Chapter 9 | Ochibi-chan

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🏐 🏐THIRD PERSON P.O.V. 🏐 🏐

The classroom was filled with conversations of students speaking to each other as they ate their lunches. Chiaki sighed as she bit into her sandwich as she stared down at paperwork for the daily duty. She was assigned for today's daily duty as one of the nicchoku and swiftly filled the needed information out, knowing she couldn't go after school because of club activities.

While she didn't mind doing the duties, she admits it felt unusual not going out to the school garden to meet up with Daichi and Sugawara for lunch. With a sigh, she tapped her pen against the paper, thinking about what to write. She wanted to finish this as soon as possible and turn it in to her homeroom teacher before lunch ended so she wouldn't have to worry about it later. However, with the constant conversation around her, she was having difficulties concentrating.

"You know, I noticed this a while ago, but Ibato-san, you have really pretty hands."

Chiaki looked up in surprise as she heard her name. It takes another moment to process what he had said, blinking up at her male classmate who was on duty with her, who was responsible for saying that.

The silver-haired girl was a bit taken aback, having not noticed the boy approaching her and taking a seat in front of her. The said boy's cheeks flushed slightly as she stared up at him, Chiaki not realizing he was becoming flustered under her gaze.

"Ishikawa! Are you being a pervert? Is that some kind of fetish of yours? Ibato-San, if he's harassing you, you let us know, okay?" One of the girls sitting as a group next to Chiaki's desk comments in a teasing tone, making Ishikawa blush.

Ishikawa fiercely shook his head, glaring at the snickering girls, "no! I'm just speaking of my observation!" The poor boy looked appalled, sending an apologetic look at Chiaki.

"But, now that you mentioned it, Ibato-San really does have pretty hands," one of the girls' comments, her eyes darting to Chiaki's hand that held a pen. At her words, the other girls look down at Chiaki's hand, nodding in agreement.

Chiaki has long, slender fingers, her nails neatly tripped and kept short. They were even buffed and shined, having a very hygienic appearance.

"If you grew out your nails a bit more and put some manicure on, it'll look super pretty," one of the girls gushed as she pointed at her own hand that had light pink nail polish on. "Why don't you put some manicure on? It's such a waste!"

In response, Chiaki hummed and looked down at her hands, noting she should buffer down the corners a bit. Being very honest, she's never really thought her hands were pretty looking, thinking of them as regular hands.

"I never really tried before. It's a habit of mine to keep my nails short because I played volleyball all my life. It's necessary to keep your hands in the best condition. It helps control the ball's movement with short nails," she admits, pushing a piece of fringe behind her ear. This was something Chiaki was taught from a young age from her father.

"Oh, you played volleyball, Ibato-san? Do you still?" One of the girls questioned in curiosity. Many of the other students in the classroom listened to the conversation in interest, not knowing much of Chiaki, seeing as the silver-haired female often kept to herself. The students hushed down so they could hear their usually quiet classmate.

At the question, Chiaki feels briefly uncomfortable, her eyebrows furrowing together. But she quickly replaces her expression with a sad smile with a shake of her head. "No, at the end of my middle school, I got into a severe accident and no longer could play. But I'm on the volleyball team right now as their medic."

An apologetic look appeared on all of their faces at the weak smile Chiaki flashed them, immediately feeling bad about asking the question. Chiaki, on the other hand, is quick to grasp the gloominess around them. She waves her hand in front of her in an assuring manner.

"It's fine, I'm just happy still being able to do something related to volleyball. The boys are all super sweet, and watching them makes me feel like I'm on the court with them too," a soft look appeared in Chiaki's droopy grey eyes, her lips pulling into a sweet smile.

Those who watched her blushed, imaginary pink flowers floating around them as they were blessed to see Chiaki's soft smile.

Just at that moment, all of their attention shifted outside the classroom, voices of argument entering all of their ears. It was unusually rowdy in the hallways, and Chiaki cocks her head to the side, finding it unusual. However, listening in, she perked up as she picked up two familiar voices bantering.

