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"𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴, 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘴, 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶"

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╭──────────.˚ * ꒰ঌ✦໒꒱ * ˚.──────────╮

────✩(𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐅𝐘 𝐒𝐇𝐔𝐅𝐅𝐋𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆)✩────

▌ 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘐𝘵 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘐𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘴 ▌

00:0╸⚫︎╸_________________________3:21

◁ │ ▶︎ │ ▹

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𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴
𝘊𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘷𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘴
𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴
𝘊𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴
𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘐'𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴
𝘊𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘷𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘴
𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴

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╰──────────.˚ * ꒰ঌ✦໒꒱ * ˚.──────────╯

♡ ◟💫◞ ♡

#𝟎𝟎𝟑 - 𝐅𝐔𝐍 𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐓:

𝘌𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘢'𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘹 𝘊𝘭𝘶𝘣 𝘪𝘴 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢'𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘹 𝘊𝘭𝘶𝘣 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢'𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘮'𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘦.

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𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄 // 𝐌𝐒. 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐒 𝐔𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄. 𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐎𝐘𝐒 𝐊𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐎 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐋 𝐕𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐘𝐁𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌.

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✴︎༄◞ THEY SAY BEING A CELEBRITY HAS ITS PERKS BUT ALSO ITS DIFFICULTIES AND CHALLENGES. 𝘌𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 (𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴) 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩.

The school day ended rather quicker than she expected, leaving the hallways packed with students promoting their clubs and sports activities, recruiting the new students who were eager or had the skills to participate in the club.

Erika didn't really pay attention to the promotions and just decided to skip the whole process. Walking out of the hallways as she didn't pay much mind to the bystanders or what they were saying to her.

As the blonde girl continued wandering around the halls with no purpose or aim, her eyes could hear the rushing of footsteps and turning her direction, she spotted a familiar boy with orange hair and short height.

"Oh hey, Koume!", Shoyo Hinata passed by the blonde haired girl with an excited spring in his step, a wide grin and eager sparkling in his eyes; opening the doors that lead to a metal gateway reaching to a stadium.

"Whoa, Hinata. Where are you going?", she asked as she called out to the ginger haired boy as he continued running to the stadium.

"To the volleyball stadium!", he answered her excitedly, "I'm finally going to practice like crazy and get my revenge on the King Of The Court!", when he stumbled to the entrance of the stadium, the door was already open. All he took to get there in a few milliseconds was a giant jump, hopping inside the small building attached to the school.

Erika couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle. Was he always this energetic? It was kinda refreshing for her.

But suddenly the air was silent. The blonde haired girl grew curious on what was happening and why the suddenly loud and boisterous short statured boy suddenly became quite.

She stepped forward outside of the school and started to walk to the stadium, from a bit not so far distance, she heard Shoyo yell out, "You're here too!", as if he was definitely not happy to see someone in the same gymnasium as him.

When she stepped closer to the gymnasium, to say she was shocked was an understatement. Seeing the "King Of The Court", Tobio Kageyama at the same school at her, was definitely quite the news.

She thought he would go another school with a higher name for volleyball but after his last game in middle school, she wandered why he chose Karasuno.

The one known as the "King" stumbled forward after losing focus of his game play, his intense gaze glaring at the shorter boy, he and his team lost too months ago, who looked at him only accusingly with a finger pointing to him.

There was tenseness in the air and Erika sweat dropped. 'Oh, looks like I stepped into some important drama here. I'll just step back and watch from a distance' she thought to herself.

Suddenly the ball Kageyama was supposed to throw in the air, fell back down to the ground and hit the dark haired boy straight on the head first. "Ow", he muttered while the ball continued bouncing off the gymnasium worden floors.

Erika let out a soft snicker, which eventually fell into a laughter. She didn't know why it was funny, but it just was.

As if the scowl were permanently part of his face, he turned to where the person let out a laugh, believing it was most likely the orange haired boy whom he faced last year but no, it was a girl who's face he's seen multiple times on television.

It was her, Erika Koume, the one and only Ms. Nationals.

Tobio Kageyama's dark blue colored eyes widened at the sight of the blonde girl, to see such a legendary star in the gymnasium of Karasuno. To say he was surprised was a huge understatement.

His mouth fell open, only stutters as a great feeling of nervousness started to bubble within his chest. "N-No way", he could feel himself barely utter the words out.

"Ms. Nationals?", his jaw fell to the ground, being flabbergasted to see the blonde girl in front of him.

'Oh no' was all Erika could think of before she started to think of an excuse. "Ms. Nationals? I don't know anyone named Ms. Nationals? You must have me confused with someone else", she chuckled nervously, waving her hand around.

"No! I recognize you from anywhere!", he exclaimed almost excitedly, a big grin started to appear from his face. He tried to keep himself cool but seeing the girl he grew to be a big fan of right in front of him, was proving to be rather difficult.

"I've watched you win countless games, you inspired me to polish my power serve, I-I", he started to stutter in excitement. "I can't believe you're actually here", he looked at the blonde haired girl in front of him.

Shoyo separated his attention from Erika to Tobio, his eyes widening in surprise.

Erika watched how the dark haired boy fangirled over her, she kind of felt bad for lying about who she really was and about her somewhat celebrity status, especially to her new friend Shoyo and seeing a star as great as Tobio Kageyama gush over her was never something she'd expect.

"Wait! You two know each other?", Shoyo's asked curiously as he watched his arch nemesis suddenly start to become such a fanboy around Erika.

Erika shook her head in response to Shoyo, "Not personally no but I'm sure he's seen me on TV", the blonde haired girl chuckled softly, exchanging a warm smile towards Tobio Kageyama, showing that she acknowledged him.

"What? You are famous?", the ginger haired boy's jaw dropped in disbelief as he asked the question.

"Are you kidding me? You don't know about the famous Ms. Nationals who lead her team to victory, three years in a row, all three tournaments in Girls Volleyball. She has earned praise of the great girls volleyball representative of Japan, Rina Shiroko! She is literally number three top players in Miyagi Prefecture, even nationally"

As the great king of the court, Tobio Kageyama explained, Shoyo was paralyzed by shock. "No way", he turned his attention to the blonde girl next to him. It was insane how someone as famous as her was now at Karasuno and even played the sport that he loved the most and was passionate to pursue.

Erika's eyes widened as she heard Tobio Kageyama explain her victories. "Geez, you must be a big fan", she chuckled softly and teasingly to the dark haired boy, this caused him to blush as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"No way! You're so famous, I'm such an idiot I didn't know", Shoyo started to banter nervously, staring at the blonde girl who stood next to him.

"Hey hey it's okay, you didn't know and I'm not one who's fond of getting my identity out much, plus I can't really play right now", the fallen volleyball champion gestured to her right knee, sporting her knee brace from her injury. "So it's fine really, don't sweat it", she waved her hand reassuringly to the ginger haired boy.

Shoyo's golden brown hues looked down at the girls injured knee and looked back at her face. "What happened to your knee?"

"It's a bit of a long story, I'll tell you some other time", she answered him, it wasn't a very proud story of hers to tell but she would explain later.

Tobio Kageyama stayed silent as he watched the exchange between the both of them. He could only admit silently to himself how Shoyo Hinata's reflexes were something praise worthy, his jumping power and speed despite his height were amazing assets but he never used them.

"Hey! Could you help teach me how to beat this guy? Or how I can be in another team to face him please!", Shoyo suddenly asked Erika, his voice showing plea and determination.

"Oh don't be a dumbass!", Tobio remarked sharply hearing the request from the ginger haired boy. "Ms. Nationals is too good to be teaching a scrub like you how to become the best!"

