The faculty office is situated on the ground floor of Nekoma High's main building. Usually off-limits to students of any year-level, it served as a closed space of gossiping teachers or workaholics with too many lesson plans and caffeine. Students who frequented their visits here are either troublemakers, those with failing grades, or model students (club presidents or honor students), and all of them (except the latter) would exit the aforementioned room with sullen faces.
A pretty short-haired girl walked through the hallways of the ground floor of the main building, past the gawking first-year students who were whispering how such a radiant senior venture on their floor. Never minding the adoring eyes following her, the girl was slightly worried since the exam results haven't been released yet and there could be a slight possibility that she failed a subject, mostly because of her carelessness sometimes. Or it could be that they called for her because they needed an extra pair of hands while checking the exam papers, seeing as Nekoma has quite a large student body. With her lips pursed yet with her head held high, the girl slid open the door to the faculty office.
"Ah, Kazahana-san," one of the teachers acknowledged her. He was a middle-aged man with a kind look in his eyes, which are covered with round glasses. Yukimi recognized him as the current head of the physical education and health teachers since she remembered playing basketball under his guidance when she was a second-year.
"Good afternoon. You called for me, sensei?" Yukimi greeted with a bow and walked towards the teacher's desk, waiting for him to continue as he rummaged papers on his desk, cluttering it into a storm of documents.
"Ah, yes," the teacher told her, his eyes and hands frantically searching for something on his messy desk. "Where is it?" He occasionally mumbled. "I know I should have put it where I can easily locate it but my memory seems to jog a lot slower lately." Yukimi can only stand a couple of meters away from his desk as he finally brightened up, waving a piece of paper that appeared to have boxes printed on it. "I found it!"
The teacher gave it to her with a smile. Looking down on the paper curiously, Yukimi felt her heart clamor with anticipation and nervousness. It was the list of match-ups for the Tokyo InterHigh Preliminaries. She scanned her eyes under furrowed brows for Nekoma's name until she finally spotted it grouped together in Block B. The school's name was enclosed in a box and was matched with another rather familiar school with a thin, short line.
"We're facing off Hachioji Academy?" Yukimi wondered out loud, completely unaware of the teacher's expectant stare. "That's a well-known school for their language curriculum, no wonder they sound familiar." Upon realizing that she had been ogling at the piece of paper, Yukimi stood up straight and bowed at the faculty member, who noticeably jumped from the abruptness of her bow. "I'm sorry, sensei, and thank you for this!"
"Well, good luck, Kazahana-san," the teacher told her, scratching the back of his head with a shaky laugh. "I see you want your club members to know who their contenders are!"
"Yes, sensei!" she exclaimed. "I should be going to the gymnasium now." She once again bowed, clambering her way outside the faculty room with wide and excited eyes.
The overwhelming flow of eagerness and elation cascaded through her body as Yukimi practically ran towards the gymnasium. Some of the students lingering (probably staying in the school because of club activities or cleaning duties) looked at her in surprise as she hastily race-walked towards the shoe lockers. The calm and collected golden student of 3-5 gained some perplexed reactions from her year-level, who were also heading out, since the girl never ran in her entire life (except when it was really necessary like physical education or the need of participants during the sports festival). Now switching her outdoor shoes, Yukimi racked her bag over her shoulder seeing as it was sliding from her shoulder from her jittering and jogged towards the female changing rooms of the club spaces.
With her black sweater vest and red bow neatly placed on one of the lockers in the changing room, Yukimi absentmindedly unbuttoned her fitted white long-sleeved shirt as she felt herself drift off to her conversation with Mahiru-sensei, the teacher who accompanied her in the trip to Tokyo University. Apparently, she was once again chosen to be one of the representatives for the first part of the Japan Youth Science and Technology Camp, which overlapped with the Tokyo Preliminaries. Mahiru told her that ever since she tried joining in her first year, Nekoma became one of the top schools in Tokyo pioneering in various subjects.
She had to reject it this year.
Now in her extra white shirt, Yukimi gritted her teeth in frustration and disappointment, knowing that her chance to be offered a scholarship was so out of reach for her. Not that she blamed her participation in the volleyball club, she was rather grateful for it since it has been a great help to her, but knowing that her education was neglected, it didn't seem right for her -- it was a huge burden on her shoulders now. She already knew what her mother would say, "It couldn't be helped, Yuki-chan, at least this year, you'll be staying home with me and not in some camp full of nerds. Oh, wait, you're one, too!"
