Sweetner

Chapter 1

Hello and welcome to.. a Haikyuu fic? I'm not sure what to say but I'm damn excited for this! I finally have written a Haikyuu fic, and, well, here it is! Expect rather slow updates, recently I've been in a bit of a jam with writing (great time to begin a new book, ik, I'm a genius). I'm late to the game so I gotta catch up to s4. Anyhow, let's goooo~

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Defeat

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It was an intense match, your team one point behind your opponents. The first set was taken by your opponents, and fairly quickly, it no doubt stepped on your team's confidence. The second set was taken by your team, raising hope for you. The final set was heated, both teams desperate to win and make it to the finals of the tournament.

As your competitors served, you were fairly quick to receive. In your attempt to send it towards your team's setter, you realized you underestimated the distance, causing your setter to have to step a bit away from the net.

"Sorry!" You yelled out, watching intently as your setter sent the ball towards your team captain. Even though the blockers were a bit late, your opponent's libero saved the ball.

"Don't mind!"

You got prepared to have to receive a spike, in case your blockers failed, watching the ball closely as it left the opposing setter's hands. As the spiker broke through your team's block, you dove for the ball, another teammate approaching from the opposite side. You stretched your hand out as far as you could, but still you watched as the ball slammed against the hardwood in front of you.

You heard as the crowd erupted, your competitors cheering, too. You stayed on the ground for a moment in shame, feeling as if it was your fault that your team lost the last match of junior high. You were, after all, a libero. The whole point of your position was to receive--defend, even--but you could barely do that. Curse your non-existent instincts!

You finally stood, dusting yourself off as you walked towards your team. You all stood in a circle around your coach, several of you crying. Most all of you hung your heads. Your coach consoled you, making a speech about how she'll miss you, and that it was an honour to be a part of your athletic lives.

Eventually, your team finally was finished mulling your loss over. You turned towards your opponents. They looked smug, you scowled.

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The drive home with your family was deafeningly silent. It was quite late outside, the street lights illuminating the roada. You sat in the passenger seat, your mother driving. Behind you, one of your brothers and two of your sisters sat in the backseat. The only light inside the car was your brother's phone as he scrolled through some sort of social media.

You sniffled, looking out the window. Your mother patted your arm softly, glancing over as she tried to comfort you. Your mother was always the nicest woman, always making sure you and your siblings were well taken care of. Even though she was the mother of seven, she never once neglected any of you; even though she worked hard, she always made time.

Speaking of your siblings, you were the youngest. You had six other siblings, most half siblings (your mother went through three marriages, you and two others being the result of her latest affair).

The oldest was Hana. She was well out of highschool and had a career, she worked fairly far away, in Tokyo. She was always the most mature and strongest. Your mother might have been a bit of a push over, but Hana was firm--nothing would get past her.