Chapter Text
1 —
Early morning practices are officially held a handful of times per week, usually on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
However, for the likes of Atsumu Miya, every morning is an opportunity for early practice.
Osamu is practically being dragged towards the gym by his brother, only allowing himself to have been coerced into extra practicing this early because he had class duty anyway. So what was wrong with just half an hour longer at the school to get a few spikes in?
The only issue with the twins’ plan is that someone is already in the gym when they arrive.
They pause just outside the door, when their ears are met with the sound of humming, and uneven footsteps just inside the door. It doesn’t sound like anyone on the team, or anyone they know for that matter.
“Who’s in the gym?” Atsumu asks, looking at his twin as if he genuinely expects him to have the answer.
Osamu whacks the back of his head. “How should I know dumbass?”
They both glance towards the door again, before Atsumu steps up to it. “Well I wanna practice, so hopefully they’re wrappin’ up.”
Before Osamu can say anything, Atsumu has pulled open the gym door, and is leaning inside. Osamu sighs and comes up behind his brother to peer in next to him.
It’s a girl.
You have headphones on, leaving you blissfully unaware of their presence, and a push broom in your hands that seems to be nearly forgotten. You’re humming, and… dancing. Which explains the strange patterned steps they were hearing. Your shoes squeak against the floor of the gym as you turn and skip to music they can’t hear.
“Natsumi!” A voice the twins do recognize calls.
Kita’s voice seems to pull you out of your world, as you sigh and pull your headphones off of your ears, and turn to face the captain.
Kita exits the closet on the side of the gym, with the mop in hand. “Are you done sweeping? Or did you get distracted?”
You rub the back of your head sheepishly. “Uh, this side is mostly done. I just forgot about the far side for a second there. Sorry Shin.”
Kita shakes his head. “It’s alright, just go finish that side while I start mopping over here.”
You nod, throwing him a salute, before turning fully around to the other side of the gym, and spotting the twins.
You yelp and stumble backwards, nearly tripping over the large broom you’re holding.
Kita looks over at you, then spots the boys himself. “Ah, Astumu, Osamu, what are you doing here so early?”
Atsumu steps fully into the gym. “I wanted to get some extra practice in this morning. Been feelin’ kinda antsy lately, thought it might help.”
Osamu follows suit, standing beside his brother. “I have class duty this morning anyway, so I let him drag me along.”
You eye the two of them with the broom handle clutched in both hands, as if you were prepared to lift it up like a weapon had either of them seemed to be a threat.
The two boys were answering Kita’s question, but they were looking at you.
They’ve never seen you before.
And they’ve seen every girl at this school at least once. Even the ones that aren’t interested in either of them get roped into interacting with them in one way or another by their friends, or they see in the hallways.
Kita notices them watching you, and how you awkwardly shift your weight from one foot to the other under their gaze.
“Oh, you haven’t met Natsumi before, have you?” He asks.
The twins look back at him and shake their heads.
“I’m Atsumu, who are ya?” Atsumu forgets whatever had been preventing him from speaking directly to you earlier, taking a few steps across the gym towards you and Kita.
You look back at him with wide, round eyes, and a slightly leaner face with a round chin. You kinda look like…
Osamu blinks, and begins jogging to catch up with his brother. “Wait a minute, are you-”
You meet Atsumu with a few steps of your own after he’s more than halfway across the gym, holding out your hand in greeting. “Natsumi Kita. Nice to meet ya.” You smile as Atsumu shakes your hand.
“Atsumu Miya, that’s my twin, Osamu. Kita, huh? So you’re the captain’s sister?”
You nod. “Yeah, I am. Twins, huh? Is one of you like, the evil one or something?”
“Huh, never thought about it but…”
“Atsumu is the evil one,” Osamu deadpans, finally reaching the rest of you. “Why do ya ask?”
You shrug. “It’s something they ask in America. It’s a thing, there’s always an evil twin.” You wink at Osamu, in a joking manner, as if implying that you aren’t convinced he’s not the evil twin.
The implication is nearly lost on him though, as he feels his face begin to heat up from the attention. Which is strange, since he’s used to attention.
