A/N: This is my first Haikyuu story, so I hope you guys like it! Please read and review what you think!

Chapter 1 - Empty Promises

~X~

December

"You fucked up big time, brother" Keishin Ukai sighed as he looked at his brother across from him. He remembered when they were younger, how everything had seemed so normal with him. Kozou had always been an extrovert, befriending everyone and anyone that was around him. He used to smile all the time, just out of sheer instinct that in the end everything would turn out alright. Kozou wasn't smiling now, because there was a glass separating him from the only family member that would visit him in prison.

"I know" Kozou felt like the world had turned bleaker in the last week or so, maybe it had something to do with his new abode being made out of grey concrete. He felt like an empty shell, someone had ripped the very being of 'Kozou Ukai' out of him and felt the meatsuit in this sad hole of a confinement.

"How could you do this?! To mom and dad, to me.. to her!" Keishin was pissed at many things, not only this situation with his brother behind bars. He was mad that how the world kept screwing up for his former idol, and how their own father hadn't been there for him. Kozou had apparently gotten a letter from their grandfather, saying that he was disappointed and that he wasn't surprised. That letter had been burnt later that same day, but the words still lingered in his head.

"You would never understand" Kozou sighed and closed his eyes. There was no remedy for him, not in this life at least. He would sit in his square until he had learned his lesson.

"You're right. I will never understand you" Keishin grunted, he wanted to lit a cigarette but he couldn't. His nicotine addiction had become greater ever since the court had ruled guilty of all charges.

"Is she alright?" Kozou asked, he had wanted to see her. Just one last time so that he could say 'I love you' with dignity. She was his only humanity left.

"Yeah let's see here.. Her bitch of a mother left when she was born, her father is now in prison and she is now forced to move into my custody several miles away from her home and friends. She is fucking amazing" Keishin stated, it was like his mind had turned into a volcano and lava was pouring out of his mouth.

"Stop with the potty mouth" Kozou muttered as he lowered his head in shame.

"I can swear as much as I want to when I'm around you" Keishin argued and almost slammed the phone that was the only means of the two of them hearing each other.

"Just.. Just take care of her. Promise that you will do a better job than me" Kozou pleaded, tears were now falling down his already wet cheeks. He wanted to die, but he wouldn't. Not until he saw his baby girl one last time, not until he talked to her, explained everything. Not until then would he consider ending himself as an option of escape from this hell.

"I promise" Keishin was crying too, not as much as his once former idol. But he was for once more sad about the situation than mad. He would do the right thing.

~X~

April

First Day of School

Suzu Ukai was a quiet girl. She didn't like the spotlight, in fact she didn't like attention at all. She just followed the stream, forever wanting to be labeled 'one of many' instead of 'one of a kind'. Alas the universe didn't listen to her wishes, her whole life took turn after turn down the wrong path, the path that was full of staring eyes and judgemental mouths.

"Are you alright kid?" Her uncle asked as they sat by the small table in their kitchen. He had been concerned over her callus non-speaking faze ever since she was escorted to his front door by the social workers. Suzu didn't seem interested in anything, making the whole situation of being the guardian over a teenage girl even more difficult. He had even bought a piano for her, because she used to play a lot when she was younger. But she hadn't even touched it.

"Sure" Suzu said and poked around her cereal. It had turned soggy, which made it harder for her to eat. She had felt this knot in her stomach ever since she woke up this morning, it was a knot that gave her anxiety and she felt it in every breath that she took and the bites that she swallowed. Suddenly, she wasn't so hungry anymore.

"Do you need anything? A pen? Some lunch, you can take anything you want from the store" Keishin said with a smile. She looked so much older now, he remembered her being a young little girl with a smile that could rival the shining sun, running around the neighborhood and playing with some kids her age. There were no traces of that smiling little girl in the teenager across from him.

"I've already packed my lunch, but thanks anyways" Suzu muttered and stood up from the breakfast table, she took her bowl of soggy cereal and threw it in a trashcan and then left the bowl in the sink. She walked towards the hallway and stopped in front of a mirror, checking herself out to make sure that her uniform looked alright.

