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"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴"
- 𝘈𝘙𝘐𝘚𝘛𝘖𝘛𝘓𝘌

♡ ◟💫◞ ♡

╭──────────.˚ * ꒰ঌ✦໒꒱ * ˚.──────────╮

────✩(𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐅𝐘 𝐒𝐇𝐔𝐅𝐅𝐋𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆)✩────

▌Pompeii by Bastille ▌

00:0╸⚫︎╸_________________________3:34

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𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴
𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦
𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭?
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴
𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦
𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦?
𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘮 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴?
𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘮 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴?

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╰──────────.˚ * ꒰ঌ✦໒꒱ * ˚.──────────╯

♡ ◟💫◞ ♡

#𝟎𝟎𝟔 - 𝐅𝐔𝐍 𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐓:

𝘌𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘢 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨.

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𝐒𝐈𝐗 // 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓.

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✴︎༄◞ ERIKA KOUME WAS SOMEONE WHO KNEW OF CHALLENGES AND OFTEN PROUDLY FACED THEM, HER DETERMINATION WAS POWERFUL YET HER IMPATIENCE WAS GREATER. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵, 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧. 𝘈𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴.

The true morning blue sky came faster for Erika than she would like to admit, the fatigue of waking up in the morning was battling her energy as the blonde girl was thankful classes were over and she could finally take time to be alone to recharge. She finished eating her bento lunch box she packed herself yesterday before she sat down outside, taking out her book Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief book out.

Taking in the quiet scenery by herself, she felt she could breathe for a bit. Normally, she was an outgoing and extroverted girl and she still was, but other than the times she sometimes needed to be alone to just breathe or hide when her emotions would crack, she was still getting used to the Karasuno boys and the new students of the high school she had chosen, which was strange because she wasn't always like this before. She would often make friends easier than usual, she would gravitate and easily become friends with people she met (unless they were unkind or just generally unpleasant, close or narrow minded and mean).

Her concentration on her book however was broken as she lifted her head, listening to Koshi Sugawara and Shoyo Hinata. Lifting her head and taking locks of her golden blonde hair out of her face. 'Huh? Hinata is still practicing? He must really want to improve' she couldn't help but admire the ginger haired boy, his enthusiasm, energy and determination was something that would take him great places later on in life.

Listening a little more on their conversation, she could tell Sugawara was trying to help Hinata practice his receives. Erika was about to sit up slowly, but in her wake an unexpected male figure came closer to her in curiosity.

"Oh hey, Koume, I didn't know you would be here", Daichi Sawamura, the captain of the Karasuno boys volleyball team came up to her, a friendly smile plastered on his face as his build slightly towered her own sitting down.

"Oh Sawamura, what brings you here?", a small smile graced Erika's lips as she saw the Captain in front of her.

"I saw you here and thought you could use some company", the dark haired Captain offered, his eyes a dark yet warm earthy brown color looking down at the blonde girl sitting down for a look of confirmation or denial.

"Yeah, sure why not", Erika nodded her head with the smile still on her face and the captain of the Karasuno boys volley team felt himself internally celebrate as she accepted his request and the taller male sat down next to her.

His attention went on her and then on the book she had in her hands, "Percy Jackson?", he asked curiously.

"Oh yeah, I just picked it up last month, my sister likes the series and I decided to give it a try", Erika answered, "have you read it?", she in return, shared curiosity in her voice as she asked him.

"No, but my brother likes it too. He says it's really good too, he says I would be son of Athena if I were in the book", he chuckled softly, answering her question.

"Ah, I can kind of see that with you", Erika smiled at the captain, "you're definitely the leader type, someone people can rely on and just like the Children of Athena according to my little sister, she says they're good at strategy and are very intelligent", as the blonde explained, the dark haired Captain listened to her intently with a smile on his face.

Daichi laughed light heartedly hearing those words but his interest in what she was saying never left, "Ah, the Children Of Athena sound like a cool bunch, I know academically I'm good but these guys sound like their intelligence could really excel different subjects", the dark brunet haired male mused.

"Yeah, I don't doubt that", Erika smiled softly in return, finding herself taking a liking to talking to Captain of the boys volleyball team.

"And you, which God or Goddess is your parent?", he asked her curiously, wanting to hear her opinion.

"Well, I don't really know and I asked my sister, but she says she doesn't really know right now", Erika answered honestly, shrugging her shoulders.

Daichi didn't say anything but he knew a personal group she would belong in, she goddess that would be her mother and it might shallow on the surface but he could see it for her, if it were true he wouldn't really doubt it.

"Throw me another one, Suga", an enthusiastic Hinata called to his senpai, showing determination to his voice and his actions.

Hearing his voice, Erika and Daichi turned their heads where the sound came from, the blonde felt slight nervousness in having the Captain find out their secret plans in training in the gymnasium.

"Is that Hinata?", Daichi asked, his eyebrows raising as he leaned in to see the younger ginger male training with his classmate outside the gymnasium.

