I've been working on this for a while, I promised myself I'd only write three stories at a time and at different intervals. I'll upload the rest of the chapters of this to see if you guys like it, please leaves reviews. Updates for all my stories are all random, depends which one I have inspiration to write for at the time. Overall I try to update them all at least once a month.
Kagehoshi (影星): shadow/silhouette star
Amagawa (天川): heaven river
Edited: 22/12/2017
A girl with short messy curly black hair, grey eyes, and tan skin lays her head back against her desk chair after finishing the second to last section of her textbook. The high school entrance exams are coming up and although the passing score required for the school she is applying to isn't very high she wants to give it her best to get into the college preparatory courses. She sighs, her brother is giving her no choice but to go to Karasuno. With the help of Coach Ukai her brother managed to quickly get guardianship over her after their parents death. He doesn't even live with her nor does she ever see him since he's always practicing for his next volleyball game but he is her support. So she is willing to give into his wish. However, her goal is to graduate at the top of her class and get a scholarship to a university of her choice.
Her phone rings and the little green dragon charm on her phone flashes, seeing the caller ID she accepts the call reluctantly. "KAGEHOSHI~ IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I'VE HEARD YOUR VOICE."
The yell pushes her off of her seat because of how loud it is. Her eyebrow twitches, "IDIOT BROTHER I TALKED TO YOU LAST WEEK."
"Ho, ho, ho~ right as always little sister."
The ravenette sighs, "What do you want? Don't you have practice?" She successfully keeps the bitter tone out of her voice.
"Mouuuu~ you're so mean to your big brother! Can't I just hear my cute little sister's voice?"
"No," she deadpans.
She can hear him sigh dramatically, "You're so cold to me but, ah, I did have something to tell you. Coach Ukai was hospitalized recently so he just contacted me about your living arrangements for when you go to Karasuno. He managed to umm...convince his grandson Keishin-san to take you in as long as you help out at the Sakanoshita Store."
"Okay," she drawls, "So who's going to pick me up or do I have to take the train with all my stuff?"
"Ah...well, I would go but I have practice, maybe next time little sister," she rolls her eyes knowing fully well that she won't see him any time soon. "Keishin-san will go to Tokyo the day before school starts and help you carry your things to his car. Coach Ukai won't be out of the hospital for a while."
"You told Ukai-san I'm not using dad's last name, right?"
"Yes, yes. I'll call Karasuno too. As soon as you get your acceptance letter just send me a text when you receive it. Well, I've gotta go Kagehoshi coach is calling, don't study too hard and good luck!~" The line goes dead.
"Bye Little Giant," she says mockingly while looking at her phone.
She can remember a time when she enjoyed volleyball just as much as her brother did, when she dedicated so many hours to it. Although her skills were on a much higher standard than his were at her age because he and his teammates at Karasuno taught her. Their parents constantly traveled, so her brother always brought her to his practices after picking her up from elementary school because he didn't want her to be home alone. Over a short amount of time, the team grew fond of her and when Kagehoshi expressed her own interest for volleyball they happily taught her.
She was the ace of Amemaru Middle School Girl's team during her second year. Skilled as a spiker, blocker, libero, and setter they gave her the nickname "The True Ace" because of her variety of skills. Her junior high team was a strange bunch, each of them were above average at more than one position but it was Kagehoshi who could do the most positions. None of them really had anything exceptional like a jump float serve or a high powered spike. Kagehoshi's "special" thing was her jumping ability which she needed to make up for her lack of height. They weren't geniuses by any means, but they worked hard together on perfecting the basics. Their teamwork was unlike any other, a well oiled machine. The team managed to go far into the Junior-High Competition despite being a relatively new club. They got some media coverage for that but weren't famous like Kitagawa Daiichi's Boys' team, more locally known.
Between the Junior-High and Spring Junior-Tokyo Tournaments, Kagehoshi's love for volleyball vanished. She abruptly quit the volleyball team and transferred to a junior high far from Miyagi, in Tokyo. Her brother didn't fight her on her decision, knowing that it would cause a bigger rift between them.
