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"Y/N-CHAN! I'M HERE TO PICK YOU UPPP!" F/N's loud voice rang through your ears. You opened your window and looked down to see her jumping up and down happily while standing outside your door.

It was so early. How does she wake up like this? With so much energy, too.

"Hmm, okay. I'll be down in a few minutes." You said, shutting your window. You changed, grabbed a muesli bar, stuck it in your mouth, then grabbed your bag and journal, opening the door. F/N smiled happily at you, now walking beside you as you slid your coat on.

"Sooooo..." F/N started, trailing off with a giggle.

"So?" You raised an eyebrow at her, taking a full bite of your food.

"Are you still gonna hang around with the team? I mean...we already wrote a whole paper about them and Seijoh." She walked with her hands behind her back, her shoes making loud clacks against the concrete.

"Well that's true...but we're friends now, right? That means I shouldn't just leave them alone. That's what friends are for, you taught me that much, F/N." You let out a little chuckle. "Plus, when they get to Inter-high Preliminaries we can document it. I'm sure my teacher won't care, she'll think it's another newspaper I need to print."

F/N grabbed where her heart was, and with tears and snot already running down her face, grabbed you and started to sob. "Y/N-sama, you've grown so- so much! I feel like a proud older sister!"

"I'm older than you?"

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You two had now arrived at the school, immediately heading to the gym. You walked through the door, only to come face-to-face with somebody.

"Oh my god."

You felt your life flash before your eyes.

"Y/N-CHAN! IT'S YOU!" Noya yelled out, running at you at full speed. You went stone-faced, moving out of the way with a single step. He crashed into the wall behind you. "You're still as mean as ever"!"

"You know her?" Hinata asked with excitement.

"You actually know her?" Kageyama repeated, an eyebrow raised.

"Of course! After Kiyoko, she's one of the prettiest girls in school!" Noya, getting up with some scratches on his face, grinned at the ginger. "So quiet and secretive... I'm totally gonna go out with you, Y/N-chan! Just wait!"

"Mhm. I'll be dreading that day." You said monotonously. F/N stuck her tongue out at her upperclassman, trotting by your side as you sat down.

"Okay, that was kind of uncalled for y'know!"

Daichi, Suga and Tanaka walked in, Tanaka greeting his friend.

Kiyoko then walked in a bit, Noya trying to tackle her the same way, only for him to get slapped instead. She walked off as if nothing happened, ignoring the small boy.

Poor guy. You thought, a small chuckle bubbling out of your mouth.

"Y/N-CHAN?! DID YOU JUST LAUGH?!"

"No."

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"So where's Asahi? Is he back yet?" Noya asked with a smile.

The team was silent, giving the boy his answer. "Well uh..."

It was silent for a moment. But only for a moment.

"... Damn coward!" Noya yelled, gritting his teeth.

"Hey, show some respect for your upperclassman!" Tanaka glared at his friend, voice raising. You had never seen Tanaka get so worked up anywhere but on the court.

"Shut up! He's a scared little crybaby, and you know it!" Noya glared harshly. "If he's not coming back, then neither am I!"

"Hey- Noya- wait!"

You watched him storm out of the gym with an unreadable expression—seeing his eyes downturned angrily and his usual happy-go-lucky grin formed into a scowl—made your heart ache in an way you were uncertain of why. Maybe it was because he was always such a happy, unbreakable guy, or maybe it was because after spending so much time with him, a small part of you actually cared about him.

Whichever it was, you didn't care. You stood up, placing down your notebook and letting out a long, drawn-out groan as if asking yourself, are you really doing this?

F/N sent you a questioning glance, pushing herself up as if at any moment, she would stand up out of her chair beside you. "Y/N-sama? What're you doing?"

"I may be mean to him but I still care... maybe. Shoyo, you wanna get him to teach you? Then let's go." You glanced at the orange boy who now grinning so brightly you had to squint.

"O-Okay Y/N! Let's go!"

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Walking with Hinata, you two had finally found the angsty second year. "Good morning Nishinoya-san."

"Oh! Hey Y/N-chan! And... orange boy."

"Um, so Nishiya... you're a libero, right? You're on the defence." Hinata asked, you awkwardly standing next to him.

"It's Nishinoya. And why do you think I'm a libero? Because I'm short?" He sat down on the ledge of a large pot, closing his eyes.

