Kori had known Akaashi Keiji for as long as she'd been alive. They were next door neighbors growing up in Tokyo and, as children of a similar age did, they became fast friends, even though she was a year younger than him. They used to play sports in the park for hours with one of Akaashi's friends from around the block, Bokuto Koutarou. Kori never minded playing in the dirt, and the other two hadn't minded playing with dolls "action figures" whenever the urge struck her. They raced against each other even though she always lost. It used to make her cross her arms and pout until Akaashi put his warm hand on top of her long, messy hair and ruffle it around. For some reason, that always made her feel better. She grew up as one of them, and when Bokuto suggested that they start playing volleyball in primary school, she quickly agreed. That's how the three of them fell in love with a game. Volleyball was a perfect sport for three little tykes. Akaashi was adept at setting. His observant eyes and precise hand-eye coordination was perfect for it. Bokuto like to jump and spike as hard as he could because he thought it made him look cool (it did). This was fitting as he had the most energy of the three friends. Kori was good at receiving. She was smaller than both of them, but had long limbs. She was very nimble and able to reach most of Bokuto's spikes. When middle school came, Akaashi and Bokuto joined the boys team, and Kori joined the girls. But she hated it. Volleyball wasn't the same without her friends, and she quit the team after a year despite being one of the most promising players. She would go to the boys' games and enjoy their enthusiasm for the sport if nothing else. In one grueling match, Akaashi slipped and sprained his ankle. Kori was across the court at his side treating his wound in a heartbeat regardless of their coach's annoyance. That's when she discovered her love for sports medicine. She wanted to learn as much as she could about conditioning, coaching, and preventing injuries, so that Akaashi never hurt himself ever again. The sprain was healed in 2 weeks, and Kori was at his side for every minute of his recovery. Bokuto liked to tease her about her unnatural obsession with Akaashi, but she would brush it off. They were best friends; he was her first friend.
When the time came, Akaashi and Bokuto decided to go to the same high school: Fukurodani Academy. They both joined the volleyball team. Kori went to every one of their games, and they always went for ice cream after either a success or failure. Kori couldn't wait to join them as a "mature high school student", and she studied so hard for Fukurodani's entrance exam, but it was all for naught.
In the final year of middle school, Kori's parents announced they would be moving to a small town in the Miyagi prefecture for her mother's job. It was a 3 hour train ride away from her friends and comfort zone. Her parents encouraged her to take as many high school entrance exams as she could. She only passed one, Karasuno High, because she believed there was no point in trying hard for something she didn't even want. When she told Akaashi of her unavoidable fate, her words were barely understandable from crying so hard. He didn't say much but put a calming hand on her head. He smiled sadly as he stroked her hair while she cried herself dry. Bokuto was another story. When Kori told him, he pounced on her immediately, clinging and pleading her not to go. In this instance, she patted his back comfortingly with a smile promising she would visit. The role reversal between the two was dizzying.
Kori left on a Tuesday. Both Bokuto and Akaashi skipped volleyball practice to help her move the final things into her parent's car. She took each of theirs hands into both of hers and squeezed, refusing to meet their gaze. In an instant, she was pulled into the tightest hug she'd ever received and probably will ever receive. They promised to text each other every day and skype at least once a week. To this day, they would swear to each other that there were no tears between them, but that was a blatant lie. As they drove off, Kori stared at them from the back seat with her tear-stained face pressed up against the glass. She was trying to etch their essence into her brain despite the promise that they would text and skype. This was the end of an era.
This led to her first depressing year at Karasuno High. She threw herself into her studies and spent all free time learning about human physiology and practicing volleyball with her parents despite them not knowing a damn thing about the sport. Somehow, the other students had learned of her love of sports medicine and attempted to recruit her as a coach into every sport available. She always refused. What was the damn point? Akaashi and Bokuto still texted her often, but the texts were more sparse than they had promised. Kori never pushed for more though, as she understood that they were very busy with high school and volleyball. She visited them once on a weekend, but they barely spent any time together due to their mandatory volleyball practices. There was never another visit after that.
Her first year at the new school seemed even worse than normal all thanks to an annoying boy in her class with even more annoying hair. He was loud and brash and flirted with every female he laid his eyes on. He also reminded her too much of Bokuto to make her comfortable, so she distanced herself from him and scoffed every time he made a loud, stupid remark, which was often. He didn't seem to like her attitude much either, judging by the way he liked to point out that girls shouldn't use such crass language or throw scathing remarks (Not that he said it using those exact words. They would be too hard for him to understand). Then for some reason, they began competing over test scores. A competition Kori always easily won as she only spent her time studying, and he seemed devoted to a sports team. Of which one, she didn't know or care.
