Tsukishima had gone about his morning like he would have done any other; with the addition of sending a text to Akiteru and Yamaguchi to say good morning, something he could have done in person if he was back living in Miyagi like he wished he was.

He had a shower to freshen up for the morning, getting changed into Nekoma's uniform (which was surprisingly decent, even though it wasn't Karasuno's). He made his bento and his breakfast, making sure that he had a balanced diet even despite not eating much food, and put it in his bag along with his sport uniform for the volleyball tryouts that afternoon and the other school equipment which he'd packed the night before. Bright and early, with plenty of time to spare, Kei was prepared to leave the house. There was no need to do so this early, but he would have to leave before this for morning practice anyways and the extra time to find his way wouldn't hurt.

And so, Tsukishima plugged in his headphones, locked the door, and headed to the elevator for their apartment building. From the way it was lit up, it indicated that someone else was already going down, and he payed no mind with the assumption that someone was on their way to work. The door slid open, and he was greeted with the sight of two teenagers, both wearing the same uniform as he was.

One of them was a tall guy, probably a third year, with dark hair that seemed to be some sort of really shitty bed hair, but seemed to suit him perfectly. He was confident looking; holding himself highly in a confident sort of manner and wearing this infuriating smirk that seemed to come naturally to him. It wasn't surprising, he was extremely attractive and clearly athletic, and despite his unruly hair his uniform was pristine. Kei wouldn't lie to himself and deny the fact that his heart skipped a beat when he saw the guy in front of him, but to other people he definitely would. He was careful not to ogle, or check him out, or stare suspiciously, and turned his glance to the other person there. The other teen had bleached hair with black roots, and had his face in a video game on his phone; he didn't look up when the doors opened and so there was no way Kei could get a clear glimpse of his face. Not that he wanted to, anyway, because the first guy clearly spelled trouble for him and his gay heart.

He rolled his eyes and turned around, muttering something about taking the stairs and heading in the direction of the stairwell. If this guy really was a third year, then he could hopefully avoid him even despite being in the same apartment building. He doubted that the guy would play volleyball, it seemed more likely for him to be a basketball or football (soccer) guy.

Making his way down the stairs, he hoped he could avoid the guy and avoid getting a crush (because that would be frustrating to deal with especially when he seriously doubted this guy was gay), but him and his friend had waited for him outside their apartment building. "Megane-kun! Hold up for a moment, will you?"

The third year spoke for the first time, or perhaps the second, if Kei hadn't heard him the first time because of the music. Pausing his song, he pulled his headphones down so they were resting around his neck and looked towards the third year. "Yes?" he questioned, raising his eyebrow as he glanced to the dark haired teen.

"I'm Kuroo Tetsurou, a third year at Nekoma, and this is Kozume Kenma, second year. I haven't seen you around before, and seeming as stuff was being moved into the apartment two floors below ours yesterday, I'm guessing you're new. And as your senpai, out of the goodness of my heart, I've decided that I'll walk with you to school since I doubt you've had a chance to walk there on your own and I'd hate for you to get lost. So, Megane-kun, what do you say?" The guy, Kuroo, had a deep voice, and despite the fact that it was actually really nice to listen to, what he had to say was almost enough to counteract the appeal. Almost.

To top it off, Kuroo also sent him a sly grin and a wink (the audacity of this guy, really?) as he finished talking, and Kei once again knew he'd somehow managed to attract another idiot into annoying him. Doing his best to try and suppress the blush that was fighting to make its way to his cheeks, he rolled his eyes, turning to face him fully and sending a glare his way. "Firstly, my name is Tsukishima, so please stop calling me Megane-kun. Isn't it rude to call people names based on things they can't control? I can't help the fact that I need glasses to see, unlike you, who obviously has issues using a comb. Secondly, I'm perfectly capable of walking to school on my own. I'm a first year in highschool, not a child, so I'll pass on the offer." Kei paused and sent a very fake smile his way before putting his headphones back on. "If you really wanted to do things out of the kindness of your heart, then I'd suggest leaving me alone."

With that, he walked away, pulling out his phone. He turned on his music, opened up the maps application, and slid his phone into his pocket. The GPS would tell him the way he needed to go as he walked, so he wouldn't be following his phone the whole time. Quite frankly, that would be an embarrassment after declining the offer by Kuroo, and he really didn't want to mess up in front of the third year. Perhaps it was the fact that he was attractive, or the fact that he was annoying and didn't want the guy to have leverage on him, but the idea of Kuroo teasing Kei about something like made him feel unnaturally nervous.

