Killing the butterflies

Cat-like

The rest of my first day of school passed quickly. I rejoined Hinata and Kageyama for dinner during which i found out what positions they play in Volleyball. Can't say i wasnt surprised when Hinata insisted he was a spiker, i had initialy thought he played as a libero, just like me, but a nodd in confirmation from Kageyama convinced me. After dinner i unpacked my clothes and nessecities while Aya-san was out and then proceeded to spend the rest of my night on my PSP.

Playing games has always been a favourite past time for me. I spent much of my time alone due to my parents work and my PSP was a rare gift from my dad. Not to mention there are plenty of people to play with online so I've never actually been alone. Besides competitive games have always been my thing.

I'd been playing for a good hour when Aya returned to our room. She immediately turned off the lights and got into bed, I did the same as to not give her any reason to complain about me. When the room is dark and silent I could faintly hear her smothered crying. Pretending i didn't hear a thing, I simply rolled over and tried to sleep but despite my efforts, it was a restless night.

Waking up to my alarm was the worst feeling imaginable. I've got a whole year ahead of me and it all starts now. Looking over at Aya's bed, i see that its empty which isnt a surprise. Not giving my dorm situation another thought, I ready myself for school and head out for breakfeast at the dorm cafeteria. I didnt end up seeing Kageyama or Hinata so i tried to mingle with other student i recognised from my class. They were all friendly and welcomed me, even reintroducing themselves when I hinted I'd forgotten their names. In the end though, i only remembered 2 names, the 'Sakurai' girl from the common room whose name was actually Saika Himura and this boy called Tsubaki Hirijima, he was the one who offered me a seat next to him when I approached them. He had a crew cut and both his ears pierced with small black studs. I thought it was a bit bold for a male freshmen to have both his ears pierced and clearly on display with a short haircut but said nothing of it. I'm sure the teachers would be keeping their eyes on him, though he was actually a decent guy. He was just a bit slow on the uptake- he mispronounced Fujimoto twice before we settled on me calling him Tsubaki and him calling me Yuko. I prefer people using my first name anyway.

As I exit the dorms building and breathe in the morning air, I refocus my attention on the day before me. I have plenty of time before homeroom so I might as well get a little practice in. Feeling the bump in my sports bag from my volleyball, I unzip my bag to get it out. As I do so, I faintly hear the clatter and clink of metal to my left. Turning my eyes to the direction of the sound, I see a couple of my Senpai's jumping the fence between the school and the dorms. I stop in my tracks and watch them kick and shove each other over the fence while laughing. It must be a shortcut- jumping the fence to school beats walking out of the dorm lot just to walking straight back in to another set of gates. Seeing them all safely get over the wire fence I slowly approach it myself while passing my volleyball between my hands casually. Standing in front of the fence, I can see some parts are bent from people using it and even names are written in permanent on the bar at the top of the fence. I hold my volleyball in one hand while looking behind me to make sure the coast is clear, when I see that it is, I throw my volleyball over the fence to watch it hit the ground an bounce away. Immediately grabbing the wire and pulling myself off the ground, I try to get good footing for my leg. I find it easily in one of the bends in the wire and hoist myself up to grip the bar. With a little more effort I'm at the top if the fence flipping my legs over to the other side. Once my entire body is on the school side of the fence I look for a landing and jump off. It was only a meter or so jump but I bend my knees and land on all four's anyway to avoid hurting myself.

"Wow it's a cat"

I hear a rather amused voice and look up to find a grinning boy holding my volleyball. I stay where I am and give him a once over- his a student, phew I thought I got busted. I stand and brush my crinkled skirt as he begins to speak again.

"What's a freshman jumping the SD fence for so early in the morning?" The boy twists my black and white volleyball in his hands playfully and addresses me in a cheeky tone. I see now that this boy is the same height as me and has a rather striking hair style. Nonetheless I humor his attempts at starting a conversation and ask a question of my own.

"SD fence? Is that what they call this" I point behind me at the fence but don't turn.

"Ahhh freshmen" he sighs, "Guess this senpai will have to enlightening you" despite his sigh his still willing to tell me.

"SD stands for School-Dorm fence. Pretty obvious right? You're brave for jumping it 'coz teachers get real mad if they catch you." He breaks eye contact to throw my volleyball up in the air and catch it again.

"This yours? This school doesn't have black and white patterned Volleyballs" his voice flattens out and the cheeky tone disappears.

"Yes" I answer immediately raising my arm to indicate I want it back.

He throws the ball in my direction and i catch it against my chest.

"Thank you" I move the volleyball to sit against my hip and readjust my sports bag more comfortably over my shoulder.

"Thank you... what?" he adds while raising an eyebrow and cracking a brazen smile.

I don't really understand and give him a puzzled look.

"Shouldnt it be- 'Thank you Senpai'?" he continues leaning it a little as if he wouldnt be able to hear well from his previous proximity.

I wasn't quite sure why this strange boy was telling me to thank him like that but i wasnt about to let curiosity kill the cat. Or me, as previous referred to.

"Thank you, senpai" I say sweetly while emphasising the senpai part to a point that borders sarcasm.

"Hmm, I like that" he replies nodding to himself and puffing out his chest.

He so happy with himself, his so proud...I can't hold in the snort of air that makes it's way out from my lips. Covering my mouth with the back of my hand I look to the side. I've never meet a senpai like this before.

"Oo-! I just heard you laugh!" His tone is playful and his eyes tell me he knows exactly what I'm thinking. A laid back senpai is always cool, he seems earnest too.

"No, no" I breathe still cover my mouth but straightening up out of my growing fondness for 'playful senpai'.

"I'm Fujimoto Yuko by the way, it's nice to meet you senpai" I add while offering a small bow and smirk.

"Yuko -chan, that's so cute" he continues without missing a beat.

I laugh and smile at the compliment.

"And you are? Or should I just keep calling you senpai?" I move the
Volleyball at my hip to the palm of my hand.

His eyes flicker for a moment.

"Senpai is fine." He says far less cheerful then before.

"I'm heading off then, see you 'round Yuko-chan~"

The smile returned as he waved then set out into a jog towards the school building. I didn't even say goodbye. But looking at his back as he got further away, I felt something stir inside me. Something that I was yet to understand and would eventually cause all kinds of problems surrounding my high school life at Kurasuno.

A/N:
Yup I'm sorry for not uploading sooner. VCE exams, and a trip to Japan in 9 days is keeping me very busy! Hope the chapter was alright- see you guys next chap!