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Chapter Text

"Ah, home sweet home..." mumbled a tall dark-haired woman, while entering her office with a big capatios and brandy bag in her hands. Her other free hand reached for the light switch and the dark room got shiny white and modern, with luxurious chairs and few plants in different corners of the small office, she had been working at. The woman headed directly to a glass desk, leaning and carefully putting her bag beside the desk chair, right in front of it and pulling off her long, peach-colored, cahmere coat to hang into the little wardrobe. It was once again the case of her appearing in the workplace way too early. The city outside the high building far away from the centre was still sleeping with its tightest dream. The woman took a step closer closer have a better view. She saw her own reflection in the window and fixed the naughty little hairs that got messy and ruined her perfect pinned up hairstyle. It was beautiful... The way she looked and the way that reflected onto the night Tokyo, that kept shining bright even through the night. Shibuja district, she had the view at, never seemed to sleep at all.

As the woman enjoyed the peaceful but colorful street outside, her phone let out a beeping sound, disturbing that silent moment of reflection, she had while thinking about everything at once. The woman sighed, picking up her phone and opening a chat. KODZUKEN: [You asleep, Miws?] The guy had a terrible sleep schedule and that was something the woman could relate to way too easily. All the flights had messed up her understanding of time completely. MIWS: [Nope... Just got into the office.] She replied and feeling the tip of her mouth going up. 'Miws'... that was the nickname, she played with at the online game back in the days. It was supposed to say "Miwa", just like her name but then misspelled it and felt too lazy to change that.

"Bzz- Bzz"- The phone beeped again as Miwa sat at the desk, unlocking the phone again. KODZUKEN: [You are a crazy workaholic...] [Have some chill, woman]. The woman chortled to herself while reading that and immediately tapped the screen to reply. MIWS: [Says the guy who is texting me at the middle of the night *eyeroll] [You have been pulling a stream late again?]

KODZUKEN: [Have you seen it?] [One of my best streams, def]

MIWS: [Disappointed but not surprised] [I didn't watch it because I'm a grown woman and I have stuff to do]

KODZUKEN: [You are lame] [Just admit it] That last one made Miwa let out a chuckle. She tapped the screen to show her keyboard and tapped right in:

MIWS: [Never!] It was fun and all, but there was definitely a reason, the guy she had worked for was reaching out to her and the woman was curious to know that as fast as possible. [Why did you write to me btw?] She typed in and hit 'send'.

It took him a second but soon Miwa saw: KODZUKEN: [Have a job for you] [But you are not going to like it] Reading that, made the woman tense her shoulders. She reached to turn on the fancy computer and sighed before typing in another message.

MIWS: [FaceTime?] That was short and precise. Miwa knew, she would be much more comfortable speaking to him, even despite the late hour... or early hour as the clock on the screen of her cellphone showed 4:36. The second, he liked her message, Avery hit the call button and soon saw a man with middle length haircut, put up in a messy bun, sitting in the gamer chair with big headphones on his head. He hit few buttons too and she heard him speak.

"I know, you said, no sports-" the guy started his explanation, only heard her tired sigh even through the screen. He stopped, leaning back and, clearly, barely holding his eyes open.

The woman leaned onto her desk, rubbing her forehead with two fingers, from a sudden ache that appeared there. "Kenma... I'm not good at that." Miwa tried to put it as laconically as she could. She knew, exactly, Kenma had other people to work for sports department. The company was huge enough to cover a lot of different branches of marketing and development and there was no specific need for her to be focusing on sports... Miwa hated sports since her early childhood, when she got smacked in the face with a ball during a game of Ball tag. It just wasn't her cup of tea and just the thought of that irritated her. That was also why she couldn't get on well with Kuroo... to her, the guy was simply obsessed.

She then heard Kenma's voice again. "Volleyball... Miwa, I know you don't do sports." The gamer spoke up again, knowing precisely, she won't be able to resign from a direct order. "I know that." He nodded and reached for something from behind the screen. "It's necessary for you to take this one, though-" Kenma sat back in his chair and took a sip of some brand energy drink.

Miwa sighed. "You shouldn't be drinking that crap..." She mumbled and Kenma nodded once again but didn't move to put it back. That's how she knew his intentions were serious. The dark-haired woman crossed her fingers, taking the consideration about the compulsory offer and after realizing, there was no way, she could escape it, simply asked. "What do you want me to do?"

Kenma's eyes sparkled and he put away the energy drink. "Work with Kuroo's Volleyball association." He stated and chortled to her eyeroll. "They got funds for promoting a volleyball team, my good friend will be joining soon." Smile appeared on the gamers face and he seemed quite invested in the topic.

Miwa squinted his eyes. "Your friend?" She leaned her head curiously to the side, trying to think about everything at once. "That's weird to hear that from you, sorry." She smiled, returning to reality and finally focusing on his words fully. It was her job and there was no way, the woman was prepared to fail.

The gamer tapped his keyboard and the woman immediately got a notification with a photo. She opened it and saw a red-headed man, who showed a whole ocean of positivity just through the screen. "Hinata Shoyo." The woman heard Kenma's explanation. "He is a remarkable player and I want people to remember him." He smiled again and Miwa couldn't help herself, as the guy rarely showed any interest in anything except for his games and followers.

She fired straightforwardly: "He is interesting to you, isn't he?" The woman smirked, seeing sudden little blush on his face and giggled to the way he got embarrassed for being caught like that. "Caught your attention?" She asked once again, showing him that there was no way, he could avoid answering her.

Kenma smirked. "Hinata is a nice guy." He stated, streching his back and sighed before adding. "I want to help him."

Miwa took another second for consideration and nodded. "Fine..." She stated calmly before opening her mouth again. "but I'm not working with Kuroo." The woman tried to persuade him and so frowned to show her serious intentions.

To that sudden statemen, Kenma only irritattingly shook his head. "Yes, you are." He stated seriously before putting his explanation too. "I won't be funding the whole team but they asked me to find a good creative director." The guy smirked, knowing how much the woman on the other side of the screen loved praise. "And who is better creative director than the one I hired personally to work for Bouncing Ball Corp?" He asked curiously, knowing precisely, that had work in the best way possible. Her cheeks blushed a bit and Miwa hid her sight, leaning her head to the front.

"Tsk-" She shrugged, finally realizing what she had to deal with. Kuroo and her had some tension and that irritated the woman enough to be willing, never to speak to the guy again. Her job gave her lots of freedom before, however, apparently, that time was not the case. Miwa felt appearing in the cage with Kenma's hands around it just observing her desperate tries to escape. He was freaking good at manipulation... way too good.

The guy sighed. "Don't tsk- me." He stated calmly, only building a bigger cage for the woman. "You are doing that whether you like that or not.  I'm sending you the contacts and all the links." His hand reached for the mouse and Miwa heard some clicks, before she received a filled up email with links and documents.

She immediately opened the first one, that took her to Volleyball association website and the woman didn't even notice how clicked to show the head of the association. "I will look through them and work with information I have." The woman couldn't help but sigh, seeing the proud face of the tall dark-haired man, crossing his hands on his chest and smiling to the camera. Miwa shrugged to see his face. "I'd need some time to research." She would need the time to prepare mentally...

Kenma nodded to that. "No rush with that, yet..." the guy then added: "Miwa?" He sighed, making woman turn her attention to a little box on the screen, where the gamer curiously observed the changes on her face. "Try putting your dislike towards one another past yourselves." He stated and she felt her cheeks turning red. Kenma knew exactly what link she opened first. "I will be pulling you to other projects in volleyball too if you suceed, so you better get used to it." The guy smirked, making Miwa feel shivers down her spine.

She asked with a bit of shaky voice and reached to rub the back of her head "Should I learn the rules then?" The woman, clearly didn't even want to think of all the terrors that would be waiting for her along the way.

Kenma squinted his eyes and paused for a second. "How did you say it earlier?" He sighed with a bit of irritation taht kept appearing for some reason over and over again. "Disappointed but not surprised." The guy tapped the keyboard, making Miwa realize, he had probably got another message from someone and because was good at multitasking, answered that without disturbing their conversation. "Write me when you get the info." He then looked back into the camera and the woman felt the same seriousness of the situation again.

Miwa nodded. "Will do." She hid her sight from the webcamera built in at the top of her computer and ended the call. Her first urge was to let out a big tired sigh and so she did. For the following thing, Miwa opened the other project she was working on, trying to distract herself from all the thoughts that kept appearing in her mind one by one. That distracted her enough and she only returned to the reality noticing the screen showing 9 am.

The working day had started about two hours ago and so she heard the conversations of the other employees outside her office. The woman stood up, heading directly to the door and getting outside towards the coffee machine in the hallway. Just as she had predicted, people rushed into different directions much like the ants, trying to get their job done. Kenma was a terribly manipulative person but a great boss. His skills of being a CEO had brought company many benefits, so with little time, he was rich enough to never actually work fully again. All his job required, was done by a whole team of people but Miwa never blamed the guy. He earned that with many efforts and dedication, just like she did with her position in the firm. The woman took much pleasure, working with various people even though, they often described her as strict or stubborn. "Morning." She noticed an employee closing in on her, while Miwa waited for her hot beverage to be prepared. Other employees of the company usually didn't even possess names for Miwa as she didn't care much enough to remember all of them. "I saw your last project." Some guy spoke with much enthusiasm, as before. "That was magnificent, what you did with that line of energy drinks." He referred to her last project and Miwa felt some headache appearing in the left side of her skull.

Those drinks weren't healthy, but the cooperation with the firm could bring Bouncing Ball a lot of money, so Kenma suggested, she took that project, putting all the efforts onto the advertising. "Thank you." The woman nodded, still remembering all the half-truths, she had to bring to the audiences. "I was satisfied with the result as well." Lie. It was significant part of her job, no matter how intensively she tried to avoid it. Miwa wasn't proud to cover her honest perspective but did ear a lot of cash with the projects and her bosses seemed to be satisfied with it, even when Kenma doubted the decisions.

Miwa didn't say anything else to the guy that approached her. She felt there was no need for that. Another thing that caught her attention, made her much more curious, however. "Good morning... I'm here to meet miss Sano." Some little girl asked a floor manager as he tried to make a call through the wireless earphone. "I- I want to apply for internship."  The blonde girl bowed respectfully, trying to catch the man's attention but he ignored her completely, rushing into his office instead.

Miwa had no intention to talk to her sleazy co-worker any longer and so, headed directly to the lost girl. She was short... much shorter then the woman... curiously, she smiled kindly, with a little bow. "Nice to meet you. My name is Miwa Sano." The woman then straightened up and reached her hand for a polite handshake.

The blondie was wearing some classical white linen shirt, tucked into her brownish skirt and same color jacket in her hands, along with a bright red document folder. She reached her hand as well, after a proper bow. "Hitoka Yachi, Miss."- The girl stated. Her brown eyes sparkled and Miwa even felt a bit bad about what she was going to tell her next. It was the company rule to greet visitors politely. The woman headed back to her office with a warm drink in her hands, making a little hand-wave to the girl, so that she would follow her. "I'm a graduate of Karasuno high school in Sendai city and 3rd year student at the University of Tokyo." Yachi explained, while trying to keep up with the steps of the dark-haired woman, wearing her slouch heeled and over knee-length light brownish boots and wheat-colored sweater dress.

Miwa nodded, taking a sip from her cup before opening the doors to her office again. "So you like to aim for bigger, I see?" She smirked, letting the girl inside. "What are you studying?" The woman asked, sitting at her desk and putting the cup aside. She expected the girl to present her qualifications but had to tap the table to let her know about that.

Yachi put the folder onto the woman's desk. "Design and Editing." She said calmly before sitting down in front of the woman. "I had an internship earlier this year too. It taught me so much I just really wanted to try it again" the girl smiled, leaning her head to the side with curiosity, thinking she managed to interest the famous Creative Director of the Bouncing Corp.

The dark haired woman carefully flipped the pages of the portfolio. "Really?" She asked, focusing on various works one by one. It wasn't terrible but there was definitely a room for improvement. "You did paid internship there?" Miwa asked, raising her sight for a second and having the same smirk on her face.

Blondie felt the woman's trick question crawling under her skin. "N-no..." She stated, knowing that question probably, didn't even have a right answer.

The woman let out a breath and leaned her head back. "Then I guess, all your internship taught you was how to bring coffee." She chuckled sincerely, noticing some good works and patterns that showed that kid's creative touch. It wasn't as bad as she thought first. When she finished, Miwa closed the portfolio just as carefully, thinking about how that bright red folder was completely destroying the aesthetic, Yachi tried to build with her works. "Alright." The woman sighed. "Give me your application, kid." She showed her palm and the blonde girl immediately handed her some paper. "Do you have any recommendation letters?" Miwa asked again, taking a quick look at whether the application was filled in correctly. Unfortunately for her, it was...

Yachi knew, her documentation was perfect. She had spent much time on preparing for this moment, knowing what a nervous and shaky jelly she was during any interviews. "Here." The documents appeared on Miwa's table. "I am very excited to be able to work with you!" The girl couldn't help herself and let out a tiny excited giggle.

Miwa finally let out a sigh, knowing, the time had come to uncover the truths. "I didn't say, you'd get the place, did I?" She tucked the documents together very thoughtfully, trying not to ruin any of her work. "It's tough this year, I'm not going to lie. I will take your application but I can't promise you anything."

Yachi got lost for a second there. "So that's a no?"

The woman shrugged her shoulders to that. "Most probably." She mumbled, handing her back the documents and taking inly application form. "Thank you for applying. I will take a look at your works online too, Yachi. I promise." Miwa tried to be polite, even though, realized that the chance of her actually doing that was close to zero. She didn't want to babysit anyone even for a short period, especially with a pain in the ass of the project, waiting for her around the corner.

The girl stood up and bowed politely. "Thank you for you time..." She was clearly upset but that didn't really bother Miwa. The woman had gone through whole pile of rejections even to gain a chance to work at some big companies. It was because of her hard path, she was behaving, what most people could describe as a complete "douche".

Sano put aside the document, immediately after Yachi closed the door after herself. Miwa reached for her cup and took a long sip, opening the link, Kenma sent her earlier. She lost much time working on the other project that morning but knew, she had to start somewhere with current one as well. "Huugh-" She groaned, opening a website of the volleyball team. It was black and gold colors, with a bit of white too. The logo showed a jackal and logo stated: MSBY Black Jackals. "I guess it's my time to make some research..." The woman mumbled to herself, trying to understand anything that was stated: 'Division 1 team'- no idea... 'V league'? Even less understanding for that one. Their motto:  "Connecting people together through their hard work", however caught her attention... She didn't know what that meant for volleyball but could relate to that with her personal understanding.

Miwa kept looking through the page, reading about players and history one by one, not really noticing how much time passed. Their coach Samson Foster had short, light colored hair and thick eyebrows. On the photo, he appeared wearing sporty clothes and MSBY's brand jacket. That man looked serious but in the same way, extremely trustworthy... for some unknown reason. "Hello, Miwa." She shrugged at how unexpectedly the tall figure entered her office. It was a handsome dark-haired man in grey classic costume, white shirt, red tie and sporty shoes. "How was your last project?" He smiled with a little bow, greeting the woman at the desk.

She answered that with a big nod. "I brought the company money. A whole load of money. Again." Miwa's words felt cut in the middle. Like she tried to say just a little bit more bit some unknown power held her back. "Isn't that what it's about?" She pointed at her chair and galnced at the screen. The clock showed 11.35... "Hello to you too, Kuroo." Realizing, she had wasted much time again, Miwa sighed.  "Why are you here?"

It was a second she finished her words, the woman noticed the tip of the man's mouth going up. "I came because of our cooperation."

***

Chapter Text

He sat, crossing his hands on his chest with all the same smirk. "After all, the Volleyball association is paying you, so that makes me your supervisor." The man carefully observed the woman in front of himself, practically making her feel uncomfortable.

Miwa chortled. "Yeah, I'd rather die."

The guy let out a little chuckle too. "I don't think, you have that choice." He shrugged his shoulders and then fired directly and straightforwardly: "Are you ready to fail miserably?" The man leaned his head to the side without letting her escape his stare. Miwa leaned back in her chair, catching her breath a bit.

"I don't fail." She let out in a very short millisecond. "Ever." The woman frowned, trying to look just as intimidating as the guy with dark hair that was messy all the time. "I am willing to learn to play if that would be needed. That project is going to work perfectly." She stated confidently, knowing exactly how to hold her emotions in a way, noone could recognise her fear.

Kuroo immediately gave up his intimidating pose. "Have you decided on the project team yet?" He asked, pulling something from his sporty bag but stopping for a second after seeing her shake her head in disagreement.

"I work alon-" She tried to keep on with being the confident self, only shrugged when a folder landed onto her desk. It had Volleyball association logo on it and the woman immediately gave Kuroo a curious glance.

The man leaned back. "No, you are not." He succeeded in catching her attention and so started the explanation. "We can't entrust the process onto the shoulders of one person hiring someone from outside." Kuroo pointed at the papers inside and Miwa reached to open the folder with just as much curiosity in her eyes. "I brought you the candidates." He nodded to her move approvingly and the woman picked up the papers with pinned photos.

She looked through them very carefully before mumbling. "That's not a bad team." Miwa raised her sight quickly. "I can manage that."

Kuroo smirked once more. "Well it's your job, isn't it?"

It made her roll her eyes in disbelief. "Ha ha." She leaned her head from one side to another but then shook her hand to notify, that she'd in fact been serious. "No, but thank you." Miwa nodded politely. "I couldn't have picked better people for this one." The woman glanced at the screen to change the topic, as being grateful towards Kuroo was a rare feeling she had and she wasn't sure of how to act on it properly. Her screen showed MSBY official page and she quickly caught a word, the meaning of which she understood very differently. "What is a 'serve'?" She asked, turning the man's proud expression into curiousity as well. "do you get some serving on the court?"

Kuroo laughed sincerely to that. He had that unique and weird laughter, Miwa had never payed much attention to it before. "You will have a tough time with this one." He finally calmed down and spoke sincerely. "Why did Kenma pick you?" The man kept his smirk, making Miwa roll her eyes again.

"Because I'm good at my job."

The man shook his head to that. "You may be good with crappy energy drinks and how to sell them to idiots..." He hissed with a bit of irritation that arrived with his previous question. "Volleyball is different." Kuroo squinted his eyes, trying to make her nervous again.

Miwa got embarrassed, knowing precisely, Kuroo was against that project as well. "I can sell stories just as efficiently." She tried to defend herself from his word attack, being acknowledged of her own worth. The woman wasn't going to let him make fun of her.

The head of the Volleyball association chuckled again but that time it seemed vicious and wicked. "I would like to see you do that." He looked her, what seemed to be, directly into the soul, where she stood bare naked and completely lost. "Don't worry. We have a back up plan in case of you resignation." He sighed, seeing how much woman tensed. "It's going to work out with you or without you." The man grinned a bit happy to be able to control her like that.

Kenma put her in the cage and Kuroo pulled her strings around, however he wanted. That feeling ached in her heart and the woman sighed, hiding that deep deep inside. "You are saying very mean stuff to me." She smirked, instead of addressing the issue. "I could get offended, you know?" The woman crossed her hands on her chest, trying to hide her fear as well as she possibly could. Luckily, years of practice had helped her do that more efficiently.

Kuroo softened a bit. "I'm your boss now. Can you really blame me for having my fun?" He smiled and it seemed sincere so the woman knew, her tactic of hiding true feelings worked again. Kuroo hated some of her projects, mostly those big economically beneficial ones. He felt Miwa could do much more than that but showed his opinion in a very harsh manner, only turning her further away from himself.

The woman's face got a tired expression and she hid her sight. "It's not fun."

That made the man feel a bit bad. If it wasn't for her stubbornness, Kuroo could even consider her as a potential date material... "I'm going to have a training practice today at SteguArena." The man rolled his eyes and then rubbed tha back of his head. "How about I take you out to talk and meet a member of MSBY today?" He tried to make it sound work-related and it worked perfectly, Miwa reached for her computer mouse.

She clicked and prepared to type in the name. "Which one are we talking about?" Miwa raised her sight, focusing it on the screen and ready to find the player, she'd be meeting. It was important to build connections in order to have a better understanding, so she took his offer without digging deep into it.

"Bokuto Kotarou, my best buddy." Kuroo nodded calmly and rubbed his chin, trying to remember the precise description of his unique features. The woman typed in, trying to look at his Volleyball description and the man in front of her opened his mouth again.  "Black hair, frosted tips, annoying and kind of looks like and owl." He then smirked while Miwa was already reading through the page and trying to understand at least something.

She squinted her eyes. "He is the only one with a proper description on their web page... 'one of top 5 aces, he's efficient in offense, defense and setting. Bokuto has the strongest athletic abilities among the players in his position...'  Precise and well-put...I like it." Miwa was reading out loud with a slight smile on her face, realizing that Kuroo's description fit the member all too well. "Suppose, he's good with words, since decided upon this description?" She then turned her attention away, clearly impressed by that word choice, however met only confusion on Kuroo's face.

"What? Ha-ha! No, of course not." He couldn't help but laugh at that statement
Not a chance, Bokuto would be able to put the words into the sentence without making a ton of mistakes but Miwa couldn't possibly know that. "Something tells me, Akaashi wrote that." He covered his mouth with a palm, trying to cover that sincere laughter, very unique and a bit out of place. Miwa only squinted her eyes more, realizing that she'd never heard him laughing so sincerely before.

The woman sighed. "You know, I don't know them... Akaashi?" She frowned a bit, thinking how in the hell the man was able to know so many people.  More than that, she was sure those two were pretty good friends.

Kuroo nodded to that. "He's a manga editor. They were both from Fukurōdani." The man finally calmed down and let out a relaxing breath right after stating their relationship status to the woman. Miwa rolled her eyes unintentionally that time, like it was irritatingly positive news for her.

It made her let out a slight mumble."Gosh you are all connected..." It turned Kuroo's attention and the man gave her a curious look. "I have no idea where are my classmates now, not even to mention other schools..." Miwa sighed in disbelief, making Kuroo smirk again and put on his proud expression. "I will come." She nodded, taking a look at her schedule and paused for a second, only then realizing what it could mean for their relations with Kuroo. Her cheeks turned a bit pink and the woman frowned. "Only to talk to Bokuto."

Kuroo read through it. "That surely would be a sustainable talk, hahaha" the man let out another chuckle, knowing precisely, communication with Kotarou wasn't a piece of cake, especially for the outsider, unwilling to share his passion for the game. With that positive feeling, the man left and Avery returned to her work. She worked on many projects and so got lost in the wave of various paper work again, completely forgetting about her current Volleyball related one. It was a tough call but she knew, she would manage to pull one more. Something told her, she could.

Miwa only took her sight away from the screen at the end of the working day. She started picking up her things and then noticed the internship application. The thought of the ambitious girl appeared in her mind and the woman sighed, folding the paper and hiding it to her big bag. "It's nothing personal, Yachi." The competition for her spot was way too big and Miwa had no room for mistake.

She headed to the closest shop right after closing the office, listening to a podcast, where Bokuto was talking about his life.the woman had little idea of what most of the words were but felt something when he was telling his story about how he always aimed further then others. Miwa picked few healthy snacks at the closest shop, knowing Kuroo would probably be playing there and thought it was a god idea to bring some treats. She didn't want to think of it as a possible date. The woman hated sport too much to think that.  She didn', however, disapprove the fact that it could help to get to know Kuroo better.

Miwa entered the tribunes for few courts and landed on the bench, searching through the people. She immediately was able to spot a tall man with spikey hair, standing near the net and jumping to cover his side of the field. The one trying to score, however, was a person she had only saw on the picture once. Somehow those two played among the team of adult armatures even thought it was clear they didn't fit in there. Looked like they were the only ones to know what they were doing.

She sat there for around ten minutes, trying to focus on the match but the ball moved too fast for her and she scrunched her face every time it was going outside the lines on the ground, like she would get hit in the face with it or something. While sitting the woman noticed a tall boy closing in and taking a careful look at the court. The boy squinted his eyes and fixed his glasses, calmly looking for a person he came to see and support.

"You came here for someone too?" Miwa patted the place beside herself and the boy immediately landed there after a respectful nod.

He took off his grey coat and folded it onto his black backpack, where Miwa noticed few pins. "My friend." The guy explained. "He is over there." His pointer stopped at the tall person who was just standing outside the court and smacked the ball on the other side on the field with a powerful hit. Bokuto really did seem to manage the game very professionally.

The woman remained for a second before suddenly gasping. "Then I suppose you must be Akaashi." She smiled, realizing that the person he came to support was Bokuto. Kuroo mentioned they were good friends and so it was another opportunity for her.

The man leaned his head curiously to the side. "Do you know Bokuto-san as well?" Akaashi fixed his messy black hair and looked very surprised for the girl to know him.

She shook her head to that. "No, I know that tall guy near the net." The woman stated and pointed to the court in the same way the boy did before. "We are working on a project together." Miwa sighed calmly and noticed how freakishly well Kuroo looked in sporty wears, whereas suits and ties always made him look stupid, at least in her mind.

"You must know Kenma too then?" Akaashi imediately realized what company she was talking about. That meant they were collegues with the famous YouTuber as well.

"He is my boss." Miwa nodded and reached her hand towards the boy, sitting beside her on the bench. "My name is Miwa Sano. Nice to meet you." She smiled sincerely and put her hand to her chest, showing her sincerety to the fullest.

"Keiji Akaashi." The boy nodded and exchanged a handshake respectfully. "You work at the Volleyball association?" He thought it was obvious since they were co-workers with Kuroo-san.

"I don't know a thing about volleyball, actually..." Miwa shook her head in disagreement and got her cheeks to turn a bit red from the embarrassment. "My job is Creative director." She answered truthfully, knowing all well, how bad it made her look.

Akaashi hid his sight from that, making Miwa feel like she had lost her chance completely "Oh... um, alright then..." He mumbled, turning to pay attention to the court instead but then suddenly gasped and turned back to her.

***

Chapter Text

"So it's you who came up with those campaigns for Kodzuken?"  Apparently, his connection to volleyball wasn't a strong as Kuroo's or Kenma's and Miwa felt ease, knowing she could be a bit more sincere. "I think they were really well made." He smilied happily, referring to the last project he saw her name at. The guy seemed much more chill and open-minded, so the woman got another hope to be able to get something from this evening.

She hid her sight with a thankful nod. "I don't really know how to return the compliment here..." Miwa rubbed her head since had no idea of any of the works the boy achieved. She knew he was an editor, according to Kuroo's words earlier but more than that, the woman didn't know anything.

Akaashi let out a slight chuckle. "It's okay. There is no need for that." He smirked to that like it wasn't the first time the boy was in such situation and it confused Miwa even more. He then fixed his glasses and spoke just as sincerely. "I'm an editor at weekly shonen manga magazine." The man stated clearly and the girl suddently remembered that specific description she saw while talking to Kuroo.

Miwa shrugged her shoulders..."I never read it, sorry."... but she was ready to change the course of that conversation into another direction, where it could benefit her regular case. "But!" She raised her pointer with a cheerful giggle. "I read Bokuto's description at MSBY official page and Kuroo assumed it was you, responsible for that." She explained quickly, and noticed the boy's little nod after her statement. "Are you sure, manga editing is you limit, Akaashi? That description was so well-written! Really stood out among others." Miwa was glad Kuroo shared something he knew with her and so happily smiled to the boy while pointing out his good sides.

"It's well payed but I'm actually more focused on the literature department." Akaashi answered sincerely, realizing she had found a way to get him all personal all of a sudden and didn't resist that.

It worked! Her perfect plan worked even better then she had expected it to. "I can tell." She nodded respectfully and put her big handbag onto her knees carefully placing it not to drop anything. "You would be a great fit there." She then raised her sight again, getting even more excited to get to know the boy in front of her. It was nice to communicate with someone closer to the ground...

"I appreciate your kind words, Miwa-San." He shared her feeling and thought the woman was really kind to say all that stuff. Miwa didn't lie about his abilities. She really did think, the boy could aim for bigger but that was probably only her overachieving habit. "May I ask?" He then referred to her once again and asked the next question only after her nod. "Why are you here if you are not familiar with volleyball?" It might have been too straightforward but the boy wanted to know and Miwa couldn't blame him for that.

"My boss decided I should take a volleyball related project next and so it's nice to learn at least the basics." Miwa explained laconically,  trying not to bore the boy out completely.

The boy took a second. "Interesting way to gain informa-" Akaashi decided to speak up but the loud voice of someone in the gym interrupted him right in the middle. Miwa raised her sight, trying to find the source of the loud noise and saw Kuroo observing her every move.

"Let's take a break, everybody!" Some older guy shouted with his hand raised in the air and the teams immediately separated to different benches to finally catch a breath. There Kuroo was... He was heading directly to the bench, rubbing his sweaty forehead with a sleeve.

Miwa had already prepared for another wave of insults but before Kuroo could get closer, "Aghashie!" Bokuto appeared near the bench much quicker, making the girl question his stamina. Looked like he went 100% even during the break. "You made it! Who is that chick with you?" He exclaimed loudly positioning himself proudly in front of the boy with glasses. Miwa frowned a bit unsure if it was polite to call a woman a chick but decided not to open her mouth just in case. She was there in a mission and her mission was meant to be successful.

"That chick is with me, you dummy." Kuroo put his hand on his friend's shoulder with a smirk, making him stood down a bit from a sudden notice. Miwa's brows, however, fell even lower on her forehead and now the tall men got all embarrassed forphrasing it in a wrong way.

"Ohohooo!" Bokuto seemed to get excited but then noticed Akaashi notifying him about something and the man only leaned his head to the side curiously, observing the woman.

Miwa couldn't hold that from Kuroo... something about him irritated her and she wasn't going to let him be disrespectful.  "I am not your chick, Kuroo. Since when can you speak to me in that manner?" The woman raised one eyebrow, turning her attention fully to the tall guy who tried his best to catch a breath after that intense training. Apparently, his physical condition wasn't the same as the one from high school, he usually bragged so much about. Miwa didn't like to be called anything, especially something so disrespectful as 'chick'.

Kuroo's cheeks turned a bit red and it wasn't from the intense training. "Not like that!" He facepalmed a bit, clearly embarrassed to see her use it in this specific meaning. Kuroo never meant to insult her, mostly because the girl was too important for the Corp. Kenma would kill him if she resigned.

"Oh..." Bokuto seemed to get a bit sad to see his friend like that and Miwa could swear she saw his tips lower down a bit like cat ears when he got sad. "..now it's embarrassing." He then stated and took one more look at his friend with the glasses and messy hair.

Akaashi shook his head in disbelief. "Bokuto-san, maybe don't jump into conclusions like that..." The boy seemed to get a bit irritated to experience that unfortunate misunderstanding, knowing precisely, Kuroo-san would never call a stranger to his practice with Bokuto-san.

"It's okay. He didn't know." Miwa referred to the guys, trying to turn the embarrassing situation around. "My name is Miwa Sano. Pleasure to meet you." She nodded to Bokuto and smiled sincerely.

"I'm Bokuto Kotarou. MSBY's outside hitter." He answered her with a bright smile as well and proudly announced his position on the team, the girl would be soon working with. Only, Miwa had no idea what that meant...

"Outside hitter?" She just had no clue. There wasn't enough time didn't to learn all that because she had... She decided to finish her other works instead. "Like you score from the outside of the court?" Miwa guessed, knowing precisely it probably wasn't the case but then saw an opportunity to turn it into a joke or whatever.

Her plan, however, was ruined by Kuroo. "Someone didn't have time to learn the positions..." He mumbled teasingly, taking a big breath and looking directly her in the eyes. He wanted attention... the guy really thought they were on the date. Miwa tensed, thinking that wasn't something she could prepare for. Her only way out was to improvise.

Miwa hid her sight deciding to play a part. "Guilty." She giggled giving them both a sincere smile. "I did take my time to watch some of your interviews. I felt very invested in your personal story, Bokuto-san-"

But Bokuto wasn't impressed. "Could you really understand it?" He interrupted her, reading through that lie like through a book. Miwa failed and she failed miserably, just like Kuroo had predicted her too. All because of her stubnorn attitude and dislike for the head of Volleyball association.

The player had made his first impression of her and that would be really hard to change. Miwa thought she could at least defend herself but faced another wall just as quickly. "I could project that onto myself, yes." That was a lie. Bokuto was referring to Volleyball and only volleyball. It was noting similar to what she had on her path. Back in the woman's day, you couldn't just be more stubborn, you had to be smarter and sneaky.

"How?" He asked curiously leaning his head to the side. The man wasn't trying to sabotage her, as she did that all too well by herself. "You clearly have no idea about the game." Bokuto nodded, seeing the frown appearing on Miwa's face again as she held herself from being more rude.

"I- I-" She leaned her head to the front, rubbing the side of the big bag, she held on her laps. "it's more than that." The woman couldn't think of anything better, so in a try not to insult him, she burried her own grave.

Bokuto kept achieving his monolog. "My whole life depends on volleyball. I am dependent on the game and how can you really relate to it?" He used 'depend' twice and so had to look look the Akaashi to make sure that was used correctly and smiled a bit, afterrecieving the nod in answer from his friend. The player just wanted her to make sure, Miwa knew what she had to deal with. "You have to work with Hinata-kun and he is even more obsessed with it."

Miwa bit her bottom from irritation but then raised her sight with very serious expression on her face. "You are all obsessed with it." She looked at Kuroo, finally letting him know what she really felt. The woman had tears in her eyes... even though, she knew all his words were unintentional, really.

Even Bokuto frowned to that. "Because that is what we live with." The man crossed his hands on his chest, giving her a curious look with his owl-like, hazel eyes. "It all started since our school years! We have known each other for ages" The man then smiled, giving her information in a more positive manner, finally noticing the way she reacted to it.

Miwa didn't give up her chance to redeem herself. "That is something I will be focusing on."

His next question however cut her through: "Do you know what school did Hinata go to?"

Miwa hid her sight with a terror. She shrugged unintentionally, thinking she knew nothing the all. The woman really was unqualified for her position. "Alright, Bokuto. That's enough." Kuroo patted the guy's shoulder and Bokuto nodded to him enthusiastically. The guy really had no idea, how hurtful his words were. "She understood." The head of the association noticed her quickly started picking up her things and getting inside her long coat.

Miwa bowed respectfully to the men, sirrounding her and after straightened up, added. "I'm sorry for disturbing you from the game, Bokuto-san." She nodded to Bokuto in the most respectful manner. "Thank you for your time. I clearly should work harder for all of you." The woman smiled, rushing towards the exit and feeling someone catching her hand in a very harsh manner.

"Stop, Miwa." Kuroo returned to his normal breathing. "You won't learn anything if you don't invest time into it. Stay and watch the match." He tried pulling her closer and woman almost lost her balance. She might have been tall but her physics were the same since she graduated high-school. Miwa never did any sport in her life.

She gasped loudly, appearing in his hug and pushed the guy away with both hands which he barely felt. "I don't think it will bring me any benefit." The woman stated getting another wave of tears in her eyes and rubbing them that precise instant. "Sorry." Miwa bowed and quickly headed to the exit. She felt weak and helpless, having no idea what to do next.

Kuroo didn't move. "I will be complaining to Kenma. He will take you off the project." The man stated clearly and Miwa shrugged to that, completely feeling on the spot. "It was clearly all a big joke since very beginning." He added, making her widen her sight in disbelief. The woman turned to him and looked the man directly in the eyes.

She put her hand inside the bag and pulled out the snacks she bought earlier. "Have a nice evening, Kuroo." Miwa took few careful steps and smacked the package with snacks directly to the man's chest, making sure he would hold them. "I brought this for you." The woman stated taking few steps back with the same despair in her eyes. "I hope we can discuss the project very soon." She mumbled and ran outside.

The tall guy did try to follow her again. "Miwa!" He exclaimed in disbelief getting to the doors.

Miwa was on the parking lot already. She run to her car and waved to the man once more. "I will contact you, once I'm done with the research. Thank you for your time!" The woman got inside her red, new model Honda Civic and got outside the ground. Her whole body was shaking and she had had pull over near the closest stop. Miwa picked her phone from the bag, unlocking the screen and typing a message. MIWS: [I will be gone for some time] [I will contact you after the research is fully done]

The answer didn't take too long. It never did in case with Kenma. KODZUKEN: [Is Kuroo aware of that?]

His message made her cry again. She couldn't hold back those stupid tears that kept appearing over and over again. Miwa felt so broken, she could barely catch a proper breath. Everything that was said there was true... she hated the project with all her heart. The woman rubbed her hears and unlocked the phone once again. MIWS: [I don't care]

Miwa made a stop at the local supermarket, buying herself few bottles of wine and some frozen food. She had no intention to cook or think about what happened, really. That was why, when she got home, the woman took of her dress and threw the bag on the ground. Her modern cozy apartment had big windows but she didn't care. The neighbors saw her naked not once and not even twice. The woman sat in her underwear on the sofa and reached to open the bottle of wine. She poured herself the drink and didn't even notice how finished it in one go.

It didn't help. The thoughts kept appearing and Miwa grew to hate that stupid project more and more. The woman inored a call from Kuroo and only opened it once that evening. She put the list of contacts into a group. Group chat name: MSBY project. That was what she typed in. It hurt to know they had given up on her so early on, so Miwa frowned. MIWA SANO: [Welcome abroad] [This is going to be a hell of a ride]

It felt right and so Miwa frowned, standing up to get the remote from her TV. The sports channel showed Sendai Frogs match with Green Rockets... both teams looked green to Miwa and with her drunk mind, she tried to understand the rules better. "Graah- it's so complicated!" She exclaimed in disbelief after about 10 minutes of intense staring into the screen with absolutely zero understanding on the subject. "Dumb rules! Why are there so many? Why are they chan-" She noticed the team rotating and rolled her eyes in disbelief. "I don't understand..." the woman mumbled.. Bokuto's words were appearing in her head with a loud banging and she felt terrible. He was right to think bad about her. The woman sat with tired expression on her face through the rest of the match and then stood up to finally check some information on the Hinata himself. She felt guilty for not paying enough attention but in the same time was too stubborn to admit her mistake. She had come up with a plan to connect and gather the data without Kuroo's help. Once she had a motivating idea, Miwa knew, there was nothing she couldn't do. In graph of his education, the woman caught her breath. "Karasuno..." She mumbled... "Karasuno in Sendai city..." the woman tried to remember where she could hear it before and the realization hit her too hard. She jumped onto her feet. "Fucking Karasuno! Yeah!" Miwa rushed to her bag on the floor and kneeled, picking up the folded paper. Yachi Hitoka was Karasuno graduate as well. Her hand reached for the phone once again and Miwa typed in the number, barely holding her excitement.

"Hello?" The blonde girl answered but seemed rather tired and sleepy, letting her know, she woke the girl up.

Miwa gasped to hear her voice "Yachi-san?"  She asked curiously but before could start her explanation. "I-"

Yachi asked with a yawn. "Who is this?"

Miwa nodded, thinking there was no way Yachi could know it was her calling. "Miwa Sano. I want to meet with you tomorrow. Could that be possible?" She asked enthusiastically withba grin on her face, seeing the opportunity and grabbing it by any mean possible.

"Huuh? Meet with me?" The girl seemed to get confused.

"Can you come to the office? No! Can we meet at the lunch time? I will send you the details..."

***

Chapter Text

Miwa sat at the evening bar that was only getting open. Her head banged loudly from every sound and the woman scrunched her face every time there was someone heading through the bar with a screachy floors. The bartender was familiar with her too. He had seen her there quite oftenly and the drunk woman would often brag about her great achievements to a bunch of strangers. "Miss Sano? Good morning." She head Yachi's voice and immediately regretted all the vine that she took yesterday. The woman let out a sigh, trying to pull her wandering thoughts together and took a sip of her nonalcohol beer.

She patted that spot beside herself. "Morning, dear." The woman mumbled. "Take a sit." It looked like she had troubles communicating so Yachi decided to listen just in case. She landed on the spot the woman was pointing to with quite a curiosity as for her, the woman had just change drastically over a day. Miwa wasn't her usual overconfident self but the girl guessed it was the blame of the alcohol. "What would you like to drink?" The woman pointed at the menu on the wall behind the tall bartender with light hair, notifying the girl to choose something.

Yachi wasn't too keen on alcohol, especially in the early afternoon. "Some juice would be enough." She nodded to the bartender and he gave her a little smirk. The guy looked familiar, only Yachi had no idea where she could see him before. "Did you sleep?" The girl decided to change her attention back to woman, not willing to make bartender uncomfortable from her stare.

"I took a nap..." Miwa mumbled and that precise moment the doors to the bar opened with a loud screech. The first customers were entering and so the tall guy at the bar headed to serve them right after putting the juice in front of the blonde girl. "listen..." Miwa hissed, catching her forehead wit her hand. "I have been put on the project and it's connected to Volleyball." The woman started her explanation after taking another sip of her drink. "You could help me with it, since I have very little idea of how to conduct it myself." She smiled a bit, remembering well, her portfolio had something connected to sports in it... and it was a really good quality. A great quality even, if caught Miwa's attention that well.

Yachi got surprised about how quickly she changed her opinion. It took about a day and it was weird set of coincidences from a very beginning. "You want me as your intern?" She asked a bit unsure, since to her the woman's words sounded like riddles.

Miwa couldn't help but roll her eyes. "I do." She thought it was taking way too long and got scared, Yachi wasn't as quick-witted as she had previously thought.

The girl squinted her eyes and took a sip of her juice. "Why did you change so suddenly?" She asked straightforwarldy, making the woman sigh again, like it was the most obvious thing of all and the girl was the only one who had no idea about what was going around. "I want to know what the project is about." She frowned while adding, getting irritated from all the half-truths.

Miwa took a second of considerationnfor that one. "MSBY Black Jackals." She reached for her glass and poured some more beer into her mouth. The woman then put it back and sighed once more. "Your former classmate Hinata Shoyo is going to join the team soon and they put me on the promotion." Her explanation was quick, and made Yachi open her eyes wide, while trying to catch a proper breath. "I believe, that together we can make it work." Miwa smiled a bit to see the way the girl reacted to that but in a second, Yachi's face changed.

She rubbed her hands uncomfortably and hid her sight. "Isn't Volleyball association taking care of the promotion?" That meant she wasn't sure of her work powers. The blonde girl felt like wasn't good enough. Somehow, Miwa knew that feeling and so frowned too. The girl realized what a terrible image of herself she had just brought to life. "If you are unqualified..." that was her way to change the course. She threw her worries and made it Miwa's problem.

The woman let out a chuckle. "I don't want them to know about my plans for confidentiality." She knew it wasn't going to work. Miwa was way too far in to back down at that moments. "They could steal those like that." The woman snapped her fingers together to explain the point better and Yachi let out a slight nod, thinking that made sense. The only thing she didn't know, was that Volleyball association was connected to it and that they were funding the whole darn thing. "I have to be sure about my data." Miwa stated, making sure she didn't say too much. The woman promised to herself, do it separately from Kuroo. She wanted him to take all his mean words back.

Yachi didn't know that. "And you want me because?"

"Because you can help me." Miwa nodded, pulling out her phone and showing her a photo of Karasuno high-school.

The blonde girl shook her head. "No." She finally realized why the woman contacted her and it wasn't because of how satisfied she was with girl's portfolio. That thought crushed the girl's feeling completely. "You need me to get you some information on their private lives." She stated with a lot of disbelief in her voice, like it made her disappointed. "I don't want to participate in drama." The girl hid her sight, having a strong urge to leave the place as fast as possible.

Miwa rolled her eyes to that. "No drama." She shook everything head to make sure it was believable. The girl was the only way to contact the school directly... "I only need some-" She tried to come up with the reason but it wasn't quite easy. The woman did want to use the girl's connections. "Tsk-..." Miwa pulled her teeth together, for being read through twice in two days. "How much do you want?" She asked straightforwarldy, thinking she could easily return the favor.

However, the girl valued her connections too much. "I'm not taking the offer."

Miwa squinted her eyes with disgust. "Are you sure? Because it was you who came to my office with internship application form." The woman tried to intimidate the hell out of the blonde girl. And even though, it made her sweat and shake a bit, Yachi never once stood down. The woman slapped the wooden bar with disbelief, landing her hand onto it. "Fine." She hissed again. "How about I won't touch you about the contacts? I will get those myself to leave you out of drama." Miwa couldn't believe her own words. She didn't like to complicate things for herself but felt like Yachi would be a remarkable member of the team.

The blonde girl took a second to consider and then fired directly at Miwa. "And I want a paid internship."

That blew away the woman completely and she caught her breath. "Absolutely no." The woman shook her head with a lot of disagreement. "That's not what you applied for" It was really rude and Miwa couldn't believe her own ears.

She the saw a smirk forming on Yachi's face. "You will change that, if you really need my help." The girl stated calmly, slowly crossing her hands on her chest but then quickly realizing that was probably too much. "Sorry, miss Sano." The girl stated calmly, straightening up in her seat. "It would be a pity if my next internship was also only about bringing coffee." Yachi leaned her head to the side, remembering the precise words woman told her the day before.

Miwa chuckled to that sincerely as a little kid. She wasn't wrong about the girl. "You got your deal." The woman stated confidently. "We will sign the documents as soon as possible. I want you to be available at any second of the day." That was her requirements and Yachi wouldn't really expect less. "Once you receive a call, you follow the order."

The girl nodded. "Got it. Sano-san- um..." it sounded weird and the girl hid her sight. She took a second and added. "Except for the time I will have classes." Yachi had completely forgot about her studies while applying for internship in the first place.

"It's Miwa-San." She smiled a bit. "Let's not be too formal." The woman shook her head. "I hope to have your understanding about all the seriousness of the situation." Miwa pulled out a paper of her big bag and started scribbling something very intensively. "You would have to apply for IOS. This way you could skip classes but teachers will replace it with additional homework." Her explanation didn't disturb that writing at all and Yachi thought that woman ought to be really good at multitasking.

The girl curiously observed her every move. "IOS?"

Miwa nodded, taking a look at her scribbles. "Individual organization of studies." She checked it for spelling mistakes. "You have to fill in the application at you institute and if they questions just put me on the phone." The woman handed her a paper and Yachi saw her somewhat weird handwriting. "Could you do that for me?" The woman asked curiously with a smile on her face.

Yachi nodded with excitement again."I will." She couldn't help but smile. That internship was going to really be a great opportunity. "You have a very special handwriting" The girl couldn't help but make an observation.

Miwa was checking something on her phone and so spoke up after finishing the text message she had received about her other projects. "I studied abroad and worked abroad and lived abroad." The woman giggled at the way it sounded really weird and only then raised her sight to the girl again. Yachi was smiling sincerely and that made the woman blush a bit. "Then we are settled with this?" She asked trying to hide her feeling away.

The girl hopped on the ground. "Alright." She nodded and reached her hand towards the woman. "I will see you after you are done with gathering contacts?"

It made Miwa chuckle again. "You bug- haha." That laughter was so sincere, Yachi felt it was the right choice. "You will hear from me, Yachi. I never give up." The woman exchanged that handshake and the girl quickly rushed away.

"Then it's a great opportunity for me to learn." She nodded before separating. "Thank you for this but I have class in 15 minutes." The girl ran away and waved to the woman through the window once more before disappearing completely.

Even after the conversation was done, Miwa kept smiling... that was ought to be promising and she felt nice about the way it turned out. "Tsk- how do I?" She tried opening her phone again, searching through the contacts. The woman tried to remember anyone who would be for Sendai, or at least close to it. "Hmmm-" the woman rubbed her chin, scrolling trough the list and her sight stopped at the number of a musician she one worked with.

Bartender returned, taking an empty glass, Yachi left before running away, he seemed busy but stopped a bit to see what she was doing. Miwa pressed 'call' but it quickly led her to the voice mail. She heard a loud: "Semi here. Please leave a message after the signal. Beeep" the voice mail spoke up and the woman sighed tiringly, thinking of the correct words.

She rubbed her neck, suddenly noticing the bartender leaning his head curiously to the side. "Hey, Semi-kun. it's Miwa Sano. Could you call me back?" The woman spoke calmly, trying not to throw the worry onto her voice. She noticed that bartender picked up her empty glass as well and smiled to him. "Thank you," She squinted her eyes to read the little fancy badge. "Taichi." The woman nodded to the tall guy and he answered her with the same.

Taichi took care of the glasses, making sure those sparkled like some jewels. "You know Semi Eita?" He asked curiously, rubbing the glass with a little towel. Miwa frowned, unsure of what he could want from her call. "I overheard your message, sorry." The man immediately let out a nervous chuckle, hiding his sight away.

Miwa took another look at her phone. "I do know him. We worked together at the project..." the woman explained quickly, leaving out all the details, to make sure the situation was safe. "You are familiar with him too?" She decided to ask straightforwardly, to actually be sure and not give up Semi's confidentiality. He was an underground musician and already had some popularity around him. It would be unfortunate if she had ruined it.

Luckily for her, the man nodded. "We were teammates for high-school volleyball team." He explained just as quickly, putting putting the glass down and throwing the towel onto his shoulder. Miwa thought it was sexy but then quickly pulled herself together, thinking, her only priority was information.

She rubbed her chin with a curious expression on her face. "Is that so?" A smirk suddenly appeared on her face. "He mentioned that to me. That was the main reason I was calling him." The woman was sure, Semi would call her back but another acquaintance wasn't going to hurt her status in the project, so she decided to ask. "What school did you go to?" Miwa was sure, Semi studied in Sendai but had no idea, what school the musician graduated from.

Taichi stated confidently :"Shiratorizawa." But then crossed his hands on his chest quite uncomfortably, seeing the way woman pulled her teeth together.

Miwa let out her regular. "Tsk-" She was trying to think everything through. "it's not what I need... Semi won't be much help either then, I guess." The woman thought it was a lost case but then remembered about how Kuroo always told her that schools were connected. That way, he knew Bokuto from Fukurōdani, even though, the head of the Volleyball association visited Nekoma. She raised her sight towards the bartender. "Karasuno is familiar to you?" The woman leaned her head curiously to the side, patiently awaiting his answers.

It didn't take him long and the guy nodded. "Very much, Miss." He then started his explanation, trying to be helpful, since woman was clearly dealing with something. "Back in the days we were rivaly schools..." the guy started but then seemed to remember something unpleasant and changed the course. "but I know that Tobio Kageyama, who went to Karasuno is now playing on the same team as our Ace." He decided to brag about his connections and immediately saw the woman's eyes sparkle.

She quickly unlocked her phone again. "And your ace is?" The woman was ready to type in the name and smiled a bit, excited about getting the information in the first place.

Taichi was happy to help her. "Ushijima Wakatoshi from Shweiden Adlers. That's a Division 1 team in V league." The man stated clearly and she rushed to type that in. Looked like the woman's attitude changed since hour ago, when she placed her foot into the bar.

Miwa quickly searched through the team's web page and gasped. "That's wonderful news, haha!" The woman got on her feet, suddenly pulling all her stuff into her big bag. "Kuroo can suck it." She, clearly, got fired up to the max and so chuckled uncontrollably. It took her another second to find some money and she placed it on the bar. Bartender took it but before could give her the change, she was already running towards the exit. "Thank you, Taichi!" Miwa exclaimed happily and waved before opening the doors.

"You forgot your change!" Taichi pulled his hand up but before he could even finish, the woman already disappeared behind the doors.

In the evening, as Miwa once again tried to put some knowledge of the game into her head, her phone suddenly rang. The woman turned down the volume with the remote and seeing the familiar contact, immediately picked up. "You wanted something?" Semi sounded a bit worried. "Sorry, I had a band practice." He had perfect reasoning and Miwa even nodded, knowing precisely he wasn't going to see it.

"No worries at all." She let out a slight chuckle to make sure, Semi understood her intentions were only friendly. "Do you have any way to contact Ushijima Wakatoshi?" Miwa couldn't believe her own straightforwardness. She would usually say something more general but the project had to move somewhere and Miwa decided, that was going to be her starting point.

"I- " Semi hesitated about that sudden call and asking. "Why do you need that? He wasn't really to give out the number of his former classmate and teammate to everyone around but his question made Miwa feel sure, she would get it.

The woman smiled... or even grinned. "Because I'm trying to get some data for my research and then get to their set-" She tried to remember the position herself but forgot the right ending and looked at her notebook, she spent the evening with filling in. The woman quickly found the right word. "huh setter Tobio Kageyama." Miwa kept smiling. She felt positive about this outcome.

Semi sighed a bit. "Since when are you interested in Volleyball?" The man asked once more. "Didn't you say, you hate sports?"

That made Miwa return to her natural expression. "My feelings really don't matter. I promised to myself, I'd do that." She explained briefly, telling him everything and nothing at once. "Please, Semi. I will be forever thankful."

She swore, she could hear him smirk. "You do owe me a lot by now." The guy mumbled and Miwa decided to make sure he'd agree.

"How about I edit your next music video?" Miwa knew he'd resign to that but would feel appreciated enough to give her Ushijima's number. "My editing is quite expensive-"

"I was kidding." He intervened and Miwa smirked, realizing it worked just as she had predicted it to. "Let me send you the contact..." Semi stated and Miwa heard the way, he tapped the screen. "just a warning." The guy then mumbled. "Ushijima is very straightforward person. You have to be careful with what you say to him." It was good information for Miwa and so she couldn't be thankful enough to be able to contact the guy and talk with him about all that.

She smiled after hearing her phone buzzing near the ear. "Alright." The woman stood up from the couch and pulled her free hand up. "I will try my best not to mess this up." She clenched her fist up in the air with proud grimace on her face and saw her own reflection in the big window. Miwa felt so ready, she could barely breathe.

Seemed like Semi read her mood. "Pass him my greetings too." The guy chuckled.

For that, Miwa carefully put her hand down. "Thank you, Semi-kun." She kept smiling like crazy. "You are a life savior." The woman giggled, suddenly rushing towards her kitchen.

The guy on the phone let out a sigh. "That's not a problem, don't worry." He stated calmly and then finished the call with a friendly: "See you, Miwa."

The woman pulled that frozen food she bought yesterday, feeling hungry and excited enough to actually cook something. She put the water to boil and picked up her phone once more. MIWA SANO: [Yachi! Please, send me the link to website with volleyball rules] [Preferably as simple as possible]

Even though, it was quite late, the girl responded to that fast and Miwa felt proud to have her on the team. BUG: [I used to help with managing the team.] [Could send you my notes instead?]

As she read the message and stirred the frozen dumpling to boil, the woman grinned again. She tapped the phone to show her keyboard and put in another message. MIWASANO: [Perfect!] [Do that asap!]

BUG: [Why is my nickname 'Bug'?]

The woman chuckled to that. MIWASANO: [I changed that in settings] [Suits you well, I think] She took salt, to prepare her food and opened the fridge to get something too.

To that, Yachi responded even faster. BUG: [*has changed your name to OLDBUM*]

Miwa rolled her eyes and typed in: OLDBUM: [I have deserved that one...] She put her phone aside and only then realized that if taking too long to call the player, she would never get him to meet her properly.

It was a chance she couldn't be allowed to blow and so Miwa took her phone one more time that day. She typed in the number and heard the low manly voice. "Ushijima Wakatoshi here." He didn't sound angry, yet felt really serious.

Miwa felt a bit intimidated by that. "Hello." She stated but then frowned, willing to get what she came for. "This is Miwa Sano. I'm a Creative director at Bouncing Ball and currently working on the project connected to Volleyball Association." The woman quickly put her explanation up and then added. "Can we meet for a little chat?"

The guy didn't quite get her words. "You want something from me?" He asked reasonably, since she really put too little information.

Miwa however, didn't want to take much time with explanation, so she stated simply: "Information."

It worked perfectly and in a second, she heard. "I will have the time tomorrow around 12 pm. Is that alright with you?" He asked straightforwardly, without questioning woman's identity, which made her realize, he was probably familiar with some of her works.

She smiled victoriously. "That is perfect." The woman nodded to herself. "I will send you the details then." She tried to make sure to remember and then added. "Pleasure to speak to you." But only heard beeping sounds, meaning the guy had hunged up. Miwa rolled her eyes while putting the phone aside. "Tsk-" She the headed to finish the dinner and mumbled: "what an ass."

***

Chapter Text

Miwa arrived at the spot earlier and picked a place inside. She was noting something down in her notebook, checking the things she learned about the game. The woman saw a shadow over herself and after raising her sight, noticed the large man in sporty clothing and long sport jacket, the athlets usually wore for a cold weather. "Ushijima-San." She stood up with a polite nod and reached her hand towards the man. "It's a pleasure." The woman smiled a bit, expecting him to exchange the handshake and so the man did. "Thank you for meeting me here."

He nodded as well. "The pleasure is mine." The man did it in a very respectful manner and they both sat at the table. "I've heard about your works, Miss Sano." Ushijima stated calmly, seeing some scribbles in her notes. "I don't frankly know, what information you could possibly need from me, though." He leaned his head curiously to the side trying to have a better look and Miwa knew, she had to turn his attention towards herself instead.

She covered her notes with her hands, leaning onto them and pulled the man's eyesight to her face. "I can't speak about this openly like that." The woman stated, forming a slight smile. "There is a project, Volleyball association wants me to conduct and I need as much data as i can possibly get." Her explanation was practically effortless as she practiced it in her head about 30 times before even entering the small Cafe they were supposed to meet at.

The man nodded understandably to that and Miwa felt she had found a way to interest him. "Would you like to order something?" The guy noticed a waiter patiently waiting not far away, ready to take the order any second.

She waved to the boy and he immediately appeared near the table. "Some coffee would be wonderful." The woman smiled and just as the man was about to write that down, Ushijima spoke up once again.

"That's not a healthy choice..." He mumbled, completely unbothered while taking a look at the menu.

It made the woman widen her sight with realization. "Then I will have water." She made another statement. "Sparkling-" the woman was about to finish her order bit then caught Ushijima's glance on herself. His dark olive eyes pierced her through and the woman sighed. "just regular. I will take regular water." She stated calmly, trying her best not to roll her eyes. The woman didn't know him well enough but his glance only was enough to make her change her opinion.

It seemed, Ushijima smiled a bit to that but Miwa couldn't be sure. She thought she saw the tip of his mouth go up but in  the same time, it was so quick, she couldn't reflect on that. "And I will have your pomegranate juice. Thank you." The player nodded while handing the waiter the menu and then slowly turned his attention back to the woman.

The time of her data collection came true. It was alk about her words. "Tell me, Ushijima-San..." She started, turning the large man's sight to her mouth. Miwa felt he had spotted something the but was sure, her lips looked perfect and teeth were perfectly white. She prepared too much. "How do you feel about Sakusa Kiyoomi?" Miwa asked curiously and noticed how his expression changed to a somewhat relaxed one. Ushijima straightened up in his seat.

"He is a good person. We were friends back during the high school days." The man nodded and fixed his dark olive hair a bit. This time he looked her directly in the eyes and the woman felt something sparkle. "You want to know something specific?" He wasn't the one to talk much and so decided to ask her straightforwardly.

He immediately received a not in answer to that. "Yes. I will be working with them soon and so hearing about the members from someone outside the circle would really help me to see how people percive them." Miwa didn't try to hide anything, since knew lying wasn't necessary. She was genuinely interested in her future project and so any information would be crucial. "Like for example how do you like his play?"

The player felt that sincerety as well. "He is strong and brings a lot of troubles on the court." Ushijima stated as precise as he could and Miwa kind of liked it. It was better then talking to someone who would slide of the topic quickly or couldn't keep their mouth shut at all.

The woman leaned her head curiously to the side, remembering something. "The 'vicious spikes' was it?" She smiled a bit, making a little note in her notebook and then immediately returning her attention back to the player. "I just read few of your interviews and you always refer kindly to each other, even though you basically compete all the time." Miwa talked about something something that interested her the most and decided to be as sincere as possible. She wanted to sell a story and what was the best way to do that? To talk sincerely.

The man kept his serious resting face on. "We are held together by that feeling of competitiveness, I think." Ushijima seemed to really wonder about that statement but then quickly continued. "We learn from watching and observing each other." He then nodded, realizing it was precisely how he wanted to put it.

Precise and well-put... Miwa remembered Akaashi's text and thought that was probably the reason, she got this connection with the player. He was greedy of the information he have but greedy in a normal way, without anything overwhelming. That felt good. "And what do you think brought you so far?" Miwa got genuinely interested to hear that. It seemed like something about the man in front of her screamed about his truthfulness and she wanted to trust him.

He didn'teven think. "Luck. It was pure luck and really hard work that got us to where we stand now." The man answered clearly and Miwa widened her eyes. She was thinking the same about her position in the company. If it wasn't for luck, she wouldn't have got herself a place and would never meet those wonderful people.

The woman hid her sight to that, making Ushijima frown a bit. "I'm sorry." She mumbled. "I just can relate to that... you are right." She stated, shaking her hand a bit and notifying that it was alright and he shouldn't worry. "We are indeed very lucky to be here." She then smiled back at him as sincerely as she could and noticed somewhat a smile forming on the large man's face too.

"I'm glad it's not only applicable in sports and Kiyoomi-kun would be glad to hear you share this idea." Ushijima nodded respectfully and the smile on her face became even brighter. The waiter closed in on them with the drinks and it looked like he really wanted to ask player about something, yet was too scared to even open his mouth. The guy bowed after putting the drinks on the table, making it a bit weird.

The man in front of Miwa returned to his previous self and the woman thought, she had never been so comfortable around other person. "I'm not surprised such strong player as yourselves got together so well." Miwa sighed happily and then finally realized it was the time for topic change. "I am not really familiar with volleyball but I am willing to learn as much as it takes to make my future project work." She explained it to him quickly and Ushijima nodded understandably. "Your strength on the court... people refer to it as 'the greatest'. Do you think it's true?" She asked curiously and reached her hand to the glass, taking a small sip.

This time, an answer took him few moments. "Even the greatest strength is incomplete..." He stated calmly, tapping his glass of juice with his fingers. "That's something my dad used to tell me." The player opened up from a different perspective and Miwa couldn't help but remember, changing the topic again.

"I only read the older interview..." She paused before continuing, wondering if it wasn't too intimate question but her curiosity took the wheel. "Did you contact your father in any way?" The woman knew his father was somewhere abroad and the player promised himself to reach out to him.

