long time no see hahahah

Hotaru was scared. Or nervous. Intimidated? Maybe all of the above.

Very seldom is Takahashi Hotaru worried about what people think of her. But Shimizu Kiyoko was beautiful and nice and honestly, Hotaru might have had to admit this was her first crush. Or at least, first real girl crush. There was that baseball player that was six years older than her that Atsumu had threatened to tell and there was the twins' uncle that was visiting for the holidays one year, but that was it. Shimizu was not only her first real girl crush, but her first real realistic crush.

Which is why she was cowering in the hallway of the the third year classrooms.

Nishinoya and Tanaka assured her - through many dramatized declarations - that Shimizu was perfect and easy to speak to and overall awesome, and while Hotaru didn't know her two classmates very well, she was inclined to believe them when she caught sight of her senpai in the window.

Just do it, she begged herself. What's the worst that can happen?

Oh gods, what if she was rejected?!

She'd never live it down. The twins would destroy her and remind her of her failures that rest of her life! That humiliation isn't worth anything.

Nope. She's not going to do it. She doesn't need to join a club. She could totally handle being a manager for the soccer team and cheer when they're getting wrecked and hand out water bottles to the losers on the team. It might take awhile and she would actually hate her life for a bit but -

"Excuse me. Kenji-kun said you were looking for me?"

Who the hell was Kenji-kun and how did he know?!

Hotaru thought about bolting. There was the fleeting thought of pretending she was an exchange student and was struggling to find her class. Growing up, she'd never had issues with confidence and ego - she was the best at what she did and needed everyone to know it. She knew she was rude and an idiot when it came to books, but she was never shy of all things.

Alas, a pretty girl turns out to be her weakness. Maybe she was more like Nishinoya and Tanaka than she thought.

"Y-Yes!" Hotaru finally bowed, head almost hitting the ground from how deep it was. "Shimizu-senpai, I'm Takahashi Hotaru! Nishinoya and Tanaka said the volleyball team was looking for another manager and that I should speak with you!"

Her face was flaming hot and her eyes were pointedly looking away from this angel standing in front of her. Did she like volleyball enough to deal with this embarrassment? Probably not.

Shimizu looked taken aback by her declaration before crinkling her eyes in a pretty smile. She gave a small bow as well. "Nice to meet you, Takahashi-chan. I'm glad to hear your interest in the manager position. How much do you know about volleyball?"

The ugly faces of her childhood friends flashed through her mind and there was a moment where her an equally ugly grimace flashed across her face.

"Too much."

To: Trash #1 and Trash #2

i think i'm in love

From: Trash #1

is this another sousuke situation

From: Trash #2

or is this uncle all over again

To: Trash #1 and Trash #2

neither this is a lowly human craving the attention of a divine being

From: Trash #2

blocked

Higuchi was pouting when Hotaru told her she was officially Karasuno's newest volleyball manager. It wasn't hard to convince Shimizu when she explained her shitty friends being at a powerhouse school and that she had been forced into being their manager when they were younger. The way that the older girl's face lit up with the knowledge that Hotaru understood the sport... she wished she had taken a photo.

"So you're going to abandon us for the volleyball team?" Higuchi whined, leaning across Hotaru's desk, a cross look on her face. "You didn't even give us a chance!"

Hotaru sneered. "I told you already I wasn't going to be a manager since I can't play," she explained again. "I don't need to give any of you a chance."

"So cold," Higuchi hissed. "Were you like this at your old school?"

Annoying, Hotaru thought. So annoying.

"I've been like this since I escaped my mother's womb," she griped back, shoving Higuchi off her desk. "What do you want from me?"

"Can't you be a team player? Wouldn't it be nice to get to know everyone so there's not awkwardness when you step onto the field with us?"

Hotaru was pretty sure she hated her honestly. Maybe it was because she didn't have a lot of girl friends growing up since she spent so much time with the twins, but Higuchi was too much. She was annoying and optimistic and thought she knew more about Hotaru than she herself did.

The Miya twin were just as annoying as anyone, but at least they understood her. Atsumu was a pretty nasty guy - selfish is the nicest word - while Osamu hardly cared enough to do the bare minimum in a friendship. The two of them were the closest thing to best friends she could have and even then, she was confident that they hardly shared anything of substance with each other.

And that was fine.

Higuchi had some weird misconception of who Hotaru was. Hotaru wasn't a team player. Had never been one, and she wouldn't be starting now of all times.

