Chapter Text
The birth of the fan club started like this:
Yachi simply wanted to finish the club’s new posters and flyers. Knowing that the colors on her digital designs can turn out differently when printed, she did the logical thing and printed out drafts of her designs – as well as test shots she got of the club’s ‘freak duo’ in action.
And so they laid spread out on her desk, burying the math homework she promised to finish before her homeroom teacher arrived.
What story do you want to tell? What do you want them to see?
Yachi bit her lip, her mother’s voice guiding her as she stared at the printed drafts in concentration. ‘What’ indeed.
Although no one in the team was asking her to do this, Yachi knew how much they needed these designs. The flyers were the perfect way to distribute information about the club and how people can help fund it. Apparently, getting into Nationals is not enough reason for the school to allot more budget to one of their best clubs – especially since “it is not guaranteed that they will compete at that level again in the next tournament.”
Stupid school politics.
The point is, Yachi needed these designs to be perfect. Good designs inspire donations, afterall. She picked up one draft and squinted in consideration. Maybe if she changed the hues a little more -
“Oh? Isn’t this Kageyama?”
“The one in the volleyball club? Oh my god, Yu-chan you’re right! He is totes a pretty boy!”
Yachi stared, dumbfounded. Somehow, two of her classmates appeared out of thin air to gush over a picture of Kageyama previously covered by the draft she was holding.
“Yu-chan, look. He looks way cooler in this pic.”
“Wow, you’re right! His eyes are so intense.”
No. Seriously, what is happening here? Do her classmates have a crush on Kageyama? Yumi, mild-mannered, top of the class Yumi? Or Kikoru, cheery, popular Kikoru? Crushing on her teammate?
“Yumi, Kikoru, can I help you guys?” Yachi asks, then almost slaps herself as realization of what she’s done hits her the moment the words leave her mouth.
What if they ask for her help in confessing to Kageyama? Or if they ask for her help to set them up on a date? She can already see Kageyama’s sneer as he yells at Yachi about how going on a date with her classmate is cheating since volleyball is the love of his life.
Ah, Yachi Hitoka you idiot! Now you’re gonna have to pack your bags and leave as a hermit! How shameful, trying to ruin a perfect relationship!
Thankfully, Yachi didn’t have to keep apologizing to the groom Kageyama and his bride volleyball-on-a-stick-figure-body in her head. Just as she was thinking about doing a dogeza in front of the lovely couple to show her sincerity, her two classmates speak up.
“We were wondering how much you’re selling these for, Yachi?” Yumi asks, holding the two pictures of Kageyama that they were gushing over. Beside her, Kikoru nods, her curled ponytail bouncing in her enthusiasm.
“These are awesome! I’m so happy you guys are finally making them! I’ve been wanting one since their match against Shitori- Shiza-”
“Shiratorizawa,” Yumi gently corrects.
“Yeah, that! Shiratorizawa! I’ve been wanting one since then! So, how much are they, Ya-chan?”
The two girls look at Yachi expectantly. Unbeknownst to them, the petite blonde has no idea what they’re talking about.
“Sorry, ho-‘how much’?” Yachi stutters, mind racing to understand what her classmates are asking. The pictures? Are they talking about Kageyama’s pictures? Why are they buying the pictures? Do they plan to use for it black magic?! A forbidden love potion?!
Kikoru beams at her, glad that Yachi is on the same page as her, “yeah, do you have a set price for them already? If not, is 300 yen each enough?”
“300 yen each?!!” Yachu gasps. She didn’t even have to spend anything on printing the pictures since she just used the printer and excess card stocks they had at home. And now she’s getting 600 yen for them?!
“Oh, is that price too low? Wait, I need to check if I have enough money,” Kikoru brings out her wallet and starts to quietly count the coins she has. While Kikoru counts, Yumi busies herself looking through the other pictures that Yachi has on her desk.
Yachi, on the other hand, zones in on Kikoru’s sparkly, crystal-embedded, pink wallet. There, in the transparent front pocket of the wallet was a picture of a male Korean idol.
Then it dawns on the poor blonde.
She’s heard about them before, idol fans like to collect them and sometimes even trade them.
“A photocard!” Yachi startles, “you want a photocard! You want Kageyama’s photocard!”
Yumi and Kikoru nearly jump out of their skin at Yachi’s outburst, the pictures - no, photocards of Kageyama that Yumi was holding drops to the floor.
“Ya-chan, are you okay?” Kikoru sweats. Really, she didn’t imagine that Yachi would be so shocked at the price she offered. She didn’t think the boy volleyball club’s photocards would be more expensive. Kikoru looked to her friend for help, but Yumi was already bending down to pick up the photocards that fell.
Yachi nods her head, vibrating with excitement. Here was a solution to their club funding issues! “I’m fine! Totally fine! You wanna buy these right?” she points at the two cards that were once again in Yumi’s hands.
