Nobody asked for this, but I wrote it this way, so here you go.

I hope you all like Kuroo!

Let me know if any of this book is boring or hard to read... I know the beginning of this chapter lacks dialogue. -

Also, sorry if some things get lost in the translation!

June 10th, Ai prepared the usual for the guest school: water bottles, towels, and chairs alike. The Ohgi Nishi team was arriving at four-thirty that evening, so the guys practiced lightly until then. Picking up the stack of twelve black and orange clothes, Ai placed them on the edge of the stage in numerical order for easy access.

Soon enough, Ai was done prepping for the practice game with time to spare, doing her job with the two other managers.

The visiting team came to their gymnasium doors without their coach. After everyone lined up and greeted them with a bow, Ai helped her team stretch and warm up. She took out her notebook and set it aside for later. Then, Daichi called for everyone to wrap up and change into uniform when it was time.

Her team each took their shirts from the stage, stripping their white T-shirts in exchange.

She wordlessly watched the guys take their clothes off, unembarrassed. She tried to gauge their strength and power just by looking at their naked torso. Apparently, Seirin's coach could do it for both men and women.

When Nishinoya caught her staring, he started posing at her, showing off his lean muscles. It made Ai laugh, and the libero moved on to ask about Asahi's new "string".

Ai fixed Ennoshita and Kinoshita's crinkled collars, earning a pink tinge from them both. Everyone already had their uniform shorts on, so she just collected the white shirts to store out of the way. "I'll take those, thank you," she said tersely.

Sugawara handed his to her after folding it neatly. "Thanks, Ai," he said with a smile.

"Thank you," Yamaguchi exclaimed a bit shyly, while Tsukishima mumbled his appreciation.

Ai folded the rest and smiled to herself as she noticed her handwriting on Kageyama and Hinata's white shirts; she'd written their names in permanent marker. When they had given her their laundry at the Golden Week camp, both of them realized they'd forgotten to mark their indistinguishable shirts. She still remembered the two's blush when she'd given it back to them, washed and with their full names spelled out in black English letters.

Ai watched proudly as the team walked onto the court after Coach Ukai spoke to them. They all had determined looks and hungry eyes for the beginning match against the visiting team in emerald green. Yachi was in awe, and Kiyoko told Takeda-sensei that it was the first time Karasuno was playing against Ohgi Nishi.

.

Kiyoko and Yachi changed the scoreboard while the coach with a grey Miyagino University jersey watched with the whistle.

The first point was by Kageyama's no-touch service ace. Tsukishima jumped for a tall block, and Nishinoya reacted and dug up the ball that was tipped over. The first-year setter tossed to Asahi, and the ace spiked past the opponent's one-man block. Daichi received the other captain's spike, and Tanaka scored a few, too. The game went on with Karasuno in the lead, 12-19. For the next point, Hinata ran stealthily and flew, hitting the ball in their freak quick attack.

.

Their team won both sets, the second one ending in 25-16.

Marvelous. No one would insult them as the "Clipped Crows" now. Their hard work after their elimination from Interhigh was paying off as well. Ai mostly took notes and worked for the guest team, since they didn't have a manager and Karasuno had three that day.

Afterward, Kageyama helped put back the folding metal chairs into the compartment under the stage, at Ai's irrefusable request. Ennoshita came up to her with his empty water bottle, and she took it to place it with the rest. As she finished cleaning up, her mind wandered to if her plan for Iwaizumi's birthday would work.

———

Ai joined the guys for their after-practice study sessions in the club room. Hinata and Kageyama sat side by side using chairs as desks, while Tanaka and Nishinoya kneeled to recite their textbooks. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi watched on with Sugawara, who had a pained laugh on his face. Ennoshita stood behind the two sitting on the floor, guarding over them with a ruler in hand to smack them if needed.

Ai stood at the racks of shelves, sorting out random things. She peeked into the boxes of miscellaneous stuff, planning to purge-clean when exams were over.

Nishinoya peeked up from his science book to glance at his nicer teacher. "Ai," he whined.

She shot him a smile. "Yū? Need help?"

"Don't spoil them, Ai. They'll never stop," Ennoshita said sternly.

She giggled. "Well, I better go. I have a few other things on my to-do list besides studying." Ai gave the older setter a smile and left.

The guys cocked their heads sideways at the closed door in confusion. No matter how close they'd gotten to her over the past year and two months, they could never read her.

———

During the weekend, she got a call from Nishinoya about English and helped him with his homework over the phone.

"Ai. Serious question," he said before they hung up.

"What is it, Yū?"

"You think we'll all make it to Tokyo? With Kageyama and Shōyō?"

She paused. "It's not like you to be doubtful," she mused. "As for the exam, we'll all certainly try our best."

"Yeah. Ok! Let's do this!!!" He roared through the phone and ended the call.

She chuckled and went to her shift at Ukai's mother's shop. It was a slow day, but a few customers came by. She greeted them with a smile and kindly helped with what they needed.

Near the end of her time, she got a message from someone.

Unknown number: Hey, Akatsuki. This is Kuroo Tetsurō.

Ai: Kuroo-san, hello. I hear Nekoma is doing well at Interhigh. Congratulations.

Kuroo-san: Thanks. I've got a question for you... Had we met before?

The question was perplexing, and a bit cryptic, but she answered the best she could.

Ai: Excluding our meeting in May, I don't believe so. Do you mean in Tokyo?

Kuroo-san: I mean, not recently. When we were kids.

She didn't know how to respond. Ai started to type, but she got a new text.

Kuroo-san: Never mind. Forget it.

———

In Tokyo

Kuroo sighed. Maybe it wasn't her.