But, she liked being a part of a team. Being the manager of the volleyball team was nice. There was no expectation of her. She knew she wasn't the best on the court. She wasn't even the best at being a manager. There was no awards to be won and there was no scouting for a professional volleyball manager.

Hotaru stared Higuchi down.

"I don't care if any of you feel awkward with me when I'm in goal," she stated blandly. "My job is to block shots, not to worry about your feelings."

Higuchi's face turned red. It was the first time Hotaru had seen actual anger, and it almost made her grin at it. Her somewhat friend's anger at her made her want to laugh. Before the other girl could start on a tirade about how the sport was all about teamwork, a new voice popped in.

"Takahashi-chan, you're so cold!"

Nishinoya was grinning at her, his words lighthearted. If she was more confident in her appearance, she'd almost say he sounded reverent. Higuchi frowned at him, and Hotaru shrugged.

"Only when it comes to soccer," she assured - even though it was a small lie. Nishinoya was rocking on his heels, practically bouncing on his toes. It made her want to stand from her desk and move around. "I want to brag - I'm really good."

To her surprise, Nishinoya barked out a laugh while Higuchi huffed and muttered, "That's not the phrase." Hotaru only side-eyed her.

"You definitely have a sporty body type," Nishinoya agreed boldly. "You're tall, too. I don't really care about soccer so I'll just take your word for it."

Her cheeks were pink. "Thanks, Nishinoya."

"Call me Noya! We're teammates now!"

"Okay, Noya."

"WHAT?!" Higuchi screeched, reaching out to grab Hotaru's arms, retracting when she caught the goalkeeper's harsh stare (she swears, if her recovery gets delayed by an idiot who can't keep their hands to themselves). "What is with this change in attitude? Do you have a mood disorder or something?"

Hotaru shoved the hands away from her. "Huh? I've always been like this."

"Takahashi-chan... you're so cool."

Although she's heard it over and over, the genuine awe in Nishinoya's voice had her preening. See, he didn't care how she acted as long as she handed him a water bottle at practice.

"Thanks, Noya," Hotaru said smugly, smirking at her future soccer teammate. "I'm excited to see you play. Nekoma, right? Karasuno's rival?"

He was buzzing, ready to burst from the pent up energy. He nodded rapidly. "You and Kiyoko-san on the sideline together... a ball won't drop! Especially against Nekoma!"

And surprisingly, Hotaru believed him.

Nishinoya always seemed confident. Not arrogant (like some twins she know) but confident in his abilities, knowing how good and how bad he is. It was refreshing. In a weird, roundabout way, it reminded her of Kita - even if her senpai wasn't nearly good enough to play.

Class started and Nishinoya gave her a wide grinned salute, bouncing to his desk. She could understand it. They were having one last practice before they prepared for Golden Week - she really joined at a busy time - and he was ready to play. They'd have many more practices before their match with Nekoma, but the schedule would be tighter and more rigorous. The team had just scrimmaged with the neighborhood association the day before, so Coach Ukai wanted them to have an easy practice before they ramped up the intensity for the week. Shimizu had tried to explain bits and pieces of the drama that the club had - mostly about the return of Azumane. The other manager even warned her about the antics of the second-years, and Hotaru was sheepish when she explained she shared a class with one of the troublemakers.

Higuchi was still stewing, and Hotaru's inner cackle was reminiscent of her stupid childhood friend.

Karasuno wasn't too bad.

"My name is Takahashi Hotaru and I'm a second year from Hyogo. I'll do my best!"

She bowed shallowly to the Karasuno volleyball team as she stood next to Shimizu and Coach Ukai. The captain, Sawamura Daichi, spoke. "Thank you for joining, Takahashi. We'll be in your care."

Hotaru stood up straight and grinned at the team. Coach Ukai rubbed the back of his head and gave the boys a grimace as Hotaru pulled a whistle out of her pocket and held up her notebook. "Coach Ukai was gracious enough to allow me to run the first half of your practice so I can get notes. So, first things first, get on the line."

She cackled at the dread on the faces of her team. Oh, she is going to love this.

"Coach Ukai?" Hotaru ran up to the blonde as the gym was set up. "Can I make a request?"

The man looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "Depends on what it is. We were going to have a light practice today since Golden Week is going to be a lot."

She held up her old notebook from Inarizaki. "Not to tell you how to run a practice, but I'm really good at seeing the game." Hotaru has never been humble. "I went to a powerhouse school and had our ace go from hitting .200 to a hot .378 by Interhigh. Let me get a baseline and I guarantee I'll make this shitty school one of the best."

