Prologue
It was such a small thing.
To the average person, it blended in with the footsteps and laughter now echoing in the school halls. It caught the breeze near the windows and floated down into the courtyard where the blossoms started gathering like fresh snow. It was such a small thing. Hardly anyone paid it attention as Shiratorizawa burst with activity, its students fleeing the classrooms, eager for the start of a new term.
Satori Tendou yawned, stretching his arms wide until his shoulders popped. He had dozed off somewhere in the middle of the afternoon lecture and regretted staying up so late the night before. Pinpricks of black dotted his vision, blinding him for a moment until the room reasserted itself in calming shades of warm white. Shaking off his fatigue, he turned to his nearest classmate.
"Wakatoshi," he said, brightening, "ready for the first practice of our second year?"
"We've been practicing all break," said the ace.
"True, but this one's special," Tendou insisted. "I read in Crimson Warrior last night that the first practice of a new season determines our fortune. We've got to be on our A-game this afternoon, or we risk bad luck for the whole year!"
Ushijima gathered his school things. He stacked his notebooks the same way he moved across the court – neatly. He matched up their seams, aligning their metal spirals before slipping them into his book bag so the pages wouldn't bend. Tendou brushed his own things into his bag like breadcrumbs.
"Don't spoil it," said Ushijima with a frown, "I haven't read that one yet."
Tendou gripped the edges of his desk in shock.
"What? But it's one of the seven pillars of the Shounen pantheon! How could you have not read it? You mean to tell me you've never recited Kuma's battle anthem as a kid?"
"I said don't spoil it," Ushijima repeated, placing his book bag over his shoulder.
Tendou huffed.
He had been trying to unravel the mystery of his enigmatic teammate for over a year now. Ushijima presented a dignified front, sure, but Tendou could sense other motivations at work deep below the surface. The first rule of intuition, he learned, was that all interesting people had layers as thick as books. Therefore, it was a matter of intrigue for him to leaf through their pages.
"Very well," he said, uncapping a pen with his teeth, "we'll add that to your reading list."
Tendou searched for a bare spot on his hand. It was already covered in a myriad of notes – his computer login password, his first career counseling session, the combination to his gym locker, among various things – smudged now from the cuff of his dress shirt.
A burst of laughter filled the air.
Tendou paused, glancing at the students holding court at the front of the room. His female colleagues were discussing something of extreme importance. He could tell by the way the air around them seemed charged. A chair scraped across the floor in someone's haste, sounding like a poorly-tuned horn, and then he heard it – a girl had adopted a puppy over the break, and her family was bringing it to campus this weekend!
He was up and out of his seat, joining the chorus of delighted feminine gasps as a cell phone was passed around the group. The screen lit up at his touch, showing a picture of a two-month-old French bulldog.
"I've decided to name him Argus," said the owner of the phone, a pretty girl named Akiko.
"But you'll call him Argie for short, right?" He asked her.
The girls spared him amused looks, already tolerant of his intrusive behavior by now. He fit into their conversations with as much charm as a pink flamingo.
Akiko nodded. "Definitely. He'll be christened with a thousand nicknames come Monday!"
This earned her another round of laughter.
"Tendou, hurry up. We'll be late," said Ushijima as he headed straight for the hall.
"Not so fast, Wakatoshi. Come look at this puppy," he beckoned, still holding the phone. Akiko immediately began fidgeting with her blazer. Her hands brushed down the seams, flattening any unwanted wrinkles.
Tendou grinned.
The class representative had kept her crush on Ushijima a tightly guarded secret, but he had a way of noticing the things others overlooked. It hadn't taken him long to piece together that these sensational outbursts were a way to grab his attention, and by grabbing his attention, he was more likely to convince Ushijima to stay and talk – the two things the Great Ace rarely did of his own volition.
Tendou wasn't sure why he went along with this scheme. It was obvious the girls in his class treated him as the intercessor to his stoic friend. But perhaps he went along with it because he knew Akiko's efforts were in vain.
Ushijima had ambition, but it was the kind of ambition that required sacrifice. Coach Washijo made it clear the volleyball club would be advancing its status this year. The ace couldn't afford distractions of any kind, least of all a tender, budding romance.
Though, to be fair, none of them could. Not even Akiko. They were at Shiratorizawa for crying out loud. The place where the underground student motto was 'Morte Vacabimus.' In Death, We Shall Rest.
Tendou thought it a pity. Akiko was a nice girl, and Ushijima liked dogs. The least he could do was allow for small moments like this.
"Here, see what you think."
Ushijima took the phone, assessing the close-up shot of a round, white puppy.
The girls watched with bated breath, curious to see how the Great Ace would respond to this latest attempt at breaking through his cold exterior. Tendou could hear their silent speculations like the broadcast of a live baseball game:
Here comes Wakatoshi Ushijima, peering out from under his bangs as he takes the cell phone…
The Great Ace calmly assesses the target, and the clock is ticking here folks…
The crowds are going silent as Ushiwaka takes a breath…
Will he gasp?
