Chapter 3

Word Count: 5.8 K

🏐🏐 THIRD PERSON P.O.V.🏐🏐

🏐🏐APRIL YEAR 2012 🏐🏐

Time seemed to fly quickly.

Chiaki blinked, slowly sitting up in her bed with a yawn, catching sight of the alarm clock on her desk with bleary eyes. Drowsily with heavy feet, she dragged herself out of her room, going through her usual morning routine, brushing her teeth with half-opened eyes. She only felt wide awake after washing her face, the cold tap water stinging against her cheeks' skin.

Looking at herself one last time in the mirror, making sure all of her hair is weaved into her usual braid, she walks down the stairs, getting greeted by the scent of breakfast and her mother and Taiga.

Taiga is the first to notice her, the glassed male smiling as he sips on his mug of coffee, his eyes moving away from the television that broadcasted today's forecast.

"Morning Chi-Chan. Ready for the new year?" Taiga questioned gently, turning the volume of the T.V. down as the silver-haired female took a seat down beside him.

Chiaki nodded in response, picking up her chopsticks and siping on the small bowl of miso soup. Minako peeked out of the kitchen with a smile, checking that Chiaki was seated at the table before bringing a plate of sunny side eggs and sausage.

"Look at you, already a second year in high school. No wonder I'm getting old," Minako coos as she places a hand on her cheek, "in just two more years, my baby is going off to college, and then all my children would be old enough to leave our nest," a look of sadness appears in the older woman's eyes.

Chiaki only smiles at her mother as she continues eating.

"Maybe it'll be earlier than that, Mom. Chiaki is thinking about skipping her third year," Taiga points out, taking a bite out of his bowl of rice, a grilled salted salmon on top.

This makes Minako frown, a concerned look flashing in her grey orbs. "Are you really thinking about it, Chi-chan? It's not very common, but I understand you're academically gifted enough to do it."

Chiaki nods as she puts down her chopstick, "I already talked to my homeroom teacher. He explained to me the risk, and I think that's what I want to do. I feel it would be better if I hurry to university, seeing as I'm capable of doing it. There's really nothing in high school that makes me want to stay an extra year." Especially when Daichi-senpai and Suga-senpai will be graduating this year. I don't have anyone close enough to stay for.

Minako looks uncertain, but she nods after Taiga shrugs his shoulders. "We'll talk about it more when your father comes back. I'm sure Minato and Kouga would also want to be part of this conversation as well." The older woman paused as she looked at her two sitting children, "talking about Kouga, where is he?"

Taiga rolls his eyes, "still asleep. I tried waking him up when I did, but he wouldn't even budge."

This makes Chiaki chuckle as she collects her empty dish, placing them in the sink before grabbing her bag and bento box from her mother. "I'm heading out, Daichi-senpai and Suga-senpai should be here soon. Also, I'll be coming home late, staying after school to help the infirmary teacher seeing as it's the first day, and kids tend to get a bit rowdy."

Minako and Taiga smile as the youngest Ibato waved as she stepped out of the house. However, with her gone, Minako sighs, sitting down where Chiaki had sat a few moments ago.

"Do you think she's okay? High school experience is very crucial, and I don't really like the idea of her skipping her third year. Don't you think she's been studying too much? That's all she does these days," the woman grumbled, worry evident in her soft eyes.

On the other hand, Taiga doesn't look too concerned, gathering up his own empty dishes, "I'm sure she's fine. We should let her think about it a bit more, and she's been talking a bit more about Sawamura-kun and his friend. They both play volleyball."

This makes Minako blink in surprise, her lips parting a bit. "Volleyball? A-Are you sure? And Chiaki is friends with them?"

The brunet nods at his mother, a faint smile on his lips, "yeah, so maybe something different will happen this school term. It's already been over a year since the incident, something in Chiaki may change a bit."

Chiaki hummed to herself as she organized the emergency kit, jolting down anything if they need to be restocked. She recounted the bandages with a frown, making a note on the paper that they only had five rolls left, and ordering some more would be a better idea before they completely ran out.

"Ibato-san, I just got an email from one of the teachers asking about the date for the health education day in a few weeks. I'm going to go talk to him, so you're in charge of here while I'm gone," the middle-aged woman who was the school's nurse calls out, Chiaki nodding in understanding before she's left in the infirmary by herself.

