Chapter 1
"Good practice, huh? See you guys tomorrow!" Hinata called happily to his seniors. The little orange-haired boy waved goodbye eagerly as he hurried off towards his own home. Tanaka and Nishinoya were left alone, and the two of them walked away, munching on rice balls as they discussed practice. Nishinoya beamed as he looked up at his friend.
"Hey, did you see that Rolling Thunder I pulled just before the first set ended?" he asked eagerly. "It was amazing, wasn't it? Hehe. I've been practicing it for weeks!"
Tanaka nodded eagerly. The libero's move had been pretty impressive. "Hai! It was amazing, Noya-kun!"
Nishinoya smirked, running a hand over his spiky hair and looking proud of himself. "And those two first years are really improving, eh? Hinata and Kageyama! We'll surely make it through prefecturals this time! Karasuno's time is arriving!"
Tanaka opened his mouth to speak, but he stopped when he heard gentle footsteps behind them. Nishinoya must have heard it as well, because both of them turned around at the same time. It was getting dark, but they could clearly see a girl standing behind them. Her wavy black hair was pulled into a cute side ponytail, and she was looking up at them with big eyes. She seemed stunned at having been caught.
Kawaii! Tanaka thought as soon as he saw her. The girl was adorable! She was wearing the Karasuno High uniform and as soon as they spotted her, she stared at them for a few moments before dropping into a sudden and low bow. Tanaka and Nishinoya looked at each other in surprise. "G-gomen'nasai!" the girl cried.
Tanaka grinned cheerfully at the girl. "Hey! We didn't notice you! Wow, you're so cute!" he said bluntly, with a grin. The girl straightened up slightly from her bow and looked at him with a red face. "Why are you apologizing, though?" he asked curiously.
"I… I was following you," she admitted. Her voice was so soft, it was barely audible.
"Following us?" Nishinoya looked shocked and he glanced at Tanaka with a grin. "Wow. We've never had a girl follow us before! Ne, Tanaka-kun, have you ever had a stalker? I've always wanted one! And this one's so cute!"
Tanaka frowned for a moment. "Wait. Which one of us are you stalking?" he asked, jerking a thumb between himself and Nishinoya. "Because this one's too short for you," he pointed out, hoping it would increase his chances.
Nishinoya looked offended. "Hey!"
The girl looked horrified and she shook her head quickly. "N-no! It's not like that! I'm not a stalker, I swear! I can explain! Please don't be angry!" she glanced at Tanaka and then looked back down at her feet. Nishinoya looked at his friend, who was smiling a little too eagerly and then nudged him subtly.
"Oye. Stop making that face. You're scaring her," he mumbled.
Tanaka blinked. "What face?"
"Your face, baka. Look at her. She's trembling. Hey, girl. Look, it's okay, don't be scared. What's your name?" Nishinoya asked her gently. Tanaka tried hard to make his face look a little friendlier as the girl slowly lifted her head up again.
"S-Saito Megumi."
"Megumi-chan!" Tanaka said, almost dreamily. "That's such a pretty name!"
"A-arigato, Tanaka-senpai," the girl mumbled. She looked at the tall senior, whose face broke out into an ecstatic grin at the sound of the word senpai. His cheeks had turned red in embarrassment, and Megumi blinked. He didn't look so scary now that he was blushing like a small boy. She straightened up a little more and cleared her throat nervously. "I… I'm sorry. I must be bothering you. I'll leave now!"
"No, wait!" Tanaka cried, as she turned to leave. "How do you know my name? And why were you following us, when you seem so scared?"
Megumi was hesitant. "Shoyou-kun told me that Tanaka-senpai is a really good person," she mumbled. "So… so I thought you wouldn't be too angry if I followed you until I got home. He-he said that you would help me if I asked, but I was too shy to ask, so I just… followed you," she admitted, embarrassed.
"Hmm. Hinata, eh? Is he in your class?" Nishinoya asked.
"H-hai. We sit next to each other," she explained.