Ishikawa, who sat in front of her flinched as the silver-haired teen suddenly got up to her feet. The female carried herself to the sliding window, peering her head through into the hallway. Chiaki's expression brightened as she caught sight of a short male with bright orange hair walking with a tall figure with dark hair down the hall.

"Hinata-kun! Tobi-kun!"

Hearing her voice, both first-years turned around in confusion, their argument briefly pausing. Hinata sees Chiaki first, his expression lighting up like the sun, his lips stretching so wide it split his face. He ignores the setter beside him and bounds over to the female with a beaming smile that nearly blinded those who saw him. Unlike his companion, Kageyama follows after Hinata in a calming manner, although the said male's eyes brightened as he trotted in front of Chiaki.

"Hi, Aki-senpai!" Hinata gushes, smiling up at the taller girl. Seeing him, Chiaki can't help but imagine puppy ears suddenly appeared in his fluffy orange hair, an imaginary tail wagging fiercely behind him.

Without much control, Chiaki can't stop herself from patting Hinata's head, her fingers pushing down his orange hair that was surprisingly very soft. If Hinata really was a dog, his tail would be wagging at Mach speed... Chiaki thinks with amusement as Hinata looks happy at the attention he was receiving from the older girl.

The female's attention moved to Kageyama as she felt the younger boy's stare, and without thinking, she patted the taller boy's head too, stretching her arm a bit. "Hi, Tobi-kun," Chiaki releases a small giggle, patting his smooth raven locks.

"Usu..." Kageyama's cheeks are flushed slightly as he looked down with embarrassment, but nonetheless a bit happy at the affection Chiaki showed him. The said female found his reaction cute, giving him one last good pat, deciding to ignore how Hinata elbowed the taller boy, snickering as Kageyama glared at him in a warning.

"So, mind you telling me why you two are on the second-year floor? Aren't first years supposed to stay on the first floor and the new building unless they have specific business with someone?" Chiaki questioned, her fingers tapping her cheek as she thought back to the rules of the campus.

Hinata and Kageyama share brief eye contact, looking like children who were caught in the middle of causing trouble.

Hinata poked his index fingers together, looking a bit sheepish as he tried to explain himself. "We were heading to the stairs to go to the third-year floor. Kageyama and I have been visiting Asahi-san to see if he'll come to the club!" The ginger explained, widening his eyes, hoping that he wouldn't get scolded by his team medic. However, he grew more dejected as he suddenly remembers the outcome of the last few days. "We've been going to see him at lunch for the last three days, but he never says yes..."

Chiaki hummed and patted Hinata's head once again, seeing the younger boy's sadness. It takes every ounce of power to not squeeze the younger boy's cheeks and coo at him.

"I see... I'm sure Asahi-senpai will eventually bend if you keep asking him." Chiaki assures, thinking about the soft giant with a knowing smile. The silver-haired girl had a gut feeling that told her the Karasuno ace wouldn't stay away for long.

Chiaki sharpened her eyes a bit, the two boys in front of her immediately seeing this and subconsciously straightening their backs nervously. "I'm not going to stop you guys from going to see Asahi-senpai, but make sure to keep it down a bit more when you're walking down the hallways. I could hear you guys arguing from in here," the silver-haired teen gently scolded.

At her words, both Hinata and Kageyama looked dejected, shrinking a bit as they send her an apologetic and sheepish look. Chiaki's stern expression doesn't stay long as she finds their reaction cute, a small chuckle leaving her lips as she patted their heads. Suddenly remembering what she had in her bag, she turns around. "You two, stay here for a bit," she motions them to stay in place and goes back to her seat, rummaging through her bag.

Finding what she searched for, she returns to the two first-years who looked at her in curiosity. "Make sure you guys eat a proper lunch. You won't find your energy during practice if you don't," Chiaki warns as she hands them a protein bar each.

Chiaki releases a laugh as she sees how both Kageyama and Hinata's eyes shine brightly as they bow their heads with a loud, "thank you!"

With a shake of her head, Chiaki decides to not scold them about their volume of voice. She just eyes them fondly as Hinata and Kageyama begin bickering again.

"Come on, you two. You should go see Asahi-senpai, or you'll run out of time," Chiaki ushers them, the two boys seeming to remember the reasoning as to why they were out of their own classroom in the first place.