"Just… Have a good first day Suzu" Keishin stood in the hallway too, and even hugged her to say goodbye. She was his niece, even if she didn't talk to him that much lately, she was his niece and she would be alright.

"I promise" She mumbled into his shoulder, happy that she had her uncle in her life.

~X~

After checking her class placement and almost falling asleep during the opening ceremony, Suzu was finally in her classroom of 3 - 3. She so far liked her new school, it was much smaller than her previous one in Tokyo and she liked the scenery of the countryside. Though she was nervous, she felt like a new start would be the best for her away from the prying eyes of the big city.

"Please take your seats, we will now begin the attendants list. When I speak your name, raise your hand and say 'here'" The teacher was an old crow that seemed very cut throat. When she spoke, everyone in class listened and they had only been in class for about 5 minutes total. She started to say names of her list, with each one called out a hand was being raised.

"Ukai Suzu" The crow looked up from her list to scan the crowd of teenagers, in no doubt wondering to whom the next generation of the Ukai name belonged to.

"Here" The girl raised her hand like the others and the crow seemed to smirk, as if seeing someone else in Suzu's chair, before going back to saying more names.

"Everyone seems to be here, please come forward and get your textbooks" The first lesson of the day was math, something that Suzu wasn't the best at. She had a really hard time with numbers, and even more so with the whispers going around in the classroom while they started to work after the crow's instructions.

"Is it really her?"

"Yeah, that's the girl whose father did that robbery in Tokyo"

"It was all over the news! He looked so scary"

"Totally, and she is probably just like him. An outsider.."

"Such a freak, who even wears stuff like that?"

"Purple hair? Such a wannabe goth"

"Weirdo"

"Awesome" Suzu muttered as she started to stare at her textbook and paper in front of her on her desk. So much for a new start. The day continued in similar fashion, with each new lesson, new whispers floated around the room. The crow didn't seem to care about it, as she didn't tell any student off. At the end of the day, as Suzu was about to change into her normal shoes, she noticed that the shoes in her locker were missing. On the first damn day. Sinking into a crouching position, the teenager felt too tired and hopeless to get back up again.

"Hey, are you alright?" A boy's voice said behind her, looking over her shoulder, Suzu caught a glimpse of blonde hair and glasses.

"Sure" Suzu muttered as she looked away from him, she just wanted to wallow in self pity for a while before going home in only her socks.

"Hmm.. I think I saw some girls throw shoes off the roof before.." The blonde said as he placed Suzu's shoes back into her locker.

"Thanks" Suzu said and stood up, as she put on her shoes she realised that the guy was still standing there. Waiting on her to be ready to go home.

"No need to listen to them, they are insignificant, since they don't know you" He said and started to walk out of the school building, Suzu right behind him. Together they started to walk down the mountain on which the school was located with only silence between them.

"I'm Tsukishima Kei" He said after a while, he looked down on the girl to his left. She was so average one would get, if you looked passed the purple hair of course. She pretty cute, about average height, curvy and she had dark eyes.

"Ukai Suzu" She said, her voice low and callus. Like she didn't want to put energy into speaking with feeling, he could relate to that.

"Like the former volleyball coach?" He asked, Suzu just grabbed the strap of her shoulder bag tighter.

"I guess so, haven't seen him since I was little" She said and looked straight ahead instead of him.

"Cool hair" He then said, trying to keep the conversation alive. He didn't even know why he did it, but it felt like the right thing to do. Also, Yamaguchi had gone home already. So why not try to be a bit social to a girl that probably had a shitty first day at school.

"Thanks, cool headphones" Suzu said and looked up at him. She even smiled, but it looked more of a smirk than anything else.

"Yeah" He muttered and subconsciously touched the them around his neck. The teenagers then talked about music all the way down towards the town, when suddenly Suzu stopped by her uncle's convenience store.

"This is me" She said and pointed at the building. Tsukki just nodded and walked behind her as she walked inside, she turned around and raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm going inside to buy stuff, not follow you like a creep" He grunted, which made Suzu roll her eyes. Maybe starting over wasn't just all things suddenly being amazing, but rather finding some happiness and tranquility in the not so amazing road up ahead.