Ushijima's expression didn't change. "I did." He stated, taking a sip as well. "In California. I have just returned from there, actually." Ushijima's answer was just as polite as ever. He didn't get emotional and so Miwa felt even more comfortable, knowing her contact with her parents was even worse.

"California?" His last word hit her ear and she exclaimed happily, . "I have an agent from there working for me. If there is a necessity for cheap tickets, please don't hesitate to ask for help." She smiled sincerely and Ushijima nodded respectfully.

"Thank you..." the man mumbled and took another sip of his drink. "so you don't like Volleyball? You interview is different from the ones I used to have." He was very open and Miwa felt, she had nothing to hide at that point.

The woman giggled. "Oh, goodness! No." She shook her hand too. "It's not an interview. The reason why I need that information is because of my project..." Miwa felt it was probably too much information but decided to go with it anyway. "It is a bit related to your sett-" She struggled to remember the position again, making the man squint his eyes with curiosityb. "setting guy Kageyama Tobio, but you can't tell him anything yet."

Ushijima got confused to hear that. His face had some unique expression when the man felt that emotion and Miwa had to held herself from chuckle. The guy looked at her and only added after another second "That's complicated." He reached for the glass, pouring the drink into his mouth.

Miwa saw him drink and felt some shivers. He looked manly enough for her to loose herself. "I know..." She mumbled, suddenly leaning her head to the front, trying not to look stupid from all the staring. At that point, people around already started to recognise him and Miwa didn't want to bring the man troubles. "and I don't particularly like any kinds of sports." She rubbed her neck in a slightly uncomfortable manner. "That is why this gets more and more complicated for me." Miwa felt it had to be addressed and soon added. "I'm sorry for making you feel weird, Ushijima-San."

He shook his head to that, putting the empty glass on the table. "There is no need for the apology." Ushijima rubbed his mouth with the back of his palm. "I did agree to come here, didn't I?" The man shrugged his shoulders and Miwa felt even worse.

She caught the tip of her notebook and started playing with the paper. "And I am more then thankful, really." The woman sighed seeing her cellphone beeping. Miwa obviously ignored it. "I'm sure your answers will help me a lot." She smiled, rising her sight at him and the phone treacherously started ringing. The main rule of a good interview was completely ruined. "Sorry-" She rushed to turn it of by then widened her sight after taking a look at the screen.

Ushijima only curiously glanced at her shocked expression. "You should take it." He stated politely. "It's not like we are on interview." The man shrugged his shoulders, notifying that it was completely okay for her to pick up the phone.

It said Alex on the screen. Alex was her biggest rivalry since the university and just happen to appear in the same city, Miwa did right after graduation. "When will you bring your resignation papers, Sano?" That was the first thing, Miwa heard after picking up. Ushijima frowned, hearing the conversation perfectly.

The woman automatically shook her head. "I won't..." She stated confidently, making her eyebrows fall really low on her forehead. "They promised you my place?" Miwa wasn't stupid and knew exactly that few more days of ignoring the calls of her bosses and she would loose her job completely. "Typical Kuroo..." She rubbed her forehead in disbelief. "I'm not resigning. I am far too deep in the research." Miwa stated again and took a look at Ushijima who sat right in front of her.

The next thing woman heard ferom the phone was a chuckle. "I don't know." The woman on the phone sighed. "It seems to me you aren't that deep in it, since you spend time with the Ace of Schweiden Adlers." Her words made Miwa shrug unintentionally and she looked outside the Cafe. Alex was filming them both. The woman had short blonde hair and sporty jacket on. Looked like she was on the run before finding them. "I see you, Miwa-chan." The woman grinned excitingly and Miwa felt shivers running down her spine.

In a second, the woman hang up and waved a bit to the player too. "That was your friend?" Ushijima thought it was weird, friends would be threatening one another but wasn't too good at human relations and it was easier for him to ask.

Miwa shook her head. "My rivalry..." She mumbled before adding. "I'm sorry. It seems like I took more then I can carry." The woman let out a shaky noise, trying to catch a proper breath. "I should probably learn the rules before talking to any professional players." The woman felt terrible for putting Ushijima into such an embarrassing situation.

The man straightened up in his seat. "You don't even know my position?" He asked curiously, letting her know that it was alright for them to continue. The player wasn't the type to get embarrassed easily, especially in the company of the beautiful lady.

Miwa wanted to guess but went with the obvious one. "Ace?"

Ushijima sighed to that, probably for the first time ever. "There is not such a position, really." He explained and Miwa felt completely crushed. "I'm an opposite hitter." The man put it briefly, realizing there was no point in explaining, since Miwa made it clear that she knew nothing.

But the woman ceased to surprise. "Is it different to outside hitter somehow?" She let out a question before even thinking and got surprised from that.

It made the player nod with just as curious expression on his face. Like he tried to understand her every word better. "If you consider the side of the hit..." He tried explaining it but Miwa scrunched her face, not really following. She was able to learn few definitions but definitely not more. "but our mechanics are pretty much the same." Ushijima nodded, letting her know that it was good enough.

Miwa sat there just as surprised at the abilities of her own mind. "Bokuto Kotarou is an outside hitter." She mumbled, remembering his definition at the website. Akaashi did freakishly good job with that one... almost scarily good.

The man in front of her nodded. "Sakusa too." He pointed slightly at the notebook, where she did the notes about MSBY player. "So, you do know something about volleyball..." the man looked directly at her, not letting her out of his sight for a second. "Do you have any more questions?" He wouldn't usually care about someone who didn't share his interests, really.

Miwa let out a giggle to that. "Only a ton more..." She smiled widely looking at the man and he nodded understandably, not realizing that was a joke. "No. I'm sorry for taking your time, Ushijima-san." The woman shook her head with a sigh.

The guy leaned closer to the table. "Stop that." He spoke seriously. "I'm fine with coming here. There was some interest in that for me too." Ushijima seemed to finally uncover his real reason for joining her that day.

Miwa leaned her head curiously to the side. "You have some questions?"

The player spike calmly. "I wanted to make a present for a friend. He is opening a firm in Paris and I would really appreciate the help of someone professional" his words felt practiced, like he rehersed those before. Miwa got interested to hear about another country.

"What are we talking about?"

Seeing, her interest, Ushijima felt relief, knowing the possibility of her help had just grown a bit. "He is a chocolatier... Maybe you have heard, it's Tendo-" the man tried to explain but Miwa suddenly gasped.

"Satori!" She exclaimed in disbelief, even standing from her chair again. "No freaking way!" Miwa laughed. "He helped me with a project for my university graduation back when I was in Paris." The woman spoke happily but then noticed how much attention that attracted and sat back. "We had to shave his head,  though." She shrugged her shoulders, with the same, sincere smile and felt joy from remembering all that.

Ushijima seemed to show a little smirk again. It was too quick to even be recognized. "So you are responsible for that." The man stated calmly. "I didn't know, you were familiar with him. We don't keep the same contact since high-school." The player kept his sincerety throught the whole interview and with every little detail, Miwa felt better and better.

The woman squinted her eyes, trying to remember their conversations with the tall red-headed guy. "But you do seem very close. I get it now!" She exclaimed again and put a palm to her mouth. "You are the Wakatoshi-kun, he kept telling me about!..." the woman let out a slight chuckle. She pointed at the man, remembering the precise description, Tendo gave her. "You are left handed! And you were representative for Japanese all youth camp!" She kept throwing facts until also added. "I helped there too back in high-school." It made her put her thumb to her chest with a proud grin.

The man listened to all of that just as seriously as ever. "I'm surprised so many facts appeared this quickly." He then let out a relaxed sigh. "It seems you have been connected to Volleyball more then you thought."

Miwa seemed to glow with happiness. "I would be honored to help Satori-kun." She nodded respectfully. "How much time do I have?" The woman picked up a pen, enthusiastically, putting few notes on the new page of her notebook.

It couldn't be better situation for the player. He got exactly what he wanted. "It's not connected to specific date... but I want to say" The man paused, trying not to make it sound ad pushy. " ..as fast as possible?" It made him raise his shoulders a bit but Miwa only nodded respectfully once more.

"You got it." She stated and started to scribble something in the notebook, completely forgetting about their conversation about the game and the whole embarrassing thing with the other creative director. "This is going to be so exciting!" The woman seemed to disappear form the reality completely and it made Ushijima wonder. It seemed she was a creative soul and got completely lost in her own thoughts. "I already have few ideas..." she made confidnt moves with her pen, all through the page. "let me draft them really quick." She mumbled, not noticing anything around her.

The man leaned closer to see her work better. "You are good at drawing..." He stated curiosity observing, the way she tried to draw something that would resemble Satori. Those were just drafts but their quality was already better the the ones, he would ever come up with. "really good." He mumbled too, putting his curious sight to her instead. Woman looked confident and very comfortable... the man saw few locks of her dark long hair, falling to cover her face and had to hold himself, not to pull those behind her ear to have a better look at her concentrated expression.

Miwa suddenly gasped, finally returning to reality. "Thank you." She stated, blushing and closing her notes with a loud slap. "That was actually what I did for all youth camp." The woman smiled sincerely and picked up her phone. "Let me show you. They had this competition-" She showed a man the photo of the poster that got chosen for all youth camp.

It was resembling the spirit of the competition and Ushijima spoke up enthusiastically. "I had that poster in my dormitory through the whole time I was in Shiratorizawa." The man even smiled a bit, this time she was sure of it. "I took the one I liked the most." The man shrugged his shoulders, clearly being very invested in the whole thing she had going on.

Miwa kept blushing. "Who could have thought... " She mumbled and turned her phone back to herself. The clock showed her that almost an hour passed and she gasped. "Oh! Look at the time." That was a good way to hide her feelings. The woman changed a topic. "I have kept you longer... sorry about that." The woman quickly threw all her stuff to that big bag. "Do you need a ride somewhere?" She asked curiously, seeing the man standing up too.

He froze for a second. "I was willing to walk you back to you office, actually." The man rubbed the back of his head and Miwa thought it was freaking adorable.

***

Chapter Text

They both were putting on their warm coat and jacket and through the whole time, Miwa's phone kept beeping. "Is that normal?" Ushijima asked curiously, suddenly noticing her sigh.

The woman nodded. "Just ignore it." She stated, leaving the money for the two drinks and took a step towards the exit. "I will for sure..." She spoke in a rather tired manner. "There won't be any more job done today anyway. I am so sorry about this." Miwa felt bad for wasting so much of the players time but was happy they could talk like that. She was about to take next step towards the door and felt Ushijima grabbing her bag from her.

"Then let's go to your car?" He asked, holding the thing very carefully and slightly pointed at the door. They got outside and so Miwa notified the man to drop her bag to the back seat of her red sporty Honda. She got into her driver's seat and reached her hand, pushing the other seat away, making more place for Ushijima and his huge body. The boy got inside and immediately tightened the seat belt, noticing the way Miwa checked the mirrors. The girl fell back in her seat and repeated his move with the belt. She started the engine and the car moved. It was only then, she noticed that took to the back too much and heard a loud signaling from the car that almost bumped into her. Miwa frowned and let out a breath, trying to hide the car back to the spot and not to listen to those insult comming towards her from the window of another car. "You seem shaky... is everything alright?" Ushijima only observed the situation quietly and then referred to her, changing her attention from the unfortunate situation.

"Yeah, sure... sorry about that." Miwa nodded but then realized he usually wouldn't be aware of the emotions and how to call them, so she raised her sight and glanced him directly in the eyes. "I am not myself lately..." She stated in somewhat a disbelief and noticed a little smile appearing on his face again.

"I may not be very good at showing emotions but I'm very good at reading them." Ushijima leaned back in his seat and Miwa immediately felt better after that embarrassment. "People were telling me..." He then explained her quickly and Miwa couldn't help but smile.

She tapped the wheel with her fingers, getting ready to start the car again. "It just this project is really demanding and I still have troubles with all those volleyball terms." Miwa started explaining her situation and picked up the phone from her pocket, putting it to the special holder in the car. "I will succeed either way. I know I have to." The woman kept smiling, making sure Ushijima wouldn't think she was a complete failure.

The man nodded understandably to that. "Then let's drive to the station." Ushijima reached his hand there and the woman didn't resist that sudden move at all. He started quickly typing the name of the place and soon the road was built, notifying the girl about riding left. "I wanted to visit Miyagi today and we will still make it for Shiratorizawa training." He then explained to her and the girls let out a nervous chuckle. "I'm sure you could use this time to learn a thing or two... if you really don't have to work any more today." The man was speaking dead serious and that made Miwa gasp, covering her mouth with a palm.

He also heard her mumble. "What?" She did it because was quite unsure if she heard the man correctly. "Do you mean Shiratorizawa as your high school?" The woman couldn't believe about how serious the boy was about that.

The player nodded once more. "If there is anyone in this world who can make even the toughest cases learn the terms and patterns, that would he the head coach Washijou." Ushijima behaved just as politely, notifying her that she was the one to give him a spontaneous idea.

It felt like a dream. "This is very sudden." Miwa shook her head in disagreement grabbed the wheel tight, ready to start the car again but this time more carefully.

Ushijima, however, wasn't ready to give up. "We will be back somewhere at midnight and I will make sure you get home safely too." He started to use his arguments and the girl felt herself falling for those. For someone struggling with communication, the boy seemed to always pick the right words. "A bit sudden but could be really helpful." He shrugged his shoulders a bit and the girl chuckled at his innocent look.

"Why do you want to visit it?" She smiled sincerely and started the car getting to the main road and following the voice from her phone that was leading her through.

The man thought it was a reasonable question, since he didn'tgive her any information. "I promised to headcoach and my old teammates." Ushijima kept explaining. Apparently, it wasn't such a big deal for him. "Players from some other teams of 2 division will be there too" He then stated with no clue about how much the girl didn't care about some other volleyball players.

The woman was slowly falling for the idea of spending spending some more time with the player... and obviously, get the required information too! "And I can watch the high schoolers practice just like that?" She stopped at the lights and turned her head with a visible confusion written all over her face.

Ushijima felt his win getting closer. "Sure. I don't think they will notice you." He nodded, knowing precisely, with Washijou trainings those kids simply wouldn't have time to watch other directions then the ball would fly to.

She felt it was a great opportunity but remembered about the missed calls from her bosses. "Still-" Miwa shook hear head again and the car started moving again. The girl started but Ushijima didn't let her disagree with him.

He shrugged to say it as confidently as he did the rest. "You could visit Karasuno as well. It's not far away." Looked like he didn't want to say it but that was something the girl immediately fall for. He didn't want to let her go on her own but it was the only way to make his plan work.

It was the turning point. If she got information from Karasuno, the woman would find a way to connect to Kageyama and then Hinata. There ought to he some story for her to sell. "You are way too good in convincing." She chuckled and pulled to the closest parking, getting inside the basement parking and leaving the car at the empty spot.

"I try my best." He chuckled when the car stopped, leaving the girl beside him completely speechless. "So? What do you say?" Ushijima was sure she wouldn't miss an opportunity to talk to Hinata's classmates and teachers.

Miwa had a sincere smile appearing on her face. "I say we give it a try then." The girl snodded and took of her safety bell. She made sure the car stopped and just as wanted to take her handbag, the man opened another door and pulled it towards himself, notifying that he'd carry it for her.
Ushijima stood right beside her without saying a word. Somehow it even felt much more comfortable then when they were talking and Miwa enjoyed it to the fullest, until noticed him shrug from a sudden strong wind, since the weather seemed to be getting worse.

They headed to the station not far away from the parking and Ushijima bought 2 tickets for them. There was still time before the train arrived but they headed directly to the platform.That was where his unzipped jacket started to irritate Miwa. "Ushijima-san, aren't you cold?" She hid into the collar of her coat and asked him curiously, clearly knowing the answer.

Ushijima stood with his hands in his pockets, trying to cover himself as well as possible. "No. It's fine." The man shook his head. His jacket was unzipped and Miwa didn't understand that childish behavior. Who did he try to impress?

The woman felt, she had to say something. "At least zip up your jacket, please. I wouldn't want you to get sick." She asked him politely and the man took a look at his front and then quickly returning to the previous standing position, clearly ignoring her asking.

Miwa couldn't believe that move. "I can't do that, so no." He shook his head again and this time the woman got really irritated. It wasn't the best time to play a cool guy, after all professional athletes shoud take care of their health.

"Why not?" She frowned and hid completely into her collar as the new wind came with even bigger strength. Ushijima scrunched his whole body, trying to cover her as well.

The man didn't want to admit it. "I think it broke down and I can't fix it." He then mumbled, clearly too embarrassed to explain it to her and the girl couldn't help but let out a chuckle to see him so unsure. She crouched and caught both sides of his jacket putting them together.

Miwa was focused on her task. "Let me see then." She frowned, trying to understand what was wrong and why the zipper wasn't working.

"Sano-san..." Ushijima glanced down at her and tried to stop her from moving but then realized how terribly her name sounded with that suffix. "Miwa-San, you don't have to do this." He then got even more embarrassed and realized why everyone called her by her name instead.

The woman kept doing her magic. "I propose we drop the formalities already... okay, Wakatoshi-kun?" Miwa chuckled but didn't let go. She was too busy fixing it. In a second she reached her hand towards her bag and got a needle from it, confusing the boy even more.

He wanted to make it real. The guy felt like he wanted to know more about her. "So then it's Miwa-chan from now on?" He decided to ask but also didn't know exactly what she did down there, so only looked at the tip of her head.

"I like it." She giggled, knowing noone had called her that since middle school. "And I know why it's not zipping up. You have a faulty zipper." Miwa explained quickly and then he heard the zipped click. She started to stand up carefully, making sure she did her job well. "Here you go." The woman zipped his jacket all the way to the top and stopped for a second before letting go, noticing the man's blushy cheeks.

Ushijima looked her directly in the eyes and Miwa felt him pierce her through once again. "That's very nice of you, Miwa-chan." He nodded to her in thanks and immediately put his hood on as well. The man was really worried about getting sick.

They got on the train with the same comfortable silence. She sat beside Ushijima through the whole ride and picked up her phone from her pocket, only to notice about 5 missed calls from Kuroo. She sighed and immediately put her phone back inside of her pocket, not noticing how got extremely sleepy from all those emotions. The woman opened her eyes again about five minutes before their station and noticed how was leaning onto the large men's shoulder and he tried his best not to move at all, only so that she would comfortable. "I'm so sorry." She mumbled and straightened herself up, realizing he ought to have been feeling very uncomfortable but Ushijima still sat without moving a muscle. "When is our stop?" She then yawned and rubbed her eye lazily with the back of her palm.

"5 more minutes and we will be there." He stated calmly and the girl nodded, starting to pull her things closer and getting ready to leave the train.

They were moving quickly so Miwa didn't really see the city. It was understandably though, since the weather only got worse. She tried to keep up with his gigantic steps and practically jumped over the rain puddles on the sidewalk. That was until Ushijima noticed her struggle. "You man me to help you a bit?" He asked very politely and Miwa got her cheeks blushy again.

Good thing, it was evening and the man didn't notice that expression on her face. "Mhm... " she hid into her coat, to make sure it wasn't too awkward. He reached his hand and the girl quickly grabbed it." Thank you. Wakatosh-kun" The man was leading her and pulling her to the destination. .

Both people entered the grounds of the academy and headed directly to the big building, located a bit to the side. It had a big sign, stating "Irresistible force" welcoming them and Miwa only observed everything very carefully.

***

Chapter Text

As they took off the jackets and their shoes because Ushijima notified her to do so, they entered a big court. "You made it, Wakatoshi." Some old man immediately noticed the two guests. He stood up with his hands behind his back and nodded respectfully to greet them. Another coach beside him did exactly the same. The older one looked very strict and had bushy grey eyebrows with many many wrinkles around them. He bowed politely. "Good to see you." The guests did the same, before getting closer. They caught everyone's attention and even the students who were on the court stopped the streches they did but then immediately hid their sights after the short strict-looking man turned his attention back to them.

The guests rushed to the coach's bench just as quickly as they moved through the city. It seemed to the woman, Ushijima felt somewhat an excitement and so it made her feel happy as well. "Washijou-sensei, it's nice to see you." The man bowed respectfully once again, greeting the people and Miwa did the same without fully realizing it. She knew the coach was a respectful person since trained so many well-known athletes. Ushijima then straightened up and took a look at her, with somewhat resembling a smile. "I have brought a guest to witness your training." He nodded to the woman and she straightened up too.

Washijou gave her his strict look. "And this lovely guest knows something about volleyball?" He notified the guests to have a sit on the bench and immediately referred to the girl.

Miwa knew that question was coming but didn't feel afraid to admit it any longer. "No, sir. But I'm am more then willing to learn. My name is Miwa Sano." She smiled sincerely, clearly excited to see the game and nodded respectfully to the older man. The woman put her big bag near the bench and Ushijima squinted his eyes to realize, she was much shorter without her heels on.

As the woman took her place on the bench, the coach nodded understandably to her previous words. "It's nice to meet you. Why didn't you tell there will be such a respectful guest with you?" The coach finally took a proper glance at her face and so immediately realized who she was. "I would have worn an better suit for the occasion." He chuckled sincerely and the girl got blush on her cheeks for being her popular self. "You worked on the campaign for all youth camp in Tokyo?" The man remembered it immediately, even though she had submitted work from a completely different place on earth.

"I assure you, the suit you are wearing is perfectly fine." She answered with a soft chuckle and that turned the attention of the students again. Ushijima also got a bit surprised, since didn't know the old head coach was able of joking like that. "I did work there, yes... not fully for a volleyball section, though." She got a bit embarrassed for comming so unprepared.

The man nodded once again. "Well there is always a room to grow." He stated with a more serious expression and the girl wanted to nod politely again but immediately sneezed instead. She quickly hid her face inside the turtle-necked dress and then rubbed her nose a bit, pulling it out again. "Bless you, kid." Washijou frowned his brows to that a bit. "Wakatoshi, bring her something warm unless you want her to catch a cold." He notified Ushijima and the boy quickly headed to the door.

"I will be right back." The man notified her and she nodded as well. She sat on the bench a bit further from the court, not to disturb the training and observed the game that was about to start. Some highschooler served, what seemed to Miwa was quite well. Not as good as she saw Bokuto's serves but not the worst.

But apparently, she was absolutely wrong to think, that was any good. "Where your elbows are Nakamuro?! How was that a jump float?!" The head coach jumped on his feet with his hands behind his back and straight up yelled at his student for doing something wrong. Miwa shrugged to that sudden scolding but then realized that was the unique was of training. Weird one but definitely working.

She squinted her eyes to witness it all better. "Sorry, sir!" The boy got scared and immediately bowed apologetically, before making another serve attempt. He jumped and this time even Miwa thought it was clearly a better one. Coach kept sitting still until the next mistake from the boys he was training.

"That was a terrible, terrible recieve, Aaron! Work better!" He kept scolding the boy's for the smallest mistakes and Miwa didn't even notice how got very invested in the outcome of that intense battle.

Ushijima appeared with a warm tea in a plastic cup. That was the best thing he could find on the academy ground. It was noticeable that students were excited to show off in front of the player but Ushijima didn't pay much attention to them. "So what about that ton of questions?" The man sat beside her and the woman let out a chuckle.

"I don't want to disturb the practice." Miwa had her phone unlocked with all the scans of Yachi's highschool notes as for when she joined the Volleyball club to be a manager.

He noticed it looked like a notebook but decided not to question it. Miwa had her eyes on the court, but then closed them every time the ball remotely flew into her direction. "You can ask me." He put his large palms on his knees, taking a better look at her curious but scared face. "Unless you think I am worse then your phone." The man leaned his head a bit to the side, trying to attract her attention.

Miwa glanced at the device in her hands. "Not worse." She shook her head. "I have Yachi's notes here." The woman pulled her hand up, letting the man know that all her interests were about the game. "She is my intern. I try to make sense of them." She was feeling good and kept explaining until saw a ball, flying into her direction on such a speed it could be traumatizing. The woman scrunched her whole body, preparing for the hit but it never happened. "Huh?" She opened her eyes in a second and saw Ushijima covering her with his arm and helping her hold the drink.

His fingers were warm... just like when they were heading through the city. "Carefully." The man mumbled, helping her to return to the previous sitting position.  "You will spill your tea." Ushijima pointed at her cup and finally let go of her hand.

The player whose fault it was, came closer, picking the ball up. "Sorry, Ushijima-san!" He bowed apologetically but Usjijma quickly shook his head notifying, there was no need for that apology.

As the game continued, Miwa finally found the courage to ask. "How did you do that?" She was still surprised as realized what a painful experience it would be if he didn't help.

The man frowned to that weird question. "I could see it flying into your direction..." it was obvious to him but Miwa didn't look any less shocked. Because she tried to cover herself from the hit, her hairs got messy just like that time at the Cafe. "why are you scrunching your face so much?" Ushijima asked, this time unable to fight the urge, and fixed the strain of her dark hair, putting it behind her ear very gently.

Miwa didn't read through that as something major. "Because of such situations..." the woman sighed, taking a sip of her warm tea. "it would have hit me in the face if you weren't here." She mumbled with a bit of shaky voice.

The player only shook his head to hear that. "It would, but you could easily dodged that or stop it just like me." He just felt happy, the woman didn't get scared by his sudden move.

Miwa took another sip, frowning her brows on her forehead. "I don't have a good reaction." That was her explanation to every sport she had ever tried. The woman hated every single one of them with all her heart.

That was why, Ushijima quickly read through her half truth. "You just don't want to have one." The man mumbled, but was inspired to help her as huch as he could. After all, she did promise to take care of the logo for Tendo. "So tell me what you are curious about?" He asked straightforwardly, getting to his serious self.

Miwa quickly finished her drink and nodded in thanks. "Let's start with positions..." the woman looked at the phone an then to the court where highschoolers had a full game going on. "Setter is there." She pointed at the guy in the middle and near the net. The woman then took another look back in the screen. "That's an Outside hitter-"

That was an opposite hitter but she was close, so the player slightly shook his head. "Better use the term Wing spiker if you don't know if it's outside or opposite hitter." The man was curious of the way she put all her focus to him while he was explaining. She did the same when started drawing in the Cafe.

The woman rubbed her forehead, not pulling her eyesight away and still scrunching her face into a scared grimace every time the ball flew towards her. "Alright..." She then pointed at the guy in the back row who was just about to dig. "that's libero." The woman was sure of that and smiled a bit, when recieved a nod of agreement from Ushijima as well. "But what about the guys near the net?" She asked curiously and the player thought, he saw her eyes sparkle.

The highschoolers jumped up, reaching their hands over the net and Ushijima spoke up. "Middle blockers." He stated, interested at the way, those guys were moving. "Their main purpose to stop the attacks of the opposing team." It looked like they slammed the ball into the ground, completely blocking the view of an attacking person. "See?" He asked her, showing their move to support his explanation. It was short and precise and Miwa couldn't help but smile once more.

"Nice block." The guy got patted on the back by their teammates and the guys headed for the serve again.

Miwa looked at the with curiosity until suddenly gasped. "Oh!" She turned her head towards the large man. "Kuroo and Satori were a middle blockers back in high-school. I remember now." She even clapped her hands together whole remembering that. "They can't touch the net and have to jump high enough to block the opponent." As she was sharing her knowledge, the middle blocker went for another jump. One of got his hand almost turned from the powerful spike. "Doesn't it hurt?" Miwa scrunched her face to witness that and immediately saw that the player kept his game, like nothing happened.

Ushijima understood her concern but was scared of what she might say after seeing his spikes. The man was awfully strong about his attacks on the court. "I once misplaced a guy's finger with the attack." He remembered the tall blonde middle blocker with glasses. "Could be traumatizing if done wrong." He nodded to himself, seeing Miwa's concerned expression facing him. "So you know all the positions then..." the man raised his shoulders, making the conversation change its course. "Do you know about the game rules?"

"6 players on the court." Miwa mumbled about something she saw right away. She turned her face to the game again and then kept speaking. "There is no time limit and you play till 25 points." She made another statement.

The player expected her to continue. "But?" He asked curiously but she frowned to that. The man picked her phone for her, knowing precisely, there had to be a note about that. "Here" He pointed, showing her the note and Miwa widened her sight.

She read it aloud. "2 point difference?" Miwa raised her sight to him. "So basically as long as you have only one more point to win, the game keeps on?" The question left her mouth in such a naturally manner, she was even surprised about her own curiosity. The man nodded nodded her Miwa rubbed her chin. "Interesting."

The man nodded to that. "Indeed." He looked at the court for a second and then mumbled. "You are a fast learner." It was clear he was trying to make a compliment but Miwa focused to much on the game to care about her love life. The only thing she ever truly loved was her job and she wasn't going to let anyone or anything ruin it.

The woman smiled, paying close attentions to the moves of the highschoolers. "I was watching a lot of games, even though I didn't understand them well." She then gasped, catching Ushijima's arm with her palms. "Oh! Why are they rotating?" The woman felt his muscles and only then realized that it was probably wrong. She wanted to attract his attention, even though the player did watch the match just as carefully as her.

He didn't react to that in any special wa, just like Miwa did when he fixed her hair. "It's creating a tactic." The man explained, pointing to the court. "You set players into positions and then they rotate right with every new serve. This way-" he wanted to make a point but woman already knew what he meant.

"Even the perfect tactics can have holes in them." She mumbled, making Ushijima shut up. The game went on and Miwa saw the players preparing for the serve. "Whoa- it's so interesting." Miwa caught her breath and then saw the ball landing outside the line. "That's an out!" She jumped on her feet from excitement and only then realized how much attention that attracted. Her cheeks turned red and she immediately bowed. "Sorry." Miwa heard the head coach's chuckle and landed back on the bench.

She was embarrassed but saw only a smirk on Ushijima's face. That was new. "Excited?" He asked her curiously, looking directly at her blushy face.

Miwa sighed. "Fascinated." She was genuinely getting her interested into the game, thinking there were few things she could sell to interest the people. "You have to think about so much while you are in the game." The woman kept observing the court in the next second and so the player did the same. Middle blocker didn't go to the obvious one and blocked the sudden changed attack. "Oh! How did he know?"She let out a slight gasp again but this time much more quiet.

Ushijima nodded, even a bit surprised, she noticed that. "He read the guy. That was a false attack." The man once again pointed at the court and the setter jumped to serve. "Look, there."

The woman tried to understand that so let out. "So he shows one thing and does the other-" She didn't finish the explanation because exclaimed again. "the setter did the same!" Miwa gasped happily and covered her mouth with both palms, unable to create less noise. "Did you see it?" She asked him, like Ushijima wasn't the one to show it to her a second ago. "I thought it was going to fly right and it flew left." The woman felt proud for noticing.

Ushijima kept his seriousness despite her foolish behavior. "Not fully left." He mumbled. "That was an attack from the back row." The amn stated, seeing the players on the field rotate again.

It was hard to understand all the specifics at once. "Then why didn't he set for the short guy? His side was open. Libero was it?" The question kept leaving her mouth as she got more and more information. Ushijima noticed that she wasn't covering herself anymore today because she grew to trust, he'd protect her.

He felt flattered from that thought. "Libero can't score." The man stated carefullly. "They can only keep the ball in the game. That why he is never in the first row." His explanation was precise and short like usually, so Miwa nodded.

The middle blocker touched the ball and it flew up. "Chance ball!" He screamed to his other teammates.

Setter recieved that one, letting other know beforehand. "Mine!"

The guy from the back row shouted, heading for the attack. "Here!" It made the woman squint her eyes.

"He is not setting there." She mumbled, diving completely into the outcome of that play. Just like she said, in the last second, the setter changed his course into a completely different place and his team scored.

Ushijima felt proud of his student. "How did you know?" He asked, knowing that wasn't an easy thing to notice, considering the crazy tempo those highschoolers set for themselves.

Miwa kept observing the course while speaking up. "The guy gave a glance into a different direction for a second. He was looking for some better set." She was focused and her hair went a bit crazy once again.

The urge appeared again but something held him back. "True." The man nodded. "Setter thinks about the best way to get through defence." It was obvious to him so he struggled to pick up the right explanations every single time but Miwa couldn't blame him. He was far more experienced that those kids.

The woman frowned. "And libero is replaced?" She was the guy changing positions but then gasped one more time. "Right, he can't be in the front row and so they change him." Miwa smiled, happily from being able to explain something herself. "What was that?" She then asked, noticing the way setter threw the ball over the net instead of setting it for his teammates.

Ushijima nodded, thinking that was a good question for a beginner. "A dump." The man gave her a definition but then quickly realized that was too little info. "He decided not to set because his way was open."

After another serve, Miwa saw the guy faling to the ground to get the ball. "That's a dig. I read about that one...." the woman notified Ushijima, completely forgetting that the guy was a professional player himself. "that is so interesting!" The woman giggled and her cheeks turned a bit red once more. She noticed Ushijima's stare and turned to him, showing the man that same sincere smile. "Wakatoshi-kun..." She sighed but her phone beeped again and she turned away to answer her message.

It looked important so Ushijima didn't intervene. Miwa returned to her questions after few seconds but he didn't get to know what she was trying to say the last time. After the training Washijou came up with the serve punishment for the students and they groaned tiringly, knowing precisely how hard those were. The head coach took Ushijima away for a discussion and so Miwa felt her phone and took few steps towards the exit, jumping over the mops of those lucky kids who only cleaned the floors. The person calling was Kenma this time and so she couldn't possibly ignore that any longer. The woman was still upset about Kuroo but Kenma was her friend so ignoring him was not an option.

She stood up and headed outside, standing on the concrete stair right outside the gym. The weather seemed to get better and the sun was just about to set behind the horizon. She pressed answer and put the phone to her ear.

The woman took a breath, before hearing the man's voice. "Hi, Miwa..." He sounded the usual tired self and it made Miwa smile a little, knowing nothing could change his attitude. "I hope you have a good excuse for that behavior?" He then stated and the girl's smile immediately dissapeared.

"I do my research. I think this project will be easier then I thought." She stated calmly, notifying her boss about the status of his order. "I can do it, Kenma." The woman frowned, trying to be as determined about her words as possible.

Luckily for her, the guy chuckled a bit. "I'm glad to hear that. I don't want to know where you are, even though Kuroo is going full mode crazy but make sure you are safe, alright?" Kenma's words were slow and well-paced. He was good at being a friend even though put minimum strength to that duty. That was probably why I was appreciated the guy that much. "I trust you." He added, referring to her confident words and Miwa couldn't help but smile to that, breathing in the cold evening wind.

The woman knew it was going to work. She was sure, it would."Okay. Thank you for the call." Miwa stated and shrugged from the sudden wind appearing on the grounds.

"Thank you. This little break saved me from a breakdown, actually." He announced and Miwa knew, the guy sat with a smirk on his face. I take her roll her eyes and chuckle softly.

"Did you loose a match again?" She asked already knowing the answer and so immediately got a positive response.

The guy sighed in disbeliefand she heard a slap from his palm landing on this forehead. "And I'm on stream...." He agreed with her and she heard the familiar can clicking. Kenma loved energy drinks, no matter how many times they were all telling him about that. It was another sleepless night ahead of him. "Gosh darng it..." the boy was clearly commenting something on the screen, most probably a game that went on without him, so the girl smirked to that as well, knowing noting could change this little guy.

"I'm sure you will find a way to be productive today. Have a nice stream, Kenma." She wished him well and after his mumble in answer, hang the phone taking a careful look around.

Shitratorizawa was definitely a prestigious school there was no doubt about that. She even guessed it was the best in the prefecture. The woman thought about their logo and thought, it kind of suited Ushijima and his way of doing things. "You shoud wear a coat and your shoes. It's too cold to be standing like that." Ushijima appeared behind her quite unexpectedly and she obviously shrugged. He carefully placed the coat on her shoulders and girl nodded in thanks, bending to get her shoes as well. She put those on and took a curious look at the large player. "We will be meeting with few teammates soon. Do you want to come?" He asked straightforwardly but it looked like the phrase was prepared long time ago.

"I really want to go to Karasuno." She shook hear head a bit and noticed how the corners of the boy's mouth fell a bit down. His jacket was unzipped once again but Miwa knew precisely, it worked. She fixed it herself after all. "Is there an opportunity, I could join you a bit later?" She crouched a bit and repeated the same move with zipping his upper clothing up and smiled sincerely.

"Then you will call me? Here is the address." Before she could finish he put his big hands on hers as she was about to take them away. He looked her directly in the eyes and the girl nodded "Okay. Just be careful, alright?" Ushijima sighed and immediately let go of her hands, not wanting her to be uncomfortable.

"I will, don't worry." She smiled again and so hooped onto the ground, heading somewhere from the academy grounds. The woman hid the paper he gave her into her pocket and rushed away.

***

Chapter Text

This time she was able to see some buildings until a complete darkness fell onto the city. She moved confidently, reaching Karasuno in about 10 other minutes. For her big surprise, the gates were still open and she heard some noises comming from the big gym. Karasuno's place of training didn't look as fancy as Shiratorizwa's but the girl thought it was cute, they trained with everything that was given to them. She made few careful steps towards the gym and noticed the students training serves and recieves.

"Are you a mom of one of the students?" A sudden voice made her shrug as she could swore there was noone there a second ago. The woman froze and then heard a soft chuckle of the person behind. "I'm sure the coaches would love to know the parents of their students. Don't be shy."  A tall man appeared beside her and was wearing a police uniform. He looked at her  carefully and then suddenly shrugged as much as she did from someone putting hand onto his shoulder.

"Daichi, don't be mean. She is clearly too young to be a mom of a high schooler." Another man patted him on the shoulder and then smiled kindly to the woman. She noticed his grey messy hair and a little black mole under his left eye.

Daichi was bigger than his grey-haired friend but that sudden appearance definitely surprised him. "My apologies, miss." The buff boy clearly got embarrassed and this time the guy with grey hair chuckled more openly, clearly, making fun of him. "May I ask why are you here?" He took off his uniform hat and rubbed his forehead with a back oh his palm.

Miwa was ready for those kinds of questions. "I'm working on a project and wanted to speak to the coaches... but I better wait till the end of the training." She noticed her cheek burning but didn't even try to hide it. Something told her, she could easily trust those guys and so she didn't try to hide anything.

The guy with messy hair, chuckled softly to hear that. "Then you can wait here for a long time." He stated confidently but then added an explanation,  seeing some confusion on the woman's face. "Karasuno is training until they are completely exhausted." He smiled, making a welcoming gesture towards the gym.

Miwa didn't move but the felt someone putting a hand on her back and pushing her towards the entrance. "It's better we get you inside before you turned into a ice statue, right Suga?" Daichi was more serious then Suga but not as serious as Ushijima and that kept Miwa curious to follow those two.

She shrugged to the weather again, but didn't resist the move. "It's colder in here then Tokyo... Thank you for your kindness." The woman bowed politely as they left their shoes and entered the gym. "Um?" She didn't know how to address them correctly.

The man was taking off his jacket. "Sawamura Daichi, Miss." He stated politely and then noticed his friend doing the same, so took his jacket for him. "And this is Kōshi Sugawara. We used to attend this school." The man seemed to have rather happy memories of the place and Miwa knew, she could find something to sell. "You have cute socks." His words returned her to reality but he wasn't referring to her at all. The man pointed at Sugawara's white socks with cute bears on them.

Suga smiled happily, rubbing the sides of his feet together. "Why, thank you." The man then quickly added. "My students love them too." He helped Miwa get out od her coat. "And you are?" The man looked rather excited to get to know her and that was definitely a good sign.

She gasped, handing over her coat. "Right!" The woman covered her mouth with a palm and the bowed respectfully,  realizing she didn't even have the chance to introduce herself properly. "My name is Miwa Sano." Miwa stated happily. "I'm a representative from Japan Volleyball Association and- " the woman tried to examine everything bit got interrupted by a man in police uniform.

"So you must know Kuroo then?" He crossed his hands on his chest with a curious expression while leading her towards the coaches, who she noticed immediately after they entered.

Miwa didn't want to talk about Kuroo. She felt way to insulted after talking to him back there in the volleyball centre. "Yes." The woman let out a slight mumble. "He is my boss. I collect data on this school's ex student Kageyama Tobio?" Miwa asked curiously, making sure she was at the right place. "He is in Schweiden Adlers now." Her tactic was to throw as much information to let them know, she was competent.

Suga sighed happily to that, also glowing every step of his friend. "Kageyama really did make it big time." He smiled happily and Miwa knew, her tactic worked. "Well, there couldn't be any other way. We were his senpais after all." The man's smile turned into a kind going and that made Miwa let out a slight soft chuckle.

Daichi only rolled his eyes to that. "Why do you make it sound like it's your own achievement?" He sighed in disbelief. "Suga, they were right about your mother instincts." The man  looked rather concerned. Apparently those two were really close and Miwa couldn't help but think it was cute they stayed together even after graduation.

They got closer to the coaches and they finally noticed the guests too. "I don't think there is something wrong in feeling proud of my ex teammates." Suga squinted his eyes, bit that slight sincere smile didn't leave his sight for a second. He felt so genuine, Miwa felt very comfortable to take part in the conversation they had. "Coaches!" The man bowed politely to two slightly older men. "Good evening." Suga quick appeared in the hug of shorter coach with black messy hair.

The other one had blonde hair, pulled up with a headband. "Good to see you, boys." He exchanged a handshake with Daichi but then turned his attention towards Miwa. "And who's the chick?" He asked curiously, like she was mute and couldn't answer for herself.

She thought about Bokuto who also referred to her like that. "What's up with people calling me a 'chick' recently?" The woman mumbled but that didn't even any reactions in the surrounding men. The woman bowed politely. "I'm Miwa Sano." Miwa tried her best not to make an statement about the impolite behavior of the coach.

The woman, however, didn't manage to, as the man with curly hair let go of Suga. "Sano? Like Sano who works in Advertising?" He curiously fixed his glasses, remembering her precise position. "You did the campaign for my favorite brand of watches. I'm a big fan." He pulled his sleeve and showed the woman his clock, she did remember advertising not so long ago.

It made her smile. "I'm glad to know that my work is appreciated." She reached her hand for a handshake. "You must be Takeda Itettsu. I read about you on the school webpage but there was no way I could contact you directly to ask few things." The woman shrugged her shoulders whole exchanging a handshake with the man and then separating herself.

He nodded to her observation. "I don't like putting my personal number anywhere." He rubbed the back of his head with slight embarrassment on his face. "I'm not very comfortable when strangers call me."The man explained and she nodded understandably, respecting his right to privacy. "You said, you wanted to ask me something?" Itettsu spoke up, curiously leaning his head to the side.

Miwa caught a breath, spitting out a the information for them again. "Only some information about Kageyama Tobio." She started. "I will be conducting an interview with him soon and I wanted some information on his life here." The woman managed to look confident enough.

That was, apparently, not the case with every one. "You came all the way here to ask about that?" The tall guy with headband spoke up too. "Isn't that hella suspicious?" He exchanged a look with Daichi who only shrugged his shoulders a bit.

He then quickly stood down after getting pat on the shoulder by his collegue. Seemed like Ittetsu had much more power. "Let's not jump into conclusions, Ukai-kun." He smiled sincerely. "I'm sure the lady had her reasons." The man explained quickly and only after receiving a nod from his co-coach, asked: "What do you want to know?"

This time he was referring to her and Miwa couldn't let that chance slip away. "About the students of his year?" She nodded happily, pulling out her notebook - the one he was scribbling before. "Someone he was close to?" The woman put down all her cards and was ready to go full in, only to recieve the information, she needed.

Ittetsu nodded, thinking that was reasonable, especially considering troublesome character of the player. "He was close to Yachi Hitoka." The man fixed his glasses once more. "She is in Tokyo right now-" he tried to pick upthe people, she wouldn't have trouble with contacting but Miwa couldn't let him finish that one.

She chuckled softly, interrupting his explanation. "I work with Yachi actually..." the woman rubbed the back of her head. "Well, she is my intern. I promised her, I would get the information here as she didn't want you to think that she was using you." The woman decided to be truthful to put aside any suspicions the other coach would have about her.

The guy with messy black hair nodded. "She was always very protective of her relations, haha." He stated calmly and then turned towards his collegue. "Who else is in Tokyo?"

Miwa didn't want people from Tokyo. Actually, she wanted one specific person, her project would be about. "It shouldn't be Tokyo, actually. I'm willing to contact various people." The woman smiled kindly, letting people know. "I just need a way to find them." She tried to make it sound at least somewhat believable.

Ittetsu gave her a curious glance before speaking up again. "Then you could try reaching out to Tadashi Yamaguchi or Tsukishima Kei. They were his year...." the man shrugged his shoulders and Miwa felt she just had to ask, knowing precisely that would blow all the cover completely.

She put down the names. "Maybe there was someone else?" Miwa asked curiously while writing down. "Someone who moved or something..."

The woman immediately felt someone's strong hand grabbing her arm. "What do you know about Hinata?" Ukai tried to turn her attention and that almost hurt so woman let out a gasp. "Did you get any news?" He leaned closer, trying to intimidate the hell out of her and was clearly successful.

She chuckled in disbelief. "Hahha? What?" The woman escaped his hand. "That's crazy, nooo.." Instinctivelly, Miwa started mowing towards the exit but Daichi got on her way and she couldn't possibly lie to the police. "Fine." The woman groanned slightly. "I'm doing the story about Hinata." Miwa let out the truth and was getting mad at herself for opening that up.

Daichi frowned to that. "Why?" The men knew Hinata was all the way in Brazil and they didn't really hear any news about the red head since he graduated and left.

Miwa knew it was sensitive information. "I can't say." She shook her head.

Policeman is leaned closer to her with his curious but serious expression. "Is he joining Adlers?" That was quite logical, assuming Tobio was a player there.

Miwa shook her head once more. "No." She them added, before realizing it fully: "Another team." The woman got even more mad at herself for not being able to keep her mouth shut. "I shouldn't tell you. Sorry." She covered her mouth with a palm and bowed apologetically, acting completely on instincts.

Sugawara exchanged a curious look with his friend. "First division team? So we should expect a great match soon." He smiled kindly, being the positive ray of sunshine he was and helped her stand up.

Ukai, however, chuckled loudly to that. "That would be one interesting game. Thank you for telling us." He looked at Miwa but she just had to defend the honor of her own project.

"You can't spread this information!"  The woman threatened them with her fingee, like that was going to work on 4 grown men. "If you, do I would have to-" She wanted to explain but Daichi interrupted her before she could finish.

The man in police uniform crossed his hands on his chest. "No need to scare us." He stated with a sigh and Miwa felt huge relief. The law was on her side. "We did gain this information in an unfair way. No worries, Sano-san." He nodded politely, even though, felt something weird about pronouncing that name.

She felt huge relief and so even straightened up. "Let it be Miwa-San." She nodded in answer and even let herself show a little smile.

The man blushed to that a bit. "We are happy to give you all the information you need, really." He shrugged his shoulders before adding: "Miwa-san..." Daichi just tried to be polite and Miwa couldn't be happier about the way it turned out. If theose 4 would keep their mouths shut, she would succeed for sure. He then pointed at her notebook and she immediately prepared to write. "Those two were quite a pain in the ass." He stated calmly and that made Miwa let out a chuckle.

Suga nodded to his friend. "Indeed. Especially at the very beginning." He curiously rubbed his chin trying to remember some specifics that woman could use and she couldn't be happier, they took it all so seriously.

Miwa raised her sight after scribbling something down. "Why?"

Daichi was the one to answer that. "We called them volleyball freaks." He explained and Miwa immediately wrote that down but looked rather unsure, so he just had to explain it better. "Because their stamina seemed to be limitless." He nodded and Miwa smiled, writing that down."They would practice here until their hands fell off."

Her next question was even more curious, since her experience in Shiratorizawa was different. They had lots of students in the club. "By themselves?"

The guy with cute socks chuckled. "Mostly." He realized she had probably even other schools too. "Our club was very limited with members that year and the year before that." He explained briefly and Miwa quickly wrote that down.

She then mumbled "But Shiratorizawa-"

The policeman couldn't help but let out a chuckle to that as well. "You have been to Shiratorizawa?" He asked curiously, thinking the girl attended it but before she could disagree, the man spoke up again. "Hahaha! That explains why you were so scared to enter the gym." It explained much to him, actually. Miwa didn't look like a regular Sendai woman. She had some style about her. "Their practice is intense." He explained quickly, and Miwa nodded.

"They have many members..." Miwa sighed. "I just figured." She thought schools were similar in some ways but it appeared that Ushijima had much stronger school in general and Kageyama could get the spot even though, he didn't graduate some fancy academy.

The man with dark short hair and police uniform sighed, shaking his head. "Not every school in the prefecture is the same as Shiratorizawa. I remember we played with them..." He paused for a second and Miwa saw the guy's eyes sparkle. "...and we won." Daichi added in a second, clenching his fist from the proud feeling.

Miwa couldn't help herself. "You did?" At that point, she wanted to know absolutely everything.

The man nodded, realizing his previous statements needed more clarity as woman was writing all that down. "It was the first year during the prefecture eliminations." He stated. "That match was crazy really, we thought we wouldn't make it." Daichi exchanged a look with Suga but he stood with rather curious expression.

Looked like some facts disappeared from his mind. "Is that the one when Tsukishima got hand injury? I think his pinkie was misplaced or something." He rubbed his chin again but only saw Daichi shrug his shoulders. Miwa remembered about Ushijima.... he was too strong. It irritated her even more for some reason. How could he be so careless? Suga took a second but the gasped. "Oh! We won 3:2 and were picked as Miyagi representatives that year." He suddenly remembered and Miwa felt her forehead cracking from a sudden pain.

That migrane made her scrunch her face. "You can find a tape of that match." Daichi nodded, noticing her expression change so much. "I think it is in the archive of the organizers of the eliminations." He examined quickly, not really having the authority to welcome her to the school archives.

Miwa felt her headache appearing in every corner of her brain and that made her shrug. "I will surely take a look at that. Thank you." The woman forced a smile. "What did you think of the boys, Ittetsu-sensei?" She put her attention to the coach, knowing few statements from him would be really helpful too.

The man stood with a sincere smile on his face. "I thought they were strong and had the will to achieve anything they wished really." He shrugged his shoulders and Miwa felt, how proud he was. "After seeing Hinata fly, I knew there was nothing impossible for them." Ittetsu looked Miwa directly in the eyes and she could feel something completely new. Something she had never experienced before. She felt proud to have the project. "I am proud of my students." The man added quickly and Miwa wrote that down that precise instant, unsure of her own feelings. She felt really happy to be there but then also experienced a terrible headache.

They spoke for couple more minutes and Miwa wrote down the essential things. She left the gym full of new knowledge and only returned to the reality when somehow appeared at the bus stop. The woman sat on the bench and pulled her phone out of her pocket once again. Miwa noticed the usual unread messages from Kuroo as well as 7 missed calls. One was from unknown number so she immediately opened her screen and pressed 'call back'.

***

Chapter Text

"Hello, you called me today. May I know the reason of the call?" She stated once someone responded at the other side of the line. The girl wasn't sure of why anyone would call her so late.

She heard a slight sigh. "Is that Miwa Sano?" The low male voice sounded very polite so she calmed down, still having absolutely no idea of who called her.

The woman squinted her eyes, noticing the dark skies above her. "It is." She answered sincerely taking a careful look around the empty street and the bus pulling to the side walk to let out the last passengers.

The man on the phone seemed to get rather active. "It's Samson Foster." The manly voice announced and the man chuckled softly.

Miwa gasped happily. "Mister Foster! I'm so sorry for not answering straight away." She jumped on her feet from a sudden shock, realizing the person who called her was the coach of MSBY Black Jackals.

He let out another chuckle, knowing she wouldn't be able to recognise him as they never saw each other. "That's okay. We can all be busy sometimes." He seemed very nice so the girl relaxed a bit. "I wanted to know about the meeting. We received a message from Kuroo-san." The man called in the matter of the project and Miwa realized he'd have a lot of questions.

"Of course. And that meeting will be?." She nodded, even though knew, the man couldn't possibly see her and soon sat back at the station, noticing new raindrops falling from the sky. The woman had no idea about the meeting and just had to be there in order to succed and, possibly, surprise Kuroo.

The man got rather confused. "This thursday? At our training hall?" He then asked right away, making sure every little details was stated and remembered. "We got the information about 9 am?" Samson wasn't sure of why would Miwa asked something like that.

The woman knew how suspicious that sounded. "Yes." She agreed and then expected other questions but didn't get those. "Do you want some details too?" She decided to ask herself, since the man seem to forget to ask about the project itself.

Foster was notas happy as previously. "I don't know, the plan that Kuroo sent to me-." He tried to say something but Miwa frowned, realizing Alex had probably already sent him the project plan.

She saw the rain getting heavier and the wind running down her legs. "It's not my plan." Miwa knew  the other projectvwas crap even without looking at it. Alex was hood but she never brought anything new to the projects. Miwa lived with those and therefore, felt she couldn't do it better. "How about I reach out to you about the plan tomorrow?" She suddenly let our a giggle. "I can assure you, it nothing like the thing you recieved."

The man let put another chuckle. "Then I can't wait." Miwa felt, he was smiling and couldn't be happier to bring him this reassuring news. "I have seen your works, Miwa-san." He then stated calmly and paused before adding. "You can do great things." The man complimented her kindly.

Miwa felt her cheeks turning completely red. "I'm just gathering information now but I promise to do my best." She announced happily and almost dropped her phone from all the excitement.

"Of course. Thank you, Miwa-San." Mister Foster said kindly again, making Miwa think it would be a pleasant experience to work at this project.

The woman was excited about the ideas that kept appearing in her head one by one. "Thank you! Bye!" She smiled excitingly and hang the phone, letting out a relaxed breath right after. Miwa leaned onto the glass wall of the station and closed her eyes, already imagining her project.

She opened those again in a second and turned the phone on again only that it didn't respond. Her battery died and all her things stayed back with Ushijima. Miwa got scared as the rain seemed to get heavier and she had absolutely no idea of how to find her way. The girl caught her head with her hands, hearing the loud pounding inside and her whole body started shrugging. Her first thought was to run towards Shiratorizawa again but the gym and the gates were probably already closed since the training finished long time ago. Karasuno wasn't an option as well as she helped them close the gym... She knew absolutely nobody in the city and had no idea, where Shiratorizawa kids could be meeting. The rain puddles were getting bigger and Miwa felt the cold wind rushing her through.

That was until the girl noticed a car, heading somewhere with a loud music bumping inside. As it passed the station, the girl stood up and noticed a guy with messy grey hair and it gave her hope. Semi Eita, who was a former student of Shiratorizawa loved Rock music and look slightly like the guy in the car. Impulsively the girl ran, trying to wave to the car but it didn't stop. She ran in the heavy rain, getting all soaking wet and having no idea of how to notify them. The car stopped behind the corner of the street as she heard the same loud music and Miwa immediately rushed there. It was her only chance. The music stopped and the car dissapeared from the sight that precise instant she turned to the corner.

Rain was dripping from her nose and her whole body. The coat probably already weighed more then her but the girl continued moving. It was in another second, she heard a loud chitchat comming from the little bar and the girl immediately sighed with relief, making confident steps in that direction. She opened the doors and only then noticed Ushijima sitting at the table with quite a few people.

They seemed to have a pleasant time until the woman appeared in the doorway. Her entrance deffinitely caught their attention. "I thought we agreed, you'd call." Miwa felt Ushijima's big hands helping her to get out of the heavy coat and the girl was too tired to resist. "How did you find us?" Ushijima kept questioning her but the girl didn't respond for a good couple of moments, trying to proceed everything that happened.

She kept shrugging. "My phone died... I'm sorry for bringing you troubles, Wakatoshi-kun." The woman stated with tears in her eyes and the man quickly caught her by the hands that were shaking from the cold. Miwa's head was killing her but she tried to pull herself together.

"Let's go warm you up." He pulled her carefully from the place the water puddle appeared beneath her from that wet clothing. The others were just observing her carefully without saying a word, having no idea who the girl was to turn Ushijima's attention like that. It was only Semi who was familiar with her and so the boy stood up to help as well.

"You should have a little rest. How comes we didn't notice you while going through the city?" He asked in a confused manner and headed to the counter, ready to get her some tea. Ushijima at that time sat the girl on the place he was sitting as before.

Miwa knew, she had to behave well but that constant banging was really distracting. "My name is Miwa Sano. It's nice to meet so many Wakatoshi-kun's friends." She then smiled a bit but felt some weird pain in her chest as well and so she started coughing a bit. Miwa noticed that tall boy with light hair. "You are the bartender! Nice to see you, Kawanishi." The woman suddenly gasped and made the guy blush that precise instant. "I'm really sorry for disturbing your meeting like this." She then put her hand to her chest and fixed her wet hair a bit as Ushijima sat right beside her.

Semi appeared with her tea and she nodded respectfully before heard another person's voice. "It's nice to meet you too and don't worry about that." The younger guy with weirdly sided bangs and dark hair spoke up with much enthusiasm, making Miwa scrunch her face unintentionally. The loud noises on provoked her terrible migrane more. "I'm Tsutomu Goshiki. Pharmacy Green Rockets." The guy stated proudly, pointing his thumb to his chest.

The woman only squinted her eyes, having no idea, what he meant with those last words. "That's a volleyball team." She heard an exanation from Semi who landed right beside the tall short-haired guy with somewhat unique features.

The woman gasped to that, realizing, he was just naming his team. "Oh! Nice to meet you to." She stated but as tried to raise her hand for a handshake, fell all the weight and put it down tyringly. "Good to know so many of you picked up the way of profssional players. Wakatoshi-kun told me much but I am not familiar with names yet." She rubbed them together trying to get a bit warmer and then felt Ushijima's hand wandering from her wet shoulders, all the way to her waist. He tried pulling her closer and the woman frowned. Unfortunately, Ushijima wasn't able to see that.

It seemed the other didn't notice Ushijima's move as well. "That's alright." Semi chuckled sincerely, seeing the embarrassed face of his younger teammate Goshiki. "I'm surprised you took the project in the first place. Didn't you hate sports?" He then asked her curiously, trying to engage Miwa into conversation more.

Unfortunately, it wasn't the best time but they didn't  know it. "I do hate them." She stated, finally resisting to Ushijima's curious touches through her turtle neck sweater. "But this project is not entirely about sports." She tried to hint the big guy but he only thought, Miwa wanted to speak to him.

The player curiously turned his face towards her. "I thought you liked the game." He raised his shoulders a bit and so his fingers slid a bit up, making woman extremely uncomfortable. She liked Ushijima but not like that. Well, maybe, like that... but not right then.

The woman sighed in disbelief, realizing that player didn't take the hints. "I liked it, knowing you sat beside me and would protect me." She tried to move away but only felt him pulling her closer in more harsh way. Miwa didn't quite feel well and thought that could avoid telling him off but her banging mind took the control.

Ushijima frowned a bit unsure of why would she say that. "I don't understand how is that connected." He mumbled with a bit of irritation and Miwa kept that on the same level.

Luckily, she had some questions to address the man with. "How much hate did you have for a first year kid to injury him during the game?" She asked curiously, suddenly straightening up and making Ushijima back off a bit.

He frowned to hear that accusation, completely forgetting that they were in fact in the group of other people. "You mean Karasuno's middle blocker, I mentioned?" Ushijima didn't know the reason of her sudden behavior and that confused him. "I didn't calculate the strength back then. I was a kid as well." The player shrugged his shoulders, trying to defend himself. He did not realize Miwa, just tried to keep him away.

The woman did feel angry with him. "You were two years older then him. It's because of crazy nerds like you, I hate sports." She mumbled, catching her forehead with both hands. "Your miscalculation could bring far more severe damage." Miwa shrugged from her own thoughts and felt even more pain in her forehead.

That hurt Ushijima's feelings. "Do I have to apologize for being too strong?" He asked very seriously, finally separating himself from her. "He knew who they were playing against." The man stated, turning the attentions of the guys who also were there.

Semi sighed. "Ushijima-san-, better not dwell on that right now. I can assure you, she has a perfectly good reason to say that." He rubbed Miwa's shoulder but as the woman seemed to calm down, he snapped his fingers to wards her cheek, completely surprising her. "But you are being an ass." He explained briefly, hinting that it wasn't the best time to discuss their personal problems.

The woman let out a chuckle to that. "You are right" She sighed, finally letting go of her forehead and realizing how much she had just said. "I'm not here for that. The reason why I picked the project is because I believe that I can do it." The woman forced a smile, making sure everyone bought it. The guys around nodded, except for Ushijima and she suddenly patted the man's shoulder, only confusing him more. "Ushijima-San has taught me a lot at today's Shiratorizawa practice and I couldn't be more thankful for that." Miwa just tried to return the player in his previous mood. She felt angry but didn't want to ruin their evening completely.

The guy beside Semi smiled kindly to her. "What's the project about anyway?" He got curious about all the drama and nodded to Semi, who already silently agreed to spill everything later.

Miwa rubbed her forehead again. "I can't say." She noticed Ushijima's sight at herself and the guy let out a silent sigh, finally realizing that she had probably been mad about his sudden move, then his actual strength. He thought, she ought to feel uncomfortable. "But I have the starting info and I'm sure you will hear about it in a bit." The woman smiled, feeling an even louder pounding in her head. Her body was completely exhausted after the long day.

The man nodded understandably. "That is definitely a curious one." He showed another kind smile and for a second there, Miwa felt better. "We will be looking forward to hear the details." He nodded respectfully, making her even more eager to finish. At that point, way too many people knew about her participation in it but she still didn't particularly like volleyball.

The conversations went on until the late late evening. Miwa seemed to take less and less part in them, only raising the player's suspicion more. Ushijima notified his friends that he had a practice to attend and, therefore, couldn't possibly stay for longer. Miwa was determined to get home that evening as well, so they both left. Her coat was completely soaked and she shrugged to every little wind on their way to the station "I though that was mean, what you have said about me." Ushijima only spoke to her again as they got back to Tokyo.

She hissed, turning herself away. "I thought you were better mannered then that." She had no intentions to deal with his feelings when her head hurt like crazy.

The man realized that his thought was correct. "Noone saw that." He mumbled, seeing the way, she kept on shrugging. "You are being ridiculous." Ushijima frowned fully, probably for the first time ever.

She nodded, not giving him even a glance and that irritated the man fully. "Maybe. I am a woman, Wakatoshi-kun." Miwa sighed. "A grown and independent woman. If you were to sign me up for your fan-base, at least ask my permission." She let out a sudden chuckle with a realization of how much the guy objectified her only after a day of communication.