It really couldn't be helped, Yukimi thought as she slipped into her red track pants. The volleyball club is now her responsibility, not being a representative of the Japan Youth Science and Technology Camp.
Trying to force a smile on her face, Yukimi slung her school bag over her shoulder and went out of the changing room. Throughout her walk to the gym, the short-haired girl tried shaking off her thoughts from her mind until she realized that she has reached the metal doors of the gymnasium. The echoing shouts and squeaks of the boys' sneakers ricocheted as Yukimi put on her indoor shoes. She remembered that for today's practice, the boys were all assigned to improve their serves. From the statistics that she jotted down from all the practice matches and practices, Yukimi specifically named players from their team who have the potential to be great servers.
One of them was preparing for his turn as he spun the volleyball in his hand. Yukimi never took her eyes off Kuroo as he threw the volleyball in the air with utmost control and jumped to slam the ball towards the other end of the court. The water bottle positioned just inches away from the outside line toppled as Kuroo's serve hit its target, with the other club members expressed their awe at their captain's precise yet power-packed serve.
Realizing that she has been staring at Kuroo for longer than she intended, Yukimi took a deep breath and announced her arrival to the two coaches observing the boys, "Good afternoon, Coach Nekomata, Coach Naoi, the match-ups for the InterHigh has been released."
Upon uttering the sentence, the occupants of the gymnasium stopped their practice and immediately went to the bench, surrounding the two coaches and manager. Nekomata laughed heartily at the sight of his players scuttling to hear who they were up against after Yukimi gave him the piece of paper. Naoi, meanwhile, scolded the teenagers to lower down their voices while Nekomata reads from the list.
"Ah, Hachioji Academy," Nekomata voiced out, chuckling from under his breath at the name of the school he just read. "So for the first round of InterHigh, we will be facing Hachioji Academy. This school is rumored to have been using ceiling serves once in a while in matches in the previous years but I don't know what their team has in store right now. I might have to ask around for that." He looked at Yukimi, who was writing in her notebook. "Yukimi, I trust you'll help me with that? Since Naoi will be overseeing the boys' practice."
Yukimi nodded with a smile.
"So given that we win against Hachioji, we will be facing Kokusai Koko, which was lined up beside us in Block B," Nekomata continued, his smile still present on his face. "Their most powerful weapon, if I have to call it that, is their synchronization. We haven't met with this school in the previous tournaments but from what I heard, they simultaneously try to feint to confuse their opponents. For the rest of May, we will condition yourselves in preparation for these two schools and when June comes, your training will be more specific when we face our real rivals in InterHigh." The old coach grinned with his arms crossed. "Naoi will talk to you about the teams that we should be wary of this year."
"First off, we know this school since the team has been a part of their academy group for years," Naoi started, his remark gaining determined and excited expressions from the team. "Fukurodani Academy."
"It's been a while since I talked to that owl captain of theirs," Kuroo snickered, his eyes filled with mischief while the upperclassmen of the team all nodded along with him.
"I've heard of that school but judging from Kuroo-san's face right now, is he close with their captain?" Shibayama asked Yaku, who was bouncing beside the first-year at the thought of receiving one of Bokuto's serves or robust spikes that earned the aforementioned player his title as one of the top four best aces in the entirety of Japan.
Yaku looked at Shibayama with a large smile. "Our team and Fukurodani's hit it off whenever we have our summer camps and I think it's understandable why Kuroo would befriend Bokuto, seeing as they most likely share their brain cell together."
Kenma shuddered at the memory of the boisterous pair wreaking havoc together, with Bokuto's usual and vibrant greeting bouncing off of Kenma's head and Kuroo's cackles playing on loop. They were forces to be reckoned with, literally, and Kenma knew that Fukurodani's setter felt exactly the same as him. But the difference between the two setters is that Kenma doesn't particularly care if Kuroo were to set fire to the gym, whereas the other setter will go tremendous and various ways in keeping the rowdy Bokuto leashed.
"They're so loud," Kenma muttered, pertaining to the two captains. This caught Yukimi's attention, Kenma noticed, and chose to relay the teams' interactions to the manager after a dejected sigh. "If you think Kuroo is obnoxious, wait till you see Bokuto. He's like Kuroo but a different bird species."