"Oh yeah, he's been training in secret for his receives and Sugawara's been helping him, as Kageyama is a bit too stubborn to teach him", Erika cleared the partial truth to the Captain, unintentionally throwing Tobio Kageyama under the bus to throw him off on the whole truth.

Daichi listened silently, he suspected something was off but for now, he decided to believe the fallen champion. "Well, now that I think of it, Kageyama is really stubborn so I wouldn't doubt that", he leaned back into his seat and sighed in slight exasperation.

Erika could understand the Captain's frustration, dealing with such individuals like Shoyo Hinata and Tobio Kageyama was no easy feat, she could understand that when she worked as a captain in her old middle school team.

"Well hey, I do think that this match on Saturday can help them. It might get some tension out and hopefully have them understand each other a little bit more", Erika shrugged, leaning her body forward slightly as her elbows rested on her thighs.

"Yeah, that's what I'm hoping for too", Daichi sighed as he answered honestly, "but if it does happen, progress is still progress", he stated softly, his eyes on the face of the blonde girl as she looked at him, listening to his point of view as well.

"Yeah, and it's not like a rivalry like that can be settled in one night. Hinata still holds a grudge and that's not healthy", but Erika nearly laughed out loud at the last word she spoke, but held in her silence.

"Yeah and Tobio is arrogant and stubborn, but he has talent and this attitude won't get him anywhere if this continues on", he mused, "but this is something they should sort out on their own"

"Yeah, only they can settle this little rivalry of theirs right now", Erika agreed, nodding her head as she leaned her body back on the bench as well.

Little did they knew from a distance, Sugawara had caught a glimpse of his friend and the blonde girl talking on the bench. He could see the look of attention and interest particularly noticeable in Daichi's eyes as they were talking together. He continued practicing with Hinata, hoping that Daichi hadn't caught on what they had been doing earlier this morning in the gym but hopefully because Erika was in on the secret, she didn't speak of it.

All he knew, he saw the Captain was finding interest in more than just a volleyball coaching for the inexperienced and unskilled first years, the captain seemed to actually like her for who she truly was.

✧⁺‧₊˚💫꒰ა♡໒꒱💫˚₊‧⁺✧⭐️✧⁺‧₊˚💫꒰ა♡໒꒱💫˚₊‧⁺✧

The day stretched into a sunny afternoon where the after school hours would start, Erika felt fatigue slowly leave her body as the day left, forcing herself to stay awake as she walked inside the gymnasium. The men of the boys volleyball club had continued setting everything up.

Erika sat on a chair, giving her knee a break from the pressure of standing and pulled out a notebook, opening on the first page where she had the names of the current members of the club. Upon agreeing to be the mini coach and a teacher of the boys when it came to volleyball, she knew she had to keep an eye on their skills and how they would come to be with her assistance and teaching.

Erika watched on the sidelines as she let the boys follow-up on their warm ups lead by their captain, a soft yawn fell from the blonde girls mouth but she hid it with her hand as she kept her eyes open.

When the warm up's finished, the players of the team started to set up their gymnasium. However, Sugawara and Tanaka could barely keep their eyes open as loud yawns fell from their lips in synchronicity.

"You two look sleepier than usual", Daichi announced quite loudly in a stern and skeptical manner, causing the grey haired and eyed setter and the buzz cut wing spiker to jump up in surprise, before turning around to the Captain, spewing their best excuses possible.

"Ah really? Maybe I've been studying too hard or something", Sugawara sheepishly answered, putting his hand on his head with a look of deceit to hopefully fool his Captain who was also his closest friend on the team.

"I've been studying hard too", Tanaka answered, taking in his senpai's excuse but that excuse was anything but believable to the older setter.

"That doesn't sound very convincing when you say it", Sugawara whispered harshly to Tanaka, knowing well that Daichi wouldn't believe the buzz cut male due to his delinquent behavior.

"Eat it!", Tanaka followed in suit, replying in a harsh whisper.

Erika however didn't pay too much attention to the bickering as she was too tired to hear them arguing but kept herself awake as best as possible.

"Excuse us", a male voice spoke up, one the blonde girl hasn't heard just yet and as she lifted her head up, she spotted a boy of tall height and a slightly lanky build, sandy blonde hair, a slight sour looking face and glasses covering his brownish green eyes.

Next to him was a boy shorter than him but was still quite tall, he had a soft face with freckles and acne scattered across his cheeks and messy brown hair. Both boys were wearing the same Karasuno Boys uniform as they carried their backpacks but the blonde boy had a pair of silver and white colored headphones around his neck.

"Oh hey guys", Daichi turned his head, looking at the two other newcomers joining the club, announcing their arrivals in a small yet welcoming manner. "These two are the other new first years. Normally we would wait until next week to start new members but since we have that match on Saturday, we're making an exception and bringing them in now"

As a few other members who were second years muttered under their breaths looked at the first years, they didn't care too much as when Daichi finished speaking, the boy with brown hair bowed his head politely while the blonde boy stayed up straight.

