Chapter Text
"We're going to Karasuno! We're going to Karasuno!" Nika sang, falling backwards onto Hayami's bed. Hayami giggled from where she sat on the floor, flipping through old photo albums.
"We only just got the letters today," Hayami told her.
That morning, Nika had stormed over to Hayami, a letter clutched in her hand and excitement thundering in her eyes with anticipation. Hayami's mother, Shouyou had handed a similar letter to Nika and let her rush to Hayami's room.
"THEY CAME! THEY CAME!" she'd cried, throwing open the door and scaring the heck out of Hayami. They tore open the letters and immediately began to squeal at what it contained.
Now, the girls were looking through the photo albums Hayami had snuck out of her parents room to look at.
"Hey! That's my papa!" Nika said, rolling onto her stomach and stretching her arm out to point to a figure in one of the photos, the libero of Karasuno. "Papa looks so cool! I seriously want to be a libero like him," she sighed happily.
"You will," Hayami told her.
"And you're going to be an amazing wing spiker, just like your mom."
Hayami felt her face break out into a wide grin. "Yeah, yeah I am," she said, staring down at the photos.
A small knock drummed against the door frame. "Hey," Hayami's older brother by only a year, Takeshi, said, poking his head into the room. He snorted at the sight of her messy room. "Your room is an absolute mess," he teased.
"Shut up, Takeshi!" she shot back, sticking her tongue out at the older boy.
He made a face back at her, dropping his bag and stepping into the room. He knelt down in front of her and stuck his own tongue out at her. Hayami shoved him back and he promptly landed on his behind.
"You're gonna get it for that!" he told her, reaching for her.
Shouyou walked past just then and frowned at his children. "Takeshi, leave your sister alone!" he scolded, stopping in the doorway.
Takeshi huffed. "She pushed me!" he replied. Shouyou sighed and shook his head. "That excuse doesn't work in this house! You have no idea how many times I tried to use that excuse and it failed," Shouyou told him.
Nika snorted from where she lay. Takeshi turned his head and glared at her.
"Shut up!"
Nika sat up, her lips pulling into a wide grin. "I didn't say anything," she replied.
"I hate you guys so much," he muttered, swiftly getting to his feet and brushing past Shouyou, who watched as he stormed down the hall.
"He takes so much after your father."
"Who takes after who?" Hayami's father, Tobio asked as he came to stand next to Shouyou. He handed Hayami's little brother Asato to Shouyou, who carefully balanced him on his hip.
"Takeshi. He takes after you," Shouyou said, playfully poking Tobio's side with his other hand.
Tobio smiled. "Ah."
He turned his gaze to his daughter and her friend. "Are you two excited to attend Karasuno?" he asked. Hayami grinned up at her father.
"Yep! We’re gonna be awesome volleyball players like you and Mom were!"
Tobio chuckled, and Shouyou made an "awe" sound. "That’s so sweet!" he cried, bouncing Asato on his hip. Nika got to her feet, balancing on Hayami's bed. "And I'm gonna be the best libero Karasuno has ever seen!" she announced.
Shouyou smiled. "I don't know about that. Your papa was an amazing libero."
Nika planted her hands on her hips dramatically. "I'll be better than Papa then! The world's greatest libero!"
Hayami clamored to his feet. "Let's go practice!" she told her best friend who nodded enthusiastically and jumped off the bed. They raced past Hayami's parents and bolted for the door. Tobio watched them with a chuckle.
"Remember when we were that young and energetic," he told Shouyou.
"I'm still young and energetic," Shouyou said proudly, poking Tobio's side again. Tobio shook his head and laughed, wrapping an arm around Shouyou's shoulders and tugging him against his side. "Yes you are," he replied.
***
"'Yami! Slow down!" Takeshi grumbled as his sister dragged him towards Karasuno High School. "Nope!" she cried energetically, tugging him roughly again. She came to a sudden stop at the front gate and let go of her brother's hand, Takeshi stumbling a bit in return.
"Woah," she breathed.
"Hayami!" Nika called from the door, bouncing up and down next to her older brother Raiden. Takeshi rolled his eyes when his sister took off again, following leisurely behind her. He nodded to Raiden when he approached, acknowledging his senior.
The girls grabbed each other's hand and bolted down the hall. Takeshi sighed and shook his head. "Girls, am I right?" he said.
Raiden chuckled. "Yep."
After a moment, Takeshi sighed again. "We've got to get to practice before Keito gets mad." Raiden nodded in agreement and the two set off towards the gym.
***
"What?" Hayami stared at the man in front of her, her mouth gaping. The man nodded and sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You heard me. There's no girls volleyball team this year, sorry girls," he repeated.
Hayami turned her head to meet Nika's gaze. The shorter girl's slanted brown eyes were glazed with shock.
"We came to Karasuno to play volleyball! And now you're telling us there's no girls team for us to play on?!" Nika bellowed, startling both the man and Hayami. The man sighed again.
"There were not enough funds this year to pay for both the boys and girls teams, and the amount of players on the girls team has been dwindling over the past few years. So the school decided to cut the girls team. Sorry," the man explained. "I'm sure there's another club that you two can join," he added, offering a stack of papers to them.
An idea dawned on Hayami, and she lifted her head to meet the man's gaze. "We'd like to sign up for the boys volleyball team," she announced.
Both Nika and the man fixed their gaze on her.
"Excuse me?"
Hayami nodded vigorously. "If there's no girls team, then automatically we have to be allowed to play on the boys team."
"That's not how-"
"We'd like to sign up for the boys volleyball team," Hayami repeated, her gaze focused intently on the man. Nika stepped forwards and nodded her head in agreement. "Yes, we would," Nika agreed.
"You can sign up, but I'm going to have to clear it with the Faculty Advisor and the Vice-Principal."
Hayami smiled happily up at the man when he handed Nika and her a slip of paper, the application form for the boys volleyball team. They quickly filled them out and handed them back to the man.
"Alright, I'm going to need your names now," he said.
"Hayami Kageyama."
"Nika Azumane."
The man's eyes shone with recognition at the names. "Are your brothers on the volleyball team?" he asked. Both Hayami and Nika nodded in unison. "Our parents also went to Karasuno when they were our age," Hayami told him proudly.
After a moment's pause, the man exhaled. "Come back tomorrow, and I'll let you know if you can or not."
Nika and Hayami nodded and rushed out of the room when the man waved a hand. As soon as they were out of the room, both girls squealed happily and hugged each other tightly as they bounced up and down.
"This might actually work!" Nika cried, "we're gonna be able to play volleyball!"
Hayami pulled away from Nika and grinned at her. She held her fist out for Nika to bump. "We're going to be the best volleyball players Karasuno has ever seen!" she said. Nika nodded, bumping her fist against Hayami's.