Chapter 1
A Chance Encounter for the Beginning
Spring rolled in as colors began to peek through the once barren trees from the winter and stretches of green grew across the countryside. Thick winter coats were shed for light, more comfortable wear for the cool, yet sunny weather outdoors. Residents happily walked under the inviting heat of the sun with companions, enjoying the new season and cool breeze in their beloved rural towns of Miyagi Prefecture.
A bespectacled short girl observed the shine in the expressions of her fellow students of Karasuno High School ambling around campus. She sat on the wooden bleachers of the small practice pitch where the girls soccer club was finishing training through synchronous stretching on the field. She pushed her thin-rimmed, oval-shaped glasses up the bridge of her nose, attempting to busy herself observing the group of freshmen lounging by the edge of the open field to avoid the growing impatience inside her.
Miyano Reiko was the only student on the wooden bleachers and she wasn't surprised at this fact. The arranged planks were old and worn out enough that any student with regard to their safety wouldn't dare take a seat in fear of the wood breaking under their weight.
Despite any other day Reiko would've sworn herself to Team Safety, she preferred the worn out bleachers to sitting awkwardly by herself on the grass. The seats were obviously there for spectators anyway.
Behind her lenses, her brown eyes drifted away from the scene of the four freshmen seated on the grass when a spark of irritation burst in her chest at the realization that one of them had caught her staring. Not only was she impatient, but one of her obnoxious schoolmates must have thought her creepy.
Her full bangs swayed at the cool wind that blew in her direction, causing her to pull her sweater tighter around her torso. While spring was a more comfortable season than winter, it was still cold enough to trigger shivers down her spine and make her shake uneasily. She'd never been a fan of low temperatures to begin with. Summer was coming slower than it possibly could and the thought soured her already irked mood.
After what felt like an eternity of unproductive waiting by the bleachers, finally the girls soccer team was dismissed and the players made their way back towards the club rooms in small groups. One girl in particular, bright yellow hair tied in a tight ponytail, made her way sprinting towards Reiko's area. The dark roots by her scalp were noticeable enough for Reiko to identify who it was, sighing in relief at the idea of finally going home.
Exhausted yet exuding vibrant energy, Reiko's best friend arrived at the bottom of the bleachers with a wide inviting grin on her face. Her hands were on her hips as she panted heavily.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to sit there, Reiko-chan?"
Arakawa Yasuko scolded her despite the warm smile on her face. Reiko rolled her eyes, unfazed by her words, but humored her anyway by standing up and making her way down the old wooden planks.
"Where else am I supposed to sit, Ara-chan?" Reiko said, tone biting yet quiet, as she reached and stopped next to her on the field.
Yasuko crinkled her nose in distaste at her cross response, an expected reaction from her best friend whenever Reiko said something close to rude.
"You know, one day those planks will break and you'll fall on your ass. Then you'll wish you listened to your wonderful friend Arakawa Yasuko," she retorted, crossing her arms firmly across her chest.
"Please don't address yourself in third person," Reiko muttered dully, adjusting the strap of her bag over her shoulder.
Yasuko pouted childishly, hanging her arms by her sides. "You're no fun, Reiko-chan. What's up with you?"
Reiko forced her eyes to meet hers, tilting her chin up as Yasuko was at least six inches taller than her one hundred and fifty centimeter frame.
"It's cold," Reiko said simply, unconsciously tugging her sweater closer to her chest again.
Yasuko seemed to notice this and her features softened, reaching out to tug her arm as she began walking towards the club rooms.
"You don't always have to wait for me to finish practice, you know?" Yasuko said as they fell into a steady walking pace side by side. "If you're feeling cold, you should just go home. Unless you're still scared of taking the bus alone."
"I'm not!" Reiko exclaimed indignantly, feeling heat in her cheeks despite how cold she felt. "I don't have anything else to do anyway. You always eat dinner at my place so we might as well go home together."
Yasuko snorted, side-eyeing her mockingly. "I can get to your house on my own. Might I remind you it's right next to mine?"
"I'm aware," Reiko snapped dryly.