During the last few months of her first year, Chiaki began to work in the infirmary after school when she no longer had therapy sessions with her mother. As her mother said, the first aid certification she received came in handy, and working in the infirmary had replaced the extracurricular activity she needed after school. While she was exempted from sports activity, there weren't any other clubs that drew her attention, which made her gravitate towards being the assistant of the school nurse.

Now a second year, after knowing Chiaki for a few months, the school nurse trusted her well enough to let her be in charge of most injuries if she was too busy to help herself. And Chiaki didn't mind.

Just as Chiaki was closing the emergency packet, the door of the infirmary slammed open, revealing a familiar male she hadn't seen since early in the morning standing with his breathing hard. However, unlike in the morning, the older male looked disheveled, a look of tiredness in his warm brown eyes.

"Daichi-senpai?" Chiaki opens her mouth, standing up in concern and approaching the male who eyed her for a second before looking around the empty room.

"Aki-chan. Is the school nurse not here?" The dark-haired male questioned, his eyes shifting around the room once again.

Chiaki nodded, her hands grabbing the bag she just organized, "she just left the room and left me in charge. What happened?" The silver-haired female questioned, her soft grey eyes slowly becoming filled with concern as Daichi groaned.

The said male sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "We just had a little accident in the gym. The Kyoutou came in to check up on us but got smacked in the face by a volleyball..." Daichi mumbles, looking embarrassed as he spoke. However, he's quick to recover, remembering the reason he came over.

"Uh, Aki-chan, can you-"

Daichi doesn't even have to ask, Chiaki is already gathering up the medical bag, ready to go. The two teens lightly jog through the hallways, Daichi watching the female from the corner of his eyes in concern. His gaze shifts down to the knee brace she wears all of the time. But it seems like his concern isn't really an issue. The silver-haired female looked to be fine as she ran. It was slightly surprising to Daichi, the female almost looking elegant as she jogged beside him.

Chiaki doesn't even blink as she steps into the gym, openly ignoring the people in it and immediately approaching the vice principal who sat on the side. She blinks once when she sees that his wig seemed to be a bit off placed on his head. However, she doesn't comment on it as she pops open an ice bag and hands it to the adult to press into his cheek that seemed a bit reddened. Smoothly she does what she needs, flashing her phone light to the man's eyes, making sure he didn't have a concussion while the volleyball team watched on the sideline with concern.

"Who's that? Is she an upperclassman? She's really pretty!" The silver-haired female decides to brush off the comment she hears, speaking to the Vice Principal who was scowling.

"Kyoutou-sensei, it seems you're fine, but I suggest you keep icing where you were hit. From what I see, you don't seem to have a concussion, but if you do feel dizzy or nauseous, I suggest going to get checked by the doctor," Chiaki softly explains, the man nodding in understanding. The said man sends one last glare at the boys' volleyball team before stomping off, grumbling under his breath.

With him gone, it seemed like everyone in the gym released the breath they were holding, the strength leaving their body. Daichi sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed. He reopens them, his brown orbs finding Chiaki's form as she cleans and smiles at her thankfully.

"Aki-chan," he called out, making the tall female turn around, "thanks for helping. I have a feeling if you weren't here, the Kyoutou would have been angrier with us," the third-year sighed, looking tired, although it was only the first day of school.

Chiaki's heart went out for her friend, her hand coming forward to squeeze his larger ones with her own. She then realizes the other boys behind Daichi, her eyes widening a fraction as a face she recognizes stands there.

The said male also stares at her, his eyebrows that furrowed shooting up to get hidden by onyx bangs. His eyes that were narrowed on her widened.

"A-Aki-Senpai?!"

"Tobi-kun!"

Chiaki broke out into a smile that blinded many of them, Tanaka releasing a gasp as he began to pray to Buddha thanking him for the blessing he just got to witness.

Before Kageyama could even blink, the silver-haired girl was in front of him, hugging the younger boy tight.

"A-Aki-senpai...! Y-Your hair!" The dark-haired first year gasped, looking flustered and confused. The redness climbed up his neck to his cheeks at the contact he has with the older girl. And at the same time, he looks conflicted, a mixture of happiness and confusion caused by the reunion of his upperclassmen from middle school.

