✤Idyllic✤ Haikyuu Various! x Reader

prologue;

"It'll be okay," Kiyoko pushed. You knew deep down that she was right, but that didn't stop you from silently resenting her for signing you up for the club she was in without asking. You'd been friends for a long time, and it was true that you'd just transferred into Karasuno due to... unforeseen circumstances at your old school, but it was still a little nervewracking to suddenly be thrown into a social position. 

You'd always been the quiet type- more content to hang out in the background rather than to be in the spotlight. You didn't have many friends, which made you appreciate the ones you did have even more. 

Still, that didn't stop you from being slightly upset that she'd done this.  "You know, when I put my faith in you to sign me up for a club I'd like in this school, I was assuming you'd show me mercy and pick like... an art club or something. Not volleyball. You know how I feel about that sport! And how is me being a manager even going to work out when I hate people? Do I just walk in like 'oh hey guys, lovely seeing you here, mind if I pretend you don't exist for the entirety of the time I'm here?'."

Kiyoko laughed- a soft, beautiful thing that you enjoyed hearing. Ever since you'd been little kids, you'd always loved so much about her. She was kind, and beautiful, and smart. She was understanding, and even if she pushed your boundaries sometimes, you knew that she ultimately did it in an attempt to help you. So sure, sports weren't your thing- Kiyoko knew that, but she also knew that you knew how to play volleyball. In the middle school you'd both attended together, you'd obsessed over the team your school put together. You were even apart of it at one point, but things didn't work out. Turns out they didn't appreciate you half as much as you appreciated them.

Still, that was the past. As of now, you wanted nothing to do with volleyball and the memories it brought you. 

Unfortunately for you, Kiyoko disagreed. You were still going to do your damndest to try and convince her otherwise, though. 

"I really don't want to do this," you pushed, trying to tug yourself out of her iron-strong grip as you both made your way to the gym. "Everything about this spells out disaster! I'm going to feel like I'm being put under a microscope if you bring me in there suddenly!"

"It'll be okay," she said, trying to soothe you. "It'll be good to make new friends. The team is really friendly, and I'm sure they'll love you. Who wouldn't?"

A lot of people, you wanted to say. But you didn't. Although Kiyoko knew that you no longer had as much of an interest in your old passion, you never told her the full story as to why. She assumed it was something bad, and she was right about that, but she never pressed. And you never had the heart to say anything. There was no use on dwelling on the past. 

And to make matters worse, it was so much easier for her to say such things. You loved Kiyoko, you really, really did, but she was everything you weren't. Where she was good at history, you failed to remember important dates. Where she was naturally beautiful, you fell short of society's standards. Where she was selfless, you were only interested in what could get you through the week. You loved her, yes, but you were so... jealous sometimes. And you hated it. She deserved someone much kinder as a friend. 

"Please," you tried to plead again, but you knew it was futile. "What about my studies?"

"This won't get in the way of them," she promised. "And you can always come to me if you need help with anything."

"And my job?" you asked. "Won't this get in the way of that?"

Kiyoko hummed in thought, but ultimately shook her head. "From what you've told me about your employer, I think you'll be fine. And if you need someone to vouch for you, you can always ask me, okay?"

You finally relented. "Okay... but I'm only doing this for you. The second I get too uncomfortable or I fall behind on my studies, I'm out."

"That's completely fair," she assured you. 

Your part time job at the Sakanoshita convenience store, overseen by none other than Keishin Ukai himself came as a surprise to both you and her when you'd first gotten it. To be honest, you had no idea how you'd even managed to do that. 

It worked out in your favor, though, seeing as it was close to home and you got a bit of extra cash because of it. You'd initially frequented the place after school most days to get snacks, and eventually mustered up the courage to ask about a part time job there. You'd explained that there weren't really any other places in the area hiring, and you even offered to do work for free for the first few weeks to prove that you were serious. 

At your very serious request, Ukai had been momentarily stunned before chuckling and telling you that it was fine, that you were obviously a good kid from what he could tell, and that he could use an extra set of hands around the store. 

It took a while, you eventually warmed up to him enough that you could speak your mind around him without fearing any sort of backlash. It was pretty difficult for you to do that with people. You were so used to the way you acted being considered off putting that you couldn't really properly process when people enjoyed having you around. 

Regardless, you considered Ukai to be a really good support. He was more of a father figure to you than your actual parents, and you even knew about the neighborhood volleyball team he'd set up and went to watch whatever mini matches he hosted when you could.

You guessed that now it was just a matter of telling him that Kiyoko was dragging you to be a manager for her team. 

Reaching the doors to the gym, she didn't even bother knocking as she opened the door. Immediately, she was greeted by a nameless second year who told her how beautiful she was, and you were completely overlooked. You didn't even think the boy had noticed you were there. 

Looking around the gym as you stepped further into it, you saw a total of five boys in the room. By the way the first two were playing, it was obvious they were first years, even though their moves were far faster than what they'd normally be. The other three looked older and more experienced, though two of the three stood in a more relaxed manner. The third was the one who'd talked to Kiyoko, and you decided then and there that he was kind of an asshole. Especially for ignoring you. 

You glanced over them again before coming to a conclusion. 

"Hey, Kiyoko," said a grey haired boy who you were pretty sure was a third-year. He simply had that aura about him. He looked over to you, giving a kind smile. "You must be her friend, right? She told us earlier that you might be joining us. It's nice to meet you. I'm Sugawara, and this is Daichi."

He motioned to where the other third year stood. You got the gist. God, introductions were always painfully awkward. You hoped that the feeling of displacement would go away with time- and that was if you even decided to go through with this. 

"It's nice to meet you too," you said awkwardly. "I'm (Y/N)."

You didn't know it at the time, but that interaction was the start of a new chapter in your life. One where you could learn to be yourself and love freely. 

It was the start of how a silly dreamer learned how to help people fly.