SETSUNAI ☁ HAIKYUU

01: CAUTION

"YOU NEED TO BE EXTRA CAREFUL. YOU'RE FRAGILE." 

The words were all too familiar to [Y/N] L/N]. Since the age of 11, they were a constant reminder that her life was far from normal.

As [Y/N] hoisted her legs over her bed, gently placing them down on a heavily padded carpet, she thought about how exhausted it was to hear the words on a constant repeat. At first, they had struck fear and caution in her heart, but by now, she began to despise the life she was forced to live.

If it was even considered living, anyways.

"Are you hungry, Mai?" [Y/N] mumbled to her snow white-haired cat. In return, the feline lovingly curled herself around the [h/c] haired girl's leg, letting out a soft meow.

[Name] quietly tiptoed out of her room, her feet light on the thick and soft carpet that spanned the entirety of her small apartment. As she walked through gently sunlit rooms, she reached a hand out and dared to run it along the tough-leathered furniture that her mother had yet to replace with an alternative.

[E/c] eyes traveled up to a small cabinet in the kitchen area. She glaringly eyed the padded corners of the cabinet before opening it, only to be met with emptiness.

"We're out of cat food..." [Name] groaned. Her eyes flitted quickly to the large clock on the wall of the kitchen, and then met eyes with Mai's innocent green ones.

"I can probably sneak out and make it back in time before the nurse comes," [Name] whispered to the cat, who let out a small purr in response.

[Y/N] grabbed an old and pink backpack, back from when she still went to school, stuffing some crumpled cash into the small pocket. She then picked up Mai and put her in the large pouch of the backpack with care, leaving the zipper open so the innocent-eyed cat could poke her head out.

"Don't tell anyone on us, okay Mai?" [Y/N] laughed softly, opening the door and walking down the street. After a few minutes of walking, carefully watching her path for each and every rock and pebble, she paused in front of a large convenience store, the only one for a number of miles.

As [Y/N] pushed the door open, a nostalgic yet cheery bell jingled above her head, making her smile slightly. It was little things like this that she had learned to appreciate after not being outside for so long.

"Welcome to Sakanoshita. Can I help you?"

[Y/N] looked up in surprise to see someone unfamiliar behind the register. He had dull brown hair and friendly eyes, looking nothing like the blonde grump who usually ran the store.

"Where's the store owner?" The girl asked, weaving between the aisles of the store. As she finally found the cat food, she took a couple cans to the counter and pushed them towards the stranger behind the counter.

"He only works on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays now. Nowadays he's actually taken on a new job."

"Really? What job?" [Y/N] asked, shoving some wrinkled bills into the cashier's hands.

"He's coaching the boys volleyball team of the nearby school, Karasuno High.They're said to be the fallen champs, but maybe Ukai's coaching'll help them go to Nationals! Here you go, have a good day!" The man said, his sentences quite cryptic and jumbled to the [h/c] haired girl as he seemed lost in his own thoughts.

"Thank you," She said quickly, putting the plastic bag filled with cat food in her bag. As the girl began to walk towards her home, she found herself frozen mid-step.

[Y/N] stared at the sidewalk pavement blankly for a couple of seconds.

Karasuno... That's the high school I was supposed to go to, before it was decided that I would be homeschooled...

The girl hastily turned around and began walking towards Karasuno, her body's actions taking over her brain. She didn't have a reason for doing so-- In fact, she didn't even know what she was going to do when she got there. [Y/N] wasn't even allowed to be out of the house alone in the first place.

Finally approaching Karasuno High, the girl saw a little dirt pathway on the side of the school building. A hooded canopy led the way to a pair of doors, which was supposedly the gym. [Y/N] could hear faint shouting from the inside, along with the squeaking sneakers and the slamming of what she assumed to be volleyballs on the ground.

A thick, grey, and ugly concrete beam right next to the door had a poster on it that contrasted its drab appearance.

'Volleyball Managers Needed!' It said excitedly, undistinguishable stick figures scattered under it, looking like a child scribbled on it with crayon. -Made by --BOKE-- Hinata!

[Y/N] silently stared at the poster, letting out a small exhale of amusement from her nose. It seemed like whoever had drawn this poster wasn't very artistic, yet it had done its job of catching her attention nevertheless.

The [h/c] haired girl took a deep breath, her attention returning to the large gym entrance ahead of her. Mai let out a soft 'meow' of warning (which went unheard) as the girl approached the double doors and raised a shaky hand to open them.

"HEY! WATCH OUT!" A loud yell, along with the scuffling of cleated feet echoed throughout the gym. [Y/N] looked up and widened her [e/c] eyes in panic to see a volleyball flying towards her at the speed of light.

This was it. This was the real world. There were no doting and overprotective mothers, no padded carpets, no knee pads, or no baby-proofed cabinet corners. This was the real world, and this was a real threat, hurling right towards [Y/N]'s face. This is what she got for going outside.

Holy fuck, this is gonna hurt so bad--

An arm quickly wrapped around [Y/N]'s wrist, as she was pulled aside as her depressing self-monologue ended on an abrupt note. The volleyball, which was more like a fiery asteroid in the [h/c] haired girl's eyes narrowly missed her face and slammed into the door.

Every head in the gym turned towards the newcomer who had just entered their gym-- and almost gained a broken nose in the process of doing so.

"Who's that?" A short boy with fluffy looking orange hair said. He had a look of enthusiasm on his face.

"You almost hit her! Shouldn't you say sorry first?" Someone scolded the orange-haired boy.

[Y/N] saw that the voice belonged to the male who had pulled her aside, saving her from the bullet-like volleyball. He had light grey hair and a mole on his face. [Y/N] felt slightly at ease seeing his soft features, and she made a mental note to thank him later for pulling her out of doom's way. But for now, she had to find...

"[Y/N]?! Everyone, drop your volleyballs! Nobody moves until I say so!" A stern yet slightly panicked voice barked.

Said girl looked up to see Ukai looking at her with not happiness, but concern and anger. He marched up to her and bent down to her height like she was a child, glaring at her.

"You shouldn't be here! Does your mother know? God, you almost got hit! IN THE FACE!" He huffed angrily.

"No, uncle Ukai..." [Y/N] flushed slightly, looking at the ground. "She doesn't know..."

"UNCLE?!" A boy with a shaved head said with shock. "You never told us you had a niece, coach!"

"She's my second cousin's daughter." Ukai massaged his head. "And she's extremely careless for coming here. Unless-- are you okay, sweetie? If it's an emergency, you could have called me-"

"I... I want to join the volleyball team. As a manager. Please?" [Y/N] widened her eyes in surprise at her own words as they tumbled from her mouth without thought.

"YEAH!!! A NEW MANAGER!" A small boy, smaller than the orange-haired one, [Y/N] noted, pumped his fist.

"And she's cute too!" The boy with the shaved head said excitedly, sparkles in his eyes.

"I don't think that's a good idea, [Y/N]. And you know why." Ukai said quickly, causing the gym to fall silent.