Approximately 1 year and 4 months earlier...
「 Inarizaki High School 」
April 2011
"Hello, my name is L/N Y/N, I'll be joinin' as a manager. Please take care of me." Y/N bows as the rest of the club members clap, welcoming her. A girl with short silver hair stands beside her, grinning as she introduces herself as well.
"Hi! My name's Kagawa Ginko, I look forward to bein' yer manager!" Bowing quickly, Kagawa excitedly glances at Y/N, smiling cheerfully at her as Y/N smiles politely in response. She didn't come here to make friends.
"So why'dja decide to join L/N-chan?" Kagawa asks her excitedly as they help pack up after the first day.
"I was on the volleyball team in middle school, but bein' a player isn't for me." Y/N shrugs in disinterest, not wanting to be rude. While her explanation is partially true, she can't tell Kagawa that her main reason is to impress her parents with the high status of the club, and to find an excuse to stay away from home.
"Oh wow! That's so cool!" Kagawa exclaims. "I was the manager back in middle school, so I thought it'd be nice to continue! I really look forward to spendin' time with you and the rest of the team!"
"Ah, thank you. The feeling is mutual." Y/N responds politely before turning back to continue packing up. Deflating slightly, Kagawa sighs to herself as she continues to pack up as well, respecting Y/N's boundaries. It'll take a while for them to warm up to each other.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
After spending a few weeks with the Inarizaki team, Y/N's formed her own opinions about a few of the fellow first years that she's run into a few too many times.
Kagawa Ginko is sweet.
Suna Rintarou is shy.
Miya Osamu is a gentleman.
And Miya Atsumu is a jerk.
Y/N sighs for the hundredth time as she watches Atsumu ignore instructions once again to practise his setting during break time. Usually she wouldn't have an issue with this, preferring to keep to herself and avoid confrontation. But Coach Kurosu had asked her specifically to make sure Atsumu doesn't overwork. Too bad he's too much of a conceited jerk to listen to anyone.
"Miya-san, it's break time now." She says, walking up to him on the court as he continues his setting drills. He rolls his eyes and ignores her, pretending that he didn't hear her.
"Miya-san." She repeats, blank faced as always, steady and unwavering. "Coach Kurosu asked me to ensure that you don't overwork. Please take a break like the rest of your teammates."
Atsumu stops in his drills temporarily, hitting the ball on the floor in front of her as he glares. She doesn't even flinch.
"Leave me alone Manager-chan... I know what I'm doin'." He mutters, going to pick up the ball to resume his drills. Before he can even touch it, she picks it up herself and puts it back in the volleyball cart.
"Please call me by my name, it's L/N Y/N if you've forgotten." She says simply, turning to drag the volleyball cart away from him.
"Oi! Don't tell me what to do." Atsumu scowls, running over to grab the cart to stop her. "Whaddya even know anyways, huh? Yer just a manager."
Y/N shrugs at this. "Perhaps I am, but it seems like I know more than you."
"Huh?! Like what?"
"Like how to follow instructions." She says simply, tugging the cart to make him let go as she continues dragging it away. Atsumu scowls at this, huffing as he turns away.
"Tch... So annoyin'."
Having observed the whole event, Suna turns to Ginjima and nudges him.
"Hm? What is it, Suna?"
"The manager... L/N right? She's kind of frosty... pretty scary." Suna mutters.
"Hm, I guess? She seems cool though. I haven't really talked to her, but it's amazing that she can put up with Miya Atsumu so well." Ginjima comments, watching as Atsumu complains to his uncaring brother.
"Cool, frosty, same thing. She kind of reminds me of those mysterious ice princess girls from the animes, the ones that no one knows anything about and doesn't show emotion." Suna shrugs. "Do you think she secretly likes memes?"
"Why're you askin' me...? You've been around her more, you that scared of her?" Ginjima deadpans.
"Scared would be a little strong... but I can't deny that she's intimidating."
"Hm, that's true." Ginjima agrees. "She seems nice enough though, we should try get to know her."
"You first."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sitting alone on the bench outside, Y/N lazily scrolls through her phone as she takes out her lunch. Kagawa had invited her to eat lunch with her group of friends, but Y/N politely declined, saying that she didn't want to intrude. In actuality, she just doesn't want to be around a bunch of unfamiliar people.
