RISA NATSUMI'S LONELY PLANET !
( 001 . manager ? )

THE SOUND OF THE SCHOOL BELL ECHOED THROUGH THE NEKOMA HALLS, ending classes and the school day. Like clockwork, the students opened their mouths to chat with their friends and scrambled to throw their belongings together to hurry out of the class. Amidst the commotion, Risa Natsumi remained composed, diligently tidying her pens and notes, her calculative gaze fixed upon the classroom clock as her brain sorted out her personal schedule for the rest of the day. With a satisfied nod, she swung her bag over her shoulder and passed the rows of desks, prepared to leave, before a familiar voice pulled her focus away.

"Natsumi," Her homeroom teacher gestured for her to listen: "You still haven't joined a club yet. If you don't pick a club yourself, I'll have to pick one for you."

Risa nodded earnestly, as if she weren't already aware. "Yes, I'll find one by the end of this week."

Her homeroom teacher nodded, bidding her farewell. Risa scurried out of the class, her grasp on the bag strap tightening as she inhaled sharply. She let out a deep sigh. She'd gone too long without thinking about school clubs and dreaded the day her homeroom professor would inevitably bring it up. If it were up to Risa, clubs wouldn't be mandatory at all. Risa had enough on her plate as it was, and a club was the last thing she wanted to think about.

In the last two years she'd spent at Nekoma, she'd been a part of the astronomy club. Being an astrology enthusiast, the club didn't quite live up to her expectations. Despite that, she still stuck around. Club activities didn't occupy a lot of her time, unlike the other clubs, and the club presidents didn't seem to care about people not showing up. Everything was perfect before the school decided to inevitably shut the club down due to a lack of activity.

Risa swapped her shoes before pausing at the entrance to insert her earbuds. The soft melody of an indie rock song filled her ears as she followed her habitual route from school. Her days followed a consistent routine. At the start of the day, she would prepare and refrigerate lunches for her mother and herself, then she would head straight to school. After school, she would head off to her part-time job at an electronics store near her apartment block. On days that she didn't have work, she'd head to the supermarket to buy groceries and run other errands. By the time she would reach home, she'd heat up a meal and shut herself off in her room to do school work and play a videogame as a treat. Then she'd go to sleep, and the cycle would continue. Her diligence in sticking to her routine was almost robotic, so much so her class dubbed her 'Robogirl'.

She swung open the door into the electronics store, greeting the store manager in the front before changing into her work uniform.

༉‧₊˚✧ ꒱

As the sun fell, the Nekoma boys' volleyball team buzzed with activity. The second and third-year players chatted amongst themselves as they packed up to leave school, while the first-years (except for a certain silver-haired freshman) diligently tidied up the gym.

Yaku Morisuke jogged up to his classmates, towel slung around his neck and bag in his hand

"Hey, Kuroo, have you found a manager yet?" Yaku asked, tucking away his Asics shoes.

"No luck," sighed Kuroo, rubbing the nape of his neck. "No responses."

Yaku raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? None? It's been a week since you put those flyers up."

All Kuroo could do was helplessly shrug. "If no one wants it, it just can't be helped. Unless we start asking people specifically, although no one comes to mind..."

Yaku thought to himself momentarily, looking up at Kuroo with widened eyes. "What about Natsumi?"

"Who?"

Yaku let out an exasperated sigh and lightly slapped Kuroo's arm. "Risa Natsumi. She sits right behind you."

Kuroo stared at him, confused.

"Does 'RoboGirl' ring any bells?"

It finally clicked in Kuroo's mind. He shrugged, unconvinced by Yaku's suggestion. "Oh, her... I doubt she'd be interested. She seems pretty reserved. Might not mesh well with the team, y'know?"

"Kenma's reserved, and he fits in just fine," Yaku retorted, zipping up his sports jacket. "She's really organized and good at managing things. I was in a group project with her once; she made the whole thing run so smoothly! Carried the group on her back."

"You go ahead and ask her then," Kuroo pouted.

"That's your job, Captain," Yaku shrugged. "Just ask her! Don't tell me you're scared of her."

Kuroo kept quiet.

"She scares you?" Yaku exclaimed, suppressing a laugh as Kuroo sputtered in denial.

"Intimidates, not scare! There's a difference!" Kuroo protested. "She just... freaks me out a little."

"Sure, sure," Yaku chuckled, slapping his arm again. "But seriously, you should ask her."

"Isn't she already in a club, though?" Kuroo looked over at him, somewhat unconvinced.

Yaku shook his head, "Nope. I heard Teach' tell her to find a club soon."

