Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Info on M/N:

Name: L/N M/N

Age: 16

Year: Second Year (is in his first year in the prologue)

Hair Colour: H/C

Hair Length: Reaches to his mid-back, fluffy and has slight waves in places

Eye Colour: E/C

Eye Shape: Cat-like

Position in Volleyball: All-rounder but was/is mostly a middle blocker or a libero.

Number: 11 in Nekoma (First Year), 13 in Karasuno (Second Year)

Height: 164cm (5 feet 4.6 inches) at the start of his second year, barely taller than Hinata (more height will be added as the story progresses)

Nicknames for people: Kenma is "Pudding", Kuroo is "Tetsu", the twins are "munchkins". He sometimes calls Yaku "Mom" or "Mama Cat", in both a semi-teasing way and also because to him, Yaku feels like the mom he should have had. Sugawara is also called "Mom" or "Mama Crow", for the same reason as Yaku is. (He didn't call Yaku or Sugawara "Mom" on purpose the first time he said it and got embarrassed about it, but after being told by them that they didn't mind being called that, it stuck with him.)

Likes: Volleyball, basketball, martial arts, gaming, his family (except Moth/N), his friends, nail polish (I forgot to mention when I originally posted this but M/N likes things that are usually seen as "girly", like nail polish, etc. This did result in him getting bullied slightly for it, but Kenma and Kuroo protected him. About basketball and martial arts, he does it for fun/self-defence, volleyball is his main sport), plushies, arcades, animals, anime and manga.

Dislikes: Bullies, Moth/N, shouting, alcohol

Usually pretty quiet (due to how he grew up, he HAD to be quiet a lot) when around strangers or people he doesn't know well. Sometimes people will comment on his quietness, but he'll just shrug it off and say "I'm always quiet". Tends to be overly apologetic, even over really small things. Opens up more around family (his siblings and father) or friends, and will also be slightly louder and more expressive when with them, which occasionally shocks people due to him usually being a very silent person.
Can also become emotional after seeing people he hasn't seen in a while (an example of this will be seen in the chapter where Nekoma and Karasuno have a match), which usually results in him (sometimes) crying, shouting for the person/people he's missed and being semi-affectionate with them (hugging them, for example).
He can occasionally get irritated enough by things that he'll lash out at the person who irritated him before he realises what he's done and will apologise before sitting himself in a corner as his own form of punishment, he usually ends up crying slightly in the corner, thinking of himself no better than his mother. Occasionally will also have less motivation to do things, and will seem lethargic, sometimes to the point of falling asleep. Tries his hardest to remain strong in front of his siblings, not wanting them to see him cry or break down.

⚠️vv A possible trigger for panic attacks vv⚠️
Doesn't like being shouted at, hearing angry shouting (or loud noises that sound like shattering) or seeing someone's hand raised near him (even if they were going to give him a high-five), and will flinch, yelp slightly, or in some cases (if it becomes too much for him/too many of his triggers are present at the same time) will have a panic attack. Kenma and Kuroo, along with M/N's father are the only ones who know of his panic attacks and are also the ones who can help him through one the easiest. (He has Kenma and Kuroo's phone numbers linked to buttons on his phone, so he can get through to them quickly if he feels too panicked)
⚠️^^ Possible trigger over ^^⚠️

Other information on M/N: Knows how to move around without making any sound, and does so out of habit, which can and does scare people (Kenma, Kuroo and M/N's siblings and father are used to him doing it, however, so they don't get spooked by it). Knows how to breathe silently, and does so out of habit. Can do most things without making noise (for example eating), yet again, he does still does so out of habit.

⚠️vv possible trigger vv⚠️
Has slight anxiety and PTSD from his abusive mother, and occasionally has nightmares because of it. Most parts of his body have scars from her abuse, they are mainly prominent on his wrists, face and torso, but they are scattered almost everywhere on him, some more prominent than others. They are all the result of Moth/N's wrath.
⚠️^^ possible trigger over ^^⚠️

Triggers: the smell of alcohol, the sound of shattering glass, the sound of shouting, seeing people's (other than Kenma, Kuroo, his siblings and father) hands raised near him.
Family Members:

Mother: L/N Moth/N (Moth/N stands for mother's name, in case you're confused), in her mid-40s, has long (colour) hair and yellow, cat-like eyes (Thanks to Xey and DoodlePug for both giving me an eye colour for her and giving her the nickname of "Piss Eyes"), she's an alcoholic and abusive.

Father: L/N F/N (stands for father's name, if you're confused), also in his mid-40s, has short (colour) hair and green eyes (again, DoodlePug thanks for giving me the colour I should use for his eyes while on call), hates the way Moth/N treats her kids but can't divorce her for risk of her taking custody of them.

Little Sister: L/N S/N, 6 years old (for plot reasons and because I can't find ANY information about her age other than the fact she's in elementary, Hinata Natsu will be in the same classes and year as the twins, if you do have any information on Natsu's age, please share it with me), a twin, has long, H/C hair that reaches to her mid-back and E/C eyes. Loves her onii-chan, twin and father, but doesn't like her mother. Has the same triggers as M/N.

Little Brother: L/N B/N, 6 years old, a twin, has short H/C hair and E/C eyes. Loves his onii-chan, twin sister and father, but not his mother. Also has the same triggers as M/N.

The book will be written in a mix of third-person and M/N's point of view, and rarely will be in a teammate's point of view, but will mostly be in M/N's point of view or third-person.

Chapter Text

Key:
A/N: Author's Note

M/N: Male Name

L/N: Last Name

N/N: Nickname

E/C: Eye Colour

H/C: Hair Colour

S/N: Sister's name

B/N: Brother's Name

F/N: Father's Name

Moth/N: Mother (bitch)'s Name

D/N: Dog's Name (your dog is an Akita Inu and a female)

C/N: Cat's Name (your cat is a Japanese Bobtail and a male)

A/N: most of this chapter (aside from the last paragraphs) is set before the reader moves to Miyagi, so he's still in the shit house with his mother
------------------------------
3rd Person POV:
Screaming could be heard from inside the L/N household, along with the occasional sound of shattering glass. Protective barking and growling from the family's dog, D/N, followed shortly after every shout and shatter. Unfortunately, this was a regular thing in the household. Yet, despite the many times neighbours had complained, and even reported the household, nothing could ever be done about it. The mother of the family, Moth/N always opened the door with a smile on her face, explaining that the screaming and shattering was coming from the television and that D/N didn't like the noise, and barked in response.

⚠️vv possible trigger for physical abuse vv⚠️
Of course, this wasn't actually the case, yet they believed her every time, not noticing the evil glint in her yellow, cat-like eyes. They never saw the shards of glass that covered the front room floor, a result of the bottles that had been thrown against the wall in an attempt to hit one of the members of the family. They never saw the youngest children cowering in fear behind their big brother, who now had a red hand mark on his face, a slap mark from his "mother" if she could even be called one, and tears threatening to spill at the harshness of the hit. The only people that had even the slightest idea of what happened were M/N's best friends, but even they didn't know the extent of Moth/N's wrath (which was even worse when she got drunk).

M/N's POV:

I rubbed where Moth/N had slapped me (suppressing tears so she wouldn't hit me again) while I turned around to make sure the twins were okay, which they were, thankfully. ⚠️POSSIBLE TRIGGER OVER⚠️ I stood up and then picked up S/N and B/N, holding them with one arm each, and started walking upstairs to my room as quickly as I could, D/N bounding up the stairs after me. We got to my bedroom and she opened the door (by standing on her back legs, pushing the door handle down and then pushing the door open with her weight). I mumbled a "thanks girl" to her, even though she wouldn't understand me, as I put S/N and B/N on my bed, next to C/N. He moved from where he was at the bottom of my bed to lie down on my pillow, looking at me. S/N and B/N shuffled up the bed to sit near the bobtail and D/N jumped up onto the bed, laying herself across the twins' legs. I heard the front door shut and slammed my door closed, ignoring Moth/N's voice yelling at me, in favour of locking the several locks I put on my door without her knowledge.
"Onii-chan are you okay?" my head moved towards the bed, where I saw the twins looking at me with worried looks. I smiled softly at them, "Hai, I'm okay, don't worry you two." They didn't look convinced but didn't press me further. I turned on the television that was in my bedroom and put on an anime for them to watch while I texted our father.

------------------------------
Conversation with Otou-san
M/N: I know you are at work right now, but the twins are in my bedroom with me, D/N and C/N. Moth/N tried to hit them, but I put myself in front and ended up getting hit instead. If it's okay with you and Kenma can I take them to Kenma's place? I don't trust the twins alone with Moth/N.

sent: 13:15pm

read: 13:15pm

Otou-san: She tried to slap them, but slapped you instead? And she has the nerve to call herself a mother. Of course, you can take them to Kenma-kun's house, as long as he agrees to it first. If he's okay with it, and if you want to, you can take D/N and C/N with you too. I have to go now; I'll talk to you later.

sent: 13:20pm

M/N: Thank you, I'll ask him now. Have a good day at work :)

sent: 13:22pm

read: 13:22pm
------------------------------

I smiled at the message and then scrolled through my contacts until I found Kenma's.

------------------------------

Conversation with Pudding

M/N: Hey Pudding, can I come to your house? I'd be bringing the twins, D/N and C/N though.

sent: 13:25pm

read: 13:26pm

Pudding: Sure, I don't mind. Is it Moth/N again? (a/n: I know that would be very informal, but Kenma doesn't respect Moth/N, neither does Kuroo) Kuroo is here too btw

sent: 13:28pm

M/N: Thanks. Yes, it's her again, she tried to slap the twins, but I took the hit for them. Tell Tetsu (a/n: Tetsu is Kuroo's nickname from M/N) I said hi

sent: 13:28pm

read: 13:29pm

Pudding: She hit you?! You know what, bring some spare clothes for you and the twins, uniforms and the pet food, you can stay at mine for a few days. Kuroo says hi back

sent: 13:31pm

M/N: You don't have to have us over for a few days you know- it's fine, I have locks on my door, they can just sleep in my room with me

sent: 13:31pm

read: 13:32pm

Pudding: I don't care, you're staying over. You shouldn't be in a position where you have to have locks on your door. No arguments, you're staying at mine

sent: 13:32pm

M/N: Hai, hai- I'll be there in about 20 minutes, see you then :3

sent: 13:33pm

read: 13:33pm

------------------------------

I turned my phone off after that, smiling at the texts Pudding had sent. I looked up at the twins, who's full attention was on the anime, and smiled even wider. After grabbing my bag and two smaller bags to put extra stuff in, I unlocked the locks on my door and went into the twins' bedroom. I took their bags from the side of their beds and put them on the respective bed. I placed their uniforms in their respective school bag, along with pyjamas and a few days worth of clean clothes.

I slung their bags over my shoulder and headed to the family bathroom. After putting our toothbrushes, body washes, and other hygiene products in one of the spare bags, I went back into my bedroom, having decided to get the pet stuff last, as we were leaving. S/N and B/N seemed to have noticed I had left the room and were sat facing the door as I walked in. They smiled their precious smiles at me, which made me smile back.