Therefore, going to Karasuno for high school, where it had all started, isn't something Kagehoshi really wants to do. She knows that by making her go to Karasuno her brother is hoping her love for volleyball will be reignited. "Tch," she places in some bright orange Sony earbuds in her ears before continuing with her studies.
Kagehoshi graduates junior high. She took to being a wallflower for the remainder of junior high so she doesn't have any friends. Therefore, there was no grand celebration with family or friends for her, just a simple call of congratulations from her brother. Kagehoshi gets a letter congratulating her on her admittance to Karasuno and telling her she is in class 1-5. Currently, she is waiting for the grandson of her big brother's high school coach to come.
She opens the door when it rings and in front of her there is a decently tall man with dyed blonde hair held back by a headband. Her first thought is that he looks a lot like Coach Ukai did. "Ahh you must be Keishin-san. Nice to meet you, I'm Amagawa Kagehoshi. Please call me Kagehoshi. Thank you very much for your help and hospitality," she bows politely. She prefers it when people call her Kagehoshi, when people refer to her as Amagawa she feels like a fake, a liar. Her mother's last name lost its fame over the years and she knows that in Karasuno if one person remembered her brother's name they would know who she is.
He rubs the back of his head in bashfulness, "Ehh don't worry about it. We'll be living together, so call me Keishin."
A smile, something she hasn't done in a while, blooms on her face, "Alright then Keishin." He seems taken aback for a moment before smiling too.
For the next week, she spends the mornings eating breakfast then getting changed into her uniform consisting of a white blouse, red ribbon, cream sweater, black blazer, and a grey skirt with black socks and loafers. At school, she spends breaks and lunch in the classroom with her orange Sony earbuds on, not bothering to make friends. She isn't all that hungry around lunch time but Keishin always packs her lunch so she eats it anyways. After school, she goes on a run then showers and finishes her homework before going to Sakanoshita to help out. It's a routine she neither likes nor dislikes. Keishin doesn't say but he's worried that she hasn't made any friend yet. Kagehoshi doesn't really care though, she'd rather focus on her studies and she has a low aura so no one in her class has noticed her anyways.
On Saturday morning, she wakes up earlier than Keishin and decides to practice. She has no passion for volleyball anymore but years of playing and conditioning makes her feel obligated to maintain her skills. She finishes stretching then moves on to running laps. Keishin walks out with a white t-shirt and red plaid pajama pants on while she is using the wall of the tool shed to practice her aim.
"Whoa, you any good? Thinking of joining the team at Karasuno?"
Grey eyes turn to look at him, "I'm alright I guess and I don't like playing volleyball...I'm just too used to it now."
Keishin shrugs, he doesn't know her that well so it's not his place to intrude. Though he can't imagine why someone wouldn't like volleyball. "Well go on up and take a shower while I cook us some breakfast. Today I'm going to show you how to make some things we sell at the store." She nods before running up the stairs.
Later at the store, Kagehoshi is manning the cash register when the doors slide open and a guy a little shorter than Keishin comes up to her. He has a handsome face with dark hair and eyes.
"U-Um...Excuse me, where is somebody that can take my order?"
She immediately scowls, forgetting about his good looks. She knows that her height of 5 feet is probably causing him to mistake her age. And honestly, she is standing behind the register! Keishin comes from the back, senses her dark aura and can see where the young man went wrong. He decides to save the poor soul.
"How many buns do you want this time?" He says lazily.
"Ah, Keishin-san, I need five."
Kagehoshi takes this time to excuse herself, pointedly ignoring the guy while sending angry waves at him. A nervous sweat drop falls down his face as he rubs the back of his neck, "Haha...I said something I shouldn't have didn't I?"
Keishin nods with a serious expression as he hands him the pork buns. A few minutes later, he goes to yell at the volleyball team for causing a ruckus. Kagehoshi stiffens at the term "volleyball club." She feels slightly stupid for not realizing that the guy who entered the store earlier is a volleyball player, he has the jacket on and they haven't exactly changed over the years. She shrugs it off, ignoring them will be best and that's exactly what she does when the team decides to sit in the store to discuss their upcoming practice match. She's good at making herself unnoticable and they are too focused to notice her anyways.
