Mornings are usually easy for Oriana, however there was a sour taste in her mouth the night before. Waking up at four AM seemed excessive, but teacher Takeda insisted that their school couldn't be the last to arrive again. Arriving earlier meant they could help the Nekoma team with the preparations for the camp.
Even during the summer time, Oriana was forced to wear a second layer of clothing as she walked to Karasuno High along with Daichi. The cold stinged her hand, only her palm against her boyfriend's was remotely warm, but her fingers were freezing cold. The sun was starting to rise over the hill, warming her body with gentle heat. Daichi observed her, how the light catched her eyes. Her brown eye was coated with honey enhancing its depth. The purple one seemed almost pink in this light. He couldn't stop himself from smiling at those beautiful eyes, and also, it was impossible not to wonder about her past, what disturbing scenes have those eyes seen. He only wishes he could've been there for her at that time. Whatever happened, Oriana insists that she does not want to talk about it. Daichi was aware of the girl's difficulty with honesty, he understood it as a cooperation mechanism for whatever trauma she suffered in the past. If she asks her boyfriend, he will admit it, that he feels like something is missing whenever they are together.
The energetic team was quieter than usual, deeming the unholy hours they had to set their alarms to. The trip to Tokyo went smoothly as most of the time the bus was found in a slumber. Although, around lunch time, the boys were starting to get irritable, complaining about the time wasted in travel that could be used to be in the court. Daichi, feeling the restless energy from the team, was starting to get impatient himself. He almost got a serene and quiet trip. Almost.
Arriving at their destination, they had a sort of welcoming from the Nekoma team.
"Is that the Tokyo tower?" Nishinoya and Tanaka asked simultaneously, excited as it would be the first time seeing it.
"Really? Is it?" Oriana asked, also excited. She had only heard about the tall and imposing Tokyo Tower. One year in Japan had not given her the opportunity to visit it.
"It isn't. It's just a normal communication tower." a tall boy wearing the distinguished Nekoma red tracksuit answered their question.
Behind him, a boy with black bed hair laughed in a strange manner. Everyone in the club was already familiar with the Nekoma school due to their practice games. Oriana, however, recognized some of them from watching the games from the bleachers, but never actually met them.
"You have gotta be kidding me. There is another manager?" a boy with a blond mohawk couldn't take his eyes off Kiyoko and Yachi as Tanaka was showing them off.
After greeting the Nekoma team captain, Daichi reached his arm around Oriana's shoulder and whispered into her ear,
"Prepare yourself," he said. "If you think my team is energetic, you wait until they start conjoining forces." Daichi joked and Oriana laughed at his remark.
"Another one? What do you even need three managers for?" Nekoma's team captain bawled.
"What? A third one?" the blond mohawk cried.
"Actually, I'm not a manager. I just offered to help the managers in the camp." Oriana said.
"My girlfriend is amazing indeed." Daichi bragged.
"Isn't she just ditching your own club?" Tsukishima joked behind them. "Why did you even join the book club?"
"It's not my fault that the club is full of romance and young-adults lovers." Oriana complained. "I tried to convince them to read horror novels, but they're too scared."
"Daichi's girlfriend, huh? And so we meet," the Nekoma captain approaches Oriana, extending a hand to her. "I'm Kuroo Tetsurou."
"I'm Oriana White, nice to meet you." she takes his hand with a soft smile.
"A foreign name?" Kuroo questioned. "Where are you from?"
"I'm half japanese and half english." the simple lie now slips her tongue naturally. "I was born there, but I grew up in Japan."
Oriana was caught off guard the first time she was asked the same question. Thankfully, she had Sugawara to back her up back then.
"You're like Lev then!" the yellow mohawk spoke. "He's half russian."
The greetings pursued, Oriana had learned the tall man of colour was named Kai and the yellow mohawk was Yamamoto. Soon after, Kiyoko warned her that Yachi and herself were going to check out their room, inviting Oriana along.
The drill games started in the afternoon, but Oriana stayed behind to help the managers clean up the lunch dishes. This was until Yachi asked for her assistance in the gymnasium. The boys were finishing their second games and they didn't have enough managers to take care of their needs.