Will he blush?
Will he break the hearts of millions with his perfect peaches-and-cream smile?
"Congratulations," he said at last to Akiko, handing her phone back.
There you have it, Ladies and Gentlemen!
Short, simple, and direct – the three ingredients of Ushiwaka Speak!
Strikes like an arrow –
like a solitary howl in the night –
like the radiance of a cold, distant star only to be seen and never felt!
A real tragedy here, folks.
"Thank you," said Akiko, drooping a little.
Tendou sighed.
Miracle Boy Wakatoshi. I'm not sure if I should be proud or disappointed right now.
"Let's go," said Ushijima.
Grabbing his bag, Tendou offered the girls a commiserating salute before bounding after his ace.
. . . . . . . . . . .
The halls were teeming with students. Tendou craned his neck above the ruckus, wondering how on earth they were going to navigate the narrow passage. The sound of papers shuffling against the corkboards and vending machines clunking out ice-cold beverages ricocheted off the walls, filling his ears with senseless chatter. But the moment they drew close, it all ceased. Students moved out of the way, pausing in their attempt to admire the athletes as they moved about the school.
Tendou relished it. He enjoyed the furtive glances that lingered on his back, how conspicuous they made him feel amid the crowd. He deliberately relaxed his torso, stuffing hands inside his pockets as he sauntered alongside Ushijima. He took a deep breath, his new notoriety smelling an awful lot like lemon-scented floor wax – bright, citrus, and tangy.
It wasn't long before they caught sight of a teammate. A boy with soft gray hair and a pinched face. He was speaking to a few classmates amiably, but the moment Tendou and Ushijima approached, he turned sour.
"Don't start," warned Eita Semi.
Tendou raised his hands in self-defense. "I didn't say anything."
"Your face did."
"I smiled at you!"
"Yeah, like a deranged serial killer!"
A hand clapped on Tendou's shoulder, firm and full of reprimand.
"We've got quite the afternoon ahead of us," said Reon Ohira, appearing from thin air. The stout wing spiker had a placid expression, but Tendou felt his underlying threat like a vice. "Captain expects model behavior in front of the first years. Let's not disappoint, shall we?"
"I'm literally just standing here," said Tendou.
It was then that Hayato Yamagata approached them, looking just as cavalier with his blazer tossed over a shoulder, held in place by a single, curved finger. There was a freshness to him that set the halls aflame with girlish whispers.
The libero cocked his chin, looking especially pleased with himself. "Sup."
Reon frowned.
"Anyone else feel like we're under a microscope all of a sudden?" Jin Soekawa revealed himself from behind Yamagata. He was gripping the straps of his backpack, his thick, dark brows merging into one. "I had to wait two class periods to use the toilet in peace! Can you believe that?"
Tendou shifted his weight, raising his head to scan the halls again. The motion made his eyes sore as they were still bruised with sleep. But it was apparent the second years were standing in a whirlpool of gravity – the epicenter, of which, stood Ushiwaka.
That was to be expected. Everyone knew his name, especially after their placement at last year's tournament. The entire school had been given permission to cut class to attend the match that would earn Shiratorizawa a seat among the top ten powerhouse schools of Japan. Bearing witness to such a triumph had caused the students to revere him as a legend…even though the boys' volleyball club had ended up jogging back to campus as penance for falling short at Nationals.
Tendou thought it remarkable. Despite all the fanfare, it never went to the ace's head. Ushijima was always so calm, cool, and collected. Even now.
"Let's go," he said.
They fell into step, their collective distinguishability blazing like a star. Something about being back in school, back in the public eye, and back together as a tight unit, reaffirmed their intentions for the season. They were going to work harder than ever before, bringing glory to the sport of volleyball.
Tendou grinned at a bunch of first-year girls, making them blush.
"You're not wrong, Jin," he said slyly, "Something's definitely changed."
"You seem to be enjoying it," sneered Semi.
The grin fell from his face.
"And you aren't?" Tendou surveyed the setter almost as if in pity. "We've climbed out of the abysmal pit that was our first year and you don't want to gloat even a little bit?"
"Careful, that arrogance will get you into trouble," warned Reon.
It was too late. No sooner had the words left the wing spiker's mouth that a dark aura filled the corridor. The swelling crowd parted like the Red Sea, making way for a terrifying force of nature.
"SATORI TENDOU!" Shouted a voice down the hall, startling the athletes. "YOU HAVEN'T SUBMITTED YOUR PHYSICAL TO THE SCHOOL NURSE! DO YOU WANT TO BE TAKEN OFF THE TEAM?"