It was silent.

"Shitty?"

Hotaru made a noise, eyes wide. "That's not what I meant!" She paused. "Okay it was. I shouldn't have said that, though."

Surprisingly, her coach laughed loudly, coughing when he drew the attention of the players. He clapped her on back, still chuckling. "You know what, Takahashi? Gimme that notebook and I'll give you the first half."

Her grin was feral. "I'll make sure none of them break."

"Is she serious?" One of the first years droned when none of them moved.

"Isn't today easy reps?"

"I wanted to work on serving!"

"Aren't we supposed to take it easy for Nekoma?"

Hotaru's eye twitched. She could probably take some of them. She was taller than a few of them and despite her injury, she still had some muscle on her. Especially those first years - she'd be damned if she'd let them get out of it.

Her first year at Inarizaki as the manager was certifiably Not Fun for her and her fellow first years. Because she and the twins were thick as thieves, their punishments became her punishments. She remembered doing double conditioning as a manager and a soccer player and the looming presence of the third years when her and Suna got stuck cleaning the gym after goading Atsumu and Osamu to get physical over a false rumor (it was easy to convince the other they called each other ugly in front a group of girls). Of course, their team was good so it wasn't too terrible, but Karasuno had another thing coming if they didn't think she'd get some sort of retribution for getting roped into sprints.

Hotaru blew her whistle and pointed at them haughtily. "Listen here, shit heads!" Coach Ukai coughed loudly and her seniors cringed. "Y'all haven't been good in a long time. You wanna get better? Then, get on the line and do as many sprints until you think you're going to throw up. Then, keep running until you can't feel your legs. When you think your lungs are going to collapse, think about that final rally in a five set match that wins you a championship, and keep running. If you're not conditioned, you're not in."

Crickets. Oh, she would destroy them. "Sawamura-senpai said you're in my care. You're testing my patience and if you don't start your sprints in the next 10 seconds, you do not want to know what's next."

"Takahashi-chan is scary," Nishinoya murmured to Tanaka, awe in his voice. "I think I'm in love." A fire lit up in his eyes as he spun on his heel and started his sprints. "I'll be the last one standing for you, Takahashi-chan! Give me your worst!"

The third years immediately followed suit. "You heard our new manager!" Sugawara Koushi barked as he flew past the stunned first years. "Get moving!"

Jolted into submission by the upperclassmen, the first years joined in on the sprints, Kageyama Tobio and Hinata Shouyo glaring at each other the entire way as they raced. Hotaru cackled and Coach Ukai sighed next to her.

"I thought you said you wouldn't be so hard on them," he lamented, voice almost drowned out by the squeaks of shoes and huffing and puffing. "We do distance conditioning instead of sprints usually."

Hotaru raised an eyebrow at him. "You're not going for a jog in a game when you're chasing down a ball, are you? Besides, it gets them better at changing direction and continuing the sprint. Faster reaction time."

Shimizu interjected, "Distance and sprinting works different muscle fibers. It's good to do both conditionings. Distance for stamina and sprints for speed."

Hotaru's cheeks reddened and she preened at her senior's agreement. Coach Ukai squinted at her. "Are you an athlete, Takahashi? You play volleyball?"

"I am terrible at volleyball," Hotaru scoffed, eyeing Tsukishima Kei as he jogged for his sprints. "I am, however, an elite level soccer player, specifically a goalkeeper. Your backline defense is going to be insane when I'm done with them."

It was a good thing they had a libero like Nishinoya for the team. She didn't need to see him play to know he would eat up any advice and training she had.

The libero position was so similar to the goalkeeper position. The reading of the hitter, the hustle, and the mentality of never giving up a point. She wasn't good at volleyball at all, but if she had to play a position, it would be the libero. Back row defenders need the same mentality.

When Hinata and Kageyama finally collapsed after vomiting in the trash a few times, Hotaru and Shimizu handed the team water bottles as per their manager duty. She glared at Tsukishima as he sipped on his water and hissed, "You're lucky it's my first day. You'll be dead after Golden Week."

"That's not very manager-like," he replied, bored. "Aren't you supposed to be our supporter?"

"I'll kill you."

As her hands went to reach at him, Hinata bounced up next to her, still a little pale, but more excited than anything. "What's next, senpai?! Are you really going to make us a powerhouse? Noya said you were crazy, but I've never felt more alive! I think I could go again if you need me to!"

