Chapter Text
Karasuno high school, Miyagi prefecture. Isano’s third year (2011)
“KNOCK IT OFF!” Daichi screamed. Kageyama immediately let go of Hinata’s shirt. He felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment as he realized Takeda was trying to tell the team something.
“Thanks guys, as I was trying to say- I know you all are feeling down because of yesterday’s loss to Aoba Johsai. However, we all need to start thinking about the Spring Tournament. I have some news.” Everyone was paying attention now. “I approached a third year transfer student yesterday about joining our team.”
The whole team started talking at once:
“Transfer? From where?”
“What position is he-”
“Why now-?”
“QUIET,” Daichi yelled. Takeda let out a long-suffered sigh.
“Maruyama is a transfer student from Shiratorizawa.” Kageyama’s jaw dropped. Shiratorizawa? Why the heck would someone leave that team? They were consistently at nationals almost every season- why would someone lower their chances of winning?
Wait…Maruyama?
Sugawara echoed his thoughts. “But that’s the best academic and athletic school in our prefecture!”
Takeda checked his clipboard. “I know. Also, Maruyama’s position is- oh good, you’re here. Everyone, this is Isano Maruyama.”
“Nice to meet you all,” a soft, but firm voice said. The team collectively gasped, and Kageyama’s eyes widened in recognition.
A girl- a woman, more accurately- was standing a couple feet away from them. She was probably six feet tall, and had piercing steel-colored eyes. Her hair was chocolate brown, slightly wavy, and just brushed her collarbone. She had slight one-sided curtain bangs that framed her right eye. She wasn’t wearing any makeup, except for the dark, smoky eyeliner around her eyes.
“Maru-san?” Kageyama blurted without thinking. She directed that sharp stare to him, and smiled.
“Oh wow, it’s been a while Tobio-kun. I haven’t seen you since you were a first-year middle schooler!” She turned her attention back to the whole time. “Sorry, all of you are probably really confused. I was a third year wing-spiker at Kitagawa when Tobio-kun was a first year. I’ve been attending Shiratorizawa for the past two and a half years, but I recently decided I just can’t take it anymore. The environment is toxic, and I didn’t want to end high school with horrible memories. I wasn’t planning on playing volleyball here- until Takeda-sensei approached me and asked if I would consider playing with you guys. I got special permission to play on the boy’s team from the administration.”
Daichi was the first one to speak. He walked up to her, shaking her hand in greeting. “Nice to meet you, Maruyama. I’m Sawamura Daichi, the team captain. I’m not really surprised you’re joining us- at this point, nothing about this team can shock me anymore. I have to admit I’m curious though… Aoba Johsai just beat us in the Inter-High Tournament; so why didn’t you transfer there? They’ve proven their team is objectively better than ours.” Maruyama rolled her eyes when Daichi mentioned Seijoh.
“Like I said, I wasn’t originally planning on playing volleyball for the rest of high school- and even if I was, I wouldn’t have gone there. I dealt with those idiots all throughout middle school; I need a damn break from their stupidity. And now that I’m here… the idea of beating the Seijoh third years is extremely appealing to me. If I can beat them, then I can beat almost anyone right? And it would be great to knock Oikawa’s shitty ego down by like, ten notches. That asshole could use some humility.” Her tone was a mixture of reluctant humor, and slight annoyance.
Kageyama remembered her being friends with the Seijoh third-years in middle school, but didn’t know anything about their relationship now. Maybe she had her own reasons to want them defeated. He saw Tanaka and Noya visibly brighten at her determination to take down Seijoh.
“Anyone willing to kick their asses is good in my book,” Tanaka said, grinning.
Isano returned the grin. “It would be a true test for me, if we could play on opposite sides of the net.” None of them knew what she meant, but they were excited to work with her nonetheless.
“Maruyama, I’m going to put you in for this next practice round. You need to get used to playing with these guys, and learn our style.”
Kageyama wasn’t playing in the three-on-three, so he sat and observed Maruyama with the others who weren’t playing.
It took the first set for her to adjust, but Maru seemed to fit right in with the team. She quickly got used to Suga’s setting style- and it was obvious why she was a spiker. She hit the ball powerfully, scoring on twelve of her fourteen spikes.
Excitement ran through the team- they had just gained an incredible player.