He even stopped in the middle of the street. "You don't mind?" The man caught her sleeve, feeling how cold the material was and even more then that, completely wet.

She took his hand very carefully into hers. Ushijima's palm was warm so she immediately felt better. "I do now." The woman raised her sight to face him directly. "I thought there was something about you but like in the game, you have no sense of balance." She shrugged her shoulders with a smile, knowing it was the case. He relaxed too much around her. "It's all about getting the score." The woman knew she was right and in a second continued her move, this time, pulling him towards their destination.

Ushijima grabbed her hand tightly. "You know it's not true." He tried to make it right, even though, had no idea how to do so. The man then suddenly widened his sight and glanced at her with somewhat a terror. He realized her perspective, even though it took him some time.

Miwa felt his finger rubbing the inside of her palm and she knew, he was confused and scared. "I know what you said and what that meant." She stated carefully, grabbing his hand as well. The woman was awfully comfortable with the player, even though, couldn't properly explain it. The timing was just wrong for both of them. "I may be stupid with Volleyball but I'm not stupid about relations." Miwa then turned her sight back to him. "Do you need a ride home?" She asked curiously, knowing it was really late.

It made him realize, she cared. She cared and that meant that not everything was lost yet. "I will take a taxi." The man decided to keep his distance for the time being as it would be only fair. He felt like she deserved that. "Be safe, please." The player let out a mumble, letting her go.

In a second Ushijima appeared in a hug. "I will." She rubbed her face towards his jacket. "Thank you for everything, truly. I wouldn't be able to learn all that without you." The woman smiled, but quickly hid it because of another wave of migrane that appeared in her forehead.

Ushijima didn't even place his palm on her. "I should have been more careful-" he stated with regret, trying to save the sinking ship.

That was when Miwa separated herself. "Don't do that." She shook her head letting him know that it wasn't the time. "I am really exhausted right now." The woman rubbed her forehead again, realizing that he only wanted to keep the relation. Ushijima felt comfortable with her as well and that was nothing less then succes. "Let's leave it and I promise to listen to whatever you have to say but a bitsy later, alright? Here is my card." She pulled something from her big bag and handed it over.

As she turned to leave Ushijima spoke up in quite a straightforward manner. "I want to make it right." He paused before adding and that made woman stop, despite the shivers that covered her body with every new breath of wind. "Do you think that would be possible?" The player was sincere, realizing that he had, probably, made her feel bad.

Miwa looked at the ground and shrugged her shoulders. "That depends." She paused before taking another step towards the parking, her red car was at. "I really do hope so." The woman mumbled and rushed to open the doors, leaving Ushijima behind. She wasn't too mad about him, more about her terrible headaches and feelings that she let herself catch. It took her an hour of drive to get home and with every second, she felt more and more pain. Miwa took her pill and as was passing the mirror, realized that her cheeks were burning. "Tsk- stupid sport guys..." the woman mumbled irritatatingly, finally realizing what was happening. She had caught a cold. "Huuh-" woman breathed heavily with that sudden realization, knowing full well, she would have a lot of cancelings to do.

***

Chapter Text

As Miwa tried to catch a breath while feeling herself worn out, really late in the night, her phone, she put on the charger - beeped. The woman wanted to ignore it bit couldn't possibly allow herself for that. Miwa slowly stood up from the bed, folding herself into the blanket and felt her head bumping again. Her temperature rised and so she kneeled near the charger, feeling really sick. UKNOWN NUMBER: [@MiwaSano, are there any news on the project?] It was from the group chat that she had created not long ago. The woman frowned while reading that but before could even tap the screen, noticed another person writing. She didn't sign their numbers and so could only guess which one of the crew was writing.

In a second, the message appeared on the screen. UNKNOWN NUMBER: [Didn't you hear that we are under miss Alex since yesterday?] Miwa pulled up the phone to make sure, she saw the message right, catching a bigger breath and feeling terrible swelling in her throat.

This time, she couldn't possibly ignore it. MIWA SANO: [No, you are not!] She wrote, barely managing to keep her eyes open. The woman had to pull herself together to make sure what she writes makes sense. [We are about to make the best freaking project in the world] the only thing, she couldn't possibly survive was loosing the amazing crew, Kuroo have picked for her. She was determined to finish the project by any means possible.

The people responded quickly to that and she saw how practically all the members went online to see the scene. UNKNOWN NUMBER: [Really, how so?] She figured, it was probably one of the designers, just by considering the skeptical attitude towards everything.

She tapped the screen, so that her keyboard would show up and typed I another message. MIWA SANO: [We are taking the time until Wednesday evening.]  [I want you to be set with the ideas and we will move from then on] that silenced the people and Miwa felt she could actually succeed with keeping them on her side. [I guarantee you, I'll put my flesh and bones on making it work] She wrote without any hidden intentions, knowing the woman had to achieve her task. For the sake of the project and for the sake of the people who entrusted it to her.

The people made a pause but it was understandable... they were taking her words into a careful consideration. UNKNOWN NUMBER: [Sounds convincing to me.] She saw a message appeared on her screen and the woman smirked to herself. [Alex has been kind of a bitch to me yesterday] the woman didn't even have to guess. It was one of the photographers for sure. Alex had many troubles with explaining her vision and Miwa could use that to her own benefit.

She let out a slight exciting breath and immediately caught her throat that burned like crazy. UNKNOWN NUMBER: [Yeah, she wanted me to be prepared with the drafts for adverts... I didn't even had a chance to speak to the players!] Writing director, without a doubt, had some troubles finding a common ground with creative director as well. Miwa couldn't help but grin to that.

She couldn't however, show them her personal win. MIWA SANO: [I will be just as much of a bitch, dears] the woman wrote in the most polite manner, one ever could. [I want to make this project one huge opportunity] That was going to do all the job for her. Miwa was known for her works and because of her, Japan got many talents opened from a different perspectives. The woman used that argument shamelessly, feeling proud of her own position even despite the shivers that kept running down her spine as her body tried to fight off the illness. The people kept responding happily to her comment and in a second, the woman created a message again. MIWA SANO: [*Added BUG to a chat*]

Yachi was online and so Miwa just had to put her in. BUG: [What is this?] The message appeared on the screen one more time and Miwa grin became even wider. It all played well for her.

She typed in: MIWA SANO: [Please, welcome.] [This is my intern @YachiHitoka] the woman put it laconically but made sure to be polite towards her little helper. [She will be responsible for taking your ideas and then sending them to me] in the same way, Miwa was giving Yachi instructions of how to behave and how to get on with others. [I caught a cold. So I won't be able to speak for you for a couple of days] The woman decided to go truthful about this, knowing full on well, she would have to take few days off.

The woman thought it was it but the most curious one sent her another message. UNKNOWN NUMBER: [Since when do you work with interns?] She saw it appear on the screen and chuckled, immediately catching her neck with her palm. It hurt terribly.

She picked up the phone and wrote an answer to that. MIWA SANO: [Since I realized how much I want to succed] it was going to please everyone and make Yachi feel appreciated too. The woman loved playing with her words to make sure, she gets the most benefits.

It seemed, however, that Yachi was still a bit angry with her about the meeting and Miwa's try to use her. BUG: [*Changed the name of the participant to OLDBUM*] She then send an emoji of a waving hand and another message appeared. [Nice to meet you, everybody]

Because Miwa decided not to respond to that, she knew, people caught her trap. UNKNOWN NUMBER: [That's new...] She read that silently and frowned from the loud banging inside her head. The woman needed rest, preferably as soon as possible.

She was know for working alone, so this little interaction she had with Yachi in the chat, showed her different sude, making the people question their choices. UNKNOWN NUMBER: [Fuck, let's do that, guys!] The woman rear that one out loud and smiled. [I have had few thoughts already, actually...] the chat went on till very late hour, only Mia couldn't possibly read all that on time as she fell asleep on the floor right beside her phone, folded into her blanket. All the exhaustion of the day finally caught up with her and she couldn't resist.

She opened her eyes in the morning and felt somewhat better. Her head wasn't banging anymore and she could breathe easily, meaning the temperature went back to normal. It was only when Miwa tried to stand up, her legs didn't listen to her at all and she fell back to the floor. The woman  sighed and felt the terrible burning in her throat again. When she tried to say a word, it hurt so much, she almost cried in pain. Miwa reached for her phone, establishing a visit to doctor and wrte few more things to the chat from yesterday. The weeknes disappeared for some time and she managed to get up. The woman knew, no job will be done but there was one thing to have the progress going. She fell on the sofa and turned on a volleyball match between Schweiden Adlers and some foreign team. Ushijima was freaking awesome, even though his hits scared her even through the screen.

The time went on and Miwa watched quite a few of those, with a little brak for the appointment. She got home completed worn out and got surprised her stomach let out a treacherous growl. It made her stand up and grab an apple. The woman landed back on the sofa and picked up her phone. She notified Kenma about her situation to which he responded very kindly, wishing her to get well. Miwa knew, she could trust him with everything.  Her next move was to open the list of contacts. She pressed call and in a second heard low manly voice.  "Evening,... How are you, Miwa-chan?" Ushijima sounded like his usual self and it made Miwa feel a huge relief.

She opened her mouth and spoke: "I caught a cold." Her voice sounded terrible and she barely managed not to squeak in pain. "Make sure you watch our for symptoms." The woman had to make pauses after every sentence and rubbed her neck a bit to ease the pain that made her tears show up. "Doctor said it's not spreadable, but just in case."

Ushijima sighed with relief too. "That's why you called?" He was his usual self but Miwa knew it made him happy to hear her voice that day.

She nodded, even though, knew precisely there was noone else in the room except for her. "I don't want you to get that crap too. It would be a pity if you were sick because of me." Miwa felt guilty for treating him terribly because of her feeling and so just wanted to make it right somehow.

The player let out a low soft chuckle. "I feel well for now." He stated clearly, making Miwa blush like crazy. "Thank you for your concern." That last sentence that she heard went straight to her heart and the woman felt even worse.

It was about time to change the topic drastically. "Are you on the run?" She could tell by his breathing and knew he wasn't lying about his state of health. The woman rubbed her eyes from the tears that appeared from the pain and rubbed the neck once more, thinking it would help at least a bit.

Ushijima didn't hide the fact from her. "I am." He stated politely and Miwa imagined him to make a polite nod, like he usually did. "Thought it could be a good practice." The man mumbled and paused before stating more clearly then ever. "I am still determined to make it work, Miwa." He wanted to make it right just as much as she did, so Miwa opened her eyes wide to hear all that.

She knew how to make it work and use it for her benefit. "How about you do me a favor?" The woman asked quickly. "We will try to put it past ourselves." That sounded reassuring, even despite her terrible hoarse voice.

The man paused for a second and she could hear him stomping his feet, with a try to stop on the spot. "Anything." He stated confidently.

***

Chapter Text

It made the woman feel her motivation again, she spent next couple of days preparing everything and sending it to the players as well as to her crew. They did an amazing job and so Miwa couldn't be more proud to know all those people. But when the thursday come, she was running a bit late, knowing she had to buy a big canvas before getting to the gym.

Little blonde girl entered it with sight unsure step. She noticed the people, she had been messaging with through the days and so her steps turned into more confident ones. "Morning, guys." She waved and then looked around to notice a usual figure of a tall woman in heels with a big bag in her hands." Miwa is not here yet?" Yachi couldn't see the woman just yet so decided to ask straight away.

She certainly turned people's attention. "Morning, intern." One of the camera men waved to her with a slight smirk but the girl didn't feel any arrogance in that. Looked like they were rather curious then skeptical.

The woman who stood with sound equipment in her hands also spoke up. "Nice to finally meet you." She bowed politely to the girl and so Yachi just had to answer with the same.

The next second, the girl felt someone patting her back. "Welcome to the team!" One of the photographers smiled happily and Yachi couldn't help but smiled herself. "No, she is not here yet." He explained briefly, taking one more look around. The man then leaned closer to her and pointed somewhere. "And Alex still thinks we are doing her project." The woman with short blonde hair stood, searching for something on her phone and not paying much attention to what was happening around. It made the crew chuckle a bit. "I think she is getting suspicious, though." He then straightened up and put his hands on his chest, making Yachi take another look into the direction of the woman she had never seen before.

Alex finally noticed that the crew behaved differently. "Where are you taking that?" She exclaimed in disbelief, seeing the guys from lighting crew going into the wrong, to her, direction. "We are doing a photoshoot first." She pointed at the corner where they should have put the things but the guys completely ignored her, still heading where they intended to.

One of them chuckled softly. "No, we are not." He shook his head, finally putting one light reflector in the corner of the court. "Our supervisor said we have to learn the game first." His words were clear and confident, making the tall blonde woman widen her eyes I disbelief. Before the men could get attacked by her, one of them referred to the coach. "Isn't that right, Mister Foster?" He asked curiously, knowing precisely, the man had the same instructions, they all did.

He looked slightly at his notes. "That is what I have written right here." The man tapped the page with his fingers and the disbelief on the woman's face turned into despair. To state it even more clearly, Samson spoke up once more. "Wonderful idea, really good to have more drafts." He agreed with Miwa's ideas more and was more then happy to support someone, he thought was more capable.

The woman just have to advocate for herself. "I am your supervisor. " She stated, trying to understand everything better but looked as lost as a sheep on the huge meadow. "What do you think you are doing?" Alex tried to object, finally realizing that everything went against her plan. "Guys!" The woman had no idea what was happening and that looked almost pitiful.

That was the scene, until the doors opened slightly and they saw the female figure entering the gym. She had slick low bun and a mask covering half of her face. "Morning." She waved to all of them, making her way to the furthest bench. Her voice sounded ill but the woman moved in a rather enthusiastic way. "I will say very little today. Let's make it as productive, as we possibly can." She put the canvas and her bag onto the bench and bent to the front in a polite bow. "I want you to all coordinate with my intern to make sure you know every aspect of the game that would be played." The woman spoke quietly but everyone heard her well due to the echo in the empty gym.

Alex finally found the reason of her crew's terrible behaviour. "Miwa, what do you think you are doing?" He approached her but the woman quickly notified her to keep the distance with a loud cough. Everyone saw the tall man with two moles on his forehead shrug, making a huge step back, even despite the fact that woman kept her distance from them.

Miwa rubbed her collarbone. "Project." The woman mumbled slightly, really not willing to deal with Alex. "I didn't send you the-" She tried to make it sound believeable and then gasped slightly for a more dramatic effect. "oh right." Her throat was burning but it was worth it. "You are not really on the team." The woman raised her shoulders up, spreading her arms. Everyone could tell, she had a proud smile on her face even despite the mask.

The woman in front of her couldn't believe her ears. "I will be complaining to Kuroo." She stated, finally realizing her lost. Alex headed to the exit, not willing to pick up a fight but still threatened Miwa with her finger. "You are supposed to be suspended!" She exclaimed and then bumped into the photographer, who greeted Yachi earlier.

Miwa let out a chuckle to that wacky move. "Technically, suspension doesn't mean my resignation, right?" She rubbed her neck and caught again  making poor player Sakusa make another step away from there. "I was happy, you stood up to help. Thank you, Alex." The woman bowed politely and that pissed the blonde woman off completely.

She mumbled in disbelief "You bitch-"

Before she could come up with other insults, the woman felt somebody's hand appearing on her shoulder. "Choose your words carefully around our creative director." The photographer stated very clearly, trying to intimidate the hell out of her and, obviously, succeeding.

Alex asked in disbelief again. "What did she promise to you?!" She escaped the man's hand and almost fell from that quickly move, only to notice that Miwa was already unpacking her pencils to be able to draft a poster. She just didn't care.

Instead of her, the photographer spoke up again. "Opportunities." He stated calmly. "That's all we ever wanted." The man raised his shoulders, with his hands crosed on his chest and sighed. It was truthful and that's why hurt Alex even more.

She rushed outside but the doors soon opened again. "Morning!" The tall large man with short black hair entered the gym and they they soon saw few other people behind him. "Hopefully, we are not too late." The man nodded to Miwa and she jumped in excitement, making the coach chuckle. "My guys are ready for a practice match, Foster." He then nodded respectfully tot he other coach and Miwa saw a grin appearing on Foster's face.

The man stood with his hands on his hips and nodded respectfully in answer. "That's wonderful news then, since mine are ready as well." He kept smiling and then noticed how enthusiastically the players of the Schweiden adlers, headed to prepare for the practice match. "Shall we start?" The man referred to his team and they all cheered happily to be able to participate.

Miwa stood silently expecting the match to start. "Why can't I play again?" She then heard a voice of the dark haired setter referring to her from a distance. Kageyama looked disappointed or even sad.

Before she could speak up, the coach patted the guy's shoulder. "Because, you will be speaking to Yachi." He pointed at the blonde girl and she immediately bowed in polite manner. The man smiled and added. "She will be responsible for the interview." He knew it was all written down in the project plan and wanted to show how well he read it.

Kageyama's eyes sparkled as in the coach's words, he found hope of actually managing to have a play. "Yachi!" He stated rather loudly and bowed in polite manner. The player then caught the girl's hand and pulled her towards the prepared spot for the interview. "Let's do that quick. I want to play." He explained his move and that made Yachi both blush and chuckle, covering her mouth with a palm.

Miwa felt extreme happiness, being able to witness all that after few days at home. "How do you feel, Miwa?" The woman heard another manly voice. She turned her head to the source of that sound and saw Wakatoshi. He had disturbance on his face instead of his regular serious expression and Miwa felt bad again. "Still unwell?" He saw her widening her eyes at his sight but was sure, he had to speak to her at least a bit.

She quickly shook her head to that. "Much better now, thank you, Wakatoshi-kun." The woman couldn't help but smile to how much he cared and nodded to greet him properly.

He did the same bit then pointed a bit to the side. "Have you met Kiyoomi-kun?" The man asked curiously and Miwa saw a guy who got scarred before. He stood closer but kept twice as much distance as was needed.

Miwa leaned her head curiously to the side, knowing precisely who that was bit decided to speak up again. "We weren't introduced yet." She stated very calmly and bowed in a polite manner. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sakusa-san."

The man bowed to her in just as much of a respectful manner. "Thanks for keeping your distance and wearing a mask. I respect that." He stated quickly, making Miwa let out a slight chuckle. "Wakatoshi-kun have told me few things about you."  The man then added, fixing his dark curly hair and Miwa couldn't help but exchange a look with Wakatoshi.

She smiled to him, completely forgetting that she was wearing a mask. "Is that so?" The woman asked happily, making sure, the player read her mood and when saw relief on his face, let out another little giggle.

Sakusa was just as polite as Ushijima. "He said you are good with drawings." The man put his hands behind his back. "Is that what you will be doing today?" He asked curiously, knowing, she wouldn't be bringing canvas to the gym otherwise. The player knew, if Ushijima saw something in her, that definitely made her special. They knew each other for a long time and to Kiyoomi, the player of Schweiden adlers was always a good and respectful friend.

Miwa nodded in answer to that, letting out a slight. "Mhm." She tapped the canva, leaned onto the wall and explained quickly: "I want to make a poster draft. And I want my crew to have fun at your little match." The woman sighed happily taking a quick look around. "They will surely learn a lot."

Sakusa sighex to that with a relief. He felt, Miwa was a nice person and was happy, Wakatoshi was the interested in her. "Then we will make sure to do a good job." He stayed and then turned his sight to the player of the Schweiden Adlers. "I will win this time." The slight smirk appear on his face and Ushijima immediate copied it.

The amn crossed his hands on his chest. "We will see about that." He answered quickly and they nodded politely to each other, making Miwa show a little blush on her cheeks.

She chuckled a bit. "You are cute." The woman turned their attention to herself and it was only lucky they didn't read through her real emotions. Miwa tired tot he coach, before they could realize, she was blushing. "Alright, if everyone's ready, we should be starting." The woman stated confidently and immediately headed towards her canvas, entrusting the process to her crew.

While they were doing the project step by step, Miwa was drawing the poster. Once again, she got so caught up in the process, she didn't pay attention to anything that was happening around her, more then taht, at some point she even wore her headphones and swayed to the run of her favorite songs while drawing on canvas. It went well and Yachi finished the interview, letting Kageyama go. She took a pot not far away from the court and soon notice the argue some crew member had within themselves. "You are doing it wrong!" The photographer from earlier exclaimed in disbelief, making the blonde girl shrug from a sudden noise. "How do you expect me to get a shot is you are up my ass all the time?" He asked straightforwardly but the camera man didn't seem to see his problem.

He straightened up and spoke with just as much irritation. "How about you take pictures from far?" The man pointed to other female photographer who kept her distance and was responsible for the further shots. "You know, it's you are the the one in the way!" He then referred to the guy near him once more, completely stopping the game and attracting too much attention towards themselves.

The guy from lighting suddenly pushed them from the way. "Shut it you both!" He stated angrily. "You are messing with the lighting!" He was angry and was ready to fight for his part of the plan. He felt responsible and so just have to defend himself.

The wowan, who was taking Kageyama's sound equipment, spoke up just as irritated. "Stop that! Yachi, please calm them down?" She then turned her head towards the intern but Yachi got scared from that sudden and very unpleasant situation.

"How am I supposed to do that?" She looked like she was about to cry buy the n a plan appeared in her head. "Miwa-san!?" Yachi exclaimed loudly. "Miwa-san!" Itvwas her only way out of the responsibility of stopping a fight.

Luckily for the blonde girl, the woman put down her head phones. "Huh? What's going on?" She asked, feeling the tension and leaned her head curiously to the side, observing everyone at the same time.

The photographer suddenly gasped after seeing her taking a step away from the canvas. "Is- Is that the poster?" He asked unsure and turned everyone's attention to her drawing.

The poster showed all the players, placed in the circle but leaving the empty spot inside. Each of the players who were drawn, stood in their significant and individual pose, Miwa saw them do during the actual games. It was a rough sketch but they could all clearly see  where the the was going with that. "Do you think we will manage to get such shots?" The woman asked straightforwardly, completely changing the attention from the fight and argues. "I really hope, you will say yes." She clapped her hands together and then saw the players taking few steps closer to have a better look as well.

Bokuto was the first one to recognise himself. "Whoa! Cool!" He jumped on the spot from the excitement. "I look awesome here! How did you know?" The man asked her straightforwardly, making her blush again. "And there is Atsumu with his hand thing." Bokuto raised his hand up, showing his setter who always did that move with raising his hand whenever he wanted to shut up the audience.

Miwa decided not to lie about that. She was proud of the progress, she had made in such a little time. "I have watched all of your games in the span of the last two days." The woman put it briefly. "I learned your plays to perfection." She stated but only then paused, realizing how weird that sounded. "That sounded creepy." She mumbled with a loud gasp, making the people around chuckle. "I did it on for the purpose of the research, really." Miwa bowed sincerely, trying not to creep the people out bit only burried herself further with every word.

The blonde setter chuckled to that very sincerely. "Well, I look freaking good." He stated, giving the woman a little wink and making her blush out completely. "Kiyoomi-kun, she even got your moles right." The player pointed to the painting but there was no need for that as everyone started into it anyway.

The man with dark curly hair spoke curiously. "Not only moles, look, every muscle is up on point, that's whoa-" he even took a step closer, forgetting about the distance for a second but then quickly returning to the back.

Miwa felt proud after hearing all those praises. "Your build helps you in the play." She made an observation. "I can see how you use it." The woman looked at her picture and then paused again. "I sound like a creep again, don't I?" She mumbled but heard another chuckle of the people around. It was a lost case..

The photographer still couldn't believe his own eyes. "That's-" he stated unsure, making Miwa lean her head curiously to the side. "You did that here?" He then asked pointing at the picture again. "Like you didn't have any references?" The man wasn't sure, Miwa didn't use some help or something like that.

It made Miwa let out a sincere chuckle but she then quickly put a hand to her neck from sudden discomfort. "I did have references." She stated, leaning her head to the front and scrunching her face, like she was swallowing a big piece of food. The woman woman straightened up and pointed directly to the players. "There they are. We have to focus on them." She smiled happily and that was visible even though the mask. Her eyes sparkled in the unique way. "Do you think you can manage?" She then hid her hands behind her back, taking a look at the crew.

They paused for a second. "Tsk-" the same photographer let out a sound of disbelief. "Now we have to." He stated, trying to imitate irritation but only firing the woman up more. "You set the bar way too high. I'm not going to fall behind." The man grinned happily and nodded to the guy he was arguing with before. That was the sign of apology. "Can we ask for another set?" He then asked curiously taking his look at the coaches.

They both nodded but only Foster spoke up. "Surely." He was surprised, woman was able to handle the situation in such a professional manner and even more then that, motivate her crew member to the actual will towards new knowledge.

As they were about to start after taking a short break, Miwa decided to turn attention of the certain player towards herself. "Wakatoshi-kun..." She whispered but  only felt her throat burning again and decided to speak instead. "Wakatoshi-kun." 

After the man turned to her, she slid some folded piece of paper towards him and nodded respectfully. He bent to get it and immediately saw a little drawing of himself during the attack. It was messy but very on point. Miwa was terribly good with her observational skills. "That's cute." He stated calmly and put the thing into his pocket. "Thank you, Miwa." The man remained his serious self but Miwa knew, he was happy inside. Happy, she dedicated some of her time to him.

The woman kept smiling to herself and put on the headphones, returning to the painting. They all heard her mumble in a second. "UUh I wanna take you to Aruba Jamaica~" She swayed to the song again and that only fired the people around more. She was confident of every her move and that was even inspiring.

The working day was done in few more hours and Miwa headed towards her car, after saying proper goodbye to everyone. As she beeped the keys to open her red Honda Civic, the woman suddenly heard manly voice. "Thank you for everything you did today." She turned her head to notice the blonde setter of MSBY Team. He smiled proudly to her and nodded in a polite manner.

It made her blush but she couldn't possibly show it. Atsumu was terribly attractive and Miwa couldn't help herself. "Thank you for letting me." She answered sincerely, noticing how he tossed the sporty bag into his Yellow sports car. "You are a great setter." The woman changed the attention from the Camaro, distracting herself enough, not to think about the guy's look. It was a cocky move to get a Camaro. He was probably a huge show off but with that face, she couldn't even be mad at him.

The man smirked, knowing she had definitely checked him out. "Kageyama was better today." Atusmu rolled his eyes with a sigh. "I got scolded by our coach already. Ughh- pain in the ass." The man groaned making Miwa let out a soft chuckle as she put her bag inside the car as well.

She shrugged her shoulders. "He is just dedicated." The woman smirked. "Volleyball nerd."

Atsumu gasped dramatically to that, putting his hand to his chest. "That's not nice." That looked believable and Miwa chuckled even louder.

She spreader her hands wide and spoke up with a dramatic note in her voice. "I'm not nice, Miya-san." The woman looked so funny, the setter couldn't help but laugh.

He shook his head. "Please." The man then smiled sincerely. "It's Atsumu-kun." Atusmu paused, taking a careful look at the woman. "How about we get to know each other better? I could invite you for a breakfast." He then fired straightforwardly, making woman regret that play.

She didn't mean to catch his attention this much. "Isn't that crossing our working relations?" Miwa asked a bit unsure and hid her sight away from him just in case. The woman didn't want him to catch feelings...

Atusmu, however, didn't give up. "We won't tell your boss." He kept pressing it. "How do you feel about onigiris?" The man asked curiously and Miwa sighed, knowing she wouldn't be able to escape the player unless he had his play and got bored.

She nodded slightly. "Love those. Do they serve sweet ones?" The woamn asked quite curiously. "I love plums."

The man shined like a light bulb. "You order and you get." He smiled sincerely approaching her even closer and immediately making a woman take a step back. "I will be taking you. Write me your address." Atsumu wasn't ready to give up easily. He closed her way and leaned onto her car, blocking her a way of escape completely. She was still wearing a mask but Atsumu slowly raised his hand and pulled it down.

Miwa got irritated to his sudden move and shrugged, feeing his finger touching her cheek as he tried to take off her mask. "Tsk-" She crossed her hands on her chest  "pushy much?" The woman put her hands onto the man's chest and pulled him away.

It made him chuckle, because being a player, Atsumu thought woman just wanted to show a bit of resistance to attract him more. "I mean." He smirked, for being so clever and coming up with the precious explanation in his mind. "You are riding a Honda Civic. That's much of an embarrassment already." He straightened up, leaving her her personal space and slapped the roof of her red car.

Miwa rolled her eyes to that. "I love my Honda Civic." She stated, seeing him finally making his way to his car. "Not as fancy as your yellow Camaro but just as comfortable. I can assure you." She stated seriously but only heard another chuckle from the player.

"I knew there was something about you." He stated, turning to her and smiling again. "Ah, fine." The man shrugged his shoulders. "Then do I get your phone number at least? I will send you the address there." He stated and immediately saw the woman picking up her business card from that big bag.

"There you go." She smiled and opened the door of her car. "It's nice to meet you, Atsumu-kun." The woman waved to him a bit.

He nodded to that. "Indeed." The man raised her card, holding it with two fingers and pointed at it with his other hand  "Tomorrow at 8?"

She grinned. "I will be there." The woman started the engine and then waved to him through the window before getting out of the parking lot. "See you, fancy boy!"

***

Chapter Text

The following day, Miwa arrived at the address to a small restaurant with a sign OnigiriMiya on it. She took a second outside to make sure she looked perfect and only then opened the door, rushing inside and immediately noticing the tall blonde player. He sat at the counter and held a place near himself by putting his hand on the other chair. When the man saw her getting closer, he stood up to properly greet her. "I was scared you aren't showing up." Atsumu smiled, looked like he was sincerely happy to be able to spend some time with the woman and that got her confidence to a completely new level. Unlike with Ushijima, she didn't completely trust him but knew, the man won't do anything that would harm his reputation and there were quite a few people around.

Miwa smiled in answer to that. "I would never, Atsumu-kun." She tossed her big bag to the high chair and fixed her tight skirt. "It's nice to see you." The woman said happily seeing him helping her take down the coat and then hopping onto the chair.  "The traffic today is terrible." Miwa stated, seeing him getting to his place as well.

The man nodded to that but decided to change a topic. "How are you feeling?" He raised his hand and pointed to his face slightly. "I can see, you are not wearing a mask." That was his first observation and Miwa felt shivers running down her spine. Just like with that situation near the car, she felt uncomfortable with the man's touches, when he tried to see her face fully for the first time. At that moment, she was uncomfortable with the stare, he gave to her mouth, when she spoke.

It was enjoyable for him so Miwa pulled herself together, not letting her real feelings take control. "Had an appointment with my doctor today." She nodded. "He said I was perfectly healthy and I can finally return to my work." The woman felt happy with sharing that, knowing that stupid illnes really put the project to the back.

As she was explaining it, the tall man behind the counter with back cap, black jeans and tight t-shirt, that barely held all his muscles, and white apron closed in on them. "You still wait for the girl to show up?" He asked curiously with a smirk on his face and Atsumu immediately pointed at Miwa. "Oh, hi... " the guy behind the counter gave her just as much of a curious glance. "May I take your order?" He smiled happily and Miwa widened her eyes with a silent gasp.

Atsumu chuckled when finally understood the confusion, the woman had. "She will have the plum ones." He stated without any explanation, making sure, she knew that he had listened to her. The man smiled kindly taking a greedy look at her face, like he was looking at his trophy or something. "I would say two or three."

Miwa shook her head, finally returning to reality. "Two will be enough." She hid her sight. "You look similar... could it be?" The woman wanted to make sure just in case, even though it seemed obvious to her.

The player, who invited her let out a soft chuckle. "We are twins." He nodded and pointed at the guy at the counter. "That's Osamu. It's immediately Osamu-kun to you, don't worry." Ghe amn put it briefly and Miwa with Osamu exchanged a polite nod.

The guy at the counter smiled to meet her. "Miwa, right? It's a pleasure to meet you." He stated calmly and looked rather pulled back, comparing to his always excited brother. "I will prepare the onigiris and serve them to you in a bit then." The man explained quickly and headed to the kitchen.

Miwa followed Osamu with her sight and then just had to make fun of Atsumu for his behavior. "So your brother is a successful businessman chef and you are a volleyball player?" She asked curiously, taking an unsure look at the player.

He corrected that. "Professional volleyball player." The man frowned a bit, making Miwa let out a chuckle. "It takes much time and effort, actually." He rubbed the back of his head and leaned back in the chair. Miwa felt his staring reduced in duration and felt huge relief. It her joking around with him, the player would get bored easily enough, not to make a big deal out of their relation.

Miwa smirked, feeling the power. "That's why you got scolded yesterday?"

"Hey, at least, I didn't stalk people on TV." The man had a point about that and Miwa's cheeks immediately blushed.

She rubbed her neck. "That's a part of my job." The woman hid her sight from him but then raised it with the same wide smirk. "Takes much time and effort, actually. " miwa imitated his speech and chu kled herself, making Atsumu roll his eyes.

"You are such a meanie..." He mumbled in disbelief but looked very excited. "what are you planning next? About your project, I mean." The man asked curiously, knowing only coach got full instructions and just had to poke his nose into the business.

The woman thought it was a reasonable question. "I will be dedicating my full effort into creating the story, that would sell itself." She explained quickly and then smiled in a more sincere way. "My crew will take care of the rest." Miwa sighed a bit.

Atsumu took her words into consideration and only then nodded. "They are very hard-working people." He stated, trying to reassure her eve more. "Under the right management, they could create something great." The player smiled, making Miwa get blush to show up once more. "But they seemed quite surprised with you bringing an intern?"

Miwa raised her shoulders. "I usually worked alone." She stated, leaning her head to the front at playing with the buttons on the sleeve of her linen white shirt. "Yachi appeared very spontaneously but she made me realize, I could need some help." The woman smiled, thinking about that. It was truthful and she didn't even try to hide it.

Osamu appeared beside them with a plate in his hands. "Here you go, 2 plum onigiris." He put it carefully near the woman turning her attention and only then noticed the begging face of his own brother. "Why are you staring at me?" He frowned, squinting his eyes and crossing his hands on his chest with a defensive pose.

Atsumu decided to ask straightforwardly:"I don't get anything?" Only after the guy at the counter shook his head in disagreement, the player suddenly exclaimed in disbelief. "Come on! What a brother leaves the other one to starve? He hit himself in a chest for a more dramatic effect and that only made Osamu roll his eyes.

"I will go bankrupt if you keep this going, Atsumu." The man threatened his brother with a finger. "Don't even think, I will be feeding you every single day."

Miwa liked the drama, but she loved the food far more. As they were arguing, Miwa almost shoved half of the onigiri into her mouth."This is-" She spoke, trying to chew on it and blushing from how well that tasted. "it is so delicious!" She exclaimed, immediately picking the other half. "I love it..." the woman let out a giggled, completely giving herself up to the moment.

Osamu blushed out to the way she ate it. "That's a-" he stated being completely blown away. "thank you for the compliment, Miwa." The man sighed with a happy smile and then took another look at his brother who was just as surprised as him. Osamu rolled his eyes one more time and after getting to the kitchen for a brief moment, landed a portion of onigiris in front of his brother as well. "Here you go." The man stated seriously, trying to hide his blush. "That's the last time."

Miwa shook her head, putting her hand into the bag behind herself and chewing on the sweet food. "No, it's alright." She tried to get her wallet. "I will pay for him."

In the next second, Miwa felt Atsumu's hand on her knee. "It's not the matter of money." He chuckled, making the woman turn a bit to the front again in a try to escape his hand. "It's a matter of having a brother. He loves me anyways." The player was proud of that touch but Miwa only frowned again. How much more further he go with a person he barely knew?

Osamu noticed that and immediately landed a slap on his brother's forehead."That's not true." He rolled his eyes, seeing how Atsumu rubbed the place in disbelief. "I hope he isn't bringing much troubles? Because here, we have him on the board of forbidden clients." The guy tried to change woman's attention or even make her laugh if that was possible. He didn't like it when Miwa frowned at all.

His last words hit Atsumu's ear and he gasped loudly. "That's why your employees don't serve me food!" The man raised his voice pointing directly at his brother. "I can't believe you, Osamu. You traitor." He didn't care about other people and was behaving in his silly way. It made woman realize it was probably just the way he lived and that touch meant absolutely nothing to him.

Miwa let out a chuckle, immediately stopping their argue as the men curiously leaned their heads to the side. "Atsumu is quite a pain in the ass." She explained briefly, picking up her second onigiri and giving it a small bite. "All of them are but I'm grateful to be able to work with them."

Osamu smiled to see her returning to the previous state. "Is that so?" He asked curiously and then nodded, making an observation. 

"it's going to be quite an interesting project. Promising too." Atsumu leaned towards her with a proud expression on his face and Miwa noticed Osamu's expression change to irritation once more.

This time, she didn't take it seriously. "Are you excited?" The woman grinned, suddenly putting her hand to the man's chest. In the second he got fired up, she pushed him away. "Good, keep that up." The woman tapped the table with a serious attitude to make she the man knew, it was only business. Osamu let out a chuckle and Miwa wanted to make just a bitsy more fun of the player. "We are going to need that. I will use it to my benefits." She smiled happily and then exchanged a look with Osamu.

"Please, do." The man nodded, crossing his hands on his chest and leaning onto the counter behind himself. "Maybe that will teach him a thing or two." He smirked towards his brother who only looked at both of them with the lost expression on his face. It was the man's chance to speak to her a bit more. "You seem quite motivated to succed. Ever played volleyball?" He asked curiously, seeing the woman taking another bite of the delicious food and a little blush showing on her face.

Miwa shook her head. "Not really." She stated, swallowing the bite. "I don't particularly like sports."

"Why this project then?"

The woman smiled to that question which was really on point. "Because you are inspiring as hell. I hate how awesome you all are." She stated sincerely in disbelief to her own words, knowing precisely, Osamu probably used to play volleyball too. "Excuse me for my bluntness. I can't keep those feelings down." She hid her sight away, surprised those words left her mouth in that exact sequence.

Atsumu blushed to hear that. "That's-" he was still very surprised about the whole talk they had. "It's really nice of you to say..." the man smiled and ribbed the back of his head in the most innocent manner, she had ever seen. Miwa couldn't belive it was the same guy who tried to pick up on her yesterday.

She nodded happily. "That's good. Because I'm about to turn into a real bitch." The woamn leaned her head to the side, showing her vicious grin. "I will be sending you questions later today. What I need you to do, is to answer them." Miwa knew it was a pain in the ass of the task but she just have to get information from him and wasn't able to ask him out.

She was too scared, he'd try to approach her again. Atusmu squinted his eyes with slight irritation. "How many of those?" He knew it was weird of her not to establish an interview.

The woman picked her phone. "Let me check..." she paused, trying to find just the right file. "35." She stated calmly, completely unbothered. "That's about 3 hours of descriptive writing." Miwa knew a thing or two about such types of data gathering.

Atsumu had no intentions to participate in any work. "I won't-"

Miwa suddenly caught his hand into hers. "You will." She mumbled and then leaned her head to the side with a curious sight. "Please?"

"What do I get out of that?"

"What do you want to get?"

Atsumu smirked. "A date." He stated very confidently and she felt his other hand appearing on top of hers. "With you." The man specified it, seeing the way here eyes widened after hearing that. It was the only think she was trying to avoid. "On weekends."

Miwa took his words into consideration, unsure of how to escape that. "Then let me add few questions, you will have to share with Osamu too and write down his answers too." She stated seriously, knowing she would get at least some data, as Atsumu will try to manage the task but he'd never manage to do everything and that was her escape route.

"You think I won't manage?" The man had just as much of a proud grimace on his face.

Then it was Osamu who spoke up. "Of course you won't." He stated clearly, seeing through Miwa's fear. "I'm not answering any questions." He kept leaning onto the counter behind himself with his hands on his chest. At that point, he looked much more intimidating than his brother. Probably, because the guy choose eucalyptus the right job for himself.

Miwa smiled to that. She knew he understood everything. "Then I suppose, I will have to spend the weekend by myself." The woman stated confidently as well, feeling like she could tryst Osamu more. "I could come here for breakfast then?"

He nodded respectfully. "I would be honored-"

However, before he could finish. "She is mine!" Atsumu exclaimed in disbelief again, making his intentions very clear. "You will back off, Samu." The man threatened his brother with a finger, making sure he get the point.

Osamu didn't even flinch. "First get me to answer the questions, Tsumu." He smirked from under the dark cap and then straightened up. "This will be the toughest task, you have ever had."

"I will succed. You know I will." Atsumu only squinted his eyes more, with all the despise he could possibly show.

Osamu was ready to answer his brother once more but then noticed a banknote on the counter and an empty spot. "Miwa, it's too much!" He picked the money up, making sure the leaving woman heard him well. "The onigiris were on the house."

Miwa turned her head slightly without stopping her moves. "I felt, it wasn't right." She stated, putting on the coat while heading towards the doors. "Those are way too good."

The man felt bad, thinking their argues scared her away. "Please, have your change! At least something." He saw her opening the doors and the twins knew, it was over.

Miwa smiled from the doors to them both
"Isn't that terrible for the business, Osamu?" She asked, curiously making the owner of the place blush but then also added. "See you, boys. It was super nice." The woman waved to them and disappeared behind the doors completely.

She was heading to the closest store to to herself some lunch for a long working day until noticed familiar figures at the counter. "Oh, Akaashi, right?" Miwa tapped the men's shoulders. "Nice to see you again. Bokuto-san." She nodded politely to greet them and immediately recieved just as polite unswerving from the manga editor Akaashi Keiji.

Bokuto, however, didn't seem to care about politeness. "Miwa-chick!" He exclaimed happily. "Hi! Good thing, we saw you." The man patted the woman's shoulder and she almost dropped a turkey sandwich with a water bottle to the floor. "Akaashi felt I was too harsh with you the last time we spoke properly. I should apologize." He bowed and Miwa couldn't help herself. She was really the most innocent person, she had ever seen.

The woman smiled, suddenly rubbing the man's head. "It's alright. Maybe, it was just the thing that I needed back there." She stayed confidently and saw his light brown eyes sparkle both at that move and at her inspiring words. Miwa chuckled softly. "I appreciate your truthful straightforwardness."

Bokuto nodded to that. "I am truthful..." He then paused and took a look at his friend. "right, Aghashie?!" The amn wanted to make sure the word was used correctly and immediately recieved a nod.

Akaashi smiled, fixing his glasses. "Right." He was relieved to know Bokuto's words didn't offend Miwa too much. "Buying yourself a lunch, Miwa-san?" It was cheap and who would know about the cheap lunch better then a former student and manga editor.

She nodded pointing at her stuff. "Just few things. I don't want to go out today anymore." The woamb put it drizzly, omitting metioning the person, she had spent the evening with. "What about you?" The woman looked at their basket but it had about 8 energy drinks as well as few protein bars...

Miwa was shocked to see that amount of the cans but Bokuto quickly rushed to explain it. "He has a deadline to send back to the supervisor." Thr man pointed at Akaashi and only then Miwa noticed the dark circles under the man's eyes. His glasses covered them well. "We bought energy drinks and I'm going for emotional support" The player pointed his thumb at his chest and grinned proudly.

Miwa nodded. "That's a promising plan..." She paused, suddenly reminding herself of the tough University years. "Deadlines are tough, Akaashi but you need to stay strong." The woman felt like saying that and so went with that exact feeling.

Akaashi sighed to that. "I'm just glad I'm not a manga painter. Those guys have no souls." He stated in a very tired manner and Miwa nodded understandably. The man then immediately shrugged. "Figurative speech, Bokuto-san." He explained it to Bokuto and the player gasped.

"Oh! Alright..." the man really was too precious. "Soulless people sound quite creepy." He explained briefly, making Miwa hold herself from letting out an aww sound. "What are your plans, Miwa-chick?" He then asked her enthusiastically about the evening, seeing that she didn't buy stuff for the dinner.

She chuckled sincerely to that. "My boring routine is my only plan for today. Nothing too exciting really." The woman looked at the tired Akaashi once more and the man could barely keep his eyes open. "I can't wait for the weekends. Finally some good rest." She stated something very obvious to her and the editor but not for Bokuto as the man was almost always busy on weekends due to the various games.

The man with glasses clapped his hands together. "Yes! Thank God, there are two days when I don't have to think about editing." He leaned his head to the front and that confused Bokuto but only made Miwa laugh.

"I get that, darling." She stayed kindly but then gasped excitingly. "How about you come over on weekends? I would love to have few drinks with you guys." Miwa smiled sincerely and saw the players eyes sparkle. She could swore, his frosted tips went up too.

"Seriously? Yahoo!" Bokuto jumped on the spot. "I haven't had a party in million years."

Akaashi straightened up slowly. "Party?" That didn't sound too good for him and Miwa quickly changed her phrasing.

"It will be a small party." She shook her head to notify the men about her plan. "How about some board games? I have plenty of those back in my place." The woman smiled kindly once more and saw how Bokuto was stomping his feet from the excitement.

He patted her shoulder and this time, she practically fell to the side. "Then it's settled, Miwa-chick." Bokuto had no idea how hard it was to keep the balance in the heels, when someone ept pushing you so Miwa only sighed, trying to find her balance.

Akaashi helped her a bit. "Bokuto-san..." He mumbled, letting go of Miwa and then frowning towards his friend "you are going with the 'chick' again."

As Bokuto covered his mouth with a palm, Miwa couldn't hold herself. She let out a loud laughter. "I think I'm growing to like it more and more, haha." The woman stated, finally seeing an empty spot at another register and rushed there. "I will be seeing you then. Bye!" She waved to them and disappeared behind the shelves. Miwa bought her lunch and as she sat in her car, staring her engine, her phone let out a beeping sound.

She leaned to the front to get it from the holder and read the message. KUROO TETSURO: [A word?] It looked rather serious so Miwa frowned.

She tapped the screen and wrote the answer in. MIWA SANO: [Jump by the office] [I'm there for the day]

***

Chapter Text

Miwa got safely to her office and prepared herself for work. She turned on the computer and it immediately let out a notification sound to show her the messages. The woman saw those were from Yachi and got even a bit fired up.  BUG: [I got the rough cuts from yesterday] Miwa read that and a smile appeared on her face. [I sent them to your mail]

The woman immediately opened the email account and typed in a message after finding a proper letter from Yachi. OLDBUM: [Wonderful] She tapped the keyboard happily with every letter. [And I have your documents for internship ready] She sent those to the girl, knowing all well it would be unfair to hold her as an intern without actually hiring her.

The reply came in fast enough. BUG: [I will sign them and send those to you] Miwa smiled at her enthusiasm and then blushed a bit after reading reading the second message [Thank you, Miwa-san.] It felt good to know someone was happy to help her.

As she was exchanging few more messages with the girl, the doors to her modern office opened and she noticed a familiar comb of dark messy hair. "You are busy?" Kuroo asked curiously, seeing the smile on the woman's face.

Miwa shook her head. "No." She pointed at the computer with one hand and to the chair in front of her desk with the other. "Just messaging my intern. Hello, Kuroo." The woamn was welcoming him inside.

"I heard what happened the last time." He stated taking a step into the office and Miwa quickly noticed a female figure behind him. The man sighed pointing at the tal blonde woman beside himself. "You did Alex really wrong, Miwa." He was referring to the scene, the women caused before, making Miwa realize, how awful it ought to have been for Alex.

The woman stood up from her chair. "I feel terrible about that..." she mumbled honestly, surprising the people around. They expected her to put more apologies but Miwa had no intention to pity her behavior. She did that for the project and that was all that mattered. "But what if I make it up to you?" The woman raised her sight curiously to the guests and they seemed ro get confused to head that question.

Alez was still pissed. "How so?" She hissed, probably way to curious to find out.

Miwa knew the other creative director well and knew when she needed a praise. "I know, what you do is amazing, Alex." She stated calmly. "I knew that since the graduation." Miwa hid her sight with guilty expression, acing the best damn role of her life. "How about I ask you to help with the project for chocolate shop in France? I'm not half as good as you are in logo creating." It was true. Even though Ushijima asked her to do it, Miwa felt she wouldn't manage to succed as much as Alex would.

The tall blonde woman exchanged a look with Kuroo who seemed just as confused as before. She paused for a good couple of seconds and then turned her sight back to Miwa. "You have some drafts of what you want?" Alex mumbled, trying to act unbothered but then saw Miwa's eyes sparkle.

She nodded taking up the prepared paperes from her bag. "Here. It's for a friend, so I will be paying for it." Miwa handed that happily and smiled during the explanation. She wanted only the best for Tendo.

Alex smirked, taking a look at the drafts. "That will cost you a lot." She mumbled, making Miwa realize, that the woman had already found the way of improvement and that couldn't be better for her case. Alex liked logobranding all too much.

But she had to hold herself, so Miwa only nodded understandably. "I am willing to pay any price." It was a time for another praise. "I won't do half as good as you would. Your logo branding is amazing." She put her hand to her chest to show all the sincerety of those words bit her back mind just begged the other woman to agree to that. That was she would be busy and don't stick her nose into Miwa's business.

Alex rolled her eyes and Miwa realized it was definitely too many compliments per square meter. "It is amazing." She said it as it was obvious and then sighed. "Fine. I like fancy things..." the tall blonde woman took a step closer to the desk and reached her hand towards the other woman. "I hate you, Miwa." She stated seriously as Miwa stood up to exchange a handshake.

It made Miwa chuckle. "Same right at ya." That was the relations they had. Both women had huge respect for each other and yet showed their disgust at any possible second. "Pleasure having business with you." Miwa stated confidently as they shook their hands.

Alex tried to come up with another insult but then just sighed in a tired way. "I will go chitchat with few people." She glanced directly at Kuroo and patted the shoulder of the confused man, who still had very little idea of how Miwa managed to pull it off. "I believe you two should talk." She said quietly and headed directly towards the door.

As those closed behind Alex, Kuroo straightened up in his chair and saw Miwa landing her butt back on hers. "You aren't scared to work with her after what you did?" It was a very reasonable question but for some unknown reason, made Miwa let out a chuckle.

"I know Alex." She explained briefly, putting her hands together and leaning onto them. "She likes sports just as much as I do." The woman explained briefly and saw how Kuroo frowned. "You have picked an amazing crew, only completely terrible creative directors." She raised her shoulders and the man in front of her visibly rolled his eyes.

"Ughh-" he groaned leaning his head back and landing a hand on his face. "so? Why Ushijima?" The man asked completely unbothered but it made Miwa feel shivers down her spine.

She squinted her eyes, trying to act normal. "What do you mean?"

The man sighed pulling himself back up. "I know, you were in Sendai with Ushijima Wakatoshi." He explained briefly and Miwa frowned, hiding her sight into the computer screen instead. Kuroo knew he had to push harder and so added. "Kenma can find anything."

Miwa took the mouse, imitating the search for something on her computer. "I don't understand, how that concerns you, Kuroo." She clicked to download the files from Yachi and only then took a quick glance at the man.

He had smirk on his face and Miwa felt another wave of uncomfortable shivers. "It doesn't. I just want to know." Kuroo leaned closer closer her desk with a curious expression. "What are your relations with him?" He pierced her through with her sight and Miwa looked around, trying to find a way to escape.

But it was how they say, "the best way to defend is to attack first." So Miwa was ready to pull her artillery as well. "You are behaving like a jealous idiot." She stated picking all the last bit of confidence. "He taught me the game, you should be thankful." It was truthful and therefore, worked as a perfect argument.

Kuroo backed off from her sudden attack. "I couldn't do that for so many years..." He mumbled in somewhat a disbelief, not realizing of why woman would be so different with him all the time. Like she could never relax.

Miwa indeed had no idea how to behave normally around the tall man. "I just felt it was the right place to learn." She mumbled, leaning her head to the front. "It felt right."

"Did you sleep with him?"

Miwa shrugged but decided to respond to that hide with a chuckle. "Ha, I wish." It was louder then she had intended and the woman quickly gasped to her own words, raising her head and putting her palm to her mouth. "That just slipped. I didn't-" She tried to fix it but Kuroo's defeated expression showed up on his face.

"No, I don't care." He stated, taking his sight away from her. It made Miwa feel extremely guilty but before she could say anything, the man spoke up once more. "You are a grown woman." "Pick whoever you like." He stated and then saw Miwa shaking her head. The man felt bad for a second and so added too. "I was hesitating about you, Miwa. It appears, however, under the right motivation you can do anything." He sat in a more relaxed way and smirked. "Kenma was right to pick you."

Miwa just had to make it right. For the sake of the project, she had to. "Listen." The woman couldn't believe her own words that were leaving her mouth. "There was one thing, he asked me to do but I still can't manage." She stated calmly and looked him directly in those brown eyes. "I don't particularly like my supervisor."

The man let out a chuckle to that. "Well, he doesn't like you either."

"How about we change that?" Miwa asked curiously. "I want to get to know you from a different perspective, Kuroo...." She spoke sincerely and her cheeks treacherously blushed. Kuroo smiled to see that, leaning closer towards her and Miwa immediately hid her sight. "Anyways," She ran her fingers through the keyboard, without pressing any keys. "I'm throwing board games night at my place on weekends. I have already invited Akaashi and Bokuto." She put it briefly and then shook her head. "It would be great of you could join."

Kuroo seemed surprised to be invited but he just had to make another statement to make fun of her. "I don't know, what that Wakatoshi did to you but it's so weird to hear that from you." He chortled slightly and Miwa gasped, raising her whole body.

"He didn't do anything." The woman stated with just as big of a blush on her face. "The man tried to touch me and I freaked out and so he thinks it's his fault." That explanation was quick and messy. It made woman regret everything at once and she sighed, knowing the case couldn't be saved.

Kuroo frowned. "You didn't tell him?"

"I don't want to. He wouldn't understand."

The man sighed to hear that. "It's a part of you, Miwa..." it hurt him to address that but Miwa saw how sincere he was about every single word. "I didn't like you because of how shaky you are but that time when you opened to me about the photos and the other thing...," He paused, making Miwa feel tears in her eyes. "I realized what a terrible life you have had."

The woman clenched her fists, having no intention to address the issue. "But you didn't want to exclude me and kept on being an ass? I know, Kuroo." She stated, trying to keep herself together. "I also know, you have feelings for me."

"That's not true."

Miwa rolled her eyes to that. "When you invited me for the practice. You thought of me as your girlfriend." She knew it was exactly the case. Kuroo could be hiding that from himself, but not from her. "That's why you stood up for me." She blushed while speaking, knowing she had never been so sincere in the try to change a topic. "And that whole speech about talking to Kenma. You just wanted to say, how much you cared."

Kuroo frowned unintentionally. "You read through that?"

She looked directly at him with her pink face and blue eyes. "I don't want you imagining things, I can't possibly bring to you." The words hit her hard and Miwa felt tears running down her blushy cheeks. "It's a pity-" She tried to say something but felt his hand appearing on top of hers and grabbing it very gently.

He let their fingers cross. "It can be changed, I know, it can." The man tried to be reassuring and Miwa felt the tension disappearing. "I will be there for the evening, so just send me the address." He smiled a bit, seeing she wasn't so stiff any more.

Miwa let him touch her hand but observed every move. "I will." She sighed feeling his long fingers. "Thank you, Kuroo." The woman raised her sight and saw blush on the man's face. He had imagined that moment before. Miwa knew, he did.

He couldn't hold himself. The man raised his body and pulled her hand a bit up, closer towards his face. "There are few things I have to take care of too." He stated quietly and then then looked Miwa directly in the eyes. "Just so that you know, you can write to me whenever you want." He added quickly and landed a slight kiss on the back of her palm.

Miwa accompanied the leaving man with her sight, having no idea how their conversation turned out to that exact conclusion. It felt surreal, so she decided to bury herself from feelings by starting her routineous job. The woman was looking through the files from Yachi and mumbled to see how well they turned out. "Cute..." She was already sorting them and smiled to see how well they were made. "I could use that." She sighed and then heard the phone beeping. The woman picked it up and stated without separating her sight from the screen. "Miwa Sano here." 

The voice on the other side seemed very enthusiasti. "Hi, my name is Hinata Shoyo. Kenma wanted me to contact you."

Miwa jumped on her feet. "Shoyo-san."

That was answered with a laughter. Probably, the most sincere she had ever heard. "No need, I'm younger than you." Shoyo stated happily. "Kenma told me, you are looking for a story?"

***

Chapter Text

Miwa kept speaking to the player on the other side of the planet. They both turned on the cameras and the woman saw his messy red hair. "When are you planing to return?" She asked curiously, smiling sincerely and trying to be polite to the man she would be working with.

Hinata seemed very comfortable with talking to her too. "Right after my friend's wedding here in Brazil." He explained quickly, making Miwa take a glance at the calendar at her computer screen, even though, she had no idea when the wedding was supposed to take place. "I will be there pretty soon." She heard Hinata's voice once more and returned to the screen.

Miwa nodded. "Then there is no need for us to conduct an online interview yet." She stayed ,taking into consideration the deadlines and realizing she wouldn't have the time to squeeze an interview with a player as it would take too much time. "I could use the materials I already have." She explained and yhe person on the other side seemed to get fired up. "Are you excited to be back?" The woamn asked curiously.

"Of course!" Shoyo chuckled sincerely and Miwa could feel her office getting brighter from that smile. "I can't wait to play with all of them... it's going to be truly exciting."

Miwa smiled to that just as sincerely. "I hope so too." She put it briefly and then decided to ask him a few questions, reaching for her notes. "Tell me, Shoyo-kun... if you were to play against Kageyama, what would you feel?" The woman knew exactly what to ask the player.

After spending so much time with professional volleyball players, such questions came to her naturally. Hinata thought about her words for couple of seconds. "That depends on how much he grew with his skills." He stated, smiling even wider and making Miwa widen her sight with realization that the previous smile wasn't even half as sincere as this one. "I promised myself, I'd win... and I'm not backing down from that." The man explanained effortlessly and nodded, pleased with his own answer.

She kept staring that the red-head. "I appreciate your enthusiasm. Good to have you on the phone." The woman was the usual polite self, especially with the people she didn't know that well. "Do you miss Japan?" The next question was more personal as she knew about troubles that might appear in a different country.

The man sighed. "I do." He put his hand to his chest and Miwa immediately felt that. "I have this homesickness periodically but it's never chronically, so I can live with that." Shoyo stated quickly, making Miwa frown a bit before she understood his explanation. He also added to that in a bit. "I can't wait to finally be back."

Miwa was happy to hear that. "I can assure you, people around can't wait to have you back as well." She stated sincerely, knowing precisely, many people wanted to see him on the volleyball court.

"Who?"

The woman nodded, thinking it was natural for him to ask that. "Well, first of all, your teachers Takeda Ittetsu and Keishin Ukai." She knew itvwould work for her benefit and Shoya would precieve her as a hardworking director, willing to give all yo her project. Of course, she wouldn't tell him how she got to Sendai in the first place but that wouldn't be necessary, either.

His eyes sparkled like little flames. "You spoke to them?" He asked curiously and after Miwa nodded in answer, suddenly sighed, putting his hand on his head. "Man, I should probably pay a visit to Karasuno..." He smiled widely again. "This feels Wonderful, thank you for sharing."

"Thank you for reaching our to me." Miwa was truthful at that moment. She felt, she couldn't lie to him for some reason. "We will keep our contact for the time being and I will be sending you all the information, okay?" The woamn asked more seriously, finally returning to the actual important matters.

Shoyo kept smiling. "That would be great. I can't wait to see what you have managed to find." He nodded respectfully, making Miwa even more confident to succeed. "Oops, have to run." He then turned his attention to something else and mumbled. "See you, Miwa-san." The man waved a bit and she saw the warm sun turning the screen completely white before ending the call.

Miwa chuckled when the screen of her phone turned black. "What a ray of sunshine..." She mumbled and then felt the urge to open the photos from the practice again. The thing that interested her was Kageyama. "They are so different to each other. Different like day is to night." The woman mumbled, taking into consideration everything that was said during the interviews and gossips.

She could definitely make it work bit before woman could even start drafting, she heard a slight knocking on her door.  "We are closing the office. Would you like us to leave us the keys?" The man's head appeared in the room and Miwa raised her sight, finally realizing what a long day it was.

She stood up. "No need." The woman headed to get her coat and quickly put it on. "I was just about to leave as well. Let me just close my computer..." Miwa leaned to turn it off and picked her big bag from the floor. They all headed to the exit and Miwa even managed to chitchat with some of them. It turned out, not all of the people, she worked with, were morons and that thought surprised her. "Goodnight, everybody! I will see you after the weekends." She waved politely, heading towards her car.

Miwa started the engine but before getting home, headed to the store. She was putting stuff into her basket before heard someone referring to her. "You shop here often?" While she was picking tea, sudden voice spoke to her quite curiously and she quickly raised her sight. The woamn had to look up to meet his eyes.

"Sakusa-kun!" She smiled widely, noticing the familiar masked face greeting her with a little hand gesture. The woamn then looked at her basket and shook her head. "Not really." "I just went for a stroll and decided to buy something for the dinner." Miwa took the tea from the shelf putting it inside her basket. It happened so they walked together trough the next isle and so the woman did her shopping with no clue, she was observed.

The man was carefully observing her every move and quickly examined the basket, she was holding. "This is terrible choice of products." He referred to her again and this time, she shrugged from that unexpected accusation. The woman took a look inside her basked too and didn't really understand why her favorite biscuits were wrong.

She rubbed the back if her head. "I'm not good at cooking. I didn't really need that skill until now." She then realized that he probably referred to frozen pizza that was there as well. The woman took a look at the basket in the man's hand. "Wow! Yours looks impressive." Miwa noticed how much he had inside of his basket too.

It was obvious to Sakusa. "I need a lot of nutrients. Athlete diet requires quality products." The man explained and rolled his eyes at her excitement which quickly turned into confusion.

"I'm pretty sure I saw Atsumu eat onigiris for breakfast few days in a row." She rubbed her chin a bit, trying to remember it correctly. The two of them continued walking peacefully and buying their stuff.

Sakusa didn'tseem surprised after hearing about Atsumu. "He's a dumbass and no one can change that." Sakusa mumbled but then noticed her reaching her hand to freezer again. "Don't take the frozen vegetables! Gosh, woman!" He quickly appeared beside her, taking away the product from her hands and putting it back.