One was a profile shot of Kageyama looking down, face slack as if he was lost in thought. Yachi remembers that she took it to test how the camera would capture the lighting inside the gym. Kageyama just happened to be the closest one to her then. Looking at the picture now, she could see how the light from the windows bathed Kageyama’s face in a soft yellow, bringing out the blue of his eyes and making his black hair appear almost midnight blue. His brows were set in a relaxed curve and his eyelashes fanned out delicately, a contrast to the strong angle of his jaw. Pretty boy indeed.
The other picture was one of Kageyama right after doing his jump serve. He was still in the air, body slightly bent forward and his arm still stretched from hitting the ball. Kageyama’s serve had been strong enough to create its own small wind, causing his hair to be slightly swept up. That meant that his eyes, often obscured by his bangs, could be seen clearly in the shot. Twin pools of striking cool navy set under furrowed brows. His gaze of utter determination made her finger on the shutter button falter, Yachi remembers. She had to stand by the net for this one; heart thumping at the thought of Kageyama accidentally serving that killer ball straight at her, but nonetheless awed at his pure athleticism.
Huh. No wonder her classmates wanted to buy them.
While Yachi reminisces on her shots, her two classmates start to doubt. Yachi’s reactions aren’t making sense. Maybe they got it wrong? Maybe they aren’t for sale afterall? “Yeah, we’re hoping to buy these? They’re photocards right?” Yumi pipes up. She really hopes they are. Otherwise she and Kikoru just made themselves look like creeps trying to buy an unsuspecting schoolmate’s pictures. Kikoru and Yumi share a look.
What was that? They shared a look! Are they backing out? No! Our club funding!
Yachi stands up in a panic, “Yes- I mean, no! I mean-! They are photocards, but they’re just, um, prototypes at the moment! I can’t sell them to you yet. So, will it be okay if you wait until tomorrow for the, um, official ones?”
Any doubt the two girls had dissipated. Kikoru squeals and hugs Yachi, “No way! You mean there’s more?! Sure! I can wait ‘til tomorrow. Thanks so much, Ya-chan!”
Yachi lets out a breath, glad that she has time to talk to Kageyama about the whole thing first. Unfortunately, her relief is cut short.
“What’s wrong Yumi, aren’t ‘ya glad they’re photocards afterall?” Kikoru hums.
Yachi looks at her dark haired classmate, noting that her face was getting red and that her eyes kept shifting from the cards she was holding to their other classmates. Is she…embarrassed? Why?
“Uhm, I would be fine with looking at the official ones tomorrow but…” Yumi unconsciously pulls the photocards closer to her chest and bows her head, “can I still buy the one of Kageyama serving?! I really want to be the only one who has a copy of this shot! I’ll make sure to pay a higher price! 500! Is 500 yen enough?!”
Yumi’s short outburst gave both Yachi and Kikoru pause. Although, not for the same reasons, it turns out.
Kikoru huffs a short laugh and pats Yumi in the back, “Oho! Didn’t know ‘ya admired Kagayema that much, Yu-chan! Using your savings like that? I’m so proud of ‘ya right now!”
“D-don’t misunderstand! I was just inspired by his playing! I’m an athlete too, remember? It takes a lot of dedication to be as good as he is!”
Kikoru just continues to pat her friend like a proud mother, cheshire grin never leaving her face.
Meanwhile, Yachi gapes, “500 yen?! I- what?!”
Yumi looks Yachi dead in the eye, “Is it still low? Then, 700? How about 700 yen?”
The blond shakes her head trying to reject the absurd offer, “No! Not 700! 500 is more than enough! Wait! I mean-!”
“Then, I’ll be paying 500 yen for this one too!” Kikoru grabs the card with the profile shot of Kageyama from Yumi’s hand and raises it up to admire it, “Kageyama really looks like a prince here! An exclusive shot like this is priceless!”
Yachi's eyes couldn’t get any wider. A thousand yen! Just for two pictures of Kageyama?! Still reeling, Yachi couldn’t protest when Yumi brought out her wallet just as the homeroom bell finally rang and the rest of the class prepared to settle down.
“It’s settled then. We’re buying them both. Since I have a thousand yen bill, I’ll pay. Just give me the 500 yen later, Kikoru.”
Before Yachi knew it, the two girls were already walking back to their seats and she was holding a crisp 1000 yen bill in her hands.
“Awww. Can’t you give it to me for free instead?”
“No.”
“Booo! Anyway, thanks so much Ya-chan! We’ll be looking at the official ones tomorrow too!” Kikoru calls back.
The small blonde looks at the money in her hand, uncomprehending.
The classroom door slides open and Yachi’s homeroom teacher enters. “Alright, everybody settle down,” Mister Shinziwa lets his eyes roam the class until he spots one of his students still standing in a daze, “Miss Yachi, is everything alright?”
