A/N: I'm back! First of all, thanks to Luna for her review. You're always encouraging me to keep improving when I'm writting this story and I'm so glad there is so many people liking it. Yes, Noa is going to grow a lot, but she can't do it all alone ;)
Thank you as well to all those people who followed and favorited this story! You've been quite a lot! I wasn't expecting anything like this.
I'm not sure about this chapter, but I wanted to introduce other teams and I love Nekoma so much (although my favorite team -except for Karasuno, obviously- is Fukurodani haha). They'll be back in the future. I've enjoyed writing Daichi's reactions in this chapter, so I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Haikyuu or its characters

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Cats & crows

Noa tried to enjoy each and every one of the meat buns she was eating. After the match they played against Itachiyama Academy, she didn't realize how hungry she was until she allowed herself to relax a little bit with the rest of her teammates. Watanabe Aimi had the idea of going to a nearby store to buy lots of meat buns —so many that they could only eat half of them— in order to reward the girls for their hard work. Yet, and although she had a different opinion, Noa managed to see it as a small prize for everything that was about come.

During the time Aimi drove until stopping again, her teammates were chatting more relaxed, sharing their thoughts about the match and, especially, what they should improve. Noa smiled. Since she arrived to Japan, she had dreamt of fitting in, being part of something great, and at that moment she was feeling that her dream came true. That's why she was incapable of talking too much. She simply nodded or used monosyllables as she listened Mayu talk and gesticulate like never before.

It was weird. It was weird the fact that they lost miserably and, despite all that, the mood was so calm. Maybe they were all changing, but they didn't realize it yet. Noa was starting to believe that, at some point, bonds between them had started to form without them noticing. And she thought that was truly fascinating.

After spending more or less forty minutes on the way, the minibus stopped again. They were all so engrossed in their conversations that they didn't see the sign which informed them that they had arrived to Shinzen, another popular high school in the Kanto region.

"You can get off now, girls", Mori Hatsue clapped her hands to catch their attention. "Stretch your legs because this will be our last stop until we arrive to Torono and there are so many hours left"

"Where are we?" Yoshino asked, looking through the window.

"Hold on a second…" Ayaka, who sat at the end of the bus, pointed out through her window. "Isn't that one over there Takeda-sensei?"

Everyone hurried up to check if what the middle blocker said was true. Takeda-sensei was standing in front of the entrance door, with his hands inside the pockets of his green tracksuit jacket. He soon realized he had all eyes on him and, after jumping a little bit, he smiled sheepishly and waved at them.

Noa was the first one to get off the minibus almost crumbling down and pushing aside her coach, who cursed out loud.

"Takeda-sensei!" She yelled as she waved eagerly at him.

"I see you all are in a good mood", her teacher smiled when Noa approached, being followed quickly by the rest of her teammates. "I don't think it takes long to the boys to get here in a few minutes"

"The-The boys?" Yui asked, a bit confused.

"That's right. We've finished our practice matches in Saitama, so we are going back home all together"

"Wait! We are in Saitama?" Yoshino asked, a bit puzzled.

"Yes. You are in Shinzen High!"

The girls opened their mouths in astonishment, but they couldn't say anything. They were speechless. How did they know they were travelling to Tokyo? Noa, however, was suspicious about someone.

"Ah! Here they come!"

Daichi led the expedition. The Karasuno boys were walking with their hands in their pockets, talking nonchalantly. However, they weren't alone. Another group of boys wearing red and black sport clothes was walking with them. They seemed to get along well because they were talking and laughing. Noa thought it was weird due to the fact that they were rivals and that wasn't something you could see every day.

"Oh. You are already here". Daichi was the first one to notice the girls' presence, so he waved at them. As soon as he spoke, the rest of his team went crazy, running towards them.

"They have two beautiful managers and, now, in addition, they have a volleyball team full of cute girls!" A boy who had a dyed mohawk moaned loudly.