"Onii-chan, why do you have our school bags?" S/N asked, her head tilted slightly in confusion. I sat on the bed (in between the pillow and D/N's head) and ruffled her hair, "We're going to Kenma's house for a few days, so I'm taking some of our stuff. This doesn't mean you can miss school though, I'll still be taking you. Don't worry, D/N and C/N will be coming with us." hearing their names being called, D/N and C/N lifted their heads to look at me. I scratched behind their ears as I watched the twins get excited about going to Pudding's place.

After quickly placing my clothes into my bag after putting my uniform in it, I untied my hair and brushed it before putting it back up. I threw my hairbrush in my bag, along with extra hair ties, S/N's hairbrush which she kept in my room for some unknown reason; smaller hair ties for S/N; D/N and C/N's fur brushes; my dark red, dark blue and black nail polishes and the secret stash of food I had in my room for S/N, B/N and myself for the days when Moth/N wouldn't feed us (I didn't want to risk her finding it).

I put on my pet kangaroo hoodie (a/n: they're basically hoodies but with a pouch, you can put your small pets in) and picked up C/N before putting him in the pouch. After taking her harness, leash, and collar off the peg in my bedroom, I put D/N's collar, harness, and leash on her, readjusting the harness slightly to make sure it didn't hurt her. I got the twins to put on their jackets while I was getting D/N ready. Heading downstairs before the twins, D/N having followed me while holding her leash in her mouth, I peeked my head around the front room door to see Moth/N asleep on the sofa, bottles of alcohol surrounding her sofa she was sleeping on. Sighing in relief, I headed to the kitchen to get the pet food and bowls. After putting said pet food and bowls in the other bag I had, I whisper-shouted up the stairs to tell the twins that it was safe to come downstairs.

Within seconds, they were coming down the stairs, making sure not to step on the few spots on the stairs that creaked when stepped on. Unlocking the front door (with the key that Otou-san gave me in secret because Moth/N didn't want me to have a key to the house), I let the twins out of the door first, then walked out with D/N before locking the door behind me and slipping the key into my back pocket. I told the twins to keep close to me and, after making sure C/N was comfortable (which he was, he was sleeping), held onto B/N's hand while S/N held onto D/N's leash.

After 10 minutes of walking, we made it to Pudding's house. S/N and B/N instantly ran up to the door to knock on it, making D/N pull on her leash slightly to get to them, being the protective dog she is. A few seconds later, Tetsu opened the door with a smile on his face as the twins hugged him. "S/N-chan, B/N-chan, N/N-chan I missed you so much!" I just chuckled lightly at him before responding, "I missed you too Tetsu, where's Pudding?" we walked inside as Tetsu explained that Pudding was upstairs in his room. I just laughed while taking off D/N's harness, leash, and collar and hanging them up. "Of course he is, typical Pudding.." I got the twins to take off their shoes and jackets while I took off my own shoes, placing them near the door. Going upstairs with Tetsu and the twins, with D/N following behind us, I felt movement in the hoodie pouch, "Finally awake huh C/N?" I mumbled as I picked him up out of the pouch. He nuzzled his head into my chest as I held him close.

TIME-SKIP, LATER THAT DAY

As I was sitting on the sofa with everyone and watching a movie, while D/N was laying on my lap and C/N was lying down on her back purring in contentment (a/n: by this, I mean C/N was lay on D/N's back, not that his gender changed-), my phone rang, which spooked me slightly. I took my phone from the sofa and checked who was ringing me to see it was otou-san. I smiled at the phone and answered the call, "Hey Otou-san, what's up?" I asked while stroking C/N, who nuzzled into my hand. "M/N, I have good news," I was curious at this point, "There's another section of my work in Miyagi, my boss wants me to go there. I've already been permitted to bring you guys with me. Technically, though, I don't have to bring Moth/N. Unfortunately, if you and the twins came with me, you'd have to transfer schools." gasping slightly, I ran through the limited options I had: go with the old man, along with the twins, but have to leave Pudding and Tetsu (my best and only friends) and only be able to talk to them over the phone; or stay in Tokyo and risk the twins getting hurt. I really don't have an option here, I can't risk the twins getting hurt. "I'm coming with you, as much as I love Kenma and Kuroo, I can't let the twins get hurt by her."

"My boss said that the moving house would happen over the twins' and your own break from school, so you don't miss anything. You'd be going into your second year, obviously." I hummed in agreement with him, trying to ignore the slight sting in my heart that leaving Pudding and Tetsu made me feel. "We'd be able to bring C/N and D/N right? Also, what school will I be transferring to?" I saw Pudding and Tetsu looking at me from the corner of my eye, which made the sting in my heart feel worse, knowing that I'd have to confirm with them that I'd soon be moving schools and that there would be no way out of doing so. I knew they'd understand but I still felt upset about it. "Of course we'll be able to bring them, I already talked to my boss about it. You'd be going to Karasuno, they have a volleyball club so you'd still be able to play with Kuroo-kun and Kenma-kun, even if it's on opposite sides of the court." hearing him say that just made the sting feel even worse, and tears started forming in my eyes, I tried not to let my voice crack as I responded to him, "T-that's great, I-I have to go now, bye"

I internally cursed myself for letting my voice crack and then tried to wipe away the tears that were in my eyes. I got D/N and C/N to get off of me before I went into the kitchen to attempt to calm myself down. Luckily, the twins didn't hear the conversation as they were too interested in the movie, but Pudding and Tetsu would probably be coming to check on me soon, they did hear me talking about transferring schools. I heard movement behind me and sniffled slightly before turning around to see Pudding and Tetsu behind me. They walked up to me before hugging me. I started tearing up again, but couldn't wipe the tears due to being in between both of them.

They pulled out of the hug, and then Tetsu leaned down slightly before he grabbed my face, making me squeak and turn slightly red, as I wasn't expecting it. "What was that call about M/N?" I gasped slightly as he never usually used my actual name unless he was being serious. I sniffled before answering him, "M-my dad got a new job in Miyagi, so we'd have to move... He's not bringing Moth/N or telling her about it, so we'll be safe... I don't really want to leave you and Pudding, though... I-I guess I was mainly upset about having to tell you two that I'd be leaving..." I sniffled again as I looked up at him with teary eyes, "I-I didn't want to l-leave you two..."

Tetsu let go of my face and then pulled me into his chest, Pudding hugging me from behind not long after. We stayed like that for a couple of minutes before I was released from the hug. Tetsu wiped away my tears, which shocked me slightly. He chuckled lightly, before speaking, "Well then, I guess we'll just have to make the most of the time you have left in Tokyo, won't we? Plus, you can always call, text, or play video games with us, so you won't exactly be without us, will you?" huh, I never thought of it like that... I smiled softly at the thought of spending the remainder of my time in Tokyo with Pudding and Tetsu.

TIME SKIP, LAST DAY IN TOKYO (because otherwise, this prologue chapter would be even longer-)

It was now my last day in Tokyo before we left for Miyagi, dad had been allowed the day off to pack up before the move, so he was looking after the twins while I went out with Pudding and Tetsu. After getting changed, I took the key dad gave me and went out. We decided to meet at Pudding's place, for convenience, so I headed there. They were already waiting outside for me, so I ran towards them, smiling.

"So, what are we doing first?" I asked while we walked, curious. Tetsu ruffled my hair (which was, surprisingly, not in a ponytail), which I pouted at while trying to fix my hair, before he replied, "We're probably going to go to the arcade for a while and then go to a cafe or something afterwards." Pudding just hummed in agreement with him while playing a game on his phone, still being aware enough to know what was going on around him.

After about ten minutes of walking, we made it to the arcade. I excitedly pulled Pudding towards the two-player rhythm game (a/n: this game is called MAIMAI, you need to have pretty good hand-eye coordination and reflexes, especially on the harder difficulty levels. I actually got a chance to play it and multiple other Japanese arcade games at the huge three-floor arcade we have where I live), before I made a bet with him, "If I win two of the three rounds, you have to get me something from the claw machine. If you win, I'll get you an apple pie at the cafe." I knew he'd be more enthusiastic about the game if he had a chance at getting his favourite food, so I smirked ever so slightly.

He just nodded at me, his way of agreeing to the bet I proposed. I turned behind me to Tetsu and asked him if he would record the matches, which he agreed to. When I turned back, Pudding had already picked the song and difficulty we'd be doing and was waiting for me to stand at the machine next to his. I did so and he pressed the trigger that would start the match.

I was on-point with most of my button presses, missing a few, but that was to be expected considering the difficulty Pudding put the level on. I won the first round, making me smile slightly. Pudding won the second round, making us be tied. He smiled slightly at himself for winning, which I found precious before we started the next round. I ended up winning the last round, though only just. I smiled slightly, before hugging Pudding, "Don't worry, I'll still buy you an apple pie. I was going to buy you one regardless." he seemed happier at that.

He looked at me, then to the rows of claw machines, then back to me, before asking, "So, what do you want me to get you?" I walked around them all before one caught my eye, and I instantly went towards that machine, Pudding following behind me. "Can you get me that cat plush?" I asked, pointing towards the semi-large grey and white cat plush in the machine. He nodded slightly, then put a ¥500 coin in the machine, getting him six tries at the machine. It took him three tries before he got the cat plush, and he gave it to me after it fell. I instantly hugged it to my chest, smiling. Pudding used his remaining tries to try and get another plush but failed. I hugged him in thanks, and he smiled slightly towards me.

We stayed at the arcade for a few more hours, me ending up with a lot more plushies, along with some figures I had gotten from some other machines. Luckily, I had brought a small backpack with me, so I was able to carry them all comfortably. I kept the cat plush Pudding won for me in my grasp though. When we finally left, I was smiling, happy to be able to spend my time with Pudding and Tetsu. I had won something for them while we were at the arcade, but hadn't shown or given them the things I got for them. I decided I'd give them the gifts when we got to the cafe.

After we got to the cafe, we sat at a table and waited for someone to take our orders. I decided to give them their gifts now since there was nothing else we could do while we waited, other than talk to each other. I rummaged through the front pocket of my backpack for their gifts, and after grabbing them, tapped Pudding and Tetsu on the arm before placing the boxes in front of them. "I got you both something while we were at the arcade." I told them after noticing their slightly confused looks. I placed a box that was identical to the ones they had in front of them on the table. I motioned for them to open the boxes, and they did so. Inside each box was a charm bracelet that had a volleyball charm, a cat pudding charm and a paw print charm on it, along with a necklace that had the initials of our names on them (a/n: if your name starts with a K, change the initials that would be on Kenma and Kuroo's necklaces to P and T, for their nicknames).

Pudding and Tetsu gasped slightly at the gift, before smiling at me and thanking me for the gift. I put the bracelet and necklace on and smiled, Pudding and Tetsu doing the same not long after. I explained that the charms could come off the bracelets, so we could still have the charms with us even if we weren't wearing the bracelets. Someone came to take our order, and after giving our order, we idly chatted while waiting for our food and drinks to come.

