Tobio Kageyama was a proud young man. Never did he do anything to hurt his reputation in the face of others. He prided himself in being in control of every single situation that happened in his life and on the court and he would never, ever show any sign of personal discomfort when out of his comfort zone. He had promised himself long ago, on that court during the finals of the prefectural middle school volleyball tournament, that he would keep his head high during moments of adversity.

But.

The girls from the North American Women Youth's volleyball team had been the exception to his own personal rule. Never in his life had he been so utterly discomposed as when he discovered the pure horror of shopping with teenage girls. And specifically, with these teenage girls.

As they grabbed his arm and pulled him forcefully through the busy and crowded streets of downtown Tokyo in the Shinjuku area, Kageyama knew he was in for a rough, no, a brutal time. He had envisioned the worst possible outcome of this little shopping trip of theirs and what it would cost his pride. He was shocked when he discovered that his mind had not been as twisted and perverse as theirs when it came to him suffering to pay for his favor. Not only did the girls drag him by force into the dreaded lingerie and women clothing stores (people definitely gave him looks as he was hauled inside the feminine stores by six loud foreign girls) he hated so much, but they had also opened his eyes to possibly the most haunting shop of all. The makeup store. What the fuck is this place? He thought before Maria excitedly pulled on his arm, her face expression pure joy and excitement. 'Oh, come on, Tobio-kun!'

But Kageyama planted his feet firmly into the ground, stubbornly resisting her pull. There is no way I'm going in there. That's it. I mean, someone has to draw the line and I'm doing it. Maria saw the horror on his face when he read the black and white sign on top of the store, having heard from Tanaka's sister Saeko of its popularity. This is a trap, he thought.

'Oh, please! Tobio-kun, I need your help. You promised. I swear it won't take long.' she said as the other girls rushed in with uncontained excitement and giggling less than innocently. He frowned severely at the Mexican libero.

'No.' he replied to her, his tall body towering over hers. I'm bigger than her. Much bigger and heavier. She can't pull me in there even if she tried. That's it, Kageyama. You tell her how it is. If I step one foot inside, I'll die. No more Spring Tournament.

His thoughts ran wild but came to an abrupt stop when he noticed that her lips were drawn into a small pleading pout, her warm and soft brown eyes meeting his steely blue ones. Kageyama noticed the small gathering of freckles on her nose and the thickness of her batting dark lashes before finding himself blushing again before her as the doe-eyed girl suddenly weakened his resolve with her unique beauty. The loud noise of the crowded streets suddenly became like a muted echo to him. Only the warmth of the sensation of her hand on his arm mattered. Damn it, I can't think like that! Kageyama found himself standing still, jolted from her intense yet warm gaze.

'Onegaishimasu.' she gently begged this time in a clumsy attempt to speak Japanese as she turned her small pout into a corner smile that destroyed Kageyama's already failing will. His heart started to beat faster, his cheeks got warmer and he suddenly pulled his arm away in a desperate attempt to not let his flushed cheeks be the center of attention. He then embarrassingly looked away as he groaned in defeat as Maria smiled slyly, knowing he was so close to caving in.

'Ugh, fine.' he replied, defeated before he found himself following her inside the crowded store, her excited giggles the only sound he heard amidst the buzzing of voices around him as she dragged him through the makeup products aisles. While he translated publicity panels and prices to her, Maria made him feel like he was the only one in the store with her, which made Kageyama's stomach flutter. When Arissa and Elia saw that Maria had convinced the tall dark-haired and blushing volleyball player inside the store, they looked at each other and giggled and rolled their eyes, knowing perfectly well that Maria had used her Latin charm to sway him.

'Sucker.' Elia mumbled.

'Poor thing. He's done for.' replied Arissa as the twins fist-bumped comically.

