Announcement!!:
I'm thinking of reorganizing the chapters of the book, mainly the flashbacks. I'll just be moving them around and reordering, so nothing will be added or deleted.
Please don't be too surprised next week if things don't look the same. I will still update the next new chapter, but it may just be in a weird order. Also read the announcement I will make on my profile, along with the updates, for more info!
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Author's Note:
Additional quick message:
I know I've mentioned depression in previous chapters, and I apologize if it made you uncomfortable in any way. Please know that I am always here for you whenever you want a friend. Even the guys, Tsukishima for example, have to deal with trauma sometimes, (depends on how you define it, I guess). (It's been a stressful week for me, too. 😞)
You are loved, and I care about you! Please don't hesitate to send me a message or two when you feel down. Mental health is important, just like when the sports players are stuck in long, tiring rallies. Part of the reason why I update on Sundays is to congratulate everyone for getting through the week and to spread hope and motivation for the week to come. ☺️
I hope you have a great day/night, and just know that I'm happy to chat!
You are beautiful, wonderful, and good enough as you are! 💖
Okay, enjoy the chapter!!
***
After their rendezvous at Shiratorizawa that evening, the three of them returned to their school gymnasium for a meeting. There, Takeda-sensei announced that the training camp would most likely be next month. They had gotten consent from the school, so the rest was bits of paperwork from everyone.
However, the teacher then said something that instantly wiped the grins right off of their faces. He reminded the club about finals, which were also next month, and it froze the normally passionate Hinata solid. They wouldn't be able to go to Tokyo if they failed, because the school required extra tutoring on the weekend for students who didn't pass. Tanaka, Nishinoya, Kageyama, and Hinata were all at risk of getting under 40 points on their various tests.
Ennoshita apprehended the two second-year fugitives, and Coach Ukai turned down Hinata's request to teach him. Without the four of them numbskulls, Daichi knew that their volleyball team wouldn't function as smoothly. When the captain declared that they would all go to Tokyo, it was time for Ai to roll up her sleeves.
.
Hence, the study sessions commenced. Ai was a well-balanced, A and B student. She understood mathematics and held an interest in literature. Although her Japanese skills were lower than others, her English was close to native, and the only subjects that caught her off guard were Classical Japanese and advanced sciences like physics and calculus.
When she gave them her tests from the previous year for reference, Hinata, Kageyama, and Yamaguchi thanked her like a goddess. Tsukishima was mildly impressed by her scores. She had been ranked in the top twenty of her grade, mostly from her English score that had boosted her average.
Other than that, she helped the guys with chemistry, algebra, and history. She gave study tips and quizzed them on English vocabulary during practice. No one in the school came close to matching her fluency. Even the teachers depended on her to help the struggling students. She assisted the first, second, and third-years with English grammar.
"What does mourning mean?" Ai asked Kageyama one night as he and Hinata formed a three-way rally of receiving practice. Although it didn't apply as much to Kageyama, Hinata was the type who couldn't sit still at a desk, so she thought moving his body while learning would help his memorization. Ai had heard from Kuroko that Kagami had done something similar between Coach Riko's intense study sessions.
"Uhh..." The middle blocker thought as he watched Kageyama return the ball to her with a toss.
"Tobio?" She asked next as she set the ball to Hinata.
He remained silent with a rancorous glower.
When the ball bounced back to her, she caught it and sighed. "It means grieving over a loss or a person's death." She glanced at Narita and Kinoshita, who were rolling the scoreboard to the storage room, and she started to walk away from their triangle. "Perhaps we should stop for tonight. You can't study when you're tired."
"Sorry, Ai-senpai."
She gave them both a warm smile. "Don't be, Shōyō. But, we're all counting on the Greatest Decoy."
His face flushed a bit, and it wasn't from the approaching summer temperatures.
"Would you return this to the ball cart?"
Hinata nodded and ran off.
She turned to the remaining setter. "Tobio. You're smart, I know. You wish to be one of the best volleyball players in the world, correct?"
"Yes!" He answered with sincere determination.
"Then, I expect you to make efforts in learning English, even if you may not use it as much in Japan." She gave him a teasing look.
Kageyama was caught in embarrassment, but he nodded. "Yes, ma'am..." he grumbled.
Ai stepped up to him and lightly touched a hand to his chest. "I'm here if you need me." As he stood blushing, she walked away to talk with Kiyoko before her senpai left.
———
The next day, Ai went to the club room as soon as the guys finished changing and tidied things up during their morning practice. Kiyoko was writing up fliers for recruiting first-year managers, so Ai chose to sweep the tatami mats in the meantime. After practice at night, she only had the guys help her with taking down the net, and then corralled them all outside so that she could mop the floor alone.
