to nap."
"Are we? I didn't get the memo." He mutters, trying to stay awake. It would help if he was allowed to use his phone, but unfortunately, Coach Kurosu confiscated it from him. They're here to watch the matches afterall.
"Suna... D'ya hafta be this way every time we watch another team's match?" Coach Kurosu sighs in exasperation. "Is there another team you wanna watch instead?"
Suna shrugs lazily. "Not really."
"Well, I kinda wanna go see the Shiratorizawa match." Y/N pipes up. "So maybe Rintarou and I can go over and watch them instead?"
"Ohh sounds fun! Can I come?" Atsumu asks excitedly.
"No." They deadpan. "You stay with the team, we don't wanna be trampled by your fangirls."
"Rude!"
"I've got no complaints." Coach Kurosu shrugs, handing Suna back his phone. "Make sure he doesn't use it, Y/N, and make sure to come straight back after their match."
"Yeah yeah, we will." Y/N waves him off as she stands up with Suna. "We'll be back."
"Nice kill! Ushijima! Ushijima! Ushijima!"
"Out of context, that sounds like Ushijima-senpai just murdered someone, and everyone supports him." Y/N rolls her eyes as she and Suna walk towards the B court, it seems like Shiratorizawa's got their own fair share of fans.
"If this is what it's like trying to get a seat at one of our games, I think I'd just stay home." Suna mutters, looking around for empty seats near the front row, Coach Kurosu would want them to have a close look.
"Our games are way more chaotic and crowded than this." Y/N sighs. "If anything, just be grateful that Shiratorizawa doesn't have as many squealin' fangirls as us."
"Oh? L/N-chan! Suna!" Komori calls, waving at them from his seat. "You're watching Shiratorizawa's match too?"
Y/N and Suna glance at him, he and Sakusa are sitting on the side, watching the ongoing match. He smiles brightly at them.
"It's a little crowded yeah, mainly because Ushijima's the only top 3 ace playing today. If you want, you guys can sit with us!" He exclaims, removing the sports bags on the seats beside him. "We usually occupy the seats next to us since Sakusa doesn't like it when people are too close, but I think he'll be okay if it's just you guys."
"Oh? He's fine if it's us?" Suna smirks, radiating smugness that makes Y/N want to throw him down the stairs. "Then how could we refuse? Thanks Komori."
"Sorry for the intrusion..." She mumbles sitting down next to Komori as Suna sits beside her. "How's the match so far?"
"Ehh just the usual." Komori shrugs, turning his eyes back to the match as Semi comes on court to serve. "They're playing really well as always, Ushijima's in good shape, and so's the Guess Monster guy? He's been getting lots of blocks. Other than that, nothing really noteworthy."
"Wakatoshi-kun's been playing well as always, their opponents still have some issues with his spikes." Sakusa adds.
"Is that so?" Suna muses. "I'd love to stuff him again, the look on his coach's face is priceless every time."
"Your reasonin' is honourable, as always." Y/N deadpans.
"Says the one who literally targeted their setter and first year with mind games to unlock their insecurities."
"It was for benefit of the team, I have no selfish reasons." Y/N smiles innocently. "Besides, Shirabu-kun and first year kid's over it. They're fineee."
"Shirabu-kun huh? It was Shirabu-san before... What have you been up to?" Suna asks as he squints at her interest.
"Rintarou, stop lookin' into everythin' I do so carefully. It's not that deep bro." Y/N rolls her eyes, pushing him away as she turns her attention back to the match.
"You guys are so funny." Komori laughs. "Must be heaps of fun hanging out with your team."
"Oh yeah, it's the best." She and Suna deadpan in unison. "Loads of fun, no chaos whatsoever."
Komori snickers again as he turns back to the match. Shiratorizawa just won the first set and are currently switching sides with their opponents.
"Yo, some members from Itachiyama and Inarizaki are watching our game." Semi says, pointing to the audience as they switch sides.
"Hm? Ah, I see them." Shirabu shrugs.
"Hmm? Where? Where? Ohh I see them too!" Tendou exclaims in excitement. "It's Bendy Boy 1, and Bendy Boy 2, and Pickled Radish Eyebrows, and Y/N-chan!"
The Shiratorizawa team sweat drops at this.
"...Your nicknames are... special?"
"Thanks Semi-semi!" Tendou laughs. "Anyway... Y/N-chan!!!" He yells, grinning widely as he waves at her.