Miwa felt a little bit of irritation... who was he to order her around like that? She however couldn't resist, much like that time at the restaurantwith Wakatoshi, when the man didn'tlet her get coffee.  "Okay, I'm sorry." She got a bit embarrassed so continued walking quietly until suddenly stopped. "Hey, Sakusa-kun, what do you say we prepare a meal together today?" The bright idea then appeared in her mind that was about to shatter from the reality. "Are you good at cooking?"

Sakusa stopped as well. "I don't do visiting, sorry." His answer was as dry as the desert sand. Miwa could feel it appearing in her mouth and so quickly shut herself up.

They continued walking and Miwa felt like she could make him regret those words. "Too bad. I had my apartment cleaned today, so thought it might work." she then chuckled, trying to turn it into a joke but quickly noticed his sight on her. He took the hint very seriously and that was a win on her sight. "Nevermind... You are a busy athlete." She blushed and hid from that awkward staring contest, pretending to read an price sticker.

While she was doing so, something bright appeared right in front of her. "Here. It's my phone number." He stated unbothered and Miwa turned her face to him again.

"I'm pretty sure that's a picture of a cat." She stated happily putting her hands with a basket behind her back, and noticing quick disturbance on the man's face.

The man shrugged.  "Shit-" He turned the phone to himself and started tapping something on the screen with a bit of irritation. "here!" Sakusa then reached his hand towards her again but the girl didn't move an inch.

She stared at it for few seconds and quickly realized how similar it was to her own number, except for 3 last numbers. "Okay, noted." The woman nodded respectfully,  remembering the order of numbers. "Why do I need your number, though?" Miwa leaned her head to the side quite curiously, while pulling her phone too to write it down too.

Sakusa sighed. "Text me the address. I will drop by if there won't be anything else to do." The man waited pationatelly until she puts him into her contact list and only then put his phone away. He just had to make it sound like he wasn't interested: "Probably not, though"

"I still appreciate that." Miwa nodded respectfully as they continued walking through the isles, even though the woman wasn't sure of what to buy any more. "Very soon Hinata will come for practice. You ready?" She asked curiously but Sakusa only frowned to that.

"Don't care." He stated clearly. "Another dumbass on the team. I just have to live with it."

Before Miwa could react to that she head some voices. "Sakusa-san! Can we have a picture?!" Some kids caught up with them and the man glanced at the woman once more, begging for help that time.

Miwa still felt irritated about his straightforward words. "I'm looking forward for the evening, Sakusa-kun." She only smirked and headed to the register, leaving the uncommunicative man to deal with his annoying fans.

***

Chapter Text

She sat in her apartment, thinking about the project. The woman was trying to think of the way to put everything in order and working, knowing it was all about how she would built the mechanism. Miwa heard someone knocking on the door soon after the dark covered the city completely. She headed to open them and saw a familiar tall man with curly dark hair. "Evening. I brought some food." He stated, getting inside but making Miwa frown.

"I bought food."

He took off his sneakers with an easy move and took of the sporty jacket too, handing her the big paper bag. "The food you bought is crap." The man explained quickly, fixing his curl and Miwa noticed two moles again. "Sorry.' He stated, putting the coat onto the little ottoman right at the entrance. "It's true and you know it." Sakusa picked a bag and immediately froze, realizing he had no idea, where the kitchen was.

Miwa kept frowning a bit. "This is going to be interesting then.' It was curious to have him in, as Miwa didn't have much time to get to know the players better. "How was your practice? I heard you were doing joined again?" She asked, heading towards the kitchen and decided to change a topic from the covered insults.

The man nodded. "Yes. With Ushijima." He stated and Miwa felt how happy the man got. "How do you know?" Sakusa asked, leaning his head to the side to see her through the big bag.

Her explanation was sincere "I keep in contact with your coach much. It's important if I want to succeed." Miwa took the bag of the man's hands and put it on the table. "Shall we start then?" Miwa jumped to the sink to wash her hands really quick and when Sakusa did the same, she pushed the man slightly with her hip. "But you have to explain to me everything." The woman turned his attention and thep pointed at the freezer. "I can't cook anything that isn't frozen pizza."

Sakusa looked at her with disgust again. "You either have a huge amount of money or metabolism issues." He mumbled with somewhat an irritation and Miwa sighed.

"You assume I eat in the restaurants everyday?" She get the first one but wasn't quite sure of why he would mention health problems. "Or?"

The man looked directly at her, examining every edge of her body. "Or I'm surprised you still alive..." He stated at then turned to start cooking again. "I think you need to care more about the stuff you put into your mouth." The man reached for the vegetables and Miwa already knew  it was going to be really tasty.

She wanted to help and so unpacked the rice and some meat too. "Maybe you are right. I keep telling myself I'm busy, but I guess I'm just avoiding the problem..." Miwa was true towards herself. She handed hi hi onto that appeared at the bottom of the bag. "here." He'd probably need that later. She rushed to turn on the rice cooker. "why would you say that stuff about metabolism?"

That man handed her few tomatoes. "Clean this, please." He was busy peeling an onion that she had just handed handed to him. "Because you don't look like a person who eats only frozen pizza." He stated clearly and then added. "I assumed because of your body shape..." the man regret that in the middle of the sentence. "um--" he threw away the peeling and took tomatoes from her, handing her cabbage instead.

The woman had blush on her cheeks. It somehow kept treacherously appearing in the most inconvenient times. "I like how tall you are." She stated and then quickly saw the man's attention at herself. Miwa knew she had a great body but it was only because she had some troubles with right eating schedule. "No need to be embarrassed about stuff..." the woman put the tomatoes to the cutting desk and picked up the knife. "How do I cut those?"

The man sighed. "Cubes." Only after the woamn started cutting that sigh turned into a gasp. "Not like that!" He caught her hand and pointed at the pieces she had already cut. "You are doing triangles."

Miwa's pieves did look a lot like triangles but she didn't understand why it tad to be cubes. "It's a salad." "No need to be so strict with me."

The man kept looking at the way, she tried to figure out the right technique of cutting. "You won't learn otherwise." He mumbled and noticed her struggle. "Take a different knife. This one is terribly dull." The man quickly took the sharp thing from the drawer and handed it over to her. "What are you plans on the project? Do we get to know your next steps?" He decided to ask in the process of preparing.

Miwa kept cutting the vegetables. "Establish the advertising, gain recognition, establish press conference and finish them with the story." She raised her knife and loudly landed it on the bord, cutting the final piece. "Bam!" The woman giggled, seeing how carefully Sakusa observed her. "I already know what to give them." Miwa grinned happily from being able to share that with someone.

"What is that then?"

Her eyes sparkled. "Can I tell you?" She giggled happily. "Promise not to tell anyone."

Sakusa sighed. "I wish I cared enough to share your boring project with someone." He was trying to make a joke but quickly understood that Miwa took it seriously.

"You are just jealous it's not about you." The woman frowned and then as Sakusa raised his sight from cutting avocados, she noticed how uncareful his moves became.  "Look out." She caught his hand before it could turn into an accident. "You will chop your finger off." With that she silenced the man for couple of minutes...

He however spoke up again very soon. "So?" The man wanted to hide it but was curious about the project more then could ever admit. Or was it not the project, he cared about so much? "Will you tell me?"

The woman still felt a bit irritated. "Now you are curious? " She asked, rolling her eyes and the immediately felt him leaning closer.

"Cut the crap." He mumbled. "You know, I wouldn't have asked." Sakusa was serious but then quickly realized that he had infact never asked her politely. "Please?" The man raised his shoulders a bit and Miwa sighed, shaking her head in disbelief.

"It's about their highschool rivalry." The woman started and then decided to clarify just in case. "Hinata's and Kageyama's." She saw his eyes on her and knew, the man liked listening much more then talking. "About how they first met during the match at secondary school qualifiers and promised to compete." "Fanbase will love that."

Sakusa frowned. "Weren't they on the same team?" He had no idea it started before the players went to Karasuno, which meant another win for Miwa.

She shook her head once more. "Not at the very beginning." The woman helped with preparing but at that point, Sakusa mostly did his own thing himself. "Kageyama shared few interesting things about how Hinata actually impressed him with his will to fight and-" She kept speaking but only then saw the visible irritation on his face appear once more. "and you don't like listening about that?"

The man shrugged for being read like that. "No, I do." He mumbled and added quickly. "I'm just different." "Will is never enough." His words were short but described his feeling perfectly. "You have to have the skill and luck."

Miwa chuckled softly. "You are speaking like Wakatoshi-kun." It was funny to her of how many similarities they had and yet were completely different to one another.

The man kept himself busy, trying to hide that irritation. "Because it's true." He raised his shoulders, taking a bigger breath. "Even though we are going to be teammates, I don't think Hinata will be any different to Bokuto, who is just a dedicated freak." That was super sincere and so made Miwa freeze on the spot.

She had no idea, professional player could feel that. "Bokuto is lucky to have the form, it can help him." The woman stated in rather unsure manner.

"But what does Hinata have?" The man asked, putting the rice in the cooker. "Experience?" He wondered himself bit then shook his head. "The guy played beach volleyball... and now they are taking him back?" He looked directly at Miwa and shrugged again. "That is just weird." Sakusa looked rather lost and Miwa squinted her eyes, ready to dug more information.

She took a step closer to have have look at how he prepared chicken. "You say mean stuff about Shoyo but It seems to me you don't like Kageyama more." The woman crossed her hands on her chest, knowing he won't give her any more tasks.

Sakusa hid his sight away. "Don't even get me started on Kageyama." The man sighed tiringly, making Miwa feel all the negative emotions that burdened him. "He is a total idiot." The man paused before adding an explanation to that. "With having set for so many great players, he never once dropped the dream to defeat little tangerine." That confused the tall man and Miwa felt that.

Her hand appeared on the man's arm. "You seeize to perfection, Kiyoomi-kun..." She sighed a bit projecting I onto her own life. "I understand your feelings." "You have every right to be mad but when you and others are playing together..." the woman paused, realizing, she wouldn't be able to suceed without her crew. "I thought you still need those bastards."

He nodded to hear that. "True." The man looked back at her. "I can't play alone." Sakusa's mouth tip went a bit up. "It's complicated, i know that." He then added. "Sorry, for throwing it on you."

Miwa shook her head in disagreement, letting his arm go. "No, it's alright." She stated calmly. "I appreciate your honesty." The woman smiled, feeling the connection to him and then saw him wash his hands once more. It meant the stuff was ready. "What do we do now?"

"We wait until everything is ready." The man followed her to the living room. "Hungry?"

She nodded. "Extremely." The woman turned to him in front of the big window. "I was this close to preparing frozen pizza today." She showed it with her fingers and let our a giggle at the way Sakurmsa rolled his eyes, returning to his previous self. "Thank you for coming."

He sighed in disbelief to his own words. "Thank you for inviting me." Sakusa paused, finally smiling. "I needed that..." He surprised the woman and so decided to change a topic. "you have beautiful view."

She nodded, turning back to the window. "That is why I bought this flat." The woman explained quickly. "It reminds me how tiny the stuff I do is." Miwa pointed somewhere and pulled the man closer but the hand. "Look."

"That's your recent advertising project... "

They both noticed a little advertising billboard. "And yet... it brings money and gives people jobs." She explained quickly. "I'm proud to do it.... and extremely lucky to have it." Miwa knew the man would like that statement and just as she had predicted, she saw him smile again.

"I guess, if you put it that way..." He rubbed his arm. "I should be considered lucky as well."

"Of course you are." She nodded happily to that, seeing how much better the man felt. "Look at you." "Your fanbase is as strong as can be and you don't have to pretend." The woman pointed at his chest. "They like you for who you are."

"They are mostly kids, though."

That made her chuckle. "For Wakatoshi too." She did some research and the fambase was indeed very young. "If little you would meet you right now. What do you think he would feel?" She knew it was explanatory, though.

Sakusa paused for a second. "Probably the same as those kids who follow me around..." He stated and then looked her directly in the eyes. "you are much smarter then I thought previously."

Miwa gasped in disbelief. "Wow, thank you." The woman rolled her eyes and that  made the man let out a chuckle.

"Not like that..." He shook his head and then saw her blushy cheeks again. The man leaned closer to have a better look. "How can someone be so annoying?"

Miwa felt the same as with Atsumu. She didn't want to be touched but her mouth spoke before she could notice. "You tell me." It was a tease and the woman realized that. She was the only person to blame for her stupid behavior.

Sakusa smirked leaning even closer. "I wouldn't recommend making jokes right now. You still have to work with me." He almost whispered and the woman shrugged, trying to cover herself. "Miwa-" he stated and then leaned his head curiously to the side. "Why are you so scared?"

"I'm not."

He rolled his eyes to how she denied an obvious fact. "Yes you are." The man raised his hand and just as wad about to touch her cheek, she shrugged again. "Look."

"I'm just not comfortable with touching."

The man straightened up that precise second. "I didn't touch you." He thought his intentions were obvious. "That would be impolite, we have just met." The man then glanced at her quickly and pointed at the stained shirt. "plus, I don't want to het my hands dirty." He stated, seeing the immediate embarrassment on her face. "I did invade your personal space, however." He took a step back. "Sorry about that." Sakusa knew about respecting the personal space more then anyone else. As Miwa was about to say something, her phone rang loudly, making her shrugged again. "You should take it." The man patted her on the head and immediately rushed to the kitchen.

Miwa felt alm the embarrassment overwhelming her but somehow, she picked up the phone and pressed 'answer'. She let out a not of air and stared. "Miwa Sano here."

She heard excited gasp on the other side. "It's Atsumu. I got your dumb answers." He seemed proud of himself but Miwa only shrugged. "Send me the email address."

"What?"

"I will see you tomorrow evening. 6pm?"

Miwa shook her head in disbelief. "I'm not-" there was no way, he could manage to do everything so fast.

The man got more serious. "That's what you have promised." He stated, reminding her and making Miwa feel a whole wave of different emotions overfloating and suffocating her. "I won't keep you long cause we have game on Sunday, however I won't back off either."

She spoke with shaky voice, barely holding herself from crying. "There is no need for you to do it so urgently." It was the only thing, she really didn't want to do. Atsumu was a great guy but he wouldn't stop even if she asked him too.

The man wasn't ready to give up. "I want the date!" He exclaimed in disbelief. "Come on, woman!"

"Fine, I guess it would be only fair..."

Miwa couldn't believe she could ever be stupid enough to put such conditions. It had been a while since she went on a real date. The man sighed. "Freaking finally." He stated just as proudly. "I really do think you almost wanted me to fail with those." He guessed, making Miwa shrug again. "I have never been so stressed to answer a question before."

She just had to change the topic. "You are-" the woman paused, unsure if it was appropriate. "...adorable." Miwa hid into her own palm, trying not to cry too much. "Thank you."

The man giggled. "No, thank you." He stated sincerely. "Wear something fancy, lady." "I will see you tomorrow."

The woman could barely keep her thoughts together. It wasn't meant to be but she had to go on a date with Atsumu... Miwa headed to the kitchen and immediately saw Sakusa's eyes on herself. "Who called you?"

***

Chapter Text

If there was one thing, she had learned by that point, it was that she shouldn't have lied. The woman sighed. "Atsumu." She mumbled and quickly leaned her head to the front, saying not a lie but a half truth instead. "Apparently he wanted to meet to discuss something."

Sakusa groaned, rolling his eyes. "Ughh-" the man was making finishing touches to the whole cooking, they did together but still mumbled. "pain in the ass." He showed her the plate with rice and meat and held a spoon from the salad in his hand. "How much would you like?" The man asked curiously, knowing she was much more munger then him.

He started putting the salad on the plate and Miwa nodded. "That's enough." She grabbed the plate from his hands and landed at the table instead. "Why are you saying that?" She curiously observed how the man put his own portion too. "Shouldn't you be supportive of your teammates?"The questions kept appearing in her mind.

Sakusa raised his shoulders and sat right beside her. "See if I care." He put the chopsticks near them and clapped his hands together. "Have a nice meal, Miwa." He stated and she noticed a little smile on his face again. They started their food but Sakusa got way to curious, not to ask. "Why would he want to meet you, though?" He was chewing on a bit of rice and his salad. "That's weird."

Miwa suddenly chortled. "Are you scared I might steal your setter boyfriend?"

The man immediately widened his sight. "You have been to the fanbase webpages?" He asked in disbelief but then rolled his eues with a significant: "Tsk-" Miwa kept smiling to the way he got embarrassed but Sakusa had to make sure they were talking about the same things. "those bastards." He mumbled. "Posting stuff about us again?"

It made her laugh and she couldn't stop herself. "Sorry-" all the fanbase was theorizing about those two being a couple and it was just wasy too funny to read some of those. "pfft" that laughter was so sincere, she got blush to show up on her cheeks but quickly covered it with her palm.

The man rolled his eyes to that once again. "Yeah. That's very funny, isn't it?" He smirked at the way she made fun of him but but ignored ignored discussion and took another bite of his food. "It even tastes alright." Sakusa mumbled and Miwa immediately gasped, picking up her chopsticks as well.

"Don't start without me!" She slightly pushed the man with her hand. "I was busy laughing." The woman found her excuse and started her food too. "Hmmm! So delicious!" Miwa loved food way too much to hide her feelings everything, she ate something tasty. "You should be a chef."

The man looked at her with disgust again. "Whoa, thank you." "Very nice thing to say to a professional player." He clearly, wasn't please with that compliment but at that point his reactions only made Miwa chuckle. The man noticed that and so decided to return to business again. "When are you planing to shoot an advertisement?"

"After your game on Sunday." She stated, finally calming down completely and chewing on her food with a lot of enthusiasm. "I want to finish with the most complicated part as soon as possible." Miwa started and her eyes sparkled once more.

Sakusa smiled. "And then crush the reporters with a story." He meet her fired up sight and sighed. "I remember." The man kept staring at the features of her face and then mumbled. "You are cute, Miwa."

Miwa got her blush to show but she wasn't going to break the staring contest. "You are cute too, Kiyoomi-kun." She said calmly, happy to be able to spend time with him. "I'm sorry for throwing you away earlier." The woman decided to add, thinking it was the right thing to do.

It was and Sakusa felt even better. "You have your reasons. I can't blame you for that." The man understood everything even without asking. "I just hope it wasn't something terrible." He stated politely and Miwa nodded, having no intention to open up to him fully.

Their evening went on and Miwa only returned to the reality completely after appearing in her bed. She had her pj's on and kept blushing about all the nice things Sakusa told her earlier. The man respected her personal space and she couldn't be happier to know him, really. Miwa rubbed her blushy cheeks until her little device in the drawer of the bedside beeped. She picked up the portable game tablet and pressed answer. "Kenma, hi." Miwa nodded to the screen, even though, he couldn't possibly see her.

The guy spoke up right after hearing her voice. He had no time for formal greetings. "Want to play a round?" It wasn't unusual for him to ask her that, as that was what connected them long time ago. "I have no teammates left online." His explanation was poor at least bit it made Miwa giggle. "You sound happy..." the man mumbled, loading the game for both of them. "Anything happened?"

Miwa blushed out completely. "I talked to Shoyo today and to Kuroo and Sakusa came over for dinner." She was probably the happiest, she had felt in couple of months. Her eyes fired at the opportunities and she knew exactly what to do.

Kenma, however, quickly returned her to the sad reality. "So you have opened up finally?" He asked unbothered and Miwa sighed.

"No." The woman mumbled unwillingly. "I wouldn't want to bother them with everything at once."

Kenma was just his usual uninterested self. She couldn't blame him for being the way he was. "That's understandable." Miwa heard him blabbering while picking the character for the round. "Make sure you feel comfortable." The woamn tapped the screen, preparing herself for the battle too and choosing her strongest magician character. "You have grown..." He noticed her player and so was very straightforward with his questions. "where did you have the time to play?"

"I wouldn't want to fall behind the almighty Kodzuken."

The guy chuckled to that confidence. "Miws, I appreciate the kind words, only you still have no chance against me." He loaded the game and they appeared on the battlefield right in front of the huge castle. "Look out!" He exclaimed notifying her about the fireball that flew into her direction.

Miwa pressed 'dodge' fast enough to manage. She frowned, realizing it wasn't going to be an easy one. "What level is that?" She asked curiously, noticing a huge dragon appearing in fron of the castle too and starting its attacks so quickly, she lost half of her health bar just like that.

They kept the battle going while talking. "That boss have been a pain in the ass for the last few days." Miwa heard how loudly Kenma was pressing the buttons of his device, so only smirked. It was going to be a serious round. "I just can't seem to find a way." He kept explaining while his characters attacked the dragon form every possible direction.

She took some time to regenerate her health. "Did you find the weak spot?" Miwa constantly tried to dodge the fireballs but didn't once attack the thing. She wanted to know as much as she could, much like she did with all her projects.

It was a reasonable question, so Kenma immediately answered. "It keeps changing. No matter how I try." He seemed a bit irritated after loosing half of his health from on dragon's attack, so Miwa performed the spell in the game on him too. "I can't seem to find a way..." He mumbled, immediately rushing to attack and loosing almost immediately. "Fuck!" The man yelled irritated and Miwa chuckled to that.

"No swearing, Kenma." She stated politely and then finally brought up a sword for her character. "Have you tried using the spells on him?" The woman asked curiously, quickly remembering the possible spells that could work well in those situations.

Even his character stopped for a moment. "Do you think it is magical?" He gasped in disbelief. "I haven't thought about that." The man made it so Miwa could easily perform a spell and exclaimed. "Here you go!" The man took the attack into himself to make sure, she would be able to perform magic. "Now, Miws."

Miwa saw the spell working and so felt tension in her neck and shoulders, she even straightened up. "Now put a key combo!" The woman exclaimed loudly and saw Kenma's character going full in. "Look, the health bar is changing." She started her attacks but was much weaker then Kenma. "Ha!" The woman laughed sincerely after noticing the last HP'S of the boss dragon dissapear.

Kenma was just as concentrated on the game as she. "Almost... almost!" He kept blabbering to himself. And as the dragon fell to the ground Miwa heard his sincere laughter. "Take that, you stupid mob!" The guy sighed and then as they were taken to the lobby, spoke up again. "Nice... thank you for the help."

Miwa smiled. She knew Kenma was to be trusted about anything. "I was glad." The woman sighed taking a look at her player characteristics. "Should probably upgrade..." She pressed the buttons and as the sparkling dust was circling around her characters for the upgrade, Miwa referred to the man once again. "so, tell me, Kenma. What do you think of the materials?" She sent him some pieces earlier that day and knew precisely, he was too curious not to have a look at those.

She knew, he wouldn't lie and just as predicted, he didn't. "I think they kind of boring." Kenma stated seriously but then added. "I liked the poster, though. You did that, didn't you?" He knew exactly how to see her touch in things and because, she trusted the crew so much, that touch disappeared in most of the things she had sent him.

Miwa was happy to hear criticism but that looked more like an attack. "I did." She stated, frowning her brows on her forehead. "How did you know?" It was obvious but she decided to ask anyway, as was sure the things she sent him were the highest quality shots.

The man's explanation came out even more irritated then before. "I can see your touch in it. The rest is just average, really."He was painfully truthful about that stuff. Miwa stayed silent to that and so he asked her in disbelief. "What? Did you want me to lie?"

She didn't want him to lie but Miwa would appreciate the support. Kenma wasn't usually so strict about the details. The woman felt hurt. "You are all so straightforward, it's almost irritating." She could feel the way he put her into the cage again and looked down on her tries to escape. Miwa clenched her fists unintentionally to that thought. "I will have to look at those once more. Thank you for the notification, Kenma."

She had no intention to listen to him so only hear his: "Miws, I did-" and pressed the button to end the call. Miwa felt tears appearing in her eyes, suddenly realizing, she did in fact gave much freedom to the crew. They were learning and she was too so Kenma could have been softer about that criticism, especially with the upcoming shooting, she scheduled for Sunday.

***

Chapter Text

The following morning  came quickly and Miwa wanted it to be as productive as possible. The woman rushed to the bathroom and then headed to the kitchen with a towel on her head. She threw cerals in the bowl and poured milk over it, when her phone suddenly beeped. Miwas picked up and pressed 'answer' without hesitation. Especially, after she saw, who was calling her. "Morning, Wakatoshi-kun." She smiled without even trying to hide her positive feelings for the day. "Why are you calling?" Miwa felt, he deserved some good treatment after that horrible scene at Sendai. He did help her to het contacts with Shweiden Adlers' coach Suzaku Banjō.

The man was just being his usual self. "I hope I didn't wake you up?" He was breathing a bit heavily so Miwa quickly realized what was he doing.

"No. I was just having a breakfast.." She mumbled putting a spoon I the bowl and taking it to the table. "and you are running again?" Miwa asked curiously, even though knew the answer even without that.

The man sighed. "I am." He sounded a bit unsure and Miwa even frowned. "There is actually the reason I'm calling you." Ushijima put it very laconically and so fired her up more.

"Yeah?"

He caught a breath and spoke up quicker then usually. "We are having a game on Monday evening." That was kind of cute, actually. "Would you like to come?"

Miwa felt it could be good for the press. "Monday?" She asked curiously, taking a look at her empty calendar and picking up a spoon towards her mouth. "Sounds fun." The woman started her meal. "I will be there."

He answered just as quickly but then paused. "Then..." it looked like he was making sure, she heard her right and Miwa smiled again, knowing he really wanted her to answer positively. That time Ushijima didn't even have to persuade her and that surprised the player. "I will reserve you a seat..." He mumbled and she could hear how happy the man was. Miwa knew, he was smiling. "I was worried, you would say no." She wondered whether he also hot blush whole saying that. That would be quite a view.

She giggled. "I would never." The woman leaned onto the table, suddenly giving up the controls to her words to some invisible force. "You should call me more often." She mumbled, turning as red as a tomato. From all that imagining blush on Ushijima's face Miwa wanted to make sure he got one. "I like talking to you." She sighed happily.

Ushijima's voice didn't  cancel. "Good to know." He stated calmly and Miwa very slowly hit the table with her fist silently, realizing she had failed.

The woman then gasped. "Aha! About the project for Tendo." She stayed, thinking it was good, he called her exactly that day. "What would you say if I collaborated with my friend on this one? She is much better with logos." Miwa spoke about Alex but decided not to mention her just in case, since at their last meeting, the woman was filming both of them without their consent.

"You think, you won't manage?"

Miwa rolled her eyes to that. "No, I think she would do it better since she lived in France all her life." She stated, trying not to loose her positivity. Why couldn't those men just trust her with stuff? "I want to make it perfect." The woman nodded, seeing how the cereals started to get too soft and coloring the milk.

Ushijima asked quite reasonably but that made Miwa chuckle. "Would it cost more?"

"It won't cost anything to you, dear." She couldn't charge him... not after everything he had done  for her. "I want to make Satori happy just as much as you."

The man kept breathing heavily. "You want me to be happy too?" He asked confidently and Miwa felt blush appearing on her face once more.

"I do."

The man chuckled softly. "Then I can't not pay for your work." He knew, she blushed and Miwa realized he did it on purpose. As for the guy who had little understanding of the emotions, he did way too good job in reading her through.

Miwa couldn't let him pay. "You did pay already." She stated and the gasped realizing, the argument had appeared in her head just on time. "With that seat to your game? Remember?" She giggled once more. "I want the best one." Itvwould be only fair.

"Fine." Ushijima took a pause before adding quickly. "And then I will take you out for a dinner."

She caught the spoon tight, starting to mix the cereals. "So that your fans could gossip?" Miwa felt bad about the date with Atsumu and wanted another date even less.

"I don't care." He paused again, trying to persuade her. "It's not about them." The man picked correct words once more and Miwa felt special. Unlike with Kenma yesterday, Miwa once again felt confident and ready to succed.

She wanted to answer but then heard in loud yell comming from the other side of the line. "Hey! Watch where you are going!" Some older lady seemed to het very scared and surprised.

Ushijima answered that very politely. "Sorry."

Tha lady then gasped. "You're that Volleyball player! Wait!" Miwa felt his breath becoming even heavier. He surely was running away.

She chuckled. "Did you just-" the woman couldn't finish that sentence because started choxkimg on her own laughter, she tried to hold.

He stated in rather serious manner. "Almost kicked the random woman, yes." The man finished the sentence for her and Miwa couldn't barely hold it. "I said I was sorry." His excuse was just too hilarious and so Miwa laughed loudly to the phone. "Don't laugh, Miwa." He mumbled, clearly, a bit embarrassed to let her witness that.

"Sounded like she really wanted your autograph."

He sighed once more. "They all do." The man sighed and Miwa felt him finally stopping. "I should probably make sure noone follows me." He said clearly and then referred to the woman once more. "See you on Monday then."

"See you, Wakatoshi-kun!" Miwa kept smiling in a very dumb way, unsure of why she was smiling at all. That felt good and she was happy... it was a believable excuse for her and should be a believable excuse to the reader too. The woamn put a reminder on her phone to establish a meeting with Alex. She wanted to discuss everything as soon as possible to be able to start working on the logo itself. Alex was signed as DEVIL'S HORN... not because of her behaviour but because she used to play saxophone and Miwa thought it was hilarious.

With that, she rushed to take another look at the project, hse was already maintaining and even managed to spend some time talking to Yachi about the Sunday's shooting of the advertisement. It was only at 17.00, she noticed that had only an hor left before her date with Atsumu. Miwa headed to het prepared, hoping it would be worth it. "Evening, Miwa-san." He stated politely as she took a step out of her apartment house, wearing beautiful atlas dress and big earings. Her hair was in the slick lowbun and she wore her peach-colored coat, not to get cold during their date. "You look gorgeous." He smiled, clearly proud to be seen in her company.

She answered him with a polite nod. "Then I didn't waste my day preparing for this." The woman reached her hand to him and he helped her get to the yellow Camaro "Good to hear, you like it." The woman smiled and saw how gentleman-like, he opened a door for her. "Where are you taking me?" The woman sat and he closed the door, heading to get to his side near the steering wheel.

He kept smiling proudly. "To an awesome restaurant, I have found out not so long ago."

Miwa smirked. "So not to OnigiriMiya's?" She knew exactly what to say, to tease him and was not afraid to use it.

He fired the engine and the car moved. "They are closed already, you meanie." The amn mumbled, focusing at the road. "You will see." He stated and Miwa got quite surprised to see what a careful driver the player was. She thought, he'd get crazy with being too self-confident but instead Atsumu really cared about the way the car moved through the street. They rode in silence bit not too long. The man parked near the big building and rushed to open the doors for her. He led her very gently and then grinned while opening the door to a beautiful and weirdly empty restaurant. "So? How do you like it?" Atsumu asked curiously, knowing she was definitely impressed.

Miwa sighed. "It's beautiful." She would have feel uncomfortable with people around and so the place he chose was just perfect. "I have never been here before." The woman made an observation as he helped her take off the coat. He put their upper clothing and pointed at the table right near the huge balcony window.

"Well, when you have a brother in the restaurant business, you get to know some cool unpopular places." The man pulled her chair and as she sat immediately opened a bottle of champagne that stood on the table. "I will be drinking non-alcoholic one, no worries." He smiled again and Miwa felt even more comfortable, knowing he did care.

The woman immediately picked her glass. "I'm sure Osamu is quite a competition to all of the restaurants in Tokyo. His onigiris are one of a kind." She thought it would be fair to say that but her words only made Atsumu roll his eyes.

'You are being too sleazy." He stayed taking a glass of his non-alcoholic drink as well. "I could prepare better onigiris then him like that." He snapped his fingers and Miwa couldn't help but let out a chuckle to that.

"Thank you for inviting me." She stated calmly. "I haven't been to a date in quite some time."

The man frowned. "There is no need to lie about that." He was sure it was untrue but Miwa's expression only changed to confusion.

The woman raised her shoulders. "I'm not." She thought it was visible to the people but apparently, not to Atsumu. "With my work schedule It was hard for me to even find some time for myself. I'm no good in any kind of romance." She stated trying not to malebit awkward in any way.

Atsumu shook his head. "There is always time, so don't you dare worry about that, pretty lady." He tried to change a topic, not willing to make Miwa uncomfortable. It was the only thing, he swore to avoid. "Shall we?" He looked at the drink in her hands. "To our date then." The man raised his glass and so did Miwa.

They clinched those together with a specific sound and Miwa sighed. "To our date."

They both took a drink and picked up their forks instead. The table was prepared already, only waiting for them to start. Miwa leaned back unintentionally and looked around the room."You don't seem yourself today. Are you scared?" The man asked straightforwardly, making sure she knew what he was talking about. "Osamu told me you didn't like touches. He noticed that back in the OnigiriMiya." It was hinest and he tried to adtees the issue in the best way possible, only Miwa wasn't ready to open up.

"It's not that." She shook her head and took a bite of the little carrot in her plate. "I'm just burried with the materials and so much of that seems relevant to me, I can't seem to find the right ones." That was a half-truth, trying to change a topic.

He nodded understandably, reading her through like an open book. The man knew, she didn't want to speak about that but just had to crack her story. "Well, take your time with it." Atsumu smiled. "You can visit our game before shooting and it will clear stuff for you."

The woman nodded  to that, taking another bite. "I probably should." She raised her body a bit up and saw his attention change towards her breasts instead. "It would be the right thing to do." The wowan quickly frowned and then exclaimed in disbelief,  to change the man's attention. "how did he notice the things about touches?!"

It seemed obvious to him. "Because you are Sakusa much?" He asked in disbelief too. "I felt that too, really."

Miwa rolled her eyes to that. "Don't compare me to your boyfriend." She stated with a smirk appearing on her face. "We are driven by completely different reasons." That was truthful, since Sakusa was scared of germs and Miwa was scared of people.

It made Atsumu impatient. "What is it then?" He asked curiously, trying to act unbothered as well as he possibly could.

The woman hid his sight from him. "I don't really want to say right now." She stated, trying to make sure he understood, that she was uncomfortable. "Let's not waste the evening to this."

His last words seemed to make her sad and Atumu just had to try once more. "But you are so interesting... like a puzzle." The man put it laconically and Miwa saw his eyes sparkle a bit. He then raised his sight with rather scared expression on his face. "That didn't come out right."

Miwa chuckled to hear that. "You are a dork."

The man nodded. "Maybe I am." He shrugged his shoulders. "All I know is it would be fun to get to know you better, Miwa."

The woman felt shivers down her spine, having no will to actually open up. It was just way to painful. She sighed. "Fine." Miwa knew, he wouldn't let her be without answers, so decided to play the game once more. "I won't tell you anything I'm uncomfortable with but you can ask me something you are curious about." She then raised her hand and showed him her palm. "5 questions."

The man nodded excitingly, getting fired up for the game. "How many languages do you speak?" He even leaned closer to be able to catch every her word.

Miwa crossed her hands on her chest and said proudly. "4." It was all the info, she gave him.

Atsumu got lost from that short form. "I wanted some details." He looked rather confused and Miwa giggled.

She was good at keeping her answers to herself. "Ask a question then." The woman raised her shoulders, acting comletely unbothered.

He sighed in disbelief. "You really are a meanie." The man took a second before his next question, trying to come up with a better one. "Did you ever work with volleyball before?" Atusmu felt proud of that one but quickly realized how bad it was.

"Yes and no." She answered sincerely, knowing she did a poster for All youth camp but she had never worked at Volleyball at her actual workplace.

Atsumu leaned his head to the back, landing a palm on his forehead. "I'm a terrible interviewer..." He mumbled and then groaned, rubbing his head with slight irritation. "graah-" the man leaned to the front and Miwa giggled at his mess blonde hair. "alright!" He snapped his fingers once again. "Did you grow to like volleyball with this project?"

Miwa hid her sight. "That's a nice question." She took a second to consider. "I think, I do."

"Do you like me?"

Miwa blushed and quickly glanced directly at the man. "Atsumu..." She couldn't believe, he'd be so straightforward about that. The man looked rather confident and even frowned a bit, wanting to hear everything. "I have just told you, it's my first date in quite some time. How do I know if I like someone?" The woman asked, rubbing her shoulder.

She wasn't making eye contact with him, so Atsumu leaned a bit to the front. "The feelings." He stated. "What do you feel?"

Miwa felt even worse after that question. "I feel overwhelmed..." She paused before adding. "since I started the project, I feel overwhelmed." "With everything I did before, I was confident about every step but here." The woamn was opening up more and more as well as showing her different sides.

He nodded understandably. "Then it's fun!" The man tried to reassure her. "Like going for the attack in the game." "You have no idea how that will turn out but you go for it anyway." Atsumu shrugged his shoulders and smiled before putting a piece of food into his mouth.

She didn't answer that and picked up the glass, drinking all the champagne at once. "Aren't you a setter?" Miwa thought it would be right to hear his answer to that.

Just as she had predicted, he explained it very kindly. "That doesn't stop me from attacking. I can rule the game in the way I like it." He looked exciting while talking about that and Miwa felt a little bit better. "Like a connecting link." Atsumu added and she looked back at him, putting the empty glass at the table.

"I wish I had that connecting link." She sighed.

The man chuckled to that. "I would be glad to help you, only my schedule is very busy and I know very little about the advertising." He was making jokes about himself just as easily as took every joke, she made about him. It was the skill worth having, really...

She squinted her eyes, trying to imitate irritation. "I will throw you out of this balcony boy." Miwa hissed with a smirk, observing every his move very carefully.

The man leaned towards the table after hearing that. "You can try. I would love to see you try." He smirked just as viciously as her. "Miwa, you are cute. I'm sure you will manage to achieve the project." He complimented her and the woman felt her cheeks getting the familiar blush. "We are just a bunch of dumb players after all."

She giggled. "You are a bunch of dumbos, alright. Nerds too." Miwa felt maybe it was the right choice to come there after all. The woman wanted to open up, felt it was the right thing to do. "I hated sports because they can be traumatic. I had a certain experience with-" Before she could finish, waiter, who seemed to appear out of nowhere, turned over the glass, while trying to refill her drink. It poured all over her dress and the woman gasped, standing up for fix her dress.

"I'm so sorry, miss." The guy apologized sincerely. "Let me help you clean that up." He kneeled with tissues in his hands, trying to clean the floor.

Atsumu stood up as well and pulled her closer by the hand, while her place was cleaned. "What were you saying?" He smiled but then put her hands away, as she tried to sweep of the champagne. "Don't worry about the stupid dress." The man looked up at her and gently put his hand on her stomach. "I will buy you a new one."

Miwa took a step back. "It doesn't matter, what I tried to say." She then felt how the man gripped her hand and pulled her closer once again. "Atsumu!" He was stronger and Miwa quickly appeared on his lap. "Atsumu." She shook her head and tried to stand up but then felt his hand on her waist, not letting her move at all.

He blocked every her move. "I promise not to hurt you. Please, stay here." The man practically whispered to her ear and Miwa scrunched her whole body. "Whatever there is, you are worried about. Just trust yourself and those around you." Atsumu placed his hand on her thight. "That's how the game works."

She sighed in disbelief. "You are right." After all, there was reasoning in all the stuff he said. As he agreed with him, Miwa felt his hand moving up her tight and pulling the atlas dress too. "Huh-" it was too much to handle and Miwa shivered.

He put his hand away completely. Looked like the man just tried to figure out the right way but then gave up. "Alright, I got it." She kept sitting on his lap but nothing stopped her from standing up. As she was about to do that, Atsumu spoke up once again. "Do I get a kiss then?"

Miwa got irritated from hearing that. "Do you?" It was so surprising, she even forgot about getting away from the man's lap. "I'm not sure."

Atsumu chuckled to the way her eyes widened. "That's my fifth question." He kept looking up as she sat on his lap. "You can't back down from your own rules."

"You are such a player." She hissed, suddenly feeling the rush and leaning closer.

"I know you tired me to fail with the survey questions because you didn't want to go on a date." He mumbled directly to her face, making the woman feel weak. "And yet, you are here." The guy put his hand on his back but her body let put another shiver, so he quickly took it back. It was mental block to touches but he then found out a way to overcome that and show her some intimacy. "I am a dumbo, but I know how to play my cards right." The man grinned proudly, happy to see, she didn't move.

Miwa sighed. "Well, that explanation definitely deserves a smooch." The woman put her hands carefully on his neck, trying to be as gentle as possible. She leaned, closing her eyes and the man felt her warm lips and strangely tasty lip gloss touching his mouth. Miwa was very careful but moved confidently. Atsumu wanted to grab her and put her closer, to be more comfortable but quickly thought it could scare her away and only answered that kiss just as carefully, putting both his hands behind his back. Apparently, Miwa wasn't as closed as she appeared to be. "Thank you for succeeding in the game, Atsumu." She whispered separating herself a bit.

The woman had blush on her face and quickly turned away from his face. "It was worth it after all." Atsumu kept sitting with his hands behind his back. "Pretty lady can kiss." The man smiled, leaning his head to the side to have a better view at her blushy cheeks.

That seemed to surprise Miwa. "Of course I can." She stated with a frown, making the man let out a chuckle. The woman felt embarrassed about her behavior and so finally stood up. The waiter was long gone and so she landed on her seat and picked the refilled glass once again. "And I feel better." Miwa smiled sincerely, making Atsumu get a little blush himself. But before he could get his hopes up too much she took a sip of the drink. "That champagne is great." The woman turned the attention and giggled.

Atsumu rolled his eyes to that. "Meanie." He kept smiling and that was making the woman feel better about herself. Maybe Kenma was right after all. Maybe she would feel better after opening up?

She thought about that for a second. "A bit. Sorry." The woman wouldn't want him to feel underapreciated but still was a bit irritated about the way he forced her to sit on his lap. That was uncomfortable but Miwa felt better after he put his hands behind his back. "Are you excited about the game tomorrow?" She asked curiously, letting him know that was the last entertainment for the day.

He nodded. "I am if you will be there."

Miwa frowned. "Don't take it that far." She stayed rather seriously and took another sip, already knowing, she would feel really embarrassed tomorrow about everything she did. "I don't want to feel responsible for you messing up."

Atsumu sighed. "Fine. I will play my fullest anyway." He knew, it was all she could give him but seemed rather proud anyway. It was like he knew about everything that made her keep her distance towards people, she though, that couldn't possibly be true. "You presence would be just a little bonus." The man finally picked his fork again. "Do you agree to such terms?" Atsumu glanced her in the eyes and Miwa nodded happily, letting the rest of the evening flow on its own.

***

Chapter Text

Miwa woke up the next day, fuzzy and very tired. She slowly stomped her feet to the bathroom and every step was banging inside her head, like someone his a hammer. "Morning to you Miwa." She looked in the mirror and saw how terribly she took off the make-up the last night. "You have had a bit too much yesterday..."the woman mumbled, reaching for the cotton disk, pouring Michelangelo water all over it. She cleaned herself up completely and brushed her teeth. Her day had to be productive and she was determined to have some rest before the shooting. That was the plan until someone knocked on the door. "ughh-" the woman groaned while heading directly there but then opened her eyes wide after seeing the tall blonde woman at her doors. "What are you doing here?"

Alex frowned and picked up her phone. "I wrote to you, you dum-dum." She mumbled, finding the right conversation. "We agreed to meet today?" The woman showed it to her and got Miwa even more confused.

"When?"

"Yesterday evening?" She spoke carefully, like she wasn't sure of her own words any longer. "You said it was alright and sent me the address." The woman spoke her truth and Miwa suddenly picked up the phone. She did text Alex yesterday only was to drunk to remember. Thank God, autocorrect exists. "Everything fine?" Alex asked her once more and Miwa decided not to show her precisely the view of her after the party. The woman nodded, realizing, her day ought to be even.more productive then she previously thought. Even drunk, she was capable of making beneficial choices.

"Why, no! Of course it's fine, haha." The woman let all in. "It's about Tendo's project?"

Alex nodded, landing her laptop bag on her sofa and sitting up. "It is." She stated clearly as Mkwa was trying to put on some decent clothes. "I need to discuss few things with you." The woman started, when Miwa finally appeared right beside her.

The woman had troubles coordinating but nodded too. "Sure."her main task was to make Ushijima happy and that became the priority very quickly.

"I tried working at the description but it seems to me he knows nothing except for the chocolate." Alex sighed in slight disbelief, even despite having many friends in Paris, she couldn't find anything on Tendo's probate life.

It was understandable though, Miwa knew the man was quite closed about his past and that was why he only started opening g up after she got to know him better. That was why he rarely mentioned anything connected to his school life experience, except for his highschool years. "He was a volleyball player." She stated, knowing precisely, it was the case. Him and Ushijima were really close and Miwa wanted to make it work for both of them.  "And he values his relations very much..." miwa felt like the guy deserved it. "Alex, Satori is one of a kind of a person." She smiled while saying that. "Remember when I had troubles with my MA work?"

Alex nodded in rather confused way. "I do." She rubbed the back of her head. "You went to Paris." The realization came to her quickly but she wanted Miwa to say it.

The woman with long dark hair nodded. "That was when he helped me." She had only olive feeling connected to that experience even despite all the stress she had been through back then.

Alex realized it well. "He is the guy at your MA?" She mumbled in disbelief. "No freaking way..." the blonde woman thought that Miwa's MA work was one of a kind and she even managed to earn money from selling it. The dark-haired womanhowever, never actually mentioned the guy who posed for her after that. "I thought you lost your contact."

Miwa nodded with a guilty expression. "We did. " The other woman then saw a little smile shining on Miwa's face. "But a friend found us" She decided not to mention Wakatoshi just in case. "It's a reunion present... I want to make it remarkable."

Alex smirked proudly. "Then it's good we both are working on that." She knew, thier shared projects were almost always the highest quality ones.

The blonde woman immediately recived an excited nod from Miwa. "I'm sorry about everything I put you through." She caught the other woman by the hand, making sure, they were putting the previous argue past themselves.

Her hand appeared in to of Miwa's. "You have been through a lot yourself." She stated calmly. "I understand." Alex was nice. Miwa knew, she was. It was only their competitiveness that kept them apart. "Shall I show you my scribbles?" She smiled and Miwa let out a slight soft chuckle.

"I would love to."

They both kept working on the project for Tendo and Miwa completely lost her track of time. She glanced at the clock and only then realized that had something about half an hour before the shooting. She then quickly remembered about her promise of visiting th game. Alex left and Miwa knew, she wouldn't possibly make it for the game. "Sorry, I'm so sorry!" She yelled at the couple, who she almost ran over at the parking.

The tall man with short hair looked rather scared. "Look where you are driving!" Much more scared then the woman beside him. She had beautiful blue eyes and rather short dark hair. The glasses were just adding to her serious but not threatening facial expressions.

Miwa parked that damn car as well as she could. "I'm so sorry." She stated, while taking her bag from the passenger seat and locked the red Honda Civic with her keys, which she quickly threw into the bag.

As the tall man was about to say something, the beautiful woman's hand appeared on his shoulder. "Ryūnosuke, be more polite, please." She stated calmly and fixed her glasses with a finger. "The lady is in a hurry."

That was too much for him to handle. "Well, she almost caused an accident, babe." The man stated in disbelief, seeing how she made sure the car was locked. "Should we just let her do that?"

It was reasonable and Miwa was fully aware of that. "I can assure you, I was very wrong to do that." She bowed in theory respectful manner, having no intention to deal with them as was running terribly late.  "I'm so sorry!' She then exclaimed before the man could open his moth and rushed towards the big building. "You have a beautiful wife! Thank you." She waved to them and heard the woman's soft chuckle. Miwa's phone beeped and she immediately picked it up. "Yachi, dear I'm almost there!" The woman was making sure everything was okay with her being late and stuff.

As she ran towards the court in her high heels boots, she heard the couple once again."Yachi?" They seemed surprised to hear that name, only Miwa had no time to explain them about her intern.

The doors of the gym opened and Miwa jumped inside. "I'm here!" She was breathing heavily but still moving quite gracefully towards her crew. "Yachi, tell everyone to set up." The woman ordered and started taking off her coat.

Yachi quickly nodded, checking her notes. "They are almost set." The girl was happy to see Miwa. "The game was a bit shorter then we thought." However, her boss didn't reply to that.

Bokuto quickly noticed Miwa closing in on the players. "Miwa-chick!" He exclaimed and turned everyone's attention to the woman.

Miwa only wanted to talk to the coach. "I am so terribly sorry for missing the game." She bowed apologetically. "I'm sure it was very nice."

Atsumu looked irritated. He fired. "We lost." The man stated in disbelief, making Miwa straighten up that precise second. "Very nice indeed." He rolled his eyes to her lost expression.

Before the coach could even react, Bokuto crossed his hands on his chest. It was a defence pose and so Samson just had to stop the fights within. "Atsumu." He stated, turning the man's attention towards himself. "You have to stop."

Bokuto nodded to the coach's words. "You messed that one up big time." Miwa gasped to hear that, then suddenly remembering, Bokuto was probably the most truthful of them all. Stupid but very truthful.

The blonde man seemed to get even more irritated. "No I didn't!" He exclaimed, threatening the other player with a finger and pointing it angrily to Bokuto's big chest. "Take that back!"

Before he could answer for himself, the third, much taller player appeared inside their argue. "He's not taking that back." Sakusa moved confidently with his every step, to bring Atsumu further from Bokuto, knowing it would be a pity of the two idiots, according to him, would start a fight. "You were distracted so just admit it." The man stopped once some distance appeared between Atsumu and Bokuto. "Who were you waiting for?" He asked straightforwardly and Miwa felt shivers running down her spine.

Atsumu kept defending himself. "That is not your concern." He pointed to Sakusa once more, making sure the guy didn't speak before he was asked and rushed towards Miwa instead. "I thought we agreed you'd come and watch." He mumbled, pretending to position himself beside the woman. "Miwa, that is kind of mean." The woman felt all the burden of his words appearing on her shoulders but that only evoked irritation and disgust in her.

She sighed. "I forgot, alright?" It was the only thing, she could do. Be fully truthful. "I was drawing and I completely forgot." The woamn felt terrible about everything at once and that feeling made her shrug. "You have finished not long ago?" She asked straightforwarldy but Atsumu answered that with just as much of aggression. She had never seen him like that.

He shook his head irritattingly. "Not long." The man headed away from her after realizing, he wouldn't get an apology. "You made if for shooting. That's at least something." He mumbled angrily and Miwa tried to follow him.

"Don't, Atsumu." The woman made a step but the quickly noticed his angry eyes on her and froze on the spot, only sqeezing: "You know it wasn't intentional. I'm-" She had no good reasoning for her behavior, so she felt uncomfortable and let out a "tsk.", hiding her sight away.

The woman shrugged to that, unable to believe it was the same guy, she was kissing yesterday. Before she could get overwhelmed with all the overthinking, she felt tall dark-haired man appearing beside her. "Don't mind him." Sakusa stated calmly. "He is being a jerk to everyone since the very morning."

Miwa widened her eyes. "Really?" It wasn't about her after all.

The man nodded. "His brother stopped by and since then he has a stick in his ass." The player never tried to cover his words. He said everything he felt. "Something about him asking for a favor or a bet in a new restaurant-" the man started and stopped at the middle, seeing the confusion in Miwa's face. "I was too bored to follow." He shrugged his shoulders and that made Miwa let out a chuckle.

"You are just being your regular self then, Kiyoomi-kun." She smiled, happily, knowing it wasn't her fault they lost the game. "This will be an easy one."

Sakusa looked her directly in the eyes. "I will try to make it so." He agreed an paused before adding. "You look very messy, Miwa."

"And there it goes." She rolled her eyes with the chuckle, knowing someone was oght to make a statement about her look. And who was the best at insults? Obviously Sakusa Kiyoomi. "You are lucky I'm so motivated to do this damn thing." The woamn leaned her head curiously to the side and then noticed how irritated Atsumu tried to tie his shoes. That looked almost pitiful. "I should have come for the game..." She sighed.

Sakusa decided to ask again. "You were busy with drawing?"

Miwa nodded to that question. "I was." She looked down at her shoes. "Completely lost my track of time."

Before she could feel guilty again, the owl-looking player appeared beside them once again. "It wasn't a big loss, really." He stated with a sincere smile on his face. "We lost both sets like immediately." Nothing could get past his frosted tips and so Miwa smiled to Bokuto as sincerely as she possibly could.

"I'm sorry." It was the best way to say it ,because they all realized that despite that loss, she was proud to work with them.

Samson chuckled to that. "They know what they did wrong, right boys?" He looked at Atsumu who was just as blown off by that apology as everyone else. Miwa probably had never been more sincere about her moves.

Yachi pulled Miwa's sleeve. "We are ready to start." She mumbled, trying not to ruin their conversation. "So whenever you are prepared-"

The woman with long dark hair didn't let her finish. "I'm prepared." She stated, suddenly bending to the front. "Let's get this over with." Miwa chuckled, while taking of her high heels and threw them over to other stuff. They started started shooting and as the photographer worked with the team's libero, Miwa spoke up again. "That's not what I meant about the dynamic." She was rather irritated, so Yachi beside her immediately shrugged.

The man frowned, yet kept a smile on his face. "Are you telling me how to do my job?" He asked rather irritatingly.

Miwa shrugged her shoulders to that. "If you don't know how to do it yourself, then yes." She stated calmly but then noticed that he didn't change his moves at all. "Put the fricking camera up!" The woman exclaimed and clapped her hands to turn the man's attention. "The shadows on his face would be better seen." Miwa pointed at her face, and turned her head to the side to make sure he saw the difference.

Photographer looked directly at her. "It creates contrast..." He mumbled and then turned away to do as she said. "you never mentioned it before." It was true, Miwa had never been so strict to them before.

"Well, I do now." She put it briefly closing her hands on her chest. "The playing stopped the last time we did this. I want something real this time."

The coach, who curiously observed all the processes spoke up. "Your vision, perhaps?" He asked curiously, proud of how much she grown with her steps on the court.

Miwa shook her head with a sigh. "Not mine." It was never about her. "Audience's." The woman said seriously. "They will eat what they are given and they are going to like it." She clenched her fist and then pointed at the player just as confidently. "Bokuto next." The woman notified the filmmakers and operators. "I want his straight shot.... taken from the front."

He immediately straightened up after hearing that. "I'm not risking the equipment." The man shook his head but Miwa wouldn't back off.

She sighed. "You do." The woman grinned and leaned her head curiously to the side, terrifying the hell out of her crew. "Unless you want me to find a replacement." Miwa hissed in a vicious way and they all felt shivers down their spine.

"Miwa-san!" Yachi exclaimed, pulling the woman by the sleeve again. She was shaking like a leaf on the wind but decided to make a statement about Miwa's behavior towards her crew.

The photographer from earlier who made his way out of the court to hva e place from the rest of the crew, spoke up. "That's alright, Yachi." He patted the girl on the back. "She is just showing her true colors." The man smiled and took a look at still scary expression, Miwa had on.

"I promised you the hell of a ride, didn't I?" She looked satisfied and full of herself, knowing Kenma wouldn't be able to address her with issues if everything would be done properly. "Bokuto, baby, could you show up the straight shot towards the anthena?" The woman put her hands together, asking him curiously and returning to her previous calm self.

The man got to the court in a very excited manner but then just looked at her with scared eyes. "I don't remember how to do it." He mumbled, rubbing the back of his head.

The filmmaker chuckled in disbelief. "What?" How could someone who played every day forget how to do a straight shot?

Miwa frowned. "You don't?" She took a second to consider everything and sighed. "Well let's remind you then..." the woman made her way to the court barefoot  and then looked at the remaining players. "could you jump for the block, so he could remind himself that?"

Miwa was sure, Bokuto just got lost in front of the cameras and so did the teammates realized that. "Sure, alright." They nodded and Atsumu prepared to set.

Samson Foster spoke up once more, rubbing his light short hair. "That's a smart move, I have to give you that." He chuckled softly and Miwa nodded to him with a smile. "But are you sure, you can risk that much? What if he makes it past?"

Rrsonable but Miwa did not care. The filmmaker spoke up too. "Miwa, this is madness. His shots are very powerful." He knew it was a real threat to the equipment bit Miwa kept smiling sincerely.

"Film the damn thing, please." She squeezed out the words and it looked like she was preparing mentally mentally something. "Let's see." The woman mumbled, taking a curious look at the way Atsumu st the ball and the way Bokuto rushed to the attack. She rolled her sleeves up very quickly.

"I remember! Ha!" The player exclaimed before putting a hit on the ball and bending his body to squeeze it through antena and the hands of middle blockers.

It was at that moment, he hit the ball, Miwa took a step to the court and as it was getting closer, suddenly jumped in front of the camera. "Miwa!" Yachi exclaimed loudly, having no idea, where would that led too. She knew it was unsafe to try to stop Bokuto's most powerful attacks just like that.

Miwa stood there with her knees bent and her hands in front of her self and a red spot on them from the hit. "Did you get it?" She asked, opening her eyes and letting out a relaxed breath, happy that didn't land on her face.

The filmmaker was completely shocked. The woman knew what she was doing all along. "I think..." He mumbled and then chuckled in disbelief "wh- how?!"

She straightened up, fixing her clothes. "I didn't lie, when I said I learned the whole thing by heart." The woman frowned, taking a look at her hands until heard a loud yelling heading towards her.

"Nice recieve, Miwa-chick! " Bokuto ran with his hands opened directly at her but it took her a second to realize what he wanted to do.

Miwa shrugged and exclaimed. "No hugs!" She took few steps back in a very hurried manner but Bokuto was faster. "No no no no!" She tried to escaped but then quicklybappeared in Bokuto's hands. "You are sweaty, Bokuto-san!" Miwa wasn't comfortable with that at all. "Guuuh-" She groaned, trying to slip out of his hug but he didn't let her go.

"Thank you for reminding me how to hit straights." He chuckled happily, really excited to the way she did it without making fun of him.

The woman sighed. "You did it yourself, Bokuto-san." She paused because couldn't believe the next words that would leave her mouth. "It was all your coolness."

The man's eyes spearked to that like they never did before. "Yahoo!" He jumped up, still holding her in his hug. "Ya heard that!?" The man laughed with a victorious smile and then turned to Miwa who by that time scrunched her face in somewhat disgust. "Will you tell that Akaashi today too?"

She nodded. "I will." The woman heard the chuckle of the crew and so felt better, the tension fell down. "Kuroo will bring him over and I'm taking you after the shooting." Miwa explained it quickly and immediately noticed Atsumu's sight on herself. He tried to hear everything. "Now let me go."

Bokuto, however, only hugged her tighter. "Nice!"

Miwa had to turn his attention. "Bokuto-san!" She exclaimed and then immediately smiled. "Let me go, please."

The man gasped. "Oh right!" He opened his hands and started remembering. "Kuroo told-"

She didn't let him finish, only suddenly rubbed his head. "Haha! Alright." Miwa chuckled sincerely, having no idea, how much Kuroo told Bokuto about her. "Let's finish that sooner. I would love to get it over with." The woamn clapped her hands and notified the crew to take their positions.

The filmmaker from before sighed in a tired way. "With those tasks?" He mumbled and people around him chuckled. "I don't think we will be done till tomorrow-" the man had rather pessimistic belief but then quickly noticed Miwa's terrifying sight at himself. "or maybe we will, who knows?" He shrugged unintentionally and it made the people around let out another chuckle.

Miwa rolled her eyes. "Lazy bugs." She stretched her back. "Guuh" the woman then took another glance at the red spot on her hands, feeling kind of weird. She tried to see it better and then realized that all her feelings were positive. This realization made her shrug and she quickly hid her hands behind her back.

***

Chapter Text

Just a was promised earlier, Miwa did brought Bokuto to her place right after they were finally done with the shooting. "You have a nice place here!" The man chucked, taking of his sporty shoes and handing her a jacket, curiously observing her living room.

She took the clothing from him and pointed at the spot in front of the big screen TV. "Just jump wherever you feel comfortable." She stated putting his jacket on the hangaer and hiding it into the wardrobe. "I will go put the drinks to the fridge." The woman stated quickly and disappeared with a paper bag in her hands. Bokuto rushed to the big sofa and Miwa appeared once more. She held two cans in her hands and handed once to the player. "Thank you for your hard work today."

He patted the place beside himself, while immediately clicking the can open. "You did hard work, not me." The man smiled kindly and then added to his explanation. "Managing so many people and the actually having everything work out, that means much." He looked rather excited to talk so Miwa felt much better.

She hid her sight. "Thank you." The woman clicked her can as well and quickly took a sip. "I feel confident about this." She sighed, feeling the alcohol appearing in her body with a loud reminder about the next day hangover.

Bokuto drank alcohol drink as well. His coach took a day off yesterday, so he'd have a whole day of chilling. "Well, now that you know how the game works, of course." He shrugged his shoulders, feeling how polite their conversation was. "It's kind of nice, how much you did for us, overstepping your own fears..." the man spoke sincerely but then paused. "overstepping?" He wasn't sure if he used that correctly and Miwa let out a slight soft chuckle.

She nodded. "You used it correctly, Bokuto-san." Miwa took his words under careful consideration. "I guess..." She sighed with the smile on her face. "but I didn't do it for you only. I did it for myself too." It was true. She was happy to be able to learn more.

The player pointed directly at her. "You should have started with that then." He announced proudly. "Something kept you at the beginning?" Bokuto asked, leaning his head to the side to take a better look at the woman in front of him.

Miwa hid her sight from him once again. "I had been through some very negative situations connected to sports..." the woamn paused, gripping the can tighter. She wasn't going to tell him everything... obviously, not. "It has been traumatizing and I thought I could never be prepared to actually change my mind." Half-truths have been her tactic since the moment she graduated high school.

"What happened?"

Miwa suddenly smiled. "I broke my nose in high-school." She stated, looking directly at his face and seeing the disturbance appear very quickly. "It happened during a game of volleyball and I had surgery to undergo in order to get stuff fixed." The woman put it briefly but knew exactly, that wasn't even half of the story.

Bokuto kept asking questions. "Someone slammed it across your face?" Seemed like he wanted to know everything, so Miwa thought about controlling her alcohol consumption that day more deliberately.

She sighed once more. "Someone who was much stronger then me..." from that memory, she suddenly shrugged. "Someone who knew what he was doing and someone who did it without a certain purpose." That explanation felt sneezed out but Miwa didn't frankly care. It wasn't the time for her big opening up.

The man finally felt bad to bring her to all that negative memories. "I'm sorry." He mumbled but then immediately felt Miwa's hand on his shoulder.