Tanaka beamed. "Well, then! You should have just said so! There was no need to be so shy, I'm always willing to help out an adorable kouhai like you! Tell me what I can do for you!" he said eagerly. Megumi looked up at the smiling boy and felt a sense of relief. The tall boys was smiling down at her, and she suddenly felt safer in his presence. Megumi blushed and looked up at him shyly.
"You see, there's… there's this group of middle schoolers who usually bully me when I walk home alone," Megumi explained nervously. "And there's no other route to my place. So I told them that I was friends with you to scare them off. That's why I've been following you home all week."
Tanaka was shocked. "You've been following us all week? How come we never noticed?"
"You're being bullied by middle-schoolers?" Nishinoya asked. "Why?"
Megumi blinked and looked from one second year to another, unsure which question to answer first. She decided to go with Nishinoya and turned to look at the boy with the streak in his hair. Now that she was standing straight, she was actually an inch or so taller than him. "They were my kouhais in middle school. They're third years now. Once of them confessed to me a few months ago and I turned him down. Since then, the others have started bullying me. They even ripped my backpack last week."
Tanaka made a threatening face and a dark aura descended around him. "How dare those pesky middle-schoolers mess with my kouhai? Where are they? I'll rip them apart!" he cried, causing Megumi to flinch away from him. Nishinoya nodded, anger taking over his own features.
"That's right! Where are they?"
Megumi glanced back. "T-they ran away when they saw me talking to you."
Tanaka cooled down and then looked back down at Megumi, the pink tint returning to his cheeks. He grinned and placed a hand comfortingly on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Megumi-chan! You're too cute to be bullied! We senpais will protect you from now on! Don't hesitate to ask!"
Nishinoya grinned. "Hai! I'll show them my Rolling Thunder move!"
Megumi blinked and followed as the two boys pulled her in between them, and walked her all the way home while she blushed like a little girl. Hinata had been right. Tanaka-senpai might look scary, but he and Nishinoya-senpai were really nice people.
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"All right! Great practice, everyone! Don't be late to class!" Daichi called out as early morning practice ended. All the boys had gathered around in a circle after a particularly exhausting practice session. He was about to release them all, when Sugawara nudged him. Daichi blinked at his friend and suddenly seemed to remember. "Oh yeah- one more thing. This isn't really related to volleyball, but uh… I think one of you might have a stalker."
The boys all looked at each other. Eh?
"Yeah. Sugawara and I have noticed this first year girl hanging around outside after evening practices. She's often peeking in through the windows and sometimes she even follows us until the Foothill store after practice. Whoever she's following needs to deal with that. Unless she's a girlfriend. In which case you should really just invite her in. She might be of help to Shimizu-san."
Hinata perked up. "Do you mean Megumi-chan?"
Yamaguchi perked up. "Hey, I know her. She's that shy one that stutters whenever she speaks!"
Hinata nodded and looked at the second years. "Isn't she here for Tanaka-senpai? He and Nishinoya-senpai walk her home every day because she's being bullied by a bunch of middle-schoolers! It was my idea! I thought the sight of Tanaka-senpai would scare them away!"
Tsukishima raised an eyebrow. "She's being bullied by middle schoolers? What a wimp." He turned around and noticed Tanaka standing behind him, making a threatening face and releasing a dark, bubbling aura of anger.
"What did you say about Megumi-chan?" Tanaka asked threateningly, shoving his face in Tsukishima's while clenching his fists. Tsukishima merely looked slightly alarmed and moved away from the senior boy. Daichi chuckled, amused.
"Oh. So you two are protecting her, eh? Then it's not a problem. Okay. Meet back here at four o' clock, everyone!" Daichi called, as they all dispersed.
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"Ohayou, Megumi-chan!" Hinata greeted as he entered the classroom. The small dark-haired girl was already seated at her desk and she smiled as she saw Hinata take his seat beside her. Although she was a generally nervous and shy person, she felt at ease around the talkative boy. She smiled and greeted him.
"O hayou, Shoyou-kun! How was morning practice?" she asked.