Hinata grinned brightly as he waved his arm above his head, getting dragging by Kageyama by the neck of his shirt, "thanks Aki-senpai!!! We'll see you after school at practice!"

Chiaki watched the energetic middle blocker and the tall setter leave while waving her hand with a fond smile on her face. When they disappeared after the corner they turned, the teen returned to her seat while humming, her mood jumping a few notches up at the interaction she had with her favorite kouhais. She clenched her fist, nodding at herself in motivation as she returned to finishing her nicchoku tasks.

Little did she know she was blinding her classmates with her happy smile, many of them staring at her in awe.

"Maybe I should join volleyball too..." Ishikawa muttered under his breath, earning a smack to the back of his head from one of the girl's who heard him.

The loud smack of the volleyball hitting the ground echoed through the gym. Chiaki nodded to herself in small approval and looked up from her phone, ending the video. Her attention briefly shifted to Hinata and Kageyama before looking down at her phone once more to watch the video she just took.

"Kageyama! Toss it to me once more!" Hinata whined loudly, jumping in front of the setter who was walking away, trying to block him from moving out of the court. But his movement seemed to only irritate the taller boy, Kageyama throwing the first punch which Hinata skillfully dodged.

"Boke! Get out of my way! Ugh! Stop dodging!"

It doesn't take long for Daichi to intervene with Sugawara, the captain grabbing Hinata from the back of his shirt and dragging him away from Kageyama like a mother cat. "Hinata, give Kageyama a break, you've asked for a toss none stop since practice started," Daichi scolds, Hinata shrinking under his glare with a pout on his face.

While the orange-haired boy gets a lecture from a nagging Daichi, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi snickered on the side. The others watched in amusement, having gotten used to seeing their captain scold their newly joined ball of energy.

Finally, being able to escape from Hinata's constant demands for tosses, Kageyama approached where Chiaki sat, using a towel to wipe at the sweat that dripped down his neck.

Seeing him approach, the silver-haired female made space on the bench for him to sit silently. "How was that one?" The dark-haired male questioned, sitting down beside Chiaki and peering into the phone, she tilted his way.

Chiaki started the video she took from the beginning, placing a particular part in slow motion. "Better, but you were a bit too obvious when setting it, in my opinion. Why don't you practice on fake eye movements? Also, your finger position right here," Chiaki paused the video, Kageyama bending his neck to see what she was pointing and talking about, "the position is good, but concentrate on your fingertips next time, and you'll probably be able to toss at least a second or two faster."

Kageyama clicked his tongue, annoyed at himself. But he nodded in understanding, imputing Chiaki's suggestion in his mind. His eyebrows furrowing together after he pressed the phone screen, starting the video from the beginning, "my jump was sloppy too," the setter grumbled, noticing it the second time watching the video.

"Hm, here, here! Let me see!" Sugawara suddenly joined the conversation, snatching the phone out of Chiaki's hand to watch the video. However, the silver-haired male's eyebrows furrowed as he tilted his head, his expression darkening the longer he watched the video.

Seeing his expression, Tanaka joined in as well, the male with shaved head looking confused for a moment before pointing a finger at Chiaki and Kageyama. "What the hell are you two talking about? There's nothing wrong with Kageyama's toss!"

"Right here. At that moment, I could have improved by jumping with both feet instead of jumping off my right leg," Kageyama climbed up to his feet and took the phone out of Sugawara's hand and paused the video to show the two older boys. But both Sugawara and Tanaka only stared at the first-year male who looked genuinely confused about why his senpais couldn't see what he was pointing out.

"Ah, I wouldn't waste my energy, senpai-tachi. There are only things that people like the King would understand. Us commoners wouldn't be able to tell, right? Miss Dove?" Tsukishima waved a lazy hand in the air, a condescending smile on his face.

That seemed to irritated Tanaka, the second-year's face twisting as he stomped up to the taller blond, "huh?! You wanna go, you beansprout? We may not understand it now, but we can improve so we could!"