While Maria was looking at an overpriced face moisturizer, Kageyama couldn't help but notice all the bruises over her caramel-colored skin. Being a libero, she was bound to have a couple of blue-hued bruises all over, that was a given. It, however, didn't take away from its beautiful shade of caramel and Kageyama couldn't help himself but to impolitely stare at her, examining her from top to bottom, from her brown curls held up in a bun to the curves of her figure to the strength in her legs. Shit. Kageyama shook his head, trying to dissuade his own self from pursuing his train of thoughts, but the short young woman that stood beside him had made him more curious than he would like to admit. Before he could arm himself with the courage to talk to her, he heard Arissa and Elia call out to them from the exit of the store.

'Hey, you two! We're done here! Come on! We need to get back before we miss the next train!' said Elia. Maria grinned and headed outside, leaving Kageyama in front of the skincare demonstrator, scowling at his own foolishness. He felt a presence next to him as a saleswoman approached him.

'Hi, there. Looking for a good face wash-'

'Hell no!' he firmly told her, a familiar scowl decorating his face. Annoyed, he walked away brashly as he joined the girls outside. His eyes met Katharine's, who gave him a warm smile.

'Had fun?' she asked. His eyes narrowed angrily. The passive-aggressive groan that escaped Kageyama's lips was answer enough for her. She smirked and bowed respectfully, her long braided dark hair falling over her shoulder.

'Thanks for your company, Tobio. You were of great help.' said Katharine. Kageyama rolled his eyes and sighed with exasperation.

'I'll meet you at the Tokyo Train Station tomorrow morning at 10. Don't be late.' he said, ready to leave. Before he could run away from them and flee to the boys' dormitories at the training camp's gymnasium facility, he turned around again and saw Maria waving goodbye at him, the silly grin she wore on her face making his stomach nervously twist with anticipation once again. As Kageyama escaped from the girls of North American Women's Youth volleyball team, he couldn't help but smile at the thought of the small Mexican libero's high pitched voice calling him by his name with her thick Spanish accent.

As he hurried to the nearest metro station, he couldn't help but miss his own teammates of Karasuno High School's volleyball club. I need to have a conversation with Tanaka and Nishinoya about this whole 'girls' thing. Because I think I'm screwed.

Katharine watched outside the train window as the bullet train to Sendai made the landscape outside pass by at the speed of light. Next to her sat Elizabeth, who had been kneading her small volleyball plush nervously while listening to music. Small beads of sweat rested on her forehead as she closed her eyes shut. Katharine took a glance at her team's setter and frowned, aware that Elizabeth was a nervous traveler and that inability to sometimes express her inside turmoils made her even more nervous. Katharine gently tapped her on the leg and Elizabeth's green eyes opened slightly, giving her captain an uncertain and anxious filled stare.

'It'll be fine, Elizabeth. Do you want some sleeping tablets?' she asked. The setter simply nodded. Within a few minutes, Elizabeth had been asleep in her seat with her head gently propped on Katharine's shoulder, as the two of them were so used to doing whenever a long commute together would ensue. Tobio Kageyama was sitting in the row behind the North American Women's Youth volleyball team and couldn't help but notice that the usually quiet and nervous Texan setter had fallen asleep so peacefully.

'What's wrong with her?' he asked.

Katharine heard him from her seat and frowned. 'Nothing's wrong with her. She doesn't like traveling all that much.' she replied. Kageyama frowned.

'Motion sickness?' he asked. 'It's pretty common.' But Katharine knew that it wasn't motion sickness at all that made Elizabeth so agitated.

'It's a little bit more complicated than that, I'm afraid.' she replied. 'I'm sorry, I wish I could speak face to face with you, but… I wouldn't want to wake her up.' she said.

'It's fine. I understand. My teammate doesn't do so well with long trips either. He gets so nervous about games that he can't hold his food. He puked all over me once. Gross.' Kageyama replied, the image of Hinata also throwing up on Tanaka's lap on their way to their first match still haunting his mind and nostrils. Katharine gently giggled.

'Elizabeth is not nervous because of the upcoming games. She's just a little different than most.'