Yasuko sighed deeply, an exaggerated expression of woeful smugness in her face with her hands resting on the back of her head.
"Just admit you enjoy my company so much that the idea of going home without my wonderful personality is too terrible to imagine."
Reiko rolled her eyes, too used to Yasuko's self-assured antics around her. A chuckle threatened to escape her lips despite her sour mood and she fought stubbornly to keep it in, refusing to give Yasuko the satisfaction. It was just how their relationship worked – Yasuko pushing her obnoxious personality onto Reiko's easily-tempered yet reserved demeanor.
An outsider would probably assume they hardly got along, but Reiko could confidently say it was the far opposite. They got along far too well that their banter never provoked nasty feelings between them. Yasuko was loud, vexatious but kind, and Reiko was quiet, plain-spoken, but rational.
"Arakawa-san!"
As they approached closer to the club rooms, Reiko looked up at the second floor where two unfamiliar girls waved at Yasuko from the balcony. They wore similar training gear as Yasuko which led her to assume they were her teammates. Her best friend perked up at the sound of her name, eyes training at the balcony with a questioning expression.
"What is it?" she asked.
"You're in this month's sports feature!" one of the girls excitedly announced, raising up a magazine. "Come up here and check it out!"
Yasuko's face lit up with a grin and told her teammates she would be up in a second. She turned towards the expressionless Reiko, clapping her hands together in her excitement.
"Your mother's article must be out!" she squealed.
"Go ahead, Ara-chan." Reiko sighed but allowed a small genuine smile to appear, showing her best friend some support. "I'll wait down here."
"I won't take long!" Yasuko shouted before sprinting up the metal stairs two steps at a time.
Reiko hugged her cream sweater tighter around her waist when another gust of wind blew in her direction. She sat on the closest stone bench by the club rooms to once again wait for her best friend to finish her after-school club duties.
It was a routine that they'd fallen into once they both began high school at Karasuno, especially since Yasuko was all too eager to join the soccer club on the very first day.
On the other hand, Reiko hadn't found any club that interested her yet in high school, and while it was highly encouraged, she just couldn't believe any club would be suitable for her at the moment. Her co-curricular activities outside her studies consisted of waiting for Yasuko to finish practice and some occasions she'd bring her camera to school if she wanted to busy herself while waiting.
Unfortunately today, she decided not to bring the camera, which she now immensely regretted as she once again sat aimlessly on the stone bench, watching groups of students enter and exit club rooms like a silent stalker. Her hands without her camera were always unusually fidgety which developed her unconscious habit of tugging her sweater closer to her body every two minutes. Reiko sighed at the thought of her mother seeing the school sweater once she'd have to put it in the wash.
'If you keep pulling the fabric, this'll be the fourth school sweater you've damaged!' Reiko imagined the shrill tone of her mother and shivers ran up her spine.
She consciously loosened her grip from the fabric at the thought.
When five minutes passed and Yasuko hadn't returned, Reiko stood up in restlessness and decided to get a drink from the nearest vending machine by the stairs. But just as she meant to walk across the bottom of the staircase, another person seemed to be barrelling down at great speed at the same time.
Reiko only managed to get a glimpse of his frame from the corner of her eye before he abruptly tried to stop, but he'd already surprised her enough that she lost her footing.
Just as she was about to fall back, however, his free arm reached out, the other gripping the railing to balance himself. His hand caught her upper arm and managed to steady her in place.
Reiko blinked rapidly, too much information overloading her brain from the physical contact of the boy to the clumsy way she regained her footing.
"I'm sorry!" the boy's voice cut through her overload of thoughts, snapping her back to reality.
Once Reiko was convinced she wasn't about to fall on her backside in front of a random person, she nodded stiffly at the boy in front of her, acknowledging his apology. He stood on the bottom step of the staircase, crouched slightly due to his insanely quick reflex to reach out to her before she fell back. His spiky hair was mostly dark, with a striking blonde tuft swaying gracefully over his concerned eyes.
She recognized him vaguely since they were from the same year, but she only ever saw him in the canteen during meals or around the club room's area when she waited for Yasuko. Reiko couldn't connect the face to a name, so he likely wasn't in the same class as she was.