With a start, Yachi realizes that she’s the only one left standing. She immediately sits down and hurriedly pulls her forgotten math homework from under her design drafts and other pictures to cover her desk.
“Yes, sir! I’m fine! My apologies for disturbing the class.”
Her homeroom teacher simply nods and proceeds to take roll call. Yachi breathes a sigh of relief and carefully puts the money away in her bag.
She looks at the math homework she never finished. Her hands find the hem of her skirt and wrinkles them in her white-knuckled grip. Yachi bows her head, lets her bangs cover face and tries to ignore the forming heat behind her eyes. She bites her lips, hard, enough to stop them from wobbling. She’d take getting scolded by her math teacher twice over rather than have to face what comes after school ends.
How - just how am I going to explain this to Kageyema????!!!
Yachi has been scared before.
She’s been scared a lot of times. Usually she lets it out by yelling it out. A good ‘ole “AHHHHHH THIS IS SO BAD I’M GONNA DIE!”
But this? She hasn’t felt fear like this in quite a while; the type to make her heart beat twice as fast, her lungs forget how to expand for air, and her skin to break out in sweat. It’s rendering all her coping mechanisms useless. Her guilt isn’t exactly helping either.
I can’t believe I sold Kageyama’s picture without his permission! This is bad. This is so beyond bad. He’s such a private person he might truly hate me when he finds out. He might think that I was lying when I told him I was only taking test pictures! Just when he was starting to trust me too! What am I gonna do?!
The bell rang ten minutes ago but Yachi was still fixing her bag; taking her time to carefully put her notebooks in a neat pile, arranging her pens by color in their case, rearranging the folds of her umbrella.
Still, I’d rather tell Kageyama myself than let him find out through anyone else. Yachi sighs.
And so, when she couldn’t find anything else to rearrange, Yachi starts her death march to the volleyball gym, imagining all the ways that Kageyama and the rest of the club would react.
By the time that Yachi enters the gym, Yachi had imagined enough scenarios to make her want to vomit or pass out. She sees her teammates, sees them already doing their warm-up exercises, and sees Kageyama leading the counting. Yachi freezes.
Ennoshita notices her first. “Oh, Yachi! We were starting to wonder if something came up. Are you okay? You’re usually one of the first people here,” the new captain asks, breaking from the team circle and jogging up to her.
Yachi’s hands start to shake. The whole team was looking at her now. Kageyama was looking at her.
Now or never.
Gathering whatever strength she had left, Yachi walks past a bemused Ennoshita, past all the other members and walks straight up to an even more bemused Kageyama.
Somewhere to her left, she hears Hinata sputter a confused “Yachi?”. She pays it no mind, knowing that she would bail the moment she looks at anyone else.
In one swift movement she grabs her wallet in her bag, the wallet containing the 1000 yen bill, offers it to Kageyama with both hands, bows a full 45 degrees, and screams, “I’M SO SORRY PLEASE DON’T HATE ME!”
Silence.
Then -
“What-is this bullying?! Kageyama! Are you bullying our cute manager?!”
“The hell’s going on here?! Yachi is Kageyama bullying you for money?! You can tell us!”
“I’m not! Tanaka-senpai, Nishinoya-senpai, I swear I’m not!”
“I never expected you to sink this low, King.”
“Shut-up, Tsukishima! I already said I’m not bullying her!”
“BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA KAGEYAMA YOUR STUPID FACE SCARED HER SO BAD SHE’S GIVING YOU HER MONEY TO STAY AWAY FROM HER!”
“SHUT UP YOU STUPID TANGERINE! YOUR FACE IS WORSE THAN MINE!”
“WHAT DID YOU SAY?!”
“Oy.”
The two juniors freeze and clam up so fast their teeth clack. Immediately they stand side by side as if in a military line and wait for their captain to speak.
Ennoshita sighs. Why can’t they ever have a peaceful practice?
“There’s obviously some misunderstanding here. We all know that Kageyama would never bully anyone. So, Ryuu, Yuu” Ennoshita points his glare to his vice-captain and libero who were attempting to growl at Kageyama like rabid dogs, “cut that out.”
Said vice-captain and libero immediately got the message and joined the two juniors in their stiff line, “Aye, captain!”
Ennoshita turns to Yachi as the rest of the team snickers at them. “Yachi, can you tell us why you’re offering Kageyama your wallet?” he asks, trying to make his voice as soothing as he can. Yachi clearly anticipated some negative reaction from Kageyama or the team. He needed to show that everything was okay.
However, to Ennoshita and everyone else’s horror, Yachi already had tears streaming down her face when she got out of her bow and lifted her face.
“I’m so sorry Kageyama! I didn’t even ask for your permission!” Yachi wails.
Kageyama’s stomach dropped. Why does he always end up making someone cry?
