*:･ﾟ𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥'𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐧. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬. ✧･ﾟ:*
After losing her sports scholarship due to a crippling injury, (Y/N) moved back to Japan from America to live with her brother Ushijima...
(Y/N) tipped her head up, enjoying the warm sun and crisp morning air as she walked with her bag casually slung over her shoulder. She took a deep breath of the spring air and turned her head to the voices of shouting children.
Her gaze zeroed in on the neighborhood park, where some junior high schoolers were playing a pick-up game of volleyball before school. She stared wistfully as one of the boys jumped up and spiked the ball, scoring a point. (Y/N) fought a bitter smile as the boy cheered loudly and his friends ran over to him, giving him high-fives.
She felt a dull pang in her stomach as she looked down to her knee in resentment, the scarred skin covered by a contraption of metal and elastic. The bane of her existence, her brace. She still remembered the blinding pain in her knee after she landed from spiking the ball for the Royals' winning point in the final set of the National Tournament. She tore her ACL and had to go into immediate surgery. The doctors had told her that she would never play again.
As she continued her walk to her new school, her mind was plagued with painful memories as she recalled her old team, the Brunswick Royals, celebrating together after they won their 8th consecutive state championship. She remembered the feeling of the cold gym floor on her back as she was tackled by her entire, sweaty team into a group hug. She missed her team. She had lost her sports scholarship to Brunswick Academy after her injury.
Her dad had decided that it was best for (Y/N) to have a change of scenery. He sent her to live with her brother, Ushijima, and mom in Japan. (Y/N) felt as if it was simply another person abandoning her when she had run out of use.
She fought the anger and sadness that was rising, (Y/N) knew she shouldn't be dwelling on the past. She shook her head as she stopped in front of her new school, staring at the concrete and glass exterior; Aoba Johsai. She was supposed to attend Shiratorizawa, but to irk her brother, she decided to secretly apply to Seijoh. She loved Ushijima, but she couldn't stand to be around his overprotectiveness 24/7.
She took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet scent of blooming sakura trees that grew in front of the school, lining each side of the paved entrance.
She glanced nervously around, noticing that everyone had seemed to know each other, making small clusters outside the school. "I guess that's what I get for joining a new school my 2nd year." She sighed to herself, brushing off imaginary dirt from her plaid khaki pleated skirt. She adjusted her dark red tie and lavender collared blouse, then straightened her cream v-neck sweater vest.
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(Image: Aoba Johsai female uniform, but imagine different colors for collared blouse and tie)
She flicked her (h/l), (h/c) hair over her shoulder and kept her clear, (e/c) eyes trained on the school entrance. She pouted to herself as she looked around, even in Japan, she was still shorter than everyone around her, standing at 152 cm (around 5 feet).
Her height often made people question how she became ace and team captain of the National Championship winning team, the Brunswick Royals, during her sophomore year of high school (Year 1 in Japan). The answer was simple, other than her outstanding athletic ability, she was renowned for her strategy and cunning. She had earned the nickname the Master Tactician by the teams she faced in America, but that was before her injury.
(Y/N) stepped into the air-conditioned building, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. She smiled to herself, her dad always did say that she often got lost in her own mind, forgetting the present moment. She snapped back to reality as she heard high-pitched squeals echo through the hallways. She craned her head to see a large group of girls crowding around a tall male.
(Y/N) blinked once, a tall boy who looked as if he should be on the cover of a magazine stood in the middle of the crowd, his hands held in a placating gesture and a trained smile on his face. "Now, now ladies. I have to get to class." To most, his smile looked genuine, but (Y/N) excelled at reading people and could see the cracks in his facade.
She didn't miss the slight glimmer of annoyance in his brown eyes or the way the corners of his smile wavered for a second.
She frowned, still, something about this pretty boy was unsettling, maybe it was his too-white teeth, his acne-free skin, or his perfectly swept brown hair. She didn't like it.
She heard someone speak up next to her.
"Ridiculous isn't it?" A deep voice said.
(Y/N) looked over to see a boy with dark spiked hair leaning against the window with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. His olive eyes trained on the pretty boy.
"He can't seem to take a step outside without being swarmed by his fan club." The spiky-haired boy scoffed.
She didn't know how to reply.
"Are you a first year?" the boy asked, looking down at her curiously, "I don't think I've seen you around before."
"No, actually I'm a second year." (Y/N) sighed, used to being mistaken for a grade younger due to her height, it also didn't help that she skipped a grade in elementary school. "I just transferred here."
"Oh, sorry. I'm a second year as well." The boy said, "My name is Iwaizumi."
"(Y/N). Nice to meet you, Iwaizumi-san." She smiled.
"You as well, (Y/N)-san." Iwaizumi replied, with a rare smile. "Welcome to Aoba Johsai. Let me know if you need any help finding your class."
"Thank you so much." (Y/N) bowed her head, "Do you have any idea where class 2-A is?"
Iwaizumi looked at her surprised, "Yeah, that's actually my class. I can walk you there."
(Y/N) smiled, thankful to have met at least one nice person.
"Oi! Trashykawa, I'm leaving." Iwaizumi called out to the tall boy, turning to walk to class without a glance back.
"Iwa-chan, so mean! Calling me names and leaving me behind." Trashykawa called back, in a fake, childish voice.
Iwaizumi ignored the boy and continued to walk, his long strides calm and confident. (Y/N) followed behind, trying not to giggle at Iwaizumi's brusque attitude towards the pretty boy.
Thank you all for reading the first chapter! I'm always open to constructive feedback and hope you're all enjoying. Next chapter will be uploaded 11/22/20 (next Sunday)!