"Y/N-chan!!!"
Y/N flinches as Tendou calls her name, wanting to simultaneously disappear and respond at the same time. Turns out, she doesn't need to decide how she wants to respond, because Suna will respond for her.
'I. Will. Break. Your. Neck. On. Court.' Suna mimes, glaring heatedly at Tendou with every movement.
Tendou almost flips him off in retaliation, but thankfully Semi's there to stop him before he does anything rash on camera.
"Are you serious?" Y/N sighs, facepalming at the interaction. "Rintarou, he's a senpai."
"So? I don't think Gesu Mister cares much for formalities."
"Gesu Mister oh my gosh-" Komori snorts, covering his mouth as he starts snickering. "Did you hear that Sakusa? Gesu Mister I-"
Komori laughs hysterically as Sakusa stares at him in concern and discomfort. "...Yes, I heard."
"At least someone appreciates my humour." Suna says, pointedly looking at Y/N who rolls her eyes. "Anyway, looks like it's Netflix Rock Lee's serve."
"Oh my gosh Netflix Rock Lee-" Komori wheezes, clutching his stomach as he laughs. "I really like you, Suna! Let's exchange numbers after!"
"Um... Okay."
Y/N sighs begrudgingly. "Alright... that one was pretty good."
"Oh? Praise? From Y/N? I better message this to Atsumu." Suna says, taking out his phone to message him. Y/N instantly snatches it out of his hands.
"Coach Kurosu told me to make sure you don't use your phone." She deadpans, putting his phone in her pocket has he visibly deflates.
"My... phone..."
She rolls her eyes as she pats him on the shoulder. "You'll live. But if you wanna tell Atsumu that badly..."
Y/N takes out her phone and instantly starts dialling Atsumu's number, waiting for him to pick up.
"Wha-"
"Rintarou said a funny joke. I laughed." She states matter-of-factly and instantly hangs up. "There. Satisfied?"
"Nope, because I know no one filmed it."
"You're never satisfied..."
"I've never been satisfied..." He mutters wistfully.
Y/N stares at him, unimpressed. "...Sometimes, I miss the times when you were quiet and shy around me." She mutters.
"Did we come here to fight, or to watch the match?"
"Oh right the match oops." She sheepishly turns her attention back to Shiratorizawa's match, pouting when Komori and Suna start snickering at her. "...I sat next to the wrong people."
"I agree." Suna says instantly, smiling innocently. "I think you should swap seats with Ko-"
Y/N harshly jabs him in the side before he can finish his sentence. "Haha look at that! Shirabu-kun just pulled off a really good dump! He's so cool, let's focus on that."
"Oh he did? Damn, I missed it." Komori says, turning back to the match as well. "Did you see it, Sakusa?"
"I did."
"Oh well, looks like Shiratorizawa's going to win soon anyway, find anything noteworthy, L/N-chan?"
Y/N shrugs. "In terms of playstyle, there's not much to say about Shiratorizawa to be honest, they're a simple team that relies on brute force and strength. Obviously the most noteworthy people are Ushijima-senpai and Tendou-senpai since they get the most points, but personally, I think Kawanishi-kun, number 12, is really great too."
"Ohh the second year blocker." Suna muses. "Yeah he's pretty good I guess, he's unpredictable to an extent, and good at adapting when he wants to. But I'm better."
"You're also more modest." Y/N adds.
"That's true."
"What do you think, Komori-kun?" Y/N asks.
"Hm? Ehh pretty much what you already said, their Libero's good too, but yeah." He shrugs. "I looked at the brackets, and we're at opposite ends to you and Shiratorizawa, so we're definitely not versing both of you."
"Mm, you'll probably be versing us or Mujinazaka in finals, depends on who makes it to finals I guess." Suna shrugs. "Atsumu's dead-set on beating Mujinazaka, we didn't verse them last time so he's really keen. What'a keen bean."
"We're gonna needa beat Shiratorizawa in Quarterfinals first." Y/N rolls her eyes. "As long as we both get there that is, don't just assume we're gonna get all the way to finals."
"I'm not. I'm just stating the most likely outcome." Suna states. "Anyway, looks like it's Ushijima's serve now, how much do you want to bet he's going to get service aces until they win?"
"There's only two points left so..." Y/N mutters, mentally calculating the probability and stability of Ushijima's serve. "Alright, I bet they'll win on his serve, buy me some local cherries if he does?"