“O-oy, it’s fine. Whatever it is. It’s fine. You have my permission, or whatever. Please just stop crying,” the setter assures (begs). Whatever it is, it’s not worth Yachi’s tears. He owes her too much for all the help she gave him.
Plus, the team was looking at him like they already had his funeral planned.
To Kageyama’s dismay and panic, his words only made Yachi cry harder.
Yeah, he’s so dead.
Yachi fiddles with the water bottle Kinoshita gave her. After she cried her heart out, the team led her to sit down on one of the gym’s benches and asked for the full story. Now, the whole team is standing around her and she feels like a criminal on trial, waiting for their verdict on how badly she messed up.
“This is unacceptable. Right, Ryuu bro?”
“Utterly unacceptable, Yuu bro.”
Yachi sinks further into her seat. She expected as much. Even she would be angry if she found out someone in the team was selling her pictures.
”This can’t be true, Ryuu bro! Our own junior beat us! How did he get his own fangirls before us?!” Nishinoya wails, hands gripping his hair in defeat.
Huh?
Tanaka pats their libero’s back consolingly and tries to deny the truth. “They must just be shy, Yuu bro! Maybe they really wanted your picture but couldn’t ask Yachi since we're their seniors!”
“I still can’t believe someone would willingly waste money on an idiot’s picture,” Tsukishima scoffs.
“Well, I have had some of our classmates ask about Kageyama before, maybe he’s popular in our batch?” Yamaguchi muses, remembering the times his classmates the previous year would ask about the name of ‘the guy in jersey number 9’.
Hinata grimaces, “eugh. Don’t remind me. I overheard some girls talking about Kageyama’s supposed good looks when we had our remedial lessons.”
The small player then smirked and faced his best friend, “they lost interest in you though, the moment they realized you were dumb enough to be sleeping in remedial lessons.”
The whole team laughs and Kageyama wastes no time in headbutting Hinata. Hinata retaliates by kicking Kageyama’s shin. Soon, the two were in an all out fight and Tsukishima once again looks like he regrets joining the team.
Yachi stares. This…this is -
“-not a laughing matter!” the petite girl bursts out. The team pauses to look at her and Yachi nearly rips her hair out at their stupefied looks. Don’t they see how serious this is?!
Yachi barrels on, “aren’t you guys mad? Especially you, Kageyama?!”
Said setter blinks and drops Hinata from his chokehold (“That hurt, you jerk!”). Turning, he faces Yachi head on and looks at her quizzically. “Well, it’s not like you had bad intentions, right? I already told you a while ago that it’s fine, you have my permission,” Kageyama shrugs. “Besides,” the brunette continues, earnest blue eyes locking on to his manager’s honey ones, “you could never do anything that would make me mad at you. I like you.”
A beat, then warmth rushes to Yachi’s cheeks and she hides her cherry-red face in her hands. Her face feels so hot she’s sure smoke is coming out of her ears.
What was that?! That was so unexpected, Kageyama!
Puzzled at his friend’s reaction, Kageyama turns to Hinata for help. The small tangerine usually acts as his translator during social interactions. However, said tangerine is just gaping at him. In fact, the whole team is gaping at him.
“What?”
“Did Kageyama just-” Kinoshita starts.
“HOW DARE YOU HIT ON OUR CUTE MANAGER!” Nishinoya and Tanaka bellow in unison.
“I didn’t hit her?! I told you I’m not bullying her!”
Narita sighs at his teammates and points an accusing finger at Nishinoya and Tanaka. “You two literally have no ground to stand on,” he points out. “I’m sure Shimizu-senpai would agree.”
Blinking out of his shock, Ennoshita claps his hands to get the team back on track. “Alright, since Kageyama gave his permission and he’s not mad about someone buying his pictures, the team is fine with it as well. Isn’t that great, Yachi?” he smiles kindly at the small blonde.
Yachi lowers her hands and nods shyly, a little embarrassed for causing such a fuss about it. Then, Yachi remembers the other thing she needed to talk about. She looks at Kageyama, ignoring the lingering warmth on her face. “Since we’re on the topic, I wanted to ask you if you would be okay with me selling more pictures of you,” she states.
At the setter’s blank stare, Yachi starts to ramble. “See, the girls think the volleyball club is selling photocards now, because of the pictures I printed. They’re like, super glad and are willing to buy more tomorrow since I, um, told them I’d bring the supposed official ones tomorrow. And I, you know, I just thought that this would be a great way to help fund the club! They’re actually willing to pay a lot for your photocards, Kageyama! We got the same amount of money we usually get from three people’s donations from just two of your pictures! Although the photocards tomorrow will be priced lower, we can balance it out by selling more of the same photo. And also-”
“Yachi, you need to breathe,” Yamaguchi interrupts, concerned. On cue, Yachi gulps for air. Hinata grins at her. Tsukishima stoically hands their manager another water bottle.
Yachi accepts the water gratefully but doesn’t open it. “So, what do you say, Kageyama?” she presses.