After we finished eating and drinking, Pudding suggested going to park with the twins, which I agreed to, knowing that the twins loved them as if they were older brothers. We walked to my place and I told Pudding and Tetsu to wait outside while I snuck in to get the twins, not knowing if Moth/N was inside. Luckily, she didn't seem to be there, so I went upstairs and into the twins' room, shouts of "Onii-chan!" when they saw it was me. I smiled at them and told them we were going to the park, which made them excitedly run out of the room and downstairs. I laughed at them slightly before going downstairs too, only to see the twins putting their shoes and jackets on.

When they finished, I opened the front door for them, shouting goodbye to our father, who was in the kitchen on his computer, probably doing something related to us transferring schools or moving house. The twins ran out of the door happily, hugging Pudding and Tetsu. It didn't take long for us to get to the park, and for the twins to abandon Pudding and Tetsu's hands in favour of going to play, although they did stay in sight of us. They knew to stay where we could see them, having been told repeatedly by their teachers, family and friends (excluding Moth/N, she couldn't care less about the wellbeing of the twins, me or otou-san).

After spending roughly an hour of the park (which consisted of the twins playing and me talking with Pudding and Tetsu), my phone buzzed, so I pulled it out of my pocket to see a message from otou-san telling me to come home as I still hadn't fully packed and we were leaving that night. I pouted slightly as I replied with 'hai, I'll be home soon' before I pocketed my phone and stood up from where I was sitting to go and get the twins. I told Pudding and Tetsu what I was doing, getting a nod from both of them in response before I ran off to get the twins. They seem to have known that it was time to leave as they attempted to hide from me.

I somehow managed to pick up S/N as she was running from me, and she playfully kicked her legs as I went over to Pudding and Tetsu, with some difficulty. I knew that she'd make a run for it as soon as I let her down, so I had Tetsu sit her on his lap so she couldn't get away as easily due to the hug he had her in. I knew she'd still try to struggle, so I bribed her with food to stay still, "Stay there and you can get a popsicle on the way home." S/N looked up at me with sparkles in her eyes and nodded her head before she watched what Pudding was doing.

As I walked back to find B/N I realised the same bribe would work on him, "B/N! If you come here, you can have a popsicle on the way home!" I heard a small gasp from behind me and turned around to see B/N running towards me smiling. He grabbed hold of my hand and pulled me to the bench as best he could while mumbling something about the popsicle I promised him. I just chuckled lightly at him. I took my backpack off its spot on the bench next to Pudding and put it on before taking S/N from Tetsu's lap. I looked at Pudding and Tetsu before speaking, "We gotta go now, see ya." They got off the bench and hugged me and the twins, us hugging back, before waving us goodbye. Turning around to where they were, I yelled to them, "I'll see you on the court!" They nodded in response, looking determined.

When we finally got home, after getting popsicles from the store, along with some (a lot of) snacks, the twins went upstairs to nap, being tired out already. I headed up to my bedroom and started packing up my stuff in the boxes and suitcases in my room. After putting my clothes (along with my Nekoma uniform and volleyball outfit, even though I wouldn't be wearing them again) in one of the suitcases, I filled up the other with the smaller things in my room, like the volleyball I had from the club (which had all of their names written on it in permanent ink, they gave it for me after finding out I'd be moving), my basketball, manga, anime figures, posters, photos (mostly of me, Pudding and Tetsu or of us with the Nekoma team) and anything else small I had around my room. I filled up multiple boxes with plushies (and the anime and manga merch I couldn't fit in the suitcase).

Sitting on my floor, in the mostly empty room, I realised that it'd be more convenient if I started putting mine and the twins' stuff in the van before we left, to reduce the amount of noise it would make. Moth/N wasn't in, she was out somewhere (probably getting drunk), so I could move freely around the house without risking angering her. I went downstairs to ask otou-san for the keys to the van and he gave them to me. After opening the back of the van, I started bringing my stuff down, doing the same with the twins' stuff when I'd taken all of my own. Asking Otou-san if he wanted me to bring his stuff to the van (after taking everything else to it), he shook his head and said he'd do it himself. I nodded before going out to lock the van, going back inside when I had done so.

I sat on the couch in the front room, D/N joining me soon after, and turned on the television to some random channel for the background noise, while I went onto my phone to play a trivia game that I downloaded out of boredom. I was surprisingly good at it but got bored after the first set of questions. Lying back on the couch, I closed my eyes while stroking D/N's soft fur, smiling slightly as I did so.

Third-person POV:

Not long after the H/C haired boy closed his eyes on the couch, he fell asleep, his soft breaths barely being heard. The boy's father walked into the front room not long after, and he smiled at the sight of his oldest child looking peaceful for once. He got D/N to get off the boy's lap, before gently picking him up and taking him up to his bedroom, placing him softy on the bed before covering the short boy with a blanket. He smiled once again as the younger boy had a soft smile on his face as he slept. The man couldn't remember the last time his oldest son had looked so at peace. Leaving the room and closing the door behind him, the green-eyed male went back downstairs to his computer in the kitchen to continue to fill in the online paperwork for his children's new schools.

After another half hour of typing away on his laptop, the tall male submitted the forms through to the new schools. Hearing soft footsteps behind him, he turned around to see the small frames of the twins. "Where's Onii-chan?" B/N asked, yawning slightly afterwards. "He's sleeping in his room. I'm guessing you two want to sleep in his bed too?" the older male answered softly. The pair gently nodded and slowly walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs to M/N's room. Opening the door, pushing it closed behind them, the h/c haired twins carefully climbed on their big brother's bed, snuggling up to him as best they could. The bobtailed cat that was lying at the bottom of the bed rose from his position and onto the elder sibling's chest before lying back down and curling up.

The handle of the door to the room moved around slightly before opening, the family's dog entering the room a few seconds after. She closed the door with her nose before padding over to the bed in the room. The black brindle and white dog softly leapt onto the bed, being as careful as she could, and gently lay down next to M/N, making sure not to wake her owner.

Soft breathing was all you could hear in the room minutes later, everyone in the room falling asleep on M/N's bed (or M/N himself, in C/N's case).

TIMESKIP, MIDNIGHT

M/N's POV:

I felt myself getting nudged and groaned slightly. Slowly sitting up (a small thump being heard from something falling off my chest) and rubbing my eyes, I saw otou-san at the side of me. I looked down at my lap to see C/N looking at me, not happy he had slid off my chest. Apologising to him, I rubbed behind his ear, earning happy purring in response. Now properly awake, I realised why I had been woken up; we were leaving the house (and Tokyo) tonight. We decided it'd be best to leave late at night when Moth/N would be sleeping. Getting off of my bed (C/N having left my lap by now), I put on the pet hoodie that was at the foot of my bed, probably placed there by otou-san. After placing C/N in the pouch, I woke up D/N (with slight trouble due to how heavy a sleeper she was), getting her to jump off the bed so I could pick up the twins.

Deciding it would be best to pick up the lighter of the two first, I lifted B/N into one of my arms, making sure he was still sleeping and would be comfortable before doing the same with S/N. Otou-san had grabbed the blanket and multiple pillows that were on my bed, opening the door after he had done so, allowing me to go downstairs with the twins, C/N and D/N. I stood at the door waiting for otou-san to come down and open the front door and unlock the van. He came downstairs a minute or so later, opening the front door, locking it behind him when he went out, and then unlocking the van and opening the door for me. Struggling slightly, I sat down (still holding the sleeping twins) on the seat, releasing the twins from my arms so I could do their belts. After taking the blanket and pillows from otou-san, I lay the blanket over the twins and put the pillows behind their heads.

I moved to the driver's seat and slid across it, so I could get out of the van to sit in the back. Opening the back door to the van, I let D/N jump in first, her instantly going to lie down on one of the free seats. Getting in after her, I sat on the seat next to her, doing my belt afterwards. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and uploaded a photo I had taken a few days ago to Instagram. I went onto my Instagram home page and liked the photo that was uploaded to the team's profile, it was of all of us, and the caption was a message to me to say that the team would miss me and such. I noticed I had a notification on the post I just made so I checked it.

I checked the comments to see Pudding and Tetsu had commented. Pudding's comment was inviting me to game with him when we reached Miyagi and after I had set my things up, Tetsu's was him saying he'd see me on the other side of the court, or when we (me, Pudding and Tetsu) called, whichever was first (it would obviously be when we called). I replied to Pudding's comment with 'sure :)' and responded to Tetsu's with 'yup, and it'd be when we call we'd see each other next :)'.

TIMESKIP, 5 HOURS LATER (4HR 15 FOR TRAVEL, THE OTHER 45 FOR MOVING BOXES AND THINGS TO INSIDE THE NEW HOUSE)

I had finally gotten all my stuff into my room in the new house. The twins were still asleep, but it was clear they would be for a while. They always were pretty deep sleepers. I had set all my stuff up in my new room, otou-san had already paid for new furniture to be put in before we got there. I grabbed my PS Vita (a/n: they released in Japan in 2011, so it fits the Haikyuu timeline) and booted it up. Pudding was still up, no surprise there, and I sent him a message saying I could play him now.

We ended up playing quite a few rounds against each other, taking the time to nearly 6:30 am until I went off, messaging him to remind him to sleep soon, or I'd get Tetsu to take his console. He was offline almost immediately after that, which made me laugh slightly. I flopped down onto my new bed and fell asleep almost instantly, tired because of everything.

Chapter Text

M/N's POV:

I woke up to E/C eyes staring at me, a small hand about to touch my cheek. B/N squeaked in surprise when he saw I was awake, before smiling at me. "Come on Onii-chan, food." he tugged my sleeve gently as he spoke, and I got off my bed, ruffling his soft, fluffy hair as I did so. After telling him to go downstairs and that I'd be down soon, I walked over to my wardrobe, yawning and stretching as I did so. Reaching for the Nekoma uniform, everything came back to me, and I sighed sadly before reaching for the Karasuno uniform that had been placed in there, probably by Otou-san some point last night.

After putting the sports uniform from Karasuno, (nearly putting my Nekoma one in my bag before I realised my mistake) my volleyball shoes, along with anything I'd need for school in my bag, I headed downstairs to eat. Otou-san and the twins smiled at me when I came downstairs, and I sat down to eat, eating faster than I normally would since I still needed to make lunches for myself and the twins. It was still early, but I was used to getting up early for morning practice, so I wasn't affected as much as the twins were (they were close to falling asleep at the table already). Grabbing the bento boxes that were in the cupboard, I started preparing our lunches, along with Otou-san's, since he no longer had day work and would probably forget to get something to eat.

It took slightly longer than usual to make the food, but that was to be expected since I was making one more serving than I normally would. I wrapped up the bento boxes before placing them in the respective bags. "M/N, I don't have work today, I start tomorrow, but thanks for making me food," Otou-san told me after he saw me trying to find his work bag. Humming in response, I went to go and get the brushes and hair ties for S/N's and my own hair. I brushed my teeth in the bathroom before I got them, the twins coming in not long after to do their own. After doing my teeth, I headed to my room to get the brushes and hair ties. S/N was stood in the bathroom waiting for me, so I brushed her hair in there, tying it up when I finished, but leaving her bangs still covering her eye (Tetsu put her hair over her eye one time and she fell in love with the way it looked, so it became her default hairstyle).