"Nice to meet you", they greeted everyone in return, the brown haired boy himself soon lifted himself up and noticed the blonde girl sitting in her chair. She looked at them with a blank but friendly expression. She was very pretty, the brown haired first year couldn't deny it, how her bright golden blonde hair glowed in the sunlight and how her bright brown eyes put the sun to shame.

The blonde did put his attention on her for a short amount of time, his face was straight and he admitted to himself how Ms. Nationals was as pretty as they said she was in person, he didn't understand truly the big deal with her; but it was true, her injury was bad enough that she couldn't play again for a while, as the sources had said.

"Here, we should introduce ourselves", Daichi announced, hoping that this time wouldn't be a chaotic start with their first years like yesterday.

"I'm Kei Tsukishima", the blonde boy introduced himself in a formal yet disinterested tone.

"And I'm Tadashi Yamaguchi", the boy with brown hair introduced himself in a softer but still friendlier manner.

Practice came in silence as hours passed, Erika already jotted down the other two boys names in her notebook keeping sure to make notes of how they played on their court, their skills, their strengths and weaknesses to help them with in the future.

Noticing how Kei Tsukihima's body was quite thin and lanky, however his height was a great advantage in blocking spikes. Tadashi was quite shy but he was quite decent on the court, however his serves were quite lopsided.

Erika had smoothly written the key points in her notebook of not only the last two set of first years, but the second and the third years as well.

Daichi Sawamura the Captain, was a strong and key player in not only their leadership but their defense as well, his receives were strong and could easily block powerful attacks. Koshi Sugawara was a skilled setter, not as talented as Kageyama but unlike the first year prodigy, he actually studied his teammates spiking styles and knew what kind of sets they needed.

Ryonosuke Tanaka was a guy who lacked discipline, made up with it in raw attack power and skills with his spikes and his loudness could easily boost his team's morale. The other second years, Chikara Ennoshita, Hisashi Kinoshita and Kazuhito Narita were decent players. Ennoshita held strong leadership skills despite his soft spoken nature, Kinoshita was a decent punch server and Narita had some good skills in blocking.

Erika continued taking her notes, watching as the boys played carefully as the skies of the early afternoon turn into golden and soft pink elegant strokes of colors.

The boys were taking a short break from their practice, panting softly as some sat on the ground sipping on their water bottles while others leaned on the wall. "Okay everyone, a quick five minute break. Good job", Daichi announced, telling his teammates as they responded with their "yes boss/captain", his eyes however drifted to the blonde girl as she finished writing in her notebook.

Erika however noticed the captain's curious gaze on her, "Oh Sawamura, sorry did you need something?", she asked him curiously, a friendly smile spreading across her face.

"Koume, what are you taking notes of?", the dark haired Captain asked curiously, the smile showing as he partially peered in her notebook and in response she showed her notebook.

"Well as a coach and a teacher for this team, I thought I would at least take notes of this teams skills and help improve on them", she answered, showing how the reliable, strict yet fair third year her strategy.

His eyes skimmed the notes of the notebook, seeing how she had written off their names, their skills, their strengths and weaknesses on the paper. Organized and done neatly, showing her observational skills towards others.

"Wow Koume, this is quite impressive", Daichi was silent for a moment but when those words came, they were soft and slow.

Hearing those words of appraisal, the blonde fallen champion smiled softly and chuckled softly. "Thanks Sawamura", she responded brightly. With their short exchange, the blonde girl soon started talking to the first year boys who just entered, seeing how far their skills reached and how she could help them get a little further than where they currently are.

As Erika interacted with them, Kei Tsukishima stayed silent and his voice was disinterested but he still showed a bit of interest in her teaching as Tadashi Yamaguchi was nervous but also wanted to learn as they both listened to her. Noticing how weak their receives were, she started to teach them ways to improve them.

In the distance as the second and third year boys were practicing their defense on the court, Ennoshita holding a giant board for the ball to bounce against and as time passed, practice came to an end as the golden and pink sky transitioned to a darker purple and the sky became a darker color, the night time coming to them.

The team started to clean up the gymnasium as per the roll call of their normal routine, finishing off with their afternoon practice for the day. Erika could barely catch a single word of what Tanaka and Sugawara were talking about but she decided not to be too nosy about it, instead she finished writing off her notes on todays current improvement before leaving the club alongside the rest of the boys.

The night time's chilly air drifted onto her, small goosebumps raising on her skin as she quickly put her jacket on, walking down slowly on the stairs before reaching the pavement.

"Hey Koume", hearing her name being called, she turned her head and saw the grey haired and eyed third year setter as well as the captain of the club quickly walking in her direction

"Oh hey guys", Erika showed a small but tired smile at the Captain and the main setter of the team, "What's up?", she asked them, stifling a yawn that threatened to escape.