He didn't listen to any response that Kuroo had, even if he could make out a few things through the music, but thankfully the second year, Kozume? dragged him ahead and sent an apologetic look his way. Even as he walked to school, though, taking his own route that was probably much longer than the one the two were taking, he couldn't stop thinking about Kuroo and that stupid wink. Even if he'd been annoying, staying behind outside the apartment block and offering to walk with him was actually kind of thoughtful, and it made his heart once again skip a beat.

Kei shook his head at that, frowning and trying to push that thought out of his head. The guy was annoying and arrogant and definitely not sweet, that sort of thinking was wishful and unrealistic. But that voice, it was deep and mellow and smooth, and the thought of how it would sound like uttering his name sent a shiver down his spine.

Tsukishima froze, and then thought for a moment, and then gulped. He hadn't even been to school yet, it was only his first day. Tsukishima had been certain that he would never fall in love, because nobody worth loving would ever hang around anybody like him. He hadn't had a crush on anyone, only found some people attractive, yet the mere fact that he was even questioning what he felt was enough proof for him.

His heart sunk, but the more he prayed that it wasn't true, the more it solidified in his mind that it was indeed the case.

He whipped out his phone, and after checking there was nobody else around that could hear he phoned the one person that he would trust with a situational dire as this one.

The person on the other side of the phone picked up immediately, his voice cheery as he spoke. "Good Morning, Tsukki! It's a surprise that you called, what's up?"

"Tadashi," Kei said frantically, his usually calm voice panicked, yet not quite fearful enough in tone to be considered something extremely serious, "Tadashi, you have to help me! I haven't even gotten to school, but there's this hot third year that lives two floors above me-"

Yamaguchi gasped and almost dropped his phone, static noises audible from when the phone bumped around in the freckled boy hurried to catch it. "Tsukishima Kei, Mr. 'I'll never fall in love', are you telling me what I think you're telling me?" Tadashi asked hopefully, an excited undertone in his voice.

"His name is Kuroo Tetsurou, his hair is a fucking mess and he's probably a total asshole, but he winked and asked me to walk to school with him and his friend. I only talked to him for a minute and I'm sure he hates me now since I was, well, me, but god dammit I can't get him out of my mind."

It wasn't an answer, but at the same time it was that and so much more. Yamaguchi squealed, and then in a mixture of joy and disbelief, said, "Oh my god, Tsukki, you have a crush."

"I have a crush," Tsukishima confirmed, groaning in defeat. "And the only thing I have left is volleyball. Thank god for that, I think I'd go crazy otherwise. I don't think my luck is that bad that the entirety of my life's plans would be ruined in the space of one day, right?"

Yamaguchi snickered at his words, clearly amused by the whole situation. "Yeah, I think you'll probably be fine. Just relax though, it'll be fine! Having a crush isn't the biggest deal in the world, it's just a crush. It doesn't mean you'll fall in love with him, it just means you like him enough to consider a relationship with him. You don't have to interact with him if you don't want to, since he's a third year, so chill out."

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Tadashi," Kei replied, silently praying that it would all work out, but not holding out much hope considering his luck.

"Anytime, Tsukki! I have to get ready for school now, but it's been nice talking. If anything comes up, just send me a text and I'll call when I'm free, kay?"

"Yeah, sure. Talk to you later, 'Dashi."

x-X-x

From them on in, the day seemed to get better, and Kei could push away the thoughts of Kuroo. He didn't make any friends in his classes, nor did he try to. In the lunch break he simply got an application form for the volleyball club from a third year named Yaku. Apparently he was a libero, and he seemed nice enough (though that was mostly because Tsukishima didn't insult him because of his height and looked impressed when he heard of his position), though it obviously meant he wouldn't be the captain. It was a shame that libero's couldn't be captains, since Kei's first impression was that Yaku was a reliable guy, the sort of person he wouldn't mind leading the team. But... it had only been a conversation for about a minute, so there wasn't much to go off in terms of personality.

