A New Adventure (Sakusa Kiyoomi )

Chapter 2

Word Count: 1875 

My alarm buzzed on my bed, vibrating it. I groaned. I was totally not ready to wake up just yet, but I knew I had to. I stood up and rubbed my eyes, heading to the bathroom to tie my hair up and swipe on some mascara and lip gloss. I walked into my bedroom again, changing into a cropped black tank-top and a pair of ripped green cargo pants. I stumbled out of the apartment, still groggy. I needed coffee. I walked around aimlessly, but stopped when I spotted a small store. I rushed in, looking over the shelves for an iced coffee. I finally found what I was looking for and went up to purchase it. The blonde man at the till looked at me, cocking his head. "Haven't seen you around here, kid. What school are you going to?" I looked at him, having it take a while for me to understand his Japanese. "Oh," I said, "I just moved here from America to look at different schools here. I'm touring Karasuno today." He smirked, "Karasuno, eh? You might see me there later. What's your name?" I furrowed my eyebrows but answered, "My name's Abby Horikawa. I know, I have a Japanese last name but I'm not Asian. My dad was adopted." His eyes widened, "No way," he said, "Like THE Abby Horikawa?" I tilted my head, urging him to continue, "Isn't there a girl on the US National Volleyball Team named that?"

I raised my eyebrows and said, "You've heard of me?" He nodded, "Yeah, the TV in this shop is always on volleyball games so I was able to see your debut two years ago. I coach for Karasuno's boy's team, so I'm always watching. You've got a fucking crazy serve, kid." I grinned, grabbing the coffee I just paid for. "Thanks! When you're forced to deal with a bunch of young boys at home, you surely know how to hit something hard." The worker winced at that, and I laughed. Just as I was turning away, the man spoke again. "Wait," he said, "I know this is a big ask, but would you do me a favor?" I nodded, slightly confused. "Will you come practice with the team today? Some of them are getting a bit cocky and I wanna intimidate them a bit." I thought about it for a second, and I started beaming. "Sounds great! My dad's going to go insane when he hears I get to practice with his old school's team!"

The man raised his eyebrows, "An alumni? Sweet." I nodded and added, "Oh yeah, thanks for the invite too! I'm excited to see you there, Mr....?" "Ukai," he finished, "But on the court, it's Coach Ukai to you." I chuckled and walked off, chugging my caffeinated beverage. Now all I have to do is get through the tour, and then my heaven of volleyball awaits me.

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The tour sucked. The principal was such a weirdo, I got the chills every time he looked at me. Karasuno was average I guess, it wasn't too big of a deal. The one thing I was worried about were how rowdy my fellow second years were. I was already disappointed enough to be a second year. I got held back last year because of how much school I missed for volleyball, so I should be a third year, I was just too behind. The second years were really aggressive, too. I saw a brunette yelling at another brunette and a man with a buzz cut in the hallways, so I knew they were...enthusiastic folks. But hey, it didn't matter anymore, it was time to practice. I decided I was gonna be a little late just to have a dramatic entrance, so I approached the gymnasium, about 15 minutes late so I missed their warmup. I stood up to the door, and inhaled, before walking in.

At first they didn't notice me, they were really busy trying to break apart a ginger and a black-haired guy in the middle of a fight. "Boke!" The black-haired one shouted, the ginger shooting back, "That was your fault!" Holy crap, I thought to myself, They're huge. Sure, I played with and against some pretty tall people, but at my stature of 5'7, they towered over me like skyscrapers. I audibly gasped, which finally put all eyes on me. I raised my hand in greeting, "Uh, hi." I just continued standing there, my hand in the air, with multiple pairs of eyes watching my every move. Someone grunted in the corner, "Come on guys, do you not know how to greet guests?" It was Ukai. "I brought her in today to help you guys practice." A tall man with brown hair spoke up, "Uhm, with all due respect, Coach, how is the girl supposed to help us? We already have you guys for ball retrieval and stuff." Coach Ukai stared at the boy. "Do you really not know who she is, Daichi?" The boy, Daichi, raised his eyebrows and shook his head. Ukai groaned, "Do ANY of you guys know?" The boys stiffened, and Coach Ukai huffed angrily, "Fine. Want to introduce yourself?" I nodded and cleared my throat. "Hi," I said, "I'm Abby Horikawa. I just moved here from America."