"Excuse us coming up to you for a moment, we just wanted to talk to you about the teaching regimen for the volleyball boys. Daichi told me about your list and I think it can really help us all out", Sugawara spoke up first, a soft smile evident on his features as he was close to the blonde girl but not too close to scare her away.

Erika chuckled nervously, "Oh yeah, that list. It's a bit of a rough draft and after watching you guys, it gives me an idea of how they play. But it's not an all sorted out solution just yet", the fallen champion answered, her words almost falling out nervously as she tried to explain.

"Well, if you don't mind. Would you mind taking a picture of it and sending it to us, I think we can help as well. We know some of the other team players weaknesses and our own and our strengths too, if it's okay with you", the dark haired and eyed colored captain asked politely, but still hoping she would say yes.

"Alright then, sure", the blonde took a moment to accept their quest but when she had done so, she had taken out her cellphone and allowed the two older high schoolers in front of her to do so as well. Erika exchanged numbers with the both of them, giving her numbers to them and in return she got both of their numbers too.

"I'll text you the pictures of the notes I came up with later. I'll also come up with a training plan for everyone too", Erika assured the two players, before her eyes trailed off, seeing her limousine park not too far away.

Her golden hues still visible under the street lights, giving a faint glow looked at the two guys who stood next to her and walked with her. "Hey, you guys want a ride home?", she didn't know why but the offer came out of her lips very easily.

When the words came from her, the boys had almost frozen in place as they turned their full attention towards her. "Koume. Are you sure?", the silver haired male asked first.

"Yeah, it's all good. If you guys want", she shrugged her shoulders, exchanging an assuring smile as she opened the car door of her limousine ride, hopping inside first and keeping the door open if they wanted to keep her offer open.

Daichi Sawamura and Kōshi Sugawara exchanged quick glances at each other, only a moment of silence passed before they walked forward. "Oh yeah, thank you for the offer Koume. We really appreciate it", the captain of the Karasuno's boys team took the offer in first, stepping into the limousine and Sugawara climbed in not too long after.

Neither of them meant to truly gawk but both of them sitting down in the high quality limousine, left the both them speechless. In the front seat, the driver was a tall yet fair looking woman in her early forties, her long dark brown hair tied in a low ponytail as she was wearing a fancy tuxedo outfit over her fit and slim figure.

"Koume-San, where would you like me to drop off these young men?", the woman asked, her head turning around in the limousine seat, her dark brown eyes narrow with thin lips.

"Oh guys, where do you live?", Erika asked for both boys locations and upon being given to them, gave them to her limousine driver for the night.

As the boys gave their answers, having Daichi live quite close but Sugawara a bit further, the limousine driver who went by the name of Izumi Ueda started to drive around the neighborhood, clearly and closely following the direction of the older boys that Erika allowed in their limousine.

The boys were silent as they looked at the inside of the limousine, the seats that faced each other in the car. While Sugawara sat next to Erika while Daichi sat on the other side, three teens discussing volleyball and their plans for Saturday.

"Well it shows that the two new first years are quite good in defense, so it looks like if Daichi joins them, you guys will have a good defense team", Erika pointed out, speaking to the two older boys. "Especially with Tsukishima's beanstalk height, he'll make a good middle blocker but with Yamaguchi, his pinch serves need some work", the fallen champion analyzed, looking at the two boys.

The Captain chuckled softly, "Yeah, I do agree with that. Maybe I'll join them since Tanaka has more power in offense, so it will be fair".

Sugawara held a snicker in his breath, covering his hand with his face as he watched how his friend interacted with the blonde girl, how his smile was more evident these past few days and how he attempted to become closer to her, slowly. 'He's so freaking obvious' Sugawara smirked to himself.

The limousine stopped, "Oh I'm here, this is my place. I'll be getting out now, I'll see you guys tomorrow", the captain of the boys volleyball team stepped out the limousine, waving at both the blonde girl and his friend who sat next to her.

"Bye, we'll see you tomorrow Daichi", Erika smiled and waved at the Captain, allowing him to get out and head to his place, once he was inside the limousine moved to the direction of Sugawara's home where the two continued talking.

"You think he figured it out?", Erika asked the older setter of Karasuno first.

"I hope not, if he did he would've told us, I'm sure", Koshi answered, and with the friendly and gentle natured captain who could become scary when pushed far enough was gone, they could breathe a sigh of relief as they continued speaking of ways that Hinata and Kageyama could practice in the gymnasium.

"Well Hinata still needs to improve on his receives, he's getting really antsy to spike a set from Kageyama", Sugawara sighed, understanding the ginger haired boys frustrations and wanting to do more than constantly practice his receives, however with where he was standing in his skills, it would do more harm than good to not continue practicing.

"Yeah, I can understand the guy but improving receives will do him good in the long term, but they can't be perfected overnight", Erika sighed tiredly, leaning her face on the palm of her hand while elbow rested on the armrest of her car seat.

