A New Connection

Chapter 4

It had been a few days since Ginny began school at Karasuno. She was happy, for she got to meet plenty of new people and live in her music. Only a week after her performance for the music club, her classmates had started lining up for their conversations.

After getting through some conversations, Ginny couldn't understand why she had been so stressed. The conversations only needed to be about five minutes long (with extra credit added for each minute longer), and they could be about anything and everything. It was her classmates who had it hard, for they were the ones who had to write about it.

She was fitting in. She already made friends out of the four volleyball boys, as they visited every lunch period for tutoring, and she had made some friends in the music club, even though most of the members infuriated her.

Ginny wouldn't say that she was hot-headed, but in actuality, she kind of was. She hated the fact that people would join the music club just because they have to be in a club, and then not contribute anything to it later on. The club wasn't a solo act, everyone was part of the team.

Many of her club-mates failed to see it that way, and Ginny had to constantly remind herself that seniority took precedence over manners, something that was the hardest to get accustomed to in the culture switch. Otherwise, she would probably be reprimanded for disrespecting an upperclassman.

With a bounce in her step and "Call Me" pouring through her headphones, Ginny walked down the rainy path that led to Karasuno High School.

Time Skip- Before Class

Ginny was zoned out when Tsukishima looked behind him. He had turned in hopes of getting an explanation on a vocabulary word from the English language, but was met with her attention already on him. Creepy.

Still, he did need the help, so he asked the question anyway. He was met with silence. It was then he realized that she was completely zoned out, and snapped his fingers in her face to pull her out of it. How bothersome.

Her attention snapped up to him, her eyes finally refocusing onto the boy in front of her.

"Tsukishima-san, can I help you?" She either didn't know that she had focused on him, or didn't want to mention it.

"You should pay more attention, gaijin*. I had asked you a question about this word." He pointed to a word on his paper, which he had slid onto her desk.

Ginny looked at the word. Perfect. It was such a simple word, yet it could mean so many different things for everyone.

"That word is pronounced as 'perfect'. It changes from person to person, depending on how someone feels about certain things, but the general definition is along the lines of 'as good as it can possibly be.'"

How interesting. As always, Tsukishima was impressed by the simple and easy way that Ginny explained things. She was far better than the teacher, Ono-sensei, when it came to vocabulary, and she made it her mission for others to understand.

He briefly wondered if she would fit the definition of someone's perfect.

Time Skip- Class 1-4, Lunch

Hinata and Kageyama were at Ginny's desk again. It had become normal to find the two there during lunch in the last week. Ginny was super helpful and a good tutor, which was reflected in the dramatic upturn of the duo's grades.

"Hey, Ginny-san?"

"Yes Hinata-kun?"

"A while ago, I had heard about an American holiday that came at the end of this month. Is that really a thing?"

Ginny looked up from Yamaguchi's paper. "Yep. It's called Halloween. Basically, people (usually children) get dressed up in costumes and walk around town. They go door to door asking for free candy from complete strangers."

Tsukishima snorted. "That sounds like something you Americans would do."

"Hey!" Ginny smacked his arm. "I don't go around making fun of your weird holidays! Don't make fun of mine!"

"How did that even become a thing?"

Ginny shrugged. "I'm not exactly sure. I think it has something to do with ghosts. Like, we'd dress up really scary to shoo the ghosts away. Later, I think we just kind of used the day to have parties and get sugar rushes."

Tsukishima turned back to his own desk. "Like I said, sounds like something Americans would do."

Ginny just rolled her eyes and went back to grading Yamaguchi's paper.

Time Skip- Afternoon Practice, Beginning

For the second time since she arrived, Ginny found herself sitting in the gym and watching practice. The team was doing great, but they could use a little push in the right direction. Or a little push to get going? Either would work, really.

She turned to Shimizu-san. "Um, where is the girl's changing room?" This had grabbed the attention of the coaches nearby. "I kind of want to play right now; get a feel for the team, you know?"

Shimizu led her away and to the changing rooms, where Ginny changed into the school-issued tracksuit. They then made their way back to the gym.

The boys hadn't noticed them leave, nor did they notice their return. Ginny quietly settled into the stretches she had been doing her whole life, and watched the practice match while she did so. She didn't notice the coach or managers looking her way, and she didn't notice how Shimizu took notes on the stretches she was performing.

A/N: Fun fact! People in Japan don't celebrate Halloween! In my Japanese class, we ended up writing letters to Japan explaining what Halloween was. And believe it or not, I'm actually semi-fluent in Japanese. I took six college classes!

*Gaijin: foreigner, or foreign person. There is such thing as a "gaijin pass," where they can't really fault you for certain things because you are a foreigner.