"Outside, everyone," she declared. Ai pushed on the guys' backs to hurry them up and kicked them all out of the gymnasium. She barricaded the doorway with her arms crossed. "I'll be fine by myself. You need all the time you can get to study. Sawamura-senpai, may I have the keys?"
"Uh, sure." The captain handed it to her so that she could be the last one to lock up.
"Want me to stay, Ai?" Narita offered.
She smiled. "No, it's alright, Kazuhito. It's only mopping. Thank you for offering nonetheless."
"Come on. I'll teach you, Nishinoya." Sugawara led the way to their locker rooms.
"Really?! Thanks, Suga-san!!!"
"We're meeting at my place!" Tanaka called to her as Ennoshita dragged him away.
———
She joined the other second-years at Tanaka's house on Saturday. She met his older sister who was a college student and thanked her for having them over.
Tanaka's sister, Saeko, teased her brother about his messy room when he had his friends, especially a girl, over, but to be honest, she didn't know how to interact with Ai. Her red eyes were uncomfortable to make eye contact with, and her cool and silent nature was polar to her loud and flashy style. She wasn't against her, but Ai was definitely not someone she got along with easily.
"How are you so smart? You're busier than us, and you still get good grades." Kinoshita sighed after Saeko had left.
"Well, duh! She's Ai!" Nishinoya shouted, still standing.
Ennoshita and Narita exchanged worried glances. Although she always paid attention in class, they knew Ai always rested her head down on her desk during breaks every day. To her, lunchtime was one of the few moments to doze during the day.
"This is nothing compared to Rakuzan. I'm glad I chose Karasuno." She wrote down three rules for their efficient test-taking. "Read the problem. Look for the answers or hints in the text. Reread what you wrote for coherence if you have time." She stuck the sticky note in the middle of the table. "Remember these, and you'll at least get some points. You can look at my notes, but don't plagiarize my answers," she warned.
The guys groaned in compliance.
"Your boyfriend sounds really smart," Narita said, doing the practice problems.
She touched her necklace. "He is."
———
She was late to arrive at the gym due to a quick meeting for her sadō club. When she did, Ai saw a blonde girl hiding behind Kiyoko, trembling.
Clicking her heels a little louder than usual, she signaled her approach, not wanting to surprise the girl from behind. When the girl was terrified of Asahi's attempt to talk to her, Ai walked up and stood next to the potential new manager. She also noticed that Yamaguchi was in a daydream.
"Everyone, quiet. Kneel or sit down." She glared her magenta eyes at them and paraphrased Akashi's famous quote. "Lower your head."
All twelve of them got down on their knees in a blink. No stood up again as she turned and smiled pleasantly at the incomer. "My name is Akatsuki Ai. Pleased to meet you." She took the girl's hand at her side and shook it.
"I-I'm Yachi Hitoka!"
She nodded and gave her some space. "My shift at Sakanoshita was moved early today, so I'll be going. Coach Ukai should be here soon." Ai bowed to Kiyoko and the captain before leaving.
———
The next day, she had Yachi shadow her. With Kiyoko's recruitment, the first-year had arranged for a temporary trial period with the club advisor, Takeda-sensei.
Ai wanted to have her by her side so that she wouldn't be so scared, especially around some of the guys. Stray balls were also a dangerous factor of being in an enclosed space with the passionate athletes.
"Hitoka-chan, may I request something?" Ai asked after practice.
"Y-yes!" The blonde was on edge, like she was when Ai had first met her the previous day.
"I want to ask you to have more confidence. I don't care about our age. Feel free for us to be friends. You can rely on me for anything."
"Yes, ma'am!" She stood at attention.
"Would you repeat what I just said?"
Yachi stammered. "Um- you want me to be friends? And, rely on you?"
Ai nodded and tore a page out of her notebook. She gave her the written request for her to hold on to. "Yes. I'd be happy if you did." She smiled and opened her arms in invitation.
The shy younger girl slowly stepped into her hug. Ai held her tightly for a second before letting go. "Even if you choose to decline this position, we're still acquainted. You can relax around me. Be comfortable."
The tension in Yachi's shoulders started to loosen as she nodded.
"Ai-senpai!" Hinata ran over to them. "Could I ask you something?"
"Of course. Anything." She looked around and picked up a ball that was left behind. She served it at him. "Ask me."
He received the ball and started the rally, surprised at her perfect English pronunciation. "So, I was emailing Kenma yesterday, right? And then, he asked me if he could give his captain your number."