"She said no?" Kenma asked, sitting beside him and playing video games.

"Yeah..." He'd been reliving the plaguing memories of a young girl's red eyes and long black hair ever since their practice match with Karasuno. He hadn't realized it before, but he was convincing himself the more he thought about it. Who else would have that exotic combination and aura?

"Maybe you're just jealous that they have two girl managers. Like Tora."

That got to him, and he scoffed at his friend, offended. "That's impossible."

Kenma sighed and shrugged. "She probably just doesn't remember. It was before you moved here. I'm surprised you even remember."

Before Kuroo and his family moved into the house next to Kenma's, he'd befriended a certain girl in the neighborhood of his previous residence. He was shy back then and had been instantly enchanted by the little girl with magenta irises and straight black hair. They had played at the neighborhood public playground often. The two children had been close friends, perhaps even more, until he had to move to Tokyo around eight years old.

As long as he was concerned, the girl with the blood-red eyes was his first crush. However, he had lost contact and never seen the girl since. The old memory was only recently revived.

Kuroo entwined his fingers behind his head and leaned back in his chair, looking thoughtful.

———

Ai made sure to advocate and ask for donations for the Karasuno Volleyball Club. When Yachi finished the striking poster to garner subsidies, Ai taped them up in both stores: her mother's and Sakanoshita. The monthly stipend to the boys' volleyball club wasn't going to be enough in the long run, especially if they needed to rent traveling buses often.

———

The bell chimed at twelve twenty-five, announcing the end of the testing period. The students were dismissed for the day, and everyone went to practice.

They welcomed Yachi as an official member of the club, now that they finished their last day of exams. Kiyoko did the honors of handing her the new black clothing, and Daichi spoke as the leader. The team wore the jackets despite the hot weather and posed.

"Ready, and..."

"Welcome to the Karasuno High School Volleyball Club!" they shouted in unison.

Ai happily took pictures for the five first-years. The girls had also exchanged their contact information and were becoming closer each day.

As the time neared dusk, the managers had a chance to take a small break. "I hope you're having fun, Hitoka-chan," Ai said. "You've been a savior to us."

Yachi blushed and waved her hands back and forth in refusal. "Yes-! No-... problem! I mean-..." She struggled to form a cohesive sentence.

Ai hugged the blonde's shoulder from beside her, leaning against the stage together. "I have a couple of other extracurricular activities besides this one, and it doesn't leave me much time in this gymnasium. Having you here with us must be very reassuring for Kiyoko-senpai and the team."

They had been lucky so far that it was a fairly small club with only twelve members, but Ai took on more than she probably should. Her plate was overflowing, so it was essentially equivalent to only having one and a half managers. It just wasn't sustainable.

"Oh! But, Shimizu-senpai said you have more experience!" the youngest girl exclaimed.

Ai smiled. "That may be true, but she taught me almost everything I know about volleyball." She motioned to the orange notebook in her hands. "The rest is just bits of studying on my own."

Yachi nodded resolutely, probably promising herself to do the same when she went home.

She chuckled. "The captain and everyone have been kind enough to let me join another club besides this one, and I believe they're grateful for your help. I can't speak for them, but I can honestly say that it's how I feel. So, thank you."

Yachi stood open-mouthed at her upperclassman's confession. "What... other club are you in?"

"Sadō."

Yachi gasped in awe. "B-bridal training..."

Ai laughed. "It's one of them, yes. But, I find it's actually pretty fun. I love it, and it's my volleyball to these guys." Her head nodded to the team members practicing tirelessly.

With everything becoming modernized, traditional elegance was becoming a lost art. Ai studied sadō to try to preserve that culture, and it taught her good etiquette on the side. She smiled softly at her new friend. "Do you have anything you're passionate about?"

She became embarrassed and looked down. "Not really."

Ai delicately touched her finger under the blonde's chin, lifting her gaze. "You mean, not yet." She gave her a playful look. "Chin up, Hitoka-chan. Your crown is falling. And, you'll find one soon. Hopefully, being a volleyball manager with us will guide you in some way."

They shared a grin.

A Townsperson B can fight, too.

———

And then came Judgement Day.

Ai prayed for the "Idiot Quartet" the night before the announcement.

Reference:

Bridal training or hanayome shugyō 花嫁修業 is something women did to get marriage proposals back then. It includes things like cooking, etiquette, tea ceremony, flower arrangement, calligraphy, and learning how to dress in the traditional kimono.

Author's Note:

Is the new layout more confusing than before?

Feel free to leave a question or comment!

(Not limited to this story!)

.

Ok, I had to consult the calendar for this one...

So, Karasuno goes to Tokyo on Saturday, July 7th, the same day as the supplementary exams. (This also happens to be Midorima's birthday!)

I'm going to guess that the tests were on July 2-4 (Monday to Wednesday). Please refer back to this to avoid any confusion... We flew right past, like, three birthdays in this chapter alone! O-O

But, I'll go back and write about them so that those people aren't left out. -

Finals in Japan last three days but typically end at noon, with three subjects each day like this:

1st Period: Modern Literature 9:00-9:50

2nd Period: English 10:00-10:50

3rd Period: Mathematics 11:50

Japanese teachers are usually good about grading the tests quickly, so I assume the students get the results the day after, on Thursday, July 5th.

For the OVA 2, (which I'll probably write after the season...), I am so confused over how many days it takes place. The English teacher (Ms. Ono) says it's that weekend, but according to Nishinoya and the various scenes in the episode, it seems like it's more than five days away... ??? -_-

Just for reference as I continue the story!

Total Word Count: 2255

(Wow, the chapters have been really long lately... )