"Luckily, you know Daichi is the one with the meanest receives", as Sugawara started to speak, while his face was a normal and reassuring smile there was a devilish grin in the works of his mastermind that the poor Captain and the fallen champion were unaware of.

"Oh, yeah I have seen them on the court. I do agree, they're very skilled receives so at least Tsukishima and Yamaguchi will have a good defense team", Erika agreed, smiling in return to the third year setter.

As the first year blonde girl and the silver haired third year continued talking, eventually the time came where Sugawara was dropped off at his home. "I'll see you tomorrow Koume, same time as always?", the setter asked, giving her a thumbs up and smiling.

Erika gave a certain nod and smile in return, "Yup! Same time as today, Suga", after sealing their confirmation, the third year who was seen as a second command in the Karasuno Boy's volleyball team exited the limousine and returned to his home to retire from the club for the night.

The blonde was left in the car, feeling the sleep catch up to her but luckily she had homework finished in her classes, so all she had to do was go home and sleep and wait for the next routine to start until Saturday for the rest of the week.

The days of the week passed quicker than Erika's mind could catch up on. Waking up at 5am or even earlier to make herself (and even her mom and sisters at times) breakfast and then having her limousine driver take her to school before 5:30 a.m. to help Shōyō Hinata and Tobio Kageyama in their practice sessions alongside Kōshi Sugawara and Ryūnosuke Tanaka. It took work, it took energy but the blonde wasn't one to give up and neither was the ginger haired boy.

During the early school hours of lunch break, Erika had made sure to distract their captain enough from trying to find out their plans or was helping Shoyo Hinata with his receives alongside Koshi Sugawara, personally mentoring the inexperienced player who was truly willing to learn, even when it was raining or that he would find himself close to falling asleep in class.

Yet the blonde wasn't doing much better, despite her efforts in taking in notes as best as she could sleep would catch up to her sometimes during their breaks and she would end up falling asleep on the desk, her head buried in her arms.

In the afternoons of their practices, when she was truly up to it she would sometimes do light practices with the new first year boys Kei Tsukishima and Tadashi Yamaguchi as well as helping the other Karasuno boys with their weak points on improving and polishing out their strengths, however if her injured knee needed a break she would sit down and take notes instead and the boys would come up to her and they would ask points on improvement and praise (which was mainly from Tanaka).

The days passed, eventually turning into a Friday morning of an early sunshine, the clouds from the past few days of the week and the past hardships had passed on, now showing only new beginnings for the Karasuno team and all the team players involved.

The gymnasium walls echoed with slams of the volleyball as Shoyo Hinata continued practicing his receives with Tobio Kageyama, the beginner and the genius already up past the early morning hours until the sunrise started to settle into the morning sky.

The blonde girl had already arrived alongside Koshi Sugawara fifteen minutes ago, both of them greeted by the sound of the ball bouncing against the floor or on Shoyo Hinata's arms on his now improved receives.

Now here they both were, the Genius setter had thrown the ball in the air and gave it a strong spike to throw to the ginger haired boy, who had gotten the receive. The genius and the fallen champion were shocked but still impressed at this level of improvement from the beginner, it was a big milestone on his journey.

"Okay! Now no holding back!", the ginger haired boy challenged, his golden sunny hues holding a determined fire in them.

Hearing this declaration, the first year setter's dark hues narrowed. "Fine by me!", he yelled in return, slamming the ball with a harsher spike and had the going towards Hinata at a much higher speed and the receive was still successful, even when the inexperienced first year fell to the floor on his knees he was quick on his feet and got himself back up.

The blonde was watching the two, their improved teamwork and their strengths coming together. 'They're doing a really good job' the blonde silently mused to herself.

However even when Tanaka entered the gymnasium, both the silver haired third year and the blonde girl were too enamored in watching the first years improvement that they didn't really notice or pay that much attention, but the buzz cut male also had his curiosity piqued and when he entered, he started to watch the scene unfold in front of him.

How no matter how many times Shoyo Hinata had fallen to the ground, to stop the fall from falling or to save it with his receives and throw it in the air, he never once stopped and had not given up once.

"Damn, how long have those two knuckleheads been back and forth like that?", the second year wing spiker asked, stepping forward standing next to the blonde girl who was now standing between him and the third year setter.

"Well, Suga and I both got here about fifteen minutes ago, so since then", Erika answered, her golden colored hues not moving from watching the first years brawling on the court in their ruthless practice.

"It's been nonstop?", Tanaka's jaw nearly dropped as he asked the question, not understanding how the two first years could have so much energy in practice. With Koshi Sugawara nodding his head at Tanaka's question, the buzz cut now fully had his attention on the first years his captain put him in the team with, now showing to be truly impressed.