In Yachi's company, the two girls made a quick stop to fill the water bottles before heading to the gymnasium. It was quite a view. Besides the main buildings and the gyms, there was nothing but green grass and the ocean. It was a calm environment, away from the pollution of the big city. The gymnasiums were also impressive in Oriana's eyes. Each one fitted three normal size courts. It was different from the small Karasuno High gymnasium she was used to, more comparable to those of the competitions and official games she had watched from the bleachers, cheering for the Karasuno boys. And now it would be no different.
Although, upon arriving at the gymnasium the boys were playing, Oriana was faced with her favourite team in a punishment drill.
"They've been losing?" Oriana asked the manager still on her side.
"Yeah, there's been some tension in the team," Yachi began. "But teacher Takeda said that they were blooming. He made some comparison with- honestly, I don't really get what he says most of the time." she admitted, scratching the nape of her neck.
"To be fair, they are a pain in the ass to play against." a guy with the Fukurodani green vest pinched in.
"Yeah, you never know what they will come up with next." his teammate said.
"I think they are fun." another one began. "A challenge is always fun."
This last one, once they took a glance at Oriana, it turned into a curious glare. His yellow eyes were rather unnerving to Oriana.
"Do you wear only one contact lense or something?" he simply asked.
Before Oriana had the chance to answer, another of his teammates scolded him.
"Bokuto, that's rude."
"It's fine, you are not the first one to ask something like that." she couldn't help but send a look in Hinata's direction, speaking loud enough for the boy to hear her.
"I apologized!" he screamed, making Oriana laugh.
"And no, I don't wear contacts. This is the colour of my eyes."
"Really?" the boy wowed. "You must be Daichi's girlfriend Kuroo mentioned!" he remembered after noticing Karasuno High School embroidered into Oriana's t-shirt. "I'm Bokuto Koutaro!" he pointed to himself.
"You can call me Akaashi." the teammate that scolded him before, bowed slightly, introducing himself.
"I'm Oriana White."
Oriana glanced at the team who was just finishing their punishment drill, smiling softly at the boys, believing, or yet knowing that they would be okay. After losing to Seijoh, the boys have had a hard time, butting heads even, but their fighting spirit was far from dying out. This training camp was their opportunity to surpass their limits, right before the spring preliminaires.
The first day of practice games was over. Before dinner, some of the boys grouped together for some extra individual training. Yachi left with the Fukurodani managers to prepare the boys meal and Oriana stayed with Kiyoko assisting the Karasuno team. Even after all the punishment drills, they still had energy to jump around and do spikes and receives. Oriana couldn't help but be impressed every time by their perseverance and physical strength. In the Clover Kingdom it wasn't everyone that would put the effort into their bodies, just when it was about leveling up their magic. So doing that kind of training just for the sake of playing a sport, was something new to Oriana, but she always respected their feelings towards it. Unfortunately, these feelings weren't shared by all the players. Tsukishima left the team early and gave up on his training before anyone else, stating he was feeling tired and worn out, leaving his teammates worried. Everyone was trying so hard, but Tsukishima seemed to be the only one not willing to put in the extra effort.
While putting the bottles down on the bench, Oriana noticed a pair of knee pads abandoned on the floor. Seeing all the boys were still wearing theirs, Oriana assumed they could only belong to Tsukishima.
"Hey, Yamaguchi." Oriana called out for the first year's attention. "Tsukishima forgot his knee pads. I'm going to catch up with him to give them back, in case anyone asks."
"Yeah, alright."
It was peaceful outside during the night. The faint noise of sneakers on the gymnasium floor, the ball bouncing around, the familiarity with that sound brought calmness to Oriana. Tucking her long black hair behind her ear, Oriana searched for Tsukishima's tall figure. He followed the right path and was now standing in front of the neighboring gymnasium, talking to the boys inside before heading inside and joining them.
Oriana trailed behind, following Tsukishima's steps. Cautiously approaching the gym doors, not wanting to distract the boys from their practice. A lean white haired boy was lying exhausted on the floor while Kuroo was complaining about his serves. Bokuto and Akaashi were also there making conversation with the tall bean pole from Karasuno. Oriana cleared her throat, calling for Tsukishima's attention. Unfortunately for her, not only Tsukishima heard her, but also Kuroo noticed her presence. She had no idea what she just got herself into.
