The Queen of the Crows {Haikyuu!!}

10

Third POV

Nekoma thanked their lucky star that she was on their side, otherwise, they'd probably lose. "Chihiro-san, can yo-," Yamamoto cuts himself off when his eyes meet her's. A new level of intensity was present in them. Something that they've never seen from her before. It was honestly terrifying. "Hm?" she asks.

"C-can you cover me?" he accidentally stutters. She nods with a blank face and the play starts. Chihiro devotes most of her focus on Yammato and making sure the ball doesn't touch the ground. He jumps for a block but it hits the side of his hand, sending the ball in a new direction. "Dammit," he grits his teeth.

She skids across the court and hits up. She hops back up on her feet, ready for the next move. Kozu-kun's eyes quickly reach hers and nods. She nods back, ready for the next play. Kozume jumps and sets the ball. But instead of going to the left or right he aims it back, where Chihiro is.

She launches herself into the air and cocks her arm back. She slams her hand onto the ball. Before anyone can react, the ball is already on the ground. Silence suspended before her sound of her feet hitting the floor shatters it. She grunt in disapproval, "It went out," she mutters.

She wiggles her hand, sore from hitting the ball. "WHOOOAAAAH!" she looks over and sees Inuoka and Hinata staring with wide eyes. But before any words can be said the whistle sounds.

~~~

When she gets to the front, she took over for Kozume who is on the back row now. She unleashes dunks, arched tosses, and slow tosses. "Where is she from?" Yammato whispers to Kuroo.

"She used to live in Tokyo and played on the U-19 team for Japan. She was the reason that no matter what rotation, all positions are filled," he recalls her old playing habits. "She's trained in every position on the court, and is good at all of them," he adds.

She dominates the court with Kuroo and Kenma with her absurd strength and overwhelming skill. Nekoma even got to see a ghost of a smile on Kenma's face as he tossed to Chihiro. Karasuno notices how well she worked with the two like a well oiled machine of squeaking tennis shoes.

~~~

Nekoma won by a landslide. After the game, the players bombard her with questions. The intensity in her eyes is no longer there and she's back to her introverted tendencies of avoiding eye contact and bunching her shoulders up. Tetsu notices her discomfort and pulls her out of the mass.

He drapes his arm around her shoulder, "Glad to have you back in action on my side," he grins. She rolls her eyes, "Yeah you're lucky I'm on your team for now," she shoots back.

The teams play a few more sets before calling it a day. Nekomata talks with Karasuno and Ukai talks with Nekoma. "Y'know opponents like Karasuno are hard to come by these day," the old man's crow's feet deepen with his grin.

First POV

"And coach," my ears perk up and I make eye contact with Nekomata. "You're one hell of a player. It's a shame that you don't play for the girl's team," I nod and he talks to the rest of the team about the old Coach Ukai.

"Chihiro-chan!" I look up once again and see Ukai waving his arms around, beckoning me to them. I unfurl my legs and stride over to Nekoma. "Hm?" I ask.

"Any thoughts on their performance?" I think back to what I saw and what really stood out during the match. "They have a really polished team," Ukai nods. "And their libero is exceptional,"

"Who's the libero?" Ukai asks them. A short male with light brown hair and elongated amber eyes raises his hand. "She says you're a good libero," he points to me. My eyebrows knit together not enjoying him pointing me out.

"Anything else?"

"Um, not really, it was a solid performance," I say softer, slowly inching away. Ukai nods and I turn around, heading for Karasuno.

We start cleaning up the court and the players converse with each other. Kuroo unties the net and sets it on the ground. I grip the nylon edges and fold it and roll it up. I pick up the large cylinder of rope and make my way over to the supply closet.

I hear a faint grumbling and a sinister aura. I turn my head and see Kageyama interrogating Kozume about being a setter. "Kozu-kun," I call out just loud enough for him to hear me. He glances over and uses the opening to flee.

He jogs over to my side, "Thank you," he says. I nod. "Kagayama-kun is pretty intense," I agrees.

I place the net in the closet and meet Kozu who is by Tetsu now. "We better see you at nationals, alright?" Tetsu promises. I nod with a sigh. "Don't worry, you will,". He bends slightly to where his mouth is closer to my ear. "Text us the court dates and we'll see you there too," I hand him my phone and he puts his and Kozu's number in it before handing it back to me.

I nod again, this time not as energetic. "Chihiro-chan! We're going!" Ukai calls my name once again. I say a quick goodbye and meet up with the rest of my team. I snatch my bag up from the bench and follow the team out to the bus. Daichi and Tetsu shake hands, I guess you could call it that outside and we part ways.

I shift the shoulder strap of the bag over slightly as I enter the loud bus. I plop my bag and myself. I shift my black headphones over my ears and switch on an old indie playlist. I feel the bus lurch forward and the rumble of the engine pulling us forward. I feel a shift in the seat and glance over. A tall blonde with his headphones on is the source of the change.

I shrug it off and stare off into the passing scenery. I remember I needed to text the court dates so I sent them in a group chat with Tetsu and Kozu. "Texting your boyfriends?" I hear a mock over my music. I move my eyes to the right and see a smirking Tsukishima. 

"If there is a space between boy and friends then yes," I reply smartly. His smirk widens. "For someone who rarely talk, you sure have a quick tongue," I shrug and flip through a couple of songs. "What can I say? I have the talent, I just don't use it that often,"

"You should,"

"And you should use your volleyball talent more often," He scowls at me. "Not tr-" Tsukishima is cut off by a snicker.

"Hehehe," I hear another snicker from behind. I wrench my neck around to see a grinning Tanaka and Nishinoya. "You finally showed your true colors. Who knew it would be Tsukishima who would bring it out of you?" Nishinoya rests his head on top of the seat.

"Uh-" I raise my eyebrows. I turn back around quickly and avoid eye contact. "Great, look what you did," I hear over my music.

~~~

"Inter-high is in two weeks," my heart stops for a second. I have court in two week. It's fine, I'll just talk to Takeda and tell him I have a family thing I can't miss and I'll rejoin them when it finishes.

I think about it the rest of the way home. When we get back to the school we gather our things and get off the bus. "Takeda-sensei," I say as we walk to the gym. He turns around. "Yes?"

"I need to talk to you for a second," he blinks a few times but nods. When the rest of the team is a fair distance away, I begin my explanation. "In two weeks, I have an important family thing to attend. It begins midday so I will leave in the middle of it and return a few hours later,"

He nods. "As long as you have transportation to and from the event you should be good," he nods. I let out a sigh in relief. "Thank You,"