She left downstairs when I had done her hair, and I brushed my own hair before putting it in a ponytail. After grabbing my phone from my room, I checked the time to see I had half an hour before I had to leave for Karasuno. 'Pudding and Tetsu would be in morning practice already...' I thought to myself. Sighing to myself again, I went back to the kitchen to put out D/N and C/N's food and water. D/N came from wherever she was hiding as soon as she heard food, happily barking at me. C/N came from the same direction as D/N, so I assumed that they had been lying down together like usual. I smiled when I started messing with the chain around my neck. The charms on the bracelet had been put in the back of my clear phone case, as I wouldn't be able to play volleyball properly with a bracelet on my wrist.

I ended up staying like that for a while, smiling whilst playing with the necklace I had on. Eventually, a nudge to my leg snapped me out of my trance-like state and I looked down to see D/N was the one who nudged my leg. I stroked her dark fur while I took my phone from my pocket to see that I needed to leave. Grabbing my bag, I left the house to head to Karasuno. I felt sort of weird going to a new school, mainly because I wouldn't know anyone. Me, Pudding and Tetsu had gone to the same middle school together, so we had known each other for a long time. I wouldn't have that sense of reassurance or feeling of not being alone. My phone buzzed and I took it out of my pocket to see to that Tetsu had texted me. I texted him back while still keeping track of my surroundings as I walked.

-----------------------------

Conversation with Tetsu (a/n: I slightly edited the format used for texting)

Tetsu: We're having a break from practice right now, what are you doing?

M/N: I'm on my way to Karasuno. Can you tell everyone I'll miss them? But that doesn't mean I'll go easy on you guys on the court :p

Tetsu: They all said they miss you too. You better not go easy on us on the court. Did you get to Miyagi safely?

M/N: Yeah, we did. I'm sorta tired from the trip but, we got there safely :)

Tetsu: That's good to hear. How far away from Karasuno are you now?

M/N: I'm there now. I gotta go, talk to you later?

Tetsu: Yeah, talk to you later. We gotta end the break now anyway. Have a good day

M/N: You too :)

--------------------------

I reached the gates of Karasuno as I finished my conversation with Tetsu. Walking into the school, I somehow found my way to the office, despite not knowing the layout of the school at all. The person at the desk looked at me before asking, "Are you the new transfer student? L/N M/N?" I flinched slightly at my last name being used, I didn't like it, it tied me to her, it was her last name, it reminded me of her, but nodded anyway. She typed some stuff in on the computer in front of her before handing me some papers, one of them being a map of the layout of the school and the other being something I didn't pay much attention to, "You're in Class 3, you can get there by yourself right?" I nodded and thanked her for her help before following the map to my classroom. I hesitated slightly but knocked lightly on the door.

(a/n: Sasaki-sensei is a character I made for the fic, she is not in canon Haikyuu.)

A few seconds later, the door opened to my teacher smiling at me. She was slightly taller than me (which wasn't hard to achieve in all honesty, I'd be more surprised to see someone shorter than me), and she had long black hair that was tied up and dark brown eyes. "Are you the new transfer student?" I nodded in response, not being able to speak properly. She sounded...motherly, in a way, and I felt more reassured just hearing her voice, like how I felt with Yaku-san. This was probably what a mother was supposed to sound like, reassuring, understanding and calm, not angry and harsh. "I'm your homeroom teacher and your English teacher, Sasaki. Come in and introduce yourself, L/N-san." I flinched again slightly at the use of her last name, nodding as I walked into the classroom. Standing at the front of the class, I breathed in and out a few times to calm myself, before introducing myself to the room, "I'm L/N M/N, I moved here from Tokyo, please take care of me. You can call me M/N if you wish." I smiled as I finished my introduction.

I looked to sensei, not knowing what to do next, and she spoke again, "L/N-san, you can sit next to Nishinoya-san. Nishinoya-san, please raise your hand" I flinched slightly before I looked to the group of students and saw an arm raised, so I instantly went to the seat next to that student. After sitting down, I took a better look at the student next to me. He had black hair, a strand at the front bleached a dirty blonde colour. I couldn't see his eyes properly from my seat, but I think they were a light-ish brown colour. I internally gasped when I realised that I was taller than him sitting down, which would mean I was taller than him. After internally celebrating at finally being taller than someone, I started paying attention to Sasaki-sensei.

TIMESKIP, AFTER SCHOOL

I finished my cleaning duties quickly before I went to a bathroom to change into Karasuno's sports kit. I then went to find a student who would be asking people about joining the volleyball club. I couldn't find anyone handing out club applicant forms so I decided to ask a student who was close by about the club. She had a tracksuit and was holding a cooler of sorts so I figured she'd be the right person to ask. She was taller than me, again, no surprise there, and had shoulder-length black hair that was down. Her eyes were grey and she wore glasses. I also noticed that she had a mole at the bottom left side of her chin. "Excuse me? Do you know where I can sign up for the volleyball club?" She looked at me, and nodded, "You want to join the volleyball club? I'm their manager, I can take you to their gym, please follow me." I thanked her and started walking alongside her. "Ne, Manager-san, what's your name?" I asked her, feeling slightly awkward about not knowing her name even though she was helping me. "I'm Shimizu Kiyoko, a third-year, what's your name?" I could feel people staring and glaring at me as I walked alongside Shimizu-senpai, and took the necklace from where it was semi-hidden under the gym shirt, moving it around in my hands as I answered her, "I'm L/N M/N, I'm a second-year. I prefer being called M/N though, I don't like my last name." Shimizu-senpai just nodded in response, and I stayed silent for the rest of the walk to the gym.

We got to the gym and what I saw confused me ever so slightly. Two boys were arguing about something, seeming volleyball. They didn't seem to notice us as they argued, 'Yeah, it's definitely over volleyball, from what I've seen, they probably can't get on well together. That must be why they aren't in the gym, no captain wants team members who can't get along, it'd affect the team for sure.' I thought to myself. "Ano..." Shimizu-senpai started, the two boys stopped arguing and looked over to her, "Can you let us through?" The boys noticed my presence after that, and they stepped aside to let us pass. Shimizu-senpai walked past, me following behind her, mumbling an "Arigato." to the pair. She opened the door and instantly a male with a shaved head greeted her, "Kiyoko-san, good to see you. I'll get that for you."

Shimizu-senpai bluntly responded with, "Never mind, I'll hold it myself." The male didn't seem affected by this and complimented her, "Kiyoko-san, you're beautiful as ever today!" Shimizu-senpai just walked past him. I covered my hand with my mouth to stop myself from laughing, but that suppressed laughter turned into confusion and I felt awkward after what the male she had ignored said, "It turns me on when she ignores me!" he held himself as if hugging himself as he said that, and I took that moment to go into the gym. I stood near Shimizu-senpai, but not as close as I had been since the male from the door seemed to have an obsession of some kind with her and I didn't want to get involved with whatever that was. Turning my head, I saw a light grey-haired male closing the door on the duo who were outside.

He turned after sliding the door shut and smiled at me once he noticed me. "Hey, did you come to join the volleyball club?" I nodded, smiling slightly at his tone, like Sasaki-sensei, his tone reminded me of Yaku's, and it comforted me in a way. "Yeah, I came to join. I'm L/N M/N, but I prefer being called M/N." I bowed slightly as I introduced myself to him. "I'm Sugawara Kōshi, vice-captain, I'll go and get the captain so you can speak to him about joining, M/N-kun." I thanked Sugawara, and he came back a minute or two later with a male with dark brown hair and eyes, 'This must be the captain.' I thought to myself. "M/N-kun here wants to join the club," Sugawara told the male, who nodded. "I'm Sawamura Daichi, the captain, have you played volleyball before?" I rapidly nodded my head but stopped after a few seconds, as I got somewhat dizzy. "I played as an all-rounder in my old high school," I stopped momentarily to frown slightly at calling Nekoma my old school, "I usually played as a middle-blocker though. Whenever our libero wasn't in for whatever reason, I filled in for him."

They both seemed somewhat shocked at this information. "Hmm? What's wrong?" I asked, confused. Sugawara-senpai was the first to snap out of a shocked state, "Nothing, we just...didn't expect to get someone who could play as an all-rounder. Oh, you mentioned an old high school, right? What school was it?" I played with the necklace again, running my hands across the small shiny plates that had initials on them. I swallowed before responding, "I went to Nekoma, I had to leave Tokyo for personal reasons though..." Shocked gasps were heard, and I only just realised that everyone in the gym had been listening in on the conversation I had. My fingers ran across the shiny disks on the necklace, trying to distract myself from all the attention that I had unintentionally put on myself. It worked, I ended up blocking out most of the things that were happening around me in favour of focusing on the necklace, smiling softly as my hands ran across it. Tapping on my shoulder got me out of the state I was in and I tilted my head to the side in confusion, "What's wrong Sugawara-senpai?"

He smiled at me, "Nothing, you just seemed out of it. You can just call me Suga if you want, you don't have to call me senpai." Nodding, I turned my attention to Sawamura-senpai to ask if it would be okay for me to watch practice, to which he agreed, also telling me I didn't need to call him senpai. I sat down, leaning against the wall as I watched the team practice before I realised something 'Do they not have a coach..? Sawamura-san seems like he's filling the roles of both a captain and a coach right now.'

TIMESKIP, A FEW HOURS LATER

The team's practice had finished, and the male from earlier who had an obsession of sorts with Shimizu-san, Tanaka-san he later introduced himself to me as when he noticed me, was speaking to Suga-san, something to do with the orange and black-haired males from earlier I assumed. A few seconds later, the pair from earlier had shouted for Sawamura-san, from behind the gym door before sliding it open and challenging the rest of the team against them. I heard a countdown, which made me cover my mouth so I wouldn't laugh at them (like Tanaka-san currently was), and they said that they could prove they could work together. Suga-san also heard the countdown they did before bolding announcing what they did. I think Tanaka-san took somewhat of a liking to the duo if what I heard him say was true.

I don't think they expected Sawamura-san to ask them what would happen if they lost the match, but the dark-haired first-years response made me choke on nothing, "We'll endure any penalty." I coughed as I gently hit my fist on my chest so I could breathe properly again. Sawamura-san "hmm"ed in response, before actually responding, "then now's the time. There are two other first-year applicants besides you guys, along with a second-year applicant. It'll be a four-on-four match against them." The first-year pair gasped slightly as Sawamura-san continued, "We always play this game every year, just to see what the new members are made of." The orange-haired first-year seemed confused, "But how does it become four-on-four? Who's our other team member?"