"Kuroo, let's go," Kenma interrupted, tugging at his sleeve while his eyes were glued to his PSP. "It's half off at Hitoshi's."

"Right," Kuroo nodded to his teammates.

"Think about what I said," Yaku patted Kuroo's shoulder before letting him leave.

The pair headed to the electronics store as requested by Kenma, with Kuroo occasionally guiding him around obstacles as he remained engrossed in his game. He was fully aware of his surroundings, but that didn't stop Kuroo from being concerned.

"So, what games are you thinking of getting?" Kuroo asked as they entered the store, bustling with other teens and young adults desperate to snag a good deal.

"Depends on what's in clearance," Kenma replied, stowing away his console and scanning the shop. "It's crowded today..."

"Kenma, Testuro!" Hiromi, the store manager, greeted them cheerfully. "I had a feeling you'd show up today."

"I wonder why," Kenma remarked casually, earning a chuckle from both Kuroo and Hiromi.

"The games on clearance are over there," Hiromi gestured to the side, "There's still some good stuff left."

Kuroo hung around the payment counter, chatting with Hiromi, while watching Kenma dig around for something interesting in the clearance bin. Kenma scanned through the different games, piling up the ones he planned on buying in his arms. A female employee approached the blonde teen with a basket that he took with a nod. Kuroo's gaze moved onto the employee, feeling a sense of familiarity from her. She turned around, her choppy brown hair and blank expression lighting a bulb in his head.

"Natsumi?"

The girl, who he recognized to be none other than Risa Natsumi stared at him, her eyes widened slightly with recognition, "Can I help you?"

Kuroo didn't know what to say. With his lips parted to speak, he forced out a confused "no."

Risa nodded curtly and walked past him to the other side of the store, Kuroo's eyes following her there before Hiromi snapped his attention away.

"You know Natsumi?" Hiromi asked, interested.

"We're in the same class," Kuroo answered with a shrug. He paused for a moment before looking over at Hiromi, "When does her shift end?"

"In about... half an hour," Hiromi looked down at his watch and back up at Kuroo. "Why? Are you going to confess to her?" He teased.

Kuroo shook his head with an awkward laugh, "I wanted to ask her if she wanted to be manager for our club..."

"Manager?" Hiromi repeated, to which Kuroo continued, "No one else really wants to do it so we're kind of short on choices..."

Hiromi hummed in understanding, "She's a good choice, I'll tell you that. She's a diligent worker, good at holding down the fort when I'm off with other duties."

Kuroo nodded, taking in the information. It was settled then. He would try to talk to her after his shift ended.

༉‧₊˚✧ ꒱

After changing out of her work uniform and back into her school uniform, Risa waved a soft goodbye to Hiromi, She put her earbuds in while she thought about what she'd have for dinner that day. Curry maybe? Some fried rice sounded good as well. 

A soft tap on her shoulder jolted her out of her dazed state, an earbud falling out of her ear as she snapped her head around to find none other than Tetsurou Kuroo.

Tetsurou Kuroo?

"Natsumi, right?" The charming volleyball captain asked, his head tilted slightly as he looked down at her. Boy was he tall.

"Uh...Yeah..." She nodded awkwardly, her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to figure out why he would be talking to her. "Do you need anything?"

"You haven't joined a club, right?" Kuroo asked, to which Risa shook her head in response. Kuroo continued, "The boys' volleyball club is looking for a manager to help out, so I was wondering if you would consider taking up the job."

"Me?" She blinked, instinctively looking down as her eyes accidentally met his, "Did our homeroom teacher say something to you?"

"Nope," He shrugged his hands into his pockets. "Yaku actually."

Yaku, as in Morisuke Yaku? Risa was confused.

"He had a lot of good things to say. Hiromi too," Kuroo added, "I heard you need to find a club soon. So, what do you say?"

Risa stared at him blankly. He wasn't exactly wrong there. She was kind of desperate. She let out a sigh, "What does the manager have to do?"

"Mostly just helping out Coach Nekomata and Naoi in organizing club-related affairs and making sure the team is in check." Kuroo shrugged, "You know... managing a club."

"I'll think about it," Risa bowed shortly and quickly began to walk away, only for Kuroo to latch onto her wrist, stopping her in her tracks. The awkward girl instinctively turned back and looked up at him, confused.

He quickly let go, pulling a pen out of his pocket before rummaging through the pocket of his bag for a scrap piece of paper, only to give up and take her hand instead, the cool ink trailing around her palm, to write his contact details. "If you have any questions, you can message me!" He rubbed the nape of his neck sheepishly.

Risa blinked a bit before nodding, watching him jog away.

What the hell just happened?

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NATSUMI-SAN'S LONELY PLANET
population: 1