insouciant || ON HIATUS

ℂℍ𝔸ℙ𝕋𝔼ℝ 𝟛𝟝

He was amazing.

Mamoru watched the newcomer send the ball back with scary accuracy. He intercepted Kageyama's serve with practiced ease.

He was short, almost Hinata's height. The forelock of his hair was bleached and he carried himself with such confidence, it made up for his height.

"He's shorter than me!"

"Huh?! What'd you say to me?!" He screeched, holding up a first threateningly.

"I-I'm sorry!" Hinata shrieked. He blinked. "How tall are you?"

Was that his default question? He asked the same thing to Mamoru too.

He dropped his jacket and pointed a thumb at his chest. "I'm 159 centimeters."

"Wow!"

"What?"

"It's the first time I've looked down at someone since I started high school club activities," Hinata cried out, looking oddly relieved.

"Don't weep with joy about it! You're not looking that far down!"

Mamoru didn't see what the big deal about height was, though he knew he wasn't one to talk. He didn't see Kuroko or Akashi complaining, and Maiko loved being short. It made her look younger than she actually was and she often got bigger portions of samples at stores because she was so cute.

"Oh, Noya-san!"

Mamoru turned his head to see Tanaka, Daichi, and Sugawara come into the gym.

He picked up his jacket and slung it over his shoulder. "Oh, Ryu!"

"Nishinoya," Daichi and Sugawara exclaimed, looking genuinely happy. This must be the Guardian Deity they were talking about earlier.

"Let me introduce you," Daichi grinned. "This is Nishinoya, second year."

Mamoru dipped his head at his upperclassman respectfully. Nishinoya raised a hand. "Hi! You guys are first years, huh?"

And then he pointed at Kageyama. "You, the guy doing serves. The tall guy with the nasty glare! What junior high are you from?!"

Kageyama leaned back from Nishinoya's finger. "Kitagawa Daiichi."

"Seriously?" Nishinoya leaned forward, eyes bright. "That's a powerschool! No wonder you serve like that. We played against you guys and lost 2 to 1."

He sure was a chirpy guy. He had a lot of energy.

And he was noisy.

Very noisy.

Sugawara and Daichi didn't look surprised at all. Rather, they looked like tired parents. Mamoru steeled himself for the future outcomes. He felt like this was only the beginning.

"What junior high were you from, Nishinoya-san?" Kageyama curiously.

"Chidoriyama," he announced proudly.

"That's a power school," Kageyama murmured, looking amazed. "Why did you come to Karasuno? Because you heard Coach Uka was coming back?"

Power school, power school. Mamoru didn't even know what school was what, to be honest. But he was interested in Nishinoya's answer.

"No. I came to Karasuno because..." Nishinoya closed his eyes and tilted his head. He looked so serious, Mamoru couldn't help but pay a little more attention. "I liked the girl's uniform. Intensely."

Okay then. Note to self: Do not put him near Maiko.

He went on a spiel about how the girls' uniforms matched his expectations and such. Mamoru zoned out a little until he pointed a finger at him.