Chiaki quickly lets the boy go, her hand coming up to ruffle his hair, making a choked sound leave his lips. "Look at you, Tobi-kun! I haven't seen you in a year, and you've grown taller than me! What has your mother been feeding you?" The female can't help the fondness that leaks into her voice as she continued to pet Kageyama as if he was a puppy.

Kageyama allows Chiaki to do as she likes, seeming to be lost at what to do. His own emotions are a jumbled mess. There's no denying he's delighted he got to see Chiaki after a year. However, at the same time, he feels a bit of anger and sadness lurking in the back, knowing that the former female captain of Kitagawa Daiichi VBC had disappeared as if she dropped off the earth's surface after she was released from the hospital.

No one was able to get in contact with her, the little amount of social media she had was deleted, and her LINE account getting deactivated as well. It had greatly upset many of them, but they all accepted it knowing Chiaki needed time to heal.

However, Kageyama never would have thought he'd find the said female here at Karasuno, looking remarkably different from the last time he had seen her. It had actually taken him a minute to even recognize her, the dyed hair of hers completely throwing him off along with the different hairstyles. When he did get to see her face and the distinct droopy grey eyes of hers, it felt like an electric current ran through his body, his brain screaming who she was.

A cough made both teens look away from each other. Kageyama's blush seemed to deepen as he averted eyes with anyone with his lips tugging down into a frown. Chiaki, on the other hand, gave Daichi, who was the one who coughed a sheepish look.

"D-Do you know the first year brat, Aki-san?" Tanaka stuttered, sending a glare at Kageyama, who now scowled at what he was called.

"We went to the same middle school. She was my senpai," Kageyama answers in Chiaki's place, knowing her well enough to know she rather had him doing talking in her place. However, this does not please Tanaka, the male with shaved head giving his well-known delinquent glare at the younger male.

Chiaki openly ignored the sparks that flew between the two boys and looked at Daichi, who watched with Sugawara in silence. The silver-haired male was smiling like his usual self, looking amused with everything while Daichi watched in curiosity, looking between Kageyama and Chiaki.

"I'm going to head back to the infirmary Daichi-senpai, Suga-senpai," Chiaki comments softly, the two boys nodding at her. But as Chiaki grabs the emergency bag to step out of the gym, she gets stopped as a hand grabs her wrist.

She looks up in surprise, her eyes meeting with sharp, dark blue orbs. Kageyama looks conflicted, his mouth opening and closing as his eyes darted around. But eventually, he looks at her, his orbs filled with determination.

"Senpai, I don't have your new LINE ID or phone number."

Chiaki instantly has a look of guilt on her face, her softly colored lips parting. For barely a second, sadness fills her eyes before she quickly hides it. "Here, Tobi-kun." The female doesn't hesitate to pull out her phone, giving the boy her ID, not knowing many of them, excluding Daichi and Sugawara, who had her number already watched in jealousy.

A small, barely visible smile spreads across Kageyama's face as he looks at his phone screen. Looking at his expression, Chiaki feels a twinge in her heart, the guilt not going away.

"Hey, Tobi-kun," the said boy looked up, a single eyebrow raising up in confusion as Chiaki called out to him. "I think I owe you an explanation, and we can catch up. I'll treat you to a snack after I'm done working in the infirmary, how does that sound?" Chiaki spoke quietly so only he could hear.

In response, Kageyama nods, pushing his phone into his gym bag. Seeing this, Chiaki flashes him another smile, looking at the rest of the boys in the gym who tried to listen in to the conversation. Chiaki blinks once, her eyes catching sight of vibrant orange hair. The said boy stares back with his eyes wide, looking flustered as he realized she watched him.

The boy from Yukigaoki...

Chiaki's lips tug up a bit, her eyes narrowing before she nods as if she didn't stare, giving a small wave at Sugawara and Daichi before stepping out of the gym.

When she opened the door of the infirmary muttering a goodbye at the nurse, Chiaki didn't expect the tall first year who waited outside.

Chiaki flashes a smile at the boy, Kageyama nodding at her in greeting. Chiaki almost felt amusement as she realized Kageyama hasn't changed much since middle school, seeming to be a bit awkward with his feelings. Without him saying anything and watching him fidget as he walked beside her, Chiaki was able to figure out all the questions Kageyama had for her. It was a struggle to hold in the giggle. However, she also knew she shouldn't be finding amusement in this knowing what she did.