Kagehoshi is in the back, she has just finished cooking a batch of buns she started earlier when she saw they were running out. She hears Keishin loudly ask, "Chinese buns? The soccer club bought out the last of it. We're not making anymore."
She walks out with a tray of steaming buns and sees an orange-haired boy who's a good four inches taller than her yell, "I'm hungry!"
Another guy with a shaved head pumps his fist angrily, "What a lazy clerk!"
"Shut up. Go home and eat a proper meal, you won't get muscles if you don't," he tells them angrily. She can see that as soon as he turns his back on them he is starting to feel guilty.
"Keishin, I just finished this batch of buns. There's enough Chinese buns for them."
She quickly leaves the buns with him before the volleyball club members can see her. She hears Keishin saying, "Here," and knowing him he probably throws the buns at them. He reminds them to eat a proper meal. From the kitchen, Kagehoshi shakes her head in amusement. Keishin really is just a big softie. The phone rings but Kagehoshi decides not to listen in so she places her orange earbuds in her ears to start cleaning up. They are about to close for the day.
Kagehoshi is in the kitchen, again, making more buns for the sports teams that will be coming after practice when she hears a voice in the shop. "I know I'm being stubborn, but I'm begging you. I'm inexperienced and pathetically inadequate. But those boys have wonderful potential. Please be their coach Ukai-san."
"You sure are persistent Sensei."
"That's the only thing I'm good at."
"Being tenacious won't get me to coach them. My granddad was a coach but I'm not cut out for it." He sighs, "Sensei, I know you want a technical instructor but what you're really after is the illustrious name of Ukai."
"Frankly there is that too. Ever since Coach Ukai retired our school gradually fell behind other schools. This year I was hired to fill the hole he had left but I can't even get other schools to agree to practice matches."
"You think my illustrious last name would change that?"
"I implore you, Ukai-san."
"I refuse. I acknowledge your commitment but I don't want to babysit a bunch of pesky high schoolers. I've already got my hands full with one in my care and she's not even hard to handle."
"...I see, I'll be back."
Keishin growls, "What part of 'I refuse' don't you understand?"
"I'm sorry for being so persistent but you'll understand if you see those boys play."
"Hey! I don't care how many times you ask I'm not going to- Damn it! Daaaaaamn it! Ouch!"
The former ace waits until she hears the door close to walk to Keishin. She snorts when she sees him holding onto his hand, "Idiot you burned yourself with your own cigarette, didn't you? Anyways, is that the teacher who is bugging you about becoming the boys' volleyball coach?"
He huffs. "Yeah, no matter how many times I say no he keeps coming back."
She turns around and mumbles under her birth, "To care that much...I don't get it." Keishin hears her but she leaves before he can get the chance to say anything. He doesn't understand what could have caused her to say something like that. She comes back with some ointment and a wrap. It's silent as she takes care of his small burn.
Keishin muses on how Kagehoshi is almost always quiet and calm. How she's a hard worker and he knows this from the effort he sees her put into her school work. How she's always willing to help out, often doing things that he's too lazy to do like making more buns for the sports teams. How, despite being quiet, she is not soft spoken. She is not afraid to speak her mind. He can acknowledge that she has a good personality, the type of person everybody would want as a friend, but gets the sense that she'd just rather not stand out.
After that Saturday, he often looks at her practice through the window and knows that she's got skill, just no passion. In fact, the only thing she seems relatively passionate about is school it's like she's just going through the motions. He doesn't want to think where that can lead her and he doesn't know how to help her.
Kagehoshi is sitting next to Keishin while reading a book when he sneezes on her. "EWWWWW, WHY DON'T YOU COVER YOUR MOUTH WHEN YOU SNEEZE?! THAT IS DISGUSTING!" The blonde has the nerve to laugh but gulps when he senses dark waves directed to him.