The smell of pancakes and sweet maple syrup crept into your room. You faintly heard your door creak open. Still half-asleep, you sniffed the air a little, the delicious smell made your mouth water. Your eyes fluttered open, only to find a tall woman with an angelic smile, standing right beside your bed, with the plate of heaven.

"Hi sweetie, if you want this plate of food..." she hummed.

"Yes mama.." you whispered, still not registering what was going on, other than the fact that an angel had sent you food from the sky. Life is good, you thought.

"You better get up, NOW!" she threatened, the angelic face gone in a flash, revealing your mother's eyes that were wide open, staring deep into your soul.

"OKAY OKAY I'M AWAKE!" you jerk your body up from the bed, instantly waking yourself up. Just in time, your alarm started ringing.

"Mommy, you're scary, don't wake me up like that geez..." you shuddered at how quickly the emotions on your beautiful mother's face could change.

"Hehehe it's still fun to mess with you every now and then! Hurry up, you don't want to be late do you?" your mother hands you the plate of hot pancakes covered in maple syrup. It was rare that she would wake up early just to make you breakfast since she was a busy woman and you were so grateful for her. You left the plate on your table and rushed to brush your teeth. (eating your breakfast before brushing ur teeth is kinda nasty imo HAHAHA)

You hastily finished your hearty breakfast, had a cup of hot milo and got into your uniform. You put your hair up in a ponytail and combed your bangs down, making sure to get the brown streaks of hair down by the side of your face as well.

Hahhh, he's right on time!

You run down the stairs, swinging your bag around your shoulder clumsily. You open the door and see Noya, hair gelled up and his brown hairs resting on his forehead, looking super fresh. You couldn't stop yourself from feeling excited to see him.

"Morning, Haru-chan and Mr and Mrs Misaki!" Noya greeted and bowed a deep 90 degrees. You turned around and saw your parents right behind you, with a disturbing grin on their faces. You got a little shocked.

"You two really need to stop doing that. Appearing out of nowhere... and what's with the face?" you sighed, pushing your parents away from the door.

"Nishinoya, take care of her okay? If anything happens, I'll find you!" your father smirked. Noya nodded with a wide smile on his face.

Pft, idiot...

"Okay, I'm leaving! See ya later!" you and Noya waved goodbye to your parents as you stepped out of the house, walking side by side.

"She'll be fine, he's a good one." your mother swung her hands around your father's neck and gave him a small peck on his cheek, earning a relaxed expression on his face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I love your parents! They are amazing!" Noya burst out. You laughed, glad that he could understand them.

"I love them too! They're the best!" you replied, beaming with joy.

You and Noya had been walking together for a while, when your heard someone call out from behind you.

"Oi! Noya-san! Haru-chan!"

You and Noya turned around, recognising Tanaka's energetic voice. Tanaka came running up to you two and waving frantically at the same time, dragging a tired Ennoshita with him.

"Ryuu!" Noya fist-bumped Tanaka and waved to Ennoshita. After the short greetings, the 4 of you continued walking to school.

"Oh yeah, Haru-chan, gomen! I couldn't treat you to ice-cream yesterday, I walked Kiyoko-san home. We'll get ice-cream when we are both free okay!" Tanaka apologised and you nodded happily.

You walked behind with Ennoshita while Tanaka and Noya discussed pick-up lines for Tanaka to say to Kiyoko. They were cringy as hell though.

"Hey, Ennoshita senpai, what position do you play?" you inquired, remembering that you had never seen Ennoshita play anything other than a libero once. He looks down at his feet and sighs.

"Well, I play winged spiker, but I left the club before so I'm not a regular, that's probably why you're asking right..." he answers.

"No no! Its just, I've only seen you play libero but I knew that Karasuno only had one libero... Do you mind me asking why you left? A-Ah, you don't have to answer if you aren't comfortable though!" you wave your hands in front of you, feeling embarrassed for asking a sensitive question out of curiosity.