Erika's voice became stern as he turned her head to face the King Of The Court, "Whoa hey, don't be mean like that, I don't ride on any high horse that you may be parading on. I may not be able to play right now but I can always help someone with the best of my ability", she was known to be usually very warm and friendly person but if she was no pushover, not anymore.

"Yeah! Don't make fun of me! I might have lost really bad the first time we met but never again!", Shoyo declared, a fire burning in his eyes and soul as he stared down (more like up due to his height) at his nemesis, the King Of The Court, the genius Tobio Kageyama.

The dark haired boy was taken back by the sudden and bold declaration of the ginger haired male. The silence was thick and tense.

Erika sighed, "Okay, if you two are going to fight for a rivalry, this is not going to end very well for your current team and teammates", the blonde haired girl suggested as she watched the two, but it seemed the two were still stuck in their heated argument on their rivalry. The bickering and bantering between the two didn't stop.

"Look! I came to get my revenge and now I find out you're going to be on the same team as me? How am I supposed to kick your butt that way!", Shoyo barked, pointing his finger towards Tobio. "There's tons of better schools you could've gone too, why'd you have to pick this one? Why didn't you go to one of those instead?"

Erika sweat dropped hearing Shoyo say those words to Tobio Kageyama. Of course there were better schools to go to, to polish and increase the skills of Tobio Kageyama but sometimes they won't accept someone by name, talent, skill set and "celebrity"status alone. They also need academic skills which could be difficult for some students.

Tobio turned his attention away for a moment, a scowl plastered on his usually stoic expression. "I applied to the school with the best team but, didn't make it", his face showed disappointment and agitation.

"Dang, which school did you try to get into? You must've really been aiming for the top", Erika asked as she was now curious of the school that Tobio Kageyama tried to get into.

"Yeah. What school would reject the King Of The Court?", Shoyo asked the question, a plain expression on his face.

Hearing that name. That damned nickname that was given to him as a curse. His teeth gritted while he released a low growl. "Never call me that, ever", the volleyball prodigy showed clear disdain and disapproval of his nickname.

'Whoa. And I thought I wasn't too big of a fan of my nickname' Erika noticed at his reaction. This name was a curse for Tobio Kageyama. She called him that several times with her sisters and her mom but now she felt a bit bad after seeing his reaction.

As the silence between the three grew more tense and thicker, Erika thought to break it with a knife of a joke or just walking away from the drama (but it was too entertaining to watch honestly), suddenly there were muffles of three male voices getting closer to the boys volleyball gymnasium.

As the voices got closer, three figures walked through the doors of the gymnasium, both rivaling boys and the blonde girl turned their attention to the figures.

"Um hello", Tobio opted to greet them politely while both Erika and Shoyo stayed silent.

Three high schoolers, two third years and one second year with a weird "trying to look intimidating" scowl on his face had their attention mainly on Tobio Kageyama, the genius setter of Kitagawa Daichii now residing in Karasuno High School.

"Well well well, now what do we have here?", the second year with a buzzcut hairstyle and a rowdy boisterous energy to him stepped forward, trying to stare down at the boys but was taken back as the high schooler in the middle grabbed the collar of his uniform jacket and pulled him back.

"You Kageyama?", the guy who grabbed the buzzcut haired second year asked, a polite friendly smile radiating from him. He had his eyes on the blonde haired girl who stood next to the genius setter in the gymnasium for a moment.

"Yeah", Tobio nodded his head in response to the higher schooler who asked him the question.

The captain stepped forward, trying to keep his focus on Tobio while his fellow volleyball players walked next to him up to the setter. "It's nice to meet you", the dark haired male greeted the setter.

"Pretty tall, aren't ya?", the high school boy with soft grey hair who stood next to the dark haired male asked Tobio. He also noticed the blonde girl in the gymnasium and when he noticed his friend got quiet, he started to talk to her first.

"Um, hello. What brings you here?", the grey haired male asked Erika, greeting her with a friendly smile.

"Oh sorry. I was just walking around, do you guys need a manager of some sort for this club?", Erika asked him in return, exchanging a smile back to the guy she was talking to.

The guy known as Tanaka didn't even try to look intimidating anymore as he looked at the blonde haired girl. "Our club has been gifted with another beauty! Now we have two amazing managers in our club! You see this, Daichi and Suga?", the buzz cut male threw his fist excitedly into the air, looking at the dark haired male named "Daichi" and the silver haired male named "Suga". Seeing him act out made Erika only sweat drop in response.

The dark haired male sighed in irritation as he gave Tanaka a stern expression, "Stop it Tanaka. You'll scare her off", he turned his expression back to the blonde girl. "I'm sorry about him, I think you'll need to talk to our current manager Kiyoko Shimizu about the position but I'm sure she'd be happy with the extra help", he smiled in response to Erika.

The former volleyball champion nodded in response. "Alright I'll talk to her then", she returned a small friendly smile towards Daichi.

"Wait a minute? You look familiar though", Tanaka leaned his face forward, suspiciously looking at the blonde girl. Sugawara stayed silent but he agreed with Tanaka. It seemed he saw the blonde haired girl from somewhere before, but where?

Shoyo used the fact that the attention wasn't on him anymore and had his quiet footsteps to sneak around , he noticed the height and the size of the high schoolers, it made it pretty intimidating but also somewhat exciting for him to be in Karasuno high school.

"Hey guys!", Shoyo attempted to greet the high school students of Karasuno High School, but he wasn't really acknowledged.

"So how tall are you?", Daichi asked Tobio Kageyama.

"Six feet", Tobio answered the question, leaving the high schoolers to marvel, impressed by his height. Surely it would be an asset for their team.

"Hey!", Shoyo shouted, his voice echoing slightly in the gymnasium and he finally got the attention of the high school students.

It was silent for a moment, confusion reigned until Tanaka finally spoke out. "Hey! It's you! You're the shorty!", he pointed his finger to the ginger haired male, fully recognizing him from the match between Yugioka vs Kitagawa Daichi.

Suddenly realization hit the other two boys as they let out sighs of amazement and awe. "Wait a minute? So the other applicant goes by the name of Shoyo Hinata, I guess that's you", Daichi asked the short orange haired male but was offered no response.

"It's just kinda surprising that's all, but well hey, you guys both chose Karasuno", a smile formed on Daichi's face at this sudden coincidence.

"So, two legends meeting up? Quite the reunion", Erika joked as she put her attention on both Tobio Kageyama and Shoyo Hinata who stood next to each other after the ginger haired male moved.

"Guess so", Shoyo answered briefly.

"Wait a minute! I recognize you! Ms. Nationals! Full time winner for nationals three years in a row, Erika Koume!", Tanaka suddenly exclaimed, pointing his finger towards the blonde haired girl.

Erika chuckled softly as she rubbed the back of her neck, "Yeah. It looks like you got me", she answered honestly.

"Whoa no way, a genius setter, a powerful jumper and a celebrity player, looks like we've got quite the club now. Seems like Karasuno will soon turn into a powerhouse", Daichi joked playfully, chuckling softly.

"Yeah this is quite the coincidence, sorry we didn't mean to freak the both of you out, especially you Hinata. You really made a big impression on us last year", Sugawara admitted to the first year.

"Yeah, you were tiny and all over the place but you really had some spunk!", Tanaka praised the energetic orange haired boy with a big grin on his face.

"Wow, thanks a lot", Hinata answered enthusiastically.

"And not to mention that jump of yours", Sugawara held his chin with his index finger and thumb thoughtfully, remembering when he, Daichi and Tanaka watched the match together and saw the agility and reflexes Shoyo was able to showcase and possessed.