Kageyama looks away as his pointer finger scratches his cheek, “well, I don’t mind the two pictures sold today. They’re more of an accident. But to purposely print ones to be sold? That’s a little…” the setter shuffles his feet, “what if no one else buys them? We would just be wasting your time and materials, Yachi.”
Ah, so that’s what he's worried about.
Yachi’s eyes soften and she gives her friend what she hopes is an encouraging smile. “You can rest assured, Kageyama. A lot of people will be happy to buy them. You may not know it but a lot of people admire you, you know? Not just for your looks like the girls Hinata heard, but for your skills as an athlete as well.”
Despite Yachi’s warm words, Kageyama still looks hesitant with the whole idea. Heart sinking, Yachi waves her hands placatingly, “It’s fine though if you really don’t want to do it! I don’t want to force you to do anything you don’t like.” I’d rather disappoint Yumi and Kikoru than make Kageyama uncomfortable.
Yachi was about to suggest that the team goes back to practice when Tanaka steps forward, eyes downcast, and puts an arm on Kageyama’s shoulder, “Kageyama…”
The blue-eyed junior looks at his vice-captain warily, “yes, senpai?”
Tanaka looks up with a manic glint in his eye that almost made Kageyama flinch, “I want a nice hotel for nationals! Don’t you want that too, Kageyama?!”
The setter blinks, ”huh?”
“Ooooooooh!” Tanaka’s declaration has lit a flame in all of the seniors. Having dealt with a small budget since they entered the club, the temptation of a bigger budget for more comfortable trips was too good to ignore.
“We could get a more spacious bus! That would be so nice Kageyama!” Narita exclaims.
Nishinoya nods enthusiastically, “barbecue after every training camp! Just imagine!”
”We could also rent a bigger room so we don’t always have to be crowded,” Kinnoshita adds.
”Best of all,” Ennoshita grins, knowing that Kageyama will cave at what he will say, “we could schedule more practice matches with other teams. Since we could go to them directly instead of relying on their good graces to come to us.”
Like Ennoshita predicted, Kageyama’s back straightens and his eyes shine with unbridled excitement.
Tsukishima scoffs at how gullible his teammate is.
“We can have more practice matches if Yachi sells my pictures?!”
“If your pictures can even increase our budget, Bakeyama. Keep up,” Hinata teases.
Kageyama ignores him and turns to Yachi once more. “Yachi!”
”Y-yes!”
”Please sell as many pictures of me as you can!”
“Yes, sir! No problem, sir!”
Satisfied, the setter turns to his captain. “Senpai! We should get back to practice if we want to beat everyone on the practice matches!”
Ennoshita laughs but concedes, “you heard him, everyone get back to warming up. Coach will have our heads if he comes back and we’re not ready.”
The team groans but head back to the center of the gym to resume their exercises. Ennoshita stays behind.
Yachi looks at him, curious.
”Hey, Yachi,” Ennoshita whispers.
Yachi tilts her head, confused at the conspiratorial look in her senior’s eyes. ”Yes, senpai?” she whispers back.
”You brought your camera today, right?”
“Oh my god he got even hotter!”
”No need to yell, Kikoru.”
”But it’s just so unfair, Yu-chan! Look, his lashes are prettier than mine and he’s a boy!”
Yachi giggles, glad that her two classmates fulfilled their promise of checking the official photocards she brought this morning.
”Sakura! Sakura, look! Here’s one of him wiping his face with his shirt!”
”Gosh, that’s so risque! I want it!”
It turns out, Yachi’s two classmates also saved her the effort of advertising the photocards. Kikoru had boasted about her exclusive photocard of Kageyama to her friends during lunch while Yumi had shyly shown all her fellow track and field club members the photocard she got. Now, five other girls were crowding around Yachi’s desk, rifling through the photocards she had splayed out on her table.
”These are new, aren’t they Yachi? I didn’t see these yesterday,” Yumi asks, picking up three different photocards of Kageyama setting a ball.
Yachi nods, “yeah, I took them yesterday during practice. I figured you guys would appreciate the new shots more.”
Yumi simply nods and continues to look at the three photocards in a daze. Yachi feels a mixture of pride and embarrassment swell inside her. She's happy that she got the shots people like Yumi love, but also a little embarrassed at the whole process of getting into the mindset to get those shots in the first place. She thinks back to what happened during the team’s practice yesterday.
When the team went back to their warm up exercises , Ennoshita had asked Yachi to get her camera and take new pictures of Kageyama.
"Now that you know what your classmates like about him, it’s smarter to print pictures that are focused on those rather than the ones you originally took for the flyers, right?" the captain had reasoned.
And well, Yachi couldn’t really argue with that. So she ran back to her locker to grab her camera and by the time she came back, the coach was there and the team was engaged in 3-on-3 matches while the rest took to the scoreboard. Kageyama, expectedly, was setting for one of the teams.