Sawamura-san had clearly thought this through already as he announced that he wanted Tanaka-san on "Hinata's side", 'Hinata must be the orange-haired one... I swear I've seen the other somewhere before...'. Tanaka-san asked why he was being put on Hinata's side, to which Sawamura-san used Tanaka-san's quote of not disliking them against him, Tanaka-san responding that, just because he doesn't dislike them, it doesn't mean he wants to play with them. Hinata and the other first-year seemed slightly offended by that but didn't say anything. Sawamura-san said that he thought that Tanaka-san would be the "only one here who could discipline these troublemakers." After that, Tanaka-san accepted being on Hinata's side, jumping down the steps to Hinata to pat him on the shoulder, which made Hinata jump slightly.

"And if you lose the match, as long as we third-years are here, Kageyama will never play setter." Kageyama..? That must be the black-haired first-year, but where have I heard that name before..? I thought about it for a few seconds before realising, 'Kageyama Tobio, also known as The King of The Court.' Hinata didn't seem phased by the offer Sawamura-san had made, while Kageyama was shocked, rightfully so. "That's because our team can't win with a self-centered setter. A guy who banks on his skills but loses." Kageyama didn't sound nor look happy with what Sawamura-san had said, "What's the matter? I'm not ejecting you from the club. You'd be good in other positions, too, wouldn't you?" Kageyama gasped at that before shouting, "I'm a setter!" Sawamura-san looked at him blankly before replying again, "Then win. You're here because you think you can win by yourself, right?" Hinata tried to say that he was there too but was ignored, "The game will be Saturday morning." Hinata again said that he was there too.

Tanaka-san said something about teaching Hinata and Kageyama a lesson but was pulled back into the gym. Suga-san felt they were being too harsh on the pair, Tanaka-san agreeing and saying that Sawamura-san was being harsher than usual. I stood up and pulled myself to the windows on the gym so I could see what Hinata and Kageyama were doing. I cursed myself for being so short, as I couldn't stand comfortably to look out to them, having to stand on my tip-toes. Hinata said something about spikers being cooler than setters, which pissed Kageyama off, and resulted in him grabbing Hinata by the shirt and yelling at him about why setters were so important. Kageyama calmed down slightly and let go of Hinata before talking about seeing setters on live TV, and how they didn't capture the setter's toss as well as it looks in person.

I smiled at the interaction between the two, they both were really passionate about volleyball. Hinata finally understood why Kageyama wanted to remain a setter so badly, before stating that if he wanted to remain as a setter, all he had to do was win, mentioning how confident Kageyama was while speaking to their senpais. Kageyama wanted to improve Hinata's receive, to which Hinata explained they couldn't use the gym. Tanaka-san cleared his throat and loudly confirming that morning practice was at 7. Suga-san asked him why he was asking and the topic of conversation went to something I didn't understand. I understood exactly what Tanaka-san was trying to do when he announced the time for morning practice. Kageyama and Hinata walked off, their walking turning into jogging and their jogging turning into running before Hinata shouted that he forgot his bag. I covered my mouth to try and stifle my laughter.

I walked over to Sawamura-san and tapped his shoulder, "Yes M/N?" I thought of how I was going to ask if I could bring the twins to see the practices after school, before responding, "Well... my father does night shifts and I have two younger siblings that I'd have to pick up from school. If I joined, I wouldn't be able to come without them... Basically, I'm asking if I could bring my younger siblings to watch practices. They're good kids I swear, they wouldn't interrupt." Sawamura-san looked at me, then smiled, "Sure, I'd hate to risk losing a teammate just because of younger siblings." I thanked him before saying I had to go and leaving the gym to go home.

I yawned as I left the school, not realising how tired I was before then. I sent a quick message to Pudding, Tetsu and mine's group chat to say I wouldn't be able to call because I was really tired, before shoving my phone in my pocket. I noticed a small store at the bottom of the hill I was on and walked slightly faster to get there quicker. The sign at the top of the store read 'Sakanoshita Store', I noted idly as I walked in. Walking down isles, I grabbed quite a few different snacks, and some ramune bottles before heading to pay. There was a male with dyed blond hair pulled back with a black headband, and brown eyes at the counter and I put my stuff down as I grabbed my wallet from my other pocket. After I got told how much my snacks would cost, I took ¥1018 (the exact amount) from my wallet and paid for my stuff, putting my things in my bag after I did so. I mumbled an "Arigato." to the man at the counter before leaving the store and actually heading home.

Getting home not long after (maybe ten or fifteen minutes after leaving the store), I took off my shoes and went up to my room to get some clothes to change into so I could take a shower. Entering the bathroom, I locked the door behind me before turning on the shower, letting my hair down and stripping afterwards, stepping into the shower second later. The hot water on my back felt nice, and I smiled at the feeling. I didn't take to long to clean myself (well, it was shorter than my usual thirty minutes to an hour-long shower), and I turned off the shower, stepping out (and nearly slipping on the floor but we don't talk about that) and drying myself with a towel before putting on fresh clothes. I got a fresh towel and put it over my shoulders so my hair wouldn't get my shirt wet (I had already dried my hair but it was still somewhat damp). After putting my clothes in a hamper and unlocking the door, I went back to my room and flopped on my bed, sighing in content at how soft my bed was.

⚠️THERE ARE MENTIONS OF UNHEALTHY EATING HABITS IN THE NEXT TWO PARAGRAPHS (Idk if it classes as a trigger but I put a warning here just to be safe)⚠️

Hearing my door open, I rolled over onto my back so I could see who it was. Otou-san was at my door, and I smiled at him before yawning. "I'll make you some food and then you can sleep alright? The twins have already eaten." I nodded sleepily and forced myself to get up, knowing I'd fall asleep if I stayed on my bed. I walked into the kitchen and sat down as Otou-san made something, "Make sure you eat too." I told him, being fully serious, knowing he didn't eat properly when we were in Tokyo because he was so busy taking care of us. I always tried to make him eat, even then, but he said he'd be fine and would make himself something eat later, or that he wasn't hungry. I stayed up until he slept to check if he'd eat anything later in the day, never once being noticed due to my silent footsteps and breathing, he never once ate something later on, and I could tell he was lying when he said he wasn't hungry. He always put us before himself, and I half-respected, half-hated that side of him. I respected that he cared so much for his children, but I hated that he destroyed himself to do so.

"I will don't worry, I'll make myself something later." I narrowed my eyes at his back, noticing how the shirt that once fit him perfectly, maybe slightly loosely seemed very baggy, and spoke again, "Are you fully serious about that? You never once ate later when you said that in Tokyo," he seemed to freeze before carrying on making the food, but I continued "I always stayed up to make sure you ate, but you never did. Don't tell me that you didn't think I'd notice how your tops don't fit you properly any more either. I know you're worried about us and are trying to get us back to a normal weight after what that abazure (bitch in Japanese) did to us, but you need to eat too. She probably didn't let you eat that much did she? Who am I kidding, of course, she didn't." he tensed up, and I continued my lecture to him "I appreciate you looking out for us, I always have, but I also hate you for it. I hate that you're willing to ruin yourself for our sake. It shouldn't be like that. You should be helping yourself too. ⚠️POSSIBLE TRIGGER FOR ABUSE⚠️She isn't here anymore, you don't have to worry about anything happening to us, she can't hurt us anymore. She can't hurt you anymore." he stopped making the food entirely and turned around to face me, his eyes practically asking how I knew that "I know that she's hurt you, I saw it happening multiple times when I stayed up to make sure you ate. I hated it, but you endured it for our sake, didn't you? You probably thought that if she let out her anger on you, she wouldn't hurt us, right?" ⚠️POSSIBLY TRIGGERING SCENE OVER⚠️he nodded slowly "I'll stop lecturing you now, but please, promise me you'll look after yourself too from now on."

⚠️MENTIONS OF UNHEALTHY EATING HABITS OVER⚠️

I was slightly surprised at myself for not breaking down at any time during that lecture, but I ignored it and walked over to Otou-san, who seemed to be on the verge of tears. Hugging him, wrapping my arms around his back, it didn't take long for him to break down, repeatedly apologising, and promising he'd look after himself. I rubbed his back until he calmed down, and got him to sit down while I finished the food. When I finished, I put more on his plate than mine, and as he was about to protest it, I told him he needed it more than I did. We ate in silence until I spoke up again, "Can we get our last names changed to yours? I don't want to be associated with her at all." Otou-san nodded again, saying he was planning to change them anyway.

I yawned again after I finished eating, putting what needed cleaning in the dishwasher. I went upstairs and back to my room, discarding the towel that was on my shoulders into the hamper in the bathroom on my way there since my hair was now fully dry. I flopped on my bed and buried myself in the covers, falling asleep practically instantly.

Chapter Text

M/N's POV:

Waking up at 3:30 am probably wasn't the best idea I've had, but I forced myself to get out of my bed and into the shower, taking clothes with me. I yawned a few times while in the shower, but the warm water mostly woke me up, which I was grateful for. When I finished in the shower, I put on everything but my shirt, knowing that my hair would just make it wet. When I got to my room, I grabbed my hair drier and did my hair, brushing it after drying it. After putting my long-sleeved shirt on, I placed my uniform in my school bag so I could change into it after the ridiculously early practice Hinata and Kageyama were doing with Tanaka-san.

Heading downstairs I checked my phone to see it was exactly 4 am. 'It takes me 15 minutes roughly to get to school and making food will take at least 40 minutes, so I'll have 5 minutes to spare...' I thought to myself while heading to the kitchen to make lunch for everyone, which, like expected, took 40 minutes. I put them in the fridge before grabbing an empty sheet of paper and a pen from a drawer in the kitchen so I could write a note telling otou-san where I was. I pinned it to the fridge with one of the many food-themed magnets. I filled D/N and C/N's food and water bowls before leaving the house.

I made it to the gym to find Hinata and Kageyama fighting over who gets to go inside the gym first. They both ending up falling into the gym a few seconds later. I walked in, and Hinata was fanboying slightly over being in the gym. Knowing I wouldn't be noticed by them any time soon, due to how quiet I was, I went over to Tanaka-san and tapped his shoulder. "Hm? Oh, M/N-kun. You decided to come too?" I nodded, before responding, "Hai, they seemed like they'd give you trouble. The first impression I got from them was them not getting along," I sweatdropped slightly at the memory, "Plus, after Daichi-san banned them from the gym they started talking again, and I could see how passionate they were for volleyball."

Hinata and Kageyama had now noticed me, which I was glad for. Hinata ran up to me and started asking me questions, clearly excited. He reminded me of an overexcited puppy, and I giggled lightly, "Huh? Why are you laughing?" I now noticed how I was only slightly taller than Hinata and pouted slightly, "It's nothing Hinata, you just reminded me of my puppy with how excited you are," he blushed at my statement, "You can ask me your questions now." he perked up at that and instantly started firing off questions, "What position do you play? Are you another first-year applicant? How tall are you? Are you gonna help us practice? Can you set for me? What's your name?"