Neither of them says anything, Chiaki leading them down the familiar road she usually takes home, the one where Daichi and Sugawara often join her. Today they don't seeing as she already sent them a text telling them she wasn't going to join them that afternoon. The female stops in front of the familiar store, the one the boys sometimes stop at; Sakanoshita Store. She had never entered it, but Daichi and Sugawara often buy meat buns to eat as they walk home.

The rattle of the door brings a nostalgic feeling that Chiaki can't pinpoint. At the sound of her opening the door, the store clerk looks up, his eyes meeting hers. Immediately Chiaki freezes, the same going to the man behind the counter, the cigarette he had in his mouth dropping.

Kageyama doesn't notice the pause, going straight to the ice cream section peering at the options with childish glee. Chiaki recognizes the look as the same one he wore whenever she offered to treat him back in middle school, and that makes her heart melt.

Chiaki smiles a bit as she realizes the boy's choice of ice cream hasn't changed, picking something milky instead of fruity. When he decides on a bag of chips as well, she motions him to wait outside while she pays.

"Hello. You look a bit like a delinquent now," Chikai comments with a small smile on her face.

The said man grins, picking a piece of his blond strands in amusement as he eyed her. "I can say the same for you, Chibi-chan. But I don't think I can call you that anymore, you're not that small as you used to be," the man chuckles as he rings up what she places in front of him. The man raises an eyebrow as he looks at the school uniform she wears. "Karasuno, huh? Following after Minato's footsteps, I see. How is he by the way? Haven't seen him forever since he went to Tokyo."

"He's doing good. I talked to him yesterday. When he visits next, I'll tell him to come to visit you, Kei-nii-san. I'm sure he'll want to see all his other senpais too," Chiaki promises, thinking about her eldest brother who lived in Tokyo with her father.

This makes the man nod with a grin. "Ou, I'm sure they'll all want to see you too. I bet if I told them I got to see our former number one cheerleader, they'd throw a fit," the man threw his head back and laughed, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Stop by anytime, I'll treat you sometimes," the man grinned as he took a drag from the cigarette.

This makes Chiaki nod, saying a quick goodbye and stepping outside. With fast reflexes, Kageyama catches the ice cream she throws at him with one hand, the boy mutters a low thankful as he opens it.

"Let's go to the park where we can talk," Chiaki suggested, taking out her own popsicle to eat. They reach the park near Chaiki's house, the female immediately taking a seat on the swing. Kageyama already finished his own icy treat, holding the bag of chips. However, he doesn't move to immediately open it, leaning against a metal rail in front of the swings. Chiaki doesn't say anything under his piercing gaze, silently finishing her treat, nibbling on the wooden stick

"Aki-senpai," the male finally speaks, seeming to desperately want the answers to his questions.

Chiaki sighed as she kicked out her leg as she began to swing lightly, "when you guys all visited, I already knew that my volleyball career had ended."

The female's words make Kageyama suck in a breath, his eyes widening in disbelief.

"B-But, when we visited the first time, you said you were going to do reconstruction surgery."

Chiaki had a bitter smile on her face as she nodded, "reconstruction surgery so I can walk and live normally. But I have bolts in my bones Tobi-kun. While I could play volleyball, I won't have the same strength and ability to play like I used to. Some positions would cause too much strain for me and could cause me to injure myself again. Even if I was healed a hundred percent, with the metals in my body, I probably can't even squat low enough to receive low tosses."

Kageyama seemed to be at a loss for words, looking absolutely shocked at the information Chiaki revealed to him. "I-I didn't know.... I—"

"I made sure you and everyone else didn't know. If you guys did, you would blame yourselves, right? Especially Maiko, she was already a mess," Chiaki comments as she kicks her foot out, thinking about her team libero. Quietly, Chiaki stopped the swing, slowly climbing up to her feet. Kageyama's eyes widened as the girl suddenly bowed to him.