After that, he filled it in and ate his bento while texting Yamaguchi (who had become friends with a girl named Yachi). The rest of his day he spent in class, not speaking unless called upon and quietly doing his work. His classmates were too loud, despite him being in the top class, and he didn't have Yamaguchi there with him to talk to about whatever. He wasn't going to use his phone in class to talk to him either and risk getting him or his best friend in trouble on their first day, and in the afternoon he'd gone straight to the bathrooms to change into the sport uniform. The shorts were red and the shirt was black, and immediately Kei felt that he didn't quite belong. Something about it just seemed off. Perhaps it was a result of all his prior expectations being of the white shirt and black pants, or the maroon tracksuit, of the Karasuno sport clothes. It was just another reminder of what could have been, if not for moving to Tokyo.

For a moment he considered texting Yamaguchi, but that idea was soon stripped from his mind as he began walking to the gym and heard a boisterous voice from behind him. "Hey! Hi! Are you going to try out for the volleyball team too? I've never played before, but this really cute guy was asking around about people joining, and I couldn't help but agree. I'm Haiba Lev, by the way, but you can just call me Lev. Haiba-san is too formal, it makes me feel old."

"Oh, good lord," Tsukishima groaned under his breath, glancing towards the guy who had bounded over to him, who looked foreign and was surprisingly taller than he was. "I'm going to the gym, of course I'm going to play volleyball. Basketball tryouts are in one of the other gyms, so why else would I go to a gym if not to play volleyball?" he replied, rolling his eyes and placing a hand on his hip. "My name is Tsukishima. I would say that I look forward to playing with you, but that's to be decided."

Lev seemed to brighten when he heard his name, apparently taking it as a token of friendship of sorts and continuing to grin at him. "Well, I've never played before, so I'm not sure how good I'll be. But Yaku-chan is apparently really good and he's short, and most volleyball players are tall, so I'm sure it can't be too hard to learn," the silver haired teen chirped, looking eagerly towards the gym as they headed towards there.

"Yaku-san probably wouldn't appreciate you calling him short, or making it sound easy. For someone who's never played before, it's a lot different than someone who's played their whole life. It's not as simple as height; if you're tall and bad, that doesn't make you valuable. If you want to play, you're going to have to work hard to get the basics down properly, and you're going to have to pull your weight. Take it from someone who's played for a while, there's a lot you're going to have to learn before you even have a chance of playing, let alone playing on the starting line up. Nekoma is known for their flow and their defence, so they're bound to have lots of people who can receive and block well. It's the team that keeps the ball in motion the longest that wins, Lev," Kei explained, watching the half-Russian carefully to see how he responded to his words. It was one of the ways he could judge his character, and get a better idea of the kind of person Lev was.

Of course, the world really wasn't on his side today, as before Lev could respond someone slung their arms around Tsukishima and the other first year. "Oho? Nicely said, Tsukki, I'm rather impressed. I see you're quite serious about volleyball, it's good to see someone like you is joining our team." That deep, warm voice, that unruly, soft bed hair that brushed against the side of Kei's face because of how close the guy was, and that damn smirk, it all unmistakably belonged to Kuroo. He really couldn't catch a break today, could he? "You must be Haiba Lev, you've made... how can I put this... quite the impression on our libero. I'm Kuroo Tetsurou, captain of Nekoma's volleyball team. I'm looking forward to playing with you both in the coming year."

With that, Kuroo pulled away from them and walked into the gym, Lev following behind him because he'd laid eyes on Yaku and wanted to talk to him. Strike one was moving to Tokyo, strike two had been developing this crush on his neighbour, a third year guy he'd talked to for less than a minute, and now, the third and final strike.

Tsukishima Kei was utterly screwed, because he'd developed a crush on his captain, meaning even volleyball was now ruined for him. As he walked over and placed his water bottle to the side, putting on his knee pads, he looked to Yaku in the hopes that at least one person on this team was going to be sane, only to find the guy kicking the back of Lev's legs and yelling about not calling him short.

And Kuroo? Kuroo burst out into this obnoxious laughter at the sight, greeting Kenma, the guy from earlier, and saying something about how 'the demon-senpai strikes again'.

Oh, yes, Kei was so not looking forward to this coming year. His crush was both his captain, and also lived in his apartment building. One of his teammates was completely incompetent, and was enamoured by their libero who hated being called short. Another member also lived in the same apartment building as him, an introvert who was glued to games, and as more people filled in the room (was that a mohawk on that guy?) he was certain that volleyball was ruined for him.

Tadashi and Akiteru were going to have a field day when he told them about it.