Her whole first year at Karasuno was the same monotony it had always been. She felt like an empty shell of her old self. No one liked her, and she didn't like anybody. It was at the end of her first year when Akaashi finally said something about her behavior over one of their rare Skype sessions. "You should be a student coach." The thought hadn't seriously crossed her mind, though it sounded appealing only when Akaashi suggested it. "I don't know, Akaashi." "You like helping athletes, and you're already very knowledgeable about volleyball. It makes perfect sense. All you do is study, so you know quite a bit about sports medicine by now." He was right. He also thought he was being subtle, but Kori saw right past him. He was trying to get her to communicate with someone in other ways than through her textbooks and own bruised forearms. "I'll ask the guidance counselor," she agreed because it wasn't a bad idea. If she could get experience with training now, it'd make it that much easier to get into a good medical school later on. And that's how she ended up as the Assistant Coach for the boys volleyball team.
The first person of the team Kori met was one of the 2nd year boys, the setter. He had gleaming silver hair and a smile that could melt the coldest of hearts. And It sure did melt hers. She found herself laughing with Sugawara Koushi over the smallest of things. He was friendly and beautiful and a pleasure to be around. A single person had made her feel more comfortable in her own skin than she had felt all year. Next, she met the future captain, Sawamura Daichi. He was all jawline and dashing smiles and had an air of dependability that engulfed the girl into its comforting embrace. She decided that she liked him too. The three of them talked about what they envisioned as the direction of Karasuno's volleyball team. The team itself was neither strong nor weak, but it was comprised of outstanding players. Kori made it her personal goal to get Karasuno to the top of the food chain for Daichi and Sugawara's sake.
Now that she had others to play volleyball with, Kori spent most of her time at school doing just that. It had been at least a year since she got any good practice in, and it felt good to spike the ball every so often. Sometimes another boy would join in with their practice, too. He had little hair, intense eyes, and a loud personality. Kori couldn't tell if she hated him or loved him, but he reminded her of that annoying shorty in her class. It was nice when he came to practice because she got to try her hand at blocking. She wasn't very good at it as Tanaka Ryunosuke was very powerful, and she wasn't that strong of a jumper. Despite that, she enjoyed learning about all sorts of blocking techniques and the psychology behind them. She was also interested in learning the jump serve. She understood the logistics of it but was having a hard time getting her body to comply to the correct movements. After essentially not working out for a year, her body had become soft after losing a majority of its muscle tone. She expressed her body image issues with Sugawara, and he so kindly agreed to start a training regime with her.
Having friends was a nice but, unexpected treat. The 3 of them would say hello to her during their lunch period, and she would sport a smile to show them she acknowledged them. Other kids took this as a sign to approach her and strike up a conversation. The girls would compliment hair that was much too long, while the boys would ask advice on strength training. Gradually, she was escaping her shell, and by the time the beginning of her second year rolled around, Kori was actually having fun.
Kori knew that she had much future planning to do with the team's female manager, Shimizu Kiyoko. They were only connected by a thin thread of common acquaintances, but they soon became more than that. Kori found Kiyoko to be a reliable study partner and fantastic listener, though her advice giving left a lot to be desired. Men flocked to her like bees to honey, but Kori didn't mind one bit. Kori was by no means a stunning beauty, but sometimes the attention from horny teenage boys became stifling. Kiyoko was like the perfect women, everyone loved her, and Kori found her feelings vacillating somewhere between jealousy and admiration.
The new volleyball recruits were pretty cute. There was Hinata Shouyo, the most hyperactive, adorable bundle of joy that could ever exist. His optimism and determination made her heart soar. If there ever was a role model that she aspired to look up to, it would be Hinata. Despite this, he was in a constant feud with one of the other first years, Kageyama Tobio. Kageyama was a volleyball genius in every sense of the word, but sometimes Kori looked into his eyes and saw an empty head. That was endearing in its own right. He was maybe the most emotional of the bunch but was the worst at attempting to hide it. At least Hinata wore his heart on his sleeve. Kageyama tried to hide the whole damn shirt somewhere he hoped no one would find it, but it was still clearly sticking out of the dresser drawer despite his best efforts.
There was also Tsukishima Kei. This one was a lot better at hiding behind his height and an unsurmountable amount of snark. As much as he pretended not to care, she saw his eyes observing every little interaction and filing it away in his brain for later. Kori liked him the best of the 1st years and wanted to take him under her wing (even though he wouldn't fit being as massive as he is). He reminded her a lot of herself when she couldn't be bothered to give a damn about much of thing. Tsukishima's friend, Yamaguchi Tadashi, had also joined the volleyball team. His unassuming smile and willingness to support his friends never failed to make her smile. Kori saw how hard he was trying. It was obvious he was felt inferior to the other first years, so she liked to give him random compliments and watch his face flush with embarrassment.
