A/N: Finally! Chapter six is here! I wish I could write much better in English because I think I'm not being clear sometimes. I have a lot of ideas and I hope I'll be able to express them properly. Anyway I hoped you all liked this chapter. Thanks for following this story and, of course, thanks to yannieXD for the review. All feedback is much appreciated, so feel free to suggest me anything you want.

Disclaimer: I do not own Haikyuu or its characters

CHAPTER SIX
Challenge accepted

Noa closed her Japanese Modern Literature book and she put it in her backpack. After a long weekend, the exams were already here. She had spent almost every hour studying, even though Hinata was pretty excited about spending all Saturday in Yachi's house. Yachi lived with her mum, an elegant and beautiful woman who wanted her daughter to get stronger mentally. That's why, at first, Yachi wasn't sure about committing with something as important as being the manager of the male volleyball team. But, finally, Yachi stood up for herself and, surprisingly, her mum was truly happy for her. In fact, she helped Yachi to design a poster to advertise donations for the team so they could afford their Tokyo trip.

Noa went downstairs to have breakfast and cook her lunch when she heard noises coming from the kitchen. Noa frowned as she walked carefully through the hall. Her father had left for work early, so there shouldn't have been anyone at home.

"Good morning!"

Noa jumped when she noticed she wasn't alone. She felt her heart beating fast because of the shock, but she tried to stay calm when she realized who it was. "Miyoko...san?"

"Did I scare you?" she asked smiling gently, "I'm so sorry"

"What are you doing here? How did you get in? My father isn't here"

Miyoko laughed, "I have the keys. Besides, your father knew that I was coming. The painters are coming today. We are going to change the color of the hall and some rooms. There are a lot of things to do and a lot of furniture to unpack"

"Painting the rooms? Like, for example, the room which is locked?"

Miyoko seemed surprised at first, but then she answered calmly, "We use that room to keep some stuff. There's nothing special in it"

Noa raised an eyebrow. She didn't believe a word Miyoko said. She was still curious about what there was inside that room. She had been looking for the key without much success for a long time, but, when she started classes, she had to forget about that. At least for the moment.

"Could I have my room painted again?", Noa asked.

"Don't you like the color?"

"Being honest… It's depressing. It's all white. I have decorated my room, but I still prefer a brighter color"

"I'll see what I can do"

"If it's not pink, anything will be much appreciated"

Miyoko took her by the shoulders and she made her take a seat, "Come on. I've made breakfast while you were upstairs"

"It… It wasn't necessary", Noa was overwhelmed. In front of her there was a lot of dishes full of food.

"I didn't know what you like, so I've cooked a little bit of everything. When I live here, I'll cook what you like the most"

"I'm used to cooking, so you don't need to…"

Miyoko crossed her arms and she sighed, "Noa-san, you should accept my role as a stubborn stepmother. Would you do that for me?" she smiled.

Noa remained silent for a few seconds and then she smiled back at her, "Okay. Thank you"

Miyoko nodded and turned around to keep cooking whatever she was making.

Miyoko was a fantastic woman. Not only was she nice to her, she was an excellent cook too. Noa watched her while she ate her breakfast and she smiled when she saw Miyoko's enthusiasm. Noa was a bit jealous because she felt that she lacked certain spirit to keep going. That's why she was glad that Miyoko was going to be part of her life.

After finishing, she cleaned up the dishes while Miyoko looked at her.

"Have you studied a lot this weekend?"

"Yes. It's been an intense weekend"

"Daichi told me that you were going to study with some friends on Saturday"

"Yeah… I guess you could say we are friends", Noa smiled when she remembered Hinata, Kageyama and Yachi, "They are full of life and I love spending time with them. I'm glad to have met them", Noa concluded as she dried her hands with a dish towel.

Miyoko nodded and gave her the lunch. Noa blushed, but she thanked Miyoko anyway. She felt she was taking advantage of Miyoko's kindness.

Noa took her backpack. For the first time, she didn't have to run to get at high school at time which was a good way to start the exams.

"Good luck with your exams!"

Noa waved at Miyoko who said goodbye from the kitchen door before Noa went out the house. Once she was outside, Noa looked at the sky. The weather was good. The sun was shining and there wasn't a single cloud.