She was smiling. "No, it's alright." The woman stated clearly and openly. "It's all in the past now." Miwa took another second to consider her words. "I was scared of the game but you showed me that it's possible to have control over the ball..." it was true, especially with how good Bokuto was on the court. "I'm glad, I know how to defend myself now." That was another half-truth because Miwa was only lucky to receive that ball from earlier.

The woman pulled her sleeves up, looking at the spot, the ball hit earlier that day. It still felt good and Miwa even felt irritated to realize. Why did it feel feel good? "Then you should play sometime!" Bokuto chuckled happily, making Miwa blush.

"Maybe I should." The woman sighed happily and added quickly. "It could be nice." That was when they heard a slight cough and Miwa turned her head towards the front door. "Kuroo?" She noticed two figures and it looked like they stood there for quite some time.

Akaashi immediately bowed in apologetic pose. "We overheard your conversation." The man stated clearly and loudly. "I'm so sorry." He then mumbled, realizing he was the only lucky one to apologize and so straightened up. "The door was unlocked."

Miwa nodded to that. "I left it unlocked." She sometimes did that when knew, there would be guests. The woman stood up from the bed. "It's alright. Feels good to actually talk about stuff."

Kuroo frowned a bit. "But it's not all of it." He wasn't sure if that was okay to unfold that part in front of the other guests. That was why he spoke in riddles and that made Miwa chuckle sincerely.

"I take my time." "Can you really blame me?" She was making her way towards them and quickly hanged their coats too. "Thank you for bringing the food." She bowed in thanks and pointed at the sofa and picked up the bag. "Akaashi, get a spot near Bokuto. I will put the food to the plates."

She immediately felt somebody's hand, picking the bag from her hands. "I will help you." He stated letting her show him a way to the kitchen. The man smiled, putting the bag to the table and then referred to Miwa once more. "I heard the shooting today was a success?"

She giggled to that sudden topic change. "Indeed. Kennma is going to love it..." the woman paused for a second after realizing that Kenma would have some notes, realistically. It was the case and so she decided to change her mind. "he is going to be happy after hearing about how gracefully I recieved Bokuto's straight near the antena." The woman couldn't help but grin, looking directly at the man's face to see his reaction.

He only chuckled. "There is no way, you did that."

As he tried to disagree, they heard Bokuto's voice. "She did." The man stated, taking something out of the fridge. "I will just grab another bottle for Akaashi." He stated quickly and rushed away. "You keep on talking."

Kuroo looked at her proud face once more and his eyes sparkled. "Miwa! That's awesome!" He jumped on the spot and widened his hands. The man was about to hug her but then froze. "Um, can I?" He mumbled in a rather unsure manner bit immediately felt Miwa hugging his torso.

She was shorter without her high heels on. "Sure." The woman sighed. "I feel much better, Kuroo. I can do this."

The man put his hands on her back very carefully. "Of course you can." He stated happily but then suddenly shrugged. "I'm so sorry for not being there for you at the beginning. I should have been the one to encourage you." Kuroo really did feel guilty about the fact that the woman had to figure stuff out on her own.

She only hugged him tighter, rubbing her face towards his suit. "You did it in your way. I appreciate you for that but that just didn't work." It was truthful. Probably the most truthful thing she would say for the whole evening. "Could work in the future, probably?" Lie detector immediately went on... She just wanted him to be happy, like Kenma intended them to.

He suddenly tilted her head up with his two fingers and looked down to face her. "Are you giving me a chance?" The man smirked and Miwa couldn't help but giggle.

Kuroo wouldn't hurt her. He didn't have the audacity to. "I am giving us a chance to start anew." She made sure that didn't sound to intimate. "I want to get to know you, head of the Volleyball association." The man then turned red and carefully pulled her away from himself. He started unpacking the food and Miwa took a curious step closer, unsure of why he would stop their conversation so suddenly. "I wanted to help with that." She touched his elbow and the man turned his attention back to her.

He glanced around and then smiled. "You can help." The man quickly leaned closer and left a smooch at her lips. "Here."

Miwa definitely was not expecting that. "Kuroo-" She took a step back and suddenly felt his hands appearing on her face.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry." The man stated quickly. "I'm just so happy! I'm so darn happy." He let out a chuckle in slight disbelief and Miwa felt a bit better. "Let's go have a fun celebration then." The man gave her a can from the fridge and took all the plates himself.

As they all found a spot and Kuroo handed everyone their portions of food, Miwa also leaned with a can in her hands. "Here is your beer." She stated and felt how carefully his fingers touched hers as he tried to take it from her. "What would you like to play?" The woman asked curiously, seeing how quickly Bokuto started his food. The poor man was ought to be exhausted, really. Noone answered her, so she quickly come up with a proposal herself. "Should we play never have I ever then? For starters..." and then the woman pulled out the box with wooden blocks. "and as our moves concentration becomes verse, we should play Jenga."

Bokuto nodded excitingly. "Sounds like a plan to me." He stayed chewing on his food and then asked curiously. "Who starts?"

Akkashi suddenly smirked. "Why don't you start, Bokuto-san?" He looked at the man and Miwa saw a little embarrassment appearing in the guy's face.

Kuroo chuckled sincerely. "He doesn't know the rules." His unique way of laughing really made Miwa feel safe. "You have to say never have I ever and they say something you never did. If someone did it, they drink." The man stated quickly to explain it as fast as he could and then nodded to Akaashi while giving an example. "As for example, never have I ever been a manga editor."

Akaashi reached for his can and took a sip. "So I take a drink because I'm a manga editor." He then fixed his glasses and pointed at the woman. "And Miwa would be next."

Bokuto seemed seemed get confused from hearing that. "Didn't he know that you are a manga editor?" That wasn't too fun if they knew everything about each other.

Miwa finally added on the explanation. "Yes, but it's more fun this way." She explained briefly. "He targeted, Akaashi, knowing he would definitely drink. But you don't have to do it if you don't want to." Miwa picked her drink and raised it a bit up, knowing they would all drink. "Never have I ever did a morning run." She smirked and put it back down.

The men picked their cans and took a sip. "I did." Bokuto nodded excitingly. "I will be drinking then. This is fun!" He chuckled sincerely and Miwa couldn't help but smile. "Who's next?"

Akaashi nodded. "Never have I ever had siblings." He stated and shrugged his shoulders before putting another piece of food into his mouth.

Bokuto scrunched his face in disbelief. "You know my sisters..." He then paused and widened his sight. "right. That's the point." The man finally caught the idea of the game and you could really tell, he saw super happy to be included.

Miwa noticed Kuroo taking a sip too. "You have siblings, Kuroo?" She had no idea about his family but it seemed curious to her.

The man nodded, putting the drink on the coffee table in front of them. "Older sister." He stated clearly. "She is just as busy as me. Working our asses off for other people." The man smiled then. "It's my turn again and now Bokuto will join." He made sure Bokuto would follow on the game's aspects. "Never have I ever written a poem." That left his mouth very carelessly. He clearly wasn't thinking too much but Miwa thought it was understandable. The man tried to figure so much stuff in his head.

She smirked, proudly raising her can. "You are boring." The woman stated and then noticed Akaashi raising his too. "Creativity is a key." Miwa leaned closer to clinch their cans together and that made the man with the glasses chuckle.

He reached towards her too.  "She is right." The metal cans let out a significant sound and both of them took a sip. "I would love to read your poetry." He then sighed, putting the can back to the table and returning to his food.

Miwa smiled to that. "I would love to read yours too." She then turned that smile into a grin and looked directly at Kuroo, willing to engage him more. "Never have I ever been to high-school nationals."

Kuroo let out a slight chuckle to that as well. "You did your research well." He stated before taking a sip from his can.

The woman was happy to hear that. "Told ya, I would." She had troubles in the beginning but managed to overcome them in order to succeed.

Bokuto suddenly smirked. "I'm going to be really drunk when this is done." He stated happily and everyone around had to hold in the laughter. He was way too precious. "Never have I ever worked in corporate."

Miwa let out her regular "Tsk-"sound and reached for the can. "that's a good one." She pointed at Bokuto before taking a sip. "Looks like Bokuto is a fast learner."

Akaashi was the next one. "Never have I ever been abroad." He spoke calmly and Miwa widened her sight, thinking it was impossible.

She looked at the man with slight suspicion. "Really?" The woman then realized that it was all true and just had to ask. "Do you have a dream place to go then?" She put her can down, keeping the conversation up.

The man with glasses was about to open his mouth, when Bokuto spoke on his behalf. "He really likes England." The player said quickly. "I told him that finding cheap tickets is an easy peasy." He shrugged his shoulders and that made Miwa feel how close those two were. Akaashi only slightly nodded to that and the woman thought England would really suit him.

She nodded happily with that realization. "It is." The woman then gasped. "I can also get you a discount because I have many bonuses from the loyalty card."

The manga editor looked rather curious to see her being so enthusiastic about travels and so Kuroo explained it to him. "She had been to so many places, it becomes hard to count." The man pushed Miwa slightly and the woman let out a sincere childish chuckle. "Never have I ever drew an amazing poster for the volleyball game." He pointed his finger at her and Miwa's cheeks turned red.

She quickly sipped and my stated. "Never have I ever blocked the attack in the game." The woman saw Kuroo roll his eyes for getting such an obvious one, so she decided to add. "Middle blockers drink twice." The woman put two fingers at the bottom of the can and pulled it up as Kuroo was taking a sip. He got too much and started coughing, trying to hide his sincere laughter again.

Bokuto let out a sincere chuckle to that too. "She got you!" He gave Miwa a high-five and spoke up. "Never have I ever smoked a cigarette." The man had proud expression and then noticed how everyone around him took a sip. "Come on, guys!" He exclaimed in disbelief, making them laugh.

Akaashi seemed to get drunk quickly. "Never have I ever been to Sendai." He stated completely forgetting about the recent conversation they had with Kuroo about how Miwa escaped there, forgetting about her work. "I have acquaintance of mine, mangaka from there but I have never actually been there." He shrugged his shoulders, not realizing, what a storm they had comming for them.

Kuroo sipped and quickly explained his reason of visiting it. "I have been there for the game back in high-school." He remembered what a nerd Kenma was back then, bit was proud of him making friends with Hinata.

"I played a match there not long ago." Bokuto's seemed too obvious, really.

However, Miwa was also drunk already. "I went to learn the rules and gain information from Karasuno high-school." She stated confidently and smiled. "It was the same time I got super ill." Somehow it was only positive for her but she only saw Kuroo smirk to that in a rather irritated manner.

"Then it seems Ushijima didn't take that good of a care about you." He stated, trying to act unbothered and took another bite of his food, not making an eye contact with her.

It would be fine if it wasn't for Bokuto's interest. "You went there with Ushiwaka?!" The man exclaimed happily, not seeing a problem with her having a trip to Sendai. "Did you see Shiratorizawa too?" He asked, remembering Ushijima's school name and immediately recieved a nod.

"He invited me." The words left her mouth and she immediately regret them. "How else could I get a story from Karasuno's coach?" Miwa tried to advocate for herself, seeing how much more irritated Kuroo turned to be after hearing that.

He hissed. "You could ask me for their phone numbers."

The woman shook her head to that. "I was mad at you and decided to figure stuff out myself." She leaned back, taking an angry look at him as well. Miwa no longer felt relaxed and Akaashi noticed her clenching her fist. "Yes, stupid but I learned a valuable lesson." It made her raise her shoulders and sighed.

Kuroo frowned. It was his turn to say the thing and so he suddenly raised his head and looked directly at Miwa. "Never have I ever ignored my boss for more then three days." He fired directly at her and she felt shivers running down her spine.

The woman took a sip and crossed he hands on her chest. "Never have I ever asked my friend to spy on my other friend to find out where she went." That was direct accusation and even though, Bokuto and Akaashi didn't know the whole story, both of them felt super uncomfortable.

It made Kuroo smirk as he took his sip. The game was not about fun any longer. Not with those two figuring their feelings for each other. "Never have I ever sneaked on the date instead of doing my job." He mumbled, trying not to make it sound like a big deal but immediately heard her loud drunk and dramatic, gasp.

"Never have I ever been jealous about someone, I'm not even in the relationship with!" She exclaimed so loudly  it made Kuroo shrug and the woman leaned her head to the front. Miwa felt bad for saying that in front of Bokuto and Akaashi but the issue had to be addressed. They didn't speak for couple of minutes, letting the situation sink in, until Miwa suddenly reached for the box. "Jenga." She mumbled so quietly, you'd have to put effort to hear her. "We should change the course." Miwa pulled it up to the table and picked up the dirty plates. "Put it up, I will go bring new beers." She stated, before disappearing in the kitchen.

She could hear their conversation Lou and clear. Akaashi just had to speak up about all that. "You are being mean to her, Kuroo-san." He was being the polite self and Miwa respected that in him.

"Why she can be mean to me but I can't be mean to her?"

Bokuto had a word to say about that as well. "You started it, dude." He stated rather seriously and Miwa felt herself really uncomfortable. The player had never been so serious before, except at their first meeting. "Have some chill." The man sighed, hearing her closing the fridge. "She is right, you can't build her walls if you don't even date the chick." They both knew, they had very little time to finish that conversation.

Kuroo, however, had no intention to calm down. "Oh, shut up." He stated angrily. "Like you know more about that." Miwa stood right behind the wall and felt herself sick. She didn't want to return there any more.

"I know when you are behaving stupid." The player mumbled once more and she heard the blocks, being set up. If she took any longer, it would be suspicious but in the second Miwa was ready to make a step, she heard Kuroo's voice again.

"Since when do you protect her?"

Bokuto sighed, clearly busy with all the building, considering the focus, she heard in the voice. "Since she showed that she is capable of doing stuff right." He mumbled I a rather irritated manner. "Miwa was nice to all of us during the project. Even Kiyoomi-kun found common ground with her."

Kuroo crossed his hands on his chest and asked curiously. "Sakusa Kiyoomi?" For some reason, that seemed surreal to him, so Miwa frowned, finally making her way to the living room..

She was about to have her fun. "What was that about Sakusa Kiyoomi?" The woman smiled a bit, making sure, they didn't suspect a thing. It looked like she chilled out a bit but not too much, obviously.

Bokuto was sincere and so was ready to put everything everything the table. "We were just talking-" Before he could finish, Akaashi suddenly picked up the block from his hands.

"About what a nice player, Kiyoomi-san is." He smiled to Miwa and then exchanged a look with Bokuto, who had troubles understanding, what that meant.

Miwa chuckled and immediately noticed Akaashi widen his sight. The man knew what was going to happen. He definitely did. Miwa looked at Bokuto, knowing he'd definitely support the conversation and so spoke up. "He is good, right?" It would work. She was sure, it would. "The thing he does with his wrists are so cool." The tower was ready and Miwa happily clapped her hands. "Can I go first?"

Bokuto chuckled to that. "We like to stare at him sometimes when he does streches." That was so sincere that looked almost ridiculous. The man carefully observed the way, she pulled the block and so didn't care much about his words. "He is flexible as hell, like some circus performer." Miwa pulled it out and Bokuto even got on his feet. "I'm next!"

He looked super focused and they even paused so that he could show his best move while pulling it out. "You go now, Akaashi." The man put his block on top and quickly noticed the intense stare between Miwa and Kuroo.

Akkashi saw that too. Those two were ready to fight each other any second. "Miwa-san, It is harder after a can of beer." He chuckled, trying to fix the situation at least a bit. "Here." The man carefully put the block on top. "Kuroo-san?"

Kuroo nodded, picking up the block too. "Right." He mumbled, trying to focus. "Here."

They took their next turns quietly and in another circle, when there were not many blocks left Bokuto seemed to find more and more struggle. "Almost..." He even bit his lip, while putting the block on top. "huuhg-" the tower was swaying into different directions but Akaashi didn't seem to care much. He pulled it out without putting to much work and Bokuto gasped to that. "how do you do it so effortlessly?" He couldn't believe his eyes and that made the manga editor chuckle.

"You just have to focus." The man stated sincerely. "It's your turn again,  Kuroo-san."

Miwa smirked, knowing how angry the man was. "Ready to fail miserably?" She asked him as Kuroo reached his hand towards the tower.

"Don't you dare use my phrasing on me." He answered her with a smirk too. It was hidden aggression as they traied to crawl under each other's skin. "That's copyright." The man stated quickly and started pulling out the block very carefully.

Miwa kept making it was worse. "Is it?" She sighed. "Or are you just scared it might all fall apart?"

***

Chapter Text

That evening seemed to last forever. After Bokuto and Akaashi had left, they tried didn't seem to care much about anything, due to all the alcohol. They wouldn't even remember what it was about and that thpught brought Miwa relief. She wanted to make sure, their relations would stay unchanged. "I made sure Akaashi and Bokuto got to the cab." She heard the manly voice of the head to Volleyball association once more. It seemed he had calmed down. Probably, sobered up too. "You feel aright?" He asked curiously, seeing how deep in her thoughts Miwa appeared to be.

The woman stood up. "Yes." She bent, picking up the empty cans after the long evening. "Just need to clean a bit." As she started doing that, Kuroo immediately repeated the move. "Thank you for the evening, Kuroo. It was nice to have you." She stated, a bit unsure, not really knowing where they both stood with that relation they had.

Kuroo sighed. "You are such a liar." If there was one thing about him, it was how freaking straightforward the man was every single minute of his existence. "I was really mean to you." He then added and Miwa shrugged. They had to finish their conversation.

"It's not the time to figure out who was wrong." She tried to avoid the topic, knowing they both needed some proper sleep. "I told many stupid things today as well." The woman sighed taking alook at the man, cleaning her apartment with her. "We are worthy of each other really." Smirk appeared on her face but it wasn't vicious anymore. Somehow, her mind turned that experience into a positive one.

Kuroo was relieved to know, she didn't turn away from him completely. "Any plans for tomorrow?" The man then glanced at the wall and it showed 1am. He looked back at Miwa with a sigh. "Or... Today?"

She took a quick look there as well. "Nothing in particular." She stated, knowing precisely, there was nothing interesting, or nothing, she'd want to share. "It's Monday, so I should probably show my beautiful hangover face in the office." The woman smiled and Kuroo turned his attention fully tobher face. Even with a hangover, she looked slick and casual. "And from there, I will see." Miwa picked up the last cans and headed for the kitchen to throw then away. "You?"

Kuroo leaned onto the side of the doorway, observing the way, she hid the dirty plates into a dishwasher. "Busy all day." He crossed his hands on his chest, not letting her slip from him even for a second. "I have few things to take care of... " that wasn't too detailed but Miwa also didn't really want to know, so she didn't say anything to that. The man however, wasn't ready to leave yet. "You will start the editing week?" He knew she would. It was obvious.

Miwa nodded, pouring herself water. "Yeah." She mumbled and then picked up another cup for Kuroo too. "Better finish that as soon as possible to have the time for maneuvering if something goes wrong." The woman handed it over and the man drank it in one go.

"You are just as thoughtful as ever." He smiled a bit and saw Miwa looking around for anything else to do. It was his time to ask. "Miwa, do I behave like a jerk?"

The woman froze for a second after hearing that. She looked directly at him and the tip of herouth went up. "Yeah, you are a total douche."

He rolled his eyes to that. "You are too." The man stated, making Miwa let out a chuckle but then straightened up. "No, I'm serious. You feel pressured because of my words?" He wanted to talk to her a bit more, since they were treating each other with silence at the very end of the evening.

Miwa wanted to be truthful about this one. "Sometimes." She remembered the way, those two couldn't figure out the right way to communicate since the very beginning. "I learned to live with that." The woman took a tep closer to the tall man. "Despite all the bad words, I was happy to have you here."

He seemed to brighten up a bit. "I was happy to be here too." The man smiled and then carefully grabbed her hands, pulling them up. "Why can't we just behave normally like that all the time?" The man asked curiously, rubbing her knuckles and making Miwa gripp his hands tight in hers.

"Because we are stupid." She mumbled, hiding her sight away.

"Well,-"

Miwa gasped to that. "Don't you dare turn that joke onto me." She frowned and looked directly at his face. "I will throw you out of the window, boy." The woman couldn't let him joke around like that. Who did he think, he was?

In another second, Miwa appeared in his hug. "It was nice the way you shared the story about your day with me." The man smelled like booze and sweat, clearly, not the best smell but to Miwa it was so calming, she couldn't help but hug him back. "I'm sorry for being a jealous jerk." Kuroo rubbed her back very carefully and leaned closer, leaving a kiss on her forehead. He wasn't sure why. The man just felt that urge.

The woman hid completely into his chest. "I'm sorry for provoking you." She mumbled, knowing she was just as guilty as he was about this whole situation. Miwa then suddenly separated herself. "It's late, Kuroo." The woman stated carefully and the man immediately rushed to the door. "I will be heading to bed." She nodded to his quick moves and then waved to him as the man was putting on his coat. "See you." At that point, she didn't frankly care, how the drunk guy would get home. Home and Akaashi took a taxi to her house, so she figured he'd do the same. Miwa wasn't usually like that, only she had no intention to give him any hopes about herself. Not at the time of the project.

The door closed and she heard. "Bye, Miwa." It hurt but Miwa knew it was the right choice. The woman locked it and headed directly to bed.

She woke up about 5 hourse later, when her alarm went off. The woman stood up and immediately headed to the bathroom where she spent good hour and a half, just getting ready for the day. Her phone beeped as she got an advertisement. It was about try-outs to the woman Volleyball team in the gym just few blocks away. Thanks, FBI agents. Thanks for listening. Miwa chuckled to that thought but then got actually curious. What could make her stop, right?

In the office she met with the crew and separated the tasks equally for with the editors, giving them direct instructions about what to do. She was scarily confident and Miwa heard someone calling her a 'douche' as she was about to leave the meeting. It was apart of her life, really. After the long day, she headed directly to the SteguArena. Monday hit her hard but she wanted to make sure, she at least tried. "Hello. My name is-" the woman entered the gym, thinking, her old sporty clothing looked nothing like fancy shorts the ladies had on them.

The coach of the team only gave her an irritated look. "I don't care." It was because of her classic clothing, she usually wore to work. Long slick and tight skirt wasn't the type of clothing, you'd be comfortable in at the court. Miwa was sure, that made a bad impression. "You ever played?" The woman asked curiously and then noticed Miwa picking up the old rags, she called sporty clothing.

She nodded, putting her in bag onto the bench. "Very long time ago." The woman knew, they'd give her a chance. She was taller then most women but that obviously couldn't compare to the hight of the professional player, she has been spending so much time with.

"Position?"

"Libero-"

The coach only shook her head to that. "You are too tall to be a libero." She fired directly and Miwa felt bad for lying. She had never played but that recieve she had with Bokuto's straight felt good and she wanted to experience that more. "How about you try something else?" As Miwa was quickly changing her clothes, the coach seemed to soften up a bit, knowing the woman was serious about her intentions for the try-outs.

Miwa gasped with realization. "I can jump quite high..." She knew, she could be helpful even from that time, she was running late to the shooting. The woman then had to jump few stairs up in heels, just to make it on time. "maybe wingspiker then?" It was a tough position to play, but Miwa felt it would be cool to tell someone about it later, even if she'd fail miserably.

The woman face the bench crossed her hands on her chest and smirked to see the old clothing completely destroying the way, Miwa looked before. "Fine." She mumbled and then stood up  leading the woman to the court. "Let's see that you can do." It was Miwa's chance and she quickly remembered, everything she had learned. "Set for her, please." The coach referred kindly to the setter and Miwa took a careful spot back  as the ball was set, Miwa rushed to the front, putting all her strength into the jump and suddenly noticing the other side of the court. She slammed the ball and leaned back, not to touch the net. "That's not the worst actually..." those words Miwa heard after landing back on the floor. The woman who was responsible for try-outs suddenly chuckled. "alright. Stay for the practice, please." She stated confidently and Miwa felt herself almost close to explosion. That felt good again and she didn't even scrunch at the sight of the ball.

She took her position and then heard someone referring to her. "Nice jump." The woman had short ponytail and freckled all around her face. "Where did you learn that?"

Miwa decided not to lie. "I observed many games on TV."

The woman suddenly chuckled. "Yeah, right." She mumbled and then widened her sight, seeing how serious Miwa was. "You couldn't have possibly learned that from TV. Could you?" It seemed, she wasn't as sure anymore.

Miwa however, felt great. She looked at her hands and still felt the ball in her hand. "I am not sure myself." It made her smile. "The only thing I know is that it feels nice." Miwa clenched her fist and took a receiving position, ready for whatever was going to come next.

The game went on and it seemed Miwa wasn't as bad as she thought previously. All that knowledge, she got from the players really did help her much with every aspect of the game. Let me get something straight, Miwa wasn't good at it but she wasn't the worst either. "Bye, Miwa." As the woman quickly packed her things, not willing even to change her clothes back, the woman from earlier, with freckles on her face patted her on the back. "Will you come on Friday?" She smiled happily and Miwa felt welcomed.

The woman nodded, taking a sip from her water bottle. "I will." She tried her best to catch a proper breath after the exhausting practice. "I liked it in here. Thank you for adding me."

The woman exchanged a look with other members of the team. "You still have much to learn. But who knows, maybe we could even play a real match one day."

That made Miwa smile sincerely. "That goes without saying." She got shy to realize, how much more there was for her to grow to even remotely play as well as these women did. Miwa clenched her fist again. "And I'm determined to learn."

The coach appeared beside them just as unexpectedly as could. "Goodbye." The woman nodded to Miwa. "Have a great night, everybody. Nice job today, Miwa." The woman smiled happily. "Please, come on Friday." She didn't look Hal as strict as she appeared to be at the beginning and Miwa happily bowed in thanks.

That was until some realization suddenly hut her. "Wait!" She gasped loudly. "Did you say night? What time is it?" Miwa rushed to find her phone and saw the time. She suddenly remembered about the Monday game, she promised Wakatoshi-kun to attend. "Shoot!" The woman stated loudly and rushed to the exit, not even putting on her coat. She ran, knowing full on well, she promised the player to be there and then completely lost herself in the game.

The woman drove towards the Arena, where the game was and saw how few cars were left. She would be lucky to even get a chance to speak to the players. Everyone had probably left. Miwa entered the gym, noticing few figures were still inside and felt her hope waking up again. "Huh?" She saw how surprisingly short man in the Schweiden Adlers uniform immediately reacted to her entrance.

The woman knew him. She saw him while doing a research. His white spikey hair spoke for itself. "You must be Hoshiumi Kourai." Miwa nodded respectfully to greet the man. "It's a pleasure to meet you." She stated carefully and noticed him only curiously nod to her too without saying a word.

"What are you doing here?" Kageyama approached her from the side and Miwa shrugged, seeing how irritated the man was. "Didn't you do enough already?" He asked as he'd known and Miwa immediately felt bad.

She put all her confidence up and spoke up. "May I speak to Wakatoshi-kun?"

Wakatoshi appeared just as unexpectedly as Kageyama. "You may." He said, packing his stuff into the large sporty bag. "Not that it's going to change anything, though." Looked like he was irritated too but Miwa was far too deep into that conversation to back down.

She hopped to him, feeling weird for not wearing heels. It seemed so easy to her, almost scarily easy. "I'm so sorry for not making it for the game." Miwa stated, unable to hide the remaining enthusiasm in her voice. She felt good about herself even despite breaking the promise.

Ushijima didn't seem to bother. "You are?" He asked, putting the bottle of water inside his bag and then throwing it onto his shoulder. "I waited for you, you know?" He asked her straightforwardly, making the woman freeze on the spot. The man sighed and pointed at the tribunes. "That was supposed to be your spot."

Miwa felt bad. It was probably the most visible seat, so Ushijima clearly wanted to make a statement with her attending the event. "The best one..." Miwa mumbled and then saw how the man made his way out, so quickly followed him, finally felling the cold air, getting under her coat and sweaty sport clothing. "Wakatoshi-kun. I'm so terribly sorry." She might unsure of how to make it right. She was the only one to blame, really.

The man ignored her for a bit, so only waved to the remaining members, exiting the gym. "Bye, guys!" He closed the doors and finally saw Miwa following every his step. She was much shorter then usually and Ushijima didn't realize, she was wearing sporty shoes. "Why didn't you come then?" He finally asked, unable to stay quiet with her following him like that.

"I was at the Volleyball practice at SteguArena."

The man suddenly smirked. "Sure you were." He continued walking until Miwa suddenly jumped in front of him and unbuttoned her coat.

"That's true!" She exclaimed, making herself appear in front of him in a completely new light. "Look!" The woman frowned, knowing that old sporty clothing wasn't what she'd regulary wear but she didn't care about her appearance. She wanted Ushijima to forgive her. The woman then pulled up the sleeves of the coat too and showed him her hands, covered with small dots -bruises from game.

He caught her hands in somewhat a disbelief. But touched them very carefully. "For how long did you play?" It seemed surprising to him, Miwa would put so much effort into the game. The spots were from receiving the ball and bruised definitely appeared from digs.

She shook her head, knowing there was still a chance for her to redeem herself. "I dunno." Miwa stated calmly. "But it hurts like crazy..." the woman escaped his hands and suddednly put her palms into his. "Wakatoshi-kun. I played the game." She stated excitingly. "Isn't that wonderful?"

Ushijima wasn't impressed by her sudden move. "Still." He stated, letting go of her hands and fixing the bag on his shoulder. "You could have written or call." The man had a point. Miwa knew, he did. Wakatoshi sighed. "Miwa, you made me look stupid." The man continued moving, leaving the woman behind as they were about to enter the parking.

Miwa mumbled. "I'm sorry." She then rushed towards him but couldn't manage to keep up for some reason. Probably, was too exhausted. "I'm so sorry." The woman exclaimed and suddenly caught his hand. "Wait, stop for a second." She begged him, appearing in the parking lot.

Ushijima kept moving. He didn't frankly care at that moment. "I don't know if there is anything left we have to discuss today." He was hurt. Miwa knew, he was. "I'm happy you decided to play." The man stated calmly and she felt a wave of tear entering her eyelids.

"You don't look happy." She sobbed, staying behind and making the man feel guilty. He had never seen her cry. Noone did.

He stopped too. "I wanted you to be here." The man stated clearly and she saw him clenching his fists. "That would mean a lot for me." Ushijima didn't make eye contact with her, knowing all well, woman wouldn't normally cry.

Miwa rubbed her eyes with her hands. "I completely lost my track of time with the training." She felt the freezing evening wind making her shiver like a leaf on the wind. The woman looked pitiful. "I can assure you-"

The man finally turned to which somewhat irritation. "We lost." He stayed clearly. "Do you know that?"

She was lost at that moment. That was ought to feel terrible to him but Miwa didn't know how to make it even remotely better. "You have no idea how proud I am of knowing you." The woman decided to go with the truth for this one. "Everything I know about volleyball it's all because of you..." Miwa kept shrugging after the loud sob, hiding her sight away from him. The tears kept rolling own her face and she couldn't stop. "please, don't separate from me."

It was at that moment, she begged him, the woman felt his large left palm appearing on her face. Ushijima carefully tilted her head up. "I'm glad you acknowledge my value. Only it doesn't change the fact that you have ignored me." He was just as serious, carefully observing how her tears were rolling down her cheeks. Miwa knew, she was wrong and he knew that too. The player rubbed her cheek a bit, wiping the tears away. "You are going to catch a cold." He stated and then frowned. "Get in the car."

Ushijima was about to take his fingers away, until felt how Miwa gripped it with her hands. "Let me drive you home then." She stated rubbing them very softly. "We can talk."

The man sighed. "There is nothing to talk about." He was sure, Miwa didn't do it intentionally but his feelings overwhelmed him too. It was just too hard to manage. He carefully leaned, escaping her hands and buttoning her coat instead. "I don't think, it was right, Miwa..." He stated, seeing the way she was shrugging and Miwa felt another wave of tears. She hid her face into her hands.

"You don't mean it..." the woman mumbled and then raised his sight, only to see him separating from her and heading away. "Tsk-" She let out her favorite sound, biting her bottom lip so hard, it started to bleed. "Well forgive me for caring so freaking much!" The woman exclaimed loudly, noticing him stop for a second but then continuing his walk. Miwa headed to her car. It was a lost cause. "I'm such a dumb weakling." She hit the steering wheel and fell onto it, crying her eyes out completely.

The trip home was just as depressing as it could be. Miwa's hands hurt like crazy and she had no strength to even prepare herself something to eat. She picked up a chocolate bar and bit into it, feeling her lip hurt too from that bite. She had one more thing to do, though. Miwa picked her phone and pressed call. She put it on the table and sat on the chair right at it. "Did you cry?" The woman heard Kenma's voice right after the call started. The man sat in his usual spot in front of the computer, looked like he didn't sleep for couple of days.

She was angry. Miwa rubbed her face with the back of her palm and hid it away. "That's none of your business." The woman hissed with irritation and then sighed. "What do you think about the advertising?"

"Meh..."

It made Miwa shrug. "What?" The woman straightened up the precise second and looked at the screen with disgust. "You are kidding me, right?" That couldn't have been true.

Kenma only shrugged his shoulders. "The poster and the story is great, don't get me wrong but-"

She didn't let him finish. At that point, she have had enough of everyone's shit. "You know what?" The woman asked rethorically, to shut the guy up. "You are a selfish bug who knows nothing about advertising." Miwa knew it wasn't bad. It couldn't be. "That is one quality work I did that and I don't want you to criticize me."

Kenma looked directly at her, like he was trying to evaluate the situation and then smirked. "I'm not." He said completely unbothered. "The work is great. And I do know very little about advertising." It was very hard to irritate humans it was the only thing that kept her from loosing her job, really. "But it's not you, Miwa. It's not what you would do." He wanted something else from her, only gave her zero clues.

Miwa felt herself trapped again. "It's not about me." She stated angrily, feeling the terrible pain appearing in her forehead. "I'm going to sell it. And you are going to get a lot of money for that." The woman rubbed her head, trying to keep her thoughts together. "Isn't that what this is about?"

The man didn't seem to care. "You are mad and taking it out on me...." He observed her so curiously, like a game character, who he had been designing for good couple of hours.  Kenma smiled. "interesting way of dealing with anger, Miws." He leaned closer to the camera. "Who irritated you so bad?"

She didn't want to speak about what happened. "Kenma." The woman sighed tiredly "Let us finish this conversation." Miwa paused, knowing that action would definitely have consequence. She just wasn't sure what exactly. "The investors are happy with how it turned out. I just want to get it over with."

The man leaned back and Miwa saw him considering something very important. He frowned a bit, staring directly into her soul. "That's your choice, obviously." Kenma raised his shoulders again, like he didn't care at all. "You did great, Miws."

That didn't even sound like compliment. He didn't intend it that way. Miwa got uncomfortable and sighed before ending the call. "Bye, Kenma."

Her next step was editing. She was very close to press conference and knew, it would work out perfectly, so she would never have to take part in sports advertising again.

***

Chapter Text

The day of the press conference came faster then Miwa could even imagine. They have started the campaign and just as expected, it was nothing but success. People were curious and so she wasn't surprised to see a crowd in the gym, her crew rebuilt into a conference hall. Miwa sat at the table with players and Kuroo. They all had microphones and water in front of them. Nothing could really go wrong. She sighed and then noticed Atsumu's slight smile. He nodded to her a bit and she felt better. It was going to be a succes. She was sure of it.

The first one to speak up, after photographers have taken all the photos they needed, was Kuroo Tetsuro.  "Good day, everyone." He greeted his audience, feeling natural to be performing the speech. "It has been a day since our advertising been airing online. Thank you all for paying us a visit." The man smiled sleazely, knowing precisely, the outcomes of their future projects also relied heavily on this press conference. "My name is Tetsuro Kuroo and you may know me as a head of the Volleyball association." He finally introduced himself, even though, Miwa thought it was completely unnecessary. She did think so until noticed a bunch of teenagers grouping near the exit too. They were there to support their favorite players and probably didn't know who conducted the project. "This year we got a very interesting project showing up on the horizon and so decided to make it special. I'm sure you are already familiar with the people behind it all."  Kuroo stated and then pointed somewhere to the side, where all the crew members sat on their designated places. "Let me introduce you to our creative director Miwa Sano too, then."

The audience applauded and Miwa picked up her microphone. "Thank you all for paying us a visit here. It's indeed a very special place not only for the players but to each and everyone of my amazing crew." She smiled trying not to look like a douche, at least in front of the cameras. "We managed to do much work and we are quite happy with how it all turned out." The woman added quickly and then looked at the players seated beside her. "I must also thank to MSBY Black Jackals for letting me get to know them and use their narratives to create a story for all you readers out there."

The talking stick was forwarded to the team's captain Samson Foster. He didn't dress up for the occasion but neither did any of the players. It looked rather nice. "We thank you for agreeing to participate in the project miss Sano." He smiled sincerely and Miwa felt the same emotions she did, when she first talked to him back in Sendai over the phone. "You showed us the parts of advertising industry, we didn't even know about." The man let out a soft chuckle and so did the audience. The atmosphere was set and so nothing could ruin that.

Kuroo was responsible for keeping it going, so he returned to the audience. "I think we can start our conference then." The man smiled and then started searching for the first volunteers. "Are there any questions?"

One woman raised her hand and crew immediately forwarded her a microphone. "It's a pleasure to be here." She nodded respectfully. "Volleyball monthly magazine, my question is: When do we finally get to know about the player who will be joining?" The woman was wearing strict clothing and that really showed the level of her professionalism, at least to Miwa, who like to look presentable. "People have been theorizing online but there is no information yet?" She asked curiously, ready to take her notes too.

Kuroo sighed for a more dramatic effect. "I can assure you. When the time comes you will be surprised." He then shrugged his shoulders. "But it's not up to the discussion here."

Miwa felt it was unfair and so spoke up too. "We do read your theories." She added quickly and smiled to the audience to make them feel more comfortable. "I have seen few correct ones, so who knows, maybe you will figure it out after all." The womna raised her shoulders and exchanged a look with Kuroo, who tried to figure out, why.

It looked like the woman that asked the question got filled with hope. "Thank you for answering." She nodded once again and sat at her place, immediately discussing something with the people around her, possibly from the same magazine. Miwa was good at bringing people's interests. Way too good.

The next man raised his hand and got his microphone quickly. "Hello, jap sport monthly." He nodded respectfully too. "We were curious about why would volleyball association hire an outside creative director and crew?"

Kuroo nodded to greet him, knowing it was the question only to him, so Miwa wouldn't intervene again. "That is a very good question." He smiled. "Our aim was to make something outstanding, so because we cooperate with Bouncing Ball Corp, their CEO Kenma Kozume kindly agreed to give us the best people choosen specifically for this project." He put it briefly, leaving out the details and the budget, that was way to slick to even be mentioned. Noone knew where volleyball association got that money and few even theorized, that Kenma Himself, was paying for the project entirely from his pocket.

The man had another question to him. "Could you confirm that Kozume Kenma himself insisted on adding miss Sano to the project?" He tried to get Kuroo to admit that and Miwa felt proud to be herself.

People loved her and so did Kuroo, even despite their weird relationship. "I can confirm that, yes." He nodded to that question. "Miwa was probably the most surprising part of that all." That probably wasn't true as, clearly, Kuroo knew about all that even before they included Miwa into the project.

The repeorer continued with the questions. "Mr. Samson. Is that true, noone from the crew was experienced to film a volleyball match?"

The coach nodded. "Absolutely." The man kept smiling but Miwa felt some worry for a second. "They were so lost when we did pre-shooting. And we lost our hopes there for a second, seeing miss Sano appearing in the gym with mask on her face." He spoke his truth and Miwa immediately caught a curious sight of the reporter on herself.

"Mask?" The man asked curiously and Miwa carefully picked up the microphone to explain the situation.

"I caught a terrible cold few days before the pre-shooting."

The man then immediately gasped and that made the audience laugh. They all knew about the reporter's next questions because all had the same. "Sakusa-san, could you comment on that?" He asked straightforwardly and Miwa let out a breath of relief, knowing they didn't want to question her on the reasons. "What was your reaction to that?" The man asked once more, seeing Sakusa taking a look at Miwa instead of answering.

The man nodded. "I was terrified, obviously." It seemed to make the reporter smile. "She was coughing and could barely speak. You can imagine how that felt." The man put his hand to his chest and Miwa couldn't help but roll her eyes to that. She thought it was the end but Sakusa spoke up again. "I must, however admit, she did everything that was required." The man stated very politely. "Miwa kept her distance and cared much about our overall well-being, so I must give her that." After he had answered fully, another man raised his hand.

He got the microphone and asked quickly. "Mister Samson, you said your pre-shooting was a failure?" He tried to make the man say those precise words. Definitely for yellow press and click bait. He then nodded, introducing his workplace just as quickly. "All about sport weekly magazine."

Samson had given enough interviews in his career to know what was that for. "That's not what I said." He shook his head. "Miwa with her hard work showed us all what it really means to care about the project." The man spoke up, changing the topic and Miwa knew, they will be questioning her very soon. "It was rough at the beginning but as you can see the results by yourself. It turned out pretty darn great." The man smiled kindly, passing the curious audience to the woman.

She quickly heard a question of the same guy. "Miss Sano. Could you say, you made friends with the crew and the players?" He referred to her politely and Miwa knew, it was the time for maneuvering with her answers. She couldn't possibly admit her true feelings. Not in front of so many people.

The woman took a second to consider. "Not so much with the crew, unfortunately." She stated carefully and looked at her guys. "That is because I was engaged with other projects as well and so hired an intern." Miwa saw Yachi's eyes parkle, knowing that showed her in a great light. The woman knew how to highlight those who were important. "We did however had wonderful conferences through online platforms throughout the whole editing week. It was nice to realize, everyone knew what they were doing." She smiled and as was about to turn to the reporter, saw her photographer picking up his mic.

"Miwa was mostly a boss to us." He said quite truthfully. "And really, usually crews keep their distance from bosses." The man shrugged his shoulders and people around smirked, knowing precisely the feeling. "That's obviously a problem on our side as Miwa did care much and she was always there to answer any our concerns." He nodded respectfully to Miwa and the woman answered with the same.

Before she could respond to that, Samson Foster spoke too. "That was something we have noticed too." He stated clearly. "During the pre-shooting, she let her crew relax and learn the game while during the actual shooting, she was much more strict, to pursue her artistic vision." Well, at least, they didn't openly call her a douche. It was nice on their behalf to leave all the irritating stiff out, which they sure had in them. It was always the case.

Miwa smiled. "Thank you, Mister Foster..." She then paused considering her following words. "and as for the second part of your question, I'd say yes." Miwa raised her sight and looked directly at the reporter. "I respect them all and I'm happy to be able to get to know them better." It was true. There was no reason to lie about that.

The man turned a way and saw someone signing him something with a hand, probably another person from the team. The man quickly turned his head back to microphone. "You were spotted in the supermarket with Sakusa Kiyoomi." He stated calmly. "Could you share a bit? What was that about?"

Miwa suddenly let out a loud and somewhat childish chuckle and covered her mouth with her palms. She leaned closer to the microphone and spoke quietly. "He was making fun of me because I bought frozen pizza for dinner." The woman heard immediate reaction from the people in audience and so smirked, taking a look at Sakusa as well. "Did you know that athletes actually care about their diets?" The woman shrugged her shoulders, wanting him to add something.

The man sighed, giving her a smirk as well. "Right." He mumbled. "We don't eat frozen pizza with frozen vegetables..." the audience cheered an laughed loudly, so the player added, trying to make the situation even more casual. Miwa knew, that meant much more to him. "not unless we want to retire quickly." He stated and then nodded to the reporter.

He was writing down every word. "A lot of new information, I see." He smiled and nodded with a slight bow. "Thank you for your answers."

The next person quickly took the microphone. "Weekly sports." The very short woman spoke up. Miwa thought she was tiny comparing to her, even if she didn't wear her heels. "Miya-san, it seemes you had a bit of intimacy going on between you and miss Miwa." She smirked, knowing that was the hot topics for all the yellow press recently. "What was that about?"

Atsumu sighed taking his microphone and leaned back in a relaxing pose. "That's a funny story, cause she asked me to fill in the survey for her research and we bet on the date." Miya raised his hand up and pointed at the woman he was talking about. "Miwa thought I wouldn't be able to do that but with the pretty lady on the bet, I put all my efforts." He smiled in the most sleazy way, he possibly could. All that to fire their interest in Miwa even more.

The little woman then put her hands together quite excitingly, not knowing the aspects of that bet. "Was it worth it?" The reporters job was to be sneaky but this one made it all too well. "The reporters only saw you entering the restaurant." She explained, seeing how curious Atsumu got.

He took his moment and ten nodded. "It was worth it because I got to know her better." The man smiled and Miwa quickly nodded to that too. "Did you know that the pretty lady has her jokes?" He continued speaking, making Miwa's little blush to show up. "She seemed so serious all the time during the shooting but she is not as serious in real life." The man looked her directly in the eyes and kept smiling sincerely.

The reporter just couldn't let that go. "Should we expect any more of that story then?" She asked curiously with a smirk on her face.

It made Atsumu chuckle. "That would stay between us, if you mind." He shook his head, letting them all know that it was only his business to mind. "I don't think it was romantic for any of us. More curious and funny." He stated quickly and just as quickly turned to Miwa. "Don't you agree?"

She nodded to that. "Absolutely." None of them wanted attention and it was important to keep their reputation clean. "After I had him fill in the survey for about 5 hours-"

The man shook his head. "6 and a half." He stayed clearly and the audience chuckled to hear that.

Miwa smiled too. "It was the only thing I could pay him with." She shrugged her shoulders. "I appreciate Atsumu for his wall-breaking determination. He can make everything play for his benefit and I respect that." It was another truth. Miwa wanted him to know, how much she cared.

The little reporter however, seemed rather disappointed with those answers. She nodded. "The rumor has been going around that you drew the poster during the preshooting session. Is that true?"

Miwa rubbed the back of her head, without messing up her slick hairstyle. "True." She nodded. "I got a bit too focused on my vision, I get carried away too easily." The woman raised her shoulders, unere of what to add to that.

The guy from somewhere in the back raised his hand hand that. "Gossip.com." He spoke from to the microphone. "did you grew to like someone more with the flow of the project?"

Miwa smiled to that. "I think I grew to like everyone more." She couldn't help herself. Something inside was telling her to be sincere. "My boss, all the players." She pointed carefully and then landed her hand on Bokuto's head as he sat right beside her. "Especially my buddy Bokuto. He has been some real help."

Bokuto chortled, but seemed to enjoy her little move. He liked attention. The man from the back then asked curiously I usly, seeing that reaction. "How so?" 

Miwa had something to say about that. "He was helping me to understand where to put my focus on." After all, if it wasn't for Bokuto, she would probably never get enough courage to actually learn. "I am forever grateful for that, really." She patted the man kindly on the shoulder. "Plus, he is amazing friend up to the core of his mind." Miwa was smiling sincerely but so did Bokuto. "I knew he would know what to say." Looked like they were close and that was exactly what she had intended.

Bokuto finally picked up his phone too. He felt positively about Miwa, seeing only her good sides. "Miwa was nice to us. She showed that this project was about us and we felt somewhat special." The man spoke excitingly. "Did you know that she recieved my straight shot?"

Miwa chuckled slightly. "It never made it to the advertising but yes." The woman spoke up and rolled her sleeves up. "They have inspired me to learn and I even picked up a volleyball practice, actually." Miwa stated proudly and raised her hands up, showing everyone the leftovers of the bruises. "I think, I'm growing to like it more and more." The woman spoke happily and then saw the guy around her, getting from their spots, only to see her hands better.

Bokuto's microphone was down, but it seemed that everyone in the gym heard him."Whoaha! That is some intense training." The audience chuckled to that, obviously.

Miwa then sat back. "I don't regret it." Her eyes sparkled and she couldn't help herself. It felt good. Way too good.

The man from the back nodded respectfully to that. "Thank you for answering."

"Miwa-san." That made Miwa search for someone in the audience but she didn't see the person speaking up. "Do you know anything about traumatic experience connected to the game?" That question sounded prepared and was meant to change the course, she knew it was.

Miwa took her second and made a fatal mistake. "Um-" She raised her sight quickly and spoke up. "I do. But I learned that players are careful about their moves and that it can be avoided under certain circumstances-"

The voice spoke up again, not letting her finish. "Did you ever have a traumatic experience connected with sports?"

Miwa got lost again, making yet another faulty step. Luckily, Kuroo was there to speak on her behalf. "I don't see how that is relevant to the project." He hissed into the microphone and Miwa suddenly shrugged. The man was mad again. He was mad about her stories with players but felt the responsibility to protect her anyway.

However, the reporter ignored that arrogantly. "Miss Sano." He spoke once more, making her head blurry. "Did you ever play volleyball before this project?"

***

Chapter Text

The woman pulled everything she had, all her guts to make sure, she didn't sound threatened even a bit. That shouldn't be happening, not in her perfect fantasy. Miwa was sure, there was a way to make it better. "You know something, don't you?" It was obvious so she decided not to hide it. Not that day. Noone could ruin her perfect press conference.

The voice from the chowd chuckled a bit. "Have you ever had a broken nose, Miwa-san?" He asked curiously and Miwa saw how low Bokuto's eyebrows fell on the man's head.

He picked up the microphone, only putting more into the whole story. "That is not relevant to the topic of our press conference, is it?" He asked curiously, repeating Kuroo's previous words. "You know, that is her private life." The man kept his cool but Miwa knew, it was no good. That would only bring more interest from the audiences' side.

That exact voice spoke up again. "We gained a few photos from your highschool years and our question remains." He then raised his hand and Miwa finally saw him. The other second, her first year highschool photos appeared on the screen. "Can you object having a broken nose?" The man asked, even though it was obvious to everyone. Her nose was 2 times the size of the regular human nose and Miwa had a huge bruise all around her cheek and one eye was reddishly-brown from the blood.

Miwa hated that photo with all her heart. She picked the microphone, trying to look unbothered. The woman couldn't let them crawl under her skin. "That is stupid." She stated seeing how much interest that photo brought. She pointed at the screen. "You showed my photos already. How can I object that?" Miwa wasn't sure of it was working but definitely, worked for her. She managed to pick up her thoughts and stayed calm. "I can not. It happened during a volleyball game in my first highschool year." The woman spoke very slow.

Now, someone else spoke too. Some of the reporters probably. "So you don't particularly have positive feelings about this sport?" The man asked curiously and somewhat excitingly, knowing he'd be getting payed a whole bunch for that story.

She sighed, feeling the headache appearing in the side of her forehead. "That is none of your concern." Miwa rubbed the place with irritation. "My feelings do not matter in the situations related to business." The woman was serious, and ready to turn into scary blood-cooling douce any second.

The man spoke up again, shaking his head. "Except that it does." He checked something in his notes and she heard his next question. "Is that true  you haven't been present at any of the games by MSBY? Even the latest one?" They knew precisely what to ask.

Miwa shook her head. "I wasn't there, unfortunately." There was no point in lying if they knew everything already. It wasn't that she gave up on advocating for herself. It was that she tried to pull everything to the places.

The man then shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe you have been to recent Schweiden Adlers game then?" That was another direct attack.

Miwa caught her breath before speaking. "No." That was it. They knew even more then she could ever think.

The grin appeared on the man's face and Miwa swore she saw him let out a chuckle. "But it's true there was a place reserved for you?" He asked and Miwa's sight widened. "I believe, you were invited by-"

The woman raised her clenched fist and hit the table, she was sitting at. "Do not put innocent people into this!" She exclaimed and looked that man directly into the soul. Her death glare made him feel uncomfortable very fast. "Whoever invited me has absolutely nothing to do with any of this." She couldn't involve Wakatoshi. Miwa didn't want that for him. In the next second the woman crossed her hands on her chest. "What do you want me to tell you?" She asked straightforwarldy, knowing they wouldn't stop.

The man fired directly at her. "My question to you is." He paused. "Do you hate volleyball, Sano-san?"

That wasn't what she had expected and Miwa got lost there for a second. "N- no." The woman shook her head. "I don't hate volleyball." Miwa paused, making sure her next words would make sense because her head was a clear mess by that point. "More then that, I love it. I have met people so dedicated to it, they put everything they have into the training they do." She sighed. "That is highest-rated quality a person can have and I love them for that." Miwa felt ready to admit it.

"But what about your traumatic experience? Didn't that influence the flow of a project?"

She nodded, knowing there was nothing left for her to hide. "It did at the beginning. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, like a blind kitten." The woman stated quickly and suddenly stood up. "I wanted to learn and I'm not ashamed of that." It was the time to go full in. "My negative experience didn't come from my broken nose. But please, do take that photo down already." She pointed at the screen and that terrible photo disappeared. "I hated volleyball because of the strength of the players." Miwa caught Kuroo's stare at herself. He knew what she was about to share. "This has been down for so long... " She mumbled and the man immediately caught his microphone.

"You don't have to, Miwa." He sighed but then, never actually ordered her to stop.

"My name is Miwa Sano and I was a victim of rape back in my highschool years." That seemed so squeezed, it took all the air out of the spacious room. Miwa stood confidently with a proud expression on her face. "The person who did that was excluded and I have no idea where he is now. Back then he was a reserve player for the school's volleyball team and he was the one to break my nose." She opened up. The woman showed her soul bare naked in front of the huge crowd of people. It felt like mistake but Miwa decided to spit it all out. They wanted this first, not her.

The man from the crowd asked curiously. "Could we ask for some details?" Obviously, haha. What else could he possibly ask for.

Miwa smirked. "Why, certainly." She shrugged her shoulders. "I took part in the competition of poster drawing for All youth camp back when entering my high-school." Miwa started remembering it and immediately feeeling huge weight on her shoulders. "In order to win that, I got to know volleyball team and quickly found common ground with them." She stated, unable to hide the shaky breath she took. "Only one of them was too interested in me. Because he was in reserve for so long, he relized that could easily take advantage of me and so he did." Miwa stood with stone face, trying not to let her feelings take control as it could only damage her more. "As the guy held me towards the wall, touching me everywhere he could, he kept repeating about how he would take all his anger on me because he wanted my attention." The woman scrunched her face from that sudden memory that appeared in her head. "I was too scared to say anything." She shook her head, pulling herself back up. "After that when he was finally put in the game, the guy didn't calculate his strength and slammed the ball directly in my face as I tried to take a picture of him, as promised during our..." She paused unsure of how to call it and raised her shoulders. "action?" The woman took a second and only then continued. "Unintentionally, but because I was on drugs before my surgery, I spoke up about everything that happened." She shrugged, remembering the unpleasant experience. "It didn't end up well for him and I felt even guilty..." that made her let out a chuckle for some unknown reason. "can you believe that? A victim of rape feels guilty." Miwa rolled her eyes to her own stupidity back in the days, like she wasn't talking about herself but sharing a juicy gossip. "It took me years to cover that up, so congratulations." Miwa looked directly at the man who asked question. Her emotionless face sent shivers down the people's spines. "You have your story." The woman looked right through him, trying to figure out, who could put that information to them about the broken nose.

"Miss Sano..." the guy got uncomfortable very quickly. Not even trained reporters were ready for that sudden change of course.

Miwa suddenly bowed. "Could I ask your permission to leave this stage?" She straightened up and quickly rushed from the stage, rubbing her face. The tears treacherously appeared there before she could quietly disappear from the press conference. "You have much more to ask the players and the head of the Volleyball association. Thank you for letting me participate in the project." The woman smiled quickly and noticed the shocked players standing up from their places too. They wanted to follow her and she simply couldn't let that happen.

Miwa jumped of the constructed stage and rushed through the reporters instead of taking the back exit. Even when being so desperate, Miwa moved with sophisticated elegance, only slightly hiding her sight from all the recorders that they started to shove under her nose. The players tried to follow her, only the reporters wouldn't let them escape as easily as they let her. "Could you comment on that?" The woman from earlier exclaimed loudly, trying to het the best recording. "Kuroo-san!"

Miwa didn't hear what they said. She was rushing to the exit, completely ignoring everything around her. "Sakusa, please comment! We're you aware of that before?"

Despite hating crowds, Sakusa quickly tried to escape, making his way to the side, but he got caught by a bunch of reporters too. "No! Of course not! Are you crazy?" That what she had heard from Sakusa. That man just wanted to get put from the place just as quickly as her.

She then heard Bokuto too. "I didn't know Miwa chick was raped, alright?!" Tha man was still in the state of shock. "Leave me alone. I don't want to comment!" He tried to escape the crowd. "Get out of my way." The man wanted to go after Miwa. They all did bit only one succeeded.

She got to her Red Honda Civic and threw her big bag onto the passenger's seat. "Miwa!" She heard Atsumu's yell and shrugged. The woman rushed and started the engine. "You know it was twisted for their benefit." He caught the handle of the car door, before she could close it.

Miwa frowned. "And stupid too. They wouldn't let me put my name on the project now." It was going to have massive consequences for everyone.

The man sighed. "I'm so sorry for all the uncomfortable situations." He stopped her try to close the door. "Miwa, if I had known-"

The woman sighed, looking at him with her eyes floating with tears. "I know. Thank you for everything you did, Atsumu. You made me feel special." She nodded and then pulled out her leg, pushing the man away from the door. He didn't expect that and almost fell, giving her a perfect opportunity to escape.

The car moved and she felt him banging on the window. "Miwa!" He yelled again, following the car. "Open that damn door!" He kept following it through the parking until realized, she was gone. "Miwa!" That was the last thing she heard before turning to the busy street.

The woman had troubles catching a proper breath. She couldn't possibly ignore her feelings and so had to stop the car in the middle of the way, crying her eyes out completely. Miwa sobbed uncontrollably for probably about an hour, until finally picked up her phone. She unlocked the screen, only to see. [You have 34 new messages.] Miwa had no intention to look through them all. She didn't even want to know who wrote to her. The woman felt pitifully and instead decided to check her voice mail. "Your voice-mail has 26 new messages. Do you want to listen to them?" Miwa pressed listen. She wasn't sure why.

DEVIL'SHORN:"Miwa, I'm watching your press conference real time... I'm so sorry. Call me back if you need some changer. I can share my drafts of the logo. Be strong. Bye."

BUG:"Mis Miwa, the crew was wondering if you would need some support? We can be there for you. I can be there for you if you'd need me. Please, call back. It's going to be alright."

UNKNOWN:"Hey. I figured, I just have to call you, miss Sano. Thank you for all your hard work. As your crew, we will do anything to help you thrive through this unfortunate situation. Call us back."

Miwa sighed. "I don't know if you can thrive through this, boo." She spoke as if theose people were sitting with her in that car. "But they are so supportive." The woman felt even worse from listening to those. "Guuh-" Miwa groaned, feeling another wave of tears.

KUROOTETSURO:" Miwa, where are you? I have cleaned the press conference and I'm gonna drop by your hour house. Please, let me know, you are alright. It's Kuroo..."

That made her straighten up. He would be looking for her and that was the last thing, she would want. "Tsk-" Miwa bit her lower lip and frowned. She glanced at the screen to see the time and then started the car again. Miwa rushed quickly and soon appeared near SteguArena, where she had been visiting a volleyball practice for herself.

***

Chapter Text

As the woman entered the gym, she was immediately noticed by  the team. They have just started and so Miwa sighed with relief. "Miwa! That's Miwa, guys." The team's setter pointed at her and the woman quickly headed to the coach.

She bowed apologetically. "Sorry for being late. My press conference took a bit more time then I have predicted." Those word were really hard to say... all she wanted to do really was cry her eyes out but she promised herself a practice. The woman straightened up. "Please, allow me to participate in the training."

The coach smiled. "Sure. It's good to have you here, Miwa."

As Miwa nodded excitingly she looked inside her bag an realized something. "There is one trouble, though." She mumbled, making sure it was the case and searching through her stuff. "I have no changing clothes." The woman gasped, raising her eyes with despair. "I could do streches-" She started, only the coach didn't let her finish.

"In that skirt?" She asked, looking at the classical outfit, Miwa had on. "Wait here, dear." The woman sighed an took another look at Miwa. "Let me check what we have there." The coach headed to a little room in the back of the gym and Miwa tiringly landed on the bench.

She then felt someone's hand on her shoulder and raised her sight. "It's good to have you here." The setter smiled sincerely. "I was getting bored without seeing your cool jumps." The woman put her hands inside Miwa's bag and picked up the brush. She carefully untied the ribbon that held her low bun that got really messy from all that time she had spent in her car. "Let me help you with that." The woman carefully brushed and Miwa felt better there for a second.

"You think my jumps are cool?" She asked, taking off all the jewelery from her hands, thankful, the girls from the team were there to support her.

The setter nodded. "They are very graceful. I have no idea how you do that." She kept brushing it and carefully folding the hair into the braid. "Here you go." She jumped to the front to have a look and smiled sincerely again. "I'm sorry Miwa, truly." The woman mumbled, seeing how carefully Miwa was touching that long braid.

The woman smiled too. "It's okay." Miwa sighed and looked directly at her. "I love your sets. The way you always give me a chance to jump." She spoke sincerely and then nodded. "Thank you for that."

Just as the setter got blush to show up on her face, the coach appeared once more with a pair of sneakers, new white socks and old sporty leggins. "Here is what I have managed to find." The woman handed it quickly to Miwa. "Only I have no idea what to do about the shirt. I assume, you don't have sports bra on you either?" She asked curiously and Miwa shook her head to that. The coach only sighed. "I can't let you take part, Miwa."

It was as she was about finished with her sentence, the doors to the gym opened. "Sorry for disturbing your practice." Miwa heard familiar manly voice and quickly recognized it. She turned her head with quite a shock and saw Wakatoshi-kun, bowing the coach in apology. "May I speak to Miwa Sano, please?" He stated seriously and the immediately found her among the team.

Miwa felt coach's hand on her shoulder. "We better return to practice or this meeting will be wasted." She mumbled honestly and Miwa smiled to that. "You are alright?" The woman the asked curiously.

She nodded. "Yes. I can watch this time." It was so bittersweet. Miwa wanted to play more then ever. It could be fun distraction. She sighed seeing Ushijima making his way to the bench, she was sitting on. "What do you want?" The woman asked with slight irritation. She didn't want to explore her feelings, not that day. "Don't you dare ask me how I feel." She pointed at him angrily as the man was about to open his mouth. He quickly hid his sight away, letting her know, that she read that perfectly. Miwa sighed. "I came here looking for distraction and I can't even participate..."