Maybe Yasuko knew him? He was in the club room area quite often after all, and the black jacket he wore was indicative of a sports club.
"A–Are you okay?" the boy asked with detectable concern in his tone, hand still gripping her arm as if afraid she would still fall back if he let go. He seemed to overlook the fact that Reiko was already stable on both feet.
Reiko's eyes slowly looked towards the hand holding her in place then meeting his eyes blankly. She was vaguely aware of the heat traveling up her cheeks. She needed to force herself to respond to him; most likely that was the acknowledgement he was waiting for before he could breathe and believe he had nothing to be concerned about.
"I'm–I'm okay," Reiko said, clearing her throat awkwardly and forcing herself not to look at his hand again. "I think you can… l–let go… now…"
"Ah, right!" the boy exclaimed and pulled back immediately. He seemed flustered but a shy grin appeared on his face and he rubbed the back of his neck with his now free hand.
"Sorry about that. I almost knocked you over. I wasn't looking where I was going."
"Ah, well," Reiko began, feeling like she could breathe now that he'd let go of her but her nerves still got in the way of formulating proper sentences to respond. "Y–you were going down the stairs so unless you weren't looking straight… w–which I doubt… then it's actually my fault…"
"Huh?" the boy responded, looking vaguely confused with his eyes wide and head tilted slightly to the side.
"I mean… I–I could've walked further away from the stairs," Reiko proceeded despite her brain telling her to stop explaining something so obvious. "Th–This is where people go down so I was bound to run into someone if I met them at the same point at the bottom. You–you wouldn't have been able to see me walking… So I'm s–sorry."
"Ah," the boy said, nodding his head slowly but his face didn't shake the confusion it showed before. Probably an effect of Reiko's perpetual stuttering. At that point, she desperately wanted the ground to suck her in.
"Sorry," she said again, bowing forward this time to ease the growing awkwardness of the situation that clearly only she felt. The boy seemed confused at most, but hardly showed signs of being uncomfortable.
"It's fine, it's fine!" he laughed breathily, Reiko catching sight of his easy-going demeanor when she stood straight up again. "I'm sorry too. I still think it was mostly my fault anyway. But I'm glad you're okay. You could've hit your head if you fell back, you know?"
The genuine concern he projected was heartwarming and new to Reiko, probably because she didn't expect it from a stranger. Most people would've identified themselves that she was fine as soon she was stable on both feet, apologized profusely, then left. This strange boy waited for her to vocalize her well-being before even letting go and started a conversation on his worry like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Excuse me…"
The appearance of another voice, all too familiar to Reiko, washed a wave of relief over her tense body. She immediately made way for the spiky-haired boy to finally hop down the last step and she wasn't wrong in assuming he was quite short, but he was still a few centimeters taller than she was unfortunately.
"Hey, Arakawa-san!" The boy greeted Yasuko cheerfully as she followed down the stairs behind him, a gym bag over her shoulder and her soccer cleats replaced by a pair of sneakers.
Reiko felt relieved they were finally ready to go home, but a realization interrupted this thought that this boy did indeed know Yasuko.
"Oh, Nishinoya-san," Yasuko replied with equal cheer. "Didn't realize it was you."
Nishinoya… Reiko took note of his name in her thoughts, saving her the question of asking him directly. It rang a bell in her head, but she never met him to confirm he owned the name until today.
"Congratulations on your feature!" Nishinoya said, raising a fist in his excitement. "You looked so cool in the magazine!"
"Thank you!" Yasuko grinned, but her eyes shifted slightly towards Reiko whom she just realized was standing stiffly next to them in all her awkwardness. "Oh, Reiko-chan! Good, you're here. I'm ready to go!"
"Reiko-chan…" Reiko heard Nishinoya repeat under his breath in a low mutter. At the sound of her first name, she felt something uncomfortable in her stomach but he seemed to have realized he spoke without thinking and shook his head harshly.
Thankfully, he didn't seem to notice that she heard him because he looked towards her with another grin and waved enthusiastically.