Hinata was thrilled to have another fantastic upperclassmen to get advice from. Maruyama had quickly become integrated into the team dynamic. Hinata often saw her with Suga, Daichi, and Asahi in the halls. He’d quickly learned that her mouth was just as sharp as her spikes. Her wit often appeared out of nowhere, cutting people down like weeds, and then going back to laughing and joking like nothing. The confident- but not quite arrogant- way she held herself was a constant reminder that she came from Shiratorizawa.
On a day where the English homework was just too damn hard, Hinata and Kageyama begged Tsukki to help them. He looked at them like they were stupid.
“Come back during my business hours- which are never. Go ask Maru-san for help, dumbasses. She’s completely fluent in English.” The two boys bolted towards class 3-5, and found Maru sitting with Sugawara by the windows.
They both bowed slightly, out of breath from running. “Maru-san, please help us with our English homework! We don’t want to fail another test!” She raised her eyebrows at their desperation, but looked at their papers anyway. She took one look and said,
“You’re grammar is horrendous.” Suga poorly hid his laughter. She glared at him. “Suga- you have the english fluency of a toddler, so shut it.” She looked at them, and said in English: “Nothing will help you two idiots pass this class.” Hinata tilted his head in confusion.
“Maru-san, how are you so fluent in English?” She raised her eyebrows.
“Uh, Hinata- I’m Japanese-American,” she gestured towards her western facial features. “I was born in New York, but moved here when I was really young. Both of my parents were born here, but my maternal grandmother is from the States. Even though she’s the only blood-link I have to the U.S., my mother and I both look identical to her.”
“That’s not fair, you probably pass this class perfectly,” Kageyama lamented.
“Language arts are my best subject- English or not.” She tossed their papers back at them. “We’re erasing everything you have so far and starting from the beginning.”
“Pack it up and get outta here!” Ukai yelled after a particularly grueling practice. They were all exhausted, barely able to hold themselves up.
“Maru-san, we’re going to grab some Yakisoba- do you want to come with?” Tanaka yelled. She shook her head.
“I’m going on a date with my boyfriend. It’s our two-year anniversary. Oh- stop giving me that look. Do you really think I could look like this and not have a boyfriend?” Sarcasm dripped from her voice. She had to admit- the shocked looks of disappointment on Tanaka and Noya’s faces were priceless.
“I didn’t know you were seeing someone,” Daichi noted conversationally. Maru nodded while chugging water.
“Yeah, we started dating towards the end of our first year in high school. But, I’ve known him and my other best friend since we were young kids. It just took us awhile to get our heads out of our asses.” She checked her phone. “I’ve gotta go- I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” she yelled back while running out of the gym.
The next day, practice was starting late so they were all waiting in the clubroom. “Maru-san, you should consider making other friends outside of us. Don’t you have better things to do than spend hours with… disgusting teenage boys?” That came from Tsukishima, with a pointed look at the others. Maru looked at him with amusement dancing in her eyes.
“I’m used to it- most of my childhood friend group were boys. I’ve grown accustomed to that-” she pointed at Tanaka and Noya doing god knows what. “And I ended up falling for one of them, so I guess that says something about my taste in men,” she explained, chuckling a little.
“Ugh, it’s like you’re in a shojo manga!” Yachi exclaimed. Maru opened her mouth ready to disagree, but Yachi didn’t let her. “A group of all boys and one girl, someone was bound to fall in love, and go through an epicly dramatic arc of pain-”
“Yachi, Isano isn’t an anime protagonist,” Kiyoko said, cutting off Yachi’s tangent. Maruyama found the young manager’s assessment hilarious.
“Yeah, in comparison to a manga, there wasn’t that much drama. It just… took us awhile. Our other best friend Haa-chan had to suffer our shit for way too long,” she admitted.
Ukai gave them a ten minute break. Maru jerked up from where she was lying on the ground, stretching her ankle.
“Coach, can I use the break to change?” He waved at her, and she ran off to the club room. When she returned, the guys did a double take.
Her bangs had been unpinned, instead the waves had been pulled into a slicked-back low bun (as much of one as her short hair could create). She was wearing a simple scoop-neck black leotard and had light pink tights on- the convertible ones so her feet and ankles were temporarily exposed. In one hand, she was holding ribbons that were attached to light pink pointe shoes. In the other, she was holding a thick black rubber strip with a tied loop at the end of it. She unceremoniously dropped to the floor and slipped the front half of her foot through the loop before proceeding to finish stretching out her ankles.