Erika's golden brown hues widened in curiosity, "Whoa, now I want to see those jumps and reflexes in action. They must be really impressive", she chuckled softly, putting her hand on her hip and smiled softly as she stared down at him.

Shoyo's cheeks heated up slightly at Erika's compliments. "Thank you, I know I'm not very tall but I've got skills and I'm willing to work hard! I'm on my way to become Karasuno's ace!", the orange haired boy declared, determination clear in his voice as he showed his goals clearly.

Tobio listened to his declaration, shock wavered him but it soon turned into irritability.

"Hot damn!", Tanaka laughed out loudly, moving his body forward to face Shoyo. "Already got your eyeballs on the ace position, somebody's got cojones", his face was intimidating again.

"Well there's nothing wrong for shooting for the stars, is there? Right?", Sugawara question, this seemed to really motivate Shoyo as his face was gleaming with motivation.

Erika stepped forward and stood next to Shoyo, "Exactly, I say he can do it. Just practice and you can get the ace position", the blonde's fist playfully connected to the ginger male's shoulder.

Shoyo nodded his head, his eyes and grin widened even further at the encouragement he was receiving from the silver haired third year and Erika Koume, Ms. Nationals herself. "Thanks you guys! I promise I will do my best!", he declared, making Erika chuckle softly. 'He's really got the spirit and the fire in him'

On Tobio's face, remained a scowl as his dark blue gems furrowed at the shorter orange haired male who declared himself as his rival. "Okay then, now that you've sworn to become the ace, you better be prepared to back it up", suddenly Tobio Kageyama's harsh words, directed at Shoyo snapped him back into reality and caused Erika to turn her head to face him. "If you're not careful, you'll waste another three years", Tobio warned but he sounded more malicious, ticking off the ginger haired male.

"Excuse me?", Shoyo hissed under his breath, his anger seething as he turned to face the genius setter who beat him last year, was now tearing him down once again.

"Hey, there's no reason to go so far, Tobio Kageyama", Erika's voice suddenly grew more firm and stricter, her golden brown hues furrowed as she stared at the dark haired setter. "You don't have to be so harsh with him like that", she folded her arms, showing disappointment and austerity with her attitude.

Daichi sighed, "Was that really necessary, Kageyama!", he asked, agreeing with the former volleyball champion.

Shoyo turned his head to Erika, "Thanks Koume but it's okay", he assured the blonde haired girl with a smile, he was grateful she was backing him up but he felt bad that she was fighting his battles. Erika nodded her head and stepped back, allowing Shoyo to stand his ground against Tobio's crude claims and sour attitude.

"I did everything I could!", the memories of his hard work to build a team, constant practice anywhere else he could find but they still lost everything, it was a heavy weight but he would not give up. The pain, the constant work, the memories if not even with proper teammates, it was painful for him to remember. "Look, I've done a lot. Stop putting me down!", Shoyo stood his ground, for himself and the years of work he attempted to put for himself and his previous team. He glared as he stared up at Tobio Kageyama, who in return was only staring down at him with his nose up, not regarding Shoyo Hinata as much.

'Damn. The drama is getting real here' Erika could sense the tension between the two, she would be lying if she said it wouldn't be entertaining to watch but it would be more detrimental to the team if this carried on long term.

"Relax guys", Daichi sighed as he didn't want the tension to go any further than it did right now. "You know you're not enemies anymore, right? Volleyball is supposed to bring people together", unfortunately as Daichi tried to reason both bickering boys, he was cut off.

"I want you to play me right now!", Shoyo, who has not yet calmed down from his anger yet, challenged Tobio Kageyama.

"Whoa! Watch it punk! Don't you know Daichi's talking to you?", Tanaka yelled at Shoyo and Tobio, showing the respect he held for his captain (and fear as well).

"What are we gonna play?"

"Volleyball! What the heck else is there?"

"How do you plan to play volleyball one on one?"

"Like passes and stuff!"

"How does anybody win at that?"

Daichi was silent but his face contorted in irritation, his patience wearing thin as he listened to both previous rivaling teammates bicker and argue senselessly.

Shoyo was stunned into silence as he lost that small part of the argument for now. "The kid's got a point!", Tanaka shouted out.

"Okay yeah this is kinda ridiculous", Erika sighed in annoyance as she was about to talk to both Tobio and Shoyo privately but she was stopped, seeing a figure walk in.

"What's all the noise in here?", a familiar masculine voice entered the room, the third year and second year students turned to see the Vice Principal walking through the boys volleyball gymnasium entrance.

"Oh darn! It's VP!", Tanaka whisper shouted, alerting the third year boys and the first year boys who were still bickering as well the blonde girl.

"Be quiet!", Sugawara whisper shouted to Tanaka in return.

"Why don't you be quiet?", Tanaka did his best to strain a friendly smile to the vice principal as he bickered back at Sugawara.

Erika tried to keep herself as professional as she could as she straightened her posture and kept her mouth shut. 'Is that a wig? It's definitely a wig' She asked herself as she looked at the vice principal's head.

"Are you boys fighting in here?", the "VP", asked the boys of the volleyball team, suspecting tension and hearing noises of an argument as he walked into the gymnasium.

"No, we're just working as hard as always Vice Principal, right?", Daichi answered professionally, trying to keep the tension under the radar, as he turned to the boys urging them to stop with the arguing.

"We've got to watch ourselves around the Vice Principal, that guy's always waiting for us to slip up", the usually intimidating delinquent second student tried to warn the first years as he whispered to them; but unfortunately his words and warning went deaf to their ears.

"Serve it to me! I can handle whatever you send!", Shoyo challenged the setter, showing no fear nor sensing the severity of the situation as Tanaka was trying to stop them from arguing. "Listen jerk, I received only one serve from you last year", the short ginger haired male pointed out, truth be told it was with his face. But he was sure, he was determined that he could get it this time. "I'm not the same person I was", his face and eyes held only determination, he was willing to challenge "The King Of The Court" once again.

"Hey, you think you can save this for later? We've got scared third years and a second year with the vice principal", Erika walked up to Shoyo, discreetly whispered to him and urged him to stop. She understood he was angry and he was provoked further by Tobio's crude comments but this was not the time to challenge him.

Seeing his attitude and hearing those words from the ginger haired male, he held his nose up and let out a small huff. "Not the same person huh?", he asked almost mockingly, walking towards the stranded volleyball which he was about to practice with earlier (before he was interrupted) and picked it up with one hand. "Well I've improved a bit in the last year too", he challenged Shoyo in return, a confident smirk plastered on his usually stoic face. It was now his chance to show Ms. Nationals, in the flesh his skills and his hard work.

'Oh no, this is not gonna end well' Erika sighed softly to herself. "Um, Kageyama. Maybe you can save that for later?", she asked him, trying to calm down the situation. But it was too late, not even Daichi could stop them.

"Yes, Koume is right. That's enough smack talk you guys", the boys volleyball team captain strained a nervous smile on his face and playful joking tone to throw off the false haired vice principal, but he wasn't being fooled.

"They're both first years, aren't they?", the Vice Principal had his arms crossed against his body, his lips pursed with an unamused expression.

'Oh boy. This is really gonna go south' Erika sweat dropped as she leaned her body back, staring at the two first year boys who challenged each other for revenge.

Shoyo squat his legs slightly and put his arms in front of his body, he kept his mind focused while he watched Tobio Kageyama take a deep breath and bounced the ball on the ground, regaining his focus.

"Get ready", the dark haired setter warned Shoyo. There was not much time for Shoyo Hinata to react as he watched how Tobio threw the ball into the air.