Yachi had raised her camera and focused her lense, remembering her mother’s advice once more.
What story do you want to tell? What do you want them to see?
Someone worth admiring, someone worth cheering for, someone worth protecting, someone worth befriending. Yachi wanted people to see those. Kageyama’s declaration echoed in her mind. You could never do anything that would make me mad at you. I like you.
She knew Kageyama meant it in a platonic way. But she was caught off guard enough to have blushed at his statement and made her heart stutter. It was a moment that made her realize her friend’s own charm.
It wasn’t hard to step into the shoes of a fangirl after that; to look through the camera’s viewfinder and take pictures of Kageyama that people would empty their wallets for.
And, as her stock of photocards dwindled through the day, she can confidently say she succeeded in her goal.
“Good afternoon, class. I know the day is almost over and we are all excited to be dismissed, but I hope everyone will still pay attention to our lesson. You’ll be having a quiz on it at our next meeting, after all.”
Takeda’s last class of the day groans at this and he smiles, more than used to their half-hearted complaints and bargaining for a different activity. He had discovered early on in his career that the best way to get students to pay attention for their last classes was to impose a threat of a quiz. Literature was a complicated subject and most of his students benefited from listening to his instruction more than reading their books. As seniors, they also couldn’t afford to fail any of their activities or quizzes. Higher stakes meant extra concentration in his subject.
As the class settles down, Takeda notices a peculiar picture tucked in the pages of one of his student’s notebook. Since the student is sitting right in front of the teacher’s table, there is no mistaking whose picture it is. Takeda sees that face every afternoon at practice.
”Mister Uchido,” Takeda points at the young boy’s notebook “that is…”
Uchido follows his teacher’s stare and sees his photocard of Kageyama Tobio halfway out of his notebook.
Takeda has never seen anyone turn red so fast.
”Sir-! This is-! It's not-! He’s very good at volleyball! He’s a cool guy! T-that’s all!” Uchido stammers, wishing the ground would swallow him whole, “…that’s all.”
Uchido’s classmates coo at his embarrassment, some sharing knowing smiles. He’s not the only one in their class with the volleyball player’s photocard.
Takeda closes his slack jaw and makes himself smile at his student. Obviously, he made a mistake by calling him out on the picture. Takeda didn’t think it was anything to be embarrassed about, he was just confused. He’s seen at least one picture of Kageyama in all of his classes today.
“I understand. He is a very good player. I’m proud of him and I’m glad that other people also see his skill," Takeda comments, "but, moving on, if everybody would please open their textbook to page 394…”
The literature teacher still has a lot of questions on why there seems to be an epidemic of Kageyama pictures around school, but, he supposes, he could wait until he meets the boy himself later at practice.
Almost an hour later, Takeda finds himself at the entrance of Karasuno’s volleyball gym. From what he gathers, Ukai is making the team do laps around the gym as a warm up, Ennoshita yelling a chant that the team would echo back (“Karasuno, fight!” “KARASUNO FIGHT!”). He smiles at the members as they pass by and makes his way to Ukai.
“Hello coach, I’m glad to see our team is as energetic as ever,” he greets.
Ukai just grunts in response and yells at Tsukishima to stop slacking and ‘lift your knees, ya’ damn giraffe!’
Takeda hums, used to Ukai’s gruff (or lack of) greeting. He usually leaves Ukai to his thoughts and observes the team on the sidelines until Ukai asks for his opinion, but he really needed to ask Ukai about the pictures. Kageyama is still a minor, and if his pictures are being reproduced without his consent then he needs to put a stop to it.
“By the way, Ukai, has Kageyama told you anything recently? All day, I’ve been seeing students in the school in possession of his pictures. I’m worried about the reason why.”
Ukai glances at his colleague and shrugs, “yeah, I’ve been wondering about that too. Saw a bunch of girls trading some cards on my way here. I almost thought they were playing cards but one of ‘em dropped hers and I saw Kageyama’s face on it. Though, when I asked the kid about it when I got here, he just stared at me blankly and said that he knew about it and that it was fine. Then, he went to warm up. Damn brat didn’t even look back when I tried to call him back.” Now that Ukai thinks about it, that last part really pisses him off. Maybe he should make that kid do diving drills alone as punishment.
Takeda frowns, still unsatisfied with Ukai’s explanation.
“Um...”
The two adults turn to see Yachi fidgeting behind Takeda, a ball of nervous energy. Ukai’s demeanor immediately softens at the sight of their manager.
“What is it kid? Need help with something?”
Yachi shakes her head, “no, sir. I’m fine. It’s about Kageyama’s pictures. I overheard you and Mister Takeda talking about it and thought I should be the one to explain. It’s all my fault anyway.”
Coach and supervisor share a look, eyebrows raised in disbelief. They both know Yachi is a stellar student and an even more amazing manager, it’s hard to imagine her being the source of any trouble.