"They have a girls' volleyball team just like our school, you idiot!" The smallest boy amongst the other team replied as he narrowed his eyes.

Tanaka chortled, "That's right, Tora! They are our Karasuno beauties!"

"They are so shiny I can't even look at them!"

"Da-Daichi-san…" Yui stuttered as her cheeks turned red, ignoring what was going on between Tanaka and the other boy.

"You planned all this, didn't you?" Noa, taking a hop, placed herself between the two Karasuno captains.

Daichi chuckled when he saw Noa's face full of excitement. "Yeah, something like that. When you called me last night, I thought it would be a good idea to go back home together, especially since you were travelling to Tokyo. I talked to Takeda-sensei and Ukai-san and they thought this would be a good idea. Takeda-sensei had your coach number and he called her first thing in the morning"

"You two talked on the phone?" Yui asked, her eyes widening.

"Yeah. Sure", Noa scratched her head, feeling a bit ashamed.

"I didn't know you get along so well", Yamaguchi followed.

"They should", Tsukishima added as he walked past them, trying to be as far as possible from Tanaka, Hinata and Nishinoya, who were making a fuss like always. "In a different way, living together would be impossible, especially since Daichi-san has to live with someone like her"

Noa frowned, but she didn't answer Tsukishima, especially when she realized how pale Yui's face was. "Are you feeling well, Yui-san?"

"Eh? What?" The girl tried to cover her face with both hands.

"She is fine", Yoshino intervened giggling nervously. "She's just tired. We have hardly slept to be here today"

"But, wait. What does Tsukishima mean by 'living together'?" Suga asked.

"Oh! I didn't tell you, but Noa's father and my mother are getting married", Daichi answered.

"WHAAAAT!?" Tanaka, Nishinoya y Hinata, who seemed at first oblivious to the whole conversation, suddenly peeped their heads over their teammate's shoulders, trying to hear better.

"Daichi-san and Noa-san are going to be under the same roof", Nishinoya mumbled as some tears rolled down his cheeks.

"It's not what you think", Daichi put his hands on his hips. "From now on, we'll be family. That's all. And, like Tsukishima has said, we want our relationship to be as good as possible. That's normal when you are going to live with someone new"

"But, one more thing…" Asahi added. "How did you know all that, Tsukishima?"

"We are neighbors", Tsukishima answered, shrugging. Everyone opened their mouths in a perfect 'o', quickly understanding everything.

"Sorry for interrupting", Jiro approached to them, "but we have brought some meat buns for everybody~!"

"Ooohhhh"

The boys' eyes widened. Hinata, Tanaka, Kageyama and Nishinoya were the first to took one of them while the rest of their teammates looked at them hopelessly.

"Stay calm. Everyone will get at least one meat bun", Asahi tried to soothe them, but without much success.

"We just have barbecue. How could you be hungry?" Ennoshita sweat dropped.

"Did you have barbecue!?" Noa's eyes sparkled. "How lucky!"

"It was a surprise from the coaches after hard work", Daichi explained while watched how Watanabe Aimi joined Jiro and was helping him with sharing out the meat buns. "Hey! Hinata! Nishinoya! You've already picked one!" Daichi looked daggers at the two boys, who ran away from their captain when they saw he was going after them.

The scene made Noa laugh, but her attention was quickly on someone else.

"Did you train so much?" Noa asked Kageyama. The first-year was eating some meat buns almost in a corner, as if he was hiding the food because he feared someone could steal it from him.

"Yes! We played against great teams, so we have learnt a lot. We even played against one of the best Ace of Japan, Bokuto Koutaro, from Fukurodani"

"That's so cool!" Noa only met one famous Ace and that was Ushijima Wakatoshi, but she didn't know who he was until she asked Hinata. Was Bokuto Koutaro similar to Ushijima Wakatoshi? "How is he!?" She asked excitedly.

"Who?"

Noa narrowed her eyes. "Bokuto Koutaro!"

"His spikes are powerful, but he is… Special"

"What do you mean by 'special'?"