'Wait. He's doing a monster serve?' Erika asked herself internally, using a small nickname she used for jump and power serves. She used to do them in big games against the strongest teams to intimidate and throw off their games, there were very few libero's or even team layers who could even catch or stop hers when she was still able to play.

Tobio took a few steps forward before jumping into the air, bringing his arm backwards before he threw it forward with such force; the palm of his hand hit the volleyball and brought it to his competitors side of the court. This caused the short ginger haired boy to stumble on the side from surprise, his body fell to the ground as the ball bounced off the floor.

The ball bounced on the ground several times before the other high schoolers started to speak as soft gasps of surprise fell from their lips.

"Oh dang. Kageyama is getting serious", Erika's golden brown hues widened a bit seeing the power he held in the power serve. He was truly gifted in volleyball, that much was already obvious but seeing him in person and what he was truly capable of as a lone individual player brought her even more surprise.

Daichi stayed silent however, his expression once friendly and welcoming, then turned nervous and professional around the principal. But watching the two first years now disobey him, especially with the principal around, he now seemed more serious and firm.

Shoyo stayed silent as he was still on the floor, stunned and shocked from such a powerful serve he has never seen or played against before. Especially with the girls team from his school and the wives club.

"Pathetic. How's that different from last year?", Tobio asked, showing his distaste.

Shoyo clenched his teeth as his chocolate colored hues glared sharply at the setter, standing up from the ground as he held a determined expression on his face, sticking his heel to the ground firmly. "One more try", he requested, showing no nervousness nor hesitation in his eyes or voice.

"Okay! Now cut it out!", Daichi shouted, seeing that the new recruits for his volleyball club were not taking him or the situation they were in seriously.

"I see the new recruits have no respect for their captain", the vice principal's droopy voice and expression stared at the captain of the boys volleyball team with no sense of amusement and just judgment.

'This guy looks like a fucking whoopee cushion. His voice is so boring too' Erika looked at the vice principal while she also had her eyes on the two first year boys and their little dramatic challenge. 'I know the captain is gonna get an earful from this guy' she felt a bit bad for him honestly, he seemed like a good and honest captain and now two first years are putting him on the spot like this.

Tobio threw the ball into the air again and this time, he ran a few steps forward as he brought his arm back before throwing it forward again and used his hand with powerful force to smack the volleyball again. The ball went over the net to Shoyo's side of the court and using his speed, the ginger haired male ran to where the ball was going and positioned his arm for a receive.

This even surprised Tobio slightly as well as Sugawara and Tanaka as they let out a pair of soft gasps. Erika was surprised to see the speed and fast reflexes Shoyo possessed. He was clearly very athletic, any team that had him could have a very strong advantage once he polished his skillsets properly. Unfortunately Shoyo's short term victory mindset did not last long, instead once he attempted to receive the ball it bounced right off his forearms and against the side of his face and was flying into a less than ideal direction.

"If this keeps up-", as the vice principal was about to give Daichi an earful of a boring lecture or warning, the ball that Shoyo was supposed to stop with his receive; instead hit the Vice principal in the face on his chubby cheek causing his head to fall to the side rather violently. The toupee lost its grip on his bald head and flew in the air.

The high schoolers including Tobio, Shoyo and Erika watched the sight of the principal's wig flying in the air and eventually falling on Daichi's head. The silence was filled with fear but also strained efforts to hold back laughter.

"Oh. Man, that was a toupee?", Tobio asked curiously as he stepped forward to the chaotic sight he contributed to.

"You just now figured that out? I noticed it at the entrance ceremony", Shoyo replied to Tobio, holding back a few snickers despite also being guilty of the flying toupee incident that recently occurred.

"Oh boy, where is my phone when I need it the most?", Erika almost bursted out laughing as Tanaka could barely hold it any anymore.

"Shut up, Koume. It's not even that funny", Tanaka snickered, barely holding back his laughter before he and the blonde girl both failed to hold their laughter in.

Sugawara's face contorted into an expression of irritation and fear as he watched both the blonde girl and the buzzcut male laughing their asses off together. "You two shut up! We're in deep shit right now!", he shouted, failing to get the two to stop laughing as Tanaka fell to the ground on his knees while Erika started to clutched her sides.

Meanwhile Daichi's anger started to arise in the silence, his hand taken off the principal's shaggy dark colored wig.

"Captain, a word please", the principal turned his head back, a haunted expression of anger and displeasure falling among his face while Daichi turned his attention to him, his face holding an expression of anger and exasperation.

'Oh man we're so fucked' was the only thing Erika think as she overhead the conversation despite her laughing she wasn't able to stop in the moment, but honestly she didn't really care at the moment. The sight was too funny to not be laughing at.

After half an hour passed later, the captain of boys volleyball team returned to the gymnasium after seeming having the unavoidable earful from the vice principal, as well as also a punishment in store for the students witness and contribution to the team.

Erika stood by where the first year boys stood but a bit further, since she was a witness at the scene and laughed alongside Tanaka, she did feel quite nervous as she stood with a straight posture (but not in a position that would strain her knee) with her hands by her side. Hinata and Kageyama stood beside each other with their hands behind their back, Tanaka's hand in front of him while Sugawara had one on his hip and the other lazily laying down.

"Luckily we're not in trouble, he doesn't even want an apology", Daichi stood in front of the four boys, his arms folded in front of his body and he spoke firmly.

All four boys, including Erika herself let out a sigh of relief. "But we have been sworn to secrecy", Daichi mentioned lastly, Erika hid a snicker that almost fell from her lips. 'Sure, like you're gonna get that from me when I tell my mom and sisters about this' she thought to herself, since there was never a day she missed telling them a funny story about school, her team, practice or her friends.

Tobio and Shoyo grumbled as they glared at each other. 'Looks like this cat fight is not over' Erika sweat dropped. Normally if this was her own team she would drag them out and lecture them and eventually help them solve their problems but this wasn't her own team and she wasn't one for teamwork that much anymore.

"And as for you two", Daichi started to lecture the two first year boys whose flaming rivalry was still burning hot and now the fanning flames would burn this team down.

"If you had handled the serve, it wouldn't have happened in the first place", Tobio lectured Shoyo, showing his clear distaste and dissatisfaction for his poor skills in his favorite sport. "You're the same klutz you were last year, I can't believe I thought you'd be a challenge", he scoffed, it didn't even make it any better that he played against this fool and made a fool of himself in front of the legendary Ms. Nationals.

"You don't know when to quit, do you?", Shoyo barked back at him, showing her was holding no punches back at his nemesis.

Erika sighed in annoyance, showing that this argument and rivalry was getting boring and tiresome.

"Can it!", Daichi finally rose his voice after long enough, causing the two first boys to quiet down their argument and turn their attention to their captain. Erika sighed softly in relief hearing the two boys finally stop their pointless arguing 'thank you captain' she internally spoke to herself. However, Sugawara and Tanaka's expressions seemed terrified that Daichi seemed to reach his limit.

"There's something I want to tell you. I don't know what your reasons were for choosing to come to this high school, but I assume you came to win", Daichi asked the rowdy problematic pair.

"Yeah!", Shoyo answered honestly.

"Yes, obviously", Tobio answered, his voice toned down a bit more.

"Up until a few years ago, Karasuno's volleyball team could compete with the best of them. They even made it to Nationals once. But these days, we're eighth in the prefecture; not terrible but not good either, and people talk. They call us the "wingless crows"", Daichi explained to the two boys. Erika remembered at one point a few people talking about Karasuno, a few with neutral opinions but others derogatory. She heard the nickname once, she found it quite tasteless honestly.