Ushijima carefully landed on the bench beside her. "That's understandable." He nodded. "I'm not here to pity you, Miwa. I came to apologize." Just as straightforward as usually, Wakatoshi made Miwa curious. The man looked around the gym very quickly. "Figured, you'd be here." He then looked down and she noticed him holding something. "And I brought medical tape but you don't need it if you don't play." The man put it from one hand to another and Miwa frowned.

She reached her hand to his and Ushijima assumed she wanted to hold his hand. But Miwa's eyes sparkled and she quickly escaped his try to hold hands. "Wait." She stated, grabbing the medical tape and seeing how thick it was. Miwa saw him opening his mouth again but quickly put her finger to his lips. "Hold that apology." She looked at the tape with quite a curiousity and then gasped even louder. "Can I borrow your t-shirt too?"

"My t-shirt?"

The man was confused but Miwa quickly caught his hand too. "Mhm. You were at the training but you wore uniforms today because you coach was giving an interview for local TV." She knew it was precisely the case and knew, the man had addition t-shirt on him. Ushijima opened his sporty bag and handed it over, unsure of how she knew all that. "Uwaaah!" Miwa grabbed it with excitement and jumped on her feet. She bent, taking off the high heels and threw those to the side. "I will be playing!" The woman even jumped on the spot. "Yes!"

She appeared in few minutes, rushing from the bathrom with jer classical clothing in her hands. "Miwa-" Ushijima practically lost his abilities to speak. Miwa did wore his t-shirt, even though, it was clearly too big.

She caught the tips of the shirt that looked more like a sporty dress on her. "How do I look?" The woman made a slight turn and giggled at that way Ushijima stared at her. "It's way too big but who cares. I can play!" Miwa jumped on the spot, spreading her legs and arms in the jump. "Thank you, Wakatoshi-kun." She nodded landing with a sincere smile on her face.

"Wait." Ushijima was finally able to squeeze out words. "What about our talk?" He was determined to make it right, even though, it was clear, Miwa was much more focused on the game.

"Didn't you say, there was nothing to talk about?" She looked down at the man who sat on the bench. "Your words, not mine." She shrugged her shoulders and threw him the medical tape.

The man caught it easily. "I was wrong to think, you had nothing else to do but attend the game." He then noticed the way she packed all her things to her bag and realized she could slip away from him any second. "I was selfish to make you feel bad." He couldn't let her go. Not with all the sincerity he had to bring up for her that night.

The woman tied her shoe laces and stood up. "You wanted attention, I get that." She kept smiling but Ushijima wasn't sure if it was because of him. He grabbed her hand and pulled the woman closer. "What are you doing?" She asked straightforwarldy, unsure if she liked that move.

The man opened the medical tape. "If you are going to play, we need to cover your bruises." He pulled her carefully and Miwa quickly appeared on the bench beside him. He didn't want her to go yet. "Sit still." Ushijima mumbled and then started bandaging her hands and fingers. "Tendo taught me to do it properly." His explanation was poor but he wanted her to know, that.

"Wakatoshi-kun-" Miwa wasn't sure about how she felt with the man's appearance that day. She felt angry about the way he treated her but he did give her opportunity to play.

Wakatoshi carefully touched her bruised skin with his fingers. "I did want your attention." He mumbled and then paused. "I still do." The man looked concentrated on the task, making sure he didn't bring her any discomfort. "Please, don't separate from me, Miwa."

He was almost done with bandaging but Miwa felt angry about his words. "Don't use my own words on me. It's not going to work..." She paused and then saw how well it felt not to feel pain from bruises. Miwa carefully clenched her fist and then slowly opened her hand. "thanks..." She mumbled and then took a look at the player. "I am angry at you for what you did." The man nodded understandably to that once more and Miwa felt bad. "But I do want to talk to you. You make me feel better." She sighed, raising her shoulders up and then finally taking another look at the court.

Ushijima obviously noticed that. She wasn't lying about her feelings towards the game. "And you really want to play..." he mumbled and smiled a bit. "How about we discuss it after your training then?"

The woman felt better that precise second. She didn't want to stay home anyway. Not with so many helpers around, ready to make her feel miserable again. "Sounds perfect." She nodded, stading up from the bench. "Please, watch me play. Just don't get too intimidated about my perfect style, I have worked on for 4 trainings." The woman flexed her body a bit for a more comedic effect and even Ushijima got that joke.

"It's going to be bad, isn't it?." He sighed a bit and that made Miwa chuckle.

She nodded. "Not even close to what you can do, obviously." The woman made a little dancery bow and then caught the tips of the t-shirt again. "But considering, I'm wearing your t-shirt it would be only fair to let you watch me play." It had his name on it and Miwa felt like she could turn the mountains in that damn shirt. She wanted to play in it so bad.

The woman recieved a polite nod from a player and jumped happily towards the court, where the players we almost done with the stretching. "Miwa, I can't let you play without a sports bra-." The coach spoke up once more bit even before she got to finish, Miwa pulled up her shirt. Her brests were bandaged and tightly squeezed together. They were clearly too big to be held like that but it was better then nothing, so the coach let out a chuckle. "You sneaky little brat, go ahead then." The woman looked rather happy to have her on the team. "I want you to jump as high as ever today." She sighed, while sitting at the bench.

Before Miwa could respond the setter spoke up too. "Of course she will." The woman had grin on her face. "Miwa has an audience today." She pointed slightly to the bench with the professional player and the team let out a chuckle.

Miwa took a quick glance at the bench, only to notice how carefully Ushijima watched her every move. That stare... his olive eyes sparkled from under his serious expression and Miwa quickly realized. He was going to enjoy the view she was about to give him. "Shut up and set." The woman rolled her eyes, returning to the setter. She was making her way to the court with very confident steps. A hell of a day in the heels seemed nothing comparing to somebody's comfortable old sneakers. "I'm angry today and I'm about to slam the hell out of that ball, until my hands fall off completely." She positioned herself and bent a bit to the front, preparing for the set.

The setter chuckled and positioned herself as well. "Sounds like a plan." The women started playing and it was just as Miwa had predicted it to be. Her legs moved perfectly in the way, she wanted them too. Her jumps were efficiently balanced, making her look just as glamorous as ever, even wearing Ushijima's T-shirt. When the ball was set for her, she put her strength into the jump and so when appeared upon the net, could easily slam the ball, overcoming the middle blockers who annoyingly kept trying to bock her. "Yaaah! I'm so tired..." the setter was heading from the court after the whole training with her hands on her head, completely exhausted. "I didn't know, you were such a monster." She pointed at Miwa, who really, seemed to move more then anyone that day. The women noticed that Wakatoshi made his way towards the coach, and so curiously surrounded the woman who brought him in. "Is it because you spend so much time with those manly men players all the time?" The setter asked curiously, seeingiwa practically finishing her bottle of water.

The woman shook her head, putting her head down. "Most of them are douches." She mumbled and then glanced to the side where Wakatoshi was. "Like that one." The woman pointed, taking another sip. "He is probably pointing out my mistakes to the coach right now."

The setter rolled her eyes to that. Clearly, it wasn't the answer she had expected but Miwa noticed, it was probably the only place, when she didn't need to put her word carefully at any given moment. That freedom felt great. "I don't know if all of them are like that..." the player sighed.

Miwa frowned to that. "Sakusa made fun of me not being able to cook and scolded me about having metabolism issues."

The setter just couldn't let that go. "But he is so dreamy..." She put her hands together with a happy smile. "with those curls and moles on his forehead." The woman caught a breath and smirked. "I wouldn't mind him scolding me-"

Before she could even finish that sentence, the Libero chuckled. "Eww.... I knew, you were gross." The women seemed to have good relation, making Miwa eager to know more about them. She wanted to know the people she was playing with.

It made the setter frown. "You just say that, because you have a boyfriend." The woman drastically crossed her hands on her chest. "Hugh- noone understands my love here." She stated with an expression of pity and the team laughed, except foriwa who kept on trying to drink the whole bottle.

One of the players suddenly added to that. "I once dated a professional player." She paused and then pointed at Miwa. The woman wanted to open up. "Miwa is right, they are douches. Crazy about volleyball." Her position was Middle blocker and she circled her finder near her forehead.

As they let out another chuckle, Miwa felt something heavy appearing on her shoulders. "You should wear your coat or you will get sick again." Ushijima notified her, seeing the way she looked at him without pulling herself away from the bottle. "Here." He helped her get inside fully and kneeled to button up her coat all the way.

Miwa put down her bottle at last. "Thanks, Wakatoshi-kun." She nodded quite respectfully, not to give anyone any suspicions but it was way too late.

The same pity expression on the setter's face only turned worse. "It's so unfair." She sighed. "Why do you get such caring men?" the woman asked, making the team around laugh. She then spreaded her arms. "Team is about sharing, Miwa."

It was at that moment, Miwa decided to play for a bit too. "Do you want me to share you?" She asked curiously, seeing the way, he carefully picked up her stuff. Ushijima felt guilty and so did everything to redeem herself. Apparently that happened a lot after the divorce of his parents.

He shook his head, in the most polite ever you could ever imagine. "I'd rather you not."

That was so sincere, Miwa dropped her previous idea to make fun of him in the middle of the way. Instead, the woman raised her shoulders. "He doesn't want to." She notified the team and turned her head back up to face the player. "What did you tell my coach?" Miwa put an empty water bottle into her bag, knowing it would be refilled back in her place

He nodded, knowing precisely she would feel curious about it. "That you would be much more efficient in jump floats." The man stated sincerely. "You have stamina for jumps. I was surprised."

Miwa grinned unintentionally. "Intimidated much?" She wanted to make him blush. The wan was ready for anything to only see the way he felt shy or even embarrassed.

Ushijima was, however, unbreakable. "Not particularly." The man sighed. "Rather curious to see more." He fired directly at her and Miwa blushed that precise second instead. How the hell was he so good? Why did it feel so good?

The team around chuckled to that. "Ohhh!" It even made the setter jump on the spot despite the all tiredness. "Someone is blushing." She pointed at Miwa and the woman shrugged.

"No, I'm not." Miwa couldn't possibly admit it and so quickly hid into the collar of her coat. "It's because of the training." She stated seriously and heard another laughter. "Goodnight, everyone. See you next time." She waved to them, suddenly grabbing Ushijima by the arm and making her way of the gym. "So?" She sighed as they appeared outside.

Ushijima looked at her very carefully. "So?" He asked too but then added quickly.  "Want to stay at my place?" The man asked sincerely and Miwa felt bad coyld be herself at least for once.

She nodded. "As long as I don't have to return home." The woman pulled out the keys and unlocked the doors of her car. "Jump in." Miwa giggled but then saw his confused face staring at her.

"That could damage you car."

Miwa chuckled to that even more sincerely, seeing how innocently dumb and incredibly smart he was in the same time. "That's a figure of speech." She notified the player, opening the doors of her car. "It means get in quickly." The woman saw him landing on the passenger's seat right beside her and felt safer then ever. "Thank you for watching me today, Wakatoshi-kun." She sighed, starting the car.

The man nodded politely. "I was glad." He leaned back, tightening his seat belt. "Do you want to talk?" The man straightened up, turning his head to every side, making sure she drove carefully and not like the last time.

The parking was practically empty, so Miwa didn't care so much about that. "Who do you think compromised me with the photo?" She asked straightforwarldy the only question that circled in her mind.

Ushijima frowned that precise instant. He did watch the conference. Way too many people did. "Who did you show that photo to?" The player asked curiously.

That photo was at her house, only hidden from the sight of the most of the people. She couldn't throw out a possibility of some of the guests noticing it in one way or another. "Many people saw it." Miwa sighed tiringly. "I'm just not sure why..." She paused, getting onto the open road and then frowned. "could be Kuroo as he was angry about our trip to Sendai...." the woman gripped the wheel and straighten up. "Alex knew about that too." She was just wondering as there was no evidence that would actually be approved fully.

"Do you think they had a reason?" Ushijima asked curiously, even though looked like he didn't want to trigger her. "Why did they wait so long?" He was very cateful with his words, scared anything could make her mad at that second.

She felt it was unfair to make him feel that way. As they stopped at the lights, Miwa reached her hand to him. "You are right..." She mumbled, letting their fingers cross and looking the man directly in the eyes. He felt better. Miwa was sure, he did. "I don't honestly know, anymore." The woman sighed seeing the way he carefully let her go, to drive. "Could be anyone..." Miwa had so many questions overwhelming her and she only turned back on when they parked at the place near small block of flats. It hit her with terrible realization and she mumbled. "or a certain someone too..."

***

Chapter Text

They got to Ushijima's apartment in the quite a nice district of Tokyo. That looked like rent but Miwa wasn't fully sure. Could be that the player would afford something like that but would Wakatoshi care enough for that...that was a tough one to process. Miwa headed to the bathroom, cleaning herself up, while Ushijima prepared her a place to sleep and ordered some food for them. They sat in the living room on the small couch and talked much about the situation. It felt right and it felt good. Miwa was sincere with her thoughts and Ushijima's straightforwardness really helped her see all the perspectives. Her long dark hair was wet down, all around her shoulders and she cleaned all the make-up as well as she could with what she had. It was a quite troublesome without micelar water... and Ushijima simply didn't have something like that on his bathroom shelves. Miwa did check that. "Why would Kenma want to do that?" The man tried to understand things better after hearing all about their history and Miwa's sudden assumption. "Isn't he getting the biggest part of the money?" He seemed confused but the woman understood where that could possibly come from. "That's weird." Ushijima mumbled, leaning at the back of the sofa, with a bit of confusion written all over his face.

Miwa had to be true about that. Lying wouldn't solve anything, really. "We have been fighting about that project since the very beginning." She stated carefully, making sure that didn't sound sound bad. "He was telling me, I wasn't putting too much of my artistic vision into the process." The woman paused and looked at her palms before continuing. "That I should have engaged more."

Ushijima quickly but very carefully grabbed her fingers. "Well, then he was ought to be an absolute genius on the court." He stated seriously and Miwa quickly nodded  "To come up with such plans, it takes a lot of brain."

She sighed. "You are right." Miwa couldn't help herself and let their fingers cross once more. "Ugh- it hurts me to think, someone I trusted so much would do anything like that." The woman gripped his hand and saw how her slowly leaned to the front.

His other hands also appeared on to of theirs. "It happens." The man stated clearly. "I don't think it was all that bad, really. You opened up." The way of thinking of this guy was just way too straightforward. He spoke facts and only facts.

Miwa smiled and finally raised her sight to him. "I did." She paused, leaning her head curiously to the side. "It feels weird." The woman mumbled, considering everything out loud. "I always felt him manipulating me and yet I just gave up. He won."

"That's not entirely true." Ushijima mumbled and quickly saw her eyes focusing on his. He took a breath and spoke up. "His aim was to get you to feel the pressure. Do you think pressured you would throw everything away and get to the volleyball training?" That was an honest question and really made Miwa think.

"I don't think, pressured me would do anything, really." She suddenly smirked. "You are so right, Wakatoshi-kun. How comes you always know what to say?"

"I say what's on my mind." He reached his hand to the table with snacks and dirty plates. The man picked a chocolate candy and showed it to Miwa. "You don't want more?" Ushijima asked curiously.

Miwa shook her head. "No. I'm not hungry anymore." She didn't even finish her food. That whole situation was making it hard for her to swallow, really. "Thank you for the food... " the woman separated herself from him, seeing how quickly he chewed on the sweet snack, not to miss on anything. "how about you tell me something about yourself?" She got up and quickly landed back with her legs folded under her body. Miwa wanted to have a better look ay the player. "Your mom was single?"

Ushijima turned to her as well, putting one of his legs on the couch as well. "After she had a divorce with my father." The man nodded to her question.

"And she never married anyone again?"

He raised his shoulders. "I was in the way." The man sighed, making Miwa realize, it probably wasn't the nicest memories for him. "She put all her efforts into bringing me up... even if that caused her a lot of pain."

Miwa frowned. "Because of your father and their past?" She asked curiously and after receiving a nod, leaned her head to the front. "I get that. You were a constant reminder." Miwa hid herself for a second there but felt like should change topic into something less depressive. "I could never tell you are a single kid." She decided to go with another truth. "You are so supportive of others it's almost irritating."

"What are your plans?"

That wasn't the question she was expecting so soon. "I will turn it all against him." Miwa stated confidently. "Bouncing Corp will get damage and they will probably throw me out but... I'm going to make it the best freaking advertising campaign, this world has ever seen." She crossed her hands on her chest and grinned proudly.

"That sounds more like you." Ushijima nodded once more bit quickly caught a curious glance from Miwa and opened his moth once more to explain. "Determined and fearless." He put it briefly and Miwa's cheeks started turning pink. "But if they throw you out. Where would you go?"

Miwa didn't even have to think about that. "Away from this country." She knew, there was always a way out. "Somewhere where I don't hame my ghosts of the past haunting me." She explained but then before had to explain about ghosts, asked the player in front of herself. "Where would you go if you were in my shoes?"

"I won't fit your shoes."

The woman suddenly chuckled to that, covering herouth with a palm. "Not literally." She shook her hand, trying to calm herself down. "I mean where would you head if you were in the same position as me?"

Ushijima took those words under consideration. "I don't know if such position is possible for me but." He paused, finally ready to present his answer. "I don't know, really. I'm no good with traveling." The man shrugged his shoulders but then suddenly straightened up. "I did like Polish team when we played some time ago. They are very strong." He looked rather excited and Miwa thought it was freaking adorable.

She gasped. "I could get you a polish sponsor." The woman stated quickly and surprised the player. "I speak Polish." Miwa put her hand on her chest, suddenly feeling even more warmth in herself.

"You do?"

The woman nodded. "I do." Obviously, he wanted an explanation so Miwa smiled. "My grandfather was Polish and he insisted, I should learn it."

"That's good to know." He mumbled  and then looked her directly in the eyes. "Will you go to Poland with me then?"

Miwa knew, he wanted to see her blush but she wanted to see his more. "Do I get to talk to you more?"

He nodded respectfully  not even hiding that. "Probably." The man then glanced at the woman once more. "Would you like that?"

Miwa busted with blush and had to escape that for a better cause. "Ughh-" She suddenly fell all the way back and saw his all but cozy room, with her body leaning off the small sofa. Everything was upside down but at least, Ushijuma didn't see her face. "but then you'd have to take care of me before I find a stable job." Miwa spoke seriously, suddenly noticing his leaning closer.

Ushijima carefully caught her arms, near the shoulders and pulled her back. "I don't see that as a problem." He spoke sincerely, notifying that it was a valid conversation. "How much money do you need?"

Miwa only tirned more red and exclaimed. "Wakatoshi-kun!" She gasped in disbelief. "I was kidding." The woman felt so safe, she had never felt anything even remotely close before. She could really rely on that man at any given second. "Frankly, the only thing I would need there would be my own place because my relatives are going to go crazy when they find out." Miwa rubbed her cheeks but they were burning. "How is that team called?"

"Orzeł Warszawa..." Ushijima fired directly at her but then suddenly frowned and added. "if I remember correctly."

Miwa raised one eyebrow. "Orzeł?" She asked and recieved another silent nod. "It's "eagle" in Japanese." The woamn giggled. "Kind of ironic, considering you are such a Shiratorizawa man." She smiled sincerely and then sighed. "Warsaw then?"

"What is that?"

Right, he wasn't too good with travels. "The capital." Miwa explained quickly. "'Warszawa' is how they say it in Polish." Her explanation was brief but Ushijima wouldn't ask for more. At that point, the only thing he cared about was her words of moving with him. Miwa knew that and so asked. "Do you think you can manage to change countries?"

The man nodded. "I can try, right?" He then smiled a bit. "Could be fun if you went with me."

Being the usual self, Miwa blushed. "Fun?" That didn't really suit him and so she quickly recognise his try to pick the right words. "You have never been to Poland, did you?" She asked curiously and then laughed right after receiving another polite nod. "Oh that would be such a view." The woman looked him directly in the eyes as her stared serious at her and nodded just as sincerely as he. "You'd fit there, Wakatoshi-kun."

The man's face got more relaxed expression. "You think so?" He then was sure, she wasn't making fun of him. Miwa was just as serious about all this as he was.

The woman yawned. "Mhm." She then rubbed her shoulder and stood up. "I better get to sleep... today was such a tiring day."

Ushijima didn't move. "Sure."

"You won't try to stop me?"

The man raised his sight to her. He still had plates to clean but knew, she deserved to have her rest. "Do you want me to stop you?" Ushijima asked curiously and Miwa put both her hands behind her back. "I have prepared you a place while you were showering. We will sleep on separate mattresses and do you want me to show you the room?" The man turned to her and asked once more, just to make sure.

The woman hid her sight with somewhat a sadness. "No, I know where to go." One thing, she couldn't hide was that she wanted attention. Miwa didn't like touches but that didn't mean, she didn't like people.

The player finally realized the hint. "If I did try to stop you, though." He stood up and carefully grabbed her hand. "What would I get?"

Miwa shrugged her shoulders, but didn't try to escape. "Probably a kiss." She stated unsure and immediately saw how fired up the man got. "I thought, you deserved one. But if you don't want to-" Miwa made an attempt to continue her move but then quickly appeared in his hands

He didn't move much and Miwa quickly got used to his hands on her shoulders "I want to." He stated and leaned closer. "Here." The man mumbled and Miwa felt how carefully he placed his lips on hers. The woman felt his strength and the way he held himself back just for her. She answered that very sincerely and could still feel that chocolate candy taste, he left while kissing her. The man took his time but Miwa knew, he enjoyed that. "I won't hurt you, I promise." Ushijima spoke after separating himself and was so close, it was tempting for her to reach for another kiss.

His hands went down from her shoulders to her back and he pulled her slightly closer. "I believe you." Miwa stated calmly even though, it was something a bit harder to get used to. "I want to believe you." She mumbled and leaned for another kiss, letting the man hold her close to him. His moves were really  careful but the woman immediately tensed after feeling his hands getting lower to her waist. "Don't wander around." She separated herself and whispered to his ear, making the man stop. "I didn't let you do that yet." The woman chuckled quietly and softly, suddenly leaning towards his neck instead.

"Miwa-" he tensed, feeling the way she kissed every millimeter of his skin on the neck and Miwa quickly got up.

"That felt good?" She asked, suddenly putting her palm on his face and rubbed it very carefully with her fingers. "I finally got you to blush."

The man's expression immediately changed to a very serious one. "That's why you kissed me?" He asked her straightforwardly and that made Miwa let out another chuckle.

"You are so cute."

The man looked away, still blushing out completely. "I'm disappointed."

Miwa carefully made him turn his head back to her. "You poor thing." She grinned happily and closed her eyes, leaning closer. Before they were about to kiss once more, she also mumbled. "Such a cutie patootie."

Ushijima sighed, suddenly feeling quite irritated. "Sakusa mentioned, you were annoying." He tried to talk to her and noticed that Miwa didn't change her intentions and waited for that kiss all along. "I guess, I should have listened to him more." He mumbled and landed his lips on hers once again. It felt good. Way too good to even be true. Ushijima pulled her even closer but that time she shrugged. "I promised, didn't I?" The man stopped and looked at her very carefully. Looked like he really frickin cared.

Miwa sighed, knowing she was the one to ruin their intimate moment. "I know." The woman suddenly felt sad and immediately appeared in the man's hug. "It's hard to get used to that." She explained and felt how carefully he rubbed her back to calm the woman down. It took them a second but the intimate moment was ruined. Miwa separated herself. "I'm tired. Will you take me to sleep?" She leaned her head to the front and then felt how quickly he lifted her up. Miwa held onto his shoulders and kept leaving kisses on his blushy cheek. "I like you, Wakatoshi-kun."

"I like you too." He turned his head to her but as was about to carefully put her on the floor, noticed how she scrunched her face when his hands touched her knee. "That leg bothers you?" He asked, seeing how she landed on the matress and rubbed her leg with quite discomfort.

Miwa, however, shook her head to that question. "It will be fine. It's probably because I didn't do streches at the beginning." She started her explanation and then saw how quickly he kneeled right beside her. "Wakatoshi-kun!" Miwa exclaimed, feeling his hand appearing on her leg.

"I can help." He mumbled, carefully and thoughtfully touching every little bit. "Relax." The man then said, putting even more attention and taking her leg, helping her bend her knee very slowly. "Remember about the promise."

Miwa tried her best to remember, only it was harder with every new touch. Plus, her leg did hurt much. "Um-"

"You are breathing heavily." He looked her directly in the eyes and Miwa felt his seriousness stricke her through once again. "It hurts so much?" The man asked in a rather worried way and then stood up. "I have a cream for that, wait a second." Ushijima headed to the drawers and quickly returned to his place. "Here."

The man thoughtfully rubbed the cream in and Miwa felt its reaction already. He did want to help her... "Do you pretend to care so much?" She squinted her eyes, unable to keep that question for herself.

Ushijima shook his head. "There wasn't a single time in my life, I ever pretended for anyone." He helped her get under bedsheet cover and then tucked in the blanket to make her more comfortably. "You wouldn't be an exception." The man mumbled and leaned closer once more. "Rest now." He whispered before leaving that one last kiss of the day on her lips. "Goodnight, Miwa."

"Goodnight, Wakatoshi-kun."

As the man left the room, Miwa quickly pulled put one hand and unlocked the screen of her phone. OLDBUM: [I want you to take me from all the advertising.ASAP.] There was only one person she could write to about that. [I will explain everything everything tomorrow.]

Yachi responded almost immediately. BUG: [Are you safe?]

OLDBUM: [I am. Do not worry]

BUG: [I will see you tomorrow then.]

***

Chapter Text

The next day Miwa appeared in the office with the uplifting humor. She got to eat a breakfast with Wakatoshi-kun and even received a kiss goodbye with a promise to call more often. The woman had to make a stop back in her apartment and change her clothes for a day. As she entered the building of her office, though, Miwa saw a whole bunch of people, waiting exactly for her "Morning. What is this delegation about?" She asked curiously but with a positive attitude towards the day that was about to hit her.

Kuroo stood at the very front. Wearing his usual clothes with some sneakers. "We wanted to make sure, you are okay." He said politely but Miwa was rather focused on the random thought whether she needed some cool sneakers to run around the office as well. Bevause she didn't respond immediately, the tall man spoke up once more. "Miwa, where the hell have you been?"

It returned Miwa to reality and she smiled. "Volleyball practice." It seemed obvious to her. "Why?"

The man just couldn't proceed that. "Why?" He asked in disbelief, suddenly loosing his breath. "You ran off the press conference and disappeared? And you have the attitude to ask why?" Those were all very reasonable questions only Miwa didn't particularly have an answer for that.

"I don't know what you want me to say?" She shrugged her shoulders. "If I  had stayed, do you think, you'd have a normal press conference?" That was a reasonable question comming from the other side of the interrogation, so Kuroo got lost for a second.

"Did you check the news?" He finally asked, exchanging the look with her crew, who wanted to know everything until as much as him.

The woman nodded, raising her hand with a phone in it. "I did. It's all about me and this project." Miwa then grinned. "Huge success, don't you say? Maybe I should have started with that story?" She chuckled softly and immediately noticed huge relief on the faces of the people around.

Kuroo made a step closer. "I can assure you, I had nothing to do with the photos." He put his hand on his chest in the sign of sincerity. "I swear, Miwa."

The woman knew, it wasn't him. "No, I know. Don't worry about that." She stated carefully. "You care too much to show it to everyone. Thank you for finishing the press conference in the more or less normal way." Miwa kept smiling and so Kuroo nodded.

"Are you going to be alright?" He asked her but she saw her crew once more and picked up her phone, quickly typing in a message for them.

MIWASANO: [This hell of a ride is not over yet.] [Are you staying on board?]

UNKNOWN: [Fuck yeah!!!]

Miwa and the crew chuckled after reading that and the woman quickly raised her sight back to the man. "Yes, I'm going to be just fine." She nodded politely, letting him know that everything was under control.  "The project is almost done anyway. What's more is there to sell?" The woman shrugged her shoulders, clearly lying her pants off. She had a plan and noone was going to stop her from achieving it.

The man smiled a bit too. "You held very bravely at the conference." He stated carefully, trying not to show too much in front of the crew. He did take a step closer to her expecting the woman to talk to him just for a bit more. "I'm glad to be working with you, Miwa." The man stated clearly.

Miwa however, pretended to misunderstand that and nodded happily. "Same right at ya, buddy." She patted him on the shoulder with the back of her palm, as still had her phone in it. "I should probably pay a visit to the players today. They are going to feel better too." The woman stated quickly too.

He nodded with slight disappointment. "You definitely should." The man sighed and then smiled a bit. "Bokuto was going nuts yesterday."

Miwa immediately gasped in a rather sincere manner. "Oh no, poor baby." She caught her phone tightly in her hands, thinking, she did make them worry quite a lot. "Did that scare him? I should call him then." She unlocked the screen, making sure the woman had Bokuto's number.

"There is actually one more thing..." Kuroo stated confidently. "sport promotion committee wants you on the next project too." He smiled once more, seeing how quickly her expression  changed.

"Guh-" Miwa scrunched her face with disgust, probably acting on habit. She wasn't sure why her body evoked such a reaction.

Kuroo quickly caught her hand and disgust changed to shock in that precise moment. "No, it's not about promoting teams." He explained briefly then. "This one is strictly fashion connected. We just was as many deals with Japanese designers as possible." Je tried to give every important info in the shortest format possible.

Miwa raised her brows up curiously. "So it's more of a collaboration thing?"

He nodded, still not letting go of her hand. "Exactly. We want to show our designers to the world of sport." The man spoke sincerely and Miwa saw how fired he was about it. That Kuroo loved his job all too much. Maybe that was why they didn't get along at first. Kuroo was too similar to Miwa. "Would you manage?" He asked quickly, knowing she had already started thinking.

The woman nodded. "Send me the details and I will see how many designers I can find." She smiled but then escaped his hand with a quick move. "One more thing, though." The woman said rather seriously.  "Did you machinate the money within the project?"

Kuroo got lost once more. "Um-" he tried to avoid the subject but there was just to many witnesses around. They didn't particularly heard the conversation as seemed to be busy with their phones. And suspiciously, Miwa's phone kept buzzing in her hand.

The woman threw her phone into the bag and then grabbed his palm very carefully with her free hand. "Kuroo, please, don't lie to me." She held onto it very carefully and felt him rubbing her knuckles with his big finger. 'I need you to tell me." Miwa knew, that worked. He would tell her everything. "I promise, it's not to sabotage you."

The man sighed in disbelief to his own behavior. "We did." He nodded and Miwa widened her sight. She was right all along. Kenma was involved in the process much more then she had previously expected him to. "Kenma donated huge pile of money even though, I warned him about the consequences." The man finally realized it to. Kuroo knew Kenma could easily sabotage even those closest to him... all to get the most benefit in the end. "Miwa, I'm so sorry." He said rather tiringly but Miwa quickly changed that depressing flow.

"It's alright." She smiled and then hugged the man in front of herself. "See you, Kuroo." Miwa stood without moving and then felt how Kuroo started to separelate from her. He nodded and rushed to the exit without saying anything.  Miwa accompanied the leaving mean with her sight and as the doors closed after him, took a curious look at her crew. "Alright my little demons." Her smile turned into a grin and she notified them to follow her. Yachi quickly jumped to the front to be beside her and Miwa couldn't be happier about that. "I'm about to put my everything to the bet and I have to be sure it's working well." She started her explanation on the way to the odlffice. "Hinata will be here in couple of days. He will go to visit Kenma. And from there, I will accompany him to the set." Miwa listed the first steps quickly and as everyone entered, closed the door. The woman leaned closer to Yachi as she was just tiny when Miwa was wearing her higheels. "You on?"

The girl shook her head. "Not this week." She then bowed in apologetic pose. "I have finals. They said they didn't care about the IOS."

Miwa sighed with slight sadness. "That's why I was asking..." She then landed her hand on the girl's head and rubbed it very easily but still messing her hairstyle. "that's good to know." The woman stated and saw how quickly Yachi straightened up. "You did great Yachi. The best damn intern I have ever had." Miwa felt proud to work with her, after all Yachi took huge part in organisation's process of every single meeting. She was there when Miwa needed her.

The girl suddenly got tears in her eyes. "I can still be helpful!" She exclaimed and rubbed her face. "I'm avaliable online almost every minute. I can help you."

Miwa thought it was freaking adorable "What about your exams?" She asked, trying to tease her a bit. The woman had good humor and didn't want anyone to ruin it.

Yachi shook her head and spoke in shaky voice. "Who cares about stupid exams? Life is not about them."

It made the woman chuckle unintentiinally. "You few such a terrible liar." The woman kept smiling and seeing how tears were rolling down the girl's face, pylled her into the hug. "Fine. You will be there when we will need you." Miwa kindly rubbed her head. "Guys, you know what I have been thinking?" The woman asked, still hugging Yachi tight.

The photographer made his guess. "Have a rewatch of the recent advertising trends?" That was obvious step when rethinking the plan, only Miwa have already done it.

She separated herself from Yachi and pointed at the district with high building outside the window. "Do you know the skyscraper in Shibuya?" Miwa asked and her eyes sparkled. Kenma wanted her artistic vision, well he was going to get it. She clenched her fists from excitement "I want that. I want to put it there and I'm going to make it the most remarkable advertising this city has ever seen." She chuckled, seeing the excitement growing on some of the faces, mixed with shock and confusion in the same time. "Imagine Hinata suddenly appearing on the highest building in the city... with his serve jump."

The camera man, was on board immediately. "And we have to make it highest quality then." He stated and turned to the crew, he worked with. "You guys, lighting-"

They finished that one for him. "We will do that." The exchanged a look with Miwa, who only grinned proudly to see them cooperate that well. "Not even a question. Even if that takes us whole day." The crew members looked around. "What about the music?"

One of the sound people nodded. "I will ask a friend of mine to compose some tune." He looked rather serious about this one and so Miwa nodded to that. They didn't have budget to hire professional musicians but it was a chace for the crew member to show his worth and he went for it  which Miwa appreciated greatly. "Will you be able to arrange a studio?" The man asked curiously his other crew member.

"Consider it done." He nodded. "The same goes for the announcements."

Miwa clapped her hands, turning theulir attention back back herself. "Now about the advertising." She pointed at the photographers and editors. "For photos, we would need some shots from our pre-shooting. But I need you to edit those differently." She explained that briefly and and added. "Stay, so I could discuss the details with you, alright?"

One of the photographers chuckled, exchanging a look with Yachi. "We would need a new poster, don't you say?"

Miwa picked up her little notebook and went through some pages. "That's still on me." She said rather seriously, making the guy's around chuckle once more. "Then what else do I have in my notes?..." Miwa squinted her eyes, pretending to read that very carefully. The woman then gasped. "aha, tell the crew how much you appreciate them?" Miwa shrugged her shoulders. "Must be a mistake-..." the crew laughed to that and headed to their work places, ready to achieve the new tasks. "I love you guys, you are gonna do great." Miwa waved happily to them and then felt someone pulling her sleeve.

"Just call if you need me here, okay?" Yachi held herself from showing Miwa more tears.

The woman nodded.  "I will. Have a nice exam week. You are going to do great." She started quickly and then nodded, seeing her finally being able to make her way to the exit. "See you." She waved and then turned her sight to the editors and photographers who still stood inside of her bright office. "Take five boys. I have to contact my buddy." She landed on the chair and put on the speaker in her phone, pulling out a bottle of water from her bag. That grew into a habit and Miwa felt good about attending volleyball because of those.

"Miwa-chick!" Bokuto quickly exclaime "Where have you been?"

She heard an echo and quickly realized something. "You are at the practice..." the woman mumbled. "I'm sorry for disturbing. I wanted to say that everything alright and you have absolutely nothing to worry about." Miwa tried to put it briefly but then heard another familiar voice.

"That's Miwa?" Atsumu asked curiously. "Turn on the loud speaker."

Miwa spoke more confidently that time. "Hi, guys." She glanced at the time, displayed on her screen and asked straightforwardly. "Would it be a problem if I drop by at the end of your practice today?"

She got surprised to hear that the one responding to her was the coach himself.  "Never was and never will be, kid." Foster stated in his usual manner and Miwa immediately felt better. "Thank you for still doing that."

Miwa couldn't help but smile as sincerely as she possibly could. "Of course."  She paused and tge gasped. "I should probably apologize to Atsumu. I almost ran over him with my car yesterday."

The man chuckled to that. "That's fine." He stated clearly. "You were in quite a rush."

Miwa hesitated whether asking so straightforwardly was appropriate but then decided to go with it anyway. "Kiyoomi-kun..." She paused. "I suppose you know."

The man sighed. "I do. He is my friend, Miwa." Sounded like he got a bit surprised, she'd ask him that. "Of course, I do." Je added and then spoke up to change the topic. "Good thing, you will be dropping by. We'd be happy to see you."

Bokuto exclaimed happy once more. "See? Please stop by!" He was so happy, Miwa felt, she could even buy them some food to nake sure their positivity stays with them
"I wanted to show you my super cool straight. You won't be able to recieve that one." The player stated rather proudly, making Miwa chuckle.

"I was lucky to recieve the last one. And I would love to try again." The woman spoke kindly. "See you, Bokuto! See you, boys!" She then paused. "Mister, Samson."

The answer was quick. "See ya, kid."

Miwa hit 'end the call' and almost jumped on the spot from the excitement. "Alright. Let's start with the editing then." She referred to the photographers once more and was fully ready to succeed.

***

Chapter Text

Miwa stopped at OnigiriMiya just before heading to the gym. She opened the doors to the court and was immediately noticed by the players. "Miwa!" Bokuto exclaimed happily and was ready to run towards her before heard his coach.

"I didn't say, the training was over." Foster's voice made Bokuto freeze on the spot that precise instant and Miwa chuckled sincerely, making her way towards the bench, the caoch was sitting at. "How are you, dear?" He asked just as kindly as ever, notifying the players to buckle up.

Miwa sighed. "Nasty paparazzis have been following me here too." She rolled her eyes and put the packages with food on the bench, as well as her big bag. "I'm sorry for all the weird questions they might ask you... I should have watched my mouth." Miwa said with a bit of guilt, knowing they all have been through strict interrogation after she had left the press conference.

The man shook his head, seeing Miwa taking off her coat. "Nonsense." The man smiled, seeing that she wasn't wearing skirt but trousers and under her linen shiet there was a t-shirt. She definitely prepared for the meeting. "There are bad people everywhere. You just happened to find the worst one." The man carefully observed her every move and then looked her directly in the eyes. "I could never tell, really." He tried to be supportive and Miwa felt better that precise instant. It worked.

"I was good at faking it." She mumbled, suddenly pulling out her sneakers and quickly taking off the high heels.

As the woman straightened up, she felt someone's hand appearing on her waist. "Only you can't fake this." Atsumu mumbled, seeing the way she quickly escaped that with a step to the side. "I noticed that back the first time we talked. Your lie falls apart everytime you stay alone with other person." The man smirked, like he had been guessing that all along. It made Miwa roll her eyes as he wouldn't have known at all, if it wasn't for his brother Osamu.

The woman sighed. "I'm not good with touches. But it's not why I'm here." She stated and picked up the packages, handing them over to players one by one. "I'm here to let you know that everything is alright. And I brought some food for everyone." Miwa smiled sincerely and quickly landed on the floor, with jer legs folded under her body.

Bokuto was a little too excited and quickly landed right beside her, openingbup his package. "Yahoo!"

Atsumu squinted his eyes, suddenly taking a look at Sakusa. "Yours has two packages." He made an observation as they both sat in front of Miwa.

"It sure does." The tall man with dark curls nodded happily. She really did care too much. "How was your practice yesterday?" He asked her straightforwardly, being the only one to actuallhly know where she was, except for Wakatoshi.

Miwa nodded, chewing on her plum onigiri. "It was nice." She swallowed the piece and smiled. "I was happy to have that distraction." The woman then saw how pleased everyone was with their snacks. Osamu did know some of their favorites. "What about your interviews?" She asked curiously.

The man shook his head. "They turned to be mostly about you and the project. I'm glad I didn't have to speak much about myself..." He sighed. "maybe that whole speech wasn't that bad."

Miwa chuckled a bit, knowing he didn't mean it in a mean way. "Not at all." She took another bite and spoke up. "I'm glad it went down so fast. It was hard to bury that deep down for such a long time." She hid her sight and then added. "I was scared it would cause me to much damage but it didn't."

The older man on the bench who held his onigiri too, decided to ask. "You felt better?"

That was an honest question and it required an honest answer too. "Exactly, Mister Foster." She nodded. "Apparently, that was exactly what I needed." Miwa paused  enjoying the moment and the quickly turned the conversation to the different topic. "Are you excited about your new member?"

"They come and go all the time so I got used to that." The man stated just as kindly as ever. Something about him screamed about how reliable and wise he was. "Hinata would be a great addition to our strategy." He explained briefly, not willing to share everything and Miwa respected that.

She nodded understandably bit quickly added. "They used to call him greatest decoy." That was the information she gained from all the interviews. "Maybe that could work for your benefit too." The woman raised her shoulders and then let out a relaxed breath.

The coach didn't comment but there was no need, really. "We will most probably have a match with Schweiden Adlers after Hinata joins us." He changed the topic once more. "Did you pick a team to cheer for?"

Miwa chuckled, seeing how quickly all the guys raised their heads only to hear the answer. "I would be a terrible creative director if I didn't cheer for the team, I was trying so hard to promote." The woman smiled sincerely and saw that her answer was exactly right. Most of th had proud expressions and that couldn't have been a bad sign. "That match sounds great." She added quickly and explained that sudden excitement. "I want to see you on the court in real life so much..." Miwa paused with the same sincere smile.. "you will do great."

Atsumu chuckled softly. "Of course we would." The man had his proud grin and Miwa knew, he was fired up to know, she would cheer for them. "Otherwise what was that whole advertising for?"

That made her cheeks blush. "Drop that." The woman hid her sight. "I'm blushing like crazy already."

Sakusa nodded to that. "You are red as a tomato."

Miwa quickly raised her sight to the man, still blushing out completely, bit this time showing some irritation. "Well, it's worth it." She grinned happily. "I do sit with my favorite volleyball players after all."

They all immediately hid their sights and that made the older coach chuckle. "Nice. You have a way with words, Miwa." He nodded to the woman who knew exactly how to make a bunch of boys loose their breath at her sight. "And you behave like a bunch of kids. What did I say about concentration?" He frowned, trying to be serious towards his players.

Bokuto was blushing too. "You said not to loose it. " The man mumbled, still hiding his eye and looking at the floor instead.

The older man nodded. "Exactly." He sighed in a bit of disbelief, letting them know that she had in fact, done that intentionally. "She just distracted you and you fell for it immediately."

Atsumu finally found himslef. "Can you really blame us, coach?" He asked curiously and the looked back at Miwa. "Pretty lady does work her charms mercilessly at any given moment." They were about finished with their food and the guys quickly picked the packages and rushed to clean the place up.

Miwa stood up as well. "Kiyoomi." She stated carefully and the man quickly turned to her, still chewing on that last bit of onigiri.

He put his hand up, shutting her down, and pointed at his mouth. The man swallowed the piece and nodded. "I'm glad your metabolism issues are someone else's problems now." He stated in a rather harsh manner but that was how he behaved all the time. Sakusa looked her in the eyes and stated too. "He is a good guy, please, take care of him."

Miwa felt blush appearing on her face once more. "Alright. Thank you."

The man leaned to see her better. "No, thank you." He even smiled a bit for a second. That was what Miwa assumed it was. "You are a dumbo but I appreciate you for that." Sakusa nodded once more and gave her a wink before heading away. "Be nice, Miwa."

Woman stood with her cheeks burning bright red and only tried to put her thoughts at one place. "What is it Bokuto?" She quickly felt another player appearing right beside her.

The man looked rather unsure and hid his sight. "Akaashi told me not to pressure you because it was very hard experience for you." He started and Miwa was sure there was more to that. Bokuto caught a breath and spoke very fast. "Yet, because you are so positive today, I couldn't help but think-"

Miwa didn't let him finish. "Oh!" She gasped, suddenly grabbing his hand. "Can I show you my jump float serve?"

His eyes sparked at that question. "Please, do." He nodded and held her hand I his as they were heading to the court. "Haha! Our creative director is the best, guys!" His cheeks still had a little blush and so Miwa thought it was adorable.

As they entered the court and woman took down her linen shirt, Atsumu appeared there too. "You'd probably need a setter, no?" He smiled sincerely and that made Miwa let out a slight chuckle.

She however, stopped immediately, suddenly seeing Sakusa positioning himself on the court too. "What?" He asked, catching her curious glance. The man raised his shoulders. "If we all play, we all play. Not very healthy, after the meal though but who cares." He got concentrated. "As long as I get to show off in front of Miwa." The man mumbled and Miwa felt weak in her knees there for a second. They were all so nice, she wantedto be vulnerable around them.

She picked up the ball. "I will be the one to show off." The woman headed directly to the serving line and jumped for the serve, only forgot everything she was rough and failed miserably that precise second. She landed on her feet and then the ball fell right in front of her. Miwa heard their laughter and felt embarrassed of herself. "Well, noone said it was in a positive way..." She rolled her eyes to that chuckle, they all tried to hide and then suddenly exclaimed. "stop laughing!" Miwa picked up the ball and made it spin in her hands. "I'm much better at spikes." She sighed and threw it towards Atsumu. "Serve for me this one, please." The woman stated in the run and then jumped directly, where he set it for.

Miwa slammed it onto the other side and then gracefully landed on her feet. "That wasn't even that bad." Atsumu widened his sight, once he realized she did have basic skills.

Miwa nodded. "Told ya."

Bokuto rushed to the other side of the net. "My, my turn." He desperately wanted Miwa to receive it. "Will you jump for a block?" The man asked the players and Sakusa, so the guys nodded, knowing he'd show his temper if they didn't listen. The guy threw the ball to Atsumu and once it was set, rushed for the attack. "Haha!" The man chuckled in the short fly and Miwa bent her knees, putting her hands to the front. That was a hit with a spin, so it just flew away after hitting her hands. "That's not as easy, is it?" Bokuto felt proud of himself, but so did Miwa.

"Even the last time, I could barely stop it. How do you expect me to stop this?" She chuckled and the quickly felt something warm running down her nose and the woman tasted metal on her lips. "That's is awesome, though." Miwa stated sincerely and finally touched her nose. Her fingers were covered with blood once she looked at them. "Oopsie..." she reacted quickly pulling her head up. "I need a tissue. Sorry, guys."

Bokuto jumped on the spot from sudden fear. "Ah! Is it because of me?!" He rushed to help her and make sure, she was alright. "I'm so sorry, Miwa. Akaashi told me, I should have been more careful." The man followed her every step but so did everybody else, really. "Are you alright?" Bokuto expected a response but once she got her tissues, Miwa shoved them up her nose and the coach quickly gave her a bottle of cold water. The woman put it on her nose and breathed heavily through her mouth. "Miwa,  please speak to me.." at that point the guilt almost ate him alive.

She quickly shook her hand. "I'm fine." Miwa changed her hand to be more comfortable when holding the bottle. "My nose bleeds often. It's not your fault." She stated but the worried expression on his face didn't change. "I mean it, Bokuto. It's is not because of your super awesome straight spike." Miwa chuckled sincerely, trying not to make a big deal out of her bloody nose.

"You make it sound so bittersweet." The man sighed very sadly. "Are you sure-"

The woman caught a loud breath. "Sure. My nose can start bleeding even if I sneeze too much." She stated, fixing the stained tissues. "It's a minor issue, really." The woman sat down and so they could all see how quickly the white tissues became red. "I know how to deal with that. Just give me few minutes and I'm going to try to recieve that straight spike again."

Bokuto felt the same bittersweet taste. "You won't manage." He stated instead of getting even more guilty and felt better after hearing woman's chuckle to that.

"I would still be happy to try." She smiled sincerely but then felt the phone in her bag buzzing. "Sorry." She felt like the coach handed it to her and Miwa pressed answer. "I will be there if few minutes, promise." She stated and then referred to the person on the phone. "This is Miwa."

"It's Hinata Shoyo." She heard a familiar voice and widened her sight. "I have just found out about the project. Are you alright Miwa-san?"

The poor guy got scared and Miwa thought it was adorable he cared so much. He even found the time to call her. "Shoyo!" Miwa laughed sincerely. "I'm perfectly fine." She stated with couple of blood stained tissues in her nose. "There is still time to make it about you. I can assure you, the newspapers are going to blow up after we finally announce who will be joining." She was sure of her own words.

"Are you at the gym?" He then asked more excitingly and Miwa felt it was a good sign. She never wanted to make it about herself yet everyone around seemed to make it about her for her.

Miwa caught another breath with her mouth. "Yeah. Here is your future team." She pulled away the phone and somehow managed to turn on the camera. Miwa showed him the players and they waved to the camera too. "Aren't they awesome?"

Shoyo was just as sincere as ever. "They are awesome. Hi, guys!" He wasn't afraid of his feelings and had every right to live that way. Conscious and rather positive about everything that appeared on his way

"Well well welll..." The coach suddenly chuckled, once the phone got turned towards him.

***

Chapter Text

The day of shooting was there. Miwa drove to a big house at the suburbs of the city, made in strictly Japanese style. She parked outside and headed through the big yard towards the door. She didn't really want to ring the bell. She was scared, her thought might be true. Kenma could really sell all her secrets out. The woman found the courage and in the second the door opened. "Ah, Miwa. Good to see you." Kenma smiled a bit and nodded to greet her. He opened the door wider to welcome her inside.

She took a step and immediately bent to take off her high heels. "Indeed, Kenma." The woman sighed, trying not to show any discomfort. "I'm here for the talk with Shoyo." Miwa added quickly and straightened up, taking of her coat.

Kenma helped her with that and quickly put it on the hanger. "Since when do you start our conversation with job issues?" He asked rather curiously but then suspiciously squinted his eyes. The man read her through... she failed.

Miwa sighed. "Since, apparently, and for the news, I failed as a creative manager-"

He didn't let her finish. "I never once thought you failed, Miws." His words were confident and very straightforward, making the woman question her guess. How could someone so supportive sell her out to the reporters like that?

The woman shook jer head and a smirk appeared on her face. "Of course not." She chuckled softly. "I never fail." Miwa pointed at the room and asked slightly. "May I come in?" Only after she had recieved a nod, Miwa jumped inside and quickly rushed towards the familiar red head. "Shoyo-kun!" She kneeled right beside him and the two of them hugged. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"The pleasure is mine." He nodded as they separated from that polite hug and Shoyo quickly caught her hand instead. "Miss Sano, I'm terribly sorry about the press conference." He saw Kenma sitting right in front of them and so decided to be as sincere as possible.

Miwa smiled. "No need to be." She shook her head in a sign of disagreement. "The reporters are always after someone's flesh. I can assure you, it won't affect your join the team." The woman spoke confidently, being sure of every jer word. After all, there was still a mystery to unfold.

The man let her go. "Alright. I'm glad to hear that." He smiled and then curiously leaned his head to the side. "How are guys?"

She nodded, thinking it was quite a reasonable question. The woman could say, that human tangerine was excited. "They are very excited to meet and train with you." Miwa nodded just as politely. "We will be heading there right after this talk, actually."

This Kenma could not tolerate. "For shooting?" He made sure, he had heard it correctly and after recieving a nod from a woman frowned. "Who told you that? Shoyo has just gotten back." The man pointed at his friend. "He needs rest."

Miwa didn't respond but she didn't have to. The woman knew, Shoyo was going to speak instead. "No, it's okay. I'm super excited to play..." the man paused, hiding his sight for a second but then raising his sight and showing the most sincere smile, Miwa had ever seen. "Kenma, this is going to be awesome." He kept lookin his friend directly in the eyes and Miwa thought, that determination was something worth capturing.

Kenma stood down. "So what is your plan?" He asked, clearly referring to Miwa that time.

She nodded, being the usual polite self. "Follow the original plan, obviously. I can't risk, now that the reporters are up my butt all the time."

The man caught his head with irritation. "Ughh-" he groaned, straightening up. "it's not you Miwa... It's not interesting."

Everything worked accordingly to plan. She wasn't suspecting anything and everything worked for her benefit. "It brings money and it works. This should be enough for you." She stated very seriously, knowing he never really cared of her artistic vision before this project.

"Well, it's not." He said quickly. "I can still cut your funding." That was a threat. Clear and transparent one, only Miwa had few aces up her sleeve as well.

She shook her head. "You won't..." the woman paused looking him directly in the eyes. "because you know that will unfold your machinations with volleyball association." Miwa knew the truth
Miwa knew, what was behind all this. "Those were made for a good cause, I understand that, but what other people would say about that?" She asked, raising her shoulders, like it wasn't an obvious answer to itself.

Kenma frowned even more. "How do you know?" He asked curiously and noticed how calm and focused she was.

"Your bestie told me."

It made the man roll his eyes. "Kuroo..." He mumbled, quickly realizing who she meant. "Well. It's true. I sent some additional money, making sure noone knew about that." Kenma rubbed his forehead with irritation. He got lost and that meant he couldn't control the situation. It was probably the worst outcome for him and quite a view for Miwa.

She knew how to distract him and then wanted to use it against him. "Then I propose you sit still on your butt and watch me follow a perfectly good plan." Miwa nodded politely, letting the man find hints in her words. "I'm sure audience is going to love Shoyo." She smiled towards the red-headed player and he nodded.

The man in front of them sighed. "If you are so confident, this is going to work, why did you put down your name from the advertising?"

Resonable question. Kenma was all about that. "If that is a huge scandal that will be keep unfolding, I wouldn't want to damage reputation of the Volleyball in Japan through the negative connotation to my name." Miwa answered sincerely, having no idea if that would work on Kenma but being sure that would work on the player.

Shoyo was excited about her ways. "You thought this through so well."

Miwa nodded to that. "I always do." She then turned her head back to Kenma, who looked Luke he tried to pick up the right steps. This was going to be a mind battle between them and Miwa was sure, she'd win. "Much like Kenma, right?" The woman asked with the same relaxed smile, not letting her fear to fail show up even once.

Kenma got even more irritated. "Then maybe I can change the creative director... It is still possible." He smirked, thinking taht would scare her as Miwa valued her work.

She shrugged her shoulders once more, completely unbothered. "You won't." The woman straightened up and looked the man directly in the eyes. "Because you enjoy to see me struggle and suffer. I am way too interesting for you to drop me." She knew it was the case, otherwise, the man wouldn't have put her on the project in the first place. Miwa wanted to make sure, he looses all hopes into changing the project and then was going to change it drastically to make the company look like fools, having no idea what was happening inside the project. Kuroo was going to get affected by that too but she didn't frankly care at that moment.

Kenma finally caught the hints. "You think I did that?" He asked straightforwardly and Miwa knew, it was time for a big reveal.

She nodded, like it was obvious. "I know you did." The woman paused, suddenly feeling a headache again. "I know why." She mumbled and raised her sight back to her boss. "But I can't do anything about our project at this point. It's way too risky."

Kenma knew, there was no reason to hide any more and poor Shoyo looked looked shocked, he was even afraid to breathe. "If you knew that was me, why didn't you say anything?"

That hurt Miwa. She knew, it was intentional. "I don't care much, really. I learned not to."

"Miws-"

She shook her head. "Do not call me that." Miwa hid her sight andumbled. "I thought you were supporting me. I thought, I had your trust. It was all in my head all along." The woman shrugged, finally letting some of the feeling out but the quickly raised her sight with just as serious expression.

"You are acting dramatic without purpose."

Kenma was trying to intimidate her but it didn't work. "I don't care, Kenma." The woman smiled like her previous words didn't hurt like hell. "I truly don't." She reached her hand to her bag. "I came here to talk business. You are familiar with the ideas we had for your entrance, right?" Miwa asked Shoyo instead and 6he man quickly related to that, even though needed some time to proceed everything that was said before.

He nodded, rubbing his red head. "I am. Learned them to make sure I don't miss anything." The man nodded and Miwa lied once more.

"Great." She pulled out some paper out of her bag. "Then we are signing the contract of not sharing this and we are good to go." She put it in front of him and handed the man a pen. The woman put her fingers in the spots. "Here and here."

After they were done, Miwa just as quickly stood up and headed to the corridor. "Are you sure, there is nothing left to do?" Kenma followed her as Shoyo was still picking up his backpack.

She smiled once more. "Observe and do not poke your nose into my business." Miwa rubbed his head, finally happy to know all the truth. She wasn't mad mad him because knew why he did that. "I still consider you my friend, Kenma." She caught his surprised sight sight herself and chuckled. "I always will." The woman opened the door and headed through the big garden. "It was nice to see you."

Kenma felt guilty, she knew he did. That man didn't particularly like people but Miwa ment something for him, no matter how well he hid it. "Indeed." The man waved to her and then reached his hand to Shoyo. "See you, Shoyo." He wanted to exchange a handshake.

Hinata nodded, and jumped happily "Bye!" The man rushed to follow the woman and waved sincerely. "I will pay you another visit soon." He promised and then threw his big backpack into the trunk of red sporty car. "Why would he share your personal story?" He asked as they were about to sit inside.

Miwa landed on her seat. "He did not do it to harm me." The woman had no intention to ruin jer relation with the man. All she wanted, was his sincere words. "Kenma just wants view." That time, she couldn't help but smirk. "Well, he is going to get one."

Shoyo tightened his seat belt and so did Miwa, right before she started the car. "How did you guys met?" The boy asked curiously, knowing the ought to be something more to their relations then.

Miwa nodded. "Online forum." They stopped at the lights and the woman even turned her head to explain it better. "After the whole situation, I was quite angry about players and volleyball..." She paused and then added. "or any sport, really." The lights changed to green and the car moved. "I closeted and hid away from my problems. I met someone called Kodzuken on one of the forums and we chitchated." Miwa drove carefully without any rush. "When we started talking online with Kenma, I felt good about myself. Probably for the first since the situation." She chuckled softly and then turned into more busy street. "He was the first person I opened up to, actually."

"You play games together?"

Considering, Kenma was a gamer boy, Miwa nodded happily, suddenly remembered all the positive things tied to her memories with Kenma. "Sure. 'Miws' is my nickname in the game. I once misspelled it and now use it a the time."

That made Shoyo chuckle and Miwa knew  they were good to go. "That's funny." The man sighed then. "He is not a bad guy."

Miwa shook her head that precise instant. "Of course not." It took her a second but she mumbled. "Manipulative, yes."

Shoyo tensed to that. "Manipulative?"

The woman tried to explain it. "Have you ever felt like from his words you appear in the cage?" She asked curiously and then noticed the disturbance on Hinata's face. He knew exactly what she meant and the woman gasped to that. "You do?!" She suddenly let out a chuckle. "Then it's not just my sick imagination, haha!."

Shoyo hid his sight. "I'm sorry, Miwa." He thought it ought to have been painful to witness the things she did.

Miwa didn't answer that, suddenly feeling a huge weight on her shoulders. Luckily, from the uncomfortable silence, she was saved by her ringing phone. "Ooh! Hello, dear." Miwa picked up happily. "I hope you have some good news."

Yachi on the other side of the line only sighed. "Not really. They are not rescheduling my seminar..." She sounded very sad but Miwa saw how interested Hinata got to jear the girl's voice. "I tried my best." She said faintly and Miwa signed Shoyo, pointing at the phone.

"Yachi! Hi!" He exclaimed with a bit of surprise and then looked happily at the woman right beside him.

The girl gasped. "Shoyo! I'm so sorry, I won't be there for you shooting." She stayed clearly.

"You won't?" He asked her and rubbed the back of his head. "It's a pity." The man paused but then hot a perfect idea appearing in his mind. "We should catch up soon, though. Are you free next week?"

"Burried with homework and exams, sorry, Shoyo-kun." She explained briefly and Miwa saw how the tips of his mouth fell down. "But I will be there for your game with Kageyama. We all will be there."

"All?"

Yachi chuckled softly. "Tsukishima, Yamaguchi-"

It made Hinata so fired up, he could barely breathe. "Ahhh! Exciting to meet them all!" He exclaimed happily and that made Miwa chuckle. "Gosh, I have missed you guys so much." He mumbled just as happily.

"We have missed you to."  Miwa could swear, Yachi was super happy. She could even understand why. The girl sighed. "Focus on the game and we will discuss everything right afterwards. I promise." She then paused and spoke once more. "Sorry, again, Miss Sano."

Miwa chuckled kindly and shook her head. "Ah, no worries."

Still, Yachi felt bad. "You can cut my payments, since I not much of a help-"

Miwa stopped her in the middle of the phrasing with a serious: "Nonsense." She fired straightforwardly and that explained. "Go study, you bug. I will talk to you about your confidence later."

"Sure. Bye, Shoyo!"

The man nodded. "Bye." He tapped Miwa's screen to end the call as she was busy driving and let out a happy sigh once more. "How did you find her?" He suddenly asked. "Did she apply for internship at Bouncing Ball Corp?"

Miwa suddenly scrunched her face from all the memories. "Kind of." She decided to go with half-truth for taht one and leave out information of how she asked Yachi to be her intern. "She was much help. I couldn't be more thankful for all she did."

The man was satisfied with that answer. "She was volleyball manager back in high-school." He sighed happily, entering his memories as well. "We were happy to have her as well." As they parked at the Arena, Miwa quickly opened the trunk and took her bag too, before closing the car. "Let me help you." He reached to get her big bag bitiwa's phone started ringing again.

"You have a heavy bag of your own, no worries." She mumbled and looked at the screen. "Someone is calling me again..." the number was unknown, so she pointed at the gym. "sorry about that. Go ahead. I will be there in a second." Miwa nodded and the guy immediately rushed there practically on the whole speed. It made Miwa chuckle and she spoke to the person on the phone. "Yes?"

The man on the other side spoke up with a rather shaky voice  "Is this Miwa Sano? My name is  Azumane Asahi." He seasoned himself and Miwa gasped. "I belive there was something we should discuss?"

***

Chapter Text

Miwa entered the gym with her hopes high. "Azumane-san." She referred to the man on the phone. "The reason I wrote to your email was horribly simple. I'm trying to establish a deal between Japanese designers and European sports team."She was following the order Kuroo gave her, not to raise any suspicions towards her perfect plan.

"So you want my w- works?" He asked a bit unsure, and Miwa frowned to that. Why would someone hesitate about such a proposition?