Tanaka, however, loses the will to fight as Daichi turns his glare to him, the third-year captain pausing in scolding Hinata. None of them noticed as Chiaki slowly made her way behind Tsukishima, Shimizu being the only one who eyed the female in interest as she paused in writing down notes.

"I think it's ridiculous that you're trying to perfect everything. Don't you get tired having to-augh!" Tsukimshima couldn't finish his sentence as his knee gets knocked out, the tall blonde falling backward as he crumbles to the ground.

Chiaki stands above him with a blank look while everyone stared in shock at what happened. But it was broken by Tanaka and Nishinoya, who clutched their stomach and pointed at Tsukishima as they laughed.

"O-Oi! Tsukishima, a-are you, hahaha! Are you okay there, buddy?" Tanaka cried, barely being able to speak while he laughed, tears gathering at the corner of his eyes.

Hinata and Kageyama were also snickering, the smaller boy whispering how uncool that looked while Kageyama only grinned, his eyes dancing with amusement.

"T-Tsukki! I-uh, are you okay?!" Yamaguchi snapped out of his initial shock and ran up to his taller friend in concern. He moved to help the blonde stand up but stopped as Tsukishima pushed him aside with his face burning red and climbing up to his feet on his own.

What none of them expected was for Tsukishima to glower down at the older girl who had a closed-eyed smile on her face, not seeming to be fazed by the taller boy.

"I think I see sparks flying....." Narita gasped, quickly hiding behind Ennoshita, who watched with a sweatdrop. The said boy scratched his cheek as a weak laugh left his mouth.

"Hahaha... There seems to be some intensity between Aki-chan and Tsukishima because their first meeting wasn't exactly the smoothest..." Ennoshita comments before he steps in, cutting the staring contest between them short.

Tsukishima huffed and threw his towel over his shoulder and walked off, Yamaguchi loyally following after him after sending a weak smile at Ennoshita in thanks. The second-year releases a sigh before looking at the female standing beside him with a questioning look.

"Are you okay, Aki-chan? I might have not known you long, but I have a feeling this isn't very like you picking a fight with Tsukishima," Ennoshita comments, the said male blinking in surprise as Chiaki pouts, a brief childish look appearing on her face.

The silver-haired female pushes a fringe of hair that came out of her braid behind her ear, "I just had a feeling that I needed to bring down his saltiness a few notches down... He's just so..." Chiaki pauses, her eyebrows furrowing together before she released a sigh. Her usual smile returns on her face as she eyed the slightly taller boy, "sorry about that, Chikara-kun."

Honestly, Chiaki knew what she did was out of character. She doesn't even think she's been physical like that before. She almost felt bad for what she did, but the offhand comments that the younger boy used to taunt her and Kageyama was getting on her nerves. The boy rubbed her in the wrong way, something not many people have been successful in doing in the past.

Chiaki is pulled out of her thoughts as the gym's door opens, revealing an adult with glasses. Takeda beamed as he eyed all the volleyball members seeming to be in a great mood, "hello everyone, please gather up!"

Soon all of them were in front of the man, Chiaki standing in the back with Shimizu beside her. The silver-haired female blinked, taken aback as some of the boys released a surprised sound as a man stepped into the gym after Takeda.

"Guys, I'll introduce you! Starting today, this is who'll be handling coaching! Ukai-kun!"

Chiaki hums in amusement. The silver-haired female hadn't thought of this possibility. While she did have an idea that Takeda was making an effort to look for a coach to run the team, she hadn't expected him to pick the man in front of them all.

"C-Coaching? Really?!" Daichi exclaimed his surprise, his eyes widened at the prospect of actually getting a coach to run the team, having had to do most of it himself with Sugawara's help.

Ukai grinned, nodding with his hands placed on his hips, "only up through the match with Nekoma," the blond male emphasized the information.

"But, he's the guy from the Sakanoshita shop, right? Is he really going to be able to coach us?" Tanaka asked the million-dollar question that ran through all of their heads, sending a doubting look to the adult in the P.E. wear.

Takeda grinned at the question, rubbing under his nose, seeming to look proud at the information he was about to share. "He is an alumnus of this school and Coach Ukai's grandson!"

"Eh?!"