Suga raised his eyebrows. “Uh- care to explain, Maru?” She held up the piece of stretchy rubber.
“This is a theraband; it helps strengthen a dancer’s feet. Stretching my ankle reminded me I needed to change for ballet, since I need to fly to class after practice. I’m always late, so I miss the time dedicated to strength training.”
“I didn’t know you danced, Maru! That’s so cool,” Hinata said. She smiled.
“It’s my other passion. I’ve been dancing since I was old enough, and I’ve had these-” she held up pointe shoes, “-since fifth grade.”
“You should dance something! We still have like three more minutes until our break’s over.” Maruyama seemed reluctant, but eventually laced up her shoes after many pleads from her teammates. She pulled up Spotify on her phone, and hit play on ‘Rolling in the Deep’.
Maru knew the team was stunned. It looked like gravity didn’t even apply to her. Every move was precise and sharp- it almost looked easy; but on the inside, Maru knew how much leg and core strength each move required. Her muscles weren’t defined from volleyball- it was from each day of ballet.
When the song was over, the team clapped vigorously. She took off her pointe shoes, and put her volleyball ones back on.
“Gosh Maru, it seems like you need endless energy and stamina. You have to channel your inner Hinata.”
“Yeah, sleep and self-care are… difficult with my schedule. My boyfriend is constantly on me about proper hydration and nutrition.”
“You should listen to him,” Daichi called from where he was pulling out more volleyballs.
After two more hours of many, many drills, the team finally packed up. When they left the school, Kiyoko and Maru walked in the opposite direction of the rest of the team.
“Do you want us to walk you guys to your bus station?” Kinoshita called. Kiyoko thanked him, but shook her head.
“I’m walking Maru to where she’s getting picked up; it’s closer to my station.” They waved goodbye, and the two young women set off, walking in peaceful silence.
“Do you think I should tell them?” is how Maru broke the quiet. Kiyoko was quiet for a few seconds, contemplating her words carefully.
“I don’t know. On one hand it’s none of their business, but on the other…”
“I know. I just don’t want them to overreact and think it’s a betrayal.”
“Just because you’re on the team doesn’t mean you’re required to disclose your personal life to everyone. If you wanted to tell them Isano, you already would’ve.” Maruyama groaned in frustration.
“I honestly thought they would’ve just figured it out.” This made Kiyoko laugh softly.
“As I’m sure you’ve probably noticed, most of them aren’t the smartest outside of the sport.” They laughed together, since Kiyoko was absolutely right, and continued their walk.
Maru spotted a familiar 2010 Honda CRV. It was pure white, which made it easy to see in the dark. She pointed Kiyoko in it’s direction; they approached the car together.
It was dark, but the streets were well lit enough that Kiyoko could see inside the car. She fought the urge to scowl.
“You’re Karasuno’s manager, right? Thank you for walking her here.” Kiyoko nodded and smiled politely. Maru laid a hand on her shoulder.
“Do you need a ride to your stop, so you aren’t walking alone in the dark?”
“No, that’s alright but thank you for the offer. I’ll see you tomorrow, Isano.”
Kiyoko sighed.
“I still can’t believe Maru-san knew Kuroo!” They had recently returned from training camp with Nekoma and Fukurodani, overwhelmed by the quick arrival of the Spring Tournament. Tsukki turned to Hinata when he spoke, and rolled his eyes.
“Hinata, you know people do interact in an environment outside of volleyball right?” Maruyama had informed them upon arrival to the camp that she was actually friends with Nekoma’s captain. Apparently, they’d attended the same summer camp together for all of their childhoods.
“MOVE YOUR ASSES!” Ukai yelled. Yachi and Kiyoko were attempting to usher everybody onto the bus.
The morning of the Spring Tournament Day 1 was already chaotic.
“Why are we leaving so early?” Tanaka whined. Ennoshita looked at him, exasperated.
“If you’d been paying attention, you’d know we’re picking up Maru-san from her dance competition.”
“Competition?” Noya and Tanaka said in unison. Again, Ennoshita was exasperated.
“Yes, she qualified for nationals.” The girls were finally able to get everyone on the bus in one piece, and they set off.
