Sublime
[suh-blahym]
adjective
1.
elevated or lofty in thought, language, etc.: Paradise Lost is sublime poetry.
2.
impressing the mind with a sense of grandeur or power; inspiring awe, veneration, etc.:
Switzerland has sublime scenery.

Flashback
"Pinnacle."

"To reach the highest point!"

"A lofty peak."

"Very good. You both are correct."

"Miss, why do Emma and I have to be separated?"

"Shouyou...."

"Hinata, you have your real family to get to. Emma here has none. She's only here to help you learn english."

"That's not true! I have my sisters and Shouyou!"

"Yeah!"

"One day, Shouyou will be back with his family. He will forget you and your 'sisters'."

|~<{End}>~|

Emma, I haven't forgotten yet... Have you?
Hinata Shouyuo, the little ball of sunshine, wasn't shining brightly today. Most of his team were worried for the orange headed shrimp, but they were cautious on how they approached it. It started when Tanaka's new magazine had a section on basketball and they were all awing over the female American team.

Kageyama was rather fed up with the gloomy exterior Hinata was emitting, and confronted him before practice.

"Oi, what's your problem? You've been moping about all week."

"Shut up, Kageyama. I'm not in the mood."

Now Kageyama was really concerned. In all the time he's known Hinata, the orange idiot has been optimistic and, excluding his tendency to get sick before a match, happy. And no one knew the reason why he was in such a state now.

"Dumbass, seriously, what's your problem? You sick again? The practice match isn't until the afternoon."

"No, that's not it. But it's not like you'd understand...."

"What did you say to m-?!"

"SHO-CHAN!"

Hinata spun around so fast, that his weirdo speed for their duo seemed like he was crawling. Kageyama could only gape as the spiker was tackled to the ground but not one, not two, but eight girls, all varying in height and facial features, but still similar enough to make him think they had some family relation.

"Emma? Kylee? Perry? Marian? Karol? Amy? Sasha? Cass? What's the Pack doing here in Miyagi?"

"We heard that a shrimp was hitting up the volleyball courts with his awesome jumps. We just knew it had to be you, Shouyou!" Perry nuzzles her cheek against his, their heights being roughly the same. Still surrounded by the eight, and all towered over by Marian and Amy, they chatted happily, ignoring the stuttering Kageyama.

Hinata laughed freely, grabbing onto Perry and jumping up, dragging her with him. "Come on, then! You gotta meet my team!"

Cheers went around the group, and most raced to the gym. Cass stayed behind, looking up at Kageyama while the setter was watching his friend argue with Emma and Kylee. "Um.... Hi, I'm Cass! Those seven over there are my family, and we're greatful that you took care of Sho-chan for us!"

She quickly bows before running off to join the group, Kageyama lingering behind, shaking his head.

When they all entered the gym, Hinata was literally buzzing with excitement. "Daichi-senpai! Sugawara-senpai! Come meet my sisters!" The two third-years startled from where they were stretching, looking over at Hinata surrounded by eight girls his age and a little younger. They gaped, not moving a muscle, till Karol spoke up.

"Uh, you two okay?" she asked cautiously, walking up and poking the two males. Tanaka and Nishinoya were looking like their souls has drifted out of them, while Asahi was shaking them both.

Emma stepped forward, suddenly releasing a weird screech that jolted everyone on the volleyball team out of their stupor. "Y'all here now? Good. My name's Emma, and these girls are my sisters. Shouyou is our older-brother figure, and so we are his adopted siblings. In a sense."

"More like in a nutshell," Marian snickered.

"Shut up. It's not you could beat that explanation anyways," Emma challenged.

"Oh yeah? C'mon pretty girl, I bet I can beat you in a match of volleyball."

"Oh it's on. Kylee, Sasha, Perry, you're on my side. Amy, Cass, Karol, you're on Marian's. Let's see who can take both sets!"

"Yeah!/Let's go!/It's on!" The girls cheered, dropping their bags and stripping off their school jackets. Tōō, Seirin, Rakuzan, Yosen, Kaijo, and Shutoku all fell in quick secession. Good thing they decided to wear their basketball uniforms with spandex today.

The Karasuno volleyball team only watched from the sidelines, silently giving the girls the court. By this time Kageyama was back in the gym, watching the girls set up faster than they ever had. He came to warn of the other teams approaching, but was also entranced by how the girls went. The uniforms caught his eye, causing him to choke up.

"Hinata, aren't they the female basketball team from America?!"

"Uh-huh. They're pretty good, at least from the videos they sent."

"Then how are they gonna play volleyball?! They're two completely different sports-!" He was cut off from the loud noise of a popping ball.

"Oops! My bad!" Sasha called, picking up the popped volley.

"Sasha! This isn't a basketball, you can't go full strength on it, it'll pop like that one did!" Emma called back, lightly scolding the girl.

"Sorry Captain! Perry, give me another!"

Kageyama watched with wide eyes as Emma served, Marian received, Karol set, Amy spiked, Kylee received, Perry se- Sasha spiked again?! "She just made a spike from the front, when she was in the back?! How?! And-and that set! I couldn't follow it!"

"Ha! Nice one, Sasha! Perry, was that your pass?!"