"I don't know"

Kageyama shrugged, so Noa rolled her eyes. The boy had some serious communication issues, but she wasn't going to insist on the same topic. She knew Kageyama enough to know that she wasn't going to get a clear description of Bokuto Koutaro.

"And what about the setters?"

"I already knew Kenma-san. He is Nekoma's setter. That one over there". Kageyama stared for a moment at one boy who had his hair dyed. He was sitting in a near curb, next to Tsukishima, while playing some videogames. "He is really good, but it was good as well playing against Fukurodani's setter".

The boy went silent all of a sudden and glanced at Noa curiously while eating his food. "Why are you here? You look terrible"

Noa blushed when she heard Kageyama and she hit him in his arm, although he was probably right. She looked terrible because of the few hours of sleep and the long trip.

"Idiot! That's how you treat girls!? Now I know why no one wants to be near you", she pouted.

"What!?" Kageyama burrowed his frown.

"Besides, we are here because we had a practice match against Itachiyama"

"Seriously!?"

"Yeah", Noa grinned proudly. "They crushed us"

"That's not something to be proud of!" He sighed. Noa was impossible. "Anyway, we haven't won either not even half of the matches we played, so…" Kageyama added with his mouth full of food.

"Well, but every cloud has a silver lining! Despite all that, the third-years are back to the team"

Noa glanced sideways at Kageyama. She had to admit it. He looked so cute while eating. She loved his puffed cheeks which made him look like a squirrel.

"Seriously, slow down or you are going to choke"

"Mmmfff"

"Swallow before speaking!"

Kageyama tried to swallow, but, when he did it, his face changed. The first-year coughed several times and he punched his own chest, trying to swallow completely the ball of food which was stuck in his throat.

"He is choking!" Kinoshita remarked.

"Kageyama, don't die!" Noa panicked as she tapped his back hardly while he was trying to tell something.

Finally, Ennoshita handed him a bottle of water. Kageyama took it quickly and drank until he was satisfied.

"You, moron!" Noa punched his arm.

"Ouch!" Kageyama looked daggers at her. "Why the hell are you hitting me!?"

"You almost scared me to death! I told you you were going to choke!"

"Who are you!? My mom!?"

"Seriously, I can't tell if they get along well or not", Sugawara mentioned. The third-year was watching them from afar.

"Yeah…" Daichi sweat dropped.

Noa put her hands on her hips as she watched how Kageyama turned around and walked towards Hinata mumbling words she couldn't understand clearly.

"That idiot", she muttered, shaking her head 'no'.

"That's what you get when you are involved with airheads like him, princess"

Noa jumped a little bit as she felt someone speaking near her ear. When she turned around, there was a tall boy. She looked at him up and down. Messy, but surprisingly good-looking black hair and sassy smile. Noa opened her mouth to answer him back. She wasn't involved with Kageyama. It wasn't like that. She, however, wasn't able to pronounce any word. As stupid as it might have seemed, she felt embarrassed and looked away when she felt how her cheeks were turning red.

"These Karasuno guys are so rude… They haven't introduced us. I'm Kuroo Tetsurou, Nekoma's captain. May I know your name?"

Noa nodded shyly, "Furihata Noa"

"Ah… Noa-san", Kuroo grinned. "I didn't know Sawamura-san had a stepsister like you"

"A stepsister like me?" Noa blinked, a bit confused. "You mean a stepsister who plays volleyball too?"

Kuroo's eyes widened as if he was surprised by her response and, then, he chuckled. "What an innocent little crow!"

Noa tilted her head, not understanding what he exactly meant, but she didn't dare asking anything else.

"What position do you play?" Kuroo asked.

"Wing spiker"

"Wow… I'm middle blocker", Kuroo said proudly. "My job is stopping that shrimp Karasuno has, but I guess, if he was you, I would make an exception", he smirked playfully.

Noa giggled nervously as Kuroo got closer.

