Chapter Text
Chapter 1: Morning Rises
Summer in her childhood hometown was just as she remembered.
The tall shadow of green trees traced all around with larger hills overlooking the town life. The sun was yet to be awakened, hinting its presence just beyond the horizon as an orange tint filled the skies. The air was light, cool even as the small chirping of birds filled the, otherwise, quiet place. Many of the places she had become acquainted with throughout her younger years still stood, filling her with the warm sense of nostalgia.
Misa had only been gone abroad for a year and even longer from this town, and yet, it felt like it had been too long.
“Why are you smiling?” her cousin’s voice brought her back to Earth, and she chuckled at the sight of his raised eyebrow. They continued their steady pace down the sidewalk as he walked properly with his hands in his shorts’ pockets.
“Why not? It’s a pretty morning, I’m with my favorite cousin in the entire world, and I’m on my way to play volleyball”
Tobio wore his typical blank expression, but she could see the small trace of a smile forming. “I should warn you, those guys are too loud and a hassle”
“And you’re not?” She teasingly bumped against his arm, much to his annoyance. “Don’t think I didn’t see all those clips from your games last year. You’re just as crazy as your teammates”
He scoffed. “You’re saying nonsense.”
She playfully rolled her eyes. “Whatever, I’m excited to meet them. Where’s this outdoor volleyball court by the way?”
“We’re almost there,” and almost on cue, they heard a booming voice as they made their way deeper into the park. Waving his arms frantically from a few feet away was an orange haired boy surrounded by a group of guys.
“Kageyama, over here!” the voice cried out, and Misa had to hide a smile seeing the boy her cousin had often talked about on the phone as they walked closer.
The boy’s brown eyes widened at the sight of her, a faint shade of pink blooming on his cheeks. His stance widened, pointing directly at her. “Kageyama, girl!”
Misa didn’t have much time to react before the guy was surrounded by two others rushing to his side. One was taller with a buzzcut while the other was around the same height as orange hair but with wild black hair. Their appearances were so different, but their expressions showed the same starstruck eyes.
“Yeah, I know there’s a girl idiot” She found it funny the way Tobio was already grinding his teeth. “This is my cousin, Misaki Kageyama”
“Hello,” she spoke, bowing as the rest of the guys circled around them. “I hope you don’t mind that I tagged along. Tobio-chan told me he was going to practice volleyball, so I asked if I could come too”
They all bowed back, with the dark haired guy running up to her seconds later. “Kageyama-san, do you go to our school?”
“You can call me Misa if you’d like” she sent him a warm smile, and she swore she saw a part of him melt. “And I will be when second year starts. I just moved back from the United States a few days ago”
That seemed to surprise most of them as they moved even closer.
“You’re so cool, Misa-san!” the orange boy exclaimed, before suddenly pulling away shyly.
Misa smiled, glimpsing at the faces she had only seen through her phone. “I should be saying that about you guys. Tobio has told me all about you”
Apparently that seemed to have caught them all off guard, as they all turned to stare at her panicked cousin who only mumbled something under his breath. She placed her arm around his neck, pulling him down to her level as she ruffled his hair. As Tobio struggled to free himself from her grasp, she pointed back at the orange haired boy. “You’re Shoyo Hinata”
She turned to the dark haired boy and buzzcut. “You’re Tanaka and Nishinoya”
“She knows our names! And she’s gorgeous!” Nishinoya beamed, as he fell to his knees and raised his hands in the air.
She grinned, going on to point out Ennoshita, Yamaguchi and the infamous Tsukishima. The blond didn’t seem to care much for her presence, only sending her a slight nod while his other two teammates waved kindly.
Letting Tobio go, she smiled. “Did I get everyone right so far, Tobio-chan?”
He tucked at his white shirt, glaring at a laughing Hinata, Tanaka and Nishinoya staring at his hair. “So far. Where are Kinoshita and Narita?”
Ennoshita only rubbed the back of his neck. “Kinoshita is still visiting family and Narita left on a cruise yesterday”
Tobio nodded, and they all went on to prepare for the practice match. They were divided into two teams, with Misa finding herself on the same court as Tanaka, Ennoshita and Nishinoya.