When they arrived at the building, the lobby was empty.
“We’re arriving late, so people are performing right now. Best behavior- all of you.” They entered the auditorium, and were lucky enough to find the very back row almost empty. The rest of the room was completely filled with people, all clapping for the latest dancer. Hinata and Noya were immediately goofing off, trying to get the attention of the TV crew.
Kageyama caught movement to his right, and looked up to see Maruyama waving at them. Her short hair had small lilac flowers woven throughout the waves. She was wearing a dark purple bra-length undergarment with matching shorts. Over that was a see-through lavender layer of chiffon that cinched at her waist and flowed to her mid-thigh in the front and knees in the back.
“Maru-san, you’re not wearing eyeliner!” Hinata whisper-yelled. She rolled her eyes.
“My coach said it was too messy. I had to put regular stage makeup on, but I’ll have to wipe it off before the game or else the sweat will make it look horrid.” Now that she mentioned it, Kageyama did notice that she had a large amount of professional-looking makeup on. She scanned the row of them. “Did any of you manage to get a program?” Suga waved his in the air. He tossed it to her. She opened it to the last page and beckoned for them to look.
“Let me explain a little, before I need to go backstage. You see this purple dot next to my name? It means I’m competing in the Elite Senior level, which is the most advanced group. A lot of what you’ll see me doing during the chorus of the song is stuff that the judges really like- and things that score more points. But during the verses, everything I do is stuff I choreographed myself- ah,” she cut herself off abruptly, a grimace on her face. She clutched at her calve.
“Hey, are you okay?” Daichi asked. She nodded and straightened.
“I’m fine, I need to get backstage. I’ll see you all after the solo awards.”
About fifteen minutes later, the team was ready to watch Maruyama dance. The announcer caught their attention.
“Alright everyone, please welcome to the stage contestant number 256; this is Isano Maruyama dancing ‘Unstoppable.’”
The music started blaring from the speakers and the audience quieted.
Maru started to move.
It was completely different than what she’d done in the gymnasium for the team. Then, she had showed them a technically precise ballet routine- not that it wasn’t beautiful- but it wasn’t anything like she was doing now. She was dancing a raw contemporary piece for this competition.
“All smiles, I know what it takes to fool this town
I'll do it 'til the sun goes down and all through the night time
Oh yeah
Oh yeah, I'll tell you what you wanna hear
Leave my sunglasses on while I shed a tear
It's never the right time”
She moved her body across the stage and through the preparation for a triple pirouette. She landed and braced her body for the first big section that was coming up in the first chorus.
“I put my armor on, show you how strong how I am
I put my armor on, I'll show you that I am”
She put all of her momentum into her left foot, using the floor as a stepping stool. She struck her picture-perfect Russian Switch Leap with precision. Both legs completely straight, back slightly arched, and arms perfectly aligned with her legs.
“I'm unstoppable
I'm a Porsche with no brakes
I'm invincible”
When she landed on her right foot, she immediately flipped into an illusion.
Yes.
The first combo was done and she’d aced it. High chainne. Low chainne. Calypso, spiraling into a chin stand.
“Yeah, I win every single game
I'm so powerful”
She used abdominals to roll up. Next was another big move. Six second turns into four quick ettitude turns-
“I don't need batteries to play
I'm so confident
Yeah, I'm unstoppable today
Unstoppable today”
She let the words of the song flow through her veins and into her heart and soul.
“Break down, only alone I will cry on out
You'll never see what's hiding out
Hiding out deep down
Yeah, yeah
I know, I've heard that to let your feelings go
Is the only way to make friendships grow
But I'm too afraid now”
The floor was merely a spring for her as she moved up and down and right and left. She felt something pinch in her left leg and her heart dropped.
Calm. Stay calm. Ignore it.
“I put my armor on, show you how strong how I am
I put my armor on, I'll show you that I am”
She moved through one of her three acro sections, landing a round-off back tuck and turning into a front aerial.
“I'm unstoppable
I'm a Porsche with no breaks
I'm invincible
Yeah, I win every single game”
Pain.
Crippling pain shot through her leg. Only years and years of training kept her from dropping immediately. Maruyama cursed herself one hundred times over in her head. She’d gotten another calf cramp this morning, and hadn’t been able to massage it out herself. She hadn’t called anyone for help either.