Takeda smiles anyway, prioritizing putting Yachi at ease over his own puzzlement. “Thank you for volunteering Yachi. May we know how Kageyama’s pictures came about?”
Yachi pulls at the garter of her sports jacket and mumbles, “I sold Kageyama’s pictures to increase the club budget.”
Takeda blinks, maybe he heard wrong. It is awfully loud in the gym with the boys still yelling for their warm up. He tilts his head and maintains his smile, “I’m sorry, Yachi. I couldn’t quite hear you. What did you say, again?”
Yachi shuts her eyes and confesses, “I SOLD KAGEYAMA’S PICTURES TO INCREASE THE CLUB BUDGET!
Ukai sputters beside Takeda, a bit appalled at the idea. However, one word stuck to the club supervisor: budget . Distantly, Takeda recognized that the yells and sounds of falling feet stopped.
“I see,” Takeda hums, “and how much profit did you make from selling his pictures today, Yachi?”
Ukai looks nearly apoplectic beside him, “hold on, you’re not okay with this, are you? This is just insane!”
Takeda ignores the indignant coach and waits for their manager’s response.
“30,000 yen,” Yachi declares. Ukai chokes on air.
Recognizing that Takeda is the one to most likely take her side, Yachi faces the team supervisor and defends the profit she made. “I priced most of the photocards I sold at 300 yen. However, I printed less quantities for the best shots of Kageyama and sold them at a higher price. That’s why we made that much money today. I listed every transaction down for transparency. I can show them all to you later if you want,” Yachi pauses for breath and tacks on “-sir.”
Takeda nods encouragingly while his brain goes into overdrive, already dividing the day’s profit into different categories and computing how much more money they need to be able to afford the things that he has been eyeing for the kids. Ukai interrupts his mental calculations.
“Oy, oy, oy. No matter how much money we made, selling one of our kid’s pictures is just too-!”
“I gave her my permission to do it, coach!” Kageyama runs up to them and places himself in front of Yachi. The rest of the team arrives a few seconds later and forms a protective half circle around their manager. “I wanted us to have more practice matches with other schools!” Kageyama explains.
Ukai glares at the only person he knows is capable of placing that idea in the setter’s head. Ennoshita looks away and pretends to find the ceiling beam the most interesting piece of architecture known to man.
Takeda places a placating hand on Ukai’s shoulder, “there you have it. It’s fine with Kageyama, and he’s got a point about having more practice matches. Can’t you let this one go?”
Ukai huffs, “just minutes ago you were going on about how worried you were about his pictures being circulated. Having his pictures sold is hella worse and you’re okay with that?”
“I suppose you’re right,” Takeda hums, “but if you ask Miss Hiyori about her opinion on the matter the next time you meet, she might enlighten you about how beneficial it could become.”
The team shares looks of confusion, not understanding where the statement came from, but Ukai stiffens. He looks at his colleague, betrayed.
After their team celebration last Nationals, he drunkenly complained to Takeda about the date he had to put up with in order to please granny Hiyori - a regular at his family store and one of the biggest donors to the volleyball club. Granny Hiyori had insisted that Ukai and her granddaughter were a perfect match. Not that he had no option to turn the date down, but granny Hiyori was too sweet and wore her emotions on her sleeve and he couldn’t stand the thought of disappointing granny Hiyori.
Although, Ukai can’t deny the fact that he was also motivated by the donation that granny Hiyori gave before the date - it was much bigger than what she usually gave to the club. That donation is what secured their booking of the hotel rooms the kids used for the previous Nationals.
The thing is, while Ukai adored granny Hiyori, her daughter was a whole different issue. They just…really didn’t mesh well. Ukai still shudders at the memories of that disaster date.
And now, the memory of that disaster date is being used against him. He and Takeda both know that granny Hiyori would soon encourage another date. And, while Ukai knew granny Hiyori would continue to donate if he turned down the next date, the amount would also be less.
Takeda keeps his placid smile, but Ukai knows that Takeda’s statement made him win this argument. And Takeda knows that too, the cunning crow.
It can’t be helped, their club functions on donations and the good graces of teams they’re friendly with. They don't have a very sustainable source of funds.
Ukai sighs in defeat, “fine. Whatever. But if the vice-principal or principal finds out about this, you’re the one dealing with them.”
Takeda relaxes, glad that the coach saw sense in the whole thing, “of course. I am their supervisor. You can leave that to me.”
“Wait, is there something wrong about it? Why are you and Mister Takeda talking as if its something to hide, coach?” Tsukishima prods.
Ukai scoffs but remains silent and pointedly looks at Takeda.
Takeda sighs, “technically, selling photo cards are banned in school. They are considered paraphernalia distracting to an academic environment. ”
“Oh no!” Yachi gasps.