"I'm sorry, Tobi-kun. It was selfish of me to cut off contact with all of you. While I want to say I did it so you guys won't find out and feel guilty, I know it was because I was secretly extremely bitter. I—" Chiaki pauses as she lifts her head back up, looking straight into the boy's eyes, "I wasn't in a good place mentally. I had a lot of anger and sadness. I was devastated that my dream was ripped away from me. An awful part of me regretted the action I took to save Maiko. And when I realized that, I felt ashamed, and I knew I couldn't see you all again. But nonetheless, it was wrong for me to suddenly disappear on all of you without an explanation when you were all concerned for me. And for that, I'm very sorry, and I hope you can forgive me."

Kageyama blinked, silently surprised. First, he doesn't think he has ever heard her speak this much without stopping, the female is usually more of a silent person. And second, he was shocked by the apology he was receiving.

"A-Aki-senpai, I don't think you need to apologize..." The dark-haired male spoke, seeming to be thinking of his words as he spoke. "I'm not gonna deny, I think a lot of us were hurt that you suddenly disappeared. We all looked up to you, even the boys' team. A-And I know I'm an idiot and couldn't really understand my team most of the times, but I know everyone was thankful to you, senpai. And, I think we all understand that you needed space... At least that's for me. So I don't want you apologizing to me, Aki-senpai. I-uh, I hope I'm making sense, but uh," Kageyama stuttered, slowly growing flustered and seeming to grown confused the longer he spoke.

Chiaki watched him with her eyes widened a small fraction. She felt the back of her eyes stinging, but she pushed them back, smiling at the boy gently as she approached him, her arms wrapping around his chest. While hesitant, Kageyama returned the hug, his cheeks flushing. A small part of him felt pride, realizing he was indeed taller than the female, silently thinking back to middle school when he wasn't.

"Thanks, Tobi-kun...." Chiaki finally let go, smiling at the male who blushed and nodded.

"But," Kageyama stopped, his eyes scrutinizing the older girl with curiosity he couldn't hide. "D-Did Iwaizumi-san know...? Does he know...? I heard from Kunimi that you were uh-"

This makes Chiaki freeze, thinking about a certain male that made her heart twinge. "Hajime-senpai knew about the outcome of the accident. B-But, like the rest, I cut him off too."

The two fall silent, fear washing over them before a faraway look appears in their eyes.

"Aki-senpai, I really hope you don't see Iwaizumi-san anytime soon..." Kageyama comments, sending a look of pity to the girl who seemed to be a few shades paler than earlier realizing how right her kouhai was. Chiaki only nods in response, silently agreeing to him, subconsciously taking his hand and squeezing it to calm herself.

Kageyama doesn't pull away, his eyes softening as he suddenly recalls Chiaki's personality of wanting to hold hands when she's anxious. That job belonged to Iwaizumi or Kanoka when they were in middle school. But after Iwaizumi graduated with the other third years and Kanoka wasn't there with her, it was Kageyama's hand she would grab. And if he wasn't there, she'd grab Kunimi. The setter could remember his and Kunimi's bewilderment when she had grabbed them and refused to let go before a tournament.

Kageyama walked Chiaki home, the sky already turned dark, the streetlamps turned on. He imputed her new address into his mind, knowing she had moved after middle school, seeing as he had heard some of his teammates say that when they tried to visit her after her disappearance.

As he walked home, he felt his heart go out to the older girl. A part of him also felt devastated, knowing the raw talent Chiaki withheld in herself. He had witnessed and experienced it first-hand numerous times. In his mind, Chiaki was always someone to look up to, one of the most talented players he has seen in middle school. The female was the one person who was always capable of spiking the balls he set. And when he realized that was no longer possible, he felt his heart sink.

Everyone at Kitagawa Daiichi acknowledged her talent, and people even out of the prefecture knew about her. And at a young age of thirteen, she was the number one female left-wing spiker and server in Japan's middle school. Some professional volleyball critics even claimed that if she was included in with the high school girls, she would have still been number one.

But to know a talent like that was lost because of a deliberate accident caused by jealousy, anger bubbled in Kageyama's stomach.

"I don't know what I would do if that happened to me," he mutters to himself in the empty street, his heart sinking.

There were two people Chiaki was close to in high school. Maybe three now that Kageyama had enrolled, But before she knew that, it was two. Both Daichi and Sugawara had become part of her life, the two boys adding her into the group chat they had, and sometimes going out on the weekend to hang out.

They were her friends. So it wasn't too strange for them to show up to her classroom on the second floor to come see her. But the scene in front of her was definitely strange, the female nearly dropping her lunch box bag to the floor.

