Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I hope you're all having a wonderful time, whereever in the world you are and whether or not you celebrate Christmas!

To the guest reviewer, Typhe: As you might've noticed, this will not be a KageHina fic, because I was requested to keep it platonic, BUT I do plan on making a seperate KageHina fic, either as a side project or when I'm done with this fic.

Important not to anyone who cares about football:

~Volleyball is the best sport!~

About 8 years ago

The Kageyama family lived in a peaceful neighbourhood. It mostly consisted of elderly people and young couples looking to start a family, and, because of this, there were hardly any children. It was in the middle of summer break and Kageyama was on the street practising football, all by himself. Even though his mother was a coach, she still didn't help him out much, because, apparently, he should learn by himself and if she helped him it would be unfair. Kageyama found this hard to understand, since he didn't play on a team or anything of the sort, so who exactly would it be unfair to?

Kageyama was running up and down the street, trying to improve his coordination, but, occasionally, he would still trip over the ball. He'd been outside for about an hour, and the combination of heat and constant movement, Kageyama was almost at his limit. It was then that a large moving truck, followed by a small car, stopped outside the house next to Kageyama's. Curious, Kageyama ran towards the vehicles, carrying his football in his hands. It seemed that there were people moving into the neighbouring house and Kageyama hoped that there would be someone his age with them. And hopefully also someone who played football.

There were a couple of moving-people, who were carrying a bunch of stuff inside of the house and a man who was talking to one of them. Kageyama presumed that he was the one who was moving into the house. Behind him was a woman, who was unloading the car with smaller boxes. Kageyama had yet to see a child, but they didn't seem as young as some of the other couples who lived in the neighbourhood, so he was still hoping that there was a child in the car, who just hadn't gotten out yet. And his hopes were met.

"Houjou! We're here, won't you get out of the car and help your dad ans I with these boxes." The woman had raised her voice enough for Kageyama to hear her clearly and even though he was curious about this 'Houjou', he didn't dare to go any closer.

"I don't wanna! I never wanted to move! I want to go back to Akita! I want to go back to my friends!" A girls voice was crying even louder than her mother.

"Houjou! You know that we wouldn't have moved if we could've avoided it, but we couldn't, so instead of complaining, why don't you just make the best of it? You might even meet some really incredible people here. Now get out of the car and help us out."

A girl, who was a little taller than Kageyama, got out of the car. She wasn't wearing shoes (much to her mother's disapproval), but she was wearing a green skirt, a white tank top with some weird logo on, as well as a cap, which almost completely concealed her short brown hair and a ball.

"I don't wanna help," she said, walking away from her mother and towards Kageyama, who had gone to hide by the entrance to his house, but still observing the new family, "I'll just go see if there is a place for me to practice."

She continued walking away from her mother despite being yelled at for being stubborn and selfish, although no one made an attempt to stop her from leaving. She eventually walked past the spot where Kageyama was hiding and immediately noticed him.

"You!" She yelled at him, while dramatically pointing a finger at him, startling him to the point where he almost yelled out in shock... almost. "Do you know a place, where a girl can practice some Volley in peace?!"

"I- um, yes!" Kageyama stammered and he was immediately grabbed by the wrist by the girl, as she dragged him along. Kageyama didn't dare complain, so he just told her when to turn right and left until they eventually reached a small field.

"Mmm, this is nice!" She exclaimed and finally let go of Kageyama, "What was your name again?"

"Kageyama Tobio." 'Even though you never asked' went unsaid.

"Cool. I'm Yamamoto Houjou, but just call me Houjou, I don't give a crap about formalities. Also do you know how to play Volley?"

"Um, I know the rules, I think, but I've never played it before, and don't you need more people?"

"What? You haven't Volley before? What planet are you from?"

"I- I play football, so I don't see why I should have played Volley?"

"Obviously because Volley is the best sport!"

"O-Okay?" Kageyama didn't really know how to interact with this girl, but he was trying really hard, because this was the first time someone had made the effort to talk to him, "I don't mind trying Volley, but how do we play with just the two of us?"

"Hmm, yes, that is hard, we could just pass the ball, but if you haven't played before, then I don't know... Maybe you could just toss for me, so I can practice my spikes!"

"Toss?" Kageyama tilted his head at the unfamiliar word.

Houjou threw the ball to Kageyama, who caught it. "You just need to throw the ball high up in front of me, so I can jump up and smash it down."

"Okay, I'll try my best!"

"Alright then!" Houjou cheered backing up a bit preparing a run-up. "Okay, Tobio, throw the ball." He did as she asked and threw the ball high up into the air. Houjou ran, jumped and spiked the ball hardly into the ground, so that it bounced back and landed in a bush.

"Uwa! That was a good one! One more time, Tobio!"