“America?” Atsumu asks.
Kita appears next to you with the mop. “Natsumi did two years of foreign exchange in America. Third year of middle school and first year of high school.”
You nod. “Now I’m back to cause problems for Shin in person, instead of overseas!” You throw an arm around Kita’s shoulders, and he actually smiles.
It’s weird to see Kita smiling so easily, and for it to be genuine and not out of politeness, but, the twins both suppose that if one of them went to another country for two years… they’d be really glad when they came back.
“So, you’re a second year?” Osamu asks, oddly transfixed by the way your ponytail is just long enough to brush the collar of your uniform.
Atsumu beams. “Hey like us! We can show ya around!”
Kita narrows his eyes at Atsumu, who immediately steps back in fear.
You don’t notice. “Yeah, second year! I’m in class 2! That would be really nice, Shin was going to after we cleaned the gym, but I don’t want to make him wander all around the second year hallway before his class too.”
“I’m in class 2!” Atsumu’s beaming smile returns as he juts his thumb towards his chest. “Ya can sit with me and Gin!”
The shared excitement between you and Atsumu only grows, the two of you feeding off of each others’ energy and becoming more and more eager, practically bouncing on the balls of your feet.
You’re nodding enthusiastically along with Atsumu’s proposals, still holding the broom with both hands. “That sounds great! Who’s Gin?” You ask so eagerly it’s almost comical, not that Osamu or Kita can interject before Atsumu barrels on in response to your question.
“Ginjima, he’s on the team too. Are ya coming to practice today? You’ll see him then too, and you can meet Kosaku and Sunarin, and-”
“Osamu, didn't you say you had class duty?” Kita asks, suddenly remembering and glancing at the clock on the wall.
Osamu’s eyes fly wide open. “Shit, yer right. I’ve gotta go.”
Atsumu waves him off. “That’s alright, see ya. I’ll show Natsumi around and we’ll see ya during lunch.”
You wave goodbye as he heads for the door. “Bye Osamu! See ya later!”
—
You’re very glad Atsumu and Osamu came to the gym that morning. You ended up not being as much help to your older brother as you thought, cleaning wise anyway. He had told you that morning that you didn’t need to help him clean the gym, it’s just something he does once a week to keep things extra tidy for his team, but you had insisted on coming along.
Shinsuke finished cleaning up by himself, telling you he really didn’t mind and that he would see you later on during the day. He waved you off to go see the rest of the school with Atsumu, but not until he’d thoroughly intimidated the blonde and given him express orders “not to try anything funny” with you.
Now you’re half skipping with your school bag over your shoulder as you walk from the gym towards the main building.
“So what did Shin mean when he told you not to try anything funny with me? You some kind of a troublemaker?”
Atsumu scowls and turns bright red. “Not on purpose, I’m just…”
You chuckle. “Nah, I’m just messing with ya. I’ve heard plenty about you, Atsumu Miya.” You leap forward to walk ahead of him, turning around and leaning forward as you walk backwards across the courtyard with your hands clasped innocently behind your back. “You’re a big shot high school athlete and some of it went to yer head. We’ve all got a bit of an ego about something or other, and if ya earned it ya earned it. No one can blame you for that.”
Actually, lots of people can blame him for that. Atsumu wants to be annoyed that you said that at all, but he isn’t, because it’s nice that you think he deserves to have a little bit of a big head. It’s better than a lot of other peoples’ opinion anyway.
“Oh yeah? If all of us have got an ego about something, what’s yours about?”
You straighten, still walking backwards, and cast your eyes up to the sky. “Huh. Not sure. I sure have an ego, but I dunno what exactly it’s tied to. Maybe it’s because I’m so charming and adorable and no one can resist me.”
You shoot him a grin, and Atsumu actually laughs. “Ya sound like me.”
“If we turn out to be similar in more ways than just that, I’ll know exactly why Shin thinks you’re trouble.”
Atsumu raises an eyebrow at you. “Does he think you’re trouble?”
“He’s known me since I was born. He knows I’m trouble.”