I took a moment to register all of his questions. "I'm an all-rounder, but mostly played middle blocker or filled in for my team's libero when he got injured or wasn't in. I'm the second-year applicant Daichi-san mentioned. I'm 5 foot 4.6 inches I think. Yes, I'll help you practice, but you have to mainly practice with Kageyama. I might set for you if I think you're ready for it. I'm L/N M/N, but just call me M/N." I answered his questions before speaking again, "I think Kageyama wants to start practising now Hinata."

He instantly ran over to Kageyama, and they started practising. Kageyama served (a/n: in the scene in anime you can't see what Kags is doing, but I assume it's a serve so Hinata can receive it. I think it's a backup serve receive that Hinata is doing? I'm not the best at terms, so if I end up using the incorrect term please correct me. If I learnt this correctly, the ball gets served, which is then received, and then it can be set, but again, correct me if I'm wrong) the ball to Hinata, but his feet stopped short and he missed the ball.
Kageyama spoke my thoughts a second later. "What happened to your serving and receiving reflexes from yesterday? You need to focus!" So he has good reflexes huh? Hinata got up from the floor grumbling slightly, "All I'm doing is receiving..." After he fully got up he shouted, "There's not much time left! I want to spike, too! I want to jump too!" I was expecting him to shout, due to his passion and not being able to do spikes (which he seemed pretty fond of), so I did not react to it. Kageyama looked pissed, so I braced myself for more shouting.

"Go jump around, then!" Tanaka-san finally stepped in to take control of them, "Hey, you guys. I should give you a fair warning. Daichi-san is usually gentle, but he's extremely scary when he gets angry. I mean extremely." I was expecting the first-year pair to at least stop screaming, what I didn't expect was for them to say, at the same time, "We know." Tanaka-san still had his arms crossed as he continued, "It won't be good if he finds out about this morning practice. It won't be good for me." He straightened himself and put his hands on his hips, "It's not that I'm scared or anything. Absolutely not, Absolutely not at all." With how many times he'd said he wasn't scared, I had a good feeling he was scared of Daichi-san. "But anyway," Tanaka-san started again, "the four of us here are the only ones that know about this morning practice, so make sure that you..." he was cut off by the door to the gym opening, which made me jump slightly.

"Morning practice, huh? I knew it." My attention turned to the door and I smiled when I saw Suga-san. Tanaka-san just said Suga-san's name, which got a "Hey." in response from Suga-san. Hinata looked shocked at Suga-san's presence, and Tanaka-san and Suga-san were having a conversation. I just stayed where I was standing. "But why?" Tanaka-san had a point. How did Suga-san know we were doing a practice? "Because you were obviously weird yesterday." Suga-san was putting on his volleyball shoes while he explained, "You're always barely on time, but you voluntarily asked to be in charge of opening the lock." I sweatdropped heavily, no wonder Suga-san knew about it. Tanaka-san started to speak, but only "Oh...ah..." left his mouth as he (most likely) tried to explain, failing horribly. "Don't worry, don't worry. I won't tell Daichi." Tanaka-san sighed in relief, "This is like secret training or something. It's kind of thrilling. Hinata and Kageyama also sighed in relief this time.

Tanaka-san spiked Kageyama's toss (a/n: help me I'm so confused I thought he was setting but Hinata wants a toss- I need to either read more hq fics or spend hours studying volleyball tdtuvutcu) with a shout of "Come and get it!" while Suga-san helped Hinata with his receives. Tanaka-san praised Kageyama for his toss as Hinata got hit on the head with the ball because he got distracted. "Hinata, don't get distracted." Suga-san scolded him lightly, but Hinata ignored him in favour of shouting to Kageyama, "I want to hit the ball, too. Send me a toss, too." Kageyama turned around to face Hinata, "Tossing's your favourite, right? Send me a toss, too. Just one." Suga-san tried to get Hinata's attention, but he either didn't hear or didn't listen, Tanaka-san was also stood near Suga-san now, "Just try me out, once. Okay?" Kageyama just turned around and refused. I don't think they expected him to refuse, based on their faces. "What is this? Stinginess?" Tanaka-san also butted in, "That's right, that's right."

Kageyama was clearly fed up now, I couldn't blame him, to be honest. He turned around and served(?) the ball to Hinata, it bouncing off of his forearm and to the left. "That came straight at you from the front. Tossing and attacking happen only if there's a reception. Which you're too slow to even do, so don't talk cocky." Kageyama walked away, probably to get the ball, as he continued, "For the four-on-four match this Saturday, I'll make every effort to give Tanaka-san all those tosses." Hinata gasped, while I got confused, Suga-san was there when they had been told to work together, right? So why was Kageyama so open with admitting that he wouldn't work with Hinata? "Let Tanaka-san do the attacking. You do your best to not get in our way." I winced slightly at that, feeling bad for Hinata.

"When I can receive well enough, you'll send me tosses, too?" I decided to sit on the stage at this point, wondering how I'd practice, seeing as I couldn't ask Suga-san to toss for me, since he was working with Hinata, Kageyama was too short-tempered, so I wouldn't dream of even asking him to toss for me. I could ask Tanaka-san, but he's working with Kageyama. I sighed, slightly frustrated, before taking my phone from where it still was in my pocket and searching for anything I could use to practice by myself. Surprisingly, there was. I looked through the drills mentioned while still listening to the conversation happening in front of me, "I'll toss to anyone who's essential to winning. Right now, I don't think you're essential to winning." Kageyama really has no filter, does he? Tanaka-san exclaimed, "Gutsy!" and Suga-san was speaking to him in a slightly disapproving tone, "What's it take to toss him a few here and there?" I checked the corner of my phone for the time, seeing it was nearly seven. I hopped off the stage and put my phone in my bag. I was about to tell them that we should probably start clearing up, but Kageyama spoke for me, "It's getting to be that time. We'd better clear up."

That made Tanaka-san and Suga-san move to clear up, Tanaka-san doing so with an exclamation of, "Crap. Hurry! Erase all evidence!" Suga-san told Tanaka-san to grab a mop, him agreeing instantly and going to get one from the storage cupboard. I noticed Hinata still hadn't moved, and he cursed slightly. I didn't want to risk anything, so I decided I'd speak to him during the lunch break. I helped clear up, before asking Suga-san where I could change into my school uniform. He told me, that since we were low on time, I could change in the storage cupboard (everything had already been cleared up thankfully), and he'd show me where the team's club room was when he had time. I thanked him before going into the cupboard with my bag and changing quickly, walking out a few minutes later. I braided the part of my hair that had come out and pinned it to the side of my head with one of the pins that I had as I walked to class.

Lunch came quicker than I expected it to, and I went to the area of the school next to the walkway in between the gym and the school building. I ate my lunch, mumbling "Itadakimasu" before doing so, while I listened to Suga-san instruct Hinata on how to better his receives. "Hinata, drop your waist and hit it like you're sending it right back to the direction it came from." Hinata nodded, adjusting his body the way Suga-san told him too and Suga-san got ready to serve(?) the ball again, "Here goes." The ball hit Hinata's forearms and went up, "Oh, that was a good one." Hinata seemed happy with himself, as Suga-san pushed the ball back, "Ne, Hinata. You want me to toss to you starting tomorrow morning?" Hinata caught the ball instead of receiving it, "Really? You will?" Suga-san put his hands on his hips, as he spoke, "I'm the official setter of Karasuno, you know. You want to practice spiking, right?" Huh... so Suga-san is Karasuno's setter...

Hinata was once again going over his love for spiking, then went on to explain that he was the only member in the boy's volleyball club at his school and that they had no official setter, so he always wondered what kind of setter he'd have in high school. I put my now empty bento box in my bag. Hinata's spirit's seemed lower as he thought, probably about Kageyama since he'd just been talking about high school setters. "Like I said, I'm a setter. I'll toss to you." Hinata seemed happy about it before turning his head to the side, "But if you tossed to me... I'd kinda feel like I've lost." Suga-san sighed, "Hinata, why do you insist on getting in Kageyama's face? Personally, I try to avoid confronting guys who are stronger than me."

"During the junior high tournament, he was so much better and taller than me. He was so strong. It was horrible when he stood in front of me," Hinata seemed to have a sort of idolisation for Kageyama, but got annoyed because he was so much better, which probably lead to this whole thing with them not getting along. "I understand how that must feel." Hinata continued, "I came to Karasuno because I was going to beat Kageyama." If that's the case, he likely expected Kageyama to be on a stronger team, becoming his opponent. "I see. But, Hinata, is beating Kageyama all you want out of volleyball?" Suga-san was right. I doubt that Hinata spent most of his time in junior high just so he could beat Kageyama, he must have had a reason, right? "I just want to be strong enough to beat Kageyama. If I can do that, I'll be on even ground with any strong opponent. I wouldn't be easy to beat in a match. I don't want to lose anymore." From where I was sat, I could see Kageyama poking his head around the corner slightly.

"I see... So, in other words, Kageyama is the best player in your grade level, as far as you know," Hinata squeezed the volleyball in his hands as he tried to admit it, which it was clear he didn't want to, "But if he was your most formidable opponent, now he's your most formidable ally." Hinata squeezed the ball again, he really doesn't like the idea of that... "All right, let's do some receiving." That stopped Hinata from assaulting the ball, finally, "All right." Suga-san and Hinata worked on Hinata's receives for the rest of the lunch break, while I watched, occasionally giving feedback to Hinata.

When school ended, I ran into Hinata. He nearly fell, but I grabbed his wrist before he could, "Sorry M/N-senpai!" he apologised. "It's okay Hinata, don't worry," I now noticed he was wearing the school-provided sportswear, "Oh? Are you going to try and secretly join in the practice in the gym?" he went red, probably not expecting me to know. "Ne, Hinata," he tilted his head slightly, confused, "Sorry to ask this of you, but can you tell Suga-san that I'll be watching you and Kageyama practice? By the time I got to the gym, the practice would already be properly starting..." I had about ten minutes until the elementary school day would be ending, if I went to speak to Suga-san now, I wouldn't get there as quickly.
"Sure senpai! But why can't you tell him where you'll be? Oh! And how will you know where to find us practising?" Huh... I hadn't thought about how I'd know. "Arigato, Hinata. I have to pick my siblings up from elementary school, and I didn't want to make them wait longer than they'd need to. About knowing where you'll be practising, you have a phone, right?" he nodded and I continued, "I can give you my number, then you can just text me the location. That's fine, right?" he nodded again, giving me his phone. I typed my number in, making sure to put my name on the contact, before giving it back to him.

"I'll see you soon, okay Hinata?" he nodded, saying goodbye to me, and I left, going as fast as I could without getting told off for running, as I left. I ended up jumping the bottom steps of the stairs multiple times. When I was outside, I started sprinting to the twins' school. It wasn't far from our house, so I knew the fastest way to get there. I got there in about fifteen minutes, so the children were only just being let out. Now walking, I headed to the door of their class, seeing their faces light up as they saw me. The twins tried to run out to get to me, but their teacher stopped them.