"Hinata might be small, but he makes a good duo with Kageyama. However, personally, I think that Kageyama does all the work. As a setter, he is in a completely different level"

Noa went silent for a few seconds. Probably, she shouldn't have said that, especially in front of the captain of the rival team. It was her opinion, but she thought that saying all that out loud she was insulting Hinata and she didn't want the orange-haired boy to get angry with her. As a player, she considered him as worthy as the rest of the team.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that", she apologized. "Hinata is a good player too. I've just made my own opinion based on what I saw while training or in practice matches"

"Don't worry, princess. Your secret is safe with me", Kuroo winked at her, what made Noa's cheeks redden much more, if possible.

"Ku-Kuro-san", the boy looked at her curiously as she fiddled with her fingers, being intimidated by Kuroo's intense gaze, "does your school have a girls' volleyball team?"

Kuroo raised an eyebrow, but, then, he grinned. "Yes. They aren't as good as us, but they are more than acceptable. Last year they classified for Nationals, although they lost in the first round"

Noa looked away, what made Kuroo grinned much more. Furihata Noa wasn't the type of girl who felt comfortable talking to boys, especially if she had just met them. He noticed it immediately. And that extremely amused Nekoma's captain, but, what amused him the most was the fact that she had such a good relationship with Sawamura Daichi. Now he had something new to have fun with and if there was something he enjoyed the most was provoking people, especially if it was the captain of the rival team.

"Maybe I can tell them that you'd be interested in playing a practice match against them", Kuroo crossed his arms.

"Are you serious?" Noa's eyes sparkled.

"Sure! Why don't you give me your email, sweetie?" Kuroo took his phone from his trousers pocket and smiled charmingly. "We can be in touch", he added, winking at her.

Noa stuttered several times, without knowing what to say. Was Kuroo Tetsurou playing with her? That was the impression she was getting, but she wasn't good at noticing those things. Normally, Lizzy was the one to explain her those kind of things, but she wasn't there to help her.

Noa searched for someone who could help her, someone who could tell her if Kuroo was only asking her email to help her get a practice match against Nekoma or not.

"She's not going to give her email to anyone"

Noa's eyes widened. Daichi, who was behind Kuroo, had put his hand on his shoulder. Daichi's face was terrifying and a shiver ran through Noa's spine.

"If you have to talk to her about something, you can write it to me as you have already my email. I'll give her the message"

Kuroo burst into laughter, "Are you going to tell me as well all that crap that, as crows, you are going to eat me alive or something like that?"

"I-It's fine!" Noa said, giggling nervously. "I'll give you my email, so you can contact me, Kuroo-san"

Noa snatched Kuroo's phone without him even noticing and she typed her email address to give it back to him again. "Done"

Kuroo gave Daichi a significant glare and he tapped his arm. "See? It wasn't that complicated"

Before leaving, Kuroo turned around, "It was nice meeting you, Furihata Noa. I hope we can see each other very soon. And thanks for the meat buns, sweetheart"

Noa smiled and waved at him. Despite the fact that Kuroo approached to another group of boys —apparently from his team because they were wearing the same sport clothes—, Noa couldn't stop looking at him. Nekoma's captain turned around and winked at her again, smiling playfully. The other boys did as their captain and grinned. Noa looked away, feeling how her cheeks burnt. She had been caught.

Kuroo Tetsurou was a really attractive boy. She couldn't deny it.

"You can't give your email so easily", Daichi crossed his arms over his chest, like a protective father, but she only stuck her tongue out as a response.

"I didn't know Daichi-san was so overprotective", Yui said, staring intensely at Daichi and Noa. The captain of the girls' volleyball team didn't leave the rest of her team and Yachi and Kiyoko had joined them as well.

"Yes. Actually, he is like a father", Kiyoko giggled, amused by Daichi's behavior.

"It must be very difficult to deal with all that bunch of idiots…" Yoshino added, putting her hands on her hips.

