First day in a new school has never been, and will never be easy. The people who are able to function normally in such a situation are monsters, and are not to be trusted. Because how do you just instantly adjust, especially if there isn't a single person you knew from your previous school.
Thus is the current dilemma of one Tsubame Emi, First Year at Inarizaki High.
She might appear calm on the outside, but she's frantically crying inside as she nears the school. No one's going to notice of course, having a calm composure at all times is a trait that runs in the family after all. She might not know how her three years in this school will go, but one thing's for sure. She's determined to be the manager for the Boys Volleyball Club.
Because, that's the only way she'll be able to watch the matches, without having to come up with an excuse, as to why she absolutely has to miss school.
As she steps foot on school campus, she's immediately swallowed in by the crowd. It never seizes to amaze her how the students could get so enthusiastic over member recruitments every new school year. Emi swiftly maneuvered her way through the crowd, declining club member offers whilst looking out for the Volleyball Club's booth. She'd just gotten out of the crowd and was about to sigh in relief, when she suddenly bumped into someone.
"See, I told you to watch where you're going." A voice chided.
"Hmph." And another scoffed.
"Oh! I'm so sorry." Emi said with a bow of her head.
"It's fine. It was this guys fault anyway. You alright there?" One of them said which caused her to raise her head and look at them.
"Twins?" She thought for a second, before remembering she was asked a question.
"Ah! Yes, thank you for asking." Emi answered nodding her head.
"That's good. Wouldn't want anything bad to happen on the first day now would we? I'm sorry by the way." The one she bumped into said.
"Oh no, it's alright." Emi said with a smile as she waved her hand in a 'don't mind' motion.
"So are you looking to join a club or just wanting to get away from the crowd?" The blond one asked.
"Yep! I'm actually looking for the volleyball club's booth." Emi answered happily, remembering her original purpose.
"You play?" The grey haired one asked intrigued, but both of them seemed to be equally interested.
"Not professionally, unfortunately, my body can't handle it. I just play occasionally with my brother and his friends. I was actually looking to apply as a manager. Do you guys play?" Emi explained and returned the question.
"We do! And we were just on our way to the booth to meet with an upperclassman we know. You can join us if you want." The blond one offered as he pointed in a random direction.
"That'd be great, thanks!" Emi replied gratefully as she followed after the two.
"The name's Miya Atsumu, by the way. And this is my brother, Osamu. You can just call us by our first names so it doesn't get confusing." Atsumu said as Osamu raised his hand in greeting.
"You a first year too?" Osamu asked as they walked the grounds.
"Yeah, Oh! Tsubame Emi. Nice to meet you Atsumu-san, Osamu-san." She beamed a smile as she slightly bowed her head.
"You too Emi-chan~" Atsumu answered in the same manner.
Emi didn't mind his overly friendly nature, as he looked like the type to do whatever he wants regardless of what you say. The three of them walked around for a bit before the twins saw someone they seemed to recognize.
"Aran-san!" Atsumu yelled and waved his hand when the person mentioned saw him.
"Ah! Atsumu, Osamu. You guys here to sign up?" Ojiro waved his hand back in acknowledgement.
"Yep." Osamu affirmed.
"Right! Oh? Who's this?" Ojiro questioned taking notice of the girl half hiding behind Osamu.
"Oh yeah! This is Tsubame Emi. She said she wanted to apply for the manager position, so we brought her along." Atsumu answered to which Emi stepped out from behind Osamu and bowed her head in respect.
Emi was scanning the collection of members on the booth, when she made eye contact with dull brown eyes that seemed to see through her. Startled, she looked away and instead focused on someone that stepped forward.
"You are?" One of them asked in interest which earned a nod from the girl in question.
"That's great! To think that I'll be able to experience having a manager before I retire. Thank you very much!" Someone exclaimed in excitement with a bright smile on his face as he looked up at the sky.
"You sound like an old man, Captain." A member chided, which earned a glare from said Captain.
"Anyway, I'm the Captain, Yukimura Nogi. For now, you guys can fill up these forms and hand them to me later when school ends. We'll be having a meeting in the first gym, where you'll get to meet the coaches and the rest of the members. That's all. You guys should go, we wouldn't want you to be late for the assembly now would we?" Nogi said, handing them the forms.
The three of them took the forms from the third year's hands and bowed their heads, before making their way towards the gym for the assembly.
"Seems like we have promising recruits this year. We even have someone apply as a manager." Said Nogi as he looked at the retreating forms of the three and remembering the others that came before them.
"I know you like the idea of having a manager and I do too, after all it lessens our load. But you better not forget to ask her the important question. We don't have a need for an incompetent manager." Another third year reminded.
"Yeah, yeah." Nogi answered dismissively with a wave of his hand.
—~~~—
Formalities on the first day had finally finished, the twins were currently waiting on the side, a little away from the lockers near the exit, for our fox princess. They thought about going to pick her up at her classroom, but then realized that they didn't know where hers was. A wave of students passed and finally they caught a glimpse of familiar shoulder-length wavy brown hair. They walked and stopped in front of her to catch her attention.
Emi stopped when she saw two pairs of feet in front of her, looking up, recognition flashed in her features.
"Hey guys! You heading there now?" She asked, smiling up at the two.
"Yeah, we were just waiting for you." Osamu answered.
"You were? You didn't have to, but thank you. Shall we go?" Emi said gratefully and ushered the two to move so they wouldn't be late.
On the way to the gym, they came across a few of their fellow first years also signing up to the club and got to know each others' name.
The upperclassmen and their coaches were already at the gym, they arrived early to discuss while waiting on the first years. The doors opened to the chatter of the last of the first years to arrive, just in time.