"I'm sorry again," he chuckled in a slightly embarrassed but straight-forward way. "What's your name though? I don't think we've met before."
Reiko could feel Yasuko's curious gaze shifting from Nishinoya to her, causing her to splutter the first words she could formulate into semi-coherent sentences from her brain.
"R–Right, I don't think we have," she responded hastily. "I'm Miyano Reiko. I–I think we're in the same year actually."
"Cool!" he said, cheeky grin never faltering for a second. "I'm Nishinoya Yuu. I'll see you around then, Miyano-san!"
At that point, all Reiko could do was nod stiffly. He was satisfied enough with her response to end their introductions. He said his goodbyes to Yasuko before jogging away.
Reiko blankly watched his retreating back as he ran towards the school gates and only then did she notice the sun slowly setting and how late it must have been. Dinner would be ready soon.
On the way home, Reiko managed to steer clear from the strange interaction with Nishinoya as a topic of conversation with Yasuko by bringing up her magazine feature. It had been successful, Yasuko showing her the half-page feature she was given in the promising soccer athletes under eighteen in Miyagi Prefecture.
She was labelled as part of the top three strikers in the country after a successful season in her first year at Karasuno and Reiko comfortably listened to her gush about her mother's writing.
By the time they reached their stop, the conversation on Yasuko's magazine feature had died down and Reiko cursed the ten minute walk she had to endure before reaching her street. A red orange glow cast their surroundings as they walked and another gust of cool wind came their way.
Pulling her sweater closer to her body, Yasuko seemed to notice the action and shot an uncharacteristically annoyed look in her direction.
"What? Reiko asked rather aggressively.
Yasuko blinked in surprise, unfurowing her eyebrows. Softness returned in her expression but she continued to look at Reiko pointedly.
"You keep pulling your sweater again," Yasuko said. "You know that damages the fabric."
"I know that," Reiko grumbled, irritated at how much she sounded like her mother but loosening her grip anyway.
"I was serious earlier too," Yasuko said, voice lower.
Reiko raised her eyebrows in question.
"About you waiting for me all the time," she said gently. "I know you get bored and it puts you in a sour mood. I really think if you can find a club or maybe work part-time at your mom's–"
"Ara-chan," Reiko interrupted, attempting to soften her voice to match hers but it distinctly made her sound passive aggressive rather than gentle. "I said I'd think about it, didn't I?"
"I just don't understand what's taking you so long," Yasuko said stubbornly, frowning. "It's a great opportunity. You want to be a journalist, right? You're into photography and everything!"
"Photojournalism is one thing," Reiko said, trying to quell her impatience. "But that's not good enough for her. You know that, Ara-chan."
"That's a bit unfair to her, Reiko-chan," Yasuko said solemnly.
For the first time in a long time, Reiko actually felt a tinge of genuine annoyance at her words. Maybe because it wasn't banter, but either way, a familiar sensation of uneasiness built up inside her. What was surprising was it was caused by Yasuko, her best friend and the only person who could make her feel entirely comfortable in her presence and words.
Yasuko knew her mother was a sensitive topic, and Reiko was entirely aware of how much her best friend looked up to Eri, famous in the journalism world and amongst athletes because her agency published the most popular magazine that featured athletes across the country.
Not only that but she was undeniably passionate in doing fieldwork herself, interviewing on the scene, news casting onsite, and she was even skilled at photojournalism. If her company didn't insist on assigning help to her so she could focus on running the company, she would've been able to do everything on her own – Reiko fully believed that.
It was the reason why she knew she could never reach that standard of her mother, and she couldn't find it within her to try, despite genuinely enjoying the thrill of photography. Yasuko ignoring that feeling and pushing her to accept a part-time job that would no doubt upset her rubbed her in a more than slightly irritating way.
"I know that makes you angry, Reiko-chan," Yasuko spoke again, voice devoid of emotion and she kept her eyes trained on the street ahead of them.
"If you know it does, then why'd you say it?" Reiko muttered bitterly.
