Her Setter.

Chapter 7

It was the day of the practice match. Reina had woken up at 3 in the morning so that she could prepare. Her birthday had been yesterday meaning that Tooru's was tomorrow, so she needed to get him a gift. While she had little money to spare, she knew exactly what she was going to give him and had been preparing for it for a while now. She snuck into an unoccupied house, the one she usually entered wasn't empty forcing her to find another. She eventually found one, a few blocks down to which she entered their kitchen with an intent to bake. Fortunately for Reina, she found all the ingredients she needed in their cupboards and fridge. She began to make Tooru's birthday present which she was going to give to him later in the day, preferably after the practice match.

Ding!

Reina quickly shut off the timer she had set and pulled the hot tray out of the oven with a pair of oven mittens she found lying on the countertop. Letting the food cool, she left a few coins on the bench for having used the owner's supplies before wrapping the food she had baked with a light blue cloth that had small, white aliens which she had embroidered randomly.

Upon glancing at the time, Reina realised she was going to be late if she didn't start on the trek to Aoba Johsai High school for the practice match that started at 8 am as it was currently 7:36 am. Reina raced out the door, securing the food which she had spent hours creating carefully so that she didn't ruin it, before she made her way to the school, jogging for the entire 20 minutes, her breathing remaining the same throughout. She noticed, as she neared the school, that Karasuno's Volleyball team had already arrived and had already entered the school grounds.

Instead of wandering around the grounds like a lost goat until she found someone to help her with the directions, she used her slightly heightened senses to find the two school teams. Reina could hear the squeaking of Asic shoes on wooden floorboards, as well as the sound of a ball slamming onto the courts, adding to the small chatter coming from inside a room, Reina knew she had found the right place. She slowly opened the gymnasium's metal doors, careful not to make too much noise, before she silently made her way over to her team, glancing around the room but still not catching sight of her Tooru.

"Ran, you made it!" Nishinoya called out to the raven-head, being the first to notice her.

"I did. Sorry I was late-"

"Don't worry about it, we haven't started yet, anyway." Sugawara said with his trademark smile. With a small nod of her head, Reina moved over to sit next to Coach Ukai and the faculty advisor, Takeda.

Before the game could begin, the Seijoh team was still missing their captain. With a small sigh, their Ace, Hajime Iwaizumi, another childhood friend of Tooru Oikawa, made his way outside to find their team's captain, picking up a volleyball as he went. Much like back when they were children, Hajime Iwaizumi has dark, spiked-up hair that contrasted with his olive-green eyes, although, this time, his volleyball uniform had a bright, light blue '4' printed in the middle.

It was silent during the time the Vice-captain went out in search for Tooru, so much so that the impact of the volleyball against the back of the captain's skull could be heard, the noise, which was merely a dull 'thud' was followed by a whine of pain.

"Iwa-chan! That hurt~"

The soft whine came from a voice Reina hadn't heard in over two years. Her blood ran cold as she realised he was coming closer.

This was really happening.

The metal doors that separated the two childhood friends finally opened. It was as though time had slowed down, so much so that Reina counted down the very milliseconds until she could see him. Reina froze as both her childhood friends came into full view. As she had already observed Hajime, she moved onto Tooru.

The boy had his dark brown hair swept outwards, exactly as he used to have it. His eyes, of corresponding colour, shone with determination yet there was a hint of sadness Reina could make out. His lips were pressed together into an almost childlike pout, one she was so used to seeing when he didn't get his way. The number '1' was printed in blue, contrasting against the stark white Aoba Johsai uniform. He had outgrown his childhood fat and had grown up to become a rather handsome man.

The birthday gift she had made for Tooru seemed to unnaturally burn in her hands, as though pressuring her to give it to him. As he made his way over to his team, his eyes moved over to her, spotting her sitting on the bench. With furrowed brows, he stared at her, feeling as though he knew the girl but wasn't sure how-maybe she was one of my fangirls?

Reina soon made up her mind, taking a deep breath, she stood up, clutching the gift in her hands as she did, and made her way over to the laughing Setter.

"Happy Birthday, Tenrou-bō." Reina said, bowing slightly as she handed the package to Tooru, using her nickname for him, Tenrou meaning the dog star, Sirius. She had come up with the name during one of their overnight trips where they went stargazing many years ago.

Tooru Oikawa froze, tensing up as he heard this strange yet somewhat familiar girl use a nickname long forgotten. An image flashed through his mind for a split second. It was of two children at the age of 10, both laying in the grass, staring up at the dark sky which was littered with small white dots, laughing as they pointed up. The first he recognised immediately as himself while the second was a girl with straight, onyx hair and startling green eyes.

Reina Setsushi.

His Reina that had gone missing just over three years ago. His eyes widened as he glanced back down at the girl that had bowed in front of him, realising who she was.

"Reina."