Hotaru wrapped an arm around his sweaty shoulder and poked his warming cheek. "See, Kei?" "Don't call me by my first name." "You should take a hint from your tiny middle blocker! We're doing serve receive next!"

Admittedly, she was a dictator when it came to volleyball practice - a complete difference to her own sport. Karasuno should blame Kita-senpai for it. If they thought she was scary, then they would die if Kita was their senior.

After making the team run through hitting lines, Coach Ukai took back the reins and ran through lineups and some easier drills. Hotaru scribbled in her notebook, slightly downtrodden at not seeing the first years' weird quick attack.

"I guarantee we have something you didn't at your powerhouse school," Ukai said proudly. "This shitty school has some surprises."

Once she was cleared for full activity and play, she'd make them go onto the pitch with her for defensive practice. She can't hit a ball at them with her hands, but she sure could kick one at them.

Practice ended with relieved sighs as their "new demon manager" didn't ask for any more drills from them and that Golden Week could finally start. The third years thanked her for her contribution - more Sawamura and Sugawara thanking her and Azumane cowering behind them when they approached her - and Noya forced the other second years to admit she was "cool and only slightly demon-like."

The first years... they tried to skip out on the unspoken duties of being juniors.

"Oi," she called out to them as her and Shimizu was shagging balls. "Where do you think you're going?"

Hinata cocked his head to the side, back straight. "Practice is over?"

"First years help clean the gym."

Both Tsukishima and Kageyama scoffed at her words, and Yamaguchi sweated nervously at her huff. "The manager is supposed to clean up," Tsukishima explained like she was a kid. "And after that gauntlet you ran us through, you're insane to make us stay longer."

"You're telling me Shimizu-senpai has been doing it all by herself?!" Hotaru was aghast. Being a manager was such a thankless job here. "Cleaning the gym is notoriously known as part of the first years' job. Both for hazing and for helping the managers."

"H-Hazing?" Yamaguchi stuttered. "We're going to get hazed?"

"I'm pretty sure hazing is illegal, Takahashi-senpai," Tsukishima gave her a false smile. "Don't make me report you, please."

Oh yeah. She'd make him quit if she had to.

She turned away from them, grumbling. There was a few reasons they should stay.

1. The manager is the last one to leave the gym and by that time, it's usually dark. Having company to walk home and not being alone is in a gym at night is the safest option.

2. Cleaning the gym will take a long time by yourself. Taking nets down, shagging balls, cleaning the floors, and locking up is hard enough with two managers - it's much harder with one.

And 3. At this moment in recovery, she wasn't able to pick up anything heavier than a few pounds. The poles and the net is out of question for her, and it wasn't fair or easy for Shimizu alone.

Her senpai gave them a calming smile. "Takahashi-chan and I can handle this. You four need to rest up for the scrimmage."

Betrayal!

Tsukishima smirked at her while Hinata and Yamaguchi gave them an unsure look. Kageyama was bored and already turning to leave at their senior's words.

Hotaru let them. If Shimizu thought they could do it, then by god, they'd do it themselves.

As she struggled to pick the heavier things up with one arm, Shimizu smiled at her. "Don't worry. You'll make sure they know better. I've had help before you joined from the upperclassmen, but I sent them ahead today after the practice they had and I knew we could do it ourselves."

She's too kind, Hotaru thought, grimacing at the twinge in her shoulder. But... I think I'll have to tell her this is the last time I can pick these up.

Hotaru was glad that Karasuno wasn't going to Tokyo for the training camp and practice matches. After moving to Miyagi from Hyogo, she'd prefer not making any long distance trips unless for good reason. She also declined staying the the dormitories for the week, opting to stay with Shimizu overnight. Noya and Tanaka cried at her feet and begged her to at least have one of their managers overnight, and she gave them extra laps for dirtying her white shoes.

"Kageyama," Hotaru called to the setter, squinting her eyes at him. "Square your shoulders more. Your sets are drifting."

"Hah?" he turned around quickly, eye narrowed and fingers twitching. If she wasn't his senior, she'd probably be scared of the ugly face he was making. "No they're not."

"The ball drifted past Azumane-senpai's shoulder. He wanted to hit line but had to adjust and hit the cross."

The setter glared at her for a second, and Hotaru chewed her whistle threateningly. After the first few times Coach Ukai allowed her to butt in, she slowly but surely had some of them in line. Kageyama was one of the few that teetered the edge of disregarding her. Azumane waved his hands at them. "H-Hey, it's fine, Takahashi! I can hit them just fine!"

