Karasuno's Queen of the School [Kageyama Tobio]

[2] Aoba Johsai's Debut

The following morning before the sun had even reached its peak, I rushed over to the school as quickly as I could, dressed in the manager sports suit Shimizu had given me from head to toe. I was triple checking the contents of my backpack the entire way to assure myself I had everything I needed to study each player, but I couldn't help but feel as though I had forgotten something. Even so, I couldn't go back home now and risk getting to the bus late.

My house was one of the tinier ones just nearly outside the district, where it blended into its forest surroundings quite nicely. As much as I adored its isolation from others, it was sometimes a pain to go back and forth from it so often.

So, I continued on.

This would be the first time I would see a sports match closer than the stands allowed, and even though I was terrified of having this responsibility, I unconsciously picked up the pace each time the image of helping the team crossed my mind. It was something in their nature that made me want to help them in any way I could.

As I reached the school parking lot, I saw that it seemed like everyone was already there, each holding their own giant backpack; some yawning and some wide awake.

"Ah, Tomo-San!" Sawamura exclaimed when he saw me, waving me over, "Right on time, nice work!"

Clearly, he was one of the most awake ones in the group.

I smiled softly and bowed my head. "O-Ohayō."

"Ready to go?" Tanaka asked me, his arms crossed across his chest. He seemed to be extremely sure of himself for someone who had one of the lowest point averages in the entire club. Overall, Tanaka was a bit pretentious and overconfident. That combination led to easy mistakes during tests and classwork.

"I hope you're just as confident of yourself when you're taking exams, Tanaka-Kun," I said, raising a finger. Instantly, he dropped the façade and began to mumble under his breath in embarrassment, lining up with the other team members in front of the bus. I felt a twinge of guilt due to his reaction but quickly reminded myself that it was my job to keep them on their toes in relation to schoolwork. How I was going to execute that with each member was still a working progress, however.

"Let's play!" Sawamura bellowed, and everyone bowed down, nodding. Shimizu and I waited until the end to step into the white bus, marking down the attendance and making sure each player was accounted for. She was explaining how to keep track of the numerous factors that went into managing a volleyball club, and I carefully payed attention to each word, catching any minuscule detail.

This was another reason why I did so well in school: I was adept at quick comprehension and memorization. Not to mention, I also knew how to block out unnecessary distractions.

When I finally walked into the bus, I glanced towards the back and noticed that Hinata seemed close to passing out besides Tanaka. He was extremely pale, and struggling to sit up straight while Tanaka waved a pocky stick in the air in front of him.

"Tomo, you can sit down now," Takeda Sensei gently told me and I quickly nodded, taking a seat in the closest open spot by me. Unfortunately for me, the seat I had taken was next to, really, the only team member who seemed to have a strong dislike for my appearance.

"Good morning, K-Kageyama," I said, refusing to make eye-contact. All I heard was a grunt in response and I took that as a sign for me to stop talking, which I gladly did.

It never did amaze me how quickly I could fall into my usual routine, no matter where I was or who I was with. As soon as Kageyama had refused to make conversation, I pulled out my notebook and clicked my pen, beginning to take my notes of each player. Besides my lap was a rule book Mr. Takeda had given me, while at my feet was my backpack that was opened in case I needed anything at a moments notice.