Just as she's about to start eating, she senses someone approaching her from the side, turning to look.
"Hi! L/N-chan right? I'm Ginjima Hitoshi! D'ya wanna eat lunch together?" He smiles encouragingly at her. Y/N blinks in surprise, he's the first fellow clubmate (other than Kagawa) to approach her.
"Oh... Thank you, Ginjima-san." She responds politely, not wanting to be rude.
"Haha! Just call me Gin! That's what my friends call me, no need for formalities!"
"Right..." Y/N mutters, not knowing how to act around him. Ginjima doesn't seem bothered by her hesitance though, instead, he cheerfully sits beside her and starts a pleasant conversation.
He'll probably never know how much it meant to her.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Passing out the bottles, Y/N nods politely to each of the members as they accept, leaving the problem child for last. Quietly approaching him, Y/N holds out Atsumu's drink bottle to him, not saying anything as he grumbles and snatches it away, only to walk away and get back onto the court.
Y/N shrugs, not really caring about his rudeness as she goes to write some notes in her notebook, they have a practise match soon.
"Soz' about 'Tsumu... he's a jerk. Are you alright?"
Glancing up at Osamu, Y/N smiles politely. "I'm fine, Miya-san."
"You can call me Osamu, it'll probs be less confusin'."
"Oh... Alright then, if that's okay with you, Osamu...san." Y/N hesitantly responds, quickly turning back to her notebook to avoid his eyes. It's strange calling people by their first name.
"Oi, don't be so rude to the manager, she's just doin' her job." Osamu scowls at his brother who waves him off in disinterest.
"Whatever, 'Samu." Atsumu rolls his eyes, bouncing the volleyball in his hands.
"I'm serious y'know." Osamu deadpans. "She didn't even do anythin' to you."
"Why do I hafta be nice, huh? Why do I hafta respect Manager-chan? She's just the manager."
"...This is why everyone hates you." Osamu sighs. "You have the personality of sewage water, so unlike you, I'm gonna lead a life of kindness."
"What the hell are you babblin' about?" Atsumu rolls his eyes.
Giving up, Osamu groans and wacks Atsumu on the back of the head. "Her name's L/N Y/N, you might as well use it."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Miya-san, you should take a break when it's break time. I think the name is pretty self-explanatory afterall." Y/N says simply, walking up to him as he tosses another ball in the air to serve.
BAM!
Y/N doesn't even flinch when he does a jump serve just a few meters away from her, instead, she continues to approach him and stands in front of him, stopping him from serving again.
"Didja hear what I said, Miya-san? Or do you need me to repeat?"
Atsumu groans and turns to scowl at her. "Oh sorry, I thought you were talkin' to my brother." He mutters sarcastically.
"Why would I be talkin' to Osamu-san when he's all the way over there?"
Blinking in surprise, Atsumu does a double take as he glances between Y/N and Osamu. 'First name basis already??'
Raising her eyebrow at this, Y/N silently takes the volleyball out of his hands and puts it back in the cart, snapping him out of his thoughts as he scowls. "Oi! I wasn't done!"
"That's a shame." Y/N shrugs, not caring as she gestures towards Osamu. "Why don't you spend the rest of your break complaining about how you're not done yet?"
Grumbling angrily to himself, Atsumu stomps over to Osamu as he resists the urge to scream. Seeing his tantrum, Suna snickers slightly before turning away.
Glaring at Osamu, who's smirking at him, Atsumu squeezes his drink bottle in rage, wanting to throw it at the wall.
"I hate her...!"
Atsumu returns to practising his jump serves after the break, still mad at Y/N as he grumbles under his breath. Tossing the ball into the air, he hits a powerful serve that slams into the wall on the other end. Ruffling his hair in frustration, he picks up another ball and sends over another powerful jump serve, but he put in too much power again.
The ball flies across the court, and anyone can tell that it's a bad out. Y/N, who's passing by, instantly notices the volleyball rocketing towards her. Atsumu panics slightly.
"Y/N-chan! Move-"
Y/N smoothly gets into a receiving position and bumps the ball, slowing down the momentum as it bounces onto the floor. The members in the gym stare at Y/N in shock, not only did she just pull off a solid receive, her movements appear experienced and nonchalant.