"It was great. Oh- by the way, Daichi-senpai noticed that you keep peeking in our evening practices! He says that you should just come inside and watch! Maybe you can help Shimizu-senpai with her managing work!" Hinata said happily, while Megumi's cheeks flushed red. She hadn't realized that she would be caught while peeking during practice. She just loved watching Tanaka play.
Megumi bowed her head. "No, I don't want to be a bother! It's bad enough that I have to ask Tanaka-senpai and sometimes Nishinoya-senpai to walk me home everyday!"
"Eh? They don't mind! I'm sure they're happy to do it! They love acting like senpais!"
"… Shoyou-kun?"
"Hai?"
"Does… does Tanaka-senpai have a girlfriend?" Megumi asked nervously.
Hinata looked surprised and beamed. "No, I don't think so. Megumi-chan, do you have a crush on Tanaka-senpai?" he asked loudly. Megumi's eyes widened and she hurriedly gestured to him to keep quiet. Hinata nodded and put a finger over his lips. "Well? Do you?"
Megumi flushed and nodded. "He's… he's just so cool!"
"You should confess to him!"
"Really?" Megumi looked terrified. "But I don't know how to… will you help me, Shoyou-kun?"
Hinata beamed. "Of course!"
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The next day, Hinata caught up to Tanaka and Nishinoya while they were taking a break during practice. The orange-haired boy looked up at Tanaka with a grin. "Ne, Tanaka-senpai! Can I ask you something?" he questioned.
Tanaka grinned. "Ask away, my kouhai."
"If a girl was to confess to you, how would you want her to do it?"
Tanaka looked a little surprised, but he broke out into a smile and jumped up eagerly. His cheeks were pink. "Well! What an excellent question! I would like a love letter, of course!" he replied happily.
Hinata blinked. "Really? You wouldn't want her to do it in person?"
"No! Love letters are much more romantic! I can just picture it…" Tanaka trailed off, looking dreamily at the ceiling. "Her staying up all night and struggling to write something romantic for me; and then carefully putting it in an envelope; maybe with those pretty heart stickers or roses on it and writing my name on top! And then she would sneak into class, or practice, and hurriedly put the carefully-made letter in my bag, terrified that she would be caught… and I, unknowingly stumble upon the letter!" Tanaka grinned and pretended to open his bag and pull out an invisible letter. "Hmmm. Would you look at that. I wonder what this could possibly be?" he mused coolly, turning the imaginary envelope over.
Tsukishima raised an eyebrow. "Yes. An envelope with your name on it and hearts and roses all over. I wonder what it would possibly be…"
Tanaka grinned at Tsukishima, unaware that the blonde boy was coolly making fun of him. He continued to inspect the invisible envelope. "Well, let me just open it… ah! A letter! I wonder who it's from! Let's see what it says! Dear Tanaka-senpai! I have been admiring you for so long now. The sight of you makes my heart flutter! You are such a handsome and admirable person! Please accept my feelings!" Tanaka read out happily, unaware that the other boys, except for Hinata and Nishinoya, were sniggering at him.
Nishinoya blinked. "I think it would be nice if she gave you something along with the letter. Like, something she'd made herself."
Tanaka beamed. "Yes! Chocolate! I hope you enjoy the chocolate I made for you, senpai!"
Hinata beamed. "I got it! Arigatou, senpai!" he replied, before hurrying off in the other direction. Tanaka and Nishinoya blinked at each other, confused.
"I wonder why he even asked…"
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Hinata beamed eagerly as he entered class the next day. "So? Did you write it, did you write it?" he demanded eagerly. Megumi flushed and nodded, shyly pulling a small envelope out of her pocket. As requested, it was covered in small heart-shaped stickers and had Tanaka's name written neatly on it. Hinata took it and looked at it with awe.
"Sugoi! So this is what a love letter looks like! So pretty!"