A bit later, she had "met" Nishisnoya Yuu, the annoying boy with the annoying hair from her class. They both gawked at each other in disbelief that the other was standing there on the court. They pointed accusing fingers and sniped and eventually had to be pulled apart by Daichi and Sugawara. As much as she was annoyed by him and considered him her rival, Kori had to admit that he was a very talented libero. If she had continued playing volleyball competitively, she liked to think that she would have been a libero. It just became another reason for them to attempt to one-up each other. One day in a self-proclaimed "libero-off", they both dove for the same ball and ended up colliding faces. Both were mortified by the fact that their faces had touched, let alone their lips. Kori was pissed at him for the next month for stealing her first kiss, accidental or not.
As much of a pain as Nishinoya could be, his best friend, Asahi Azumane, was not. He was the definition of a "gentle giant". If Kori was more interested in dating, she would have been so overwhelmingly attracted to him. He was a perfect contradiction; a tall, strong body, but with the presence of a mouse. She daydreamed about what would happen if they ever went on a date to see a scary movie. He would probably cling to her like a frightened child. It was funny to think about.
Akaashi and Bokuto were the furthest thoughts from her mind. She was so busy with volleyball, and studying for classes, and sports medicine, and an attempt at a social life with her new friends. They only texted once a week, but it didn't take long for that to cease completely. She didn't even think about how it seemed like they had forgotten her as well, it never even crossed her mind because briefly she had forgotten about them.
Karasuno was improving. With assistance from herself and Coach Ukai, the team's strengths were finally being put to good use. They were even being asked to scrimmage against teams across the prefecture and were invited to a big training camp in Tokyo. Kori was excited to show off Karasuno's new strengths to those prissy city schools. It's funny how her opinion of Tokyo changed once she started spending more time with the Karasuno boys.
The gym at Shinzen High resounded with the smack of volleyballs hitting the floor, and it made a splitting smile appear on her face. It was refreshing to be surrounded by so many people with so much passion for this often overlooked sport. Kori loved how colorful the gym looked. There were teams in red and pink and green and blue. And that's when she saw them. Her 2 forgotten boys practicing their sets and spikes. Tears welled in her eyes as memories came rushing back to her. Eating ice cream together on the park bench in the middle of the night. Treating her sprained wrist when she dove for the ball and landed wrong. Laughing hysterically as Bokuto threw up after riding the merry-go-round. Going to summer festivals dressed up in their yukatas and eating enough takoyaki to get sick. Visiting Akaashi's grandma every day at the hospital and holding each other as they cried at her funeral. Feeling accomplished when they won a 3-on-3 match when they were grade schoolers.
Suddenly, Kori broke out into a mad sprint. She could distantly hear the questioning voices of her teammates, but she completely ignored them. The other teams noticed her and began to stare. She had almost reached them when they finally noticed her. The look of surprise on their faces were absolutely priceless. She dove at them arms extended and successfully tackled them to the recently polished floor. She was having trouble getting words to leave her mouth because not only was she still crying, but she was now winded as well. She didn't even care how high her shorts had ridden up because she was suddenly being embraced by strong arms. She cried and hiccupped into Akaashi's shoulder, which was getting his scrimmage jersey wet and disgusting. If everyone in the gym hadn't witnessed her flailing sprint, they definitely noticed what was going on now. A weird girl from Karasuno just tackled the captain and vice-captain of the strongest team in Tokyo. By that time, the Karasuno team had surrounded them and began questioning her and apologizing profusely. "I'm sorry," she choked. She didn't think what came out of her mouth were even words, but they must have understood because Akaashi began stroking her hair just the way she remembered it, and it still calmed her down like it used to. There was no "I missed you" or "It's great to see you again" because they had both dropped the ball on keeping a connection with each other. One of the boys, presumably Daichi, tried pulling her up from the ground, but her arms were wrapped so tightly around Bokuto that she was immovable. Once her emotions had died down, she sat back on her haunches still overtop the two, and she really analyzed their faces. Both of them had red and puffy eyes, mirroring her own. Bokuto's smile was so wide that she thought his face might split in half. It was so easy to read his face, it's like he was saying "Oo Kori, friend, missed, love, surprise, friend, love?, here, happy." She would file away that for later. Akaashi had a small smile on his face, but he was doing some observing and calculating of his own. She wondered what he saw. Did he see that she cut her once long hair into a stylish bob? Did she see that she was a little chubbier but much more mature than when she left them two years ago? Did he see that she stopped wearing large boys clothing and started wearing clothes that fit and flattered her? And what inferences did he draw from those observations?
Kori wiped her tears with her wrist and stood up, offering them both a hand, which they both took to help themselves to their feet. At this point, the other teams had stopped blatantly staring, but Karasuno was still surrounding them, confused about the entire exchange. "Um, Kori?" Daichi was looking for an explanation. She sniffled up the snot that was threatening to escape her nose and threw her arms over Bokuto and Akaashi's shoulders. They had grown a lot taller, and she was standing on her tip toes just to be able to do it. "Oh sorry. Let me introduce you. Karasuno, these are my boys." It felt as easy to say as it did when the nickname was more true. "And Karasuno, this is our girl." She cried just a little bit more at the nickname she'd never heard before.