This pattern continued for about an hour, and despite Tobio, being previously worn out by the football practice, and doing nothing but throwing a ball up, he was having a lot of fun. He got really satisfied every time Houjou hit the ball, but he also got annoyed, when she didn't. He also found that how he threw the ball mattered a lot. If he threw the ball too high, she would miss it, but if it was too low, she could spike it with a lot of force. He also had to keep the ball around the area, where she was jumping, because she had short arms, if he threw the ball a little away from her, she would also miss. All in all, the challenges made by simply throwing the ball for Houjou was really fun.

"I should probably be getting back," Houjou said, when they finally stopped, and Kageyama couldn't help, but be a little sad that the fin would stop, "but let's meet again tomorrow!"

Kageyama's face lit up.

They spend the rest of the Summer break together playing Volley. Houjou taught Kageyama some of the basics and they started being able to pass to each other without Kageyama completely failing. The one thing that Kageyama noticed about Volleyball that was different from football was how much more fun he was having. He couldn't really understand it, because there was no doubt in his mind that he was shit at Volley and he was pretty fucking good at football, considering his age, and he had always heard that it was hard to enjoy something if you were bad at it. It was just that Volley was so much fun. Kageyama suspected that it was because he was together with Houjou and not all alone as he had been when he had played football.

It was the last day of the break and they were currently resting and drinking some juice Kageyama had brought for them.

"What school are you going to?" Kageyama asked Houjou, hoping they would be attending the same school, even if she was older than him.

"Ugh, I'll be going to an all-girls school, so boring!" She exhaled and threw herself on the ground, looking into the sky, "Are you gonna quit football, Tobio?"

"My mum will kill me, but I probably will," Kageyama smiled as he thought about how fun the week had been, "By the way, Houjou-san, I've been meaning to ask... What's with the cap? Isn't it really hot to always wear it?" Kageyama had noticed she always wore the hat, never taking it off.

"You shouldn't question a girl's fashion choices Tobio, did your mother not teach you anything?" Houjou teased and chuckled a little before giving a serious answer, "I don't like my hair."

"Why not?"

"Geez, you're so curious, Tobio!" She sat up and hit him lightly in the head, "But if you absolutely must know, it's because my hair is all curly and thick, and I just don't like how it looks, so I keep it short and wear hats. It's fashionable and I get to cover my hair. Win-win!" She smiled.

"I think it would be really pretty if it got long..." Kageyama said, not really thinking about what was coming out of his mouth.

"Are you kidding me! I'd look like a witch!"

"Really? I think you'd look strong! Like a lion or something... But maybe that's not a good thing?" Kageyama was seriously considering whether resembling a lion was a good thing or not, but Houjou just laughed at him.

"You're amazing Tobio! But on to something else. I think you should be a Setter!"

"What was a Setter again?"

"Do you not remember anything?" She teased him again "It's the playmaker of the team. A Setter specializes in tosses! You like tossing, right? And you're good at it too... for a beginner that is."

"A Setter... Sounds cool."

That night Kageyama finally talked to his mum about his new interests and, unexpectedly, she was very supportive and only pinched him a little for dropping football so easily.

Over the course of the next year, Houjou and Kageyama would meet up whenever they were both free and play Volleyball, but all good things must come to an end and after a year of fun, Houjou was moving back to Akita, leaving Kageyama by himself.

"Promise you'll write to me!" Kageyama almost shouted at Houjou, when they were saying their goodbyes.

"Only if you enter that boys scout team, you'll never get good if you play all by yourself. I'll write, when you have joined!"

"That's a promise?"

"That's a promise."

Kageyama silently watched as the car disappeared from his sight.

Present day

Kageyama, his mother, father and Yamamoto Houjou were all sat around the dinner table, eating a delicious dinner.

After too much silence, Kageyama's mother saw it fit to start up a conversation "So, Yamamoto-"

"Houjou."

"I'm sorry, Houjou-san, which High School are you attending?"

"Niiyama Girls' High School."

"That's a power school, isn't it?" Kageyama asked, impressed.

"It is! We've been to nationals for five years in a row! This year it'll be six!"

"Are you a regular?"

"I'm not just a regular, Tobio-chan~, I'm the Ace!" Houjou was looking really proud of herself as she declared herself the Ace, but Kageyama didn't have the heart, nor the mental energy, to start a mini war, so he just continued to praise her.

"But enough about me, Tobio, the only thing I've heard from you is that your fellow first years are annoying... Which school was it again?"

"Karasuno."

"Oh! The fallen champions. The flightless crows, was it?" She teased, starting the war Kageyama had avoided.

"We're good!" Kageyama insisted.

"Then how come you didn't make it nationals?" She said, as if she was stating the winning argument.