"No, its fine... In the past, we had a different coach. It was Coach Ukai's grandfather. He was very hard and strict on the team, he wouldn't stop until we got everything right, and I couldn't take the tough trainings, so I left." he looked at you and met your twinkling eyes, full of interest in this old Coach Ukai. Harsh trainings? Practice till' perfection? It was right up your alley. Ennoshita chuckled, he admired people like you and Hinata who had such a great passion for the sport.

"Hinata had the same reaction as you when I told him the story!" he commented. You looked Ennoshita in the eyes and told him:

"If we have a passion for volleyball, we'll give it our all! Even if you left once, the fact is you came back, and that's all that matters!"

Tanaka and Noya heard the conversation and smacked Ennoshita on the back, comforting him as he was visibly resentful of his actions. The 4 of you then hurried on to school in companionable silence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Psst, its her!"

"Oh wow, she's even prettier up close!"

"Wah, so she's the new 'goddess' of the school?"

"Shh! She'll hear you!"

You walked out of the class and heard people, girls and mainly boys alike, whispering and murmuring about your appearance.

New goddess huh? I guess the other goddess is Shimizu-san, like what Yuu-kun said...

You continued walking towards the canteen. Some of the girls who passed by you would roll their eyes, while some guys would cat-call and look you up and down. A few students started walking beside you and behind you, some in front but you tried not to take notice. You held your arms across your chest, feeling uncomfortable at the sudden amount of attention you were getting. You kept your head down on the floor as you walked along the endless blocks of classrooms.

"Haru-chan!"

You gasped and looked up, and saw Suga, Asahi and Daichi standing behind the crowded hallway. The students who were staring at you stepped aside and let the third years approach you. Suga walks over and smiles. He takes your hand and holds it in his, and Daichi does the same to your other hand. Asahi stands between the two third years.

"Let's go, the rest of the volleyball team is waiting for us!" Suga winked, hinting for you to follow them. You exhaled the breath you didn't know you were holding, feeling a sense of security wash over you. You looked at Daichi, who was glaring at the people who had made you feel out of place. Meanwhile, Asahi's presence was more than enough to scare almost half the crowd away. Daichi then squeezed your hand a little, and the 4 of you walked off to the canteen.

You walked with Suga, and Daichi, each of your hands holding one of theirs, with Asahi following behind. They were like parents and a big brother protecting their youngest child from the world. You understood why they were the captains of the volleyball team. You glanced at Daichi, he had a strong presence and was a responsible person. He was strict but cared deeply about his teammates. Although he was scary when he's angry, he was undeniably good-looking.

Asahi may not be an official captain, but his soft-hearted nature made it easy for people to confide in him. He was extremely sensitive to things said about him and others which in turn makes him want to protect others even more.

You turned to Suga and admired his beauty mark under his left eye. Suga wasn't as strict or scary as Daichi, but he was a kind and gentle man with amazing personality. Not to mention, he was probably one of the prettiest people you've met.

"You both are like my mom and dad, holding my hands. What am I, five?" you giggled. The third years stopped in their tracks and looked at you, and let out a small chuckle.

"Well, as your senpais, we are supposed to help you when you need us, right?" Daichi smiled, letting go of your hand and giving you a light tap on the shoulder.

"We take very good care of our members, Haru-chan, and we'll always be here for you!" Asahi added.

"Sounds like something Tanaka senpai would say hehehe" you said, feeling touched by Daichi's kind-heartedness and Asahi's big-brother-like nature.

"Its our duty to protect our pretty manager too, isn't it?" Suga said closed-eye smiling, not releasing your hand from his. You felt your heart rate increase and your cheeks burn up. You felt the warmth of his palm and his slender fingers at the back of your hand. Suga's smile really was beautiful.

"Thank you guys!" you pull all 3 of them into a tight embrace, appreciating the way they were and what they did for the team and its members. You weren't in Karasuno for very long, but you could tell that the greatness of Karasuno's volleyball team were probably from the perseverance and hardworking attitudes of the third years. The way they had shown their concern towards you despite knowing you for only a few days made you extremely grateful for them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ah finally, what took you guys so long?" Tanaka called out and waved from the table. He was sitting with the rest of the volleyball team and the 2 managers.