For a short, seemingly harmless old man, Tanji Washijo's voice cracked like a whip. Several students fell silent, turning to gawk at the infamous Demon Coach. Even Ushijima froze.
"My physical! I forgot!" Tendou cried, doing his best impression of the painting Scream.
Four dark faces turned on him, making him jump.
"I'M ON IT!"
. . . . . . . . . . .
"Not good, not good!" Tendou chanted as he worked his way up the school corridors, taking two stairs at a time, then three. Students had to jump out of his way, narrowly avoiding the dangerous swing of his book bag as he made a dash for the nurse's office.
It was quite an ordeal. The school infirmary was located on the fourth floor beside the teacher's lounge on the opposite side of the building. Tendou was hard-pressed for time if he was ever going to make it to practice. They were supposed to assess the new recruits, and he did not want to miss out on seeing the fresh crop of talent for himself.
"I'll never hear the end of it from Eita," he said, cringing. "Or Hayato! Or Reon!"
But there were advantages to having long legs, and soon he found himself sliding to a halt in front of the school infirmary, shouting "Home Run!" in the process. But alas, there was no nurse. The place was dark and empty, the door locked.
At that moment, Tendou truly began to panic. His fear played out in film noir, showing him the life he would lead as a disgraced member of the volleyball team. His reputation would go up in smoke. He would be forced to watch his teammates from the sidelines, never to step onto the court again. In fact, Washijo would probably revoke his scholarship, stripping him of his status at Shiratorizawa, and Tendou would have no choice but to pack up his dorm room and leave that very evening.
The horrors.
He pressed his face against the glass.
What if I slipped it under the door? Would that count as turning it in?
"Tendou?"
He paused, blinking in surprise before glancing over his shoulder.
An underclassman, a girl he didn't recognize, had stopped mid-step with a stack of heavy books in her arms. She had abandoned her jacket and gray sweater, sporting the blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Her hair was somewhat mussed, and she had a pencil tucked behind her ear, but it was her expression that struck him as most bizarre. She was staring at him with such familiarity it was as if they already knew each other. Was she someone from a former life of his? His life before Shiratorizawa?
"If you're looking for Nurse Hino, she's in the library – but you better move fast. I overheard she has a nail appointment this afternoon," said the girl as she studied his face-print on the door.
Tendou straightened, ignoring the fact that his blazer laid askew on his shoulders.
"Er…thanks," he said, tilting his chin. "Do I know you?"
The girl blinked.
"Ah. No, but I've seen you play on the volleyball team. You're good!" She smiled, a blinding sunrise kind of smile that left him stunned. Then, remembering the weight in her arms, she offered him a curt nod. "Well, I better be off. Good luck!"
She hoisted her stack, letting it rest comfortably against her chest as she carried on down the hall.
Tendou lingered, bewildered.
His mind was somewhere between a sunflower field and a suspense thriller. He stood there basking in his first genuine, unsolicited compliment from a fellow student. No manipulation was necessary. But how was that possible? What tithe was he expected to pay in exchange for such a random act of kindness?
Shifting his bag to the other shoulder, he slapped his cheeks. "Nurse. Library. Right!"
To her credit, the girl was correct. Nurse Hino was gossiping with the librarian at the front counter two floors down. He caught the tail end of their heated discussion on the dietary benefits of fish oil, and they both regarded him with looks of displeasure as he – winded and dazed – held out his new physical form with a deep bow. It wasn't until he retrieved his gym bag, sprinted halfway across campus to the locker room, and found himself sprawled on the gymnasium floor that he finally allowed himself to think on the small exchange in the hallway.
I've seen you play on the volleyball team. You're good!
It was such a small thing.
But to him, it was quite interesting.
A/N: Hullo! Thank you so much for checking out my debut story. The planets really aligned on this one. You might be asking yourself, does this girl have any business writing about volleyball and Japanese high school students? The answer is no. *laughs* But my hope is that you come away with the same happy, feel-good vibes that make the franchise so remarkable. I know for me personally, this has been a wonderful way to cope with the pandemic situation that rolled out this year. Who would have thought that writing high school romance could be so cathartic?
Anyway, this story is a hypothetical dive into student life at Shiratorizawa, helmed by our favorite villain, Satori Tendou. It touches on all my favorite romance tropes and hopefully provides some unexpected twists along the way. I don't own Haikyuu! but humbly submit my cast of original characters whom I hope will make you laugh. They've certainly entertained me. :D
Also, I love it when authors release the soundtrack they listen to whenever writing or crafting scenes. It makes the experience that much more immersive, so I hope you don't mind if I leave soundtrack suggestions at the end of each chapter. Feel free to explore or ignore at your leisure.
"Keep Together" – Hunter Hunted
"Harlem" – New Politics
Thank you again, and I sincerely hope you enjoy.
All the best,
lavendermoonmilk