Atsumu gapes at her like a fish out of water, completely gobsmacked.
'Oh my gosh I just received that... Wait, I should play it cool, this is a major power move.' Y/N thinks to herself as she goes to pick up the ball she'd just received, handing it over to Atsumu, her face appearing indifferent.
"That was a really strong serve, Miya-san. Once yer able to control your power and improve on your aim, it'll be amazing." She says, smiling slightly before walking away to pick up more stray balls.
Atsumu stares blankly at her as she walks away, turning his attention onto the volleyball she'd just handed over to him.
'That was so cool...!'
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Miya-san, I know you wanna keep practisin' but we needa pack up now." Y/N says as she approaches Atsumu. "You can continue with your practisin' tomorrow."
Atsumu scrunches up his face as he sighs, scowling at the floor. "...Fine. Whaddya want me to do?"
Everyone in the gym does a double take as they glance at Atsumu, not really believing their ears. While they'd noticed that he's been slightly nicer to her recently, they didn't think he'd listen so quickly.
Blinking in surprise, Y/N's also taken aback by Atsumu's slight change in attitude, she's so used to having to deal with his whining, she's unsure of how to respond.
"Umm... uhh... You can help take down the nets...?" She asks hesitantly as he rolls his eyes.
"Yeah, whatever." He mutters, going over to help take down some of the nets.
Glancing over to Ginjima, Y/N silently gestures to Atsumu, not believing that he's listening to her. Ginjima just shrugs and smiles sheepishly, giving her a thumbs up as she has an internal meltdown.
He's still rude, but at least he's not arguing as much. It'd be best to not say anything.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Miya-san, it's time to pack up."
"Whatever, Manager-chan."
"Here's your drink bottle, Miya-san."
"..."
"It's break time, Miya-san."
"Tch..."
Atsumu and Y/N's relationship doesn't improve much as they maintain their distant back and forth interactions, which is really just Y/N relaying instructions from the coaches that Atsumu begrudgingly accepts. Still, it's an improvement.
Not that it could get any worse.
Y/N sweat drops as she watches the twins fight in the middle of practise, throwing punches at each other and kicking each other as they argue. She doesn't even want to know how this started. Glancing to the side, she's surprised to see Suna filming with his phone.
"Suna-san... what are you doin'...?"
Flinching, Suna sheepishly lowers his phone as he sweat drops. "Um... nothing much..."
"Oh, you don't needa put your phone away, I was just askin'." She smiles slightly before turning to look at the twins with dead eyes.
"Argh... those twins..." Ojiro groans going over to stop them. "Oi-!"
Y/N raises her eyebrow as she hands the bandages to the twins, glancing back and forth between them as they scowl at the air, not saying a word. It's not the first time that they've fought, in fact, their fights are such a regular occurrence to the point that they've become famous around the school. Still, she doesn't understand how they can fight so much, yet remain as close as ever.
"Here, Osamu-san." She says as he mutters a thanks, taking the bandages as she turns her attention onto Atsumu. "This is for you, Miya-san."
Atsumu glares at her, snatching the bandages out of her hands as he grumbles under his breath. "Whatever, Manager-chan. You can go away now."
Instantly, Osamu glares at his brother, ready to punch him again until Y/N rolls her eyes and gestures for him to stop.
"Alright, Coach Kurosu wants to talk to you two after." She shrugs, turning to walk away, leaving them alone.
"...How has she not punched you yet?"
"Shut it."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Practise continues as usual, Y/N observes the members of the team as she writes down some notes, wanting to get as much information as possible before Hyogo Prefectural Qualifiers.
She's spent more time with the team now, and although there's still a lot of unfamiliarity, she's comfortable enough to speak with Ginjima and Suna casually on occasions. Akagi, the second year Libero, has also somehow managed to become more acquainted with her, having insisted that they take the bus together once he found out they lived close by.
"Ack-!"
Atsumu's yelp snaps her out of her thoughts as she glances at him in worry, he's clutching his fingers as he glares at the floor.
"I'm fine! Let's keep goin'!" He declares, despite obviously not being fine.
"Atsumu, you needa get that checked." Ojiro cuts in.