The woman shook her head, even though, Asahi couldn't possibly see her. "Not me explicitly for now... but surely, the committee." She already looked up his works after contacting few people and explicitly Yachi, who forwarded her to Sugawara and then only she got Asahi's mail. "I know you attended Karasuno Highschool and Sugawara Koshi really advised you for this one." Miwa smiled, not really trying to hide anything. She herself knew very little about the upcoming new project too.

The guy on the phone gasped. "Suga? H- how do you know him?" He asked straightforwardly but clearly way more positive then previously. Miwa knew it worked on him. It always worked.

She came up with the brief explanation seeing how the team members happily greeted Shoyo not far away. "We met once when I visited Karasuno. My name is Miwa Sano." She paused and smiled to the guys not far away as sincerely as she possibly could, one they glanced at her. "I gained this information about the project from the people from the committee. My question would be, whether you'd be interested?" She raised her shoulders, curious about what the reason of not participating in something so big could be.

The man sighed. "I would..." He paused and then quickly added. "I don't mind some creativity." Obviously, he wouldn't miss that opportunity. Only a fool would. "Can you send me all the details to the mail and I will make sure you get official response along with my portfolio?" He asked and Miwa got quite surprised for his sudden straightforwardness. "I would be happy to participate."

"I'm more then happy to hear that. Thank you, Azumane-San." Miwa spoke calmly and quickly pulled the phone from her ear, to sent the man all the info that precise second. She knew it had to be this way or she'd forget to send it altogether. "Then I will be waiting for that response after I send you all the information. Thank you for your time." The woman pressed 'send' and straightened up, making her way towards the team.

She heard the man once more. "No, thank you for adding me. Bye."

The woman finished her call and then immediately appeared in someone muscular hands. "Miwa-chick! Hey hey hey!" Bokuto hugged her tightly and Miwa let out a sincere chuckle for being greeted so warmly. "How are things?" He asked, not letting her go for a second.

The woman felt happy. "Everything works perfectly." She sighed and then felt that was squeezed so much, she couldn't take a proper breath. "Would work even better if I don't die from asphyxiation..." She caught a breath and her cheeks turned a bit red. Miwa tried to escape. "Bokuto-san."

The second Bokuto relized he probably overdid the hug, a tall man with black curls patted him on the shoulder. "Let her go, Bokuto." He stated and the man immediately did, making Miwa take a second to catch a proper breath. "The coach wanted to see you." The man pointed pointed the bench with coach and few other people from the teams crew, notifying Bokuto about the talk. The man quickly rushed there and Sakusa came closer to Miwa. "You look nice." He mumbled unwillingly, probably hinting towards her old-fashioned sweater that really made her look like a fashion model.

"Why, Thank you..." She made a little dancery bow, happy to recieve a compliment from a man.

"I don't like that color, though."

Miwa froze that precise second. That was happening everytime she talked to a man. Some of his comments were just out of place but it didn't irritate her anymore. The woman sighed. "I will know that for the future." She stated and quickly recieved a polite nod from the player.

"How are things with Wakatoshi?" He then asked curiously, hiding his sight away from her and looking at his bandaged fingers instead.

That made Miwa squint her eyes but she decided to say the truth. "We didn't see each other since then." She answered sincerely. "But we did speak few times." The woman saw how those words made him raise his eyebrows in somewhat disbelief and so decided to ask. "Why are you asking?"

He sighed. "I thought maybe we could..." the man paused, making Miwa feel tension in the area of her neck. Sakusa was trying to pick the words. He never cared to do that before... why starting then? The man clenched his fist and suddenly fired.  "prepare a meal together? Today perhaps?"

The tension disappeared. "I would love that." Miwa chuckled at how hard that was for him and the man's cheeks turned a bit red. "Do we have to jump into the groceries before that?" She asked curiously, knowing full well, her fridge was completely empty.

He nodded to that. "Do you have some greens in your place?" The man asked quickly, just to make sure, he guessed right.

"Nope. I have frozen pizza, though." Miwa chuckled even more sincerely and then saw how he visibly rolled his eyes to that.

"Somehow, I'm not even surprised anymore." The man sighed with a bit of dramatic despair in her voice and then smiled, looking directly at her. "Then it's settled?"

The woman frowned. "Yeah, let's settle this once and for all." She tried to put her play to the max and then felt the players hand appearing on her head.

"I will fight you, I swear." He rubbed it, making Miwa loose her character and chuckle once more. "Let's go." The man notified her and just as Miwa was ready to move, someone pulled her sleeve.

"Not so fast." Atsumu smiled in the most sleazy way there could be. "Let me talk to pretty lady as well, Kiyoomi-kun." He stated and Sakusa rolled his eyes once more  before heading to the side a bit. "We didn't really speak, right?" The player asked letting out a slight breath.

"I'm sorry about the troubles our last date brought you."

The man quickly shook his head after hearing that. "Nah, it was not about you." He was sincere and knew, Miwa was curious about what the whole thing was. "I just asked for a favor to close the restaurant only for us..." the man stated, making Miwa realize everything before it was even said. "it seemed apparently the owner did not want to do that, so I intimidated the hell out of the stuff and they agreed to do that without owners permission." Atsumu rubbed his head with a bit of embarrassment but that only made Miwa laugh.

She gasped, covering her mouth with a palm and trying not to laugh too much. "What?" Miwa then let out a sincere laugh, unable to hold herself. "You bad boy, haha."

The man sighed, happy to see exactly taht reaction. "Can you really blame me?" He winked to her. "I wanted it to be special. So when it all appeared true, the owner came to Osamu..." He then put the rest of the explanation to which Miwa nodded. "And the rest you probably know."

The woman straightened up. "I do. You got scolded." She chortled slightly to his despair in the eyes. "Gosh, you are such a dork. I appreciate your try to make it special, Atsumu." Miwa nodded sincerely and carefully grabbed the man's hand.

"How about I get you on another date then?" His fingers quickly crossed with hers and Miwa felt there was no way out.

"I don't know-"

The man pulled her closer, seeing how she tried to run away from the answer. "Ah, here we go again." Atsumu rolled his eyes. "Do you date someone? Planing on date someone?"

Miwa shook her head. "I don't know."

Atsumu chuckled softly to taht unsure answer. "Then it's settled. I still owe to you since the press conference." The man raised his shoulders making Miwa blush. "You made it sound believeable. That kiss-"He started but the woman had no intention to let him finish that sentence.

"Atsumu!" She exclaimed, suddenly escaping his hand and landing her palm on his mouth instead. "Fine!" Miwa was read as a tomato and quickly heard the player's laughter. "I have work to do today. So you better not irritate me." She took a step back and then noticed how much attention that brought. 'Douche' mode went on and she frowned. "Disappear, all of you." The woman headed to the coach's bench and noticed how sad her previous words made Bokuto feel. "Just kidding, boo." She kindly rubbed his head. "I love you way too much. Let's go." Miwa grabbed the player's hand and nodded to him. "You will be helping."

"Yeah!" He exclaimed victoriously. "Saw that, Atsumu?" The man pulled out his tongue and Miwa immediately noticed the blonde player, heading towards them.

"Bleh-" he stuck his tongue out as well bit then only bit it and scrunched in pain as someone landed a slight slap on the back of his head.

"No fights." Sakusa said seriously, seeing the way Atsumu rubbed the place with irritation like a little kid. "You idiots are only making her more annoying with your constant praises." He rolled his eyes once more and Miwa gasped to that.

"I like praises."

"Of course you do."

Miwa grinned suddenly. "I like your cute moles too." She kept showing her teeth, making the tall guy with curls blush. "Come on." The woman hissed happily. "Be polite, Kiyoomi-kun. I want that compliment." Miwa waited patiently, seeing how quickly Sakusa hid his sight and regret the initiative of speaking.

The man clenched his fist once more and raised his sight. "You irritate me less today then usually."

Miwa widened her sight and then laughed out loud. "That is as good as its going to get." She saw how Sakusa rolled his eyes to that and others only let out a chuckle. "What did I do wrong to deserve you three?" The woman sighed, suddenly ribbing her forehead in somewhat a despair.

"There are more of us, you know?" She heard the voice of the Libero. Probably the one, she spoke least during the project. She did draw him for the poster and edited his photos... "And some are not that pathetic even." The guy crossed his hands on his chest and sighed in somewhat disbelief to the behavior of his teammates. It didn't seem to surprise him much, though.

Miwa nodded respectfully. "I know and I appreciate that greatly, Inunaki-san." She smiled sincerely, immediately making the guy blush. "Sometimes it's good to have someone less childish in the team." Other player's also wanted her attention and she knew about that.

Atsumu gasped dramatically. "You take that back, lady-"

He didn't finish that sentence because someone from the crew suddenly exclaimed. "Miwa-san! Shoyo is ready for the cameras." The photographer waved to her and Miwa chuckled, suddenly handing Bokuto her big bag.

"Wonderful." She mumbled, rolling up the sleeves of her sweater and asking her way towards her crew. Her eyes fired up and she bit her lip from excitement. "Let's play some volleyball then."

***

Chapter Text

As the long shooting was done, Miwa returned to her apartment completely exhausted and with two bags of food too. Sakusa had just as many products and followed her to the kitchen after taking his sneakers of with a quick move, without even bending. "I still think, we bought too much..." Miwa mumbled, entering the kitchen and putting the products on the table. "I will not be able to eat that many." She sighed toringly, taking a look at the amount of those.

Sakusa stood by his truth. "That would be your stimulation to cook for yourself more, otherwise you will just throw it out." He was sure, one day, Miwa would learn how to cook and wanted to help her with that.

The woman groaned tiringly, stretching her back. "Guuuh-" She reached her hands up and yawned. "Why do you have to be like that, Kiyoomi-kun?" Miwa asked curiously and lied a bit.

The guy only mumbled with a smirk. "Kiyoomi-kun."

That got Miwa curious and she put her hands down and behind her back. "What's wrong with that?" She leaned her head curiously to the side. "You don't like when I call you that?"

Sakusa shook his head, reaching towards the sink. "I like when you call me that..." the man felt Miwa getting closer and left her some space to clean her hands as well. "here." The man smiled a bit. "What are we cooking?" He asked, reaching for a paper towel and drying his hands too.

Miwa was still cleaning hers near the sink. "Let me think." She squinted her eyes and turned off the water. The woman seemed to genuinely fall into the process of thinking.

The man only rolled her eyes to tahy. "Faster." He hissed and quickly added. "I'm hungry."

Miwa chuckled and jumped onto the counter. "Don't pressure me." She then put her hands on her knees and smiled towards the player. "What would you like?"

The next second, his lips appeared on hers. Miwa felt how soft they were and completely lost herself in that second. She didn't resist and so Sakusa soon put more pressure, turning that slight kiss into a passionate one. The man was leaning onto the counter and she sat between his hands. He didn't try to touch her, only felt how her fingers appeared on his chin. She was enjoying that just as much as he. It took them a second but the duo separated from Miwa's initiative after all. "This." Sakusa sighed. "I'm horrible, sorry. Guess I'm no different to all the others." He hid his sight, but quickly felt how she gently tilted his chin with her fingers.

"Except that you are." She mumbled and smiled a bit once more. "You are very different, Kiyoomi-kun." Miwa sighed and felt him leaning closer once more.

The man went for one more just to male sure it would feel the same and it did. It felt freaking amazing. "Sorry about the kisses..." He finally leaned back and rubbed his mouth with a back of his palm. "I felt like doing that."

The woman nodded. "So you do use Bokuto's tactics." She made an observation, knowing it was usually Bokuto who went for a feeling. She was referring to the game, but still.

Sakusa kept leaning on that counter. Miwa was tensed, he could feel that. Only that felt way too good to let go moment go so easily. "You take that back." The man smirked but then his expression changed into more serious one. "I will say honestly, I felt jealous of Wakatoshi-kun. He got to touch you, didn't he?" The player was curious, knowing the answer already, just willing to check once more.

The woman nodded, hiding her sight away. "I felt good about his touch." That was the truth, even though she couldn't possibly explain of why that kept on happening.

Sakusa kept his cool about her words. Unlike Kuroo, who would have already read her a lecture. "Well, then I won't try to prove you otherwise." He smiled a bit, leaving Miwa completely speechless. "He is probably special to you in some way. Something in here decided that." The man raised his pointer and touched her chest right above the breast.

Miwa put one hand to the spot her just touched on one to her mouth. "Why did you do that then?" She asked a bit unsure and the man let out a sigh.

"Because I'm no different to other men." The man leaned his head to the front, trying to collect his thoughts. He then pulled his head back up, putting it in such a position, she would directly face him.  "Miwa, you are pretty and you are smart. Any guy who would have you would posses a real treasure." Sakusa spoke confidently and saw Miwa catching her breath. "I mean that." He said before she could respond and also added. "Every fucking word." His palm appeared on her head and he rubbed it, before straightening up and taking a look at the woman.

"Kiyoomi-kun." She hid her face into the palms and then mumbled. "You are a fucking pain in the ass."

Sakusa knew, she felt lost. Everyone would in her position. "I know." He gently patted her back but the woman shrugged to that, so he quickly took a step away. "It's unfair to you. I know that." The man kept blabbering, suddenly seeing a sight of her eyes following his every move. Miwa straightened up and was just as red as a tomato. "You have to decide on your own." The man smiled then her and she quickly responded with the same. "Better we start cooking."

As Miwa jumped on the ground to help, her phone suddenly beeped. "Yes?" She hopped and quickly picked it up.

It was only then the realization hit her. "Miwa." The familiar voice referred to her and Miwa caught her breath. "Good evening. How was your day?" Wakatoshi phoned her to chitchat, like he sometimes did during his runs. It stricked her right through the heart. Miwa had no idea why did it feel so bad.

She pulled herself together. "Wakatoshi-kun." The woman stated, trying to be polite and immediately saw, how quickly Sakusa turned his head. "It was nice... I have spoken to Kenma and he admitted sharing my photo." The woman kept speaking, making sure, Ushijima wouldn't get suspicious. He probably wouldn't. That man was too straightforward to understand hints, but Miwa felt bad. She wasn't sure why.

"You could sue him." The man in the phone stated just as seriously as ever, but Miwa quickly stopped that thought.

"No need for that." She said in the same quick way as Sakusa chopped the tomato. "He is my friend. Plus I'm about to drop his jaw to the floor anyway." The woman tried to relax a bit, only her heart raced like crazy for some unknown reason. "How is your run?" Miwa asked, hearing the way he breathed.

"Pretty regular, I'd say." The man spoke more calmly and Miwa felt slightly better. At least, he wasn't angry about Kenma. "Any plans for the evening?" He asked her curiously and Miwa raised his sight back to Sakusa, who turned her back to her  pretending to be busy with cooking and definitely not listening to her conversation.

She sighed, feeling it was wrong to lie to him. "Yeah." Miwa mumbled and paused. The woman then frowned and fired directly. "Sakusa came over to cook me a dinner." She stated clearly but didn't hear any respond and tried to save that situation by adding: "Well, he said we'd do that together but the guy is not even letting me touch a knife."

Sakusa shrugged. She had never seen him shrug before. Could it be that he didn't want to ruin his relations with Wakatoshi? Most probably. "She is such an idiot, Wakatoshi-kun." He stated taking a look at her and then adding. "You shouldn't let her around sharp things." The man tried to make it sound believeable. He wanted to make sure, they wouldn't argue because of him.

Ushijima stayed silent for few seconds but then asked. "You are having fun?"

Miwa felt even worse from that. "Mhm." She sighed, starting to shake like a leaf on the wind. "My leg is much better now too." The woman tried to smile, so that sounded better then everything, she had said before. There was still time to turn it around.

The man sighed. "That's good." He paused and then spoke up once more. "I told you, that cream was going to help. Better you also had more rest." Ushijima spoke sincerely and Miwa widened her sight. He wasn't angry at her. The man valued her too much to get jealous.

The woman's eyes sparkled and Sakusa noticed a tear rolling down her cheek. "But Wakatoshi-kun, I have a practice tomorrow." She stated happily. "I can't rest."

The man let out a soft chuckle to that, only making Sakusa freeze on the spot. Ushijima spoke rather kindly. "Just make sure you are careful then." The man was sincere and Miwa quickly rubbed her cheek. "Do you want me to pick you up afterwards?" He asked curiously and Sakusa noticed how Miwa's cheeks turned a bit red.

"Do you want to do that?" She asked just as straightforwardly, getting excited to hear the answer. "You will have a pretty intense training tomorrow since the game is getting closer. I don't want to tire you out completely." Miwa said sincerely but it was one of those things, where she spoke one thing and meant completely different. Miwa wanted Wakatoshi to be beside her. That felt right.

The man on the other side of the phone spoke just as calmly as before. "I will find some strength for that. Do not worry." He then paused and added: "Sakusa, please, make sure she has a full portion to eat. The trainings are tiring for her and she looses weight."

Miwa gasped to that sudden accusation. "Wakatoshi-kun!"

The man got more serious. "Well, if you do spend time with my buddies, at least let me make sure you are eating properly." He fired and Miwa quickly scrunched her face in slight regret of telling him the truth.

Sakusa chuckled to that expression. "I will make sure, she eats her food." The man continued cooking. "With the training tomorrow, you would be stupid to neglect a proper dinner."

Miwa rolled her eyes and couldn't help but groaned. "Ugh-"

Ushijima got even more serious. "Miwa." He stated and Miwa's cheeks turned red once again. The man cared too much. "You know it's serious."

The woman sighed to that. "I know." Finally letting go of all the emotions that burdened her. "Then I will see you tomorrow, Wakatoshi-kun?" She asked curiously with a sincere smile on her face. That was rare, so even Sakusa turned to see that better. At that point he didn't even try to hide the fact of listening to their conversation.

Ushijima stayed the polite self till the end of the conversation. "Sure. Have a nice evening." He said kindly and then referred to another player too. "Bye, Kiyoomi-kun." It was like he knew, Sakusa had listened to everything.

The tall man with curls nodded. "Bye." He saw how Miwa pressed 'end' call and referred to her once more, trying to act unbothered. "You won't tell him?" He asked, chopping the vegetables one by one, like his life depended on that exact activity. Miwa could tell, he was nervous about Wakatoshi's reaction just as much as she. They both felt like Wakatoshi didn't deserve to be treated like that.

Miwa pulled her thoughts together, taking one last look at her phone, before hiding it to her pocket. "I don't technically date him." She said, rolling the sleeves of the old fashioned sweater up in the same was she did during the training. "I don't date any of you." The woman said calmly, knowing she wasn't the one to blame. After all, she didn't initiate kisses with Sakusa. "Once I do, though, I will tell that person everything." She said in a polite manner but only saw Sakusa's blush. That was a brave move and Miwa was brave enough to do something like that. She knew when it was important to be sincere.

His respect towards the woman only grew more. "Fair enough." The man sighed  continuing his cooking. "You are too much to handle." Sakusa mumbled, seeing the way she picked up the knife, determined to help him as much as she knew how.

The woman started cutting. "You don't have to handle me." She said rather seriously, suddenly focusing on her own thoughts way too much. Miwa felt pain appearing in her head once again. "I will handle myself." She mumbled and quickly saw how Sakusa stopped his move. He only looked at her and the made her force a smile. "I really do think, you are special, Kiyoomi-kun."

The man thought it was his opportunity to make everything better. Miwa knew, he wanted her to choose right then, he wanted her to drop everything and run into his hug but the woman stayed where she was. "I know." Sakusa sighed, realizing, his thought had only remained the thought and nothing more. "You make me feel special too. It's hard to admit it..." the man tried to keep the nasty thoughts away, until suddenly caught his head. "darn it." He mumbled in disbelief.

Miwa kept focusing on her vegetables. "I'm sorry. I really am." She said, feeling like she should do that just to calm the man down.

It definitely helped. Sakusa put his hands down from his head and shook his head. "You have nothing to apologize for." The man paused, returning to the cooking once more. "I know, you don't." He sighed and Miwa felt kind of bad. Sakusa wanted to be her friend but he also wanted her to be more more a friend and Miea couldn't possibly give him that. It's not like she could give it to anyone, really.

"Want to watch something afterwards?" She asked quietly.

"Sure."

As the dinner was ready and they sat in front of the TV, finishing the prepared food, Miwa's phone beeped. She picked it up, unsure of who would write her so late but then smiled after seeing. BUG: [What are you doing tomorrow between 17:00 -19:00?]

The woman tapped the screen and just as the keyboard popped up, she typed in the answer. OLDBUM: [I have training.] She the added another message, getting way too curious. [What's up?]

BUG: [I scheduled a meeting with couple of friends for the evening but it will take them some time to get there.] The girl wrote sincerely and Miwa thought it was giod, she found some time for herself with those tiring exams. [Thought, I could talk about my confidence.] She wrote in and it made Miwa let out a slight chuckle.

OLDBUM: [You can.] Miwa quickly typed in. [My training ends somewhere around 18.45. I would be honored if you came to watch, since you have nothing else to do.]

BUG: [Really?]

The woman sighed happily and wrote once more, seeing how little confidence she had in herself. [Yeah. Could be nice.]

BUG: [Then I will be there.] She was definitely happy. Miwa felt that she was. [Thank you, Miwa.] Yachi wrote but then quickly fixed the mistake to: [*Miwa-san.]

Miwa didn't respond to that, she only saw Sakusa, leaning to the coffee table to leave his plate. "You are a good leader." He said with slight smile on his face. "She looks up to you." The man said calmly and Miwa suddenly felt her cheeks turning red.

"Don't read my messages, you bug." She frowned, finally realizing what that meant. "The fact that you are taller doesn't give you permission to sneak up on me." Miwa pointed at the guy with her pointer and touched his forehead. Sakusa didn't even flinch. The guy trusted Miwa way too much.

He only crossed his hands on his chest. "Or what? You are going to annoy me to death?" The man asked rethorically bit Miwa thought it was hilarious.

She covered her mouth with a palm to hide that little laugh. "I might as well do." Miwa spoke happily and then nodded very politely. "Thank you for the food, Kiyoomi-kun. Thank you for staying here."

The man decided to be just as polite. "You are most welcome." He answered her with the same and saw her yawn. "There is much work for you tomorrow." Sakusa stood up from the sofa and Miwa quickly followed him as the man headed to the entrance. "I better head out." He said, putting on his sneakers.

"Then I will see you around?" Miwa stood in the doorway, not trying to stop him. She didn't want to give him illusions, not of something, she wasn't capable of sharing.

He smiled a bit, putting on his long sporty jacket. "Yeah, why not..." the man nodded once more and reached to open the door. "take care, Miwa." He said before disappearing outside those doors and Miwa felt herself getting overwhelmed. The only thought that appeared and cleared stuff out, was that she should speak to Wakatoshi. That would be helpful.

***

Chapter Text

Back after the long working day, Miwa entered the already familiar spot in the city centre right before heading to her volleyball practice. The woman sat at the table as it was quite busy, a bit disappointed, she wouldn't be able to speak to Osamu. That thought made her a bit sad bit the overall idea of having one of the tasty onigiris he prepared already warmed her heart enough. "You are stopping here more and more often." She heard the voice of one of the waiters and felt even better. Miwa raised her sight and saw a kind smirk, greeting her on Osamu's face. "I think I can recognise your car anywhere at this point." He straightened up with the tray in his hands and just as was ready to pull out the notebook, Miwa happily handed him a piece of paper.

"I will have a huge order today, Osamu-kun." She said politely and the man rolled his eyes, expecting a phone number or whatever... not the huge list of order. "You can't blame me." She noticed his disappointment and decided to make the guy feel better. "After all, it's you who sells those amazing onigiris." The woman smiled and immediately saw a blush appearing on Osamu's face.

He shrugged,trying not to make it to obvious. The guy chuckled softly. "Ah, silly me for forgetting that." He said and took a careful look at her unique handwriting. "Alright." Osamu rushed to the counter and left it there for himself. Miwa knew, he'd put his efforts into those ones. "What is it for today?" He then asked, before heading to clean the table behind her.

"My volleyball team."

"Didn't you say you don't particularly like sports when we first met?" He asked asked bit unsure but then looked rather happy she shared that with him.

Miwa rolled her eyes. "People can change, you know?" She let out a soft chuckle but Osamu's expression turned into more curious or even serious one.

He picked up the plates and put them on the tray. "Do you think that guy changed too?" The man asked just as curiously but that caught Miwa off guard.

"Which guy?"

She said that but only then understood, what he was referring to. The woman widened her sight in slight disbelief. "I don't want to trigger you-" Osamu quickly tried to fix the situation by any mean possible bit only saw  Miwa shaking her head to that.

"No! It's okay." She exclaimed and let out another chuckle, which was slightly different from her usual sincere ones. Looked like that one broke through unintentionally. "I have no idea, actually." Miwa suddenly shrugged. "Do you think he changed?" The woman caught the tip of the table for a better balance, unsure if that could ever help her.

Osamu nodded, realizing it was still hard for her. "Maybe that taught him a lesson." The man carefully headed to the counter and then returned just as quickly. He notified his helpers about something but the woman didn't know what it was about. "I want to believe that." Osamu returned to her and to that conversation. "You didn't deserve such treatment." His man appeared on Miwa's and she felt slightly better.

The woman sighed, getting control of herself and letting go of the table tip. "And yet, I got that." She shrugged her shoulders. "People should never experience something like that. It's traumatizing in more ways then just physical." Miwa spoke and then gasped just as sincerely as she said all those things. "Whoa-" She looked at the man who only curiously observed her every move. "I couldn't usually speak about that without crying my eyes out." Miwa explained quickly and that made him smile too.

"That's good then."

Miwaa felt like she opened up just a bit too much. Something inside her was saying that. "I have been feeling well for quite some time too." The woman added to make sure, those didn't sound too sefl-centred. She grinned. "Your onigiris perhaps?"

The man sighed, hiding his sight away but she could see his blushy cheeks anyways. "Don't patronize me." He mumbled and looked directly at her. "The order is too big to give it to you for free." He turned red and that made Miwa chuckle. "I will go help in the kitchen." The man rushed to the counter and then picked up small plate and a mug. "Here you go." He put it in front of her and she saw an onigiri and coffee. "Plum one just like you love it." The man said calmly and saw her eyes sparkle.

"Thanks, Osamu-kun." She nodded very politely, knowing he wanted it to be a little present, only Miwa had no intention to take it without payment. She started her coffee and chewed on that onigiri with a satisfied expression on her face. Miwa picked up her phone and noticed the message from the UNKNOWN number, which she already knew by heart, really. It was one of the amazing photographers, she had worked with. UNKNOWN: [Here are the drafts from yesterday.] She recieved quite a loaded message and then many files too.

Miwa wrote back. MIWASANO: [Wonderful.] [Are you done with editing too?]

UNKNOWN: [Not yet. We have shortage on time.]

The woman felt it was sincere and was happy, they spoke about the problem before it vould cause some damage to the project. She tapped the screen to write in a message, taking other sip of her tasty coffee. MIWASANO: [Then let me help you.] The woman felt  it would be only fair, even though, for her that meant she'd spend less time with Wakatoshi that day.[Send those to me and I will see how much I will manage to do.]

UNKNOWN: [Could be great. Thanks]

Just before she was about to put her phone away, miwa noticed a package box appearing on the table. "Here you go." It was quite big but Miwa knew  usually he didn't pack it to be heavy. "Stop by any time, really." He saw her putting the money on the table but at that point, knew, she'd fight him if he tried to gift her the onigiris. That woman was very independent.

"You are wonderful." She happily chuckled and stood up, suddenly hugging the man. "Thanks, Osamu-kun." Only then realization of what she did hit her. "Just don't tell you brother, I did that." The womna mumbled without separation and that made the man in her hug chuckle like a little kid.

"I better not." He said, seeing how Miwa separated herself and put on her coat.  "Otherwise he'd annoy the heck out both of us." The man spoke happily, waving to her as she left the cafe. "Have a nice training."

Miwa did the same, despite holding the packed, her phone and the bag. "Have a nice evening! Bye!" The woman chuckled sincerely and quickly left the building heading to her red Honda Civic, parked right outside. She had only one destination that evening yet to achieve. "I'm here! Guess what I brought?" Miwa entered the gym with happy little jumps and that immediately made her teammates chuckle.

Her teammates quickly evaluated the package and some rolled their eyes, knowing Miwa had many connections to the volleyball players, so the name Miya on the package really stood out for them as rather suspicious. "Not healthy." The setter said happily hopping towards the latecommer.

"I haven't eaten since morning." Miwa chuckled, unpacking the onigiris and started handing them one by one. "Let me chew at least on something before jumping on the court." She nodded to every person who agreed to eat with her and then headed towards the coach's bench too. "Here you go, coach."

The woman smiled and nodded respectfully. "Thanks, kid." Miwa felt proud to have that idea, just from that smile of a respectful woman, she received so rarely during the practice.

As she bit into her onigiri, the doors opened once more. "Mmh!" Miwa exclaimed happily. She quickly swallowed the piece and pulled the blonde girls inside. "And this is my intern Yachi." The woman introduced the girl happily and led her to the bench with her things on. "She will be sitting here as well." Miwa quickly handed her a folded onigiro too. "Here you go, bug." The woman was extremely happy to have her.

Yachi bowed respectfully, in the way she always did. "It's nice to meet you." The girl girl onigiri from her boss and spoke up once more. "Miwa-san have been telling much about her team." She smiled, knowing it could bring the team closer, since Miwa did like them very much.

The setter nodded to that. "That's great thing to hear." She grinned happily, chewing on her onigiri. "What did she tell?"

It was the easy one to answer. Yachi knew, how much Miwa liked good management. "That she really likes how organized and kind you are. " She stated confidently and saw her boss showing a little blush on her cheeks.

The team leat out an "Aww-" sound and Miwa turned completely red. "you are such a cutie, Miwa." The setter spoke up once more, seeing how the team chuckled at the sudden expression from the always serious wing spiker.

The other players were eager to speak too. Libero decided to jump into the conversation. "And look, someone finally has proper clothes." She noticed as Miwa took of her long skirt and had sporty shorts underneath.

She also took of her sweater and had a sporty bra underneath. "I do." The woman said, reaching for her t-shirt and bending to take off the high heels. "Bought those today." Miwa said putting on her new things as fast as possible. "Those middle blockers better be aware of my spikes now." She grinned happily.

"We will see about that." Tall woman in front of Miwa crossed her hands on her chest, making the poor creative director shrug and freeze on the spot.

"No, guys, you-" She started but the women around only chuckled sincerely. "I didn't mean-" Miwa tired to find help from Yachi who was more experienced with volleyball teams but she was having just as much fun as the rest of them. "stop laughing, intern." The woman was red from the embarrassment until suddenly noticed there were more people around then usually. "Huh?"

The coach nodded, immediately noticing her disturbance. "The other part of the gym will be taken today." She saw Miwa putting on her sporty shoes and tying the laces "That is not a problem, I suppose?" The woman decided to ask just in case but Miwa shook her head.

"I don't care." She said quickly and turned her attention back to her intern instead. "How are your exams?"

Yachi smirked. "Miwa-san." She said, making sure everyone could hear her. "Is that true, you were with Sakusa yesterday again?" The girl asked straightforwardly but Miwa couldn't even blame her. Sakusa was very handsome... if it wasn't for her feeling to Wakatoshi-kun, though.

The setter suddenly exclaimed, jumping on the spot. "Again?!" She caught Miwa by the shoulders, looking her directly in the eyes with a very serious expression on her face. "How dare you, Miwa? After I told you about my fanfic writing?"

Miwa shook her head to that. "It's not like that." She said, escaping the woman and straightening up, still being as red as a tomato for the most part. "He just volunteered to cook. When did I resign a cook for myself?" She asked in slight desperation, only making a bigger joke out of the whole situation.

"I could use that for my writing too."

Libero chuckled sincerely, seeing the greedy look in their setter's eyes. "Eww-" She laughed but the patted the woman on the back with jer eyes opened wide from excitement. "Haha! I would love to read that." She saw how sincere everything was and Yachi raised her sight back to Miwa. The woman was smiling sincerely and the intern could feel how happy it made her boss.

The setter fixed her high ponytail. "Well, obviously." She let out a proud chuckle, reminding Miwa much of Bokuto for some reason. "I'm just scared people might think that is unrealistic, you know?" She then quickly put her hands behind her back, implying that in people's eyes Sakusa was a completely different person.

Miwa couldn't help but chuckle at that. "You could follow the standard and say that he's a germophobe who is always mean to everyone." She said quickly, knowing few rumors that have been going around. Miwa did her research well and checked every little thing before starting. Even the things, she would rather not see at all.

"Well, he is mean." The setter suddenly got her blush to show up. That woman clearly liked Sakusa much.

Miwa nodded to that, picking up her water bottle and leading Yachi to another bench, so that she'd have a better view. "In a special way." She said quickly. "I think he just doesn't know how to express himself in other ways." The woman shrugged his shoulders, knowing precisely, the societal opinion on the man was faulty in many ways. He didn't particularly like people but he valued his relations like no other. Sakusa was built differently.

The setter rolled her eyes visibly to that. "You and your fabulous sportsmen." She chuckled and so did the women around her. "Always knows so much." The woman added herself until Miwa came closer and landed her hand on the setter's shoulder.

The woman smiled as sincerely as ever. "I have read a chapter of your work." She stated and immediately saw how the setter's sight widened to that. Miwa nodded sincerely. "You caught the characters quite well actually."

The woman's eyes sparkled, in the way they never once did before. "You mean it?" That meant a world to jer and Miwa was happy to compliment her new friend.

She chuckled. "No, I'm saying that because I want to make fun of you." The woman looked her friend directly in the eyes. "Of course, you dummy. It's fun."

Before the setter could answer her, they all heard the voice of their coach. "Girls! To the court." She pointed quickly, standing up. "Come on! Buckle up." The woman clapped her hands and suddenly nodded to Miwa who was the first one to rush towards the net. "Say thank you to Miwa for the food."

Miwa felt her setter's hand on her back once more. "Thanks, boo." She grinned happily and Miwa couldn't help but blush to that. The practice went well and Miwa was jumping efficiently all the way through. She had troubles with blocks and quickly realized, it wasn't her clothing that held her back. Nevertheless, she didn't once give up and missed an opportunity to put efforts into the outcome of the game.

The ball went to the other side and Miwa successfully read through their try to attack. "Mine!" She took a step back, bending her knees and perfectly receiving the  ball until suddenly turned her head an noticed some guy right beside Yachi. "Is he bothering you?" She asked straightforwarldy and turned their attention to herself.

"Well-" Yachi rubbed her back uncomfortably only the game went on.

"Sorry, Yachi." She noticed the set and rushed to the attack. "Let me finish the set." The woman mumbled before the jump and successfully slammed it across the court. Miwa kept her eyes on Yachi, only being to caught up in the game couldn't leave. That guy never once took his distance towards the intern and Miwa could feel, that made the girl uncomfortable. She knew, he wouldn't try any funny business, not with so many people around and that thought kept her going through the game instead of the help.

In few more minutes, their coach clapped her hands again. "Let's finish this. Ushijima came to pick up Miwa again." She chuckled softly, seeing how player was confidently mowing through the court.

"Good evening." The man nodded, knowing he came right on time anyways. He always did. "Sorry for disturbing. Here are also people picking up Yachi?" The man pointed at two people following his every step with big curiosity on their faces. Ushijima quickly turned his head to the court, looking for his Miwa.

"Hello, everyone." The tall woman with glasses nodded politely and everyone noticed, how beautiful she looked.

The coach nodded. "Oh, please, come closer." She said quickly and spoke to the clearly much taller player then her, with crossing her hands. "They are barely moving today, Wakatoshi. Slow turtles better know how to follow a proper diet if they want to have energy." She was slightly disappointed but then couldn't expect more from the team of amateurs.

He nodded to that in a very respectful manner. "I agree." His sight was however rushing through the court like never before. Ushijima couldn't spot Miwa and that thought disturbed him. "You won't have enough powers if you don't eat well." His eyes finally landed on the female, seeing how Miwa got on the bench. There were two other figures there but he only let out a slight: "Miwa-"

Yachi suddenly exclaimed and turned everyone's attention. "Please, don't touch me!" She hold onto Miwa's things and the guy was clearly trespassing her personal space way too much.

They saw how carefully Miwa moved towards them, not to scare the guy away immediately, until suddenly landing a kick on the man's face. "She said not to touch her, you idiot." The woman exclaimed loudly, making him fall of the bench and fly all the way to the court lines. She had strong legs, there was no doubt of that.

Ushijima reacted faster that time, seeing how much attention that brought. "Miwa!" He rushed there with the coach and the two guests practically ran there too.

"That's the chick from the red car at the parking, babe!" The guy with short hair pointed directly there and his wife quickly nodded, seeing the same thing he did.

"Yachi!" They quickly pulled the girl away as she was too scared to even catch a proper breath. Yachi kept looking at Miwa, who jumped of the bench and moved towards the guy with slow moves and death glare. Like a snake, ready to hunt the prey, she appeared right beside him.

The man finally caught his thoughts together. "You bitch, who do you think you are?" He coughed, covering the aching face after the hit. It looked like he had troubles moving.

She leaned to him with same stone face expression. "Do not fucking speak to me, you pervert." Miwa put her foot on the man's face. "How many times did she have to tell you to back off? You pitiful excuse of an existence." Miwa put some pressure to that and the man exclaimed in pain.

He looked at her, trying to escape. "You are that chick from the news." He suddenly spoke up and Miwa caught her breath, taking that foot away. "That brought memories?" The man grinned and Miwa felt sick. "Only I was not serious-" She landed another kick on his stomach before the man could even finish the sentence.

Yachi squeaked from another wave of fear and felt the tall dark-haired woman pulling her away, not to witness a terrible scene. "Let's go Yachi." She tried to calm the girl down, seeing how she barely moved and then spoke up once more. "Ryūnosuke." She called for her husband who only observed the way Ushijima closed in on the scene too.

"Right." He nodded and helped her take Yachi away. "That barstard." The man mumbled, seeing no regret on the face of the man, lying on the ground. He was clearly older then Yachi... no wonder, she got so scared of him.

As the man tried to stand up, Miwa kicked him once more. "She said she wasn't comfortable." Miwa spoke seriously but without aggression. That meant she acted on instincts and that behaviour sent shivers down people's spines. "Who are you to approach her without consent?" She asked, leaning her head to the side and stepping closer. 

The man scrunched his body, trying to cover himself as well as he possibly could but before Miwa could do that, she heard voices from the other court. "Stop beating the poor man up!" Some man stood up for that and that made Miwa shrug. He didn't deserve to be called poor... that man was terrible.

Miwa kept staring at his face. "You, bitch! Back off me!" He screamed in pain and because finally realized, Miwa didn't feel anything. She would continue if it wasn't for someone grabbing her wrist.

"Miwa, stop that!" Ushijima said seriously, making her return return the reality. "You are causing a scene." He said quickly, pulling her towards himself and away from the man on the ground

"Let me go." She said, resisting but then being too weak to actually do something

He knew it was traumatizing for her but his harsh behaviour was necessary. "Miwa-" the man let out and quickly heard her scream.

"Don't touch me!" She escaped and straightened up. "I am perfectly fine without your attempts to stop me." Miwa started shrugging like a leaf on the wind. She could barely hold herself together. "She was uncomfortable through the whole training and now he dared to touch her?" Miwa kept her sight on the girl through the training and just had to step in, once the thing got out of hands.

Ushijima knew, begging wouldn't work on her,  so instead he spoke very seriously. "Miwa. This is enough." He spoke with killing determination making Miwa shrug. She was scared... that was her defense mode. "You helped Yachi. Stop that." He tried to reason her once more, seeing that she actually listened to everything he said, it just she wasn't obeying that.

But the man suddenly saw tears, rolling down her face. "Will he stop if I do?" She asked, rubbing her face and then taking a step towards her victim, who got on his knees and tried to stand up. "Will he, Wakatoshi-kun?" Miwa asked once more, determined to give that man everything he had deserved.

Ushijima spoke once more. "If you take another step to that man, I would have to use strength." He suddenly hissed, giving her one last warning and as she didn't listen, rushed to her. "Please. Miwa!" The man caught her waist, feeling how she trembled and shrugged with her whole body. She wasn't a threat to anyone in such a state really. Ushijima easily pulled her above the ground and headed towards the exit, only picking up her coat on the way too.

The tears kept rolling down her face on a huge speed and Miwa hit the man's chest as he was carrying her. "I fucking hate volleyball." She mumbled in despair and then quickly gave up with her tries to escape. The woman had no strength, not in that damn moment. Instead she hid into her own palms, hating the world around wiith her whole heart. "Every single fucking time-"

***

Chapter Text

It was only about an hour later, when Miwa finally returned to herself fully. She sat outside the gym, with her face between her knees and her eyes itching and aching from all the crying. The woman was wearing her coat but even more then that, had Wakatoshi's long sporty jacket on top of that too. Miwa kept crying... she had no idea why. "I managed to talk to him." The woman heard Ushijima's voice. "The guy won't call the police." He came closer and kneeled right beside her carefully touching the skin on her leg, she wasn't able to cover. "You are not cold?" Ushijima looked devastated... something wasn't right but Miwa had no idea, what exactly.

She nodded, hiding into her knees again. "Freezing." Miwa sighed. "Everyone left already..." the woman sat without moving a muscle for couple of minutes and then saw how Ushijima landed beside her, completely neglecting his health just to make sure she was okay. He couldn't hold her close, that would be uncomfortable for her but Miwa kind of wished he did. At least she would feel safe "Was I wrong to attack him?" The woman asked very quietly.

The man only shook his head to that. "I don't know." He couldn't control his own emotions... and Miwa saw how much the man frowned. "I honestly have no idea."

Miwa felt it was unfair. "You know what they said when my parents put an appellation for the guy who raped me?" She mumbled, immediately getting all of his attention and the spoke up again. " They said 'Think about how much you are running that boy's life.'" Her eyes got full of tears again and Miwa sobbed loudly and uncontrollably. "It felt so unfair." She rubbed her wet cheeks and kept on with her explanation. "He could ruin my life but once a little harm came to him... I was the one to blame." The woman shrugged from a sudden wind and felt Wakatoshi shrugging too.

"I'm sorry, Miwa." He said clearly. "The world is unfair. But that doesn't mean that you can just punch everyone." The man knew it wasn't what she wanted to hear bit was positive, his words make sense.

She nodded to that. "True." Miwa paused and then straightened up, finally raising her sight to that man. "Do you think Yachi is okay?" The woman asked curiously, feeling terrible for leaving the girl with that pervert for so long. She didn't feel bad for punching him... not after what he did.

"Did you try calling her?"

Miwa showed him her phone where she actually still held call. "Yes." She nodded and the pressed 'end call'. The woman sighed. "She didn't respond once." It felt so sad for some reason. Miwa wouldn't normally care for a stupid intern but there was something about Yachi.... she reminded Miwa much about her tough path and the woman wanted to make sure the girl has it easier at least a bit. "I better leave her with this for some time." She sobbed once more, catching too much air with her mouth. "The girl was working so hard for me and I couldn't even protect her." Miwa rubbed her cheeks and quickly felt how ushijima pulled her dirty hands from her face.

He didn't want her to feel bad and even more, didn't want Miwa to get an infection or something. "Don't blame yourself." He said, finally letting out a light sight of disappointment. "It was an emotion outbreak. You are not hurt?" He asked, rubbing her hand very carefully, unable to hide his worry. "How is your leg?"

Miwa shrugged once more. "Hurts a bit." She squeezed his hand with her fingers and got on her knees, to face the man better. "Wakatoshi-kun... why does it have to be like that?" She tried to hold it but those treacherous tears kept rolling down her cheeks. "Can I ever be safe?"

The man pulled her into a hug. "Miwa." He said, seeing how much she trembled to be held so close. "I don't have answer to that. Sorry." The man finally realized how late it was and suddenly picked her up upon the ground.

Miwa spoke to his chest as he carried her towards her car. "I don't feel like dating today anymore." The woman rubbed towards his collarbone. "Do you want to spend some time in the apartment?" She asked unsure of how the man would react to that.

He already looked irritated enough so when he asked: "Will you be able to drive?" Miwa felt so miserable, she wanted to disappear from the reality. The man however quickly added, seeing how much more sad she got. "I could call a taxi-" he spoke, seeing the disturbance on her face growing bigger.

She sighed, catching herself into a hug and picked up the keys from her pocket. "It's alright." Miwa was still sitting in Wakatoshi's hands. "Let's get inside before you freeze to death." The woman really did care much and so didn't want to appear too disturbed as well. "Should we go-" She asked, appearing on the ground.

The man opened the door of the car. "My place." He said seriously, making Misa feel shivers down his spine. "Not a choice, I'm  letting you stay alone for the night." Ushijima was very serious observing her very carefully as she sat into the red sporty Honda too and tightened his sit belt. Miwa was still shaking. Then it was more because she didn't understand where that annoyance came from. She didn't like Wakatoshi like that. "Drive." He put his hand very carefully onto the palm, she held on the steering wheel. "Before there are any other problems." Ushijima added quickly and looked around for the sign of the guy who was beaten up.

They drove in complete silence but that time it wasn't comfortable at all. "Maybe I should get back to my place after all." She said after they parked outside Ushijima's apartment. Miwa had no will to spend her evening with someone. "I brought you enough troubles already." The woman hid her sight and felt his hand, slightly tilting her head.

He landed a slight kiss on her lips very very carefully. The man sighed. "I'm sorry for saying that you bring troubles." Ushijima whispered looking her directly in the eyes. He was still irritated... Miwa had no idea why. "Please, stay." The man carefully touched her swollen from constant touching, cheeks and sighed once more. "You need rest." That didn't sound positive at all and only sent shivers down her spine once more.

They got inside and Miwa took a bath, he had prepared for her. The woman sat in the living room of the small apartment and didn't feel anything except for that black hole that appeared sucking everything out of her. "Tsk-" She suddenly bit her lip and didn't even feel if that hurt... Ushijima was just getting out of bathroom as well. He was wearing his pj squared pants, making him look like any classical dad in his mid 40's, really. He was wearing a t-shirt and moved towards Miwa, suddenly picking her up from the sofa. "Wakatoshi-kun!" The woman exclaimed in disbelief appearing hanging from his shoulder but didn't even care to try to escape. That man was simply stronger, plus, if he wanted to do something, he'd have done that already.

He only mumbled irritatingly, heading to the bedroom."I said you need rest." Ushijima made it clear, she wasn't going to get her explanation. "We will talk in the morning."

The woman landed on the matress and lied down. That felt good, once for the whole evening.... there was, however, one thing, still eating her alive. "Wakatoshi-kun." She suddenly mumbled, knowing the man wasn't yet sleeping.

"Yes?" He was lying few feet away, with his back turned to her, so clearly something was wrong.

Miwa couldn't believe her own words that left her mouth as she stared at that big back of his. "Can I pull my matress closer to yours?" She asked quickly and stood up, knowing the man wouldn't disagree to that.

"If you want to." He mumbled, feeling her pushing the matress towards him and the suddenly, feeling her hands around his stomach. "Miwa-" the man paused and felt her hugging him tight.

"I'm sorry for punching that guy." Miwa rubbed her face towards his back, feeling guilty for putting him into the fight only because she couldn't manage her emotions like all other normal human beings.

Ushijima sighed but this time with somewhat a relief. "Miwa." He said pulling her away and turning to face her better. "I'm not angry because of you." He said,  seeing the way she wanted to be held. The man carefully folded his hands around her, making sure he didn't touch her too much. "Please, don't worry." Ushijima tried to calm her down and saw how stressed she got from not understanding the negative emotions he had. "I was angry at the situation. You had every right to show your emotions." He sighed before adding. "That guy is a jerk. I should have called the police and settle it legally."

Miwa finally realized where that anger came from. "But it would bring him troubles." She mumbled and saw how much his sight widened.

Ushijima didn't want to cause a scene because that wasn't a comfortable topic for some reason. The man didn't want to get involved but then cared about Miwa too much, not to. "I'm just like all of them." He spoke up, hiding his sight with an expression of guilt. "I'm sorry. Did you get scared?" He asked her suddenly feeling her pulling herself even closer. Miwa felt bad about one thing and he did because of the another.

She nodded. "I did." Miwa put her hands on the man's cheeks. "I don't like seeing you angry." The woman was so sincere,  it was heart breaking to see how scared she got. Miwa really did care.

The man felt bad for making her feel all that. After all, she was just trying to protect her friend and Ushijima was the one who let it slide so easily instead of bringing that pervert to justice. "I promise, it won't happen again." He said in more calm manner then before and immediately saw her cute little smile. "You shouldn't feel bad about that punch." The man looked her directly in the eyes, unable to keep it away from her. "Miwa, you really don't deserve this."

The woman sighed. "Nobody helped me back there." She said, gently rubbing his cheek. "I was so scared to say anything... who could have thought it would be different now." Her eyes gathered the same glow in them and Ushijima knew, she was returning to life.

The man nodded. "I think it's because of Yachi." He said quickly, assuming his own way of understanding. "You wanted to protect her. And in your case it was more of a despair." Ushijima liked her pretty happy face much more. It was the third time, she cried in front of him. "Please, don't cry." The man got up and rubbed her cheeks. He leaned to be on top of her and Miwa quickly pulled him into a kiss.

Her fingers rushed through his hair and she let him get closer then before, even land one hand on her waist. That kiss was slow and passionate. Ushijima felt the salty taste of her tears but then knew, it was definitely the last time. He kissed her back very gently, wanting it to last forever. "I thought, I ruined everything." She mumbled after separation, with her cheeks red. "You were so mad at me." Miwa caught a breath and Ushijima realized, it was a sign to back off.

He straightened up, getting on his knees instead. "I was mad at myself for letting it slide." Ushijima put his hand to his chest to show all the sincerety of those words. "I knew it wasn't right but then only hesitated." The man felt terrible. "Pathetic."

Miwa sat up as well. "Stop that." She said, straightening up and getting closer to him. "Thank you for keeping me from beating him." The woman carefully fixed his har, she messed during the kiss and leaned closer to his face once more. She carefully placed her lips on his and as the man tried to get more comfortable, landing his hand on her lap, she suddenly felt hesrself suffocating.  Miwa leaned back and fell into the pillow from her own pitifulness. The woman sobbed once more, this time, from the realization that she wasn't able to give Wakatoshi, what the man wanted and what she wanted. Miwa covered herself with that blanket and felt Ushijima carefully tucking it under her and uncovering her face. "Do you think, I should get therapy?" Miwa asked quickly, seeing his olive eyes appear in front of her. "I have kept myself from that for such long time... maybe I'm ready." She hesitated deeply, but then knew, this couldn't go on any longer. Miwa wanted a normal life more then anyone out there.

He looked at her just as kindly a ever. "It's obviously your choice." He slightly raised his shoulders, while preparing her to sleep. "If you decide to, I promise to be there to support you." The man said, lying down beside her and folding his arms around her. "No matter how long it takes, I'm willing to wait."

Miwa felt her eyes watering up once more. "Why?" She asked straightforwarldy and the man let put a slight chuckle to the despair in her eyes.

He kept smiling, making her turn as red as a tomato once again. "Because it's not right to treat you any differently." His fingers slightly touched her red cheeks and he said, looking her directly in the eyes. "It's not your fault, you got raped. Even outside of that, you are still an amazing person."

Miwa couldn't help herself. "Wakatoshi-kun-"  tears rolled down her cheeks once more.

The woman launched her advertising company few days after. She didn't warn or contact anyone. Once the editing was done it was immediately put out there for every audience to see. Miwa stood in her office in, seeing the skyscraper in Shibuya displaying the clips of the players one by one, doing the only thing those nerds really liked. She saw every player one by one, Bokuto's focused sight change with Sakusa's great spike, then Atsumu's set that turned into one more person. Shoyo's shot was taken from the side and he jumped for that spike. That skyscraper reminded Miwa of the way gracious jumps can inspire people and she was sure, that advertising would  be successful. Miwa knew, it wasn't going to flop - because too many amazing were involved in the process of creating and distributing it. There was not room for mistake and they manage to prevent those from happening.

However the woman kept her worry with her. Ever since the incident at that gym, she felt like the world around lost its sense. Miwa desperately wanted to be near Wakatoshi but felt weak for feeling that. It was unfamiliar and, therefore, frightening. Miwa's phone was about to blow up from constant messages from other people as she was making her way to the airport.

She didn't want to speak to any of them. The woman did what she had to do. She called the radio station in Shibiya too, telling the editors, she had a peculiar story to share. "There was machinations with money at Bouncing Corp." Miwa couldn't believe her own words and yet, was to far into the process to stop. "I know it sounds weird to hear but that advertising we did didn't cost as much as the company states." Her voice was shaky, she drove towards the airport, seeing the familiar sights once last time. Woman had only one correct path in front of her. "I want people to know and I want the company to come clean about their distribution of funds." Miwa knew, Bouncing Corp would find its way to "bounce" back easily like they always did. They were in the scandal not once, yet she wanted Kenma to find out who delivered the message. The woman wanted all them to know how powerful words can be, said by the woman. "It's Miwa Sano. I was a creative manager for the Bouncing Corp since its very openning." After that short message to the press, she turned off her phones and media completely.

The airport was closer and closer with every new second and Miwa's eyes got full of tears again. She picked up her bags and walked onto the cheapest flight she could find. It was supposed to take her away. Away from her messy and scared life. It was supposed to open new horizons and change her completely. That what she wanted it to be in the first place, despite her feelings towards the players, she net in Japan. The woman explained her move like this: she didn't escape, she simply took a vacation for herself.

***

Chapter Text

The whole situation was a hot topic, so everyone, who picked up the remote to turn on the TV, they heard about the advertising campaign of the Bouncing Corp. People were talking about it, building theories and trying to find out the truth. If that wasn't a huge success, then definitely a peculiar thing to discover. Clicking the button of the remote the viewer first appeared on the channel taking interviews from the players.

Sakusa was very serious through most of it, like he tried to figure out something very complicated. The interviewer asked him about the advertising campaign and the man looked directly into the camera, while speaking. His dark eyes shined with curiosity and the message to the world from him was quite clear: "The only thing I know is that we all had a great time." "Either because of people or because of the process of creating the advertising." The man in the TV leaned back in his chair: "We shared moments. Very intimate and caring moments that kept us through the whole thing." He knew exactly someone out there would hear his call. The man wanted them to: "I just hoped it could last for a bit longer..." He paused for a second before adding, "at least a bit longer."

As one picked up the remote again, through clicking the button "next" on it, They appeared at the repeat of the whole interview at the gym back before people even knew, Hinata Shoyo was to join the MSBY. They could see the way the players were giving out their short remarks about the unfolded story behind the past of the creative manager who worked with them. "I didn't know Miwa was raped! Let me go, I don't want to comment!" Bokuto had real concern on his face, trying to hide himself from the cameras. His expression then exchanged with Sakusa's sight again in the screen: "are you out of your mind?! Of course I didn't know anything about that!" He was trying to get through, without getting touched by anyone but failed with that greatly as the reporters were crowding on their way out. The narrator of the program suddenly spoke up: "An advertising from hell. Stay tuned to find out about how Bouncing Corp exploits workers to projects they hate".

That bullshit hit the viewers ear and they clicked the button once more. "I am really happy to be in the advertising." Hinata was just as cheerful as ever. His tanned skin and ginger hair was just perfectly good-looking, like the media wanted it too. He was an exclusive material, they could play with - however, as long as that made him grow in popularity, that wasn't really a bad thing. "I remember during the shooting we had wonderful time too but I had no idea, it included me appearing on Shibuya's tallest skyscraper." He smiled sincerely, clearly way too excited to be sharing that but who could blame him? If anyone, Shoyo deserved that the most, especially, after his trip to Brazil right after the graduation. He was the only one to know what true loneliness felt like. "I'm thankful for everything the crew did. All of them." The man said confidently and his eyes sparkled with familiar enthusiasm once more. "And I'm thankful for the team, I became the part of in such a short notice."

Next channel switch brought the viewer to another interview. "I can assure you, no machinations were made within the sport promotion division. We have been cooperating with Bouncing Ball corp for ages, really." Kuroo spoke confidently, wearing one of his wonderful and expensive suits. Like a politician, he was advocating for his own mistake. "I just don't why would such a rumor spread from an unreliable source." The man hid under his dark hair for a second but quickly pulled it up. "And about the leave of the creative manager." He paused, turning his sight to the camera, to appear more sincere. "I don't believe Bouncing Ball corp is capable of treating the employee anything but respectfully." - "This whole situation is just very unfortunate, that's it."

Click! The following channel was airing a cooking show and that as the only calm thing in that hurricane of drama. "You logo is amazing, Tendo. Can you share the specifics of its creation?" The interviewer asked the man at the cooking table as he was putting a cream on the cake. Tendo's head was shaved and he had buzzcut red flaming hair. The man chuckled, clearly busy with the decorations for his cute creation: "A friend of mine gifted it to me not so long ago." He explained, carefully preparing the sweet desert. "It was kind of out of blue but that meant a lot for him at that moment." "Like he had a very strong feeling tied to the whole process of creating it." The man straightened up, unexpectedly for everyone, getting more serious. "I'm really thankful for having this valuable thing work for my benefit now." His serious expression quickly changed to smile. "Oh! I'm actually opening another shop very soon. I would be happy to see you there." He smiled, picking up the cake and showing it to the camera. It looked delicious. So delicious, that almost felt unreal. "Now under the new and even better logo too." Tendo chuckled sincerely and the show continued, not displaying him as much after that, rather the narrator explained a very complicated recipe. There was a thing about cooking shows... they are boring for those who do not even remotely know how to cook.

One more channel and one big return to the drama. The news report stated: "accordingly to the other information, the leak in the funds for the advertising campaign is just a try to bring down the biggest sport promoting corporation in Japan." One of the vice presidents of the company showed up in the screen wearing a suit, even more expensive one than Kuroo did. "The attention lover who did this, just put false accusation on the company and we cannot bare to think that some of the company's biggest rivals did th-"

All of them spoke different truths, trying to mess up the viewers perception like one big manipulation game from someone above them. Another click and the channel switched to music channel, airing latest street music festival. "And now the band Egle's Wing and their pretty lead voice Semi Eita will present their latest single "I wish I knew the truth". Welcome our musicians to the scene!" Semi appeared on the scene faster them the rest of his band memebers and the crowd cheered loudly to welcome them all in. Their song was beautiful and the main lead vocalists really seemed to enjoy himself while performing it live in front of what seemed to be a huge crowd.

Entertaining or not, once the bands switched, there appeared a need to switch channels once again too. That last one showed a volleyball match that could definitely catch a viewers' attention. Familiar number 11 was stealing the scene with his powerful left-side spikes. It seemed, however, he had more hate in him then ever before and slammed that ball with such a power, it ricocheted all the way to the tribunes, leaving the other team no choice but to loose completely. The team Schweiden Adlers was happy their player was able to show his full strength but you could see, something concerned Ushijima Wakatoshi. He was doing many additional and unnecessary moves, that usually were the sign of his worry. It felt like he couldn't find his spot on the court that day. The camera then showed the crowded tribune and one empty spot at the very best one of the seats. It seemed like someone important was supposed to sit there but just didn't for some reason. Schweiden Adlers won that game with the overwhelming majority of counts. The other team just didn't stand a chance against that. The team cheered loudly to their victory but the second the match was over their star disappeared from the court.

The game ended and the sports channels started the advertising column of the broadcast. "We are pleased to announce the future game between the Scheiden Adlers and MSBY! Get you tickets now or you will miss the view of the century." The add displayed the clips from the infamous advertising campaign very efficiently, making all the players look like real stars. "Don't miss the game with the latest member Hinato Shoyo, who came to play against his former classmate just once again. We are sure their school rivalry will have you caught up in the real game!" It seemed that advertising caught the viewer's attention well, like it was supposed to. Unexpectedly, someone appeared in the room. "You keep on watching that crap?" The buffy man with spikey dark hair crossed his hands on his chest after entering. "Obsessed much?"

The viewer raised her sight at the guy and clicked the button to turn the TV off. "Iwa-chan," She sighed, leaning back on the sofa. "I can't resist it." The woman added, seeing the way that man carefully omit her and landed on the sofa beside her. It made the woman have another look at the screen. Her short dark hair was messy again, as Miwa wasn't used to not having it tied up in a bun or whatever. "Have you seen the crap they are trying to cover the scandal with?" She asked in slight disbelief. "They called me 'attention lover'."

The guy sat on that spot with an irritated expression on his face. "Do not call me Iwa-chan." He reminded her, making the woman forget all her worries and smile a bit. "You know, your therapist did not recommend you to spend your time like that." Iwazumi explained once more, taking the remote from her hands. "At what time to you start today by the way?"

Miwa picked up her phone instead. "In an hour or something." She could monitore the whole drama from her phone just as easily as if she would be sitting in front front of the TV the whole day. It was how she spent her first days after changing the country. The reminder on the lock screen showed the time of the session and the woman nodded, making sure, what she said was right. "Yeah." "Why are you asking?" The woman asked curiously and then read his answer from that always irritated expression. "You need a ride again, don't you?" It made her smirk and the guy nodded.

"Bingo." He leaned onto his hand, getting more comfortable and smiling too. "What do you say, Miwa?" That was a sleazy way he wanted her to fall for and do everything he'd ask her to. "Willing to be a good roommate?"

Unfortunately for him, Miwa wasn't too resistant that day. "I don't mind driving you around." The woman let out a soft chuckle and stood up from the sofa, heading into her room to prepare herself. Obviously,  the walls were thin enough for the man to hear everything she was saying. So Iwazumi soon heard another question coming from behind the closed door to the woman's room. "Are you excited to be working for Japanese national team?"

He nodded, picking up his sporty athletic bag but then remembered that she could only hear him, not see, so added. "I am." The man was already fully ready to leave and so landed on a little ottoman they had in the hall right near the entrance doors. "But I wouldn't have gotten a place if you didn't speak to them."

He noticed her changing into slightly longer denim shorts and oversized t-shirt. Her hair was brushed well and she just needed to add few additional touches, by putting on her big round earings. "Nonsense." She stated looking at herself in the hall mirror and standing right beside Iwazumi. "They would be complete fools not to hire you." Miwa smiled, taking one last look at herself and showed herself to the man on the ottoman. He nodded approvingly to her looks and she bent to put on her sneakers. "You are like a great spy, having your internship done in three different countries."