“If you’re trouble,” Atsumu catches up to you as you turn around, and rests his arm on your shoulder like you’ve been best friends for years, “then we’re gonna get along great.”
—
“Natsumi, meet Hitoshi Ginjima. Gin, this is Kita’s kid sister, Natsumi.” Atsumu leans back in his chair and gestures across both of you to the guy on your other side, with short, spiky hair that’s a sandy blonde and a serious expression.
His face drops into one of surprise, with high brows and his mouth agape. “Captain’s got a kid sister?”
You whack his arm. “Excuse you, I’m the same age as you two, stop calling me a kid,” You scold him, despite the fact that you’ve known each other all of 45 seconds.
Ginjima closes his mouth and nods, glancing over your head at Atsumu. “Yeah, you can tell she and Kita are related.”
You huff, folding your arms and leaning back in your seat. “Maybe I need to meet new people, and stop introducing myself as Shin’s sister.”
“No no, you’re fine, you seem great,” Ginjima tries to amend himself. “It’s nice to meet you Natsumi.”
You smile at him, your annoyance immediately forgotten. “Nice to meet you too Gin.”
You pick up the nickname right away, since that’s how Atsumu introduced him to you.
“Hey Natsumi, are you going to join a club?” Atsumu asks, changing the topic as soon as the thought enters his mind.
You tap your chin in thought. “Huh, I don’t know. I’m just getting back and settled in, so… maybe not yet.”
A lightbulb goes off in Ginjima’s head, as he latches onto Atsumu’s train of thought. “Oh! You could join the volleyball club if you wanted.”
You wrinkle your nose. “Nah, I don’t play.”
“Not as a player,” Atsumu clarifies. “You could be the manager. The position has been closed for a few years because coach got sick of girls trying to use it to get close to a crush and not taking it seriously, but I bet if Kita talked to him-”
You hold up both hands. “Woah, no thanks. I’m good. Sorry to disappoint, but I’m not really a manager type of gal either. I don’t think so anyway.”
You look up at Atsumu, who looks disappointed, and sigh. “Look, I’m… I’m serious about readjusting. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten to feel normal. Life is fast paced wherever you go, but when you’re somewhere you’re not from it feels a lot faster, because you have to try harder to keep up. I really think it will be best for me if I hold off on joining a club for a while. I wanna spend time with my family, with Gran and Isamu and Shin, and take things slow.”
Ginjima nods. “That makes sense, it’s okay. Just thought it would be easier to be in a club your brother is in if you’re still readjusting, but taking time without a club sounds great too. We’re glad to have ya around either way.”
“You talk real smart, it’s easy to tell you’re related to Kita,” Atsumu comments.
You breathe a soft laugh. “Thanks. You guys are sweet. I was really worried I was going to have a hard time making friends.” You look down at your desk, a relieved smile finding its way to your face. You like the boys sitting next to you, and you’re really glad that you came to the school early with Shin today, otherwise you wouldn’t have met them like this. You probably would have sat alone for your first day, and it would have been harder to figure things out.
“I can’t imagine you having a hard time making friends. I’ve only known ya for a few hours, but you’re real easy to like.” Atsumu reaches over and ruffles your hair, making the top of your head messy.
“Thanks, but also hey!” You swat his hand away affectionately, pulling your hair out of your ponytail to fix the top, then tying it back up.
“You should still come by practice today,” Ginjima thinks aloud, “If you’re not causing a ton of problems it would be fine. Plus, Coach loves Kita, so he’ll probably love you too. Then you can meet the rest of the team, and that way you’ll always know someone in school, wherever you are.”
You tilt your head in thought.
“Sure, that sounds alright. As long as you don’t plan on pulling any funny business while you’re sweaty and stinky,” You direct the last part at Atsumu, pointing an accusatory finger in his face.
Then the two of you break down in giggles over the newfound shared joke.
Yeah, you’re going to be just fine.
—
You’re practically beaming as you follow Ginjima and Atsumu out of the classroom for lunch.
There was one thing you had really missed when you were abroad, and that was a bento lunch made with rice from your grandmother’s farm.