"Good-Good morning, Furihata-san"

Noa noticed that the freckled boy who was in the volleyball team was waiting across the street. If she remembered well his name, he was Yamaguchi Tadashi. They didn't talk to each other last Friday, when she met all Karasuno's volleyball team members, so she couldn't understand why he was there.

"Good morning", she answered finally.

Noa approached to him. Yamaguchi got more and more nervous as Noa was getting closer, so she raised an eyebrow.

"I… I was waiting for you", Yamaguchi confessed, "When I saw you on Friday I realized you were the girl we saw every morning and I guessed… Well… I thought we could go together to high school if you don't mind"

Noa didn't answer. She just stared at Yamaguchi curiously. The look she gave him made Yamaguchi much more uncomfortable, so his cheeks turned red.

"Hurry up, Yamaguchi! We are going to be late"

That's when Noa noticed they weren't alone. The blond boy who wore glasses was standing a few meters away from them. When he said that, Tsukishima Kei turned around and kept walking.

"Wait, Tsukki!" Yamaguchi yelled without much success.

Noa decided to follow Yamaguchi. Since he had taken the time to wait for her that morning, the only thing she could do was walk with him at least.

"I'm sorry about Tsukki", he tried to apologize, so Noa smiled.

Noa was speechless. Yamaguchi was a weird guy. Who the hell could wait for someone they didn't even know? How much time had he spent waiting for her? Yet, she found that goodwill gesture pretty nice, so she had a liking for him.

During their walk to high school, Yamuguchi and Noa were trying to keep up with Tsukishima's pace. He was walking faster than them, as if he was expecting them to not to catch up with him, especially Noa whose legs were much shorter. So it was official. She hated that four-eyes idiot. How was it possible that someone like Yamaguchi could put up with him? Noa and Yamaguchi talked mainly about the exams, although he told her about how he met Tsukishima. It was during school and they had been together since then. Noa was sure about it. Yamaguchi was a saint.

When they arrived to the first-years area, Yamaguchi and Noa said goodbye to each other before they went into their classes. Yamaguchi ran after Tsukishima who didn't even bother to say anything to her, not even a single 'good morning' or 'goodbye'. Noa rolled her eyes. Idiot, she thought while she plopped into her desk not paying attention to Yachi's concern look.

The bell rang and everyone went silent.

The exams were about to start.

...

He drank eagerly the milk he had just bought in one of the vending machines which were all over the high school campus. The sky was starting to turn orange and the few students who were still in class kept talking about their answers in their exams. He seethed. What was the point of doing that? That was stupid. What it's done, it's done and there's no coming back. They were just torturing themselves while they waited for the results.

He walked through the campus trying to clear his mind. It had been a long time since the last time he had been in a classroom. The classes had started a few months ago, but he was still like a fish out of water. He wasn't able to get along with his classmates maybe because he was too straightforward or maybe because he was a year older than them.

He didn't like them. He felt sometimes like they looked down on him. He should be a second-year instead of a first-year, so what? They didn't know him. They hadn't even bothered to know him. They didn't have the right to judge him. That's why he wasn't going to let that kind of things affect him.

That's when he saw her. Noa McCormack or Furihata Noa was a few meters away from him. She was too caught up doing something so she didn't notice him. It seemed like she was spying through the window of one of the Karasuno's gyms. He grinned and hid behind a column to watch her better.

She was a beautiful girl. Her tanned skin, her big brown eyes, her straight long black hair and that mixed race made her a beauty. But he wasn't interested in those things. He remembered the first time he had seen her in the high school hallways talking to a first-year, just like her, who was shorter than Noa and had her hair tied up in a side ponytail. He had sworn he had seen her somewhere, but he had preferred to wait. Afterwards he had done some research and he did know her. She was Noa McCormack. He had seen her in some magazines or newspapers. She was one of the most promising talents in America.

Anyway, he wasn't a stalker. He had always loved sports and, due to circumstances that won't be explain yet, he had ended up watching some beach volleyball matches. That's how he had known about her.

The first time he saw her play he thought she was like a hurricane, a force of the nature. He didn't know anything about beach volleyball, but he admired her just because he could feel through his computer screen that she never gave up. Not even when she and her teammate were going to lose the match.

He had considered to talk to her more than once, but he had never found the right words. He only watched her walk through the campus and that's how he found out that she flirted with volleyball.