"The worst part is that Yachi-san will be the only one to control them in a few months", Ayaka looked at the first-year up and down. Yachi started to tremble, scared of her senpai's cold glare. "Kiyoko-san, are you sure she can do it?"

Kiyoko smiled. "Sure. Hitoka-san will be a great manager", she tapped Yachi's arm gently, making the first-year blush. "It's true that sometimes they are difficult to handle, but they aren't as bad as it seems. Hitoka-san has proven that she is prepared, especially dealing with the problems between Hinata and Kageyama"

"That's impressive, Yachi-san", Chizuko smiled. "Kiyoko-san leaves the team in good hands then"

"I'm still thinking that they are going to eat her alive", Ayako added, crossing her arms.

"N-Not at all", Yachi talked back. "Maybe the most difficult to deal with are Tanaka-san and Nishinoya-san. They are pretty… Intense"

"Tell us something we don't know", the twins rolled their eyes, making Mayu and Chizuko laugh. The four girls were on the same year, so they knew the two boys too well.

Immediately after, the girls stared at the two boys. Tanaka and Nishinoya, however, didn't even notice all eyes on them and they kept fascinated by Watanabe Aimi's beauty.

"And you told me you were…?" The young girl smiled nervously. Since the boys' volleyball team arrived, those two boys, followed by another one from the other team who had a dyed mohawk, didn't leave her, not even for a second.

"Tanaka!"

The wing spiker replied eagerly, too astonished to completely assume that a woman like her was talking to him. He didn't care that she was the sister of one of the most pretentious boys in Karasuno and, according to Tanaka, one of the most annoying as well. Who the hell did Wanatabe Nagisa think he is to reject all girls who dare to confess their feelings for him? He could choose whoever he wanted. That should be like a dream come true! What a moron, he thought.

"Oh. Yeah… That's it! I swear I knew it. Are you Tanaka-san's younger brother? Tanaka Saeko, I mean"

Tanaka nodded eagerly, but Nishinoya pushed him aside to place himself in front of Aimi. "Do you know Saeko!?"

Aimi nodded. "Yes. We were classmates in Karasuno, although we weren't friends. We were very different. Saeko always liked bad boys and I preferred the 'spoiled brat' type", she chuckled as she remembered those times. "Is she fine?"

"Y-Yes. She's in the univer-"

"Then, did you know as well the Small Giant!?"

Hinata peeped his head through his senpais. The orange-haired boy, who had been wandering around the different groups who had formed, ended up listening part of their conversation. Saeko already explained him some things about the Small Giant, but not enough. Maybe Watanabe Aimi knew more about him.

"What the hell, Hinata!?" Tanaka groaned.

"Where did you come from!?" Nishinoya added, tapping his kouhai's head.

"Yeah. Well…" Aimi shrugged. "We had the same age, but we didn't go to the same class and I've never been interested in sports. I've only talked to him a couple of times, especially topics concerning school stuff as I was in the Student Council and in my second year they chose me as the president. But we didn't talk more than necessary". Aimi made a pause, trying to remember. "He wasn't talkative. In fact, he was rather shy, at least when he was around me", she rubbed the back of her neck innocently. That was probably normal when she was in high school. Her beauty was intimidating. "On the other hand, you could say he was one of the bad boys in high school. However, people said that, when he was on the court, he turned into a different person. People said he was pretty intense, but all his teammates trusted him… That surprised me a lot because I thought he was more like the weird type"

Hinata's eyes had been sparkling, but he suddenly changed his mood when he realized that Aimi wasn't saying anything new. He seemed disappointed, what worried Aimi. She realized that the boy was expecting much more from her.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you", she smiled gently.

Hinata flushed and shook his head 'no'. "T-Thank you!"