"But Onii-chan is there! Let us see Onii-chan!" This was the loudest I'd heard them speak other than when playing with Pudding or Tetsu, so I was slightly surprised. "Ano... I'm here to get S/N and B/N." Their teacher looked at me, clicked his tongue and then responded to me, "You have to be 18 or older to pick them up unless the school has already been notified. Where are your parents?" I sighed, already fed up with his attitude. The school had been told that I'd be picking them up every day, and they were fine with it.
"The school has been notified that I'd be picking them up every day. They were fine with it. Our father is currently at work, and our mother doesn't want anything to do with us. She's in Tokyo, and our parents are divorced, the only reason our last names haven't been changed yet is that our father has been busy." Okay, maybe some of that was lies, she probably did want to be involved with us (though only to hurt us), and they technically weren't divorced, but what the teacher didn't know wouldn't hurt him. "Can I take my siblings now? I'm supposed to be watching my kohais train for a match." The teacher let them go, apologising to me. S/N and B/N ran into me, hugging me, "Onii-chan, can we watch your ko...hais train? I wanna see Onii-chan's teammates!" I laughed, picking them up before starting to walk (getting shocked looks from some parents because I could lift them both), "Sure you can, munchkins. If we're quick, you can train with them if you want. They're very loud though, and they shout at each other sometimes."

They seemed overjoyed at the chance of being able to train and ended up telling me to go faster because they "really want to train with Onii-chan's new teammates". I did go faster, and we got home quicker than we would if I didn't mention training. I put them down before I opened the door, and they ran inside and up to their room to change. After closing and locking the door behind me, I also went up. Taking off the Karasuno uniform, I put it on the end of my bed before getting into shorts and a shirt, putting a jacket on over the top. Grabbing my knee and elbow pads (which were longer than necessary (a/n: think of Bokuto's knee pads, but also on the elbow pads, I think the actual term for what I'm saying is arm sleeves but idk)), I put them in my practice bag along with the volleyball I had (the one that wasn't signed, obviously). I could grab water before we left. S/N ran into my room then, giving me the knee and elbow pads that belonged to her and B/N, which were just a smaller version of mine, and I put them in the bag too.

"Onii-chan, B/N is done too, can we go now?" Grabbing the practice bag, knowing that I'd likely get dragged, I replied "Yeah, we can. Get a jacket before you leave though, tell B/N I said that too okay? I'll wait downstairs for you." she nodded and dashed off to their shared room. I went downstairs and into the kitchen, putting water bottles and healthy snacks in the practice bag. After refilling D/N and C/N's food and water bowls, I realised that D/N still needed to be walked today. I went back to the cupboard to get treats and things like that for her, putting them in the practice bag too before I shouted for her, "D/N, come here girl!" The light tapping of her claws on the floor got louder and I took her leash from where it was hung in the kitchen, clipping it to her collar when she came to me. She took the leash into her mouth as she walked with me to the front door.

The twins were already there, practically bouncing in excitement, and I unlocked the door, grabbing D/N's leash from her mouth. The twins ran out as soon as the door was unlocked and I had to shout for them not to run off, catching up with them. Taking my phone out, I unlocked it to see I had a text from an unknown number.

------------------------

Conversation with Unknown Contact

Unknown Contact: Hi senpai! It's Hinata. We're at the field thingy near school (a/n: I'm just gonna say that the field thing isn't on school grounds because otherwise, D/N wouldn't be allowed there)

-Unknown Contact has been changed to Excited Puppy (Hinata)-

M/N: Hi Hinata. We'll be there in about 10 mins.

Excited Puppy (Hinata): We?

M/N: I'm bringing my siblings and dog. My siblings had to come, our dog is coming because she needs walking. My siblings are really excited to meet you and train with you-

Excited Puppy (Hinata): Oh okay! Kageyama is gonna shout at me if I'm on my phone any longer so see you soon!

M/N: See you soon Hinata

-----------------------

I turned off my phone and put it in my pocket before asking the twins about their day at school. "It was fun! We made a friend! She's called Natsu-chan and her brother plays volleyball too!" I smiled as S/N explained, glad they were making friends. B/N spoke this time, "Mhm! Natsu-chan is really nice, she let us draw with her!" They kept explaining how their day at school went, taking turns at speaking until we got to where Hinata and Kageyama were. "My teammates are there." I pointed to where I saw Hinata and Kageyama practising. They took at as their cue to run to the pair. I got pulled along by D/N who started running after them. "Onii-chan! He looks like Natsu-chan!" B/N was pointing at a confused Hinata as he spoke. Hinata looked less confused once he saw me. "B/N, don't point, it's rude. Sorry about that Hinata, these two munchkins are B/N and S/N," D/N barked from where she was stood next to me, "That's D/N." S/N let out a gasp, "Onii-chan... he's shorter than you!"

I went red in embarrassment, putting my face into my hands. I apologised to Hinata, who said it was fine. Hinata looked at B/N, "You mentioned someone called Natsu-chan right?" B/N nodded and Hinata took out his phone, showing a picture of a little girl who looked like him, "Is this Natsu-chan?" B/N nodded again, "I'm her brother, Shōyō." the twins both gasped. "Onii-chan, who's the scary person behind Shōyō?" I was confused but then saw that Kageyama was behind him and covered my mouth so I wouldn't laugh, "That's Kageyama, S/N. Don't call him scary, please..." she nodded and attempted to say 'Kageyama', "It's too long... What's your actual name? Or can we call you Kags or Yama?" Kageyama looked sort of shocked that she was speaking to him, especially since she called him scary a few seconds ago, but answered anyway, "My actual name is Tobio. I don't mind what you call me." I was not expecting him to be semi-soft around the twins.

B/N looked up at me, "Onii-chan, can we train with Shō-chan and Yama-chan now?" I swear, I'm going to die one day and it will be from these two being so damn cute. "Yeah, you can, but let me put your knee and elbow pads on, okay?" I opened the bag I had with me and took out their pads, putting them on the twins before putting my own on. The twins looked exactly like Nekoma players now, just mini ones. Since they came with me to practice practically every day, the coaches asked them who their favourite team member was and got them a smaller version of their jersey, and small Nekoma shorts too. S/N's jersey was a smaller version of Tetsu's and B/N's was a smaller version of Pudding's. They had apparently chosen Pudding and Tetsu's because, "They're like our Onii-chans, and this way, Ken-nii and Tetsu-nii will always be with Onii-chan!"

I took out the volleyball I brought with me and gave it to B/N, "Do you want me to practice with you?" he seemed to think about it for a moment, before nodding, "Onii-chan can receive the ball if we don't do it properly!" Libero duties, on hard ground, 'I feel like I'm going to regret this...' Not wanting to disappoint them, I agreed to be their libero, despite the pain I would most likely endure. Kageyama and Hinata (a/n: he won't call someone by their given name unless told he can, he only calls Sugawara Suga because he was told he could. This is why he still calls everyone by their family name, with the exception of Kenma and Tetsurō) were practising receives together, well more like Kageyama was serving to Hinata and Hinata was receiving them.

I turned my attention back to the twins, who had started doing what Hinata and Kageyama were doing, S/N serving and B/N receiving. He didn't miss a lot of the receives, and S/N's serves were mostly accurate, probably since he and S/N had been trained by some of the Nekoma members, or me when we had free time during practices. The times I had to dive for the ball hurt, a lot but that pain was nothing compared to the pain I'd felt while we were living with her. We were like this for quite a while, probably an hour, only stopping for water and snacks (which I made Hinata and Kageyama drink and eat too). The twins had complained about feeling tired after practising for an hour, so they were sat to the side with D/N while I stayed standing up, giving occasional pointers to Hinata.

Kageyama served the ball to Hinata, but his position must have been off badly, as the ball ended up in a tree. 'Okay... Hinata needs a lot more than just Suga-san's lessons during lunch break. I'll have to plan something for him.' I thought to myself. "I said to take it easy when we practise outside." I now noticed that Hinata was climbing a tree to get to the ball, while Kageyama had come over with a stick in his hand to poke the ball so it fell, "All you have to do is receive properly." Kageyama jumped a few times, hitting the ball. "Whatever Ōsama," Hinata responded. 'Kageyama please don't murder Hinata for calling you that, we need him on the team. He probably doesn't understand the real reason why you're called that.' Kageyama stopped jumping, "Oi." Hinata jumped slightly before turning around with his hand covering his mouth, most likely regretting what he said. Kageyama managed to get the ball down and walked away with a "tch".

Hinata dropped from his current place on the tree, which I lightly gasped at before he put a hand to his chin, holding his elbow on his other hand. I tilted my head at that, he was clearly thinking of something, but what? He shook his head and ended up leaning on the tree before Kageyama called out to him, "Hey, let's get back to it." Hinata snapped out of the state he was in before speaking, "I wonder what our first-year opponents are like. They'll be better than playing against our senpais." Kagayama lifted his hand that held the volleyball, "Who cares what they're like? There's no choice but for me to win." I internally sighed, 'us, Kageyama, you mean us, you're working with a team, not by yourself.' Hinata pointed back at him, "That's what I was going to say." Kageyama just turned around to move further away, clicking his tongue again, earning a "Don't click your tongue." from Hinata.

He quickly got into receiving position, "Let's do this." Kageyama served the ball, only for it to hit Hinata in the face, making him fall backwards. "Oi. You don't receive with your face." I walked over to where Hinata was on the floor and stretched my hand out for him to grab, "Are you okay Hinata?" He grabbed my hand and I pulled him up without any trouble, which seemed to surprise him a bit, "Hai, I'm okay senpai!" I sighed in relief when he said that, thankful he wasn't hurt.

Despite getting hit in the face, Hinata still insisted on doing receives. I allowed him to continue, with slight hesitance. They were still doing receives when it had turned dark. I decided to stay with them, knowing they'd probably end up staying there for the entire night, but I was now sat down next to the twins and D/N. The twins ended up sitting on either side of me, on the jacket that I put under myself, leaning their heads on me. D/N was laying across my feet, head on her paws.

Hinata ended up diving to the side to receive the ball, tossing it back to Kageyama, panting. "One... One more." Kageyama wiped his forehead with his sleeve, "Here goes." Hinata started to get in position, "Yeah." Kageyama served(?) the ball, "Go. The back." Hinata was about to push the ball back when a hand grabbed the ball. "Wow, they're really doing this outside." The male who caught the ball pulled it back, "Are you the first-years that stirred up trouble on the first day?" Another male who was shorter than the one currently speaking came from behind the taller male, "T-shirts? Chilly."

I now realised how short Hinata was compared to the blonde male. They were wearing Karasuno uniforms, 'These must be the other first-year applicants Daichi-san mentioned. They're really tall.' I thought. Hinata jumped for the ball to grab it from the taller male, who held it out of his reach, "Give it back." Teasing Hinata clearly seemed fun, as the blonde male spoke again, "Isn't it time for elementary school boys to go home?" Hinata seemed annoyed at that statement, and honestly, I don't blame him, I was sort of annoyed too, 'Why do most tall people always bring height into their teasing?'