As she heard the captain of the boys volleyball team speak about an experience, she remembered a day once where she watched the player known as the "Tiny Giant" play in the gymnasium. He was short but he showed exceptional skills. Her mother, Rina Shiroko, was even once good friends with him. She had shown exceptional pride when she saw him play in Nationals.

Seeing the pride and determination to reach Nationals once again, the blonde haired girl could tell that Daichi took his team very seriously. He wanted his team to experience victory once again, even the others agreed. They wanted to be on the victorious court where they compete with the best of warriors and the symbols of the entire nation of Japan.

"The nationals huh? Plenty of high schools talk about making it there one day, doesn't mean they'll go", Tobio, showing a rather cynical but somewhat more realistic side to their captains views, debated.

Erika sweat dropped, "Dude, not the right time", she sighed in disappointment.

"What? You little-!", Tanaka almost shouted at Tobio hearing his blunt statement and how he seemingly disrespected their captains "ambition" seeing it as only a faraway dream and goal.

"I know what you mean", Daichi responded calmly but his expression was plain, "but I'm dead serious". His response caused Kageyama's face to stiffen, showing his annoyance at his dead seriousness to reach nationals, as it were only a fairytale wish if they didn't take it seriously.

"That means if we wanna get there, that means we need to be a cohesive unit. That means no more run ins with the VP for one thing", the captain stepped forward and in contrast, the second year buzzcut male and the silver haired third year male stepped away. Their faces straining in fear as they knew was coming forward to the first year boys.

'If they're scared, I don't even wanna know what happens next' Erika sweat dropped at the thought of what could happen next.

"It's not like I'm telling you to be best friends or anything like that. I know in middle school you two might have been adversaries on opposites sides of the net, but let me be clear; you're on one side now and you need to make peace with that. Is that clear?", seeing how his facial expressions could switch from friendly and kind to this terrifying man with power to make even a grown man tremble, the first year boys shivered in fear.

'Oh boy. Thank god I'm not in their shoes' even though Erika was not the one facing his anger, she was sure feeling herself shake a bit. Making Daichi angry was sure not on her to do list and was now a permanent warning to her.

"I don't care how good you are", Daichi placed his hand on Tobio's shoulder, "Or how determined you are to play hard", he put his hand on Shoyo's shoulder next. "Anyone who lets a petty rivalry get in the way of the teams success", showing his point, he slammed the application form on each boys head as he pushed them out of the gymnasium entrance. "Gets the boot! You two are banned from participating in club activities until you two learn to think of yourselves as teammates!", with his punishment set in mind and having enough of their childish rivalry, Daichi locked both Tobio Kageyama and Shoyo Hinata out of the gym, closing the door in front of them.

There was only silence after the door closed. It took a moment or so until the reality hit both quarreling first years. Erika could hear the shouts of surprise and desperation.

The first bit of the conversation was muffled a bit by the metal door until Erika could hear the begging and pleasing from Shoyo.

"Please let me in Captain! Please let me play volleyball with you! I'll find a way to get along with Kageyama I promise! Come on I'm really sorry I'll do anything!"

Erika felt kinda bad for Shoyo she couldn't lie, he was the one being provoked by Tobio but in all he did cause the Vice principals toupee to fall off but she's one to talk since she also did laugh alongside him and Tanaka after what happened.

Sugawara's expression softened in concern as he looked at the captain of the team and friend since they were first years. "Are you sure this is wise? I mean we need players, you can't build a team by threatening people to cooperate. That takes time", the silver haired setter told the captain of their team.

"I'm not one to talk but he does have a point", Erika straightened her posture as she put her hands behind her back. "But these guys are also a bit of a special case, a conflict like this can't be solved by means of arguing all the way through either, so maybe learning to work as teammates should do the trick, I don't know", the blonde haired girl continued speaking, not really sure what to do in the moment.

"Move you idiot!", Erika heard Tobio and she heard a small thud from outside; leaving her to assume that the setter pushed down the shorter male to the ground.

"I apologize! I won't pick anymore fights with him, please let me be on the team", Tobio apologized but his words didn't sound sincere but more desperate. It was proven true when Daichi peered through the door and gave the dark haired setter an intimidating glance.

Erika being curious stepped a bit further to hear their conversation. She didn't catch any word of what Tobio said but she noticed that Daichi seemed a bit less angry as he let out a light laughter.

"I wasn't expecting you to be that honest with me, hey well it's good enough for now", as soon as Daichi finished laughing he turned his attention to Tobio with a calm smile. "But you know, in volleyball it's against the rules to drop, carry or touch the ball twice in a row. In other words, this game is impossible to play alone", Daichi explained to Tobio, who's expression only soured further.

The captain being unconvinced by his apology but seemed to be in a bit of a better mood closed the doors in front of the boys.

Erika sighed as she leaned her back against the wall, making sure to put pressure on the knee that wasn't injured, she turned her attention to the captain of the boys volleyball team. "You're not planning on kicking them out permanently? I'm surprised", she admitted, shrugging a bit as her arms were folded across her chest while a neutral expression bored her face.

Daichi turned his attention to the blonde girl, he shook his head in response. "No, but the two need to carry their rivalry outside of the team so they don't destroy our unit", he sighed in exasperation, having a feeling that the two were going to create more chaos than two second years that were particularly known for the chaotic antics.

Erika had her eyes directed towards the door where she knew the two rivaling boys were sitting outside, contemplating their decision or arguing about being teammates. "Well, a rivalry like that sometimes takes time to cool down and learning to work together will have to come at their own pace. From what I can tell, Kageyama is naturally a perfectionist which is gonna annoy Hinata and Hinata is a bit green, it might take him time to fully learn every rule and move to volleyball which will annoy Kageyama. They're gonna have to find ways to work together on their own for now", the former volleyball champion shrugged her shoulders.

The three boys looked at Erika with eyes widened in surprise. "Whoa, you can tell that much about the two?", Sugawara chuckled as she asked the blonde haired girl.

"Well, I've worked with different team players with different personalities and playing styles for years so, I can get the gist pretty quickly", the blonde haired girl admitted.

Daichi chuckled softly, still being quite shocked at her experience in volleyball but starting her first year in high school. "Well, if it's not too much trouble. We could use the help of Ms. Nationals, I think you would be awesome for our team", the captain asked her, a friendly sincere smile crossing his expression.

Erika thought about it for a moment, she wasn't even able to play the game properly but she didn't mind helping out in anyway she can. "Well, I guess so. As said earlier I'll just work as an assistant manager, but maybe also a mini coach for you guys", a small smile crawled on her face.

"Oh that would be awesome! Now we have two beautiful managers of this club", Tanaka shouted enthusiastically, a wide smile crawled on his face.

Sugawara sighed softly in annoyance at Tanaka's antics, knowing exactly what the buzz cut male was thinking before he turned his attention to Erika. "We're happy to have you on the team. We need all the help we can get", a friendly chuckle came from silver haired third year setter.

Erika smiled softly in response, "Good. Now I hope you guys don't mind if I stay to watch you all play. I need to see you guys in action if I'm gonna help", a playful attitude came from her voice as she mentioned it.

Daichi smiled softly, she was quite warm and seemed to be really fun around. The captain nodded his head in response, "Of course. The others still need to come in but we'll just have to wait for now", he mentioned but accepted her offer. He couldn't lie that he was excited to have Ms. Nationals help them out.

✧⁺‧₊˚💫꒰ა♡໒꒱💫˚₊‧⁺✧⭐️✧⁺‧₊˚💫꒰ა♡໒꒱💫˚₊‧⁺✧

As time passed and Erika and the other plays of the boys team started to arrive, the fallen champion of volleyball sat at her seat. Her body leaned back as she watched the boys team of Karasuno (minus Tobio Kageyama and Shoyo Hinata due to being kicked out of the gymnasium), practice on the court.