"Huh? Of course not. You're good at receives." Hinata smiled slightly. "That's the right fit for the libero position. Because solid receives are the backbone for defence."

"Well look at you. You really know your stuff, huh?" Noya grinned at his underclassman.

"Didn't the captain say you were the guardian of Karasuno? Or something like that, Shoyo?" You glanced at the orange boy. He nodded at your quip, Noya now starting to blush.

"G-Guardian? Where'd that come from?! It's not like I'm that big of a deal... it's kind of embarrassing actually..." He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

To be honest, it does sound a little tacky. But it's the thought that counts.

"...He really said that?" Noya asked in a low whisper, cheeks going pink.

"Mhm! Mhm! Mhm!" The ginger nodded his head with a large smile.

"Does he think giving me a badass nickname is enough for me to come back?! Well... he's not wrong... but... dammit Daichi, that's not fair!"

"I still really suck at receiving... and it's kinda the most important part of the game," Hinata mumbled sadly. With a large breath, you sucked up your pride and bowed down slightly.

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble, would you teach Shoyo? Y-yuu..." Your ego took a large dent. Back, a long while ago, he had insisted for nearly a whole year that you should call him by his first name. However, as you weren't close with him and you liked to be formal, you never did.

"H-huh?!" Noya's mouth dropped, steam faintly coming out of his ears. He crashed backwards, then sat straight up. He placed a hand on Hinata's shoulder.

"If you got Y/N-chan to call me by my name when I never could... then she must like you... and if she likes you, you must be one hell of a kid! After practice, I'll treat you to some ice cream."

He grinned and pointed at himself brightly. "Because I'm your upperclassman... and that's what upperclassmen do!"

"Does that mean...?!"

"That doesn't mean I'll come back to volleyball club, I'll just teach you how to do receives, that's all!" The flustered boy pointed at the ginger.

You forced a crooked half-smile onto your face, which, really looked quite strange, but to Nishinoys, it was the first time you had ever come remotely close to smiling at him.

"Anything for you, Y/N-chan!" He did finger guns and winked, before going back to talking and laughing with Shoyo.

From a corner, Tanaka, Daichi, and Sugawara watched. With a hefty sigh, Suga stared at the scene in front of him. "He has such a weakness for girls."

"Yep."

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"So did you have to call Nishinoya-san by his first name to get him to comply?" F/N asked you, walking beside you while chewing on a muesli bar.

"Yes. I hated it." You rubbed the bridge of your nose, squeezing your eyes shut.

"You know he kinda reminds me of a puppy dog? Like... he does anything he's asked. Speaking of that, I'm sure you could've just asked nicely without saying it and he would've said yes. Instead, you kinda let him get what he wanted."

Oh.

You stopped in your tracks. I am an idiot. "P-PLEASE DON'T TELL ANYBODY ABOUT THIS!"

"WHA- Y/N-SAMA WHY ARE YOU YELLING?! BUT OKAY, I PROMISE I WON'T!"

You nodded quickly, covering your now-burning face.

"Y/N-SAMA ARE YOU THAT EMBARRASSED?! OR ARE YOU BURNING UP! OH MY GOD SOMEONE CALL A HOSPITAL!"

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Walking back with F/N back home was pretty quiet, as it was dark and kind of cold. She was sort of shivering. You had offered for her to take your fluffy coat, but she refused, saying,

"I can't let you get cold! If I do, what kind of friend am I?!"

You frankly gave up after that, slinging your bag around your shoulder and walking in the comfortable silence. You pulled out your journal. It had lots of newspaper ideas, about some car crashes in the area, a stomach bug going around in a few schools, and so on.

It wasn't anything too serious. Or exciting, for that matter. You needed something new, something eye-catching. Otherwise, you might fall behind the other schools.

You pulled out your keys and unlocked your door. Slipping off your shoes, you looked at F/N who was standing at the steps of your door awkwardly. You looked over your shoulder, "You can come in if you want."

Going into Y/N-sama's house... alone... just the two of us... this is the beginning of any girls love anime series!

"N-No! It's okay, I'll walk back by myself!" F/N bowed down, squeezing her eyes shut. "Good night Y/N-sama! I hope you have nice dreams!" She runs away as fast as she possibly can, her footsteps loud behind her.

"You-" She was already gone. You let out a heavy sigh. "Too..."