Another round of shocked voices ring in the gym, Chiaki not being able to help but smile, finding their exaggerated reaction cute.

"Huh? But you're from 'Sakanoshita,' right? Isn't that your last name?" Hinata questioned with a tilt of his head, looking confused as his eyebrows furrowed together.

"That's 'cause the shop belongs to my mother's side of the family. Oh!" Ukai pauses as he catches sight of Chiaki standing in the back, a grin spreading across his face as he raises a hand up. "Yo, chibisuke! Glad to see you're here too, hope you'll help me out a bit," he releases a laugh, seeming to not care as the boys gawked at him.

"Aki-chan! Do you know him?" Sugawara questioned, everyone staring at the girl.

In response, Chiaki nods while humming, "he was a senpai to my older brother and they were on the same team. And because coach Ukai and my brother worked together, our families knew each other well."

"You should have seen her when she'll barge in during our practice. She was this lil' thing that barely came up to our hips! Always came to see Minato at practice and sat on gramp's lap while we were nearly killed with training," Ukai laughed as he used his hand to gesture her height. "Came to all our practice and was known as our little cheerleader and mascot."

Chiaki ignored the looks she was receiving from her team, her ears turning a bit red in embarrassment. Sugawara was even cooing, poking Chiaki's cheek, muttering something that sounded like, "awww, little Chiaki-chan? I wanted to see too~"

"Anyhow!" Ukai brought everyone's attention back to himself, "we've got no time to lose, so hurry up and get ready! I wanna see what sort've players you are, so we're gonna have a game at 6:30! I've already called your opponents!"

Daichi blinked, seeming to be taken aback at what Ukai revealed, "eh?! Opponents? Who are they?"

At the questioned, a mischievous smile spread across the older male's face, "the Karasuno neighborhood association team!"

Chiaki stood in the middle of the small crowd of adults, her hair a mess from getting it patted and ruffled affectionately.

"Look at you, Ochibi-chan! All grown up and turning into a delinquent! At least the dye job is better than Keishin's!" Takinoue laughs, earning a glare from his friend he insulted.

Shimada helps Chiaki out by slapping Takinoue's hand away as the blond man tries to ruffle her hair again. In response, Chiaki gives him a thankful smile, "it's good to see all of you too. I'm glad you've all seemed to be doing well," the silver-haired female speaks, recognizing all of them. Shimada, Takinoue, and Uchizawa were Minato's senpai in high school. And Chiaki recognized Mori as one of the students Minato taught when he worked as an assistant coach for a couple of years at Karasuno.

"How's Minato doing? He's off in Tokyo, right?" Shimada questioned, pushing his glasses higher onto his nose.

"He's doing well, I had a phone call with him yesterday. He said he's helping my father out with his team when he's not coaching the elementary kids at the local club," Chiaki shared, thinking about her eldest brother.

Takinoue blinked, seeming to be a bit amazed at the information, "look at him going into the city! Helping with your pops, huh? Last time I checked, Adlers have been doing really well these days. Too bad he's not here, if he was, he'd be playing with us."

Chiaki nodded in agreement, suddenly missing the gentle giant she called her eldest brother. Silently, the tall female promised herself to send another text to Minato after practice to say she missed him. 

"Oi, you oldies, are you all ready? The game is gonna start soon!" Ukai called out.

"Who're you calling oldies, ya delinquent! Did you forget we're the same age?" Shimada called out, sending a glare at Ukai, who laughed wholeheartedly.

Finally, getting released to return to work, Chiaki began to collect the water bottles that needed to get filled. She looks up in surprise as she sees a hand holding a water bottle out to her.

"Oh, thank you, Tobi-kun," Chiaki smiles, her grey eyes narrowing a bit in affection as the boy nods. Beside him, Hinata also hands her the bottle. But unlike his companion, the orange ball of energy looked like he wanted to say something.

"Aki-senpai, you sure know a lot of people! You knew those guys from Seijoh, and now you know all the guys Ukai-san brought today!" Hinata exclaimed, his eyes seeming to shine with admiration as he looked at the older female.