A second year boy with short spilt brown hair names Kinoshita, was holding up a board for them to spike. A player named Ennoshita attempted to save the ball by diving to the ground but didn't make it in time.

"Tanaka! Follow through with your blocks!"

"Sure thing boss!"

Erika balanced her chin on the palm of her hand as she watched them play. It wasn't anything too exciting nor there was not much built solid foundation built on offense or defense, but they weren't completely hopeless.

Daichi Sawamura, the team captain had shown to have quite a bit of experience and seemed to really build himself up. He was one to keep his teammates in line and the most responsible of the team. Behind him as the second most responsible was Chikara Ennoshita, despite not being as bold in his disciplinary skills or commitment to volleyball, he was quite valuable to the team.

Koshi Sugawara was the official setter of the team and seemed to know his teammates quite well. Yes, it was the main job of a setter but this guy really seemed to take time in knowing his teammates and what kind of sets the spikers like.

Tanaka is reckless and rowdy, inside and outside of the court but his attack power and offense was definitely an asset to their team.

All the team players had a position and a role to play in the court and it was important to maintain it. If not, you could always find a different position to work for you, but sometimes only the players with the greatest strength and most promising skills can play on the court.

'Looks like we've got a bit of work. Hopefully with a bit more players on the team we can find new ways to improve ourselves. Not to mention there's no ace or libero present' Erika silently analyzed to herself as she sat on at her chair.

Suddenly the door opened and her curiosity caused her eyes to land on a beautiful girl with shoulder length raven hair, grey eyes with glasses and she was wearing a matching tracksuit of white with lilac accents and white sneakers.

'Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit' Erika could only think to herself as her heart pounded. This girl was too pretty to even be real, how was she so lucky even blessed by the presence of an ethereal being?

By the door, Tanaka dashed like lightning standing next to the dark haired girl. "Hey Kiyoko, thanks for all your hard work. Oh let me get that", the buzz cut male, attempting to be a gentleman offered to carry the bag.

"No thanks, I can carry it myself", Kiyoko politely declined his offer as she stepped inside the gymnasium.

"Okay then. You look super gorgeous today", Tanaka complimented the manager of the volleyball club, her expression still stoic as she walked away from the buzzcut male. Tanaka despite being ignored, could feel the grin getting wider on his face and his heart pounding even harder while Koshi Sugawara also held a giddy expression on his face as their beautiful manager walked into the gymnasium and closed the door in front of Tobio Kageyama and Shoyo Hinata.

"Oh Kiyoko, good you're here", Daichi exchanged a friendly smile at the club's manager and she turned her attention towards him. 'Kiyoko, that's such a pretty name' the blonde girl turned her attention to the captain and the manager talking to each other.

"This is Erika Koume, she's also known as Ms. Nationals in volleyball. She's looking to be the assistant manager for the club, are you fine with that?", Daichi asked her as he introduced the blonde haired girl sitting down, causing Kiyoko to turn her attention to her.

'She's so hot. What do I say to her? How do I talk? She's looking at me right now! Be cool! Be cool!' Erika felt her face become flustered as her attention was close on the beautiful girl looking at her, she was desperately trying her hardest to keep her composure. Kiyoko turned her attention back to the captain, nodding her head in response. "Yes, I'm fine with that", she answered honestly.

"Good, we can use all the help we can get", Daichi chuckled, the big smile never once fading from his features as he turned his attention to both of the managers (well, the one more than the other).

"Oh yeah! Now we have two beautiful managers!", Tanaka cheered as he excitedly threw his fist into the air.

"Tanaka! Stop acting like an idiot and get back to practice!"

"Y-Yes boss!"

As Daichi scolded the buzz cut haired second year, the third year manager started to walk up to the new comer sitting down. Erika could feel her heart beating erratically inside her chest, she watched how the girl with dark hair and a stoic expression stared at her with her soft framed stormy grey eyes.

'Oh my god! She's coming this way! Be cool! Be cool' Erika tried to desperately find the words to fall out of her lips, a simple hi or hello would be fine but nothing good enough could find it's way out.

"Hello, my name is Kiyoko Shimizu. I see you're the new manager here", a small friendly smile graced the stoic expression of the dark haired girl, she had her full attention on the blonde haired girl.

Erika nodded her head, a bit faster than she would've liked and answered quickly. "Yes I am, well more like half assistant manager and half coach to help the boys out here", she answered, letting out a small chuckle to hide her nervousness as she didn't want the manager to know that she was gay panicking right in front of her.

However, Kiyoko didn't really seem to notice at all as the smile stayed on her features, leaving the boys graced with the beauty of their managers. "Well then I'm glad to hear. We need more girls in this club", she chuckled softly in response until she realized something. "Wait, I'm sorry if this is rude of me to ask but what's your name?", Kiyoko asked the blonde girl.

"Oh it's Erika, Erika Koume. I'm a first year here, what about you?", she asked curiously.

"A third year. I've been a manger here since I was a first year as well", Kiyoko answered honestly.

"Oh really? That's pretty cool", Erika replied with a soft smile.

Kiyoko nodded in response while she silently analyzed the blonde girl sitting next to her. There was something very familiar about her but she didn't know what to say about her or if it was the right time to ask her yet.

✧⁺‧₊˚💫꒰ა♡໒꒱💫˚₊‧⁺✧⭐️✧⁺‧₊˚💫꒰ა♡໒꒱💫˚₊‧⁺✧

A whistle blared loudly for a long period, signally that time has passed and end of the day practice was over.

"Good work everybody!"

The boys of the Karasuno volleyball team were busy packing up and helping to clean up the gym. The boys were given a break as the managers handed them their water bottles and even idle chatting was included in their small end of the day break.

"You know what I bet those two goofballs are thinking right now? That if they can beat us, then they'll make the team, right?", Tanaka asked as he put his fist into the air, joking along with his teammate Koshi Sugawara.

"Yeah sure. But all they really have to do is cool off and prove to every body that they've learned their lesson", Sugawara responded to Tanaka, while Daichi stayed silent agreeing with his fellow teammate and good friend.

Erika snickered lightly as she caught wind of this conversation. "Easier said than done. Both have big egos and I doubt they want their pride to be hurt, so either teaming forcibly teaming up or constantly arguing are my two best bets", she responded to the silver haired third year male.

As if on perfect cue, a loud shout in unison announcing "Captain!", came from the other side of the gymnasium door.

'Oh dear god' Erika almost choked on her water as she took a sip. 'If those two are challenging the third and second years, I swear to god' the whole situation was already chaotic but seeing this happen right in front of her, it was pretty funny she had to admit.

With Tanaka opening the doors of the gymnasium he was surprised to see, Shoyo Hinata and Tobio Kageyama stood together, knowing that they were there the whole practice.

"We challenge you to a match!", the two spoke in sync, trying to match each others energy as they stared at the two third years and the second year in the building standing together.

Tanaka bursted out laughing watching the scene unfold, barely containing it as he clutched his abdomen and his upper half bending lower. "Guys, how psychic!

Erika being curiously, leaned her ear against the door as she and Kiyoko stared listening to the chaotic conversation together.

The two side eyed each other, mumbling a 'one, two' before they spoke in unison once again. "We'll prove that we can play together on the same team!", the two spoke in sync together again.

"This is gold! I can get used to having these clowns on the team!", the entertaining and amusing sight in front of Tanaka caused him to laugh even harder. This was just too hilarious.