"Careful, don't tear it!" Megumi cried, taking it back. "I got up at 6 am to decorate it. I didn't have any stickers so I had to steal them from my little sister. Do you think he'll like it, Shoyou-kun? I even brought the homemade chocolate!" she held up a small, neatly wrapped bar of chocolate.
"Looks great! He'll love it!" Shoyou cried. "Now all you need to do is sneak it into his bag!"
Megumi flushed. That was the part that was scaring her the most. She had never done anything like that before. How would she even get a hold of Tanaka's backpack? Hinata noticed her terrified look. "Don't worry, Megumi-chan! There'll be nobody in the second-year classroom during lunch so we can sneak in then and put it in his bag! I'll help you!"
Megumi nodded nervously. "A-arigato…"
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During lunch, Megumi was practically shaking with nerves. Hinata seemed confident as he led her down the hall, and the two of them stopped outside Tanaka's classroom. Megumi had never had the guts to step this far down the hall, where the seniors' classes were.
"Shh. There's Tanaka-senpai and Nishinoya-senpai!" Hinata whispered. They spotted the two second years leaving the classroom, carrying their lunchboxes with them. Hinata pulled Megumi down the hall and they quickly slipped into the empty second-year classroom. "I wonder which one is Tanaka-senpai's bag…" Hinata trailed off, looking around the classroom.
Megumi could feel her heart thumping. "Shoyou-kun, quickly! Somebody could come any minute!"
"Okay, I'm looking… oh! There it is! I think it's this one!" Hinata hurried over to a familiar looking backpack and opened it. Megumi followed him quickly, clutching the letter in her hands. "Wait, let me just check to be sure…" Hinata unzipped the backpack and looked inside, trying to spot something that belonged to Tanaka so that he could be sure it was his bag. He opened the front zip and pulled out what appeared to be a red PSP. "Hey! This is Tanaka-senpai's! It's his bag!" he replied cheerfully. "Hurry, put the letter in-"
"Oye!" a voice called out from the door, and both the first years froze. They whirled around and saw an unfamiliar second year girl glaring at them. "You two are first years, aren't you? What are you doing? You're not supposed to be here!"
Megumi felt her heart drop into her stomach in fear. Her hands trembled as she clutched the letter and the chocolate. The second year girl walked over to them, another boy following her. "What's that in your hand? Isn't that Tanaka-kun's PSP? Were you trying to steal it?"
Hinata laughed nervously. "Steal it? No, we were just… you see…"
"The little thieves!" the girl whirled around and pointed at the second year boy behind her. "Hideki, go get Tanaka-kun! We'll have to make him check his bag and see what else they stole! Hurry up! You two first years stay right here, you're not going anywhere!" the girl yelled.
Megumi trembled as tears pooled in her eyes. This was all going horribly, terribly, wrong! Hinata's eyes widened as he noticed the small girl beside him start to cry. He had no idea what to do. The second year was glaring at them as she waited for Tanaka to arrive. After a few moments of tense silence, Tanaka stormed into the classroom, a dark aura surrounding him.
"Who was trying to steal my PSP?" he roared.
Megumi couldn't take it anymore. She burst into choked sobs and tears flowed straight out of her eyes. She shoved the letter at Hinata and then ran out of the classroom as quickly as she could, stumbling down the corridor. She didn't even notice that Tanaka's eyes had softened at the sight of her and that he was calling after her worriedly.
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Tanaka left afternoon practice miserably, the letter still in his pocket. All the happiness and excitement that he had felt at being given a love letter by Megumi was gone when he realized that he had made her cry. He felt terrible and wondered if she would even speak to him.
"Looks like she's not here," Nishinoya commented, as they left practice and Megumi wasn't waiting for them as she usually was. Tanaka's head drooped. Nishinoya sighed and patted his friend on the back comfortingly. "Don't worry! You'll fix things with Megumi-chan! She took all the effort to write you that sweet letter, she must really like you!"
Tanaka nodded, feeling a little better. The two of them walked down the street towards home, when they saw what appeared to be a fight happening at the side of the street. Tanaka's eyes widened as he realized that it was Megumi; there were a group of tall middle-school boys surrounding her, trying to wrench her backpack from her hands. Megumi was in tears as she clutched her backpack to her chest.