He couldn't see her face, but he was sure that her eyes were glowing when she went into that gym for the first time and she saw the few female volleyball team members left. He could feel it too, how much she wanted to grab a ball again. That's why he smiled when he found out she was spying on the girls. It was like he could read her mind. She will end up joining the team. He felt that he could help them just as Noa wished that she could be part of something.

Finally, he decided to come out from his hiding place to talk to her, but then he stopped. He changed his mind when he saw Sawamura Daichi getting closer to her stealthily. The girl jumped and hit him in his arm while Karasuno's captain laughed. He frowned. Why was a third-year boy being so close to a first-year girl? He watched them talk for a few seconds and then he sighed. Maybe he should wait a bit longer.

Meanwhile, he was going to keep working on his female volleyball team comeback plan.

...

Noa clicked her tongue. She had spent most of the time watching the female volleyball team practicing. She wished she could have enough courage to go into the gym and tell them that she wanted to join the team or, at least, try to. She had never played indoor volleyball, but it couldn't be much more difficult than beach volleyball, could it?

"Spying on the girls?"

Noa jumped when she heard a male voice behind her. When she turned around, she ran into Daichi who was looking at her with his hands on his hips. "Holy shit! You scared me!" Noa hit him in the arm.

"Sorry, sorry", Daichi said still laughing, "Are you going to tell me what are you doing?"

Noa went silent. She looked away, clearly ashamed. She didn't want to confess that she had been spying on the female volleyball team, but it didn't make sense denying something that it was more than obvious. "May I talk to you about something?" she finally said and Daichi nodded. Noa seemed to be having a rough time, so he was worried about her.

They got away from the gym and they got close to one of the vending machines in the campus. Daichi inserted some coins and he bought two sodas, one of them for Noa. "Thank you", Noa said when he gave it to her. They opened it and took a swig.

"What about the exams?" Daichi broke the silence trying to push Noa to talk.

"I think I did well. Although they were harder than I expected. What about you?"

"Fine. I'm happy, but I'm worried about the Math test. I think I've made everything more complicated than necessary"

Noa smiled. She hadn't seen Hinata and Kageyama, but she hoped they were at least satisfied with their work. They had made such a huge effort to pass the exams.

"You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to…"

"Oh… No, no", Noa cut Daichi off, "I do want to. I need to talk to someone about it and you inspire me that confidence"

Noa blushed and so did Daichi. He felt a bit uncomfortable. This situation was new for him but, on the other hand, he really wanted to know more things about Noa because she was going to become his stepsister. "Is something wrong?"

"No… Well… I mean… My parents have always had a lot of problems, especially since I was born", Daichi and Noa sat in a near curb, "My mother got pregnant when she was too young and I think that affected her so much. She had to give up her dream and she blamed me for that"

"I… I didn't know anything about that", Daichi seemed concerned.

"It's normal. My father doesn't talk so much about it", Noa made a pause, "When my parents got divorced, I went to the United States with my mum because that's what the judge ordered. But, however, she never took care of me. In fact, I've never seen her either like a mother because she never behaved as one. I found out about beach volleyball when I was ten and I used it as a way to escape from reality. I was pretty good and I miss it so much. I've always been an athletic person, but… A few months ago, my teammate and I won the beach volleyball youth championship for third year in a row. It was supposed to be a happy day, but my mum was there. She had never come to watch me play. Never. That's when I realized that something wasn't right", Noa looked at Daichi, "My father had taken my mum to court for not looking after me properly and they didn't tell me anything about it. I had to come back to Japan. I think I've never cried so much in my whole life. I felt humiliated. Everyone was looking at me… Getting back to Japan meant so many things: I was going to lose so many opportunities and move away from the people I love, so I promised I would never grab a ball. But then Hinata appears and he makes everything much more complicated. Why did he had to spike the ball that way last Friday? I seems like the universe is trying to tell me that I should play again. And then there's the female volleyball team which only has four players. It's a challenge, damn it!"

Daichi let her finish before giving his opinion, "And what's so wrong about it? Why don't you give it a try?"