Kageyama spun around to the ace. "Senpai! Are my sets drifting? Do I need to pull them? How much further off the net would you like?"

She was smug of course. Kageyama really was a gifted setter, a natural prodigy. He needed experience and discipline before he'd be the best. She knew he practiced an insane amount, but he never had anyone tell him how to better his best. It's what separated players like Atsumu from Kageyama. They were both gifted, but Atsumu was hungry, and he would take her criticism and make her eat her words.

Kageyama needed that hunger if he wanted to be the best. And she'd beat it into him if she had to.

"Practice your forearm sets, too," she demanded. "If you're a setter, you can set anything from anywhere for a hittable ball! You'll need your platform for that!"

He glared at her again and she laughed loudly. "What an ugly look!"

She checked her watch, cursing. She was supposed to get uniforms with Shimizu! "Hey, do what I said, you first year. You wanna be on the court, don't you?"

"Takahashi-chan really knows how to goad people..." Azumane muttered as a fire lit up in Kageyama's eyes. She laughed again, running to meet up with her other manager. She struggled holding one of the boxes and ignored Shimizu's assurance she could carry them both herself. What type of manager would she be if she let an angel like Shimizu carry it all herself?

Hotaru rolled her shoulder as she dropped the box in the gym. She started handing out jerseys and snorted with she gave Kageyama his.

"What?"

"Twins! I also wear #9!" She wasn't really supposed to. It wasn't a typical number for a goalkeeper. Good thing she's stubborn.

"Senpai, you play volleyball?" Hinata asked her, bouncing on his feet. "Is that why you know so much? Are you playing this year? Do you want to be a coach?"

It drew the attention of the others, and she could see them giving her a once over, likely noting her height and athleticism.

"Nope! I hate volleyball," she declared, ignoring the shouts and confusion. "I suck at it and it annoys me. But, I've been watching it for so long, it's easy to spot mechanics! I play soccer."

Sugawara snapped his fingers. "That's right! I thought I recognized your name! You're a goalkeeper, right?"

Proudly, Hotaru nodded. At least someone was cultured on this team. "The very same. I am very good."

"And humble," Sugawara noted, less enthusiastic. "It's not very cute of our junior manager."

She squawked. Sugawara was another on her hit list if that shit-eating grin had anything to say. The others snickered at her, and Hotaru would've kicked them all if she was wearing her cleats.

To: miya #1 and miya #2

i'm being bullied here. ME. why can't they be scared of me like y'all

From: miya #1

what r u talking about we made fun of u when u weren't there

From: miya #2

yeah we thought it was funny that you thought we were afraid of you all the time so we started exaggerating

Coach Ukai had pulled her aside before they headed to the gym. "Nekoma doesn't have a manager. They traveled all the way here for a practice match with us, so I wanted to ask if you'd be willing to help them out with stuff like that. Only if you're comfortable with it. I know they're all strangers, but they should be good kids if Nekomata has anything to say about it."

She had grumbled about it - she didn't know anybody from Nekoma. And she sure as hell didn't think they'd like her help. But, Coach Ukai had earnest eyes and if she stared at him too long, she would think he was slightly handsome for an old man. So she said yes.

"We're going to win," she had snarked back to her coach. "If I'm over there, they're going to get chewed up and spit out to the point where they only know what winning is from me."

"O-okay. Don't freak them out too much."

Which leads her to now.

The unreasonably handsome third year captain on Nekoma was grinning down at her. "Thanks for accepting, Takahashi-chan! You'll fire us up, right? No sabotage for your team, though!"

"Hell no!" She glanced back at Karasuno who was giving her varying looks. Mainly, though, she saw pity for the Nekoma team. "You think I'll go easy on you losers because you came from Tokyo? You're lucky I'm not running your practice!"

Kuroo barked a laugh and ruffled her hair. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and steered her into the gym and away from her team. "We'll take good care of manager-chan for you!"

"Why do I feel like she doesn't need it?" Sawamura mumbled.

Hotaru let her new captain lead her away and listened intently as he introduced his team and their positions. She didn't care too much about everyone, only really wanting to know who the regulars were. Kuroo was humble about their skillsets, honest in their weaknesses, and a little too upbeat about their chances. She scowled. "After the first set, I'll be able to give you all the things you do wrong so you can fix them."

He smiled at her. "We'll be in your care then, manager-chan!"

Ugh, what a nasty guy. Reminded her of a twin.