"Oye!" Tanaka roared loudly. A pitch black aura had formed around him and he walked slowly towards the middle-school boys, making a terrifying face at them. All the boys froze at the sight of him. He moved forward and bent down to shove his face in the face of the middle school boy who had been trying to rip Megumi's bag. "Are you sure you want to do that? Are you ready to face my wrath?" he threatened.
The boys glanced at each other and hurried away, apologizing. Tanaka grinned and straightened his collar, pleased at the sight of them running for their lives. When he turned and looked at Megumi, she was trembling. "A-arigatou, Tanaka-senpai!" she cried, before throwing her arms around him.
Tanaka froze in shock as the small girl's arms went around his waist and she pressed her face into his chest. Nishinoya beamed and gave Tanaka a huge thumbs up, before quietly sneaking away. Tanaka's cheeks flushed red and he had to take a moment to calm himself down before he could gently wrap his arms around Megumi took. "Megumi-chan… it's okay! Don't cry, please!"
Megumi nodded, pulling away from him slowly and wiping her tears. "Gomen'nasai, Tanaka-senpai! I must be such a pain to you! I can't even take care of myself."
Tanaka flushed a little and then cleared his throat. He grinned down at Megumi cheerfully. "That's okay, Megumi-chan! If you let me, I'll always take care of you!" he promised.
Megumi blinked up at him. "R-really?"
"Hai! Eto, eh…" Tanaka laughed nervously. "I really liked your letter. I especially liked how you said that you felt I could protect you! So don't worry! I'll always protect you! No stupid bullies will come anywhere near my girlfriend!" he looked down and saw Megumi's cheeks flush red furiously. His own cheeks flushed as he noticed how cute she was.
"A-arigtao, Tanaka-senpai! I'll do my best to take care of you too!" she promised earnestly.
Tanaka grinned. "Good to know! Now come on; let's go home!"
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Megumi nervously waited outside the volleyball practice, as the players all came out. It was late in the evening. Nishinoya smiled and waved, as did Hinata and Sugawara. Most of them had gotten used to the little girl that waited outside, although it was a little difficult to accept that she waited there for Tanaka of all people.
Megumi quietly walked up the Tanaka and began walking beside him. He grinned down at her as he pulled his bag further up his shoulder. "Megumi-chan! I hope you weren't waiting for too long. Practice was a little longer than usual today."
Megumi shook her head. "That's all right. T-tomorrow's finally the tournament, right?"
Tanaka nodded. "Hmm. It is."
"You've been working really hard for this!" Megumi pointed out.
Tanaka paused for a moment. There was something eerily familiar about this scene. He grinned, but tried to keep his composure and nodded coolly, keeping a straight face. "Yeah. I know it's been really hard for you too!"
Megumi shook her head. "I haven't done anything! And you play so well, Tanaka-senpai, I love watching you. So, eto… I made you this! So you would have good luck tomorrow!" she nervously held out a small charm she had made herself and Tanaka beamed at the sight of it. He grinned and took the small charm, before grabbing Megumi and pulling her into his arms.
"It's perfect! How did you know?" he cried, nuzzling his face into her hair. Megumi flushed and pushed him away slightly, as his arms were too tight.
"Eh? Know what?"
Tanaka shook his head. "Nothing!" he replied happily, taking the charm and putting it into his pocket. He was busy trying to carefully put it into his pocket without bending it, when he felt a soft pressure on his cheek. He blinked and saw Megumi's face very close to his. Had she just…? Her cheeks were a furious red. "G-good luck!" Megumi squeaked, before hurrying to walk in front of him to hide her embarrassed face.
Tanaka grinned. He was ready for this tournament.
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A/N – This is a quick one that I wrote because I just LOVE that little scene in Episode 14 when Tanaka's imitating what it would be like to have a girlfriend. It was hilarious, but it made me feel bad for him as well!
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