"I think we should get going", Takeda-sensei said, approaching to Ukai and Mori. Both coaches were talking in a lively way, far away from the noise all the teenagers were making. "We'll be arriving to Torono at night and the boys should rest. They've spent a rough week training and I guess the girls are exhausted as well"

"Yes. You are right"

"It's a relief seeing that there are still teachers who worry so much for the students, Takeda-san", Mori Hatsue stated. "They are so lucky to have you as their faculty advisor"

"I do what I can", Takeda-sensei rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed by the woman's compliments. "I don't know anything about volleyball, so there's a lot of things in which I can't help them"

"I don't know much about volleyball either", Mori Hatsue chuckled. "Although thanks to Ukai-san's advice, I think I'll improve as a coach"

"You can ask me whenever you want", Ukai gave her the thumb-up.

"I'm glad we can get along well", Hatsue insisted. "It was very important for me, given that you are the coach of the boys' volleyball team and Takeda-san is the faculty advisor of both teams"

"W-What?" Takeda-sensei blinked in confusion. "I'm not the faculty advisor of the girls' volleyball team"

"Seriously?" Hatsue's eyes widened. "Then, who's…?"

"Fujibashi Sadako-san", Takeda replied. "She teaches Math, but I'm afraid the girls had some problems with her"

Mori Hatsue looked sideways at her girls. They didn't tell her anything about it. She didn't even hear them talk about Fujibashi Sadako, but now that Takeda had confirmed that they didn't get along well, everything was crystal clear for her. She was starting to understand why the girls lost their passion for volleyball. Without a coach and without a faculty advisor to encourage them, they stopped having fun when playing.

"We are leaving now". Takeda-sensei was the first one to approach to Nekoma's coach and they shook hands. "Thank you so much for inviting us. It's been a great experience for all of us"

"Thank you for inviting us!" The Karasuno boys bowed their heads.

"So nice to meet you!" The girls followed, perfectly lined-up as they bowed their heads as well.

After that, each group got in their respective vehicles. The minibus in which the girls travelled and was driven by Watanabe Aimi was the first to start. While they moved, they put their heads out of the windows and waved at the Nekoma team. Then, they let themselves fall into their seats.

The noise of the previous hours was replaced by silence. Mori Hatsue, who was the copilot, turned her head to take a quick look at her team and she smiled when she saw them already sleeping.

For the first time she had met them, she was able to see the girls' face expressions at peace.

...

Although everyone spent awake the last 200 km to Torono, anyone didn't feel like talking. Some of them, legs stiffened by the trip, stretched their legs in their seats, meanwhile, others tried to stretch the muscles in their backs, but without much success.

When the minibus finally stopped in front of the Karasuno entrance door, it was night already. The girls got off, feeling their feet and legs heavier, but they soon realized that the boys were having the same tiredness aura around them.

Mori Hatsue caught their attention and she ordered them to gather around her. And so did Ukai with his own team. "I know you are exhausted, but we have some serious stuff to discuss"

Jiro stood next to the woman, holding some papers. The coach put her hands on her hips.

"We'll continue doing the individual drills I prepared for each one of you. On the other hand, as you know, I have work to do, so I won't be able to come to practice every day. At least initially, I'll always coach on Thursday. I'll try to be here any other day, however, that's not up to me. It will depend on how much work I'll have. That's why Aoyama-kun will coach when I'm not here. I'll send him all information he needs to do it properly"

"Moving on to other issues, the girls' volleyball team has to share the gym with the basketball team", Jiro followed after having a look at the papers. "From now on, we'll use the gym especially in the morning because that's when it's free"

"What?"

"He has to be kidding…"

"As a matter of fact, it's free because no one is so crazy to get up earlier than we already do"

Most of the girls complained. They weren't used to practicing more than necessary, only the few hours they had until the boys from the basketball team arrived.