"Because! I told you. I was humiliated! It was supposed to be a happy day", Noa sighed, "My father never liked I played beach volleyball. It doesn't fit his lifestyle or what he has in mind for me. And I'm sick of it. I'm sick of him. I'm not going to give him the satisfaction of humiliating me again. I'm sure that if I play again, he'll take the chance to tease me even more than he already does"

Daichi frowned, "I won't give an opinion about the relationship you have with your father because I respect him so much. He's a good man, but I took you for somebody more serious. That's a childish thought", Noa looked daggers at him, "Don't look at me like that. That's the truth", Daichi stood up, "If you don't play, you are making things worse for yourself, but you are so stubborn that you can't see things clearly. Go to that gym and tell them that you want to join the team. But don't blame Hinata", Daichi pointed at her, "What do you want to do? Do you want to recover the female volleyball team? Do it! Don't let anyone stop you from doing it. You can still play in the Spring High Preliminaries. You could go to Nationals! But if you don't do anything, if you just spy on them, you won't achieve anything"

Noa went silent and she stared at the ground. She felt overwhelmed. What should she do? Her head was telling her that she should focus on other things rather than volleyball, but her heart was insisting that she should give it a chance. Daichi's words weren't much different from Lizzie's, but the way Karasuno's captain had spoken had made the difference.

"I'm sorry", Daichi apologized when he saw Noa looked sad, "I've been too tough with you. We barely know each other and I've…"

"No", Daichi shut up. Noa also stood up, "Thanks, Daichi", she smiled, "May I… May I hug you?"

"W-What?" Daichi blinked surprised, but when he saw how fragile Noa looked he reconsidered his initial thoughts, "Ummm… Yeah. Sure"

Noa's eyes sparkled and she hugged him tightly. Daichi hugged her back and tapped her head fondly trying to reassure her. He didn't know it yet, but their talk had left a mark on her more than he thought.

"Thank you", Noa whispered. It felt warm, but it would be better if she stopped hugging him because probably he was feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"I'm glad you have told me all this", Daichi confessed, "I think I'm getting to know you better", he added rubbing the back of his neck, a bit embarrassed about what he had just said.

Noa giggled, "Then I'll have to call you onii-chan when your mother and my father get married. You are already acting like one", she joked.

"Really?" Daichi chuckled. He seemed so proud of himself, "Well I think I'm ready to be your older brother"

Noa blinked a couple of times. She was astonished, but she burst into laughter. She was kidding, so she didn't expect Daichi to take it literally. Yet, that made her truly happy. Although she was sure Daichi would be the kind of overprotective brother. But she didn't care at all.

"Hey! Daichi!" Noa and Daichi turned around. Sugawara was yelling at his captain in the distance, "We are going to be late to practice!"

"Oh… Yeah", Daichi nodded and faced Noa.

"Go. You're the captain. You have to set an example, so you can't be late", Noa said smiling, "And thanks again for the drink"

Daichi nodded and he ran towards Sugawara. However, before he went into the gym where the volleyball team practiced, he turned around to point out at the other gym where the female volleyball team was. Noa clicked her tongue, but she couldn't help but smile. She gave him the thumbs-up as she had understood what he meant.

Once she had lost sight of the boys, Noa sighed. Finally, she had made up her mind. She went to the gym the female volleyball team used to practice and she stood right in front of the door, watching them practice. She didn't know if the girls had noticed her presence, but, if they did, they were clearly ignoring her. Probably they still remembered the weirdo who watched them play for a few minutes and then sneaked away.

"Nice spike", Noa told as she was trying to catch their attention.

The four girls turned around to stare at her. The girl who had just spiked the ball had short dark blue hair and big blue eyes. She was identical to one of the other girls, so they were twins. You could only tell the difference between them thanks to their bangs.

"But I can tell you're not the setter", Noa followed looking at the shortest girl of the team. She had short brown hair and brown eyes.

The four girls looked strangely at her but then the latter answered, "You're right. I'm not the setter. Actually I'm the libero"

"May we help you?" asked another girl who had short light brown hair.

Noa kept quiet for a few seconds, "Ummm… I… I mean…" she should say it as fast as she could, "I'd like to join the volleyball team"

They seemed surprised, "Are you serious?"

Noa nodded. She felt more confident, "I know that if I join, we can't compete because the team hasn't got enough members, but I want you to know that I won't give up. The team will compete again. I'll promise"

One of the twins crossed her arms, "Wait a minute… Do you know anything about volleyball?"

"I've played beach volleyball since I was ten"

"What was your position?"

Noa thought carefully before answering, "I don't know", she giggled, "There aren't permanent positions in beach volleyball, so I don't know in which position I could do well"

"This is so funny!" the twins laughed, "And how are you going to recover the team, huh?"