"Maybe idiots don't feel injures."
"What didja say 'Samu??" Atsumu glares at Osamu as he grabs his shirt with his uninjured hand.
"I said yer an injured idiot. We can all see that." Osamu spits as he glares back, grabbing Atsumu's arm as he tries to get him to let go.
"You take that back-!" The twins start wrestling as Coach Kurosu hurries over to stop them.
"Oi! Stop it you two!" With the combined effort of Coach Kurosu and Ojiro, they manage to pull the twins apart as they glare at each other in hatred. "Do you two ever stop fightin'??"
"He started it, sir." Atsumu spits, pointing to Osamu with his uninjured hand. "I'm fine, so let's continue with practise."
"No." Coach Kurosu deadpans. "You obviously jammed a few fingers so you needa rest yer hand until it's recovered or you'll suffer more injures in the long run."
"That's not fair! I already rest durin' break time! I can rest when practise is over!" Atsumu whines, trying to get out of Ojiro's grip. "It doesn't even hurt anyways! Yer all overreacting!"
Coach Kurosu sighs as he runs a hand down his face, trusting Osamu enough to let go of him. "I don't want to hear your complaints, Atsumu. Go to the locker room and get yourself patched up, you can stay to watch the rest of practise or go home."
"But-!"
"Do not argue with your coach, and don't be so childish as to ignore an injury. Failing to take care of your health as an athlete is shameful." Kita cuts in, surprising everyone.
"Damn, he's frosty." Suna mutters as everyone shivers slightly, silently agreeing.
"Argh! Whatever!" Atsumu groans, stomping over to the locker room as everyone sweat drops, watching him as he slams the door.
"Anyway-" Coach Kurosu begins, only for him to get cut off by Atsumu's loud screech from inside the locker room. Facepalming, he sighs. "Kids these days..."
Glancing over to the locker room, Y/N hesitates a bit before turning to Kagawa and smiling sheepishly. "I'm gonna go check on him and help him with his finger... Are you gonna be okay with takin' notes by yourself?"
"Of course, you can leave it to me!" Kagawa smiles. "I'm not as good as you when takin' notes, but I'll do my best, L/N-chan~!"
"Thank you." Y/N smiles, bowing slightly to Coach Kurosu before turning to go to the locker room. Knocking on the door, she gets no response other than Atsumu's resentful muttering, sighing as she quietly opens the door. "Miya-san...?"
"Whaddya want." He spits, glaring at her over his shoulder. "You here to 'help' me? I don't need yer help. As if you can anyway, yer just a manager."
He quickly turns away and grabs the finger tape, scowling as he tries to put it on himself. But his dominant hand is the one that got injured.
"Yes, I'm 'just' the manager, the one that's meant to take care of the members, so I'll be helpin' you." She says simply, walking over to sit beside him. He scowls, turning away and moving down the bench to get away from her.
"Go away, Manager-chan. Can't ya take the hint that I don't want you here?"
"Oh, it's not much of a hint, Miya-san. I'm well aware that you don't want me here, I've just decided to ignore it." She says simply, scooting down the bench to sit beside him once again, causing him to groan.
"Leave me alone, wouldja?! Argh, I hate you! Yer so annoyin'!"
Y/N raises her eyebrow at this. "That's nice, but I'm still the manager, so you're under my care now, Miya-san."
Atsumu huffs as he rolls his eyes. "Manager shmanager, why didn't coach send the other manager in?"
"Whaddya mean?"
"Coach told ya to go keep an eye on me, right? Since I obviously can't take care of myself." He spits, glaring at the floor as Y/N sighs.
"Coach Kurosu didn't tell me to do anythin', I came here to help you with your fingers."
"H-huh?" Atsumu stutters, looking up at her as she smiles slightly.
"You love volleyball a lot, don'tcha? So if we take care of your fingers properly, you can get back on the court as quickly as possible." She says simply, shrugging nonchalantly as she points to the finger tape. "So, are'ya gonna give me that so I can help you or not?"
"..." Atsumu stares at her for a while, trying to process her words as she waits patiently. After a while, he silently hands her the tape.
"Thank you." She smiles, taking it as she takes his hand and starts taping his fingers. "Didja pull on any of yer fingers?"
