Lost Shoes and a New Journey

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Another school day had ended and Himari Nakamura was exhausted.

The brown haired girl took off her glasses, put her head down and closed her eyes when she heard footsteps approaching her desk. She mentally groaned when she felt a familiar presence right in front of her.

"Mari?"

No answer.

"Mari, I know you're not asleep."

Himari let out a fake snore and the girl in front of her rolled her eyes.

"Himari, get up."

Himari opened her eyes and gave the girl a lazy smile.

"Hey there Kiyoko, I didn't see you there."

Kiyoko rolled her eyes again and just gave Himari a look that she knew all too well. Himari groaned and slammed her head on her desk.

"Please Mari, just one practice."

"Ugh, fine, but you owe me."

"Deal."

Kiyoko quickly packed up the girl's backpack for her and put her glasses back on her face. Kiyoko excitedly grabbed Himari's hand and dragged her through the halls. Himari apologized as she bumped into people and glared at the back of the third year's head.

"Kiyoko, slow down! I think I lost my shoe."

Kiyoko quickly turned around and smiled, "You're fine, plus you'll need to change your shoes anyways."

Himari grumbled as she lost her other shoe. The two of them finally reached the gyms where they could hear the squeaking of shoes and the spiking of volleyballs.

"Here." Kiyoko said and handed her a pair of volleyball shoes that looked familiar.

"Wait a second, are these mine?! When did you get them?!"

"I asked your grandparents to give them to me. Now, hurry up."

I can't believe they betrayed me, Himari thought as she laced up her shoes.

Kiyoko slammed open the gym doors and dragged the brunette inside. Himari groaned as everyone stared at them.

"Everyone, gather around please!"

Everyone did as she said and gathered around the two girls.

"Everyone, this is Himari Nakamura, and she'll be watching you practice today."

"A new manager?" A bald boy asked hopefully.

"Absolutely not." Himari replied.

Everyone looked to Kiyoko hoping that she would explain.

"Well, she has experience in volleyball and I was hoping that she would help you guys train if she decides to stay."

"Which probably won't happen."

Kiyoko slapped the back of Himari's head causing her to wince.

"What year are you in?" An orange haired boy asked.

"Uh, I'm a first year in class five." She answered as she looked around at everyone.

"Are you going to start practicing or..."

The person, who she assumed was the captain, clapped his hands together and turned to the team.

"Alright guys, let's get started on warm ups!"

Himari followed Kiyoko and the two of them sat down on a bench. The third year handed Himari her notebook and asked her to go through it.

"Wow, these are really good notes, Kiyoko." She complimented as she flipped through the pages.

She looked up and watched the boys practicing their receives and immediately zeroed in on the tangerine and the tall blond.

"Hey, are those two new? They suck at receiving." Himari commented.

Kiyoko chuckled and slightly nodded, "They're both first years. The short one is Shoyo Hinata, he never played on a proper team before, but he practices hard. The tall one is Kei Tsukishima, he's pretty stubborn."

Himari nodded as Kiyoko told her all of their names and made a mental note. She continued watching and noticed that someone was missing.

"Where's the libero?"

"Uh, he's been suspended from club activities for a while."

After a beat of silence, Kiyoko spoke again, "They have a practice match against Seijoh tomorrow, so they're practicing hard."

"Is that why Hinata looks like he's going to puke?"

Kiyoko sighed and looked at the first year girl who looked like she was two seconds away from falling asleep. Kiyoko got up and called for Kageyama and Hinata.

"Can you guys do that quick attack? The one you did during the three on three match."

The two first years looked at each other before nodding. They ran back to the net and got into position. The loud sound of the volleyball hitting the floor woke Himari up.

"What happened?"

Kiyoko facepalmed and told the two first years to do the quick attack one more time.

When they did, Kiyoko looked at Himari excitedly. The first year looked at the two with scrutinizing eyes before nodding.

"How interesting. You have pinpoint accuracy and you completely trust him. So much so that you don't even have to look." She said as she pointed at the two. She then smiled and got up,

"I wanna try."

Kageyama approached her with the volleyball, ready to set it, but she just held her hand out, making him confused.

"I want to try setting the ball like you."

Everyone was shocked and Kiyoko began to protest, but Himari just waved her off.

Himari tossed the ball to Kageyama who received it and sent it back to her. Hinata began running forward and Himari set the ball to him.

Everyone including Hinata was shocked when he hit the ball. Himari shook her head and looked at Kageyama with respect.

"I was a little slow, but you're really good."

"Do you play volleyball?" Kageyama blurted out.

Himari chuckled and shook her head, "Nope, I can't. I do have experience coaching though."

What she didn't tell them was that she had experience coaching children twelve and under.

"What do you mean you can't?" Kageyama asked curiously.

"Oh wow, look at the time, I better get going!" Himari as she nervously avoided the question.

Kiyoko caught the back of Himari's shirt and stopped her.

"We're literally neighbors, we'll walk back home together."

"But I'm tired!"

"Practice is over, so just wait for me."

"Kay, fine."

Himari sat back down and sighed. She watched as everyone cleaned up and began thinking of Kiyoko's offer and came to a decision.

"Kiyoko, I've decided."

The third year looked up with wide eyes and waited for her friend to continue.

"I'll stay and help."

Kiyoko smiled wide and hugged the first year.

"Thank you!"

From afar the boys watched their interaction with curiosity. They approached the girls and waited for them to notice they were standing there. When they didn't, Daichi cleared his throat and they looked over.

"Oh, everyone, Himari has decided to stay and help train the team!"

The boys were silent for a moment before their faces broke out into smiles (except Tsukishima) and they turned around pointing to their jackets.

"Welcome to the team!"

Himari already knew that it was too late to change her answer, but she was a little excited for the new journey.

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