Descending |Haikyuu!! Reader x Various|

.2.

From: Tanaka Ryu
Subject: Practice
Are you guys almost here?

To: Tanaka Ryu
Subject: Practice
Yeah, Ukai is taking his precious time.

From: Tanaka Ryu
Subject: Practice
Hurry up, Enno's trying to socialize with the first years.

I put my phone away, very conscious of the fact that we were pretty late. Ukai drove at a steady pace, looking relaxed despite the increasing questionability of our punctuality.

"We're ten minutes late. Tanaka says even all the newbies are there." I muttered, working to keep the nerves out of my tone.

"Eh, they'll wait. I am in charge."

"He says Ennoshita is being a social wreck."

"He usually is. It's his first day as the captain of Karasuno's volleyball club. I'll allow it." He chuckled, though I noticed his speed increased a little alongside the strength of his grip on the steering wheel.

We made it to the park that allowed us to use their gym and utilities, newly rented by the school for the now successful volleyball club.

I was out of the car before Ukai, and, having already changed, the first to reach the gym door where the team waited.

I still waited a little cowardly for Ukai to open the door and enter first.

"Coach! It's about time!" A boy only a little taller than me approached, clearly trying to sound relaxed even though he had an obvious nervous edge about him.

"Ah, I realized that, Ennoshita." Ukai waved dismissively, walking away and leaving me unshielded from the view of the team. He joined the jittery captain in a small circle of first years I had no knowledge of.

Both Tanaka and my uncle had already familiarized me with the third and second years.

The tall, dark-haired boy yelling to the excited shorter boy, who I knew to be Hinata, must have been Kageyama. The tall blonde who looked bored and amused all at once must have been Tsukishima. Beside him was a slightly shorter thin boy I guessed was Yamaguchi. Tanaka, who didn't appear to have noticed me, was practicing spiking with two other third years I didn't really remember.

Then, a confident voice boomed directly next to my face.

"I like your shoes!" I jumped slightly, holding in the girlish shriek I would have normally emitted by a hairs breadth.

"Gah!" I replaced last second, jerking back and falling away from lacing up my shoes.

"Oh, sorry, I'm Nishinoya." I looked up, albeit not very far up, from the ground to see the most beautiful boy I had ever seen.
Note I use beautiful, not hot or cute or anything else one would usually apply to a guy.

His eyes, wide and curious, were bright with concern, still managing to look god-like. His hair sort of looked like he stuck his head out of a speeding vehicle, the exception being the short blond lock that hung onto his forehead. His arm, stretching out towards me, was lean and muscular even though he appeared to have been used as a punching bag sometime in the recent past. His stature was short, though he had a sure quality about him. Almost like he'd beat the crap out of someone three times his size and probably nurse them back to health in the same breath. He looked dependable. Trustable. Beautiful.

All of these thoughts shot through my mind at light speed, and I managed to answer without an awkward pause.

"Oh, hi. I'm (Boy Name)." I took his hand, and he helped me off of the gym floor. I released his hand as soon as I was upright.

"Sorry about that. They're cool." He gestured to my shoes again, and I looked down at them.

"Thanks. I got them to match the team's colors." I answered, twisting my shoes to examine them awkwardly.

"Whoa, your legs are hairless!" He blurted, and panic rose in my gut.

"Oh, I'm on a swim team." I answered, laughing. Mostly in relief, as I'd expected something like this to happen. The prepared lie fell off my tongue easily and, thankfully, believably.

"Oh, cool. So, you and Tanaka know each other?" He changed the now exhausted subject.

"Yeah, I guess he'll be sort of my... Step uncle? I think?" I tried to answer, though it sounded like I was asking.

"So you're the Coach's nephew?" He laughed a little, and my mind flopped uselessly at the angelic sound.

"Yeah, I live with him now." I murmured, hoping I wouldn't have to explain the story behind that.

"Oh, that's cool." He stated as he stretched out a little. "What position do you play?"

"I'm usually a libero, but I can do wing spiker, too." I mumbled a little on the first half of my answer, not exactly sure how he'd react to some competition for his well-deserved spot.

"Really? That's awesome!" He cried, bouncing forward onto the tips of his toes, and I sighed internally in relief. "I am too! I don't usually get to talk to many others who play the same position I do! It'll be fun to finally practice with someone who does the same job as me." He smiled that heart pounding grin again, and I laughed a little.

"Yeah, it'll be fun."

"Alright, gather around, guys." Ukai called loudly as he tried to ignore an increasingly nervous Ennoshita. I took my water bottle and walked over to stand next to Tanaka.

"Alright, we've got a few new members. Give us your name and previous position." Ukai sounded nearly bored, which was kind of odd for him.

"I'm Kaneko Akiodai." One of the first years spoke up after a small, though extremely awkward, silence. His voice was laced with self-confidence, perhaps too much so. "I was the ace on my middle school team." He crossed his arms, and smiled a little too proudly. I placed a subtly placating hand on Tanaka's suddenly challenging frame.

So, I thought, he seems like a fun guy to have around.

"I'm (Boy Name). I was a libero, and sub wing spiker." For some reason, Kaneko made me want to growl these words.

Luckily enough, I refrained. He seemed to realize he'd rubbed us the wrong way, but his only answer was a grin.

The other two first years, Aoki and Kokowa, were not quite as aggravating in their introductions. The both of them had been middle blockers, as they both stood at around 185cm.

"Welcome to Karasuno!" The team greeted energetically, and with a certain synchronicity that appeared to be planned. I grinned despite the irking first year to my left. Finally having struggled through the scarily awkward social situation, I was excited to finally show them what I could offer. We split into teams of six and took to the court for a practice game.

"Oh, (Boy Name)!" Kaneko called to me offhandedly, immediately putting me on guard. "You'll want to avoid trying to directly receive any of my spikes. Wouldn't want you to break." His pseudo advice burned a hole right through my composure.

"Right," I smiled back in a false manner. "I'll be careful."

My team consisted of Tanaka, Ennoshita, Hinata, Kageyama, and Kokowa. I was placed in the back row, flanked by Yamaguchi and Ennoshita.

In the wide expanse that was the back row, the odd first year glaring at me from the other side of the net seemed like an incessant insect I could swat at a moment's notice. I felt the control of this situation landing in my palms with a pleasant certainty.

Show me what you've got, I invited mentally.