"Of course not..." He mutters softly. "I'm not that much of an idiot..."
"That's a relief." She says simply, falling into silence as she tapes his hand. After a few moments, he clears his throat.
"You don't needa help me, y'know... I, um... I know I've been kinda a jerk..." He mutters, grimacing as he avoids eye contact, keeping his eyes trained on the ground.
Y/N smiles slightly. "It's alright, I'm used to not bein' treated nicely."
Guilt wrenches his gut as he frowns, feeling terrible. He places his left hand over hers, stopping her from taping temporarily.
"That ain't right... You haven't done anythin' wrong..." He mutters sincerely.
"Perhaps it's not right, but that's just the way it is." Y/N says simply, shrugging nonchalantly. Her indifference makes him feel even worse as his stomach churns with guilt. He grimaces again, sighing as he looks her in the eyes.
"Hey... y'know you can walk away from assholes, right?" He asks softly, looking at her sadly.
'You can walk away from me...'
Y/N smiles softly at him, removing his hand from hers so she can continue taping. "I know."
They fall into another silence as Y/N finishes taping his hand, she doesn't say anything as she stands up to get an ice pack for him, letting him have a moment to himself as he remains deep in thought. Once she returns, she hands the ice pack over to him as he glances at it, muttering a thanks and taking it.
"Are'ya gonna go watch the rest of practise, Miya-san?" Y/N asks, sitting down beside him as he puts the ice pack over his hand.
"...Yeah." He breathes out, sighing to himself.
"Alright." She responds simply, going to put the tape back as Atsumu sits there silently. After a moment, he clears his throat.
"You can call me Atsumu, y'know. Since we're teammates and all." He says quietly, avoiding her eyes as she glances at him. She smirks slightly at this.
"...I think Miya-san will suffice."
"Oi!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
「 Present Day 」
August 2012
"Atsumu? How are you feelin'?" Y/N asks quietly as she enters his room, sighing slightly at the mess. Atsumu huffs as he turns his head to look at her, pouting weakly.
"Feelin' like the turd 'Samu calls me... Like sh*t."
"I'll forgive you for your vulgar language 'coz yer sick." She rolls her eyes, going to sit beside his bed. "...You do look terrible though."
"Gee thanks N/N." He groans, rolling his eyes as he wheezes. "Is that miso soup?"
"Yep~ I bought some stuff along the way, Osamu's the one that cooked it though." She smiles, presenting the tray to him.
"So 'Samu ran away and forced ya to take care of me, huh?" Atsumu asks weakly as he slowly starts to sit up. "Doesn't he know that you've got a bunch of other things to do?"
Y/N shrugs. "I'm sure he knows, but he really needed a break from you I guess."
"Tch..." Atsumu rolls his eyes as he takes the bowl of miso soup from her hands. "Can't believe he's causin' you trouble. I mean, guess it's also my fault since I'm the one that's sick, so sorry 'bout that I guess."
"Wow, maybe the sickness is turnin' you into a nice person, you should get sick more often." Y/N snickers.
"Hell no. If bein' nice makes me feel like sh*t, then I'd rather be the sh*t than feel the sh*t." He mutters as she rolls her eyes.
"Your vocabulary is as pleasant as always." She sighs as she watches him start eating the miso soup. "You okay with eatin' by yourself? You don't need me to help you?"
"Ew, of course not." Atsumu groans. "My hand's all better y'know."
"Must be thanks to my amazin' taping~" She jokes, smirking as he rolls his eyes.
"Yeah yeah, whatever."
They fall into a comfortable silence as Atsumu continues to eat, feeling slightly better in her presence. Y/N smiles as she watches him, glad that he's starting to feel a little better.
"You're payin' for that by the way."
"Huh?"
"What? Didja think I bought all that stuff for you outta the goodness of my heart?" Y/N asks, smirking at his disgruntled expression. "I kept the receipt so you can pay me back later~"
"Tch... whatever." He mutters, sighing as he returns to his miso soup. "So how'd 'Samu convince you? What'd he offer?"
Y/N gasps in mock surprise. "Whaddya mean?? D'ya think I'm the kind of person to be bribed?? Are you implyin' that I didn't come here outta the goodness of my heart? Because I c- ca- Argh, I can't say it."