"Sure, but if he doesn't, I get a favour that I can cash in at any time."
"How about cold hard cash instead?"
"Do you need to negotiate every time we make a bet?" Suna deadpans. "Argh fine, you'll somehow find a way to trick me into agreeing anyway."
"Ushijima-san, nice serve!"
Ushijima bounces the ball a few times in preparation for his serve, paying no mind to the cheering fans and cameras around him.
Tossing the ball in the air, he serves.
BAM!
The ball shoots to the other side of the court with amazing speed and power, taking their opponents off-guard as it bounces off the Libero's out-stretched arms and out of bounds.
"Nice serve!"
"Amazing." Sakusa mutters, gaining their attention as they look at him curiously. He glares at them. "What."
"Nothing." They mumble, turning back to watch the game. It's Shiratorizawa's match point now.
"Give us another nice serve!"
Bouncing the ball a few times once again, Ushijima tosses the ball in the air to serve.
BAM!
The ball hurtles towards the Libero again as he manages to get it up.
"Ohh, the Libero got it." Komori exclaims.
"Yeah but it's goin' over the net." Y/N says, watching closely as Ohira sends it to Shirabu. "He's probably gonna toss to Ushijima-senpai again."
"Ushijima-san!" Shirabu calls as he tosses to Ushijima. Running up to spike the ball, Ushijima overpowers the blockers as his powerful spike blasts through their block.
FWEET! The referee blows the whistle to signify the end of the match, Shiratorizawa having won in straight sets.
"Welp, Shiratorizawa won, as expected." Suna shrugs. "I win though, he didn't get two service aces sooo."
"Actually, I won." Y/N smirks as she glances at him. "I said they'll win on his serve, I didn't say anythin' 'bout service aces."
"Wait-" Suna mentally replays their bet. "Dammit, how did you slip that in again? Maybe the art you excel in is actually scam art, you'd be a great scam artist."
"I'm not a scam artist, I'm honest." She rolls her eyes. "You just need to pay attention to wording."
"You mean your misleading wording?"
"Details, details." She waves him off, turning to Komori and Sakusa who are watching their interaction curiously. "Anyway, we needa get back to our team, so I'll see you two later?"
"Yep, all good!" Komori smiles. "We'll probably stay around for a bit, Sakusa wants to go talk to Ushijima."
"Ahh I see." Y/N nods, standing up to leave with Suna. She hands him back his phone, making his eyes sparkle as he happily takes it back. "Have fun then, bye Komori-kun, Sakusa-san."
"See you later!" Komori waves cheerfully as Sakusa just nods blankly.
Y/N sighs as she walks away with Suna. Once they're finally out of sight, she turns to Suna with dead eyes. "Alright let it out, say whatever you wanna say before we get back."
"I don't have anything to say necessarily." Suna smirks. "But I still think something's going to happen~"
"Keep dreaming." She rolls her eyes in exasperation. He's like a nosy family member, constantly trying to set her up with someone.
"This is an incredibly realistic dream then, my OTP breathing the same air? Looking at each other? Today's a glorious day." Suna chuckles. "He's your type, right?"
"Rintarou, I don't have a type."
"That means... it's free real estate." He smirks. She rolls her eyes as she pushes him away, smiling at his antics.
"You're so annoyin'."
~~~~~
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
We've finally reached the new arc :) And now... things will start coming together... huehuehue...
I was so excited while writing this chapter XD I've been planning all of Interhigh for sooo long and I'm legit so ecstatic that we're here now OuO heaps of stuff will be happening in Interhigh, and there'll be even more stuff happening after~
Thankyou so much for waiting and reading until now~ I said this was going to be a slow-burn but I don't think some people really realised how slow of a slow-burn this fic is going to be XD Even now, we're only about 8% through everything I've planned :)
I was also lowkey overwhelmed because so many teams were appearing everywhere XD Since it is Interhigh XD and even more teams will be coming in the next few chapters~ =w= I hope you'll look forward to it! :D
Anyways~ as promised, I have drawn soft boy Sakusa =w=
Hehe~ I hope you like it! OuO Just a gift from me to you~
Imagine Sakusa softly smiling at his phone when he gets a message from you ;-; Omg I'd die ;-; He's so cute ;-;
I animated the snowfall by the way XD So if you want to see that, you can check it out on my Instagram and Twitter~ =w=
I'm really excited for everything to come~ Thanks for reading! :D