You carry your lunch with you, holding it in both hands like it’s the most precious thing in the world.
The three of you stop a little ways down the second year hallway on your way out, just outside of class 1. Atsumu leans one shoulder against the doorway to class 1, peering inside. You fold your arms and lean your back against the wall next to Ginjima, striking up small talk and eyes scanning the hallway. You’re doing your best to take in as many details as you can about Inarizaki high school today, so that tomorrow is a little easier.
While you’re waiting, another figure approaches you. He’s the same height as Gin, with curly hair that’s a dusty-brunette color. He walks with a long stride, and shoulders relaxed, with his blazer on, but pushed halfway up his forearms.
“Hey, Kosaku!” Gin waves to him as he stops in front of you.
Atsumu turns around, and grins. He places a hand on your shoulder and gestures to the newcomer. “Yuto Kosaku. Kosaku, this is Natsumi Kita. She’s in class with Gin and me.”
You shoot him a grateful smile. He didn’t introduce me as Kita’s sister. Not that it mattered all that much, since you and your brother still share a surname. It was nice that he remembered your complaint earlier and adjusted though.
Kosaku waves to you, then shoves his hands in his pockets. “Nice to meet you. Kita, huh? Are you related to Shinsuke by any chance?”
You nod. “Yeah, he’s my older brother.”
Kosaku nods with a friendly grin. “Nice. I bet he scared the pants off of that one when he found out you were in the same class, right?” He asks, tilting his head towards Atsumu.
You laugh. “Yeah, he did. It was hilarious. He was all, ‘I don’t want to hear about you trying anything funny on my sister…’”
You’re explaining the events of the morning to Kosaku, and laughing with him and Ginjima when Osamu and Suna exit class 1. Osamu has his lunch in his hand, ready to go eat, and Suna has his eyes glued to his phone.
“Sorry that took us a minute, some idiot drew on the chalkboard while our teacher was out of the classroom for a moment and she went on a lecture about it when she got back,” Suna sighs, without looking away from his phone.
Osamu nods. “Yeah, it was real long-winded.”
As he finishes speaking, he notices you over Atsumu’s shoulder, and his eyes remain fixed on you for the brief time it takes for Atsumu to finish hearing about the chalk drawing from Suna.
Your ponytail is higher than it was this morning. Osamu isn’t sure why he’s noticing that, but he is.
He also notices that he likes your laugh. It makes him wanna smile too.
You were so similar to Kita in a couple of ways, but so different in others. For starters, you have some similar physical features. Your noses, for example, and the shape of your eyes.
But while Kita is serious, and logical, and slow to react to emotion, you have done nothing but react to emotion so far. You’re quick to laugh, you’re easily swept up in excitement when it’s around you, and you smile so much. Not only that, but your smile is contagious. It makes it easy to want to smile too.
“Hey Natsumi, this is Rintarou Suna, we all call him Sunarin. He’s on the team too.” Atsumu’s voice pulls your attention from the conversation you were previously having, and Osamu looks away before you can catch him staring.
You grin at Suna, who lowers his phone a bit to look at you.
“Sunarin it is then, nice to meet you. I’m in Atsumu’s class.” You casually salute with two fingers, and Suna grins.
“So you’re the girl that was dancing in the gym this morning.” It’s not a question, although it almost sounded like one. More specifically, it didn’t sound like it was a question for you. It was an observation for you.
Osamu bites the inside of his cheek against a blush. “Yeah, we met her this morning,” he mumbles.
Suna nods… approvingly? “Kita’s wild little sister.”
You pout. “Hey, none of you have even known me for a day, who told you I was wild?”
“Kita,” Suna informs you. “Saw him this morning on my way into class. He said I’d probably meet you today.”
You grimace. Shin would say that about you. “Well… then yeah, I guess you’ve caught me. I’m all about mischief and funny business. Now where can I cause trouble?” You look around you in an over-exaggerated way, and Atsumu chuckles.
“We are gonna be such good friends, you and I.” He pats your head, and points down the hallway. “Come on, let’s eat.”