"Yep! Cool huh, how it translated?! I've been working for weeks on it!" Perry yelled, before serving.

"Yoohoo, Tobio-cha- Oh, who are these girls?" Oikawa called out, entering the gym with the Aoba Johsai volleyball team.

"I don't know. Hinata does, though," Daichi said, going over to shake hands. "They visited today and decided to do a quick game. Hinata says they're his sisters. Adopted, er, something like that anyway."

"Huh, they don't look related," Kuroo called out, also entering the gym, Bokuto right in his heels.

"Adopted! For crying out loud, does no one listen?!" Emma yelled, receiving a feint. "Oh wait, you have a practice match today! I'm sorry, we'll get this cleaned up right awa-" she got cut off by a loud popping noise. "Sasha! I told you, you can't do full strength!"

"Sorry Captain! I got excited, and Perry's passes are too fast otherwise!"

"Really Sasha?! That's the fifth one this week!" Karol called out, picking up the blown up ball. "We're going to have to pay back the team..."

Aoba Johsai, Nekoma, and Fukurōdani watched with awed eyes, scrutinizing the girl that was at least 5 centimeters smaller than Hinata. Then they moved into Perry, roughly the same height as Hinata. One after another, a thought drifted through their heads, one of envious awe and surprise.

These girls are something else.

🎼🏐🏀🏆🏐🏀🎼
Perry

"We're really sorry for intruding like that without warning. Please allow us to introduce ourselves." Emma's speech was well practiced, especially since we have done this a lot. Even if she is the Alpha, we shouldn't have to create this much stress for her.

Daichi, Kuroo, Bokuto, and Oikawa nodded in tandem, approving.

"My name is Emma, Captain of the Pack. These girls are my sisters. Kylee, my co-captain, Karol, Cass, Amy, Marian, Perry, and Sasha. We hail from America, and Hinata is our adopted brother-in-arms from our time in Japan-" As she speaks, I monitor the other team captians, utilizing my weak presence and the light that my team gives off. I sneak up behind them, analyzing their bodies and tones. They seem fit, but both Kuroo and Oikawa set me off. Deceit and sharp minds practically radiate off them. Bokuto is mostly harmless, but he's like a horned owl, with extremely flexible shoulders. Kuroo would be an awesome blocker. Oikawa seems like a setter, hardworking with injuries. He's favoring his left leg, lightly. Daichi seems like a good foundation, and very fatherly. All in all, they reflect their respective teams well. "Thank you for having us," Emma finishes, beckoning me back over, where the captains startle when I come from behind them.

"They will definitely be good company, but Kuroo and Oikawa set me off. Oikawa more so. I think he'd be able to take any team and make it his own. Kuroo riles up the other team, and could make split second decisions and calls on court. Deceit radiates from both, though. Bokuto is like a child, but is flexible and extremely excitable, able to rile up both his team and opposition. Daichi is a steady foundation, and sees his team as children he has to rein in most of the time. Positions for them would be; Kuroo, blocker. Oikawa, setter. Bokuto, ace. Daichi, blocker," I whisper to Emma, mentally reciting some of the notes I took.

"Hmm. I wonder if they'd let us play?" Emma hums, lightly knocking into Kylee for her opinion.

"It's not like we have anything else to do. We ought to pick up our stuff though, Taiga will be coming soon and I have an inkling that the GoM is gonna follow." Emma nods in understanding, and I slip off to grab my jacket. The others follow suit, and we put them on in tandem, before walking back to Hinata.

"Hey Sho-chan, would it be too much to ask for if we wanted to play one of these teams?" Marian asks, bending down to whisper.

Hinata shakes his head, beaming. "I could probably get Daichi and the others to agree, but it's be difficult to get you in. We're pretty full in the gym anyways."

"That'd be fine, we do need to practice. There's a court outside, right? When there is an opening, we'll come in to play, but otherwise we'll be practicing basketball," Karol told him, before saying her goodbyes. We all followed suit, promising to stay nearby for their call. The outside court was perfect for practice, and it didn't take long to start drills.

"10 laps around both the gym and court, 15 push-ups, 15 sit-ups, stretches, and then we're going to do layups with a defender. After that, repeat until I blow my whistle. You have thirty minutes to get warmed up! Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Emma shouts, already starting a lap on the outside of the gym and court. I take off after her, before getting passed by Sasha. We laugh as we all match her pace, before falling behind again.

|~<TimeSkip>~|

"Marian, start a little further forward! Trust Perry to get the ball to you! Amy, you're patterning again! Mix it up, catch me off guard! Karol, Cass, that fast break needs to be able to stop on a dime! Double up with Kylee and Sasha, try to get past them!"

"Yes, Captain!" We shouted, going back to practice with even more vigour. This was by far the most grueling practice, but the most fun too.

"Emma! You're playing Aoba Johsai! The game starts soon!" Hinata calls from the doorway, and we stop to grab a drink and set down our stuff. Before we head in, I send a quick text to Kagami, letting him know where we are and he's welcome to bring the GoM into the gym.

When I step inside, the girls are on the court, jumping up and down, trying to utilize Kylee's copy of Kagami. I walk up to Sasha and Emma, a plan to win the first set brewing in my mind.

"Hey, I have an idea..."