"Care about me?" Atsumu deadpans.
"Oh, that's the one~" She snickers at his unimpressed expression. "All these accusations... I'm hurt."
"Sure." He rolls his eyes. "But seriously, what'd he offer ya?"
Y/N sighs as she facepalms. "He technically didn't offer me anythin', just made a promise I guess."
"Oh?" Atsumu perks up. "What is it?"
Sighing again, Y/N turns to Atsumu with unimpressed eyes. "Didja know that Rintarou has an Atsumu hate account?"
"Oh, another one?"
"Yes, an- Wait. Whaddya mean 'another one'?"
"Oh, I found out 'bout his first one last year, well Gin did at least, forced him to delete it before you found out. Didn't realise he'd make another one, but that's on brand for him I guess." Atsumu shrugs.
"Wait, you guys didn't tell me??"
"'Course not. We knew you'd be mad." Atsumu shrugs. "...It was kinda funny though."
Y/N stares at him, unimpressed, before sighing in exasperation. "You guys... what am I gonna do with you guys..."
Atsumu chuckles at this. "Relax, N/N~ you hafta admit it's pretty funny~ It's also pretty obvious that it's Suna when you read all the posts."
"Oh? I guess I'll be on the look out for hate accounts then." Y/N sighs tiredly before letting out a laugh. "Alright, I guess it is pretty funny."
"N/N? Laughin'? Maybe I'll miraculously recover overnight~" Atsumu teases, making her roll her eyes at him.
"Sure, go ahead." She drones as he snickers, finishing his miso soup and giving the bowl back to her.
"Thanks, N/N~ Oh actually, now that we're onto the topics of accounts. You haven't posted any pictures of me with my two awards?? Where are my congratulations posts??" Atsumu whines as Y/N rolls her eyes again.
"Seriously? You're worried about that?"
"Yes! I'm the only person that got two awards! What's the point of gettin' 'em if I can't brag to everyone??"
"...You really do have the personality of sewage water." Y/N mutters under her breath, quickly taking out her phone. "Fine, I'll post it now."
"Yay~ Y'know, you should use the pic where-"
Click.
"...Didja just take a pic of me?"
"Yeeeep~" Y/N lazily sings, casually showing him the photo. "Nice photo, ain't it? Gonna post it now."
"NO!!!" Atsumu screeches in distress as he tries to grab her phone, until he starts coughing. "Argh... don't post it!"
Handing him a cup of honey lemon tea, Y/N snickers under her breath. "Relax~ I'm just jokin'~ I got the pic of you holdin' both awards on the podium. You look good in it so no worries."
Atsumu grumbles under his breath as he drinks the tea, sighing to himself. "You're mean."
"And you're rude."
"...Guess ya got me there." Atsumu sighs, settling back into his bed. "Thanks for always puttin' up with me, Y/N."
"Hm?" Y/N perks up at this, smiling softly at him as she chuckles.
"Who else is gonna put up with ya?"
~~~~~
...What is this feeling I feel in my chest...?
So how're you guys feeling after the chapter? :) It's a bit different from the previous ones, isn't it? =w=
I've been planning for this chapter for the longest time, I actually drafted some of the scenes before I even wrote the prologue of this fic, so that's how long I've been planning this for XD It's a chapter that means quite a lot to me, so I hope it touched you in some way or another~
Atsumu is a character that's very dear to my heart, even though I did mildly dislike him at first... Over time, I somehow grew fond of the jerk, and instead of rolling my eyes at him, I started to look at him with endearment. I love a lot of characters, but Atsumu is probably the first character that I loved so much purely in a platonic way, I don't know why I've never been able to see Atsumu as anything other than an annoying brother or close friend, but that's just what happened I guess~
Anyway~ if you follow me on instagram, you'll probably know about this, but I made an Inarizaki meme XD So here it is~
What do you guys think? :) How accurate is it? :)
Now... if you remove the third years... You'll realise... when Coach Oomi said that Inarizaki's future is doomed, he was right =w= XD Oh well :D we love these chaotic second years though~
Anyway~ Thankyou so much for reading the chapter! I hope you enjoyed it and it touched you and made you feel feelings~ =w= I look forward to writing the future chapters... 👀👀