It was clear they didn't believe in her. They weren't taking her seriously, so Noa frowned, "I'll make the third-years to come back"

She hadn't thought so much about it. In fact, she had answered the first thing that had crossed her mind and she was making the four girls laugh. Maybe more than necessary. Noa was being insulted. They didn't deserve an answer, so she turned around to leave the gym as soon as possible. It was a bad idea after all. She was going to forget about volleyball.

"Wait! Wait!" Noa stopped, "Okay. We get it. Don't make a scene. We'll give you a chance, but we need to watch you play, especially if you don't know what position will be the best for you", the girl who had short light brown hair took a step forward, "If you claimed you are going to recover our team, we want to see how you'll do it", she grinned. They still thought she was going to fail, but Noa was going to prove them that they were wrong, "I'm the current captain, Oka Chizuko, and I'm wing spiker. The twins' names are Harada Ayako, setter, and Harada Ayaka, middle blocker. And, finally, she's our libero, Shiraiwa Mayu"

Noa nodded, "Furihata Noa"

"Noa… That's a weird name"

"So… Furihata Noa", Harada Ayako crossed her arms, "Show us what you can do"

Noa clicked her tongue. She was wearing her uniform, so she wouldn't play volleyball properly, "You know… I have an idea…"

...

"Are you going to tell me what you and Noa-san were talking about?"

Daichi chuckled, "She asked me for some advice"

Sugawara looked at him surprised, "I didn't know you get along so well"

"It's not a big deal", Daichi took a towel to wipe some sweat, "We've been talking all weekend"

"Hold on a second", Sugawara laughed, "Do you have Noa-san's number?"

Yachi lent an ear while she was getting the volleyballs out of the metal cart to give some of them to Hinata, Kageyama, Tanaka and Nishinoya. The team was going to work on their recieves before practicing their new attacks when they finished the warm up. Yachi knew Noa and Daichi got along well. Noa told her on Friday, but she didn't mention her that they had even exchanged their phone numbers.

Suddenly, Yachi felt her phone was vibrating. As a rule, she never took it while she was with the team, but she worried when she saw who was calling her. It was Noa. They hadn't spoken a lot after the exams, so she hoped everything was okay.

"Moshi moshi", Yachi answered the phone as she moved to one side of the court. The boys were so noisy. She didn't talk too much to her because Noa asked her a favor. She wanted to talk to Daichi instead. Yachi watched her phone curiously and, finally, she turned around to see how the boys practiced. "Da-Daichi-san", Yachi yelled, catching everyone's attention, "Noa-san wants to talk to you"

Everybody looked at Daichi. Tanaka and Nishinoya were open-mouthed, but their captain didn't pay them much attention and he got close to Yachi. He took the phone as if it was something normal.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

Daichi was brutally straightforward to Noa, so everyone waited patiently until they finished talking. Yachi was the most interested in what Noa was telling Daichi. She had noticed that, as soon as they had met, Daichi and Noa seemed to have got along well, but she felt that she had missed something. They had such a friendly relationship.

"Thank you", Daichi told Yachi when he hung up the phone. She looked at him puzzled. What was happening between those two?

"Daichi-san, is Noa-san okay?" Hinata asked.

Daichi grinned as he put his hands on his hips, "She asked me a favor", he made a pause before revealing the terms of their talk, "She'll play a match with us"

Hinata's eyes sparkled, "Whaaaoooo! Really!? I'm gonna call her and tell her that…!"

"Stay calm, Hinata", Sugawara smiled gently, "Could you explain it better?" he asked Daichi.

"Apparently, she wants to join the female volleyball team. She played beach volleyball when she lived in the United States, so she can't choose a position and the girls want to watch her play first. That's why she asked me if she could play a practice match with us"

"And what are we going to do exactly?" Ennoshita asked.

"I think we could split up in two teams and she'll be part of one of them"

"That's so cool!" Hinata, Nishinoya and Tanaka yelled full of excitement.

Kageyama grinned, "Fine. Let's see if she's worth it…"

Daichi sighed and looked daggers at them, "Why the hell aren't you working on your recieves!? Come on! Go! Now!"

"Sir, yes, sir!"

Kiyoko giggled as she looked at Yachi, "This is getting funnier"

...

From: Hinata Shouyou

To: Furihata Noa

Noa-san! We already know about the big news! Daichi told us during practice!
Get ready! I promise you I'll do my best!

~See you next time!