"Oh, perfect! Now we have an even group of six!" Kuroo cheered.
"Is that a good idea?" Tsukishima asked, glancing at Oriana.
"Of course it is! Come, come. Let's play a practice game, three on three." the Nekoma captain invited.
"Actually, I only came because Tsukishima forgot his knee pads." she waved the pads in the air.
"Oh come on! We only need one more." Bokuto insisted.
"Don't tell me you can't keep up with us." Kuroo provoqued.
With those words, he ticked something inside Oriana. The competitive side of her woke up from her long slumber. With a smirk on her face, she entered the gym, ready to kill. Or at least with the enthusiasm to slam some balls.
"Very well. Don't go crying home when I smash you." she grinned, dropping Tsukishima's pads on the floor.
Truth was, Oriana had an athletic body that she had been working on ever since she decided she was going to join a Magic Knight Squad. Training her body was a habit she gained in the Clover Kingdom, her friend Asta, back in the Black Bulls, pulled her even further into working her body into shape. Sure, she didn't have much experience with volleyball, the only experience she had was helping the Karasuno boys with spiking and serving drills and all the official games she had watched gave her a notion of the rules and roles each player had. All this gave her a certain confidence, even if she wasn't sure of what she was doing, she would just wing it.
"I like that enthusiasm." Kuroo pointed.
They divided the group into two teams. Kuroo, Lev and Tsukishima were on one team, Oriana, Bokuto and Akaashi in the second.
"This doesn't look very fair." Akaashi commented and he was right. All the taller players were on Kuroo's team, leaving the shorter ones in the second team.
"We'll be fine! Let's do it!" Bokuto's enthusiasm vibrated through the gym and sparkled Oriana's fiery competitiveness even further.
"Okay, sure. Let's discuss a strategy then."
"The only strategy we need is to win!" Bokuto yelled.
"Yeah!" Oriana agreed.
Knowing there was no way to reason with his teammates, Akaashi gave up the strategy and the game started.
Bokuto served the first ball, received effortlessly by Kuroo on the other side of the court. The ball went directly to Tsukishima that set the ball to the tall Nekoma player named Lev. Akaashi and Bokuto tried to block the ball, but only managed to barely touch it. Observing every move of the ball, Oriana's knees were soft and arms relaxed. With a couple of steps, she was under the ball and ready for a great receive.
"Nice receive!" Bokuto screamed.
"Yeah, not bad, not bad." Kuroo commented.
The ball had hardly reached the other side of the net when Oriana felt a wave of mana coming from outside right before a loud explosive sound burst through the air. Oriana's body froze in place as her heart skipped a beat from fright.
This is not possible. Not here.
Everyone was staring at the exit door, but no one had the guts to make a move.
"I'll go see what the noise was." Oriana was the first to react.
"Wait, is that a good idea? We should stay inside and close the door" Akaashi said.
"Yeah, don't worry about it," she nodded confidently. "Just stay here, okay?"
Oriana ran outside, following the mana tracks in the air. Since Suga would be the only other mana Oriana could normally feel, this new trail was easy to follow. She went up the small hill and ran into the forest. Between the trees and bushes, she could feel the mana pulling her closer. This is not familiar mana, it also wasn't too strong, but definitely dangerous with so many innocent lives around.
Suddenly, Oriana stopped in her tracks, feeling a huge pressure of mana coming right on her direction, she barely had the time to dodge a mana blast, causing yet another explosive sound and leaving a trail of destruction between the trees.
Fallen on the ground, Oriana clenched her fist. This could not be happening. Who were these people and if they were after her, these were the main questions in her mind. If anything happened to any innocent people tonight, she would not be able to forgive herself. She managed to get herself up and optioned for a more indirect route to her target. Hiding her body in the bushes, she was rounded closer and closer to them.
Dirt and leaves tangled in Oriana's hair as something pushed her to the ground a second time, then pressed a hand over her mouth and whispered,
"Hush or they'll hear you."
It was Sugawara.