Everyone else, her classmates, and the second years in the hallway stared as the two third-years bowed their heads, their hips bent at ninety degrees.

"S-Senpai, what is this about...?" Chiaki questioned in a slight panic, her eyes darting to the bowing boys and the other second years who watched the particular scene. Seeing all the attention they were gathering, Chiaki made both males stand up, grabbing their hands and dragging them away where there were less prying eyes.

Standing on the staircase that led to a dead-end, Chiaki turned to the two third-years with a frown on her face. She stared at them, both Daichi and Sugawara looking a bit sheepish and had the decency to look apologetic for causing a scene in front of her fellow second years.

Chiaki sighed, the female rubbing her temple before eyeing them in question, "can you please explain why you two decided to bow to me in front of all those people?" she questioned, her voice returned to the usual softness.

Daichi and Sugawara turned to each other before nodding and bowing again. "Aki-chan, please be our manager!" They chorused with their heads down.

Chiaki blinked, taken aback, not expecting such a request from her two friends. It definitely wasn't something she thought they would ask from her.

"Right now, our team doesn't have a proper coach. Shimizu and I are trying our best, but with just us, there's a limit to what we can do, and we still need a lot of things we need to get accomplished. Suga has been helping out too, but it's not enough. And being third years, we only have this year left," the dark-haired male spoke with his head continued to be down.

"Kageyama mentioned that during middle school, you were really good at teaching and helping players improve. He mentioned you had the eyes to figure out what a person has to do to become a better volleyball player, and that is exactly what we need in our team, seeing as we don't have a coach right now," Sugawara spoke finally looking up. Daichi did the same, the two males staring at her with determined eyes.

"Please join the volleyball team!"

"No, thank you."

Daichi and Sugawara's mouths fell open at the immediate answer they received from the silver-haired female. She didn't even hesitate to give them her reply.

Silently, Chiaki was thinking she had to scold Kageyama the next time she sees him, already imagining the guilty look that would appear on the younger boy's face.

"I don't think I'll be able to contribute to the volleyball team. And earlier you said this is your last year because you're in your third year. I have plans on graduating after this year too. I'm scheduled to take the exam to get exempted for the last year of high school. If that's the case, it wouldn't be fair to just stay in the club for just one year. And I'm sure that's not the kind of manager Shimizu-san is looking to help her."

At the information Chiaki revealed, the males seemed stunned, probably not expecting her to say she was planning on graduating at the same time as them.

"So, I'm sorry. I'm going to have to decline your request," Chiaki politely stated as she bowed to them.

Not thinking they were going to get a bow in response, Daichi's mouth was opening and closing, no words leaving them.

"And I don't like volleyball anymore."

Daichi and Sugawara froze, staring at the female who said the last statement with the coldest way they heard her speak. They stared at the silvernette, trying to read her expression, but it seemed her usually warm grey orbs were blank.

"Aki-chan," Chiaki turned her attention to Daichi who had a stern look on his face, Chiaki wanted to shrink away as his usually warm brown eyes stared at her as if he could read what was on her mind. "Don't lie."

Chiaki inwardly bristles at his words, but she keeps her cool as she smiled like she usually does. "How would you know I'm lying Daichi-senpai. I dislike volleyball now, I think I understand my emotions the best seeing as they're my own."

Sugawara swallowed, feeling the tension in the air. The silver-haired male looked between his two friends before stepping in between the staring contest they were having.

"Aki-chan, we want you as our manager no matter what. Just getting refused once isn't going to stop us, to be very honest. So why don't you just come to see our practice once? Actually, we're having a match between the first years on Saturday morning. If Kageyama and Hinata don't win, Kageyama won't be the setter for the team, so maybe you'll want to see this."

This makes Chiaki raise an eyebrow in surprise, mentally noting to give the said boy a text later to ask what's going on. Tobi-kun not being setter...?

Before Chaiki could argue and say no, Sugawara grabbed Daichi's arm, "okay, we'll come to pick you up at your house bright and early tomorrow morning before the match! So you better be awake!" The silver-haired boy sang as she dragged Daichi with him, the said male still refusing to look away from Chiaki.