To her surprise, Yasuko merely turned her head to meet her eyes again, but this time the solemn expression was gone. It was replaced by a soft smile that reached her eyes, looking at her like she hadn't noticed the animosity from Reiko at all.
"Because I believe in you," Yasuko said happily, smiling so wide that her eyes crinkled almost to a close.
Reiko's steps stuttered and her pace significantly slowed down. Yasuko seemed to notice this and fell into her slow stride, curiously watching her. Reiko consciously pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and pulled the sweater tighter around her in response to her growing nerves and embarrassment. A warm feeling grew in her chest that was akin to gratitude and fondness for her best friend. She was at a loss of words to say.
"I know you think you can't be like her," Yasuko continued softly, knowing Reiko was too flustered to respond. "But you know what, Reiko-chan? I think you can be even better."
Reiko opened her mouth multiple times but promptly closed it each time, unable to formulate a coherent sentence she was comfortable enough to vocalize. Yasuko, truly a master at reading her, saved her the trouble.
"Just think about it, okay?" Yasuko requested, tone with lingering finality indicating that was the end of her take on the situation.
They finally reached their street at that point, and neither of them spoke of the topic again. Reiko herself remained silent, mulling over Yasuko's words and trying to piece together what exactly she meant.
The next day, Reiko brought her camera with her. It was an old model that she kept hidden in her backpack in fear of losing it or god-forbid someone noticing she was holding it and questioning her why she had it. She preferred to take photographs on her own, and the only one who had ever seen her photos to date were her mother and Yasuko.
Most of the time she would bring her camera to school, she wouldn't take it out unless she felt confident enough to take photos of Yasuko while she tried. But for the most part, it was hidden in her bag from the moment she left the house until she returned from school.
Though oddly enough, the fact that it was with her offered her some sort of comfort that she couldn't exactly describe. She sometimes wished she had more opportunities to use it, or she had the confidence to bring it out in public, but besides Yasuko playing soccer, she hadn't found another subject interesting enough to put her at ease in practicing taking shots.
That day wasn't any different. Reiko went through a regular morning of classes, diligently taking notes and reciting if called upon. Lunch came quickly enough and she exited the classroom to meet Yasuko in the hallway.
Unfortunately, the scene that met her left a bitter taste in her mouth. Yasuko was there, standing outside her classroom, but she was surrounded by four boys – two of them she vaguely recognized as her classmates and she could probably remember their names if she thought hard enough, but all she could label them at the moment were Idiots A, B, C and D.
"Arakawa-san, tell us about the interview in this month's feature!" one of them exclaimed, eyes bright with admiration.
"That was so cool, Arakawa-san!" Another one of them gushed. "How'd you get their attention to interview you? You must have been really good since middle school!"
While Yasuko undeniably enjoyed the attention (even if she tried so hard to look embarrassed by their praise anyway – Reiko bitterly pointed out to herself), she entertained their questions one by one, answering in detail and waving her hands animatedly.
Reiko rolled her eyes and prepared to leave her in the corridor; this happened often enough that Yasuko would just catch up to her in their usual bench outside after about twenty minutes.
Just as she turned to leave, she found herself face to face with Nishinoya – immediately connecting his face to a name this time.
"Miyano-san!" He greeted her with the same energy he spoke with yesterday. She was unfamiliar with the enthusiasm since the only one who looked that happy to speak with her was Yasuko.
"Hello, Nishinoya-san," Reiko greeted him back timidly, faintly aware of some of his classmates who exited the classroom just behind him, casting curious looks their way.
"Where are you going?" he asked, straight-forward as always and tilting his head slightly to the side which Reiko noted was an indication of his curiosity that he unconsciously did.
"Oh, uh…" Reiko began, surprised at the direct question. "It's lunch-time… so lunch, I suppose."
She berated herself internally for her patronizing choice of wording, but she thought it too late to take it back now. Ready for a defensive comeback in return, she was more than surprised when he chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
"Ah, that's right," he said, cheery attitude not faltering at all. "Canteen's that way though. You eat lunch somewhere else then?"