Yukimi laughed. "I'll be sure to remember that."
Fukurodani Academy.
From what Yukimi can register from the small huddle, the school housed one of the most talented aces in the high-school volleyball league. A team wherein their foundation lies in their renowned ace, Fukurodani greatly uses that in their advantage by scrimmaging their way towards the top of the national stage. Yukimi carefully wrote the kanji for cross-shots in her notebook since from what she can perceive, that was the specialty of Fukurodani's ace. And with the impeccable complementary setter and team members, Nekoma has never won a set from Fukurodani, even in practice matches, but judging from the bright faces of Nekoma's team, it's safe to say that this didn't darken their resolve just yet.
"Next, our Tokyo rivals," Naoi continued, laughing under his breath. "Nohebi Academy."
Kuroo bristled at the name, his scowl pulling down the corners of his mouth. Kai and Yaku let off a laugh beside the irritated messy-haired boy, both third-years knowing that there is a very intense rivalry existing between him and Nohebi's captain.
"Their playing style is something spontaneous, mainly consisting of their usual feints and block-outs, but what we should be watching out for are their serves. Every single player in Nohebi is known to have a kick in their serves, mostly because they excelled in pinpointing their serves in specific areas of the court. While we have an established defense, their way of defense is mostly aimed at the destruction of their opponent."
"Those snakes," Kuroo grumbled, arms crossed against his chest. He remembered last year's InterHigh where they nearly lost to Nohebi. Oh, how he tried maintaining his patience every time one of their members taunted him because of his hair or stiffness in blocking.
"Fitting for their name, right?" Nekomata laughed, easing the tension from the captain's shoulder.
"Lastly, Itachiyama Academy, the reigning champion and a usual representative of Tokyo in the nationals."
The wall looming in front of them, the one preventing their claim in the national stage -- Itachiyama Academy.
"Their team boasts one of the top three aces in Japan, Sakusa Kiyoomi, the high school best libero, Komori Motoya, and the Junior Olympic Cup best setter, Iizuna Tsukasa."
The team seemed to stand straighter, their heads held higher at the mention of the powerhouse school in Tokyo. Some gulped down their rising nervousness (the first-years), some looked ready to strike down the tournament (Taketora, Kuroo, and Yaku), and some remained indifferent (Fukunaga, Kenma, and Kai). Despite the contrasting expressions, all of them shared one thought, to step foot into that large stadium and be one of Tokyo's representatives. This will most likely lead to the 'Battle of the Trash Heap', only if Karasuno fulfilled their end of the bargain.
"That's about it," Naoi finished, clapping his hands. "Now let's continue with the drills."
"Osu!"
Practice proceeded as usual. While the others did their serves at the other side of the court, Yaku took it upon himself to receive some in an obvious pattern. Yukimi, on the other hand, tallied the number of successful serves each player executed so throughout the practice as she found herself getting dizzy from looking up to the court after crossing a line in her notebook. Because of her preoccupied state, Yukimi squealed when a cold surface stung her left cheek. She uplift her head to look pointedly at the culprit but Kuroo's grin met her eyes.
"Kuroo?" Yukimi looked around the court to assess the other players while they exerted their efforts in perfecting their serves, but right in front of her is the captain who clearly took a break on his own. She rose an eyebrow at his lazy smirk. "What are you doing here? Are you even supposed to be on break?"
Kuroo shrugged, placing his left hand on his hips and shaking the small bottle of banana milk in his other hand. "Here's your afternoon dose of banana milk," he told her. "You look so serious, so I might as well grace you with my presence to ease the tension from your shoulders." He gazed at her with half-lidded eyes laced with concern. "Something's up. What happened, Hana?"
Yukimi moist her lips before gulping down the tightness in her throat. She watched as Kuroo continued shaking the bottle of banana milk and handed the beverage to her after inserting the straw on the lid. The intensity from Kuroo's stare made her look away with flushed cheeks. Surely, he doesn't have the ability to read her mind, right? Or it could be that her face gave away what her mind has been reeling on about. Whatever the reason, it didn't change the fact that his sliver of concern set her heart racing (again).