"Gomen!" you quickly apologised, sliding into the empty seat beside Kageyama and opposite Noya.

"Haru-chan has some fans now, as her senpais we had to save her heheh" Suga said, holding up a peace sign. "Where were you Tanaka, hmmmmm?" he provoked.

"Oi, Suga-san!" Tanaka crossed his hands and childishly pushed Suga lightly. The 2 continued their little feud, laughing heartily. Hinata was munching on his onigiri and Kageyama drank his milk, Tsukki listening to music and Yamaguchi reading a book.

"Come with me, I have something to ask in private."

You pull out your phone from your pocket, seeing a text from Yachi, who was sitting across the table. She then gets up and excuses herself to the washroom, and you follow suit. You both walk out to the empty space outside the gym, Yachi turns to you with a shy but serious look on her face.

"What's up, Yachi-san?" you tilted your head.

"Ne, Haru-chan, be honest with me, what do you think about Hinata?" she played with her hair, her face turning into a tomato. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to. It's a stupid question anyway..." she continued.

"Its alright! Mmm, Hinata is energetic, bubbly and optimistic. I love his personality so much! Such a cutie!" you snickered, thinking about how he would have reacted is he heard your compliment.

"A-Ah, I see..." Yachi says as she looks on the ground and avoids eye-contact with you.

"Why'd you suddenly ask?"

"Nothing, don't mind it. Let's go back..." She turns and starts walking away, leaving you confused and suspicious at the same time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Guys, and Shimizu, I'm thinking of recommending Haru-chan to the girls' volleyball team. She's a good libero and would definitely up the standard of the team." Daichi suddenly speaks up after you and Yachi left the table. The team turns to Daichi and all nod their heads in agreement, especially Noya.

"Right?!" Noya exclaims and stands up proudly. The rest of the team look at him in shock.

"Haru-chan is incredible! She is very versatile and can play any position! Even if the team doesn't need a libero, she can be a setter or a winged-spiker! " Noya speaks with so much passion with his fist on his heart. The team stares at Noya's smile, happiness overflowing in his words as he spoke about her. It was so obvious.

"Yeah, Haru-chan is so cool! She goes WHOOSH and BAAM, so fast!" Hinata chimes in.

"But, if Haru-chan really joins the volleyball team, will she still be able to stay as our manager?" Asahi asks Shimizu. The team falls silent, they wanted you to do what you liked, but were disappointed that there was a possibility of you resigning as their manager.

"She'll be fine. We also don't really know if she would join or not. Even if she does, I know she'll still be fully committed to this team." Shimizu answers, taking a bite out of her sandwich. The team's faces immediately brightens and Daichi leaves the table.

.

.

"Michimiya-san! Daichi is looking for you!"

Michimiya, captain of the Karasuno Girls' Volleyball team, runs out of her classroom, with a bit of sauce from her bento left on the side of mouth. She nearly bumps into Daichi who was right outside.

"Be careful, geez." Daichi sighs at the sight of the clumsy girl. She rubs her head and says a quick sorry.

"There's a new first year who joined Karasuno late. She is now our second first-year manager but she's an amazing libero and has a variety of good skills. I'm wondering if you could see if she's suitable for your team?" Daichi continues.

"Woahhh, if you're the one talking so highly of her, of course I'll have to see what she's like! Our team isn't the strongest either, and the other members are slacking off a little so we really need some good players to get the rest of the girls fired up!" Michimiya excitedly accepts.

After a bit of discussion, the 2 captains agree to have you play a match with the rest of the team after your examinations were over. All that was left was for Daichi to tell you about it.

The team gathers in front of Coach Ukai, ready for his instructions and plans for the day's practice. You notice they were all in their team jackets.

"Shimizu!" he called. She takes a black jacket from the stage, as well as a pair of long black pants. She walks to you and puts the jacket on you, smiling lightly, and then joining the rest of the team, who were all dying to open their mouths. They turned their backs to you.

"1, 2, 3!"