"He is not kidding. In addition, I remember perfectly that I told you I was going to be serious about all this", Hatsue furrowed her brow. "When I can't come, in the morning, you'll do the drills I've prepared for that day and I've sent to Aoyama-kun. After classes, you only have the gym available for one hour and a half before putting away everything, so the basketball team can use it afterwards. That's when you'll do the drills I made for each one of you in order to improve your resistance and physical strength. We'll start immediately. You are behind enough and the Spring High Preliminaries are around the corner. There's so much work to do"

Everyone swallowed hard. No matter how much they tried not to accept it, her coach was right. They didn't forget they were trashed by Itachiyama's second team and they didn't want anything like that to happen again. Yet, would they be able to improve so much in such a small time?

"I… I know nothing about volleyball". Everyone turned around to stare at Watanabe Aimi. The girl got off the minibus and she was looking at them, her eyes full with determination. "But I've seen it. I've seen you are becoming something. People say Karasuno's animal is the crow, don't they? I think you are still in the shell. At first, you didn't want to come out of it, but, after facing Itachiyama Academy, I saw that some of you started to break it. It's a matter of time. You'll learn how to stand on your feet and, then, you'll learn how to fly. You are not aware of it yet, but I'm sure that there are huge things waiting for you". Aimi put her hands on her chest, right over her heart. "You'll have to take that path. I know there will be bad moments, but also you'll create good memories as well. Don't let anyone discourage you. You are young and you are more talented than you think. It's time for you to start writing your own story"

Everyone kept silent, unable to say something. Aimi was right and seeing someone, although it was only one person, being on their side was enough to make them feel satisfied.

"Since when did you become so intense?" Jiro asked in a teasing tone. The manager noticed the tears that were forming in some of his teammates' eyes and were threatening to roll down their cheeks, so he tried to relax the mood.

"I can be a very deep person. I'm not just a pretty face", Aimi pouted, what made everyone smile. "My internship in a business company keeps me busy, so I can only ask for one free day to come to see you play and that's going to be in the Playoff finals. Deal?" She winked at them.

"Deal, Watanabe-san", Yui said, truly thankful for her beautiful words. "We'll be in the finals and you'll have to come to cheer for us"

The two girls shook hands while the rest of the members of the team witnessed that promise. They were going to be in the finals.

"Well, we have to go now", Aimi finally said, getting in the minibus, followed by Jiro.

"Do we have to give someone a lift?" The manager asked, but he regretted his question as soon as everyone get in the minibus as well.

"Hey! Give me a lift home too!" Nishinoya shouted, running towards them. "I live near Oka-san!"

"Noa-san, aren't you coming with us?" Mayu asked.

"No. I'll walk home with Daichi"

"Fine. Be careful"

The libero smiled as she closed the minibus door. Noa nodded and waved at them.

"Are you tired?"

Noa turned around. Daichi approached to her and he put his hand on her shoulder.

"A lot", Noa stretched her muscles. "I need some sleep", she added, resting her head on Daichi's arm, making him chuckle.

Although they walked home with the rest of the team, when they took separate paths, they didn't even say one thing. A simple nod was enough to say 'good bye'. They were all probably thinking about the same thing: taking a bath and going to bed, but hey were too exhausted to say it out loud.

Yamuguchi was the last one to take a different path and they ended up walking in silence next to Tsukishima, who only muttered 'Good night' in his usual monotonous voice as he kept walking until he reached his house, a few meters away from them. Daichi and Noa watched him turn right and, when he entered his house, they opened the door.

Noa wasn't used to experiencing what happened next. It smelled like fresh cooked food. The noise the door made when it was opened, was heard by Miyoko. The woman suddenly appeared in the hall, her beautiful long black hair tidied up in a ponytail. She was wearing a pair of leggings and an old and surprisingly loose gray t-shirt.

The woman ran towards them, arms opened. Noa stepped aside, so Miyoko could hug properly her son after one week, but her heart missed a beat when the woman grabbed her tightly with her left arm and hugged her too. She was trapped. She was trapped between Daichi's body and Miyoko's left arm.

"Welcome home"

Noa's eyed widened, feeling her heart beating fast.

So that's how it must be, having a mum who truly cares

Next chapter is Big girls don't cry. So, yes, drama is coming, but it won't last long.

~See you next time!