"YOU SUCK", KAGEYAMA STATED...

     "yeah, just like your mo—"

"what was that?", the dark-haired boy interrupted.

"nothing", shiyumi grumbled, attempting to serve once more, as the ball had nearly been hit if it weren't for it grazing by the tips of her fingers by just a few millimeters.

     "you're doing it wrong!", kageyama judged.

     "well damn! why don't you tell me how to fix it then?", shiyumi huffed, tired of all the complaints but receiving no actual critiques.

     "I—you just do it! what've you been doing for the past three years?!"

     shiyumi bit the bottom of her lip as she glared at kageyama.

     "I have been practicing hard!", the orange-haired girl declared, not wanting to give excuses about why her school didn't even seem to have a boys' volleyball team.

     "well I clearly can't tell from your lack of skill; other than your ability to run fast and jump high in attempts to smack the ball that you can't even seem to hit", kageyama pinpointed.

     "you don't have to come for me like that", shiyumi mumbled, throwing the volleyball up into the air, as she started hitting it with her forearms.

     "hah?!"

     kageyama was about done with the girl, as he just wanted a teammate that could receive, spike, and play as well as he could.

     "at this rate, we're going to lose", kageyama dejectedly muttered.

     "HEY! DON'T SAY THAT!!"

     "oho? well if it isn't the king of the court and a shrimp", a mocking voice intervened.

     the two teens snapped their attention towards the side of the field, only to see a blonde male with glasses and a freckled boy with spinach-green hair.

     "who are you guys?", shiyumi asked, noticing their peculiar downgrading looks towards kageyama.

     "tsukishima kei and he's yamaguchi tadashi", the blonde one shortly introduced.

     "uhmm...okay, well nice to meet you—"

     "you guys are losing on saturday. tsukki here is 188.3 centimeters tall!", yamaguchi proudly proclaimed.

     "shut up, yamaguchi. they didn't need to know that".

     "gomen tsukki..."

     "so you two are the first-years that we're competing against", kageyama stated, seemingly calm compared to their patronizing stares.

     "indeed, your majesty", tsukishima grinned.

     "STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

     now it was shiyumi's turn to be confused.

     "king of the court? it's a great name...why?"

     "oh, so your little shrimp partner doesn't know. one would think that the name 'king of the court' is flattering, when in reality, it's the nickname that his very own teammates gave him", tsukishima explained.

     "he was given the name because he was a ruthless tyrant, calling out demands like his teammates were his servants", the blonde boy sneered.

     kageyama was crowned a title he did not want — a title that he had unconsciously fit right into.

     "so what?"

     kageyama's eyes ever so slightly widened, as his gaze diverted towards shiyumi.

     "huh?"

     "I said, so what? that was back in middle school; it's in the past. and plus, the boy's good at what he does. if I were him, I'd want everyone around me to do better as well. my point is, we'll tweak him little by little along the way", shiyumi shrugged.

     tsukishima and yamaguchi gave each other a look, nearly combusting into laughter.

     "really?! you really think that you'd be able to change his ways of tyranny?? I'd like to see you try", tsukishima teased.

     "either way, tsukki and I are taking the win for saturday, so best of luck, because you'll need it!", yamaguchi snickered.

     "OH YEAH?! WELL WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT!!", shiyumi shouted, as the two had already scattered away.

     "come on kageyama, we've got work to do!", the girl declared, suddenly even more focused and energized than normal.

     "we're going to win that game and wipe their smug faces all across the wooden floorboards! and then you'll become the karasuno setter, and I'll become the next tiny giant!"

     kageyama watched as shiyumi snatched up the volleyball, starting to practice her jump serves.

     the dark-haired male sighed, carefully observing, as he tried to show shiyumi how to do it properly, rather than explain it — something he wasn't very good at sometimes.

ʚ♡⃛ɞ

after hours of long practice and a quick visit to the nearest hospital, shiyumi was finally heading home, where she could relax and be her true self again.

on her way home, her dull brown eyes shifted towards a convenience store, causing her to wonder whether she should buy a little snack for herself and natsu.

upon entering the petite building, she nearly got scared shitless by how desperate the man in front of her was.

bowing and pleading, takeda ittetsu was trying his hardest to convince the man who had a cigarette in the corner of his mouth to come attend something at karasuno.

"PLEASE JUST GIVE US A CHANCE!! WE REALLY NEED A COACH! IF YOU JUST COME WATCH THE GAME THIS SATURDAY, I ASSURE YOU THAT YOU'LL BE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED!!", takeda persisted.

ukai keishin — the grandson of ukai ikkei — had only sighed, wondering if the man will end up leaving him alone if he just watched the game and found a reason to leave afterwards.

'on second thought, I'll just leave. seems intense', shiyumi told herself, quietly slipping out — except not really since the doors were the sliding ones.

on her path back home once more, the girl had received a soft buzz from her phone.

upon reaching home safely, shiyumi first fed and bathed herself before looking at the text message from her childhood friend: yachi hitoka.

the two, well three including shōyō, had been friends due to the fact that yachi's mother and the twins' father worked closely together in the business area.

yachi was the absolute sweetest despite the twins possessing demon-like energy — energy that just never seemed to never run out.

though the girls' relationship had fallen a little due to the fact that shiyumi had nearly shut everyone out of her world when shōyō had entered a coma, yachi still checked on shiyumi from time to time.

shiyumi cracked a genuine smile, as she hastily texted yachi back, apologizing for the delay and actually giving a good response this time.

though the orange-haired girl's happy expression had immediately dropped as soon as yachi's next questions appeared.

     "what class are you in? how come I never see you around?"

     out of everyone, shiyumi was sure that yachi would understand. hence she planned to meet the girl at school and explain everything.

     it'd be their first real meetup since three years ago, and yachi was beyond delighted.