"Who are you guys anyway?" Kageyama moved from his place to see better after Hinata shouted. Kageyama must have gathered the same idea I did, as he asked, "You're the other first-years joining the club?" Hinata turned around, "Hey. I was talking here." Kageyama ignored Hinata to ask the other how tall he was. The shorter of the two new first-years replied, almost boastingly, "Tsukki is 188cm. He'll be 190 soon." That clearly caught Hinata's attention as he turned back around, "190?"

"What are you bragging about, Yamaguchi?" The blonde asked the shorter male, who I now know as Yamaguchi. "Gomen, Tsukki," he apologised. The taller spoke again, directing his question to Kageyama, "You're Kageyama of Kitagawa Daiichi, aren't you? What's an elite like you doing in Karasuno?" Kageyama stepped forward, "Huh?" Hinata turned their attention back to him, "Oi," he moved closer to the taller male, "We won't lose this Saturday, you hear me?"

The blonde put the hand with the ball in it to his head, "Oh, I see." Hinata seemed surprised at this, but he continued while throwing the ball up and catching it, "It might be an important match for you two, but it doesn't matter to me at all. I'm not worried about winning or losing, so if you two really need to win, I can go easy on you if you like."
"What?" Hinata shouted. Kageyama ignored Hinata in favour of replying to the blonde, "Whether you go easy on us or give it your all, the bottom line is I will win." I internally sighed and was about to tell him he's supposed to be working with Hinata and Tanaka-san, but Hinata spoke before me, "You mean 'we'." The blonde laughed before speaking again, "Amazing confidence. I expect nothing less of the 'Ōsama'." I sighed, externally this time, at the use of Kageyama's 'nickname'. "Oi. Don't call me that." The taller seemed amused at Kageyama's response, and it showed in his voice too, "So it is true," Kageyama let out a noise of confusion, "The rumour that he loses it when he's called the 'Ōsama of the Court'."

Kageyama was now shaking in anger, but the blonde continued, "What's wrong with 'Ōsama'? It's cool." Hinata had now moved from where he was to behind Kageyama, seemingly confused at the fact he was shaking in anger, "I think it suits you perfectly, 'Ōsama'." I looked down at the twins, seeing they were asleep, and sighed in relief, thankful they wouldn't have to see this. "What do you want from me, dude?" The blonde didn't respond to Kageyama's question, instead walking past him before speaking, "I watched the prefecture preliminary tournament. That was some egocentric tossing. I can't believe your teammates tolerated it, because I just couldn't. Oh. I guess what happened was because they couldn't tolerate it any more, either."

That must have struck a nerve in Kageyama because just seconds after he was turned around with the taller males uniform jacket in his fists, the taller's friend shouting at "Tsukki!" in alarm. 'Shit, shit, shit... This isn't good. I can't even move, shit.' Kageyama clicked his tongue before letting go of the taller, which made me sigh in relief that there wasn't going to be a fight, but then realised that something was wrong with Kageyama as he just grabbed his back, calling out for Hinata to follow him. This also made Hinata confused at his lack of reaction towards the taller. "Running away? I guess the Ōsama isn't what he's cracked up to be."

That seemed to annoy Hinata as well, as he turned around to the taller, who just continued to run his mouth, "Maybe I'll win against the Ōsama this Saturday, too." He threw the ball up, but Hinata leapt over him, grabbing the ball in the process, which shocked us all. 'Damn, Hinata can jump.' Hinata spoke, a slightly annoyed tone to his voice, and I noticed that Kageyama had stopped walking away to leave, "Shut up with the 'Ōsama' crap. I'm here, too. I'll spike the ball over your head at the match." The blonde let out a "Huh?", which had Hinata back away from him, "W-What? Hey. You wanna fight, bastard?" The taller replied, fake smiling, "Let's not get so intense. Let's do this cheerfully, for fun. It's only a club activity, after all."

"What do you mean, 'only'?" Hinata shouted, not happy that something he was so passionate about was referred to as 'only a club activity'. "I mean, literally," was the blonde's response as he started to walk away, "See you later." Hinata shouted, "Hey, you! Stop! Who are you guys?" The tall duo turned around, and the blonde spoke first, "First-year class-4, Tsukishima Kei." The boy next to Tsukishima turned around fully, "I'm Yamaguchi Tadashi."

Kageyama had walked back to Hinata's side during that. Tsukishima spoke again, "We're your teammates starting today. But enemies for now. Looking forward to seeing the Ōsama's tosses." He walked away, Yamaguchi saying "See you." as he followed Tsukishima. I was glad I hadn't been involved, D/N would have gotten up and most likely would have started growling, being overprotective of me. "Man, those guys totally give me the creeps. We'll pummel them to the ground." Hinata's enthusiasm made me smile slightly. "I don't need you to tell me that." Kageyama had started walking away.

"Hey, where are you going?" Kageyama let out a "Huh?" at Hinata's statement, "We're not done yet." Kageyama dropped his bag where he was stood and took the ball from Hinata, and they started practising again. I saw Suga-san and Tanaka-san and decided to ignore the shouts of Kageyama and Hinata. I turned on my phone, which was on my lap, to see it was nearly 8:00 pm. I got D/N to get off my feet, and carefully got up from where I was sat, making sure not to wake the twins. I saw Kageyama serve way too hard and realised what Tsukishima said must have still been affecting him.

Just as Hinata was about to throw the ball back to Kageyama, I put my hand out to stop it. "Huh? What was that for senpai?" Hinata asked, confused. "You guys should stop training, for now. It's getting late and Kageyama's been off his game since Tsukishima spoke to him about his old team, if I left you two here, you'd end up practising all night. You won't be able to receive well if you're tired. Plus, you still have the secret practices to go to." Hinata seemed to understand and went to grab his stuff, which I was grateful for.
I walked over to Kageyama and tapped him on the shoulder (with minor difficulty but we don't talk about that). He seemed to snap out of the state he was in, which I was glad for. "C'mon, you need to stop training until tomorrow. You'll overwork yourself, and you seem out of it right now. You've already been training for at least 5 hours, not including the secret practice." Kageyama nodded, and walked to his bag, swinging it over his shoulder. Walking back to where the twins were, I picked them up to move them off my jacket, setting them down so they were still comfortable. I put my jacket on before I shook B/N's shoulder, knowing he'd be the easiest to wake up and that he wouldn't be grumpy after being woken up.

"Mmm... Onii-chan..?" he yawned after he spoke, and I smiled softly at him, "It's me B/N. You have to get up now, okay? I can't pick you guys up when you're sleeping. I'll make katsudon when we get home." He nodded, rubbing his eyes as he did so, before getting up from where he was on the floor. I then shook S/N's shoulder. S/N took slightly longer to wake up, "'M tired... Go 'way..." I chuckled slightly at her response to being shaken awake, "If you wake up properly, you can get popsicles after we have katsudon." She was up on her feet seconds later. I chuckled again before ruffling their hair, getting up from where I kneeled on the ground.

I noticed that Hinata and Kageyama were still where they were, probably waiting for me. Taking ahold of D/N's leash, I put the bag I brought with me over my shoulder. I made the twins hold onto either my hand or the leash before turning my attention to the first-year pair, "Do you guys want meat buns? My treat. You deserve them, you both worked hard." They both accepted my offer, and we walked out of the field area together.

The twins were talking to the duo as we walked, saying things like "Yama-chan did really good serves!" or, "Shō-chan did good receives!", which I found adorable. They had already taken a liking to the pair, despite not knowing them for long. They continued to compliment the pair during the entire walk, including when I went into the shop (B/N, S/N, Hinata and Kageyama waited outside with D/N), only stopping when we had to go our separate ways, but not before B/N pulled gently on Kageyama's hand and asked, "Can you give Onii-chan your number? I want to speak to Yama-chan more!" We both went red at that, me out of embarrassment from how bold B/N was being, but exchanged numbers. I looked down as S/N tugged at my shirt, "What's wrong munchkin?" I asked. She grabbed Hinata's hand, making him look at her before she told me what was 'wrong', "Shō-chan needs your number too!"

I chuckled slightly before ruffling her hair, getting a "Don't do that Onii-chan!" and a pout from her. "Hinata already has my number, we gave each other our numbers when school finished, so I'd know where we were doing practice," To prove my point, I went onto my contacts list and showed her Hinata's, "See?" She nodded, accepting my answer and letting go of Hinata's hand as B/N let go of Kageyama's hand. The twins looked at each other, nodded, and then spoke at the same time as each other, "Bye Shō-chan! Bye Yama-chan! See you tomorrow!" I said goodbye to them after the twins did so and the first-year duo nodded, saying goodbye as well, before walking (or in Hinata's case, cycling) away.

It didn't take long for us to reach the house, and I took off D/N's leash at the door before opening it. "You two," I started, getting the twins' attention, "Go shower okay? S/N, if you need help with your hair I can help you once you've showered." I smiled as they nodded and ran upstairs. Walking into the kitchen, I refilled the food and water bowls before washing my hands and starting to make the katsudon.

40 MINUTE TIMESKIP (BECAUSE THIS ISN'T A FOOD WARS FIC SO I DONT NEED TO WRITE THE COOKING PROCESS)

As I was putting the katsudon on the table, the munchkins ran in smiling. "Onii-chan, I need help with my hair." S/N's hair was still slightly damp from her shower, the usually H/C strands a darker shade due to the water. "I'll help you with your hair after we eat ." I smiled at her as she sat down next to B/N. I sat across from them, and we all said "Itadakimasu" before eating. (a/n: until now I completely forgot that the phrase Itadakimasu existed, so no eating scenes before it had it in. The lunch scene in this chapter doesn't count as I edited it. I'll go back and edit the previous chapters after I publish this one, so Itadakimasu is said.)

It didn't take long to finish eating, and I cleared the table, putting the bowls in the sink for after I washed S/N's hair. The second I put the bowls down, S/N practically dragged me upstairs and into the bathroom. It didn't take long for me to wash her hair, and I dried it with my hair drier afterwards. I shouted B/N up, and he arrived at my room not long after. After drying B/N's hair, I gave them both one of my hoodies, which were oversized on them, knowing how much they liked wearing them. We went downstairs and I grabbed three popsicles from the freezer, giving one to B/N and S/N before opening my own.

When we finished the popsicles, I told them to go to their room while I washed the dishes. Washing up didn't take too long, since I only really had bowls to wash and dry. Putting away the now dry bowls, I yawned, my tongue curling slightly as I did so. I went upstairs to my room to get pyjamas before going to the bathroom to take a shower. I dried my hair with a towel before changing into the pyjamas, throwing the towels and clothes in a hamper and putting the knee pads and arm sleeves in my room. Walking into the twins' room, I saw they had both fallen asleep and smiled. I kissed their foreheads before turning off the bedside lamps they had and walking out, closing the door behind me.

I put my phone on charge, placing it on the bedside table, before getting under my own covers and falling asleep no long after.

TIMESKIP TO FRIDAY NIGHT (FOR PROBABLY THE TINIEST AMOUNT OF WRITING BEFORE THE END OF THE CHAPTER)

The routine of training with Hinata and Kageyama continued through the entire week, and it was now the night before the practice match. Getting under my covers, I fell asleep not long after.