"Everybody has their limits!", as if trying to not intentionally break the ginger haired boys spirit but to test it, the ball that fell from the air and into his hands received a harsh spike, going to the orange haired boy's arms for his perfectly timed receive. The efforts of his practice showing in his reddened forearms and his exhausted boy running on adrenaline and determination. "Let's take a break!", the genius setter suddenly stammered, feeling the element of surprise catch up to his vision and mind.

"Not yet!", the ginger haired boy quickly shut down his suggestion, "No! It hasn't hit the floor!", the beginner was truly exhausted, but he kept himself up. The love and passion for the game fueling the fire that pumped through his blood, the adrenaline still fresh and useful for the practice session.

"Okay fine!", however instead of true calculation but rather in the heat of the moment, the Genius setter spiked the ball higher than he wanted it to be.

"That's brutal! Can he hit that?", Tanaka's jaw dropped, his eyes widening as he watched how the ball had gone high and even Sugawara's gaze along with the fallen champion followed it. Kageyama felt regret for his action. 'Damn! Force of habit!' The genius setter grimaced internally.

Yet even with the misstep, Shoyo Hinata did not take a chance to miss the opportunity, taking a big breath first and running towards the ball with full speed that his body could muster.

"Hinata's had this amazing athletic ability since middle school", the silver haired male's soft spoken voice snapped the blonde girl from her focus as she quickly drew her attention to him quickly. "But, besides all that, he's got this insane thirst for victory that keeps him going", as Sugawara spoke his thoughts out loud, the blonde listened carefully.

"It's not only his physical and athletic talents, but it's his passion, it's the fire that helps him get through the game", Erika started to speak next, watching how the tired and worn out ginger haired male ran to the ball and used every ounce of energy to retrieve the ball, diving straight to the floor as his fist knocked against the floor and brought it to the air, tumbling on the floor in return.

"Whoa!", a smile of enthusiasm and pride spread over Erika's face at seeing this.

"He did it!", Tanaka shouted in return, excitement running in his veins as he watched the first year save the ball. "Nice one little man!", the second year praised the first year.

As the ball was in the air, the dark haired setter kept his dark colored eyes on the ball. His mind busy with the memories of how he doubted the short heightened ginger male in the previous practices, yet there was the determination he couldn't help but admire. How his enemy held amazing athletic abilities and reflexes had now become his teammate, learning to work with him properly. Tobio's hands slowly moved over his body, reaching above his head and awaited patiently for the ball to come towards him.

With the moment coming to him, Erika's eyes widened at what she was witnessing, the once doubtful genius was now making a set for the beginner player. "Come on Hinata, Kageyama set a ball for you!", the soft voice of the blonde called out to the ginger haired boy.

This helped Shoyo pull himself off the ground, his golden eyes widening as soft pants fell from his lips and he could barely his body up. "Wait, he looks really work out though. There's no way that he's got enough strength to spike it down", Tanaka pointed out, feeling concern and doubt waver him for a moment.

Yet surprisingly to the second year and much to the pleasing of the blonde girl, seeing the ball in the air only made the ginger haired boy grow a wide smile that would bring the sunniest of days to shame, the first year boy despite his short height ran towards the net with much speed he could muster and jumped, the power of the spring reaching enough to spike the ball, even going above the net.

The scene in front of them made the fallen champion smile, the face and the emotions the ginger haired boy was currently feeling, she could remember it all too well. When she would fly above the net and make a victory that would leave not only her team but herself proud as well, the adrenaline and everything that made life worth the hardships and the pain easy to conquer.

The second year and the third year next to her had watched the scene in front of them, different expressions of shock and awe covering their faces. "I gotta hand it to him, the kid can jump", Sugawara's soft voice could barely hold in the surprise and admiration for the sight he watched unravel in front of him.

"I can't believe he managed to hit that. Check out the stupid look on his face", Tanaka spoke in surprise but then teasing as he watched how Hinata's goofy smile never once faltered after he successfully managed to spike Tobio Kageyama's spikes.

Erika elbowed the buzz cut make, a playful disapproving frown curling her lips, "Hey, let him have his moment", she shot back at the buzz cut second year.

"Hey! It's true isn't it? He looks like a kid getting a win on a video game", Tanaka protested back, reading the blonde girl back in a friendly manner.

Watching the scene made Sugawara chuckle softly, "But seriously though, it seems that getting that set from Kageyama must've been really important to him, huh?", with those words, the buzz cut wing spiker and the blonde girl turned their attention towards the silver haired setter.

While Tanaka listened carefully but didn't fully understand what the third year was implying on, Erika knew what he was talking about. The conversation she heard on Tuesday and the times she helped Shoyo improve on his receives.

"I suppose getting tosses from a setter was just something we've always taken for granted", as the third year spoke those sentences, the blonde could understand where the ginger haired first year was coming from. She only had a vague idea, but she knew how his middle school didn't have a proper club so he needed to start from scratch and had to learn from others instead of being a real team. This boy truly had a lot more diligence than she gave him credit for in the past.