"Kuroo-san? Nekoma's captain?"
"Yeah, for some reason."
She intentionally bounced the ball back to him at an inconsistent angle.
He reached over and hit it back with one arm. "Oof!"
They continued without dropping the ball while Yachi watched them.
"Yes, please give him my number and my regards." She turned towards the open court. "Now, give me a high one."
He received the ball with a little more momentum, and she gave him a toss.
He went for it and jumped. The ball hit the net, but the sound of his hand hitting the ball was satisfying. "Yes!" He pumped his fist in the air.
A kind, gentle expression came onto her face. "Go practice with Sugawara-senpai, so you don't get too used to Tobio's tosses."
"Yes, ma'am!" He ran over to get the ball and ask the older setter. Spending time with him was like being outside in the direct sunlight.
"Who's Nekoma?" Yachi asked.
"Nekoma is a high school in Tokyo. They came over for a practice match a while back, and I'm originally from around that area."
"Wow! You have admirers in Tokyo?" She was amazed.
Ai giggled. "Friends may be the most accurate description. You'd meet them too, if you came with us." She leaned against the stage. "It's fun to be a manager, especially for this team. You'll never be bored. You'll have more opportunities to meet people from around the country, too." She smiled at her. "There's no pressure, but think about it. I believe you'll be a great manager."
.
Takeda-sensei agreed to and arranged a surprise practice match with Ohgi Nishi High School the next day. Everyone was excited. Their first match after their defeat against Seijoh.
———
A Few Days Ago
Somewhere near Shūtoku High
School...
It was another typical day in Tokyo with Takao pedaling hard while Midorima relaxed in the usual rear cart. They had stopped at a vending machine by the side of the road to get the ace a can of cold shiruko, and his partner was currently working up a sweat from losing to rock-paper-scissors again.
He huffed from the bicycle seat and skillfully chose the routes without upward slopes. As he maneuvered through the neighborhood, Midorima looked up to see an antique shop.
"Takao, stop here."
"Hah? Where?"
"Right here, in front of that store." Midorima pointed a finger, and Takao happily stopped to rest.
"Here we are," he sighed, catching his breath.
The shooting guard got out of the wagon and strolled into the old building. The windows were lined with antique Japanese ceramics.
Takao hung his arms on the handle of the bike and stayed outside. What could Shin-chan possibly want here?
After a few minutes of waiting, Midorima opened the door and came out, the little bell ringing in his wake. He held a medium-sized box in one hand and pushed his glasses up with his other.
"What, another lucky item?" Takao smirked, surmising the contents of his purchase.
"No, a gift." He gently placed the box in the back next to their school bags.
"A gift?" Takao repeated dubiously. He glanced back at the store. "From a place like this?" When he didn't answer, the point guard tried again. "For who?"
"It's for Akatsuki."
"Ai-chan? Really???" He tried to think of a rebuttal while Midorima climbed back into his seat. "Why? You should get her something less... dreary or boring."
The former Generation of Miracles sighed and put a hand on top of the box to steady it in place. "Just go, Takao."
"Fine," he grumbled and pushed off of the asphalt.
As they rode down the street to their next destination, the inanimate gift sat next to Midorima. Inside the mysterious Pandora's box was a tea bowl for sadō, garnished with June irises.
***
Reference:
When they had flip phones in Japan, all cell phones would have an email address, and you would send messages through that. Kenma does it when he's emailing Hinata, and Koganegawa asks for everyone's emails instead of numbers in Season 4. (Terushima asked for Kiyoko's number, though.)
Anyway, it's why their "texts" don't look like the standard chats of replying back and forth in the anime. It's either calling by phone number or messaging by email.
Now, people text with numbers on smartphones, and the LINE messaging app is really popular, too.
Just so you get the idea :)
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Reference:
Shiruko is a sweet red bean (azuki) soup, usually a hot beverage (but Midorima likes it so much that he'll look for cold ones and drink them in the summer). It's similar to a zenzai where the consistency is a bit thicker and tastes really good with mochi; you can easily make it by watering down some red bean paste (anko) or get a packaged one.
And, a picture of the bowl so you get an idea of what it's like:
In case you're wondering, it's pretty decently sized. The bowl is big enough to hold in both hands, but you only fill it up about 4/10ths of the way, so it's not a terribly large amount of the bitter matcha tea (for those people who don't like it. Personally, I like it, and it's not that bad once you get used to it and if the quality of the powdered tea is good.)
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Would Murasakibara like shiruko, too?
Do he and Midorima ever eat anko/sweet red bean paste confectioneries together?
Total Word Count: 2764