Kageyama could see the sleeping Texan setter in the void space between hers and Katharine's seat from his own, a row back. She had completely fallen prey to dreams and seemed now relaxed.

'I noticed something about you.' said Tobio Kageyama as he looked outside as well. 'You are not just captain of your team, but also their caretaker, their translator, and their trip organizer. Why do you have so many responsibilities?' he asked, genuinely curious as to why she was putting all this pressure on her already crowded shoulders. Katharine thought for a moment but gave him a simple answer.

'Because I care about them.' she replied. 'I don't do this because I was put in charge.' she continued. 'I do this because they trust me.' she said, slowly taking a blanket out of her day trip bag and putting it on Elizabeth's thighs.

She had noticed the small goosebumps that have appeared on the Texan setter's legs from the strong air conditioning and that Elizabeth would be more comfortable that way. Kageyama's thoughts were troubled by her statement. Why do I feel like I don't fully understand what she's talking about? Why is her concept of trust and friendship so different from mine? What is it that I lack? What is it that still eludes me?

'Tell me more about your team, Tobio. Who are they and what are they like?' she said, cutting his mental discourse short. Kageyama shrugged at the thought of the guys from his own team, but couldn't help to smile.

'They're ok, I guess.' he replied. 'Our captain is Daichi Sawamura. Big, strong, dependable. He's our defensive specialist. He's a third-year and he… well actually, he makes me think of you a bit.' said Kageyama.

'We all look up to him. And then there's Suga- I mean, Koushi Sugawara. He used to be the regular setter of the club before Coach Ukai put me in as the official setter for Karasuno. It made me feel bad for a minute, but Suga is such a good volleyball player that any position he plays now, he excels at it.' he said. Katharine listened to him passively as she made sure Elizabeth stayed asleep and remained comfortable. She had never thought that Kageyama could speak for more than two consecutive minutes but was pleasantly surprised to find him rather enjoying opening up about the boys from the Karasuno High School volleyball team as if he almost had missed them during the training camp. Almost.

'And then, there's our outside hitter and ace Azumane Asahi. Another third year. He's everything one wants in a spiker: he's big, he's tall, he's got power… But he's so shy and humble about it. I don't get it. A dude that's so massive and so kind at the same time… It's almost as puzzling as the man-bun he sports...' mumbled Kageyama. 'And then, there's Ryunosuke Tanaka. Second-year spiker. I used to think he was just a rowdy obnoxious bum, but he's saved my ass on the court more times than I can count. He's always in a good mood. Much like Yu Nishinoya, our libero.' continued Kageyama, surprised at his own chattiness.

Katharine giggled. 'Ah, he's a bit like our Zofia.' she said, pointing further up the train rows, right at her own blonde outside hitter. 'Except for the 'good mood' part. We really haven't seen that side of her yet. One can only hope.' She knew Zofia had heard her comment and saw in the distance a distinct middle finger directed straight at her, Maria giggling at her side.

'I heard that, Katharine.' was all that Zofia said before returning to her conversation with Maria, Arissa, and Elia, who had been seated at the front of the train compartment. 'Who else is on your team?' she asked him.

Kageyama rolled his eyes annoyingly just thinking of the tall, arrogant blond middle-blocker. 'Kei Tsukishima. Middle blocker. Not much to say about him except that he's tall and he's a jackass. His friend and our pinch server, Tadashi Yamaguchi, is much more pleasant to talk to. I cannot understand how they've been friends since kindergarten. The only reason I tolerate Tsukishima is that he's smart and he helped me out in English once. I'd rather fail than have him as a tutor again. And then… there's Shoyo Hinata.' he said before his voice trailed off.

Katharine frowned, definitely curious. 'Who's he?' she asked. Again, Kageyama stiffly rolled his eyes.