"I think I heard a 'one, two'", Sugawara sweat dropped but he still found the sight of this in front of him amusing.

As Tanaka continued laughing, Erika couldn't help it either. She let out a few bits of laughter as she listened in on the drama. "How many times did they rehearse that?", she asked Kiyoko, laughing out loudly. The manager also let out a soft giggle as the blonde's laughter and energy was quite contagious, Tanaka, Sugawara, Kiyoko and Erika were laughing at the amusing attempt of Shoyo Hinata and Tobio Kageyama working together.

However, Daichi not being convinced stood his ground as his arms were folded over his chest and his expression stayed neutral. "And if you lose?", he asked, wanting to hear more of what the rivaling first years had to offer.

While Shoyo was stunned at the captains question, Tobio stayed serious. "Then you get to choose the penalty", he offered the captain.

The third year captain was now intrigued, quirking his brow and pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Club applications forms. Here's an idea", the brunet well built third year started to explain to the first years he temporarily suspended from the team. "We have two other first years joining the club soon. You'll play against them in a three on three match. We do this game every year with our new club members so we can get an idea of how they play"

With a better explanation of the captains words and instructions for their new match, Shoyo still had a question as he pointed to himself and Tobio Kageyama.

"But, if it's gonna be three on three, then who's our gonna be our third player?", the short height and statured ginger haired male asked curiously as he held his index finger in the air.

"Tanaka, you're with them. Make sure they behave, alright?", Daichi instructed the loud and often boisterous second year as he turned his head to face them.

"Awww man why me?", the buzz cut male rebutted quite poorly in a childish manner.

"Well, you seem to like them", Daichi replied with an expression of boredom and a low tone.

"Don't drag me into their mess", Tanaka attempted to get himself out of his club captains order, hearing this both Tobio and Shoyo's expressions turned blank in embarrassment.

Daichi turned his face away to the opposite side, a sigh of disappointment falling from his lips. "That's too bad, I was thinking you'd be the only one tough enough to keep these delinquents in line", the captain of the boys volleyball team attempted to egg on Tanaka, this seemed to be working but he was holding back.

Erika snickered, a light bulb lighting on top of her head. "Sorry to butt in and all, but Daichi-San is right Tanaka", the blonde haired girl walked up to the three boys standing at the entrance door as they turned her attention to her. "You know Tanaka, if the girls will be cheering for you in games. You can also tell them stories in your golden days on how you helped these two delinquent first years and how reliable you are to the team; I'm sure they'll love it", Erika spoke, putting her finger on her chin thoughtfully as she attempted to persuade the buzzcut third year.

Now the second year was really convinced, "Now I don't see why not! If it's our favorite Ms. Nationals says so!", Tanaka spoke proudly a goofy grin plastered on his face, stepping outside of the gymnasium; patting the shoulder of Shoyo. "Just stick with me little man", he assured his kouhai.

"Wow, she got him like that", Koshi Sugawara sweat dropped watching how Tanaka instantly changed his mind, hearing Erika's suggestion.

Daichi smirked inwardly and nearly showed it off. 'She's truly gonna be a great asset to the team' he thought to himself before he turned his attention back to the first years standing outside of the gymnasium.

"Anyway, here's the penalty if you lose. For the remainder of my time here at Karasuno, Kageyama cannot be the setter", Daichi announced the penalty he had in mind. This seemed to truly shock the dark haired setter as he was silenced. Even the famous Ms. Nationals was taken back by the strictness of the penalty but she couldn't blame the captain in all honesty. If Tobio Kageyama continued with his current attitude as the setter, it would cause the team a great downfall.

"Is that the only penalty we have, sir?", Shoyo asked the captain curiously.

"If the setter's aggressive, self-centered and driven by his own ego. The team can't win", as Daichi spoke those words, a prominent scowl plastered itself onto Kageyama's face. An agitated grumble rumbling in his mouth while his dark colored hues stared at the captain sourly.

Even if Erika was silent, she had to agree with the captain. She had a setter with a big ego on her team and it caused a great downfall, it's a dangerous gamble and you cannot always be willing to risk it even if the setter is talented.

"What? I'm not saying I'll reject your application to join, I'm sure you'll be well suited to a different position", Daichi noticed Tobio's glare and sour scowl but was unfazed.

Daichi's offer however egged Tobio's determination further, he gasped and retaliated, "No way! I am a setter!", Tobio Kageyama protested loudly, his features marked similarly to an angry barking dog.

"Then win the game. You're the one who thought he could win without help, right?", the captain asked, remembering the very words of overconfidence when the talented but perfectionist setter said when he tried to earn his chance to get back into the gymnasium.

Shoyo, being frustrated and a bit uncertain raised his hand. "Hey, um but what about me?", the short ginger haired male asked.

Daichi didn't really pay mind to the ginger haired boy's small conversation as he kept his composure with his arms crossed. "We play on Saturday", he confirmed to the two trouble maker boys he kicked out of the gymnasium.

"Shoyo! Be glad you're not getting penalized! You're already outside of the gym, that's penalty enough", Erika sighed in frustration as she called out to the short statured male. This caused him to sweat drop in return and fall silent.

"Don't worry, your awesome senpai is gonna show you the ropes-", as Tanaka was gonna assure the already restless first year, Sugawara managed to grab him from behind the collar of his black jacket and pulled him inside of the gymnasium.

Tanaka couldn't fight back much before Sugawara closed the door in front of the first years again, leaving with a faint "see ya!", leaving the first years all alone in a few moments of silence.

Kiyoko and Erika walked back into the center of the gymnasium, giving themselves a better place to be warm to shield from the cool spring air of April. Kiyoko scribbled a few words in her notebook as Erika slumped back down on her chair, letting her knee rest.

The third year manager noticed the knee brace wrapped around Erika's right knee and was curious but didn't want to pry into it yet, so for now she just kept quiet.

The two heard Sugawara and Tanaka speak and the two lifted their heads up, listening to the conversation attentively.

"Daichi. Aren't you being a little too harsh?", Sugawara asked, his voice softening slightly as he was concerned with his friends methods of discipline.

"He's right boss, you're acting a lot more strict than usual", Tanaka agreeing with the silver haired third year, asked his captain in return.

"I kind of agree captain. I gotta ask, what's your reason for doing this?", Erika asked curiously, wanting to know what the captain of the Karasuno's boys team was thinking right now in his decision.

Daichi stayed silent for a moment, hearing the questions of his friends he understood that he should at least tell them what he had planned in mind. "Well sort of", the brunet admitted. "You saw those two play last year. Think back", Daichi instructed before he started to explain in a bit more detail.

"Kageyama had exceptional talent for a middle schooler but now he's almost got nothing to show for it. If nothing changes, that lone wolf personality of his will hold him back in high school too. I don't want him dragging his team down", as Daichi explained, the others could understand where he was coming from. Even the blonde girl, she has worked with setters with different personalities before and even the most talented ones who are the worst in team work can end up being a pain in the ass to work with.

"The big difference now is, that he and Hinata are on the same team", as Daichi added, this added a bit more confusion to the two other players listening.

Tanaka turned his head to the side, quirking his brow at what the captain was suggesting. "Wait, Hinata? Uh yes, I guess that he's kind of a crazy ball of energy and agility", the buzz cut second year answered.

"Right. But he hasn't reached his potential", the captain continued explaining a bit further, "He's got incredible speed and quick reflexes, not to mention that jumping power. But he never played with a real setter before. Kageyama on the other hand, wants a spiker fast enough to hit the sets he makes", the brunet male continued speaking.