Chiaki was left in the empty staircase in disbelief, not believing the male had easily decided how her Saturday was going to be spent without her agreeing. With a sigh, she pinched the bridge of her nose before carefully making her way down the stairs, hoping she had enough time to eat her lunch before her next lecture.

🏐 🏐EXTRA / FUN FACT🏐 🏐

*when Chiaki was still a brunette in middle school, her hair was up to her lower part of her neck, barely reaching her collar bone. Her usual hairstyle consisted of her putting it into a small ponytail that wasn't too high because of her short hair. 

*In High School, first-year, her hair is up to her upper breast and the second year, her hair has grown passed her breasts. She usually styles it in a braid. But it's a complex braid where it starts from the right side of her head, a loose dutchbraid that goes all the way to her left side. and then all the rest of her hair that isn't in that braid gets collected together and placed in one single large braid that is on her left side.

*She learned how to do this hairstyle by Miwa, Kageyama's older sister.

*some may have noticed but the twins, Taiga and Kouga have different hair colors. This is because Kouga who was originally brunet dyed it when Chiaki did, not wanting her to do everything by herself. He wanted his little sister to know she's never alone. He even went to get his ears pierced with her although he's absolutely terrified with needles. All for his love and support to Chiaki. But secretly he's really happy that Chiaki's lobe piercings and his own lobe ear piercing are matching. He also knows Taiga is secretly jealous.

*Every month, on the last Sunday of the month, Chiaki and Kouga go get their hair done at Miwa's place and afterward go on a sibling date where they go cafe hopping. 

*Kageyama had no idea that Chiaki had kept contact with his older sister. When he finds out when walking back home with Chiaki, he sends an angry, betrayed text to his sister which Miwa ignores. Which only angers the younger Kageyama even more.

*Kageyama mentioned it but Chiaki has a cute tendency of wanting to hold hands whenever she feels nervous. Being the youngest and only female child in the Ibato household, Chiaki was pretty spoiled with skin contact. She had always had someone next to her, either holding her hand, hugging her, or carrying her (only when she was little) Now holding hands is normal for her. She craves skin contact, and she's been doing fairly well hiding it in high school. But, Daichi and Sugawara have been catching on recently. They noticed how she stands fairly close to them when they hang out, shoulders touching when they eat. Sugawara also has seen her reach out for Daichi or his hand multiple times, before freezing as she realizes what she was about to do.

🏐 🏐 TERMS:🏐🏐

Kyoutou- Vice Principal in Japanese

A/n

To celebrate the reunion of Kageyama and Chiaki, here's an art work done by me!

Also, let's talk about Japanese schooling a bit. So it is extremely uncommon for students to skip grades in Japan, no matter how advance you are. I don't think it's even possible in middle school. But in high school, under special circumstances you are allowed to skip your third and last year. However, there's a draw back. You won't receive your diploma unless you've finish your schooling in college. So if for some reason, you decided to skip your third year and immediately go to college/university but end up dropping out during your education, it means not only will you not get the credit for the higher education, you won't even get your high school diploma.

I think they do this to try to convince students not to skip the last year of schooling because the country believes school is not only for education but also to learn and build the student's identity.

Anyhow, that's what Chiaki is planning on doing!!

Also, guys!! The recent teaser, not gonna lie, I'm a pretty damn big fan of Inarizaki high school so it kinda killed me!

So between the Japanese fan, we all thought that Suna Rintarou spoke Japanese with no kansai dialect and more so like someone from the Tokyo area because of his wording choice in the manga. Example: kansai「ええよ」vs tokyo「いいよ」

But than BAAAM, the teaser where Suna briefly spoke, the intonation was obviously in Kansai dialect so the Japanese HQ fandom was in chaos, cause whaaaat?! We have been lied to! And all these people were debating and starting make fan art where they drew Suna clowning us, either way, it's not completely revealed how he speaks so we have to wait for the anime to come out but ahhh! God, the voice actor seiyuu in Haikyuu is like 10/10, so high level with so many famous people... ugh, I'll probably end up dead by the end of the season.

Also, I follow this person on twitter called sayone_ and she shared a line drawing where we could color it and I had to do it before school starts and I wanted to share it here!

Spoiler alert!!! Couldn't decided the uniforms so I picked both...! \(//∇//)\

Next update chapter 4| The King and The Dove will be on 9/4/2020!!

-Ember