The exhaustion had shown to truly catch up with Hinata as he was on all fours on the ground, panting dryly as his head was hanging low. The setter walked up to him, his head hanging low in regards, "Hey", this time his voice was softer and more trusting as the ginger haired male lifted his head, the eye bags more prominent than before from the early morning practice sessions.

"Tomorrow, we'll win", that wasn't an arrogant declaration, but rather a confirmation straight from a knowing answer and confidence that naturally came from his years of practices and settings from his natural talent.

Hearing those reassuring words, Hinata stayed silent for a moment knowing well that the setter he once wanted to destroy on the court had come to be on his side of the net. The setter's face had straightened, staying silent before he started to walk away from the practice area of the court.

"Yeah? Tell me something I don't know!", the enthusiastic Hinata with his confident stride was soon silenced, the exhaustion catching up to him and his stomach working in knots as the bile traveled from his gut to his throat, he attempted to hold it back with his mouth but he couldn't hold it back. The bile falling from his mouth as his body collapsed to the floor.

"Oh my goodness", Erika muttered to herself, disgust in seeing the vomit from Hinata but concern for her friend who truly worked himself to the bone these past few days in practice.

"Aw sick!", Tanaka shouted in revulsion, his nose cringing at the sight.

"Tanaka, get some water! Oh god, and a bucket and some towels!", the third year was quicker to react, asking his friend and teammate for help as they assisted the exhausted first year.

"Come on, let's get you to the nurses office", Erika offered, getting lifting Hinata's body to give him support and used her knee that held no injury to support her own weight.

"Here, I'll help!", Tanaka jumped in first, putting Shoyo's arm over his shoulder and Kageyama followed in suit to help the first year while Sugawara and the blonde girl cleaned the area where he had thrown up, leaving traces of their practice and to not let the first year worry about anything, to let his body take it easy.

✧⁺‧₊˚💫꒰ა♡໒꒱💫˚₊‧⁺✧⭐️✧⁺‧₊˚💫꒰ა♡໒꒱💫˚₊‧⁺✧

After cleaning the gymnasium, giving Hinata a chance to rest as he drank water, the three boys and Erika had taken Shoyo Hinata to the nurses office for the day.

"He's exhausted but he will be okay, he just needs a long rest for today. It will be better if he goes home", the nurse surmised her soft old face making a pointed expression, telling his teammates who bowed their heads and thanked the older woman before leaving the nurses office, allowing their tangerine hair colored teammate to sleep in and allowing him to go home for the day.

Erika felt relieved knowing her friend was okay but made sure he was okay before leaving for home, even offering him a ride but he refused saying he wasn't too far from home, she accepted and went back to class.

The days of waking up early since now, the blonde girl could barely keep her eyes open during class but kept herself strong through it. During lunch break, the blonde girl sat down eating her bento lunch she packed for herself as she was sitting with Koshi Sugawara on a bench outside on the school grounds.

"Geez, I can't wait to sleep in on Sunday", Erika sighed, rubbing her tired eyes as she chewed into her onigiri.

"Me too", the silver haired third year chuckled softly, eating his lunch. "At least with Hinata's receives doing well and him and Kageyama finally working together now, he even made a set for Hinata too. Now all Hinata needs to do is relax and stay at home for today", the older setters tired voice was softer but still held enthusiasm.

"Yeah, that's a relief.", Erika sighed, leaning her body back on the bench while her head was hanging up and looking up at the sky.

However Daichi Sawamura, was in front of them walking up to the blonde girl and his friend sitting on the bench. "What's a relief?", he asked, his voice holding curiosity but his face was straight.

The blonde girls eyes widened as she straightened her posture and the third year setter almost jumped in his seat as he heard his friend's voice, the captain who was known to be terrifying for his anger but respected for his leadership skills. "oh, Daichi-San hey", Erika greeted the older dark haired male who was standing in front of them.

"Hey uh Daichi", Sugawara took the initiative to throw his friend off, "Oh, that we heard Hinata was sick today, it's a nasty bug going around but luckily none of us have caught it", the setter tried to make up a clever lie on the spot.

The Captain stayed silent, his lips pursing whether to believe his friend or not. "Yeah, Hinata being sick is not pleasant especially with our match tomorrow", he nodded in agreement.

Erika took her turn to lighten the blow, "Well hey, knowing him I don't doubt he will be fine and I know him and Kageyama are doing better in their teamwork. They just need to practice it fully tomorrow", the blonde girl attempted to throw the Captain off, but she didn't know if her plan would fully work.

The Captain nodded his head, agreeing with the blonde girl. "Well, I do believe that", the dark haired wing spiker sat down with his friend and the blonde girl for lunch. The three talking as the minutes passed by, talking of their plans on Saturday for the match.