She pulled her black hair up into a messy ponytail as she made her way to the middle of the court. She could feel the warm sun on her face as she pretended she couldn't also sense a number of eyes lingering in her direction. Turning to the three guys, she sent them a bright smile. “Alright, let’s crush them!”
From the corner of her eye, she saw Tsukishima scoff, only to turn back to his team. She tried to hide the confusion in her face, as she snapped her head back to their side.
The others didn’t seem to notice, as Nishinoya and Tanaka ran to her side and jumped. “Yeah!”
“Wait, Misa-san,” Ennoshita spoke. “I’m guessing you know about Hinata and Kageyama’s weird quick attacks right?”
“I do! let’s do our best to block them!”
“Do you play volleyball a lot, onee-chan?” Nishinoya asked with a large grin.
Misa felt her smile slightly quiver, as she nodded. “Yeah, I played for years back at my old school in Tokyo, but it’s been a while”
She turned to face Tobio and the others, who seemed to be busy bickering with each other. Hinata and Tobio were ranting angrily about something to Tsukishima, who seemed more than amused with a smirk on his face.
Misa walked towards the net, placing her fingers through it. “Are you guys ready to start?”
That seemed to get their attention, as the atmosphere seemed to shift to a more determined mood. They each got into position, and Misa couldn’t help but be taken aback by the sudden change. She knew her cousin was as passionate as it got, but there was something so captivating about their dynamic as a group.
“Ready”
It had been almost a year since she had truly played volleyball, and holy crap, did it feel good.
Tobio’s serves had improved drastically since last time she had played with him, and the way he seemed to always perfectly set was starting to get scary. Yamaguchi was just as good with his serves, catching them off guard a lot of times. Hinata and Tanaka were strong spikers, and Ennoshita was doing great in receiving. Nishinoya brought the same energy from his personality into ensuring the ball never hit the ground, and Tsukishima was a pain as a blocker.
Misa knew she was a good volleyball player, but playing with a team that was too good was like a breath of fresh air.
Walking off the court, she silently wept to herself at the sight of no water bottle with her name. She wasn’t sure why she had decided to ignore Tobio’s warning about bringing water, but currently, it seemed to be biting her in the ass as her throat felt almost too dry.
Taking a few more deep breaths, she laid down on the green grass and took in the sight of the blue sky. Their second half of their game had taken a while after she’d learned how to read Tobio’s cues and it seemed that the rest of the town was now fully awake.
After a few seconds, she sat up staring at all the tired guys who also sat across the court sipping from their waters. She could almost taste the cold water on her lips, practically begging for her. But if she asked Tobio for a sip of his water bottle, that would mean a smug lecture from his part about how he was right and she was wrong.
Should she put her pride aside and just ask?
Technically yes, but her parents constantly referred to her as stubborn for a reason.
Taking a deep breath one last time, she was about to walk towards her cousin when the sight of a water bottle landed in front of her eyes. Looking at the extended hand and tracing her way up their arm, her eyes widened at the sight of Tsukishima standing there. Their eyes met, and she could only continue blinking as he adjusted his glasses.
“I took the lid off,” his voice was calm. “Feel free to drink as much as you want”
“Oh- um, thank you” she gradually grabbed the water bottle, managing a small smile. For someone who her cousin had often referred to as Satan in disguise, he didn’t seem to be all that bad.
She couldn’t help but continue glancing at the tall blond making his way back to Yamaguchi, who only sat there with his mouth slightly open while glimpsing between the two. The others didn’t seem to notice, as they were too busy poking fun at Hinata’s fall in the middle of the game. It wasn’t like she was necessarily hiding her feelings about incoming death, but she would’ve never thought Tsukishima of all people would’ve been the one to offer his own water.
Misa took a big gulp from the bottle, her shoulders relaxing unconsciously at the sudden cooling feeling that fell upon her. Her eyes caught Tsukishima’s gaze for a second, before her vision was blocked by a beaming Hinata and Nishinoya.
“Misa-san, you played so well!”
“You’re the coolest setter I know!” Tobio jerked his head towards them, clearly offended.
As they continued to go on about how good her game play had been, all she could do was smile at their words while holding tightly onto the blue water bottle.
If this was what Karasuno High School had in store for her, maybe she was willing to go all in.