Reiko took a beat before responding, still unsure how to handle his weirdly positive personality. Yasuko wasn't exactly a good benchmark since Reiko's filter with her had completely dissipated years ago, so dealing with someone else who approached her with so much brightness had become an expected challenge.
"I… eat outside," she replied slowly, eyes darting to her best friend who was still entertaining her fanboys. Finding her answer too short, she hastily added, "B–By the benches."
"Oh, that's cool!" he said with his trademark grin. Reiko wasn't so sure what was so cool about eating outside, but his smile was contagious enough for her to give him a small twitch of her lips upwards.
"Oi, Noya! Let's go!"
An unfamiliar voice called for Nishinoya from behind Reiko, likely on his way to the canteen. She didn't bother to turn around to see who it was; instead she focused on Nishinoya, ready to wish him goodbye and make her own way to lunch.
"Yeah, I'll be right there!" Nishinoya said back then meeting her eyes again. "Are you eating lunch with anyone?"
Reiko's thoughts faltered again, briefly cursing how often that seemed to happen with him in the two times they've conversed. His eyes were wide and innocent with curiosity that even if she wanted to assume he had ill intentions with his strangely simple questions, she couldn't.
"Oh, um… Ara-chan usually eats with me," she answered meekly. "But she's preoccupied. So she'll just catch up."
"Ara-chan..." he repeated under his breath with the same child-like confusion similar to when he said Reiko-chan yesterday after hearing Yasuko call her that. Then he blinked and smiled again, realization crossing his eyes. "Ah! Arakawa-san! You're friends, right?"
Reiko nodded, smiling back without really noticing this time.
"I was pretty surprised I didn't know you when I found out you were friends," Nishinoya said thoughtfully, tilting his head slightly again while he looked at her.
Reiko didn't know if she found this habit of his annoying or endearing – she hastily settled for annoying.
"Yeah, she's the popular one," Reiko replied, feeling more confident in her words as the conversation went on. "I just blend in her background with her being a superstar and all."
Scratch that – perhaps she still wasn't thinking before opening her mouth. The moment she heard herself, she wanted to ground the suck her in again at how self-pitying she sounded. She didn't mean to make it sound that way.
But again, Nishinoya surprised her. He laughed airily with all his boyish charm as if she'd said something funny rather than quite obviously self-deprecating.
"I kind of know how that feels too." He grinned so hard that the corners of his eyes crinkled. "But even if you blend in the background, you've still got her back, right?"
It rendered her speechless how a simple conversation managed to pull such a profound statement from someone like Nishinoya. She briefly wondered what he meant by that, clearly relating to her in some way that he felt extremely passionate about.
Didn't she recall him wearing a sports club jacket yesterday? What sport did he play exactly?
Reiko was smiling when she nodded kindly at his response, feeling a warmth in her chest as she did. She opened her mouth to satisfy her own curiosities, ready to ask him her own questions, but a low, impatient call rang in the hallway – the same voice that called Nishinoya over earlier.
"Oi, Noya-san! I'm hungry!"
This time, Reiko couldn't stop herself from turning back sharply in slight irritation. This surprised her, so just as she caught herself about to shoot the impatient boy a glare, she immediately backtracked and turned her face to Nishinoya in front of her, desperately hoping the boy behind her didn't see how annoyed she was. He would've gotten the wrong idea.
"Right, I gotta go," Nishinoya said with a strange clipped tone, but the smile on his face didn't falter. "I'll see you around, Miyano-san!"
Reiko exhaled a short breath after she bade him goodbye and he swiftly left to meet his friend. She didn't bother to look back and watch him go this time, too occupied with her thoughts. At this point, there were hardly any people in the corridor anymore, and all she could think about was how strange Nishinoya Yuu was.
Apparently she stood in the corridor long enough for Yasuko to finally appear by her side, placing a hand on her shoulder and snapping her out of her internal confusion. Adding to her whirlwind of a morning was the suggestive look on Yasuko's face as soon as Reiko turned to look at her.
"What?" Reiko asked rudely, but knew what the face was all about. In her building irritation, she added, "Are you done talking to your fanbase or shall I arrange a press conference?"