You follow Atsumu down the hallway immediately, not waiting for the rest of the group as they fall in behind you.
Suna smirks. “Now that doesn’t sound good for the rest of us.” He glances at Osamu and gently elbows him. “Especially not for you.”
Osamu huffs and looks away. “Yeah, I’ve gotta live with him. No use making him even more insufferable.”
Suna shakes his head, thinking back to that morning. As soon as he sat down, Osamu had started telling him about you.
“Not what I meant.”
—
Volleyball is loud. Which like, duh, you knew that.
But you haven’t sat through a volleyball practice since you and Shin were kids.
You waited for practice to let out before walking home, but you didn’t want to wait in the gym. So you went and sat outside instead, headphones on and happily looking over your homework for a while, before putting it away without doing any of it, and wandering around campus for a while. You know where the gym that the volleyball club uses is, you know where your classroom is, and you know where in the courtyard the other second years you’ve befriended (mostly thanks to Atsumu) sit. You haven’t seen much else of Inarizaki though, and the idea of adventure is so unbelievably tempting, even if you might get lost.
If you do, you figure you can call Shin anyway and he’ll be able to figure out where you are.
With music playing in your ears, it’s hard not to dance a little as you walk. Turning in half circles and full circles, occasionally dragging one foot behind you dramatically, snapping your fingers, etc. Most of the other clubs left an hour or so ago, so campus is practically empty. You’re not embarrassed even as a few people who are left do stare at you. You find that people are a lot less judgemental than you expect them to be when you give them a chance.
So when you do come across the odd straggler, you look up at them, smile, and wave. So far, everyone you’ve waved at, has waved back.
You manage to waste the last 45 minutes before practice ends, circling campus with your favorite type of music blasting in your ears.
You’re still partially dancing, blissfully feeling the sunset on your face, the breeze on your skin, and ignoring the weight of all your emotions after the day’s adrenaline wore off.
Because of this, you don’t notice when you’ve reached the gym again, nor do you notice the fact that the club is packing up and leaving.
Not until you run straight into someone, that is.
You let out an “oof” sound as you stumble backwards. Your heel catches on the line in the sidewalk, and you feel your weight being thrown forward to compensate, but too late. You start falling backwards, preparing to land on your butt, until whoever you just ran into catches your arm and steadies you.
You look up…
At Osamu.
“Sorry!” You quickly exclaim. “I should have been paying attention.”
“It’s all-”
“Are you okay? I didn’t accidentally elbow ya in the gut, did I?” You place your hands on his chest, scanning him up and down, then move them to his arms, looking at him from one side, then another, checking for any visible damage.
Osamu’s mouth goes completely dry the second you touch him, and he finds himself incapable of forming a single thought.
You look up at him, eyes bright with genuine concern, and fingers still gripping the sleeves of his jacket where your hands are grasping his lower biceps.
You’re a few inches shorter than he is, although, most people are, he’s just over 6 feet tall, so it isn’t hard to be shorter than him.
You blink, and your lashes practically flutter in the breeze.
“Oh,” Osamu realizes he still hasn’t said anything. “I’m fine, seriously. Are you alright? You almost fell there.”
Your regular grin returns full force. You release his arms and instead shove his shoulder with one hand, a gesture that feels familiar, like you’ve known each other for much longer than you actually have.
“I’m good, I fall a lot. Nothing big anymore. Right Shin?” You look over Osamu’s shoulder at your brother who nods.
“You do trip a bit more easily than others do,” He agrees, without any sugar-coating. Well, it’s Kita, no one expected him to sugar coat it.
“Well, if he’s done, then that’s my cue to head home,” you sigh, looking back up at Osamu with that same grin. One that somehow puts him on edge for reasons he doesn’t understand, and makes him feel completely at ease for reasons he understands even less.
“It was good to meet you today. You’re a lot more quiet than your brother, huh? And you’re a lot more laid back too. I think we’re gonna be really good friends.” You bump his shoulder with yours, then skip around him to walk home with Kita and Aran.
From a few yards away, Atsumu leans over to Suna and chuckles, “And Kita was worried about me getting funny ideas.”