barking at the moon [tendou satori]

chapter one: piece of paper

THE SOUNDS OF balls hitting the ground and sneakers squeaking against the floor filled the wide open gym. It was certainly bigger than her school's gym, but that was expected of Shiratorizawa.

Katano Oka fist bumped her friend before heading onto the court, smiling as she faced the opposing team. She wore the same black spandex and white shirts as the rest of her team, long brunette hair pulled back into a ponytail.

  "Alright let's do this guys!" She called and squatted, warming her legs up. The other team sent the ball flying to their side and her teammate received it, albeit a bit messily. The ball bounced from her arms off to the left, where Oka dived to save it.

  It was sent back into the air where her setter tossed it, their spiker slapping it over and scoring a point. They celebrated for a moment, and the game progressed nicely. Oka's smile never left her face even as she messed up and they lost points.

  She'd been playing volleyball her whole life and been ace since her second year. Volleyball was essentially her life and she loved the adrenaline that thrummed through her veins.

  "I got!" She cried and sent the ball to her teammate. Quickly they set up an attack and received another point. She cheered and clapped her teammates on their backs. This is what she'd been born for. Her parents both played professionally and had raised their daughter to be the best of both of them.

When she was five they'd handed her a volleyball and started her training. It had included lots of late nights and punishments that included setting a ball in the air laying down for hours. Sure, when she had recounted the story to her friends they'd looked horrified but they admired the same talents that had been produced from those punishments.

The whistle blew after the final set and Oka cheered with her friends. "Hey Katano, nice job out there! Keep it up and maybe you'll cinch top ace!" One of her teammates judged her and Oka bashfully laughed.

The thought of being the top ace in the country made her grin a little. She'd worked so hard and achieving the title felt like confirmation that her hard work paid off. The next few rounds passed by quickly and with the help of Oka, they won every match.

It would certainly get her parents off her back. They'd been riding her ever since she had become second. Even though she hadn't really cared too much, a part of her wanted to make her parents proud. She needed their validation like a flower needs sun.

"Wonderful job ladies! Clean up and then I think the boys are still going. Feel free to watch them play. Enjoy the rest of the day!" The head coach of the Shiratorizawa team exclaimed and loud yells went up. Oka slid on her hoodie and her bag before exiting the gym, planning on heading to her room.

"Oka! Come watch the boys with us, I hear they have the top aces there. Maybe you'll learn something." Her friend and captain, Takahashi Lucy grinned at her. Oka frowned. Of course Lucy would hold the ace position against her, it was obvious Oka would do anything to be ace. Even if that meant skipping on nap time.

Oka rolled her eyes at the girls squealing at the thought of boys. She'd never been that interested in flirting with the opposite sex. Not that any of them would ever pay her any attention. It seemed Oka just had bad luck with boys.

Her and Lucy entered the gym quietly, seeing just two teams left playing. It was Shiratorizawa and some other team, luckily Oka recognized the orange haired boy playing middle blocker. She smiled upon seeing them. It seemed Karasuno was really making a comeback this year. Hopefully that meant the girls' team would follow as well.

The pair sat down against the wall and watched as Ushijima Wakatoshi served a ball that soared over the net, scalding the air as it flew to the other side of the court. Oka held in a gasp as someone managed to receive it and send it back up. If Karasuno could rival even Shiratorizawa then they must be having one hell of a comeback.

Suddenly, just as they made to score though, a redhead from Shiratorizawa leapt up and blocked it, bandaged hands reaching over the net and slamming the ball down. The boy laughed in the dejected Karasuno players' faces and Oka snorted. This redhead seemed to be kinda strange but everything he did was hilarious to her.

The whistle blew and in a shocking turn of events, Karasuno cinched the last set. Oka clapped slowly, standing up and grabbing her bag. Lucy was gushing over some tall guy from Karasuno but Oka could really care less. It was just a game and half of these boys couldn't flirt for their lives.

She turned around and slammed face first into someone's chest. Someone's sweaty chest. She made a noise of disgust and backed off, looking up to see the same redhead she had been watching in the game. He cocked an eyebrow at her and she coughed awkwardly. A light blush dusted his cheeks, and he refused to break eye contact.

  She stared up at him for a moment. He was strange looking, but in a weird, beautiful kind of way. Heat rose to her cheeks and she knew she was blushing. But the stranger's lips were downturned in a frown. Why? Was he upset about her bumping into him? She wished she could ask.

"Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going. Good work out there." She bowed her head slightly and made to leave but paused when the boy lashed out a hand to grab her shoulder. She blinked, looking into his wide eyes. He smiled a tiniest bit and handed her a slip of paper.

She grabbed it with furrowed eyebrows. 'Just what the hell is he doing?' She thought but tucked it away in her pocket anyway. This seemed to satisfy the boy who waved at her before leaving the gym with Ushijima. "Hey Oka, who was that?" Lucy asked her but all Oka could do was shrug, eyes still glued to where the boy had left. An odd sort of warmth had dug a hole in her chest, warming her whole body.