Yasuko tutted childishly, tapping Reiko's nose only to infuriate her further.
"A bit on edge this morning, aren't you?" Yasuko hummed, clearly enjoying herself. "I'm offended to get this treatment when you were smiling like an idiot at Nishinoya five minutes ago."
"Shut up," Reiko snapped, slapping her finger away from her face. "It's not like that."
Yasuko cackled, sounding almost evil at how much she was having fun while Reiko was practically steaming in burning rage. The fiery brunette started walking to their destination without another word while Yasuko skipped behind her to catch up, still grinning devilishly.
"Please stop," Reiko said almost desperately as they walked.
Yasuko pouted. "I didn't even say anything."
"You don't have to say anything," Reiko snapped again. "If you have to know, Nishinoya almost rammed into me yesterday by the club rooms. That's how I know him. And he was just asking me about lunch earlier. That's it."
"You're just fun to tease, Reiko-chan," Yasuko laughed giddily. "I didn't assume anything."
"Then good!"
"Okay!" Yasuko said in defeat with both palms up, smiling but at least attempting to stop her laughter. "Nishinoya's a laugh anyway. He can make anyone around him into a smiling idiot so don't beat yourself up about it, weirdo."
Reiko shot her another glare as they finally arrived at their lunch area outside.
"I'm not," she said, voice hard. Now that Yasuko was somewhat normal and not a giggling mess, she felt more comfortable asking her questions. She waited until they settled down in their usual seat and brought out their prepared lunches.
"Anyway," Reiko began, clearing her throat awkwardly, "Now that my intentions are perfectly clear…" She added a warning glare in her direction before continuing. "Do you know what sport he plays? I saw him wearing the jacket yesterday by the club rooms."
"Oh, he's part of the volleyball club," Yasuko answered easily. "I think they've got a tournament soon actually. Two weeks from now, I think? I heard from Sawamura-senpai."
"Volleyball…" Reiko repeated, but she couldn't make sense of it. Nishinoya didn't look like he had the build of a typical volleyball player.
Yasuko mentioned Sawamura Daichi who was their upperclassman in middle school. She met him through Yasuko since they were both athletes, and Sawamura definitely fit the typical build she imagined a volleyball player would have in her head.
"I know what you're thinking," Yasuko spoke up when Reiko once again got lost in her thoughts. "Nishinoya doesn't look like a volleyball player, right?"
Reiko blinked twice then nodded.
"He's a libero," Yasuko explained. When met by a blank face from Reiko, she chuckled then spoke again, "It's like a special position in volleyball, I guess. His purpose is mainly for defense so he should be the best receiver on the team."
"That makes more sense now," Reiko hummed thoughtfully, knowing his small frame would be perfect for the position she briefly described.
"Yeah, and I heard he's pretty amazing," Yasuko pointed out, a suggestive grin back on her face. "Talented athlete, nice personality, pretty cute too if you're into that loud, boyish vibe."
"I'm sold," Reiko said dryly.
Yasuko burst into laughter again and this time, Reiko joined her, chuckling lightly to herself. She briefly recalled Nishinoya's words – even if you blend in the background, you've still got her back, right?
It was such a simple way of turning her self-deprecating words into something so positive, and she understood a bit more why he said it. She watched Yasuko laugh freely next to her, knowing she too agreed with his sentiment. Now she was rather curious how Nishinoya played volleyball with his team.
Author's Note:
I absolutely love Haikyuu and had this in my drafts for the longest time. I hope you enjoy this short story about Nishinoya and my OC! I'm hoping to roll out an update weekly for this; It'll be a bit of a slow burn, but I call it a short story because chapters are quite long.
I want to clarify a few things on how I write this:
1. Character names will be consistent with last names, except for a Yasuko and Reiko – plus a few upcoming characters that prefer to be called by their first names.
2. Yasuko and Reiko are childhood friends so you'll find Reiko calls her Ara-chan. I hope this isn't confused with how other characters choose to call her which will be Arakawa or perhaps Yasuko if she gets close to anyone that way.
Thank you and I hope you stick around for this story! I'm really excited for it. :)
~ Finner