 A blonde boy spoke up, sounding annoyed. "Coach, is she really the best you could get to come here? How's a tiny girl supposed to help us?" I immediately got fired up at that. I may be used to teenage boys, but they sure do find their ways to piss me off. "Shut it, Beanpole!" I snapped. "You didn't let me finish." The boy looked shocked for a moment, then glared at me. He was obviously not used to getting yelled at. I sighed, wanting to make a good impression. "Anyways, Coach Ukai invited me because I played volleyball in America. I'm on their National Women's U18 Team." I made a small smile, still wanting to be nice. I opened my eyes after I heard no response, and all the boys there were standing stiff, their mouths agape. After a moment, a boy with silver hair spoke up, "Coach! How'd you get her to come practice with us?" Coach yawned and said, "Pure coincidence. She was touring the school today and I got to meet her at my shop before school started." I chuckled, everyone's eyes still on me, "What are you waiting for?" I teased, "Scared of a little girl?" I eyed the blonde boy, who still looked annoyed. I dropped my bag and ran onto the court, signaling I was ready.

"Alright kiddos, I want us to do a practice game. Suga, Tanaka, Noya, Kinnoshita, Asahi, Yamaguchi, you're one team. For the other team, I want Hinata, Kageyama, Ennoshita, Tsukkishima, , Daichi, and Abby. Kazuhito, you got unlucky. You'll be ball boy for now. Alright, start!"

It was our serve first, and I was taking it. This was going to be fun. I smirked, holding the ball. After a whistle had blown, I threw it up into the air, running up to meet it with a jump. I slammed my right hand against the ball with as much force as possible, aiming for the left corner. The ball flew exactly where I wanted it, far away from anyone's reaching capabilities. "Yes!" I cheered, high-fiving  Ennoshita. I got up to serve again, doing exactly as planned, but hitting more towards the back center rather than the left. Another point. I jumped up again, hitting the ball with power. This time, however, the libero who I now know is Nishinoya, received it. I huffed angrily, then ran back to my position, jumping up to block Tanaka's spike. He got the ball through, but Daichi was able to receive it, getting it over to Kageyama. I looked over at the boy, running towards the net. I jumped, spotting Yamaguchi and Kinnoshita trying to block me. Luckily, I saw a small opening, slamming the ball Kageyama set straight in front of me, almost on the line. I cheered, and pat Kageyama on the back. 

"Hold it," said Coach, "I want Abby to be the only one serving on your team today." The boys looked confused but nodded. I walked to the back of the court again. I knew they could figure out how to receive it, so I just had to switch hands. I threw the ball up in the air, soaring up to meet it, this time smacking it with my left hand. I got another service ace. The boys stood there dumbfounded. I scratched the back of my neck, "Sorry guys, did I forget to tell you I'm ambidextrous?" I smirked, it being my turn to serve again. Service ace, after service ace, after service ace. I got at least a solid 8 serves in, but on my last serve, my hand hit the ball oddly and it went straight to Nishinoya.

"Dammit!" I groaned, the other team slamming it straight onto our court, scoring. Tanaka served, and Daichi received it again, giving it to our setter. I saw the carrot top guy, Hinata, going for it so I didn't jump. Kageyama set it, and Hinata slammed his hand into it, with his eyes closed, no less. My eyes widened and I grinned. I attack-hugged them from behind. "Nice job, you two! That was a crazy jump Hinata!" I giggled. I beamed when I realized it was my serve again. I checked the clock and it was close to our ending time, so I decided to show my special trick I had been working on for the past four years. It was my serve, of course. I did my usual jump, but this time I hit it differently. The ball went straight over the net, going so far right it was out of bounds for a second. They relaxed knowing it was going out, but before they could react, the ball tilted left, hitting the ground near the right corner. I sighed in relief, I rarely use that serve because sometimes it fails awfully. The other team looked shocked, yet again. I faked mock-anger, "Maybe this is why you should've watched my games!" I laughed, while my teammates stood there, also shocked.

Coach Ukai called an end-of-practice huddle. He high-fived me and smirked, "Have we answered your question yet Tsukishima?" The blonde boy glared at Ukai, while his other teammates laughed at him. After some meaningless jumble of words I wasn't paying attention to, practice had ended. I walked over to my bag and picked it up, putting on some hand sanitizer as a force of habit. Someone then jumped on my back. Before I could look, Hinata screamed "Wow Abby! How do you do those serves?!" I saw Sugawara, Kageyama, Yamaguchi, and Tsukkishima looking at me too, most likely awaiting an answer. I put my finger up to my chin and thought for a minute, "Uhhhh, oh I got it! Lots of practice!" I smirked, thinking that was enough information. The group of boys sweat-dropped, and I flushed realizing I was really bad at coaching. I ran off in embarrassment, sprinting past a confused Asahi and Daichi.