"You're quite tall aren't you, Tsubame-san." Ginjima voiced as they stepped foot inside the gym.
"It's probably 'cause she's active." Osamu noted.
"You play?" Suna turned to Emi with a brow raised in question. "Volleyball?"
"Yes, but not professionally." Emi answered.
"Oh? Why not?" Kosaku asked.
"I have a weak constitution. I play occasionally, but not for long periods." Emi explained, earning nods of understanding all around the group.
The rest, having overheard their conversation, turned towards their Captain and the Coaches.
"Guess we don't need to question her about experience then, Coach?" Nogi commented as the first years approached them and lined up with the others. He turned to the Coach for confirmation and earned himself a satisfied nod.
"So we've secured our manager. Now let's see who makes the cut." He thought as he scanned the new recruits and clapped his hands loudly to gain their attention.
"Alright, welcome first years. I'm the Captain, Yukimura Nogi, and this is the Head Coach, Kurosu Norimune-sensei and Assistant Coach, Oomi Tarou-sensei. We'll be assessing you all for the remainder of practice. Let's start with warm ups first." Nogi said and signaled the rest of the third years to assist.
"Oh and Tsubame-san, if you could come over here please." He called and Emi approached the three. When she arrived, the Captain and Coach Oomi excused themselves to watch over the members and their new recruits.
"Your name, young lady?" Coach Kurosu asked.
"Tsubame Emi, sensei." Emi said bowing in respect.
"You play volleyball?" He questioned.
"Yes!" Emi answered.
"What position?" He further inquired.
"Oh, I don't exactly have a specialty. I mainly played what was needed to complete the roster. So you could say I have experience in playing as every position, can't say I'm good at all of them though." Emi explained with an air of calmness.
"I see. You know how to do managerial duties, then?" Kurosu-sensei confirmed just to be sure.
"Yep! No problem." Emi answered with a smile.
"Good. Here. Help me record their tests." He nodded in approval and handed her a clipboard and a pen.
"Aye Sir!" Emi exclaimed, saluting with full enthusiasm which caused the Coach to chuckle at the earnest girl.
They conducted various physical tests, which included measuring their stamina and endurance along with their Jumping/Vertical reach, to which were all recorded by Emi as instructed by Coach Kurosu. Lastly the Coach ordered a practice match between the first years and regulars of the team.
Emi observed the game and all the players with laser focus. Coach Kurosu took notice of the girl and the occasional scribbling she was doing.
"So what do you think?" He asked wanting her opinion, while still keeping a keen eye on the players.
"We have a really well grounded team, they're all so impressive. As for the first years, the Miya twins sure stand out without a doubt. They're incredibly skilled and so in tune with each other. The others show promise too, like Suna. His flexibility allows him to increase the range of his spikes, all without having to sacrifice its power. They're all so fascinating. You must be proud sensei." Emi commented with a dazzling smile as she continued to watch the game.
Coach Kurosu turned to look at the girl beside him in wonder. Her love for the sport could be seen clearly with how she described the players, and how she was buzzing with energy despite not playing on the court with the others.
"They're not the only ones that are fascinating, my dear. It seems an unimaginable gift has been given to us this year." He thought as he turned back to paying attention to his players.
—~~~—
Practice had ended on a relatively good note. The Coaches and Emi were able to gather a lot of information that will be put to good use in the future. But for now that was all. They cleaned up the gym, changed and started making their way home. The remaining 1st years were chatting idly and getting to know each other as they walked towards the school gates, their upper classmen right behind them watching in fondness at their adorable children.
"Hey! What class are you guys in?" Emi asked, and was answered with a chorus of numbers.
"1"
"3"
"2"
"2"
"1"
"Awe~ Unfair most of you are classmates." Emi said dejectedly, she had hoped to have at least one of them with her earlier today. It would've made her feel at ease to know someone in class, but unfortunately that didn't happen.
"What class are you?" Suna inquired.
"Oh, I'm on Class 7." Emi answered simply, her words caused the guys to falter in their steps.
"C—CLASS 7?!" They shouted in surprise, which looked really comical that it caused the upper classmen behind them to snicker.
"D—Doesn't that mean you're like really, super, extremely, smart?" Kosaku stuttered in awe.
"Huh? I guess….." Emi said confused as to why they were reacting this way.
"You wouldn't mind if I come to you for help when exams come do you?" Suna asked sounding almost near desperate.
"Me too!" The twins exclaimed in unison.
"Uh, Sure, I don't mind." Emi said with a shrug, it wasn't really much of a problem for her after all.
"THANK YOU SO MUCH SENSEI!" They all exclaimed and bowed in front of her in unison, which startled the poor girl.
"You guys, you might want to tone it down a bit. You might scare away our manager before she even starts." Nogi chuckled.
"YOU'RE NOT GOING TO LEAVE US ARE YOU?!" They screamed which caused the rest of the third years to guffaw at the incredibility of what was happening.
"Hahaha! No, no." Emi's melodious laugh rang around them and brought huge smiles to their faces.
After all the fiasco, they finally reached the gates and split into groups that were heading the same way.
"Well, we'll see you guys at morning practice tomorrow. Don't be late." Nogi reminded like the good Captain he was and waved goodbye as they all walked on their way.
Notes:
*There weren't a lot of fic pairs of Kita-san being the main when I went on a reading spree, and this popped in my head, so yeah.
*This is my second time writing for the Haikyuu fandom. If you're curious you can find it in my page, it will connect with this one in the future (as this is Pre-Canon).
*I appreciate feedback you guys, so please do leave one! I hope you all liked it!
Thank You!