Chiaki laughed at his expression, ruffling his hair. She made a hand motion with her hand, gesturing both Kageyama and Hinata to come closer. "Let me give you guys a bit of advice."

Both boys intently listened, seeming interested in what she had to say.

"Connection is key to everything. Treasure those you meet, and it'll get you far. Having a connection with people will bring you miracles when you least expect it and save you when you need it most," Chiaki winked before straightening up to her full height, going back to collecting water bottles.

Hinata and Kageyama stared at the older girl's back. "So cool...."

As the gym began to bustle in preparation for the practice match, Shimizu and Chiaki stepped outside to refill the bottles they collected, idly chatting between them. What neither of them expected when they stepped back in was an addition to the teams.

"Azumane...." Shimizu whispers in surprise, nearly dropping the bag of bottles she held. Luckily, Chiaki caught them before it slipped out of the older girl's finger. The silver-haired female sighed in relief before slinging the bag over her shoulders.

Chiaki barely was able to hold in a smile as Kiyoko's eyes shined behind her spectacles, the older female clenching her hands in front of her. At that moment, Chiaki felt like she understood the older girl a bit more.

There was no denying that Kiyoko's personality was cool and slightly aloof. However, after seeing the look of relief that seemed to spread across the older girl's face, Chiaki knew the third-year manager cared about the club more so than she usually showed.

Chiaki felt her heart beat in her chest in excitement as she sat on the sideline, the slight crackle of tension spreading in the gym's air. She placed her chin on her hand, eyes narrowed as the whistle was blown at the indication of the practice match was beginning. Now... Show me what kind of Ace Karasuno has....

8 Years Ago (Chiaki age 8)

August, Year 2004

Chiaki pouted, a volleyball underneath her arms as she walked to the nearest park. She was kicked out of the house by her mother after moping around for too long. Minato had gone to a summer retreat in Tokyo with his high school, and both Taiga and Kouga were at the middle school volleyball camp.

That greatly upset Chiaki because now she was left at home with her mother. It wasn't a bad thing; Chiaki did love her mother from the bottom of her heart. But Minako didn't play volleyball. While having vast knowledge of the sport having been a manager in the past, and working with countless volleyball players as a physical therapist, Minako wasn't a player.

Which meant she couldn't play a rally with Chiaki.

This is why Chiaki hated the weekend, and she hated her age. She wanted to go to the same volleyball club the twins went to, which was seven days a week. But the youngest Ibato was still too young, no matter how good she was for her age.

She walked to the local park with dragging feet, the loud cries of the cicadas overlapping and sounding like an obnoxious chorus. Eventually, Chiaki finds a shady area underneath the tree, bumping the worn down volleyball with her forearm.

It was useful to practice. Minato had told her that. Even her father had too when she had last seen him when he returned from Tokyo a week ago to visit the whole family. Her older brother also pointed out that she should work on becoming 'friends' with the ball more.

Even with a young mind, Chiaki knew what that meant. Sometimes, the young Ibato lost control of the ball, not being able to control it the way she should be able to. She still wasn't "best friends" with her volleyball, maybe close friends, but not to the point of best.

She remembered when she asked Minato how she could become best friends with her ball. And in response, the eldest Ibato son smiled as he effortlessly began bumping the ball with precise accuracy.

Chiaki had watched with awe, her droopy grey eyes widening twice it's size as Minato juggled with the ball. It was almost as if the ball was alive and was a part of Minato, going exactly where the older boy wanted it to.

"If you're able to bump it at least a hundred times continuously, I'll say you've become pretty good friends with the ball. Good luck, Chi-chan, you can do it," Minato had laughed, his large hand patted her head after keeping the ball alive for at least five minutes without it dropping to the floor.

And so the counting and bumping began.

Chiaki felt a bead of sweat run down the back of her neck as she counted under her breath, the humid air of summer making it slightly hard to concentrate.

"Forty-two, forty-three, forty-four, forty-five, forty-six, forty-seven, forty-eight, forty-nine," a small smile began to spread across Chiaki's face as she realized it was going to be her first time finally reaching fifty. "Fift-"

She doesn't reach fifty because a hand slaps the ball out of the air before her forearm could hit it back. It bounces and rolls for a minute before stopping on the sandy, dusty ground.