"... We met someone better..." Kageyama said through gritted teeth, "But we'll definitely win the Spring Tournament! Hinata and I make sure of that!"

Houjou tilted her head, "Hinata? Who the hell is..." She made a look of sheer excitement, "Is Hinata your girlfriend?" Her eyes were practically sparkling, "I can't believe you have a girlfriend, Tobio!"

"Hinata is my team mate, you dumbass! He is not my girlfriend! Where the hell did you even get that idea?!"

"Ehh..? How boring. I was hoping for something more exciting. Especially since you brought his name up. You never tell me the names of anyone... But then again, neither do I, ahaha."

The rest of dinner time was centred around small talk, mostly between Houjou and Kageyama's mother. After dinner, they helped with the dishes before disappearing into Kageyama's bedroom.

"You really turned into a Volley-idiot, didn't you Tobio?" Houjou stated after having looked around his bedroom for a while, "Almost everything in here is related to Volleyball."

"And who's fault is that?"

"Are you blaming me?" Houjou pretended to be offended and made a show of acting really hurt and promising never to talk to him again. The act gained a few laughs from Kageyama.

"So, tell me about this Hinata guy! Is he like this really talented player?"

Kageyama sighed, "Not at all." He then proceeded to complain about Hinata for a full ten minutes, only to get interrupted by Houjou.

"But if he's that shit, then why do you admire him so much?"

"Huh?"

"What? You're gonna tell me that you don't admire him after talking so much about him? Besides he must have some skill if he's a regular. Is he like super tall or something?"

"He's a midget and I don't admire him! That's why I'm complaining!"

"Well, I don't claim to be the best at reading people, but I know you quite well and I know that you never talk about anyone for more than 10 seconds unless you admire them. It was the same with Takehiro and Oikawa. Which reminds me! Could you, like introduce me to them?"

"For the last time, I do not admire Hinata, and what do you want with Takehiro and Oikawa-san?"

"Well, other than the fact that they are pretty fucking good at Volley, they are both hot and single, so how about it? You got their numbers, right?"

"That's besides the point, but either way, I'm not really on good terms with them, so let's move on to something else."

"But-"

"No."

"So Hinata-"

"No."

"Aww... c'mon Tobio, is there anything you want to talk about!" She was shaking him at this point and he flicked her forehead.

"Anything, but those two things..." He searched his mind for a topic, "You grew your hair out."

She lightly touched her hair, looking mildly surprised, "I did, what brought that up?"

"I thought you didn't like it? Or don't I remember correctly?"

"That was a long time ago! I've moved on from that, besides, weren't you the one who said it would look nice if it was long?"

"I did..."

They spend the rest of the night catching up on everything they had written about in their letters, such as class mates and practice matches. Houjou was surprised, when she learned that Kageyama was on the same team as Nishinoya, who was pretty well known throughout the Miyagi prefecture. It got to the point, where they could hardly stay awake and decided to go to sleep, Houjou sleeping in their guest room, but even though Kageyama's body was tired and wanted nothing more than sleep, his mind was wide awake.

Houjou had claimed that Kageyama admired Hinata, and Kageyama had lied and said that he didn't. It was normal for him to deny all admiration he had for Hinata to Hinata himself, but he told Houjou practically everything, so why did he lie to her? Was it because they were face to face and not just writing letters to each other? Kageyama simply couldn't figure it out. He had no problem admitting to himself that he admired, even looked up to Hinata. Why else would have stalked, um, figured out which school Hinata would attend, just so he could go to the same one? And why would he have spend time creating a new move that only Hinata would be able to use, making the skill completely useless if they ever ended up on different teams. Kageyama's brain was at the point of overwork. Why couldn't he get himself to say it out loud? Was he ashamed? Not really. Did feel inferior? Not at all, he topped Hinata in skill, technique and physique. Then what the hell was it?

After completely wrecking his brain, Kageyama gave up and went to sleep.

Houjou had to leave early that morning, but promised to visit again after the Spring Tournament preliminaries. Kageyama was really looking forward to it and promised himself that when she came back, he would tell her about Hinata. And not just the bad stuff. Maybe he'd even tell her the truth about why he had gone to Karasuno. If he did, she would be the first to know and hopefully also the last.

Kageyama and Hinata were still preparing for the tests and Tsukishima was becoming a real pain in the ass, even more than usual, so he and Hinata would soon be forced to change plans, when it came to studying. And that's when their saviour came as if sent from heaven. Her name was Yachi Hitoka.

I hope you liked that chapter. It wasn't as long as I promised it would be, but unfortunately it just came to it's natural end. There was also a lot of Houjou, so I hope you like her, and if you don't, then rejoice, because she won't be back for awhile.

Once again, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!