You placed your bag down on the hanging rack and walked up the stairs, into your room. Not even bothering to change your clothes, you lay down on your bed motionless, looking up at the dark roof with blank eyes.

Should I talk to Asahi later? I think the team would benefit greatly if I did get him back. Wait, why do I even care? I'm not the manager or anything.

You turn onto your side and close your eyes. I'll... think about this tomorrow.

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In your classroom, you were scribbling in your notebook. As much as it looked like a huge mess, you could understand your writing perfectly. You couldn't say the same for other people, though...

The only reason you weren't in a higher class as per your request. Those classes lasted longer, as they were prep for college. And you needed as much time as you could for your club.

You looked over to Asahi, Suga was in front of him, probably trying to convince him to come back to volleyball or something. You looked back to your notebook.

When you had finished the notes and work for your class, you ended up taking down some notes of another kind, in your book.

Get Asahi and Noya back to volleyball. Step by step, how to.
1. Try and talk to Asahi. If that doesn't work, go to plan 2
2. Drag him there. If he leaves, then go to plan 3.
3. Go by force. Will force him to stay.
4. Maybe threats?

You scribbled out the last one. No. No threats.

You saw him get up and start to leave, your eyes following his every step. Less time than I expected. But career counselling? Seriously? What a joke.

You stared at your notebook intensely, body unmoving. For a few minutes, actually. You needed to think of an idea, and fast. You didn't have time for trial and error.

Then, you scribbled something down, got up out of your seat and slammed your notebook shut.

4. Convince him. No elaboration.

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After you had finished cleaning off the blackboard, you put your notebook back in your bag, put your coat on and slung your bag around your shoulder, walking out of the class.

Since F/N was a first year, she wasn't allowed to walk around here often, as she had already pushed past her limit with the teachers a long time ago.

As you stepped out of your classroom, you saw two familiar first-year boys standing outside dumbly. They seemed to be arguing with one another and drew the attention of a few students who passed by. "If you're going to stand around, the teachers will have your heads, you know."

They turned around in shock, but quickly, Hinata bowed profusely while Kageyama just turned his head away. "Sorry, L/N-san." They said quietly at the same time.

"Mhm. I'll see you later, okay." You gave them a nod of acknowledgment, patting them both on the head with each of your hands. You soon left, going to the first-year area to look for your tiny friend.

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"Rolling... Thunder! Did you see that, Y/N-chan?! Did you?!" Noya looked over to where you were sitting in excitement, only for his smile to die down when he saw your nose still buried in your journal.

"Aw, come on!"

F/N looked over your shoulder, seeing the plan you had made.

Get Asahi and Noya back to volleyball. Step by step, how to.
1. Try and talk to Asahi. If that doesn't work, go to plan 2
2. Drag him there. If he leaves, then go to plan 3.
3. Go by force. Will force him to stay.
4. Convince him. No elaboration.

"You're really into this, huh." She mumbled, probably more to herself than you. But still, you nodded. "What about...we invite him to watch a practice match or something?"

"That would be a good idea if we even got the chance to have one. Even so, who says he won't just refuse and leave? We need to be a bit pushier with guys like him."

"You have a point... Hmm, what about if we try and catch his interest? Maybe he'll listen to you because he doesn't know you're associated with the volleyball club yet!"

You were intrigued by her suggestion. Twirling your pen around your fingers, you egged her to continue, "Okay, that seems reasonable. Then what will we talk about?"

"How about... the weirdo first years? They're pretty... aha, interesting. Oh, and about how tall Tsukishima is. Maybe Kageyama or something can come with us too."

You quickly wrote her idea down.

5. Try and catch his interest. Talk about new first years.

"Aha! I did have a good idea!" F/N smiled, then looked back to the boys who were training and yelled something you didn't care about.

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You happened to overhear that Karasuno has a training camp coming up in a while and a practice match against Nekoma. You've heard of them, a school in Tokyo.

"Ah, Nekoma. Doesn't... that boy with the two-toned hair go there, F/N?" You looked over at her. She nodded rapidly, obviously excited.

"Yeah, I think he's on the volleyball team too! I'm pretty sure his name was Kenma... we haven't seen him in a while!" 

"It'll be nice to see him again," You said, looking forward, then down at your book. Even though we probably don't stand a chance against him and his team if we don't have a strong ace or libero, though.

Then, it clicked. You turned to F/N, looking at her straight in the eyes.

"I have an idea of how to get Asahi back."

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