Chiaki's eyes turn blank as she stares at her ball, the smile getting wiped off her face. She turns her head to look at who was responsible for smacking the ball away. Her eyes narrowed at the boy who stood in front of her with a smug smile.

He seems around her age, a few inches shorter than her with fluffy hair that seemed to curl up to the sky on the ends. He wears a plain shirt and some shorts, bandaids littering his knees that appeared to be scrapped. What catches her attention is the volleyball underneath his arms, it looks relatively new with no specks of dirt unlike hers.

"Heh, I can do better," the boy grins, holding his volleyball in hand in pride as he looks at Chiaki as if he's waiting for her to ask him to show her.

Chiaki only blinks, eyeing him for a few more seconds before silently nodding and walking away, going to pick up the ball that had rolled away from her.

The brunet's mouth pops open in disbelief as if he can't believe she had just walked away from him. He almost seems offended that Chiaki hadn't acknowledged him.

"Look, my volleyball is new too! It's shinier than yours, isn't it?"

Chiaki doesn't even bother looking over, picking up her volleyball in hand and spinning it in her hand just as she had watched her father do it a million times when he was getting sand off of it during beach volleyball.

The boy's eyes widened slightly, looking a bit awed at the movement she did, his eyes shining briefly before he shook his head. He pushes his awe away and frowns, taking a step towards the light brown-haired girl. "Hey, I'm talking to you! Why are you even playing with a worn-down volleyball like that? Mine's newer so we could-"

"I like my volleyball." Chiaki finally speaks, briefly looking at the boy over her shoulders before beginning to bump the ball again, this time counting in her head.

By now, the boy's mouth was unhinged. His cheeks flushed red, feeling embarrassed after being so nonchalantly brushed aside. Nobody did that in his class. When he told the girls in his class about the new volleyball his mother bought him, they all listened to him eagerly, even asking for a demonstration. Never had he been ignored by someone this badly before.

And it hurt his pride.

Before he knew it, he was throwing his volleyball towards the girl. When the ball left his hand, the realization of what he did suddenly hit him, his skin paling as the ball swiftly moved towards Chiaki's head.

What he didn't expect was for the young girl to take a step back, dropping the ball she was bumping to the ground as she crouched down, quickly receiving the ball that was thrown her way.

Chiaki hummed as she bumped the boy's ball a couple of times, her eyebrows furrowing before she caught it between her hands. He was right, it was nice and new, but she liked her own worn down Mikasa ball more.

She turned her head and looked at the boy, a slight bit irritated that she was interrupted by him again. "That was a really weak serve," she offhandedly comments, her eyes slightly cold knowing that boy had thrown it at her.

This makes the boy blush fiercely, flustered, and embarrassed by her insult. "I-I didn't even try to serve it!" He defends, the small feeling of guilt from a moment ago melting away as he glared at the girl. "Give me my ball back! You meanie! I'm a better volleyball player than y-" He doesn't finish his words as he feels something hit the back of his head, the sound of loud buzzing entering his ears.

"E-Eh...?"

"Oi, Toru! Don't move! The cicada landed on your head!" A boy with dark, short hair suddenly appeared with a bellow, running over and swinging his bug net he had in his hand, successfully covering his friend's head with it.

Chiaki took a fearful step back as the boy known as Toru began to scream like a banshee as the cicadas that was stuck in the net along with his head began flying around. The unfortunate bug has nowhere to go, flying around in the net, getting tangled in Toru's brown locks before getting untangled and landing on the screaming boy's face.

Chiaki watches the chaos unfold with her skin turning pale, not being able to help as she imagined herself in the boy's place. Just with the thought, she feels a bit faint, the idea of a bug being anywhere near her face making her sick.

"Ah..." The boy who holds the net mutters as somehow the cicadas escaped the net as Toru begins running around, the bug taking flight. Chiaki watches this in horror, everything seeming like it is moving in slow motion as the cicadas made its way towards her.

The scream is caught in her throat, her knees locking in place and not being able to move away as it comes closer. But before it can land on her, a white net quickly catches it in midair, the bug releases one final cry before the sound of it struggling in the net on the ground enters everyone's ear.