'He's in the same year as me. Middle blocker and decoy. He's got decent skills in volleyball- wait, I take it back, he sucks at defense and can't receive a ball to save his life- and he's just so fucking loud and talkative, he's stubborn and he just can't seem to shut up… or sit, or stay still, or eat properly, or learn anything in class. Basically he's a huge dumbass and he just won't leave me alone.' He heard Katharine laugh softly.

'So he's your best friend, basically.' she called out blankly. Kageyama frowned in displeasure.

'He most certainly isn't.' he said, his teeth mashed together in indignation, making Katharine giggle even more. Sure he isn't, Tobio, she thought. His sudden rush of dissatisfaction with her assessment made her even more curious about this character that she had yet to meet.

'So what does he do that doesn't get on your nerves? Can he play?'

Kageyama had to think about her question in a legitimate manner for a moment, diving into the very few memories of Hinata that didn't portray the small orange-haired middle blocker as a complete idiot. He didn't have to dig too deep to vividly remember the one of a kind, perfectly executed and timed quick attack that Hinata executed to snag the last point against Shiratorizawa Academy, taking Karasuno High School to new heights as the best high school boys' volleyball team in the Miyagi Prefecture, bringing them closer to their ultimate goal- to compete in the National Spring Tournament. Kageyama silently chuckled as he remembered Hinata's beaming smile after the orange-haired clueless daft realized that he had scored the victory point against the almighty number one ace in the Prefecture and his team of over-athletically inclined goons.

'He's an incredibly intuitive volleyball player. Most of his skill is solely based on pure instinct. He may not be the best technical player- hell, we all know he isn't- but his raw talent and his love for the sport… It's something else.' he replied to her.

Katharine nodded again. 'So he is your best friend then. Makes sense. You seem attached to him. So cute.'

She heard Kageyama suppress a growl. 'He's not my best friend and I'm not attached to that little dweeb!' he angrily muttered under his breath, but he said it loud enough for the occupants of the train to hear him perfectly well as some of them gave him nasty looks for his sudden uproar. Before Katharine could react, she saw Maria's angry face angrily snapping sideways to give her a nasty look from the front of the coach.

'Stop pissing him off, damn you!' she could read on the Mexican libero's lips, Arissa nudging her arm playfully.

'Yeah, stop pissing her boyfriend off.' comically mimicked Arissa and Elia in whispers, further embarrassing Maria.

'Would you stop that, both of you!' Maria angrily cried out to the twins as Kageyama curiously looked her way, eyes narrowing shyly with muted interest from the back of the coach. She quickly ducked behind her seat, her cheeks flushed red, trying desperately to hide from his prying gaze. Her little outburst had echoed throughout the train compartment. Maria heard Zofia sigh heavily, visibly exasperated at the other girls for making a scene in public transport and the growing awareness that they were not getting any sympathy from the other occupants of the train compartment. Zofia felt the burning gaze of the elderly woman sitting behind her through her seat and became quite uneasy at the thought of being publicly scolded by a local angry senior citizen. She glared at Maria and angrily scowled at her, her icy blue eyes meeting Maria's brown ones angrily as exasperated whispers reached her ears.

'You getting trashed by that Japanese Betty White behind sure seemed like a good way to get us kicked off this train, Maria. If you don't want to walk the rest of the way there, I suggest you chill. We're almost there, so can you act normal until we do?' said Zofia as he put on her headphones and looked outside. Maria silently and rather embarrassingly took the Polish-American spiker's scolding with a signature pout and crossed her arm, closing her eyes to try to find peace and serenity… only to be daydreaming about a certain steely blue-eyed setter that, unbeknownst to her, gazed at her from the back of the train coach with the subtlest of smiles on the corner of his lips.

As he broke his stare, Tobio Kageyama couldn't help but feel the anticipation building inside of him as the excitement of returning home washed over him. He was ready for the last preparations for the Spring Tournament and hoped that his plan involving the North American Women's Youth volleyball team would bring the boys from Karasuno to new heights… and not be a complete disaster.