The first thought in her brain was to quit. That it wasn’t safe and rational to keep going while she was in so much pain.
As the bridge of the song started she squashed those thoughts. Up until the cramp, her routine had been practically perfect. She was definitely going to place top ten, but that wouldn’t happen if she stopped now.
“I'm unstoppable
I'm a Porsche with no breaks
I'm invincible”
She was invincible. Nothing was going to make all those hours of practice and more practice go to waste. She would not be stopped. Not held down.
She wouldn’t.
Not this cramp, and not the pain. Dance had been her escape for so long, a way to take her mind off of Shiratorizawa. She wasn’t going to let this stop her from winning.
“Yeah, I win every single game
I'm so powerful
I don't need batteries to play
I'm so confident”
The pain was near excruciating at that point.
But.
The 540 was coming up. If she didn’t do it she would be eliminated from even being a contender to place.
She’d worked too damn hard for it to end like this. She pivoted on her left foot and launched herself into a sprint.
“I'm unstoppable today
Flip the left leg.
Unstoppable today
Flip the abdomen
Unstoppable today
Rotate the right leg.
Unstoppable today
Tuck her head. Rotate the entire body 360 degrees.
I'm unstoppable today”
Land- she just needed to land it.
And when her feet touched the ground, she was unstoppable.
As soon as she was off stage and into the nearby hallway, she collapsed. Adrenaline alone had been coursing through her, keeping her moving, but that had worn off.
Sweat and tears were soaked into the neckline of her dress. Sobs broke through her gritted teeth despite her attempts to keep them in. She looked at her calf, and her stomach rolled at the sight of the muscle folding in on itself.
The white spots that filled her vision caused her to not care when two sets of hands grabbed her by the shoulders and ankles, moving her. She managed to see that it was Daichi and Tanaka.
Everything went black.
Maruyama peeled open her eyes and sat up on the bench she’d been laid down on. Daichi looked at her.
“You need to stretch it out.” She nodded, and got to doing just that. It took a solid ten minutes, but the pain finally subsided. Tsukishima handed her a towel and bottle of water.
““Was there any particular reason you went on stage when you knew your leg was cramping?” he asked. Maru just stared at him. “Before you went on stage, you grabbed your leg like you were in pain. Which means your leg must’ve been giving you trouble all day. Cramps are commonly caused by dehydration- which I remember you saying you experience often.”
She was silent for a few seconds.
“This… happens a lot. It started back in the beginning of high school when my schedule had become increasingly difficult to maintain. I get them mostly at night, but sometimes the pain is so bad I’m not able to stretch it out myself. I wasn’t… in a position where I could get help, so I never really worked the muscle out before the competition. Could you tell it was bad from watching?”
Asahi shook his head. “Nah, I mean it showed on your face, but it kinda just looked incorporated into the dance. The facial expressions, I mean. You were phenomenal out there.”
The entire team agreed. When she danced, they couldn’t look away.
“Alright, c’mon I don’t want to miss the awards.”
They hurried back to the auditorium, Maruyama joining the other dancers on stage. A middle-aged woman walked on stage, holding a microphone.
“Thank you all for attending. My name is Miyako Yoshida, and I will be announcing the top ten Senior Elite dancers.”
She started announcing awards, and stopped when she got to the top three. “Will the remaining dancers please approach the front?” Maruyama and two other girls joined Yoshida by the podium.
“Congratulations to all three of you; you all have bright futures in this business. In third place… contestant number 142, Eliza Sakai dancing ‘Love is War.’” The girl accepted her award, and the audience quieted down.
“Only two tenths of a point separate first and second. So, our first place dancer, and title winner goes to…”
“Hell yeah!” Noya yelled as they sprinted onto the bus. Maruyama yelled and twirled, holding a well-deserved plaque and trophy, a crown on her head.
“MOVE IT!” Coach Ukai yelled. “Unless you want to be late!” They all jumped.
“Yes, sir!” They scrambled for the bus. Once they were settled Maru said-
“Good god, it was the best decision I've ever made to chop my hair off," she said while tossing said hair back.
"Did you wear it longer?" Asahi seemed to be curious.
"It was so long it was ridiculous. I cut in my first year of high school. The long hair hid my face too much and gave me a way to hide. It was also just a real pain in my ass to play volleyball with." A sudden blush overtook her face. “It was also my way of giving someone the middle finger. I was so childish, now that I think about it.”