The boy with spiky hair grins widely as he looks down at his prize with glee. "Ah, finally got it."

Chiaki released the breath she realized she was holding, unclenching her hand, her fingers feeling a bit numb from holding it in a fist too tightly. The brown-haired girl is finally able to get a good look at the spiky-haired boy. Like the other boy, he seemed around the same age as her. He had tanned skin from running under the sun for hours, Chiaki being able to see that he had a tank top tan as he crouched down to get a better look at the bug he captured in his net.

Her grey eyes widened a bit in admiration as the boy took the bug into his hand without any hesitation, just like she had seen Minato do when he was showing her and the twins how to capture them without hurting their delicate wings. The boy briefly shifted his eyes and looked at her before holding the bug out for her to see. "This is the prettier type of cicadas. It's called the min min zemi. It's called that because of the way it sounds. Look, it has clear wings, and it looks like glass and looks much cooler than the average abura zemi."

Chiaki takes a wary step closer to see what he showed, her eyes taking a sparkle as a small, "wow," escaped her lips. Like he said, the wings were transparent, having a tint of green to it, looking a bit like stained glasses, just like the picture of the church her mother showed her of her wedding with Hiroto.

While Chiaki was usually deathly afraid of bugs, the newfound information shared to her by the boy, as well as getting a good look at the pretty bug, makes it less scary.

"I'm gonna release it now, if you're scared, you can stand behind me," the boy spoke, and Chiaki did as he said, watching in interest as he released it back into the air, the cicada flying away to a nearby tree.

The two children watched it go for a moment before the boy with spiky hair turned to her with his eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"I'm Iwaizumi Hajime, who are you? I come to this park every day with Toru, but I've never seen you around before," the boy comments, scratching the back of his head before collecting his bug net that was left on the ground.

"Ibato Chiaki... I live near here, but I'm always at summer camp, so I don't come to this park often," Chiaki explains, smiling a bit as the boy bends down and picks up her ball, handing it to her. "Thank you..."

"No problem. That's a really cool ball. It looks cooler than Toru's." Hajime comments, his words making the smile on Chiaki's face wider.

At that moment, Chiaki had decided the boy in front of her was someone worth trying to become friends with.

"Do you wanna go over there and play?" Hajime asks, a boyish smile spreading on his face, "it's shadier over there near the playground. And we can-" the boy doesn't finish his sentence as he turns around in surprise as he feels a tug on the back of his tank top.

He turns around and flinches, startled to see the face of crying Toru. Even Chiaki is taken aback as she looks at Toru's face that is a mess with tears and snot. The boy's cheek with fluffy brown hair is pink from crying, the streaks of tear messy on his skin as he hiccups, gripping onto Hajime's tank top with his hand.

"H-Ha-kun, y-you're a b-big meany! W-Why did you cover my head with the net with that bug! And now you're going to go r-run off with her!" Toru sobbed, his words barely even audible as he hiccupped.

Hajime and Chiaki shared an awkward look, seeming to not know what to do with the crying boy. Eventually, Hajime took Toru by the hand to go to the park fountain to go wash the crying boy's face, Chiaki following behind them with two volleyballs in hand.

🏐 🏐A/N 🏐 🏐

Lmao, the picture below is before the end of summer, Chiaki is attached to Iwaizumi, haha.

The next update, Chapter 10 | Teammates will be on the November 27th, 2020! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I haven't been writing for this story in weeks because of school but luckily I have chapter in stock until at least the end of December. ANd hopefully I can restock my chapter during winter break!

y'all, there's so many cool attractive and awesome male characters in this story but do you ship anyone with Chiaki????

Also, anyone know Twisted Wonderland?! So, I also have a Japanese apple ID so it lets me buy stuff from the Japanese app and I downloaded it over a month ago and I'm addicted. like in 40 days, Im at level 63 right now and the amazing part is that I haven't spent a single cent in the game and I can still play. If you don't know the game check it out! Its an official game brought out by Disney about the villains inspired characters going to school. Almost seems like a otome game but at the same time its not. 

-Ember

11/13/2020