The fallen volleyball champion sweat dropped at remembering reading this an article. The title of the 'impossible royal sets' that he tried to make his teammates set for the court.

"Separately, their abilities are limited; but put them together and let them work on some combinations", suddenly with the captains declaration, not only could Sugawara and Tanaka feel it, but so could Erika. There was a power of determination, a gust of wind mixed with crow feathers showing the leadership where the captain stood. "Karasuno will have the perfect team. It's gonna be fantastic"

As she listened to him speak, he honestly made a lot of sense. Both Tobio Kageyama and Shoyo Hinata could have a lot of potential working together. Maybe if they learnt to work together before Saturday, they could create something together.

Erika's lips curled into a small smile, she was quite impressed with the captains way of thinking. As well as his strength and ambition, this guy had a strong presence about him, everything about him screamed leadership and strength in brawn, brains and skills for the team.

Suddenly as the boys of the team continued cleaning out the gym, Tanaka stood by the window and started to clear his throat rather loudly. "I forget, we start practice at seven a.m. tomorrow don't we?", the buzz cut second year asked the question, rather too obviously.

'What is he planning?' Erika thought to herself as the pieces of the puzzle started to come together. 'Oh, he's quite a clever bastard. But way to be kind of obvious' the blonde thought to herself.

"Uh yeah. Is that a problem?", Sugawara asked sassily, also catching onto something that the chaotic second year was thinking.

"Uh not at all. Anyway do you think the vice principals nappy rug made it out alive?", Tanaka asked, a wide grin playing on his face.

"We're not supposed to talk about that", Daichi spoke sternly, not only for discipline but the fact that the memory was still fresh in his mind. However, it didn't stop the blonde from almost releasing a laugh.

"Oh I wish I had my camera for that", Erika nearly bursted out laughing.

Leaning in, Kiyoko hushed her voice to discreetly speak Erika, "What happened with the vice principals toupee earlier?", she asked curiously, she wasn't one to join in the chaotic antics of the boys volleyball team but it didn't mean that she wasn't curious at times.

Erika let out a few snickers, "I'll tell you a bit later. We cannot say it on school grounds, we've been sworn to secrecy", she whispered back to the older third year.

"Then give me your number and you can tell me", the beautiful dark haired girl wearing glasses suggested with a small shrug and smile on her face.

Hearing the suggestion, Erika's heart started to pound wildly between the bone built shackles and bars in her ribcage. She stopped as best she could to stop herself from jumping up and down as she nodded her head, "Oh yeah, sounds good. Hold on a second", the blonde girl used this opportunity to hide the flush that started to color her cheeks in pink, reaching her hand to the pocket of her new school blazer and taking out her cellphone.

Erika handed her phone to the dark haired girl and turn, Kiyoko handed her phone number to Erika. The two girls exchanged their phone numbers as the boys of the Karasuno team continued cleaning up the gymnasium.

✧⁺‧₊˚💫꒰ა♡໒꒱💫˚₊‧⁺✧⭐️✧⁺‧₊˚💫꒰ა♡໒꒱💫˚₊‧⁺✧

The day ended and the night sky had a darker color, the stars were already sparkling in the sky. Erika knew that Rina and her sisters must be waiting for her to join for dinner.

The blonde girl pulled her phone from the blazer of her pocket as she slung the strap of her school backpack over her shoulder.

ERIKA:
Hi Rina. Sorry, I was supposed to text back but I ended up caught in practice! I became the assistant manager of the boys volleyball team!

RINA:
Hey Eri! That's awesome to hear! Just let me know next time if you're coming home late! We're having noodles for tonight since all of us are too lazy to cook!

ERIKA:
Sounds good I called an Uber five minutes ago, I'll be home as soon as possible! See ya!

RINA:
Bye! Love you too! See when you get home!

Erika smiled softly as she finished texting her adoptive mother and stuffed her phone back into her pocket before sitting at the bench outside of the school, patiently awaiting for the Uber to come and fetch her.

"Hey Ms. Nationals", she heard a masculine soft voice greet her, catching her off guard for a moment before she turned to her head and spotted Koshi Sugawara. The silver haired male smiled softly as he stood next to her.

"Oh hey Suga, didn't see there", Erika chuckled softly as she exchanged a friendly smile to the third year setter.

"You waiting for someone to pick you up?", he asked her being curious.

She nodded her head, "Yeah, just waiting for my ride so I'm just sitting here. Did you need something?", she asked him, sensing he wanted to talk about something.

Sugawara turned his head to face her, "Tanaka is definitely sneaking in Kageyama and Hinata into the gym tomorrow, you could sense it too couldn't you?", he asked the fallen volleyball champion.

Erika sweat dropped at the question but she answered regardless, "Yup. He was being quite honest, I wouldn't be surprised if Daichi found out and he crapped himself", she joked lightly but she couldn't blame him, Daichi was extremely scary when angry.

The joke make Sugawara laugh lightly, "You're not wrong. Daichi is scary when angry but he means well, that's why it's our number one rule in this club to never make him mad", he joked lightly along but Erika could tell that the third year really respected the captain with how he spoke about him and he held him in high regards.

"You gonna help Tanaka with Hinata and Kageyama tomorrow morning?", Erika asked the silver haired setter curiously.

Sugawara nodded his head in response, "Well I will be acting like a super secret agent so I know that will be fun but if Tanaka has to face Daichi, he's on his own", as the silver haired male spoke, a cheeky smile that deceived his baby face.

"You're a little shit, aren't you?", Erika snickered as she asked the third year who easily hid his chaotic nature with his sweet demeanor.

"Maybe", Sugawara chuckled, pouting his lips together innocently as he looked away.

As Erika rolled her eyes in response, she saw that her uber arrived and parked in front of the school gates. "You want to catch a ride home with me?", she asked him but he shook his head in response.

"Thanks but it's fine, I can walk home", he assured her, waving his hand in effort to thank her.

"Alright, see ya tomorrow. I've got to go, don't cause anymore trouble Suga", the blonde haired girl stood up calling the third year by the nickname that some of the other players referred to him as.

"See ya tomorrow and no promises", a innocent facade delicately painted on Sugawara's features as he walked on the roads, his hazel brown mixed colored eyes watched as she hopped into the seat of her limo as he started to follow the same path that he walked home.

In his mind, something told him that this year was gonna get more interesting for their team.

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QUESTION FOR CHAPTER:

WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK?

DO YOU GUYS PREFER LONGER OR SHORT CHAPTERS?

WHO IS YOUR OTP OR BROTP WITH ERIKA?👀

EXTRA NOTES ON THE CHAPTER (ANA RANTS):

-

Daichi: You not tell anyone about this? Not even a single soul about what happened today *talking about the toupee incident*

Erika: Sir, I promise I won't tell a soul!

Also Erika (when she gets home and when tells Kiyoko): Ya'll will not guess what happened today!

-

WATCH ME ACTUALLY WRITE THIS IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!

I KNOW IT WILL BE HILARIOUS AND CHAOTIC ASF!💀

I KNOW THERE'S NOT MUCH GOING ON HERE RIGHT NOW BUT HOPEFULLY THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS WILL GET MORE EXCITING!

ESPECIALLY WHEN ERIKA MEETS TSUKISHIMA AND YAMAGUCHI TOO!🤭

BUT THE FACT THIS FIC HIT 1K READS AND 100 VOTES!

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH OMG!🥹

I LOVE YOU GUYS MWAH MWAH!🥰🫶🏻❤️

SEE YOU GUYS IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!

BYE FOR NOW!

LEAVE A REVIEW (OF THE CHAPTER OR BOOK IN GENERAL) HERE:

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