About ten minutes later, they arrived at the tournament.
After beating Johzenji, Karasuno was up against WakuNan. Maruyama hadn’t played in the Johzenji match (much to her dismay) because of how sore her muscles were. But after extensive stretching, Coach had approved her to play in the next game- never specifying when.
That moment came for her halfway through the first set. Karasuno was down, 15-17 when she was called to the bench, waiting to be subbed in. None of the team knew who she would be subbed in for or what Coach expected her to do.
But when Kageyama came up to serve, the last thing they thought Ukai would do was sub her in as a pinch server.
Shock rippled through the team and the audience as they watched Kageyama jog to the bench. Maruyama was calm throughout it all, an intense look on her face that was eerily familiar to the team. While she waited for the whistle to blow, she turned her head slightly towards the bleachers, where a majority of Aoba Johsai watched the game. Even from far away, the look of pure determination in Maru’s eyes would be noticeable. She extended her arm towards Seijoh and pointed her index finger.
Directly at Oikawa.
And then she moved it slightly across the third years, pointing to each of them.
Hanamaki, Matsukawa…
And Iwaizumi.
The whistle blew, and her head snapped back to the court. The entire gymnasium seemed to hold its breath. No one on the team had seen her serves. Serving drills were held towards the end of practice on every other day, and Maru always had to leave for dance on those days. Coach only let her leave because he made her come an hour early every morning before practice to serving and receiving. And during practice matches, she always let Tadashi practice his jump floats when she was up to serve. The team used to think it was kind.
Now, it was clearly calculated.
After a deep breath, Maruyama tossed the ball into the air.
What the hell? A jump-serve?
She jumped high into the air, back arching and arm snapping back. Time seemed to slow as she slammed the ball across the net with such a force that it almost went out of bounds. But it touched the ground just behind the white line.
The crowd erupted at the service ace. The satisfaction was plain on Maru’s face. She screamed with her teammates, and when the noise died down, snickers were apparent from the bleachers.
Seijoh’s third-years were evidently smug, and Maruyama sent blazing glares at each of them.
“Damn fools almost gave away my serve,” she muttered while walking back to the serve line.
She scored two more no-touch aces before WakuNan’s libero managed to sloppily return one.
It was then that both Hinata and Kageyama realized why her expression was familiar.
It was the same one Oikawa wore when he was up to serve.
Karasuno managed to beat WakuNan in the third set. After the game, Maruyama was ambushed by her teammates who were understandably demanding answers. She internally sighed, exasperated by their seemingly unending energy even after playing straight sets.
“Why didn’t you tell us you had Great King level serves?!” Hinata yelled. His words weren’t an exaggeration. She served with a force and power that rivaled Oikawa. She opened her mouth to respond, but everyone was shouting at her at once.
“ENOUGH! Let her speak!” Coach chastised. Everyone looked at her, waiting.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to trick any of you. But I needed the element of surprise going into this game. If you had all looked calm and confident when I stepped up to serve, they would’ve had some sort of expectation as of what was to come. Coach has been purposefully hiding my serves so that no one knew what they were like.”
“Why didn’t you wait to use this tactic until we were up against Seijoh?” Tadashi asked, before flushing at the self-explanatory question. “Sorry… of course, they already know what you serve like since you’ve known them for so long.” A flash of irritation ran through her at the reminder of Seijoh.
“Yeah, but those stupid assholes almost gave me away with all of their damn laughter. It’s why I pointed at them. So that they would shut their mouths. I swear, he acts like he’s in elementary school-” she cut herself off with an eye roll. “It doesn’t matter. Seijoh will be a hard game no matter what. His Royal Majesty will be able to see through me easier than most, and he’ll be able to read all of you as well.” Her teammates had quickly calmed down, and everyone was already getting ready to head to lunch, before the game.
After lunch, the third-years of Karasuno quietly walked back to the tournament. Suga turned to Maru.
“Maru-san I meant to ask you about something-” She cut him off.
“Sorry but I’ve been meaning to tell you all for a while now that you can just call me Isano. Not the underclassmen though.” A pause. She chuckled. “They can first-name me when they stop being such pains in our asses,” she said through laughter. Her friends joined her, Sugawara’s unfinished question completely forgotten.
Exactly what Isano wanted.