Taking the bottle of banana milk from Kuroo, Yukimi sipped on the cold drink, not bringing her eyes back to the dark-haired lad. As she thoughtfully sipped on her 'happy drink', Kuroo smiled and plopped himself beside her, his elbows planted on his knees as he leaned forward to watch his teammates practice.
"Did something happen?" Kuroo asked, his face set forward in assessing his club members. "I know you won't believe me but when you're upset about something, your face tends to go blank." He glanced at Yukimi from the corner of his eyes, his stare soft while taking in her shocked visage -- blinking eyes, parted glossy lips, and all. He reached forward and playfully touched her brows, making her reel back a bit. "Despite that, your eyebrows furrow a little." He gently trailed his fingers down to her cheek until they rest beside her lips. "You purse your lips as well, which I might add is pretty cute."
Kuroo's thoughts flew out of his head as he mindlessly cupped Yukimi's cheek in his palm, which was perfect because it definitely fit in his large hand, was what he thought. With heavy eyes, Kuroo lightly caressed her face, placing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. He noticed her face getting warmer, an observation that set warmth blossoming in his heart.
"You can tell me anything," he told her. "I will always be listening."
Yukimi stared jaw-slacked at Kuroo but quickly regained herself as she smiled at him -- pouring out the immense gratitude she felt for him, as well as the unexplained emotions thundering inside her from the way he tenderly placed his hand on her cheek. Looking away from his gold eyes, Yukimi musingly stared at the floor as she opened her mouth, the words instantly flowing out of her like melted butter.
"You know that Nekoma is leading in Japan's science camp, right?" She heard the faintest hum from Kuroo, his hand still caressing her cheek, with his eyes softly staring at her as she talked. "And I've been a part of it since first year so you could say that it was pretty heavy for me when the date for the science camp was released, and apparently, it's the same time as the InterHigh. I don't know why I feel bad about not joining this year and please don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the volleyball club!" Yukimi turned to Kuroo, who looked slightly shocked at her outburst. "It's just that, scholarships are there and I feel so left behind because the people joining are being offered one."
"Hey," Kuroo called out. "We can always talk to the coaches if you really want to go. They're understanding and they always know when not to impose schedules on students. You can skip InterHigh season, Hana, it's okay for me--I mean, us--yeah, it's okay for us, the team."
Yukimi shrugged, giving Kuroo a small smile. "To think of it, I'd rather settle myself with a bunch of fun people rather than students I haven't talked with that much."
Kuroo grinned at her, pinching her cheek in the process, making her narrow her eyes at him. "And we would rather have you with us. You joined the volleyball club so you have to endure it."
"I might as well have to. I think it's part of the job description as your manager."
Kuroo grinned, proud that he was the one responsible for Yukimi joining the club.
"Kuroo-san! Can you help us with the drills?" Yamamoto shouted from the court, making the pair look at him.
"Yamamoto, you idiot! Can't you see they're busy? Just call for Kai or Fukunaga!" Yaku yelled from the other side of the net.
"But I want my serves to be like his!"
Kuroo chuckled under his breath, patting Yukimi's head as he stood up from his seat. "Well, duty calls," he told her, stretching his arms.
"Sucks to be you, captain," Yukimi laughed.
"Can you call me that one more time? I think I like it in your voice more."
"Hush it, your teammates are agitated now," Yuki deadpanned, glancing at Taketora behind him who was against Yaku in a shouting banter.
"One day, Hana, I'm going to make you call me anything but my last name."
Yukimi only burst in a fit of laughter, her concerns flying off her mind, as Kuroo beheld a permanent grin on his face while going back to his teammates.
"Now what is it, Yamamoto?" he asked calmly.
"See! You disrupted his time with our precious manager. Now he's angry because time spent with Yukimi-chan is something to be treasured and enjoyed."
"I'm afraid I have to add another lap in your running drill, Yaku."
"He's not wrong, though."
"You, too, Kenma?!"
The schools mentioned in this chapter (namely Hachioji Academy and Kokusai Koko) are real schools found in the Tokyo prefecture. I searched them since there aren't any mention of the Tokyo schools participating in the InterHigh in Haikyuu, well, except for Fukurodani, Nohebi, and Itachiyama, and a few. I was also tempted to add Shinzen and Ubugawa but seeing as the former was found in Saitama and the latter in Kanagawa (which is slightly far from Tokyo), I had to stick with geography.
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