Sugawara noticed how his friends expressions changed to a lightened and happier one as he talked with the blonde girl, how he would pay clear attention to her as she was talking and how he had his gaze often lingering on her these past few days. The two were talking about volleyball and their normal everyday things, the two got along yet but not only that, the Captain had been a bit happier around her.

"So, I haven't sent the whole schedule yet because I've been busy studying and other things", Erika pulled out her notebook, showing notes of the boys strengths and weaknesses in the volleyball club, "but I do have a few things listed now, and a few things I noticed with you two playing if you guys want me to tell you", the champion offered, looking at the two for confirmation on her analysis.

"Oh yes, I would like to know", Daichi nodded his head, smiling as he turned his head to her, eager to listen to her view points.

Sugawara almost had a devilish smirk crawl in his lips but cleverly disguised it with a bright smile as he turned his head to the first year girl, "Yes Koume, please tell us. We would love to hear your view points", the silver haired male had the clockworks turning in his head, an evil master plan in the making.

"Okay", Erika took a deep breath before taking out her notebook, showing them each their pages. "Well, I'll start with you Sawamura since you are the captain", she announced, looking at the dark haired male who had his attention clearly on her and no one else.

"Well for you, your leadership skills are top quality and your skills in defense are top notch. You know how to keep your team in line, but forcing two teammates to cooperate is not always a wise move but for this case, we make an exception because your master plan is a good one", as the blonde was speaking, the Captain listened clearly and kept his dark brown hues on her; Sugawara listened as well but kept silent, waiting for a moment of attack.

"Well, weaknesses you don't have many actually. You're a good player and I do agree you're a good captain for the team", the blonde girl finished her analysis.

Hearing all this, the Captain couldn't help but feel himself become silent. Usually he was a confident man sure in himself; but hearing it from someone as skilled and strong as Erika Koume herself was another feat for him.

"Thank you, I'm glad to hear that, Koume", a soft sheepish chuckle fell from Daichi's lips as he rubbed the back of his neck with his palm.

"It's no problem Daichi-San", she smiled in return, and the two third year boys listened to her speaking about how they could improve the other players greatest strengths while working on their weaknesses and limits. As time passed and break eventually ended, both Koshi Sugawara and Daichi Sawamura were walking in the hallways of the third years building.

"You know, I noticed how you're looking at Ms. Nationals", Sugawara's usually soft voice now held a mischievous charm to it, an innocent smile crawling on his features.

The Captain of the boys volleyball team neatly stopped in his tracks, looking at his close friend and classmate, "I have no idea what you're talking about", Daichi answered, turning his head away with a seemingly ignorant expression on his face.

"Come on, don't lie Daichi. I know you're starting to like her and not just as Ms. Nationals but who she is, you just need to shot your shot", Sugawara sniggered lightly, teasing his friend.

Daichi narrowed his eyes his eyebrows straightened and his mouth releasing a small groan of annoyance. "I have no idea what you're talking about Suga", he responded in a foolishly ignorant tone as he hung his head up, not wanting to face his friends teasing but he couldn't deny it, he found himself wishing to grow closer to the blonde girl, wanting to see more past her name and status of Ms. Nationals. She was beautiful but she was also friendly, she got along with others and she was willing to help others even when she was injured, she was truly a bright star with a smile that he couldn't get out his mind no matter how hard he tried.

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QUESTION FOR CHAPTER:

WOOOO WHO IS READY FOR THE MATCH ON SATURDAY?

WOULD YOU GUYS LIKE SOME MORE ERIKA X DAICHI CONTENT?

EXTRA NOTES ON THE CHAPTER (ANA RANTS):

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODAY TO ERIKA KOUME!🥳🎉🎂🎊

I APOLOGIZE THAT THIS FIC HASN'T BEEN UPDATED SINCE NEW YEAR'S EVE / DAICHI'S BIRTHDAY CUZ I'VE BEEN BUSY AND HAD NEW HYPERFIXATIONS HAVING ME ON A CHOKEHOLD!🥲

HOPEFULLY SOON I'LL HAVE THE SATURDAY MATCH OUT, I MIGHT MESH THE TWO EPISODES OUT TOGETHER AND THEN A LITTLE EXTRA CHAPTER WILL BE OUT NEXT!💃🏼

BUT WE'RE FINALLY GETTING SOME DAICHI X ERIKA CONTENT NOW AFTER FOREVER! I APOLOGIZE ONCE AGAIN FOR THE WAIT!😭

BUT YES DAICHI IS A SIMP FOR ERIKA AND WE LOVE HIM FOR THAT!🫶🏻 DON'T WORRY THIS WON'T REALLY BE A SLOW BURN THO!💃🏼

ANYWHORE, I'LL SEE YOU ALL IN THE NEXT CHAPTER MY DARLINGS!💖💞💕

BYE FOR MOW! MWAH MWAH MWAH!💋🫶🏻❤️

LEAVE A REVIEW (OF THE CHAPTER OR BOOK IN GENERAL) HERE:

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