"WELCOME TO THE TEAM!"

You make eye contact with Noya who then close-eye smiles at you. There is a warm fuzzy feeling in your body as you look at the team. The reality hits you hard, in the best way possible. You grip your jacket tightly and bow to the team.

"I look forward to working with everyone!"

Karasuno High School Volleyball Team, I'm really a part of it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Everyone!"

The gym doors burst open, revealing a panting Takeda sensei. He sees everyone still stuck in their welcoming pose, and you half-bowing.

"A-Ah gomen! I ruined a moment didn't I?" he sweatdropped. Daichi stepped up and reassured him that it was fine. You greet Takeda sensei and introduced yourself.

"Sorry I couldn't come often the past week, but I have good news! It's very sudden but we are having a practice match with Nekoma later this afternoon, so quickly warm up and get ready to leave!" Takeda sensei informs and nods to Coach Ukai. He instructs the team to get as warm as possible in 10 minutes and then pack up and be ready to leave.

In the meantime, you help Shimizu and Yachi pack water bottles and towels for the boys. You prepare a notebook and pen like Shimizu advised you to, and then proceeded to pack your own bag.

"Okay, let's go!" Daichi commanded. Everyone hurriedly took their things and left the gym, the bus already waiting outside for them.

Right as you were boarding the bus, you felt a hand on your shoulder. It was Daichi.

"Haru-chan, sorry for doing this without your permission, but I feel that you're very talented at volleyball. It'd be a waste of your good skills if you didn't get to play to your full potential. I recommended you to the captain of the girls' volleyball team and she arranged a friendly match with them after your exams. You'll still be able to remain as our manager though!" Daichi scratched his neck and looked at you.

"A-Ah but you don't have to if you don't want to though! I'll let Michimiya kno-"

"I'll give it a shot!" you held Daichi's hands, you could tell he felt nervous for asking you without earlier notice. Daichi relaxes and nods. He pulls out his phone and sends out a text to Michimiya. Yachi was inside the bus and she noticed you and Daichi talking. She didn't know what it was about, but it annoyed her somehow.

To be honest, you weren't very excited to visit the girls' team. It reminded you of the experience in America. Not everyone on the team treated you the same, but some of the girls there would bully you and tease you. It got to the point where it affected your plays and your moods in practice. With the help of other teammates though, you were able to ignore their comments and hate. You sighed as you boarded the bus, not knowing if agreeing on the spot was a good idea.

In the bus, you sit beside Ukai and he tells you about Nekoma. You learned that this was Karasuno's second practice match with them and had lost the first time, as well as their coach Nekomata who was good friends with Ukai's grandfather. Ukai also gave you some advice on the boys and your job as a manager since Shimizu would be the main one to brief you on your duties. You listened intently, mentally taking note of every detail.

(i got lazy typing coach and sensei, from now on ill just be using their names!)

"We're here!" the driver announced, waking the sleeping teammates from their slumber. Everyone takes their bags from the compartment above their seats and groggily alights the bus.

"Coach Ukai must have told you right? We'll defeat them this time." Noya walks up beside you and keeps his eyes forward. You smirked and looked in front, Nekoma was standing there , ready to welcome you.

"Kenma!" Hinata shouted from behind you, waving at his friend who's eyes were glued to his phone.

"Is Kenma the pudding head, sunshine?" you ask Hinata. He giggles at your description of Kenma's hair.

"Yep! I knew him from the last practice match. He's a good setter, but between you and me, I prefer Kageyama as a setter. Of course, Kenma's the better friend though." Hinata winks at you. At the same time, 2 first years of Nekoma's team approach the 2 of you.

"Oi, Hinata!" a brown-haired boy called out, along with a very, VERY tall man with grey hair and green eyes following behind. You were taken aback by his height and size. Compared to him, you were an ant.

"Oh, Inuoka! Lev!" Hinata greets ecstatically and introduces you to them. Lev blushes at the sight of you. To him, you were already insanely pretty, but your height made you 10 times cuter. Kenma and Kuroo walk over.