“Moreover,” Takeda continues, “a student selling items in school requires a special permit authorized by the office of the vice-principal himself.”
“That toupee guy hates us. He’ll never give us that permit,” Hinata laments. Kageyama shushes him and looks worriedly at Yachi, who looks closer and closer to crying.
“However,” Takeda grins, eyes alight with mischief, “that is of no matter to us because we are simply distributing small flyers and Yachi is simply collecting donations. We already have approval to do both of those things.”
The team stares at him, unable to follow. Even Ukai was looking at him as if he lost his head.
Takeda motions for Yachi to come closer, he then bends down and whispers something to her.
Yachi hesitates, before digging into the pocket of her sports jacket and pulling out one photocard. She then hands it to Takeda, explaining “the printer got low on ink for this one. It made the colors look washed out so I didn’t sell it.”
Takeda ruffles her hair, “it’s okay Yachi. You did an amazing job. This one is enough to prove my point.”
Encouraged, Yachi nods and goes back to her previous spot in the center of the team.
Takeda raises the photocard and points it forward so that everyone can see the printed front. He then points at the bottom of the photocard. There, in the white margin of the card, is a faint but recognizable ‘DONATIONS FOR THE KARASUNO BOYS VOLLEYBALL CLUB ARE WELCOME.’
Ukai is the first one who gets it. “Well, damn, " he says to Yachi, tone washed in newfound respect for the young girl’s marketing skills, "you’re a genius. I should hire you for our shop.”
Yachi fiddles with the zipper of her jacket, pride and embarrassment warring in her head. “It isn’t that innovative, really. I just - I thought about how the students might be showing each other which photocards they got, or even how some might show their photocards to students from other schools. And, I realized that it serves the same purpose as our donation flyers, like when we hand them out to people and post them on the store fronts. We want Karasuno to be seen. There’s no harm in calling for donations for the team, even if it’s just Kageyama in the picture.”
The whole team was looking at her with awe now and Yachi ducks her head at the attention.
Hinata beams at her, “you’re amazing Yachi! I bet not even Stingyshima would have thought of that!”
“At least I would have come up with another efficient strategy, you wouldn’t be able to say the same,” Tsukishima retorts, tone frosty.
Takeda claps his hands, quelling the incoming argument, “regardless, Yachi’s thoughtful design is our saving grace. If the school’s higher ups ever ask, we can always claim that the profits we make from Kageyama’s photocards are donations from enthusiastic schoolmates.”
“Ooooh, rebelling against school policies. You just gained cool-guy points, Takeda!” Tanaka exclaims.
Behind him, Kinnoshita cringes, “and you just lost a ton of them with that line.”
“So…” Kageyama starts, a bit lost, “can we still have more practice matches?”
Takeda blinks and laughs freely, of course the person most affected by the whole scheme only has one concern. “Yes, Kageyama, we’ll make sure to schedule plenty of practice matches with the profit from your photocards,” the club supervisor assures.
The blue-eyed setter nods, satisfied and Tanaka ruffles his hair, teasing him about his one-track volleyball mind.
“Alright then, that’s settled, enough chit-chatting!” Ukai barks, “you kids still have a whole afternoon of practice to do.” Whatever trouble comes in the future because of this photocard business is Takeda’s problem, Ukai decides. His responsibility as coach remains the same, it is to train the boys in his club into players worthy of Nationals and more.
“Everyone do ten diving drills, now!”
“Awww, can’t we just do jumping jacks?”
“I’m hearing complaints so that’s twenty diving drills now.”
“Just shut-up you human tangerine!”
“Ow, ow, ow, ow, okay, okay, jeez I’m sorry!”
Yachi asks for permission to go back to her task of refilling water bottles, which Takeda grants. He then settles into a bench and looks at his team with fondness. Seeing them like this always makes all the time and effort he gives the club worth it.
He looks at a certain setter and thinks back to his classes for the day. Despite his bafflement at the amount of Kageyama pictures he saw, Takeda was delighted at the realization that a lot of students actually admire and respect Kageyama. Maybe, some of them would be willing to befriend the lonely teen. At the very least, they respect his skill and dedication as a volleyball athlete, based on Uchido’s reaction.
Takeda chuckles.
Knowing Kageyama, that’s all that matters to him anyway.
Two bus rides away from Karasuno High, Kikoru hums to herself as she applies the last coat of her nail polish.
Her phone buzzes on her desk and she hops up from her bed to open it, nearly spilling the open bottle of polish.
Kikoru sees the notification of a new message, “oh? It’s from Kaeru? Wonder what she’s messaging me about?”
She clicks on the message, curious as to why her former middle school classmate would message her out of the blue.
Yo, Kikoru! Hope you’re doing well! Saw your post on Eenstah and I’m so jealous you got to try out the new cafe already! >.< Tell me if their food is good, yeah? By the way…those new photocards you got, aren’t they of Kageyema Tobio?