The man let out a soft chuckle. "Those were short-term mobilities and you know that." He didn't consider himself to be a spy material until Miwa mentioned that.

Miwa straightened up. "I know that you are a very skilled professional in your field." Her tone changed into more serious one. "I say this proudly and I stand by those words." Miwa definitely was the kind of person to speak truthfully to those she cared about. The man knew that, so those words meant a lot, comming from her. She picked up her bunch of keys and hid her phone and little wallet into the pockets of her shorts. "Have you decided for the programms already?"

The man shook his head to that. "It's too early to say." He stood up, seeing the way Miwa picked her watter bottle without a reminder and felt proud for her small changes. They would result in something great. He was sure of it. "It would depend on who I will be working with but I did prepare few drafts." He smiled, opening the doors and adding: "Maybe you want-"

To that Miwa shook her hand with the keys in them. They let out a loud metallic sound and made Iwazumi stop. "No." She stated getting into the corridor right after him. "I can barely keep up with everything the polish guys do." The woman chuckled with slight desperation notes in her voice. She struggled from constant pressure keeping up with the team she promoted. That switch in the careers was a complicated process, no matter how similar to it, her previous work seemed to be. "I can't not risk to mess it up." She put the right key and turned it, closing the doors to their shared apartment. Iwazumi headed down the staircase and she fired at him right away. "That reminded me." Miwa said, turning the man's attention to herself. "I will be having them to do a photoshoot later today for the line of gas station who were willing to fund something." She paused, scared to disappoint her friend but then added: "I won't be there for the dinner."

To her relief, the man only shrugged his shoulders to that. He knew exactly the hardships his roommate had to face after her sudden change of locations. "You are always busy."

Miwa sighed, walking out of the building towards the parking space. "That's my job to be busy." She paused, clicking the button on her car keys for it to open. "I can't believe I became a sports promotor."

Iwazumi nodded to himself, sitting at the passenger seat of the black the black new-model Mazda car. "You do suck at volleyball."

That made the woman gasp in disbelief. "You dick." She widened her sight and couldn't help but chuckle to the whole situation. Miwa put the keys in and started the car.

"Just being objective here." He shrugged his shoulders, not feeling even a bit guilty for his previous words. "Didn't Ushijima tell you that as well?"

"Few times actually..." the woman caught the steering wheel and pressed the pedal, making the car move from the spot. "yet, no matter how bad I am, he was always there- willing to help me become better." She said kindly and the tips of her mouth went a bit up. "I do owe him for introducing me to the sport in the first place."

"Do you think he will agree to your offer?"

The offer for Ushijima would be to join Polish team, that is of course if he'd ever want to speak to her in the first place. "I was quite a mess when I left and he knew that more then anyone else." Miwa got concentrated on the raid as they left the parking but kept talking to her friend just as effortlessly. Sudden thought made her feel better,  "I do think he is very confused by the whole thing." She said quickly and thought about the player once again.

"It is in his style for sure." Iwazumi agreed politely, knowing how much Ushijima wasn't like other players. Wakatoshi was similar to Kageyama in that, actually. "But you shouldn't feel embarrassed to try." The man tried being reassuring, knowing the rough history those two shared.

Miwa frowned. "It's my job now."

The man in the passenger seat rolled his eyes as they got to the first lights and stopped. "It's not about the job and you know that." He couldn't believe, she'd still cover her problems with work. "You have feelings for him and it's time you admit it."

It made the woman hesitate. "I don't even think, he'd be wiling to listen to me, honestly." The smile faded from her face too. "I left without saying anything, like a complete douche."

Iwazumi only nodded again. "You are a douche." He mumbled, stating the obvious fact but caught a curios glance from Miwa on himself and decided to elaborate a bit. "The way you speak to the press and the firms you are working for." He said with a slight hint to the way, woman always got what she wanted. "It terrifies me every time."

Miwa did know what that ought to had looked like but decided to advocate for herself as knew that most situations actually required that behavior. "It is called being professional." The woman said, trying to remain polite. "My therapist says it can bring good as long as that is not just the way to cover my true feelings from the ones I care about." She quoted that word for word and the realization suddenly hit her.

"Like with your leave?" The man in the passenger seat saw the connection in that as well. "That didn't seem professional, did it?"

Miwa widened her sight. "I was explaining that to myself and taking a break." It seemed she was thinking about it very deeply. "But what did I need a break from?" The woman asked getting even a bit scared. "Successful finish of the project?" She had no idea.

That was when Iwazumi raised his brows,  curiously glancing at his friend. "You don't know either." The realization of that came to him as well. He didn't however get scared, instead his eyes sparkled with even bigger curiosity. "It's so interesting." He mumbled, trying to pur the pieces together. "You are like a-"

"Puzzle." Miwa finished that for him, hearing exactly those words before. It was during their date with Atsumu . "Yeah, I heard that one before..." the woman sighed, returning to reality and focusing more on the road instead. Miwa gripped the wheel with a bittersweet feeling appearing in her mouth. "All I know is that no matter what I do, I can become better." She frowned, trying to change the topic. "There is a way to fix it and because I have wasted so much time being scared, I say no more being a coward." "It's time I live for myself." -Miwa said very seriously.

However, her words only made Iwazumi smirk. "You should put it on you merch one you reach that peak of popularity here." He knew, people here loved her works, even though Miwa had troubles adapting to the new rules.

"No, that would be a terrible idea for a merch line." The woman shook her head without even taking his words into consideration. She knew a thing or two about advertising and his proposal would be a total flop of the project, really.

He chuckled to that a bit. "You know that better than me, so I won't even try to argue." The man paused and then asked quite curiously. "Do you know what you will say to him?" He knew, Miwa likes to calculate her steps with people and so thought this time she also had a plan.

She smirked. "Are you interrogating me?"  "Mom much?" The second those words left her mouth, Iwazumi stared at her with so much disbelief and disappointment, she even felt a bit embarrassed. "Sorry." She mumbled, trying to change their conversation to a previous course. "I don't know. I can't even imagine how he feels." The woman sighed, deciding to be sincere with her friend. "The only thing I know is that I desperately want to talk to him." For that precise conversation she had absolutely no clue. "No matter how terrible it can turn for me."

Iwazumi leaned back, taking her words into consideration. "Willing to risk it all for the slight chance?" He paused, thinking it all through and I shook his head. "I don't think that's wise."

"And yet you encourage me to go for the game."

The man nodded. "I do." He then tried to support that by adding: "Your therapist wants you to do it too." Iwazumi smiled reassuringly, trying to make her feel better. "You have been working hard and I think the world is ready for this new version of Miwa."

She smiled to that as well. "Upgrade, huh?" As they stopped at another traffic lights, Miwa leaned her head to the front for a second, letting out a happy relaxed breath. "Thank you for making me go with you."

Smile didn't disappear from the man's face. "Did you decide on the players you will take with you as well?" He knew exactly about every activity the players were involved into. That was because he was a good athletic trainer, even scarily good. "Who are lucky enough to earn those two additional spots?"

It seemed way too easy for Miwa. "Tomasz and Karol, obviously." The woman stated as they drove to the parking near the big arena. "They are the tallest and the most serious guys on the team." Miwa stopped the car and helped Iwazumi stop his sporty bag from the backseat. "We want to look like we can turn mountains, not even mentioning, the victory in the game."

They got out and Iwazumi laughed sincerely to that explanation. "You are scarily smart about all that." The man patted her on the shoulder. "That decision is very on point."

Her face shined with happy and proud expression. "I do know a thing or two about good promotion." Miwa felt like she could achive anything, now that she had been working so hard on her herself. "Plus, I'm sure Wakatoshi would easily find common grounds with them."

Iwazumi was happy to see her being much more stable than when they first met. "It's good you aren't scared to go."

That was when Miwa rubbed her hands in the sign of worry after all. "I am anxious a bit." She then straightened up and bowed respectfully to the man. "But I'm grateful for the change I could make with your help, the help of the team and the help of my therapist, of course." She straightened up and appeared in a hug.

"We are just happy to know you feel good." Miwa didn't shrug. Only felt extremely happy to be able to share that with him. The man nodded. "That's all we ever wanted, especially considering your past."

She smiled as sincerely as she possibly could. "I am glad to have you all, then..."

***

Chapter Text

Couple of days later Miwa entered the gym, picking up Iwazumi after the practice, like she usually did, when those two had plans for the evening. "Hejo!" Polish guys waved to her kindly, happy to see their sports promotor paying them a visit.

"Hello, boys!" Miwa waved as well. She wore a classical navy suit, heels and linen white shirt under her jacket. "Jak tam?" (How are things?) The woman straightened up as reached the bench and put her hands into her pockets. She was getting used to her new style more and more. That Miwa with big bags and pretty tight skirts was long gone.

The tall player with short side-styled brown hair, who was known under the name of Tomasz, nodded trying out the new phrase, he had learned in Japanese. "It's okay." He stated but then quickly dropped that idea of having an languagge lesson after hearing how wrong his pronunciation was from the recording he heard. "Jest w porządku jak zawsze." (It's okay, as usually.) The man took up, giving her a polite hug. Miwa answered that just as politely, happy they welcomed her so well. Tomasz then picked up his water bottle from the bench and asked before taking a sip. "Jesteś tutaj by zabrać Iwazumi?" (Are you here to pick up Iwazumi?)

The woman nodded, seeing how exhaused players tried their best to renew some powers before heading home. "Mhm." She then explained: "Przez to że od tygodnia nie jedliśmy razem kolacji, obiecałam mu zwiedzanie festiwalu w centrum." (Because we didn't have dinners together for a week, I promised to take him to the festival in the centre.) She was a good friend and everyone on the team knew that. That was why they trusted her enough to follow every her order about the promotion. Guys would contact her personally to, making sure they built the right image of themselves on the media. Because there was so much pressure, Miwa tried to reami professional at any given point and only petting herself be a dork when she stayed with one's, she adored the most.

The whole on the bench with short-buzzed blonde hair and icy blue eyes but her sight on her quite curiously. "Ten z jedzeniem z różnych krajów?" (The one with the food from all around the world?) He smiled as the woman nodded excitingly to that. "To brzmi super." (That sounds great) "patrzyłaś na listę kucharzy tam?" (Did you look at the list of chefs there?) Karol then asked quite curiously, knowing Miwa knew something about foreign cuisine for sure.

Tomasz shook his head to that, ready to add a comment to their conversation: "O ile wiem, to są małe budki jak na zwykłym festiwalu." (As far as I know, those will be just small booths with the food) He guessed out loud and decided to warn her just in case. "Wątpię że będzie możliwość aż tak się najeść." (I doubt, they will have any real food.)

"To nie szkodzi." (It doesn't matter.) She smiled, shaking her hand. "Pójdziemy jeszcze do tej restauracji na rynku wtedy." (We will visit that restaurant on the main Square, then.) Miwa was full of enthusiasm, despite the late hour. She ought to been visiting some meetings that day, since she behaved so confidently about every move. "Uwielbiam ich pierogi." (I love their dumplings)

The guys chuckled to that, making her cheeks turn a bit red. "Aha, no widzisz jak dobrze że pokazaliśmy to miejsce." (See, it's a good thing we showed you the place.) Karol smiled just as sincerely but Miwa could see, they were both too exhausted to be excited about someone else at at moment. "Spędźcie sobie super czas, szczególnie licząc że Iwazumi za niedługo kończy kontrakt z Orzeł Warszawa." (You should have fun, especially since Iwazumi finishes the internship at Orzeł Warszawa soon.) They all saw the buff guy with dark spikey hair heading their direction and Miwa saw how much more tired the boys appeared to be.

"Pamiętajcie że biorę was do Japonij też." (Remember that I will be taking you to Japan as well.) Miwa smiled, rubbing the boys' heads and making them let out another tired chuckle.

"Tak, tak." (Yeah, yeah.)Tomasz cheeks got a little blush and he smiled sincerely, directly to her. "Coś o tym było, pamiętam." (There was something about that.) The guy clearly tried to act unbothered but immediately failed, as Karol just had to comment to that.

The man with blonde hair pointed at his friend. "On ma spakowaną walizkę już od wczoraj." (A packed luggage is already standing in his room)

Tomasz turned completely red from that comment. "Karol!" He slightly pushed the other player and they both let out a sincere laugh to that. Those two really were best friends.

Miwa nodded to that with a cute giggle escaping her mouth. "Super." She showed her thumbs up and jump on the spot from the excitement. "Ciszę się że jesteście pozytywnie nastawieni." (I'm glad you are so polistive about that.) Somehow, out of all the players, those two seemed the most sincere and reliable to Miwa. And she knew, Wakatoshi would fit them well.

Karol nodded, finally standing up from the bench and showing his gigantic height. He was more than 2 meters long and Miwa had to pull her head up to speak to him, even despite the high heels on her feet. He put his hands to his waist and sighed. "Dużo pracujesz dla nas, więc cieszymy się że dostaniesz te króciutkie wakacje." (You work really hard for all of use, so we are happy, you get those little holidays for yourself.) By the time he finished his sentence and before Miwa could let out a cute "aww" sound, Iwazumi appeared right beside her, making the players turn their attention from her blushy cheeks. "Cześć, Iwazumi." (Hi) He waved slightly, knowing the japanrese guy didn't speak too much of Polish.

"Cześć." (Hi) Iwazumi answered with the same but then referred to Miwa. "Translator have already left." He notified her slightly, making the woman let our a slight chuckle. So did his following words, actually: "I can't say anything else in polish."

Miwa shook her head to that, answeringvhim in Japanese. "It's okay." The woman smiled, miking sure, Iwa wouldn't feel left out. "We probably should be leaving anyways." She explained and he nodded, taking a step towards the exit. "To widzimy się za niedługo i jesteśmy w kontakcie, tak?" (So we see each other in a bit and keep in touch until then, right?) Miwa decided to say her goodbye properly but was already following Iwazumi towards the exit.

Karol waved to them and Tomasz immediately raised his hand too. "Okej!" He exclaimed. "Będzie super." (It will be great)

Tomasz nodded, waving to them as well. "Miłego wieczoru." (Have a nice evening) He wished kindly and Miwa disappeared behind the doors of the gym.

"I got that last one." Iwazumi notified her quite proudly after she managed to keep up with him. "They wished for us to have a nice evening." The guy smiled and Miwa knew, he was happy, he had an opportunity to spend some time in that country. The man then took a big look at the way she was dressed. Iwazumi lived with her, so saw her wearing dirty pj's at home during her depression period. He was a good friend but had to admit: he liked this Miwa much more. "You look very professional today." The man notified, seeing the way she confidently walked in her high heels. Iwazumi caught the tips of his shirt, heading towards the car. "That makes me look like I don't know how to dress up properly."

Miwa patted his shoulder, picking up the car keys from her pocket with the other hand. "Your sweatpants and black t-shirt are perfectly fine." She notified quickly, and pointed at herself a bit as the man was getting inside the car. Miwa loved comfort, so it was no wonder she bought a car for her first salary. She was starting everything anew but some of the old habits stayed with her anyways. "I'm going to take down the jacket and the jewelery and we will look like we have slight disagreements in the style, that's it." She came up with a solution quite quickly, managing the situation in the best way possible. Miwa wouldn't want him to feel uncomfortable.

As she got to the driver's seat, the man spoke up again: "I realized today how sad it is to leave." He smiled a bit, bit that wasn't a happy one, rather a slight despair. "I have just gotten used to polish guys." He looked at the gym and the way the sun was setting behind the horizon, painting the skies bright red. "The same was in California." He leaned back in his seat and leaned onto his hand that he put on the window. "Takashi Utsui has taught me a lot and I felt terrible for leaving them."

Miwa shook her head to that. "Think about the opportunity you have in Japan now." She tried to reassure the guy, knowing exactly how amazing he was. "You have experiences of working in three countries." The woman smiled to him and carefully placed her hand on his shoulder,  without taking her eyes from the road. "And thank God, you do." Miwa sighed getting ready to drop her painful truth. "I wouldn't have managed to get back on my feet without you." He did help her get better and was encouraging her to attend the therapy sessions regularly.

Iwazumi straightened up and carefully grabbed her hand that she put on his shoulder. "You would have slightly more troubles if I wasn't there." He notified, being as reassuring as ever. The man was truthful but could put it out in such a way, noone could ever guess what he really meant. Iwazumi was completely different in real life than he was during his job shift. There he wasn't nothing less than straightforward and serious. "People have to help other people out." He notified her slightly and unexpectedly, smirked. "Plus, it was cheaper to rent an apartment together." Another cold-hearted truth was meant to tease her but Miwa got used to those by that time.

"It's true." She nodded, acting completely unbothered and focusing on the road. "I will be sad when you leave too."

The man clenched his fists, unable to bare the thought of leaving her alone. He saw her at her lowest and was sure, if the plan with Ushijima flops, she most probably wouldn't be able to get back on her feet. "No talking about my leave today." He frowned, making his point very clear. "I want to have fun here." Iwazumi explained briefly and added: "That's what you promised me today."

Miwa's mouth tips went up. "Are you hungry?" She asked curiously, hinting him the place, she chose for their dinner.

"Are we going to that pierogi place on main Square?" He asked her straight away, immediately getting her hint. "Sick!"

Only Miwa added to that, following her initial plan: "We will drop by the food festival too before that." She kept smiling sincerely, happy to be able to have him at her side. "I think it might be interesting." The woman guessed, having a good feeling about the eveingbtaht awaited them. Something told her, it was going to be good. The chitchated lively through the whole ride, until got the the centre and got stuck in frafic because of the various cars that tried to park closer to the entrance. Iwazumi was slightly impatient and before he would start commenting about them having to wait because Miwa chose car, she said: "Go ahead, I will just park somewhere here." The woman made sure, he wouldn't suspect her guess and smiled, to make it sound more believable.

He hesitated about agreeing immediately but his opinion quickly changed after he heard a car behind them honking for Miwa to move. It irritated him and the man sighed, untightening his seat belt. "Fine." He picked up his wallet and phone, opening the doors and notified her briefly before closing them. "I will be at the entrance."

Miwa kept driving past the parking slots, trying to find a place. It was quite a task, but luckily, the woman had much experience in driving and was better then regular statistical driver. "And here is a perfect spot." She smiled to herself, parking few blocks away from the festival but really close to that restaurant they wanted to attend later. It was a win-win situation.

The woman got out of her car and did, as promised to Iwazumi. Miwa took off her jacket and big earings, throwing them on the backseat. She closed the car and as was about to make a step away, didn't notice the missing tile on the concrete ground and almost fell down. "Whoops!" She heard someone catching her in the middle of the way and pulling her up. "Careful, pretty lady." The man mumbled in japanese and it made Miwa open her eyes wide, still lying in his hands.

"You speak japaneese!" She exclaimed happily, straightening up and only then realizing, how actually short that man was. He helped her find the balance and Miwa got a chance to have a better look at him. He had spikey brown hair and only one lock at the middle above his forehead was dyed blonde-yellow. His sight was confident and he seemed like a he knew what he was doing. "Thank you for catching me." She nodded, still observing her very carefully and trying not to make it weird. He was probably a traveler, since had a huge backpack on his back and sporty clothes for the sake of the comfort travel. "Would be embarrassing if I fell down." She chuckled, finally taking her sight away from him and fixing her linen blouse instead. "So good to hear someone speak my language here!"

The guy smiled widely, and it seemed to Miwa the whole street got brighter despite the late hour. "I get that," He nodded taking just as curious look at her. "living in a different country might be tough." The man mumbled and then raised his sight to her, since was much shorter. "Do I know you from somewhere?" He asked, squinting his eyes in slight suspicion and Miwa felt shivers down her spine for a second.

It was because of his eyes. The way they concentrated on her, made her realize what a focused and serious individual stood in front of her. "I don't think you do." The woman shook her head, coming up with half truth. "I have been here for quite some time." -That was the only thing she tried so desperate to avoid, and yet fell in the same habit again. She was only a human, trying to fight her fears the best way possible and then returning to the same loop of comfortable lies over and over again.

The man widened his sight to that and it seemed to Miwa he read through I immediately even though tried not to show it. "Well, maybe I just mistook you for someone." The man smiled once more and reached his hand to her. "I'm Nishinoya Yu!"

She answered that, exchanging a polite greeting with the man she had just met, and who had just saved her ass from an embarrassing fall. "I'm Miwa Sano." Miwa stated and smiled too. "Pleasure to meet you." The woman then pointed at the big backpack. "You travel a lot?" She ruined the back of her head with a chuckle, thinking that was way to straightforward and wanted to make it sound better. "I guessed because of your huge backpack."

The man hired the travel bag with a nod. "Yeah. It's pretty noticable, isn't it?" He chuckled, seeing how curiously she kept observing him. "I am staying here for a bit before my flight to Italy." Nishinoya explained briefly, trying not to bore her completely and deciding to add an astonishing fact. "They hired me to work on a fishing boat there." He proudly pointed his thumb to his chest and straightened up the appear taller. That grin on his face immediately faded away all the seriousness and the guy looked adorable to Miwa.

She wanted to pat his head and hug him taht precise instant, just from how cute the man looked. "It's so interesting to travel around the world like that." The woman let out a praise, just to observe his cuteness for a bit more. And she was right to guess that, the guy's cheeks turned red and he shined with happiness. "I came to work here just a couple of months for a sports promotion." Miwa smiled to yaht, happy to see the two side of one person in such a short time.

Nishinoya's cheeks were just as blushy. "Really? What sport?" He asked, rubbing the back of his head in a shy manner and making Miwa hold herself from not "aw!"ing his every little move.

It was a reasonable question, so with yaht one, Miwa decided to remain truthful. "Volleyball." She said confidently, seeing the way Nishinoya opened his eyes wide to that. "Maybe you have heard about-"

"Orzeł Warszawa!" The man exclaimed in disbelief and jumped on the spot like a little kid. "Are you kidding me?" He looked at the woman in front of herself in a completely different light. "Everyone was talking about them recently." He explained his excitement: "I heard they got a new promotor but i had no idea your work would change the way the people treat them." Nishinoya couldn't belive one woman would be able to change the flow so much. "It's amazing, Miwa."

She liked to be appreciated. Not for the work she did in Japan, but for all the new stuff she could try in Poland. "Thank you..." the woman mumbled happily and thought that maybe it was the reason she lied in the first place. She didn't want to think about the past. "I'm heading for the festival with a friend." Miwa came up with a proposal, being the polite lady, she always was. "Would you like to come too?"

"I'm just from there, actually." Yu chuckled to how much more confident she got after hearing a praise from him. He, however, had to resign from her proposal. "And it's better I head for the hotel check-in before they closed." The man explained that just as polite way and added "But I would love to get you contact miss Sano."

Miwa smiled, putting her hand into the pocket of her trousers and picking up a business card. "Why you certainly should, considering you caught me from an embarrassing fall." She let out a sincere chuckle and handed it over. "Here you go." The man took it carefully from her hands and she decided to ask, seeing how curiously he observed the letters saying about her position in the promotion business. "You always ask women for contacts this way?" Miwa leaned her head curiously to the side, putting both hands behind her back.

"If they are pretty." The man mumbled, hiding the business card into the pockets of his sweatpants. He then shrugged to his own words and shook his head. "No, I'm just kidding." Blush appeared in his cheeks once again and Miwa thought it was adorable. "I don't do that." He made sure, she understood but Miwa only let out a loud chuckle to that. The man smiled to see her being so sincere and spoke up, explaining the actual reason. "I have quite a few friends in volleyball." He notified her in a very polite manner. "I just thought having a number of polish promotor could be beneficial for them."

Man was all about his relations, even though he was traveling around the world completely alone. "Then I assume, you played too?" She asked, knowing all the players very connected and could even figure out who he played with. The woman was turning into the volleyball nerd more and more with every new day.

He nodded to that. "I did, actually." The man pointed at his backpack once more and she saw the yellow and blue Mikasa ball attached to it in a little nett. "When I was at school." Yu kept explaining in quite a nostalgic way. "After that I dropped it almost fully and went to seek adventures elsewhere." The man straightened up  putting his hands to his waist to appear taller. "The world is open to the brave, you know."

She almost got knocked down again with his cuteness. "I know." Miwa nodded. "It's very inspiring." The woman's mouth tip went up and she smirked a bit, returning to her initial plan of figuring out who he might have played with. "May I ask?" She turned his attention to herself. "What school did you go to?"

The man answered just as confidently.  "Karasuno." He then realized that the woman could be completely unfamiliar, since worked in Poland. "You probably never heard of it-"

"I did." Miwa interupted the last sentence. "Hinata Shoyo and Kageyama are from that school as well." He eyes shined with excitement and she put up one more person, who attended that school. "I also know the Japanese designer Azumane Asahi."

Nishinoya widened his sight to that. "You know Asahi?" He asked, and let out a chuckle in slight disbelief. "What a small world we are leaving in." The man rubbed taht back of his head and nodded asking quite curiously. "Did you go there as well?"

It made Miwa giggle again. "No, not really." She shook her head and explained quickly. "I just know them because of lucky coincidences." The woman decided not to mention his previous job just in case. She didn't want it to appear in that precise conversation.

That man nodded understandably to that, remaining his cute and positive self. "I knew, you couldn't be going to Karasuno." He smiled sincerely, making the world around brighter once more. "You are very pretty." That comment, made Miwa's cheeks turn pink and him let out a soft and calming chuckle. "I would have noticed you back there."

"You are quite a smooth-talker." She hid her sight, having no idea the short man could ever flirt like that.

He chuckled, not once trespassing her boudaries. "That I am." He then even took a step back, letting her know that it was the time for them to say goodbye. "Wonderful to meet you and sorry for taking so much of your time." He nodded in a very polite way, making his way from the shy woman. "You have to try the chocolate booth at that festival." The guy reminded himself and exclaimed happily, waving to her on his way to hotel. "It's just wonderful."

Miwa waved to him too, getting filled up with even more happiness then before. "I love chocolate!" She giggled. "I will definitely check it out. Thank you!"

His smile seemed to shine even when he was few fee away. "You're welcome!" The man stated happily once more. "Have a nice evening!"

With that positive feeling Miwa rushed to the entrance of the festival, where Iwazumi's irritated face met her once again. "What the hell took you so long?" He crossed his hands on his chest while waiting and letout of relaxed sigh once she appeared he seemed to get a bit worried about her missing for too long.

Miwa was open with her roommate. After all, they lived together for couple of months. "I met a guy from Karasuno volleyball team." She notified him with the same excitement. "Can you freaking believe it?" Miwa wasn't able to hide the fact of her happiness from that at all.

Iwazumi suddenly smirked. "Small world." He knew, she was good at bumping into the right people in the right time. "Is he traveling?" The man asked curiously, heading towards the entrance and feeling how Miwa grabbed his arm, not to get lost in the huge crowd.

She nodded. "Yeah." It took a second but she remembered: "Heading for Italy." They entered the festival and heard the loud music and happy chitchats of the people around. "I just can't believe, we'd meet here, what are the odds?" Miwa had to speak up in more loud manner, just to make sure the guy heard her. She laughed seeing the way he had had lean closer to her just to her her better and rubbed the man's head. "I'm sorry for keeping you hungry." She said, deciding to change the topic. "Do you want a caramel apple?" Miwa pointed at the booth the closest to them and Iwazumi have a curious look that direction.

"Not really." He then shook his head, and pulled her over to the other side of the festival. "I would love some German sausages, though. Let's go!"

The festival was decorated with colorful lights and loud music. It had everything, a person could ever wish: food, drinks, music and even games. Miwa curiously observed the performances of the dancing troops, showing off right in between the booths with food. The atmosphere there was one of the kind. She had read perilously that Polish and German Christmas festivals had something similar but was never actually able to attend one. It appeared on her to do list right after the point about getting Wakatoshi back. Iwazumi and her were walking and enjoying everything at once, until Miwa saw a booth with her favorite treats. "We have to check out the chocolate too." She pulled the guy over there and leaned to have a better look at the little chocolate figures. "Look they have Belgian and-" the woman read the labels until someone interrupted her.

"French chocolate, miss." The guy at the booth spoke up proudly but then seemed to freeze on the spot. He spoke japaneese, even though Miwa didn't recognize it at first, only curiously observing the various kinds of chocolate. "Care to try some?"

Miwa smirked, having just as little understanding of the situation as ever. "Do you always give away free samples like that?" She had no idea she spoke Japanese and she had no idea who sold those. "It's not very good for the business." The woman giggled to herself, continuing her search for a perfect chocolate.

The guy who sold it sighed. "Only to the people I know."

Iwazumi, who only curiously observed the whole scene caught up with it faster. He patted the woman on the shoulder. "Miwa, he speaks Japanese!"

It was when Miwa could feel her blood freeze in the veins. She opened her eyes wide and slowly raised her sight. "Hello, Miwa." The man at the counter her short-buzzed red hair and was tall enough to almost hit the ceiling of the little booth. Tendo smiled as sincerely as the last time she saw him on TV. "Care for that sample?"

***

Chapter Text

"Satori!!!" Miwa caught the guy's neck in even bigger excitement then when he agreed agreed join the for the dinner at the polish cuisine restaurant. "I can't believe you would come here without notifying me." She was drunk. Miwa just wanted to make sure she wouldn't feel uncomfortable around the guy. They invited him over and all of the enjoyed the canned beer.

Iwazumi rolled his eyes to that. "She is such a softie when she drinks." The man was happy he wouldn't have to deal with her drunk ass alone and yet could not believe the whole situation. He had no idea, how Miwa managed to find Satori at that festival. There were some many chocolate booths and yet, she picked the French one by a lucky coincidence.

From that, Miwa separated herself. "I am almost sober, dear sir." She leaned back on the sofa, looking the man directly in the eyes and took a sip from her can.

Satori chuckled to that. "I didn't know you were here." He rubbed his neck, slightly uncomfortable to be seeing Miwa like that. The man was helping Ushijima pick himself together and wasn't sure Miwa had any right to hurt his friend that way. But he was a good person and knew, it couldn't have been easy for her too. "Did you tell anyone, you'd move to Poland?" He asked curiously, taking a sip of his drink as well.

Miwa wasn't in such a happy mood after Iwazumi's words. "Not a soul." She pulled her legs up and covered herself with her hands, trying to disappear completely.

He felt it wasn't right. The guy was happy to see her but still had very little idea of why she left Japan. "Then I couldn't have possibly known that." Satori shrugged his shoulders and seeing how Miwa almost squeezed herself in between the big pillows of their sofa, referred to Iwazumi instead. "Thank you for that dinner." He nodded respectfully but couldn't, the guy wouldn't reach out to Wakatoshi, especially after he intruduced the athletic trainer to his father. Satori tried to create a picture in his head but struggled to do that. "I really enjoyed that polish dish you ordered for me."

Iwazumi remained his serious self. "Their food is weird for me." He explained briefly, being juts as drunk as Miwa, really. "I can't get used to it." He mumbled and raised his sight, curiously observing the way Satrori observed Miwa. "But it's better than American fast-food." After Iwazumi made sure, noone was listening to him sharing his experience, the guy brought up another topic for them to discuss. "Miwa really wanted to visit the festival." He said, turning the other man's attention to himself. "Must be, she has some kid of gift of bumping into the right people all the time." He smiled, trying to apologize to Miwa for speaking to her in such a rough manner.

She nodded to that. "I do." The woman sipped her beer once more. "I bumped into Taichi Kawanishi and that's how I found out about Wakatoshi-kun."

Satori widened his sight. "You met Taichi?" He was clearly unfamiliar with that story. Well, noone actually knew how she found out about Ushijima. Kuroo asked her about that several times but she always told him, it was a lucky coincidence. "I haven't heard from that guy in ages." He spoke in disbelief and chuckled. "Where does he work?"

Miwa got more open again "In a bar." She stated and immediately caught another irritated glance at herself from Iwazumi. She rolled her eyes to that. "Don't look at me like that." The woman said, clearly annoyed, bringing down the mood. Much like she did back there during their first date with Wakatoshi at the pub. "I'm a grown woman." Miwa notified him once more.

Iwazumi kept sitting still. He knew when it was the time for him to stop drinking. "I think you have a drinking problem." The guy stated with very little controll of his words.

To that Miwa gasped. "I think you can keep your comments to yourself." She pointed at him, just as irritated as ever. Miwa hid her head into her knees that she pulled up previously and mumbled. "I have had enough listening to Sakusa's scoldings back in Japan."

He wasn't ready to let that go just yet. "I will shut up once you start being a normal person."

And that was when Miwa snapped. She didn't want to ruin the evening, so let out a loud chuckle."Yeah, not going to happen, baby." The woman grinned, staring him right into the soul. "The world is a messed up place."

Satori decided to speak up, before those two would start a fight. "So you know most of the Shiratorizawa gang." He wondered out loud, turning the woman's attention attention back to himself. "Who could have thought..." He smiled, happy to see few positive changes in her and decided to highlight them. "you weren't so brave back in Uni."

Miwa calmed down. It was funny, how you could easily read her mood when she was drunk. "Well, I was just starting out back there." She sighed, finally getting tired after the long working day. "And it was a good start for both of us." The woman smlied a bit and the guy immediately answered with the same

"Yeah." He nodded, getting lost in his thoughts for a second but then returning to reality, seeing the confused face of Iwazumi, who had no idea how the two of them met. "It was much easier to start a business when my face was already recognizable from that fashion advertisement you did for you MA studies." Satori stated in explanation, being truthful. It did open a path for him and for that, he was forever thankful to Miwa. The man then chuckled. "And that hairstyle change was good for me too, don't you think?" Hr rubbed his short hairstyle, calming Miwa down even more and making her let out a cute giggle.

"I can't believe so much time has passed since then." She kept hugging her knees but didn't feel as sad as previously. "We were so young and naive..." Miwa mumbled, suddenly getting her head full of thoughts and widening her sight with realization after processing. "who could have though Wakatoshi would bring us back together?" The woman hid back in, feeling how hurtful the reminder was for her.

Satori paused looking at the coffee table, where Miwa placed everything she bought from him, even though she tried to gift it to her. "I love that logo you did." He said, picking up the package of one of the sweets. Miwa raised her sight to disagree with him, since she wasn't- "I know Alex followed your original draft, so that one is on you." He interupted that move before Miwa could say anything. "Don't try to make your efforts go to waste." The guy rubbed her head with just as kind smile. "You made him happy, you know that?"

Miwa's cheeks turned red and she leaned her head to the front, hiding it again. "Don't, Satori." She notified him briefly and sighed: "I was a broken piece of a problem." They both felt how tensed Miwa got. "I had to get fixed first."

Tendo kept pushing. "I don't think he cared, whether you were a problem." He wanted to know why Miwa left, after all, he saw how heartbroken Ushijima was from that move.

Miwa knew, he felt that way, because she felt exactly the same. "He did." The woman stated in a very polite and calm manner. "He cared too much." She paused, realizing, she wouldn't want to talk about all of that in front of Iwazumi. Not that evening for sure. The woman only mumbled. "I knew he wanted to help but I had to sort out that shit myself."

Satori didn't know why would she be so closeted about that. "You do you, woman." He stated, trying to remain calm and still very determined to get to the bottom of the whole thing. The man quickly came up with a perfect thing to say. "I just know that he wasn't the same since you left." He played on her emotions and was doing a great job, since Miwa suddenly sobbed.

"I saw that on TV as well." She felt guilty for leaving him, Satori felt how much she was sorry. "I don't think any of the people, I worked with were the same since I left." The woman kept mumbling and then felt slight buzzing under her leg. She picked up the thing and handed it over. "Your phone rings, Iwazumi."

He took a look at the screen and rubbed his head. "I should take it." The guy said calmly, letting Miwa know, he wasn't angry any longer. "It's from the Japanese athletic campaign..." He read out loud and stood up, heading to his room. "sorry about this." Iwazumi notified briefly and disappeared.

The walls were thin, so not to eavesdrop, Satori picked up the little pillow and put it on his lap. "Lets continue our therapy session." He stated with a slight smile, notifying Miwa to lay down. She did so without hesitation, obviously. "You don't want to talk to him?" He asked, fixing her hair, that covered her face.

"That's the only thing I want, Satori." She slightly closed her eyes, enjoying the intimacy they shared. "Truly, that's the only thing my worthless life lacks."

She could feel him roll his eyes to that, even without looking. "It's not worthless." The guy mumbled and Miwa felt something cold touching her forehead. That bastard landed his beer can there.

Miwa knew, she had to remain calm, otherwise she would have to clean the mess after the beer got spilled. "It is without him." She said, keeping her eyes closed and relaxing completely. "You may think I'm crazy but that guy is the safest person I have ever been with." Miwa spoke sincerely, probably for the first time in quite some time. "I didn't think about past and i didn't think about future." "It was there and then..." the woman kept relaxing. It even felt good to have some chill at last. "I felt complete as a person." Even her last therapy sessions weren't as calming as the talk they had.

"Why did you leave then?"

"Because I wasn't able to give him the love he deserves." She said, opening up even more. Miwa wanted Ushijima to be happy and yet with her around, he only dealt with troubles. "I wasn't able to make my body listen to me." The woman also hinted at the intimacy, she never get to have, despite the terrible need. Alcohol really sometimes is a truth serum...

Satori sighed, quickly getting that hint. "I don't think he wanted that, Miwa." He knew, Wakatoshi would never pressure a woman into doing things his way. That just wasn't the dorky player, he knew.

He never wanted her to give more then she was willing to. Miwa knew that and yet that hurt even more. "I wanted that for him..." She stated confidently but then paused, spilling more truth. "and for me too." The woman shrugged from that realization but the beer didn't fall down, so Miwa kept explaining to Satori and herself. "I couldn't keep leaving in fear all the time." She mumbled and added. "So I left and covered my problems with work." Finally, that was the thing he was trying so hard to find. Only Miwa kept speaking. "I basically made a meaningless loop, only loosing the one thing that made me happy."

Satori picked up the beer from her forehead and she immediately opened her eyes. "Was this loop worth it?" He asked in just as calm and kind manner as usually.

She started directly at his face. "It depends." The woman sighed. "Was It worth loosing my job?" She wondered out loud. "Yeah, because fuck that treatment." Her eyebrows fell low on her forehead and she kept wondering. "Was it worth loosing Wakatoshi?" The woman asked  and Satori could see how her eyes were overfloating with tears already. "...Not, really." She stated and rubbed them with the back of her palm, trying to stop herself from crying. "Nothing is worth loosing him, Tendo."

He nodded to that, acting just as unbothered and calm even despite her tears. "I know." Satori smiled a bit, making her feel slightly better. "That guy is a dork." He stated with a soft chuckle and she felt how carefully he rubbed her head. "I love him too." The guy kept making her feel better with every word and to that, Miwa was the one to chuckle. Satori then took a pause and spoke up in a more serious matter. "The problem is that you should have told him." He explained briefly, notifying her about how Ushijiam felt the last time he spoke to him. "He will be angry."

Miwa shrugged to the thought of seeing him angry. "You think I should hide away forever?" She asked in disbelief, loosing the only hope she had for him to take her back. "I could change my name and become the window cleaner for the Plałac Kultury." The woman looked desperate and Satori chuckled to that.

"Miwa." He stopped her planning and rubbed her head again  to clam her down. "You are a dumbo..." the man notified her, seeing her frown again. "you have to talk to him sooner or later." The man raised his shoulders and looked around the room. "I just wanted to figure out why would you leave." He said calmly and immediately shared his reflections on the subject. "That was your way to cope with feelings you couldn't explain." Satori was a really good listener. She knew, he read her through like an open book.

However, the thought of getting Japanese player angry didn't look promising at all. "Very wise words, Buddha." The woman sighed with a tired expression, knowing his words didn't even slightly help her case  "Only I still have no idea of how to explain it to him." She shared the trouble, but met only smirk on the guy's face.

"Go with a flow." He notified her quite straightforwardly, only repeating the initial plan she had from the very beginning. "He is not completely dumb."

Miwa's eyes got full of hope again. "Will he want to listen to me?" She asked getting more motivated to try.

The man let out a chuckle to that. "Probably not." He was realistic and knew how Ushijima felt after her leave. The man added, taking a sip from the beer can. "I would be pretty pissed too if I were in his shoes."

She opened her eyes wide and spoke up. "You wouldn't fit his shoes." It was so in Ushijima's style, Tendo even put down his beer.

"You love him." He said in disbelief, finally realizing her true feelings.

Miwa turned as red as a tomato and picked up the pillow from under her head and landed it on her face instead. "I do!" She exclaimed into it, not to wake up the neighbours. Miwa kicked the sofa with her legs, getting scared of her emotions once more. "I'm pathetic." She whispered taking it off and hearing Tendo's laughter.

"You are cute." He notified her, taking the pillow away.

Miwa got on her knees, being just as red as a tomato. "I'm going to die alone." The realization of her actual chances hit her her so much, she gasped, seeing Iwazumi entering the room. "Iwazumi, we have to cancel the tickets." She climbed to the side of sofa and leaned all the way back, falling from it right towards the man's feet. "I won't be able to speak to him." She notified briefly appearing in a rush and quite surprising her roommate.

"Why?" He asked with slight suspicion towards Satori, thinking he made Miwa feel bad.

Miwa stood up just as quickly. "I will suffocate myself to death if he looks at me angrily." She explained, getting all shaky and scared. "It happened before." The woman notified briefly, not thinking about how it might have sounded. "Satori is saying he will most probably be angry."

Iwazumi sighed. "Miwa, you left the guy clueless." He tried to avoid that for the sake of her health, but since the topic was raised, couldn't stay silent. "Of course he'd be angry." The man said seriously. "It's even worse then ghosting."

Miwa widened her sight even more. "No, no." She shook her head and almost lost her balance from the fear. "Then I can't speak to him." She caught her head, feeling tipsy but managing to lean onto the doors to her room and get inside. "I won't be able to face him with all the guilt I have in me." She said from behind the doors. "It's better I stay here and never show up in Japan ever again." They could hear her say voice and a sound of the loading computer too.

"What do you need a laptop for?" Iwazumi turned into beast mode from hearing that.

She appeared in the doors with a laptop in her hands. "I figured I could do some stuff for my presentat-"

The man closed that device harshly. He the caught her wrist and pulled the woman onto the sofa again. "Chill out." Iwazumi stood with the closed laptop in his hands. "You are returning to your old habits, you coward." He gave Miwa a death glare but saw nothing more that despair in her eyes. She was clearly too tired to work but felt it was her only chance to escape thinking about Ushijima.

Satori only curiously observed that, until suddenly gasped. "Old habits?"

Iwazumi put the laptop back in her room and spoke up. "She left Japan and burried into work, not to face her anxiety." The man noticed how a smile appeared on Satori's face and frowned even more. "Looks like you know what I'm talking about."

Satori chuckled. "You did the same with your Masters paper." He notified her and saw how much more scared that made her feel. "You were stressed, so you completely disconnected and worked your ass out." That was the reason she disappeared from his life too. Miwa was afraid of positive feelings. "Haha!" The man laughed out loud, only making Miwa freeze on the spot. "You are so messed up." He stated, and Miwa's eyes got full of tears again. That was completely true.

Iwazumi could see her catching her breath, so decided to speak up. "Miwa." He referred to her, but the woman was leaning her head to the front and trying her best not to cry. "Imagine this to be a 50/50 chance." He said, trying to remain calm. "You have trained hard enough to try." The man said politely and touched her shoulder a bit, making sure she was breathing. "If you fail, you fail." He said straightforwardly, making her finally raise her sight to him. "It's not a big deal."

"What if he rejects me?"

Her roommate sighed. "Then you move on." He explained briefly. "That's how the life works."

"I don't want it to work like that."

Iwazumi wasn't sure what to answer to that but didn't have to. Satori smiled. "I don't think that's up to you to decide." He hinted onto Ushijima again and Miwa felt a terrible ache eating her heart alive.

"I have to stay positive." She said, focusing at their faces one by one and then hid her sight, looking at her hands. "For all of them." Miwa clenched her fists and let out a shaky breath. "We will see how it goes."

***

Chapter Text

The time of the game came faster then everyone had felt it to. With Miwa leaving and popularity of the two teams growing higher then it had ever been, it was hard for them to keep track of everything that was going around. They got more invitations to play the games and even some foreign team requested an official match with them during the volleyball season, even though noone knew precisely the outcome of this particular game yet. The gym was crowded more than it has ever been, probably. That match was supposed to be revolutionary. Many people thought that. 

Meanwhile in changing rooms, the players dealt with their stress in different ways. Hinata sat in the bathroom stal and MSBY were chitchatting in the other changing room in the other side of the corridor. Schweiden Adlers sat quietly for the most part. They were excited to play and were ready to put all efforts. Ushijima picked up his phone, suddenly opening a picture he took of Miwa that day, she invited him to watch a practice. She was happy there and the only thing he wanted her to be, really. Miwa left without contacting anyone. It seemed she disappeared into thin air. "It's been a month since she had left already." Kageyama noticed the picture, while preparing his nails in the more sophisticated way than usually, like his life depended on that.

Hoshiumi only smirked, making sure his laces are tight enough but not too tight. "Ushijima, I didn't think you'd be the one to care about some chick." He chuckled a bit, knowing that man practically never cared of women around.

Kageyama nodded to that, finally making Ushijima hide his phone away. "There was the scandal with money too." He said referring to the leak in information from the Bouncing Ball corp, where they shared about how the sum of money in the project appeared out of thin air. The company covered that quickly enough, yet people were talking much... some people were so interested, they even bought tickets, thinking that drama with Bouncing Corp will unfold right in front of their eyes. Another one of Miwa's vicious plans to get viewers. She was scarily good at that stuff. Tobio finally sighed, having little understanding of why it was done. "Why would she lie about the company, she worked for so long?" It seemed,  they players guessed about who might have shared that information. He looked at Ushijima , expecting him to answer but the man only raised his shoulders.

"That I do not know, unfortunately." Ushijiam was sure, Miwa did it, even though never actually blame her. He stood up, finally ready to pull himself together from all that thinking, that got him distracted. He liked Miwa. "She left not a single clue before leaving." Ushijima liked her very much but felt mad about the way she didn't reach out to him once. It was unfair towards everything they shared. "Her campaign, though-" He spoke, stretching his shoulder by pulling it with his hand.

Hoshiumi didn't let him finish that. "Ughh-" he let out a loud groan of disappointment and quickly straightened up. "it was so good I felt jealous of that guy Hinata." The man said, crossing his hands on his chest. "How comes, he gets such a great promotion?" He asked even a bit angrily. "His jump range is smaller than mine."

Kageyama nodded once more. "He is quite an idiot too." The man said quickly and that made the teammates around let out a chuckle, well, everyone, except Ushijima. He wasn't in the brightest mood for the last couple of games. This one however, was supposed to be different. They were all curious to play against Hinata. "People relate to him easily." Kageyam shrugged his shoulders finally putting away his nail file.

The man with white hair suddenly jumped on the bench. "But that Shibuya skyscraper..." He said, clearly way too jealous about everything at once. "I wouldn't even be surprised if most of the people never even heard of MSBY before that appeared." He put his hands on his waists, trying to prove his teammates a point and they nodded, knowing it really was the case for some people.

Ushijima didn't have the opportunity to speak up. Instead they all heard Kageyama's voice once more. "It was also the day Miwa leaked the information about the money fraud..." even though, the man had little knowledge of finance, that topic just seemed to suck him in completely. Maybe he wanted to look smarter for some reason. "She said it was something related to the unequal money division during the project." He rubbed his head. "That some sum was unfairly added in the process and got covered up?"

Hoshiumi felt, he had to theorize that one too. "She could easily steal it and fly on the other side of the world." The man quickly put it all out. "I don't blame her, the money from sports can keep you living for quite some time and I'm sure, that advertising on Shibuya, wasn't a cheap one." He shrugged his shoulders, and jumped off the bench, finally calming himself down a bit. "Have you seen the way Hinata jumped in it?" The man raised his hand and showed the slowmotion, the advertising team did. It made Hinata look like he ruled the freaking court and it otlrrtated the hell of the players. Of course, there would be people curious to see more of him.

Kageyama nodded, suddenly remembering the advertising and smiling uncontrollably. "Yeah..." the man mumbled and looked like some psycho. "it's even irritating to admit it." Kageyama's eyes shined, it looked rather scary.

Hoshiumi smirked once more. "You look more excited than irritated." He was the first one to make that obseravtion and quickly got fired up himself.

The tall player with dark hair shook his head. "No, I'm not."

The light bulb above the door in the changing room went red. It was the preparation time. "You definitely are excited." Ushijima sighed in slight disbelief to that childish behavior. He, however, could understand Kageyama's excitement just as easily. Miwa did make Hinata look like a ruler of the court and Schweiden Adlers were supposed to turn that myth into truth by putting the short red-headed guy on the ground in people's eyes. "Well, I don't blame you. Let's see what the concrete flower can do." The players headed towards the door just as excitingly.

The same time, on the other side of the gym, people were gathering at the tribunes to find their spots for the game. Osamu had a little place where he served Onigiris and it was the busiest day he ever got, really. "I would like to order 3 onigiris, please?" The man heard somebody's low voice but was too busy to pay attention.

"Oh, you are quite the polite one." He mumbled, folding the onigiris for the previous client and handed them over that precise instant. "Would you like them or not?" Osamu smirked thinking that guy sounded quite unsure and then didn't even bother to speak up once more. The man finally raised his sight only to see a hugely tall man in front of himself. "Huh?" He caught his breath, realizing it was probably a tourist. "Not from here?" The man asked, immediately starting to prepare the order. It would be a shame if the tourist would be disappointed in the service, he gave.

The man nodded. "I'm from Poland." He carefully observed Osamu's every move and then smiled. "We came to watch a match." The words left his mouth and he suddenly shrugged, remembering something. "Miwa, jakie chciałaś?!" He exclaimed asking a woman not far away for something but Osamu had no idea, what that meant. "Jeszcze raz?" The guy asked after turning the woman's attention, making Osamu widen his sight in disbelief. (Miwa, which one did you want? Once again?)

The woman came closer, exclaiming in answer. "Śliwowe!" She rushed to the booth and grinned happily. "Plum onigiri, please, Osamu-kun."  (Plum!)

Osamu couldn't believe his own eyes. It was the woman. She had her hair cut done to be slightly longer then her shoulders but it looked completely different to her previous long and always pinned up hair. "Miwa! What are you doing here, woman?" The man asked, unable to breathe properly. That was quite a surprise.

Miwa appeared in front of him, being the cheerful self. She was wearing knee-long blue denim shorts and a white oversized t-shirt with the number 11 written on it. It didn't have a logo but Osamu knew, those were made for trainings. Miwa was wearing somebody's shirt, so by deduction methods of remembering the numbers, Osamu came to a conclusion that it was Ushijima's shirt.... if his theory was right, once she would turn her back to him, the man would see large letters of Ushijima's surname on her back. The man didn't get distracted for a second while preparing the food for her. He only wondered of why she was back. "I'm here with a delegation, actually." Miwa spoke up, seeing the way, he curiously raised his sight to her from time to time. "We came to spy on your perfect little secrets and then use it in the game against you." The woman grinned, happily, making her joke about stealing techniques.

It seemed the tall guy beside her understood that and took it seriously. "That is not true!" He spoke sincerely, making sure, Osamu wouldn't get offended but it only made the guy chuckle.

"I know, she is quite a liar." The man shook his head with a sigh, while continuing preparing the order for them. "You made quite a successful mess here with that advertising before leaving." He said curiously, engaging her into another conversation. "Guilt doesn't haunt you? You could have taken all the praises for that one." Osamu smiled kindly, knowing Miwa would have to be straightforward with her answer on that one.

She nodded. "People know, I did it." The woman took a look at another tall guy who appeared beside her and she smiled to him a bit. That one was smaller than  the previous one but still quite gigantic. "They can feel my touch. I don't have to sign my name to let people know that was done by a professional." Miwa grinned happily, making the man at the counter let out another slight chuckle.

He loved when Miwa joked around like that. It meant, she felt comfortable enough to do so. "Someone needs to fix her crown." The man mumbled under his nose, but quite loudly, making sure, she heard him.

Miwa kept being the sincere self. "Well, I did work hard to be a queen, so..." She giggled and fixed the invisible crown on her head in a very beliveable manner, confusing her friends, who clearly had troubles understanding Japaneese.

The man expression immediately changed to a happy and relaxed one. "Gosh, it was boring here without you, Miwa." He smiled and Miwa's cheeks immediately turned a bit red. "I swear..." the man was already packing the onigiris into the package for them. "Atsumu is going to be thrilled to see you. Others probably too." He nodded, making sure those were securely packaged and put them closer to the side. "Those guys are from Polish volleyball team?" He asked, taking one more look at the way the tallest guy picked the package.

"Yeah..." Miwa quickly noticed how curious the man got and chuckled. "they are gigantic, aren't they?" She smiled and then referred to the players. "Powiecie panu swój wzrost?" (Will you tell the man your height, please?)

The tallest immediately nodded, carefully holding the package in his hands. "I'm 2.8 meters tall." He even bowed a bit to be more polite. "My name is Karol. Sorry for my terrible Japaneese, I am still learning." He spoke up, straightening up and Osmau didn't even notice how nodded as well, barely managing to keep his mouth shut from the excitement.

The other tall guy didn't bother to nod. Instead he pulled Miwa closer to him by the sleeve. "196 centimeters." He stated quickly. "I'm Tomasz. Nice to meet you, fella."

Osamu sighed. "You too, fella." He shook his head in disbelief after his own personal evaluation of the players. "Incredible characteristics. I bet they are very strong." He stated, knowing those two, probably didn't understand anything. While he was admiring them, Miwa pulled out her wallet. "Miwa, It's on the house." The man spoke seriously, suddenly pointing at her and making her freeze. "Put your dumb wallet down." She never once left without paying and so Osamu wanted it to be a gift from him after all, they didn't see each other for quite some time.

Miwa took a second and then quickly landed a much bigger sum on the counter. "Never. Mwaahahah!" She laughed dramatically and viciously, suddenly pulling the Polish players away. "Let's go, take our seats boys!" The woman moved quickly and as Osamu was ready to react, she already waved to him from a far. "We are going to miss the match." The woman stated excitingly, referring to her friends once more. "Are you excited?" She asked as they entered the tribunes.

Karol had blonde short-cropped hairstyle, which really stood out among the other people and only highlighted his icy blue eyes more. "Thrilled?" He asked a bit unsure and Miwa giggled to the cute way, his face scrunched, when he wasn't sure of something.

"You have to be more confident when you say that, then." She nodded, pronouncing it correctly for him. "Thrilled."

The man repeated that more confidently. "Thrilled." He paused, moving through the crowd of people and being taller then all of them. He was used to see the tips of people's heads, really. "Curious too." He stated quickly and added his explanation. "I would be interested in seeing that ninja you were telling us about. Hinata, was it?" The man asked and immediately received a nod, from a much shorter woman.

"Yep." She sighed, trying not to turn anyone over while getting through all the people. "You are having great progress with your japaneese, dear. I'm proud of you." Miwa smiled kindly and tall man's cheeks turned a bit red.

Tomasz, the second spoke up once more. He was a bit shorter than Karol and had styled to the side, short brown hair and dark brown eyes, but his built was much more manly than Karol's. Kids would think he was terrifying, but they wouldn't know what a dork he really was. "Proud you are of me too?" He let out a number of words, thinking it would work in the communication process in the same way, it does in Polish but was completely wrong.

Miwa scrunched her nose, trying to hold her laughter. "Kind of." She shrugged her shoulders and saw the tips of his mouth go down that precise second. "You were close and I appreciate you for trying, master Yoda." The woman patted him quickly on the shoulder, until someone pushed her in quite a rush. "Watch where you are going, young man-" She said but didn't even finish, as suddenly gasped. "No freaking way, Semi!"

The man turned his head to them after hearing her voice. He had grey messy hair and painted dark tips. "Miwa!" Semi exclaimed happily and then quickly realized, who she came to cheer on. "Nice shirt you got there." He grinned proudly to be able to recognise Wakatoshi's number and asked her quickly. "How are things? I heard you left the country, is that true?" They didn't keep contact as both used each other only when it was convenient. That was the way, they were both comfortable with, so noone complained.

She nodded, suddenly happily fixing her shirt. "I did. Found myself a new job instead." She slightly pulled her head to the side, showing at the tall players right beside her and Semi quickly bowed to them in a polite manner. "How are things with your band?" Miwa asked quickly too, knowing they were all in a rush but just had to know.

The man smiled sincerely. "I was about to reach to you as well." He spoke with a  it of a rush. "How about you repay me your debt? Can we speak later?"

"You can count on me, baby." Miwa winked to him, knowing she owed him too much, not to repay the man for everything, he had done for her.

Tomasz got impatient again. The man with dark hair caught her sleeve once more. "Miwa, let's go." He was excited to see the match, Miwa couldn't possibly blame him for that.

She nodded to that. "We better hurry to the game." The woman turned her head back to Semi for a brief moment and smiled sincerely. "See you, alright?"

The man rushed to his seat as well. "Surely!" He waved to her and let out a slight chuckle.

Miwa has heading through all the people, pulling the two players behind herself. "Sorry, comming through-" She squeezed easily in between but then Karol and Tomasz had to find a way to get through, walking to the side a bit. "excuse me. Thanks." The woman moved confidently and the chuckled, finding their places. "You are here, guys!" She noticed few other people on the seats, she managed to bring on this adventure and they quickly stood up, hugging her tight as a sign of greeting.

"Bom dia, Miwa." The tanned man grinned his teeth happily after they separated from a hug. "Where have you been for so long?" He asked curiously, seeing Tomasz and Karol, finally able to take their seats.

Tomasz chuckled landing right beside Miwa. "She has like a ton of friends here... so annoying." The man rolled his eyes and then immediately felt her fingers poking him between the ribs, the man jumped in his seat from the surprise to that. "I'm kidding, alright?" He laughed, catching her palms and trying to calm the woman down. "That was a joke!" He exclaimed, seeing the way Miwa didn't give up and that made people in the group chuckle. "She did spend most of the time chitchating with everyone around." He said, quickly finally able to put her palms onto her knees. "Even the guy who sold onigiris."

Karol nodded to that, including himself into conversation. "Ele falou comigo em japonês e eu senti-me como um burro a olhar para o palácio." The man sighed tirirngly, making the people, speaking the language, laugh sincerely. Karol's eyes sparkled and he continued. "Desculpe-me por falar tão mal o português." (He spoke to me in Japanese and I felt like a donkey looking at the palace. Excuse my poor Portuguese.) The man seemed to know how to use the language.

The woman right beside the tanned guy with many freckles on her face giggled in a very cute manner. "Lindo maravilhoso!" She smiled sincerely, rubbing Miwa on the hands. "Maybe we can get some discounts too, then!" She said in a very excited manner, making another woman chuckle. Her reddishly-brown hair was culry and bushy, making her look like a real time doll, especially with unnaturally almost red eyes. "Your Portuguese is wonderful, by the way." The woman referred to Karol and the man cheeks turned red once more. Both women knew how to use their charms on him. (Fantastic!)

Tomasz rolled his eyes to that. "Show off." He mumbled , crossing his hands on his chest, like a little kid. "Miwa, is proud of my japaneese instead." The man said politely and expected Miwa to support that.

"I'm very proud, Tomasz." She nodded respectfully. The siren suddenly went on and Miwa saw the first player. "Oh! It's starting!" She exclaimed, suddenly getting up from her spot. "That's Bokuto!" Miwa laughed sincerely, seeing the way he did a hand stand and then a circle to greet his fans. "There is my baby! Haha!" She exclaimed happily and the other people from the group saw her eyes sparkle. Miwa was excited to see that match. Way too excited.

***

Chapter Text

As the match finished, the group of viewers separated and Miwa walked beside the volleyball poromotor of Brazil national team. The woman saw how unsure Miwa was about her movements, like she was scared something might happen. "Tudo bem, Miwa?" The woman asked politely, knowing the polish guys and the Portuguese sports promotor went to get autographs from the players. (How are you Miwa?)

The women weren't so eager to stay in queue so waited until the crowd gets smaller. "I'm fine..." Miwa sighed, picking up her phone and checking an hour. "I have to be for all of them." She smiled and bit and unlocked the screen, suddenly looking thought the low quality photos, she managed to get from her far seat. "How did you like the match?" Miwa asked, hiding the phone back to her pocket, right where she also held her small wallet. She stopped carrying heavy big bags, leaving them with the previous version of Miwa, who was never comming back.

The woman with curls chuckled sincerely. "Caramba, Isso é maravilhoso." She said quickly and then added an explanation, shrugging her shoulders. "I kind of hoped you were wrong about Hinata but that kid really has something in him." The woman was very sincere and so Miwa felt happy, she felt that way. Her job was now much depending on the good relations with other sports promotors, so she wanted to make a great impression. (Dang it, it was amazing.)

She nodded, suddenly noticing tall tall with dark olive hair, handing out autographs to the impatient kids. "I told you, he did..." Miwa mumbled, taking a quick search and realizing that Tomasz and Karol still were in the queue to the Hoshiumi Kourai. They hadn't spoken to Wakatoshi yet. He was  busy and yet looked like wanted to escape that as soon as possible.

That obvious look was noticed by the brazilian woman too. "You want to speak to him?" She asked with her beautiful accent but Miwa kept staring at the player.

She really wanted to speak to him, only some fear kept her back. "I don't think it's a good idea." Miwa shook her head but then immediately felt the other woman pushing her with her hip.

"Who cares if it's a good idea, Miwa?" She asked with a sincere laughter. "That is what you want, right? Vá em frente!" The woman fixed her hair and then suddenly landed a slap on Miwa's butt, making her jump in surprise and cover that place with her palms.(Go for it)

She took everything into a serious consideration, covering her butcheeks but then quickly made a confident step into the direction of the player as he rushed away from the court in the direction of the changing rooms. "Alright, here I go." She let out a shaky breath and headed directly to him. Miwa managed to sneak past the people and referred to him, as hebwas about to enter the changing room for Schweiden Adlers. The only thing she managed to say was: "Wakatoshi-kun."

It caught his attention that precise second. The corridor echoed her sweet and calm voice, making him immediately recognise her. "Miwa?" The man asked, taking a look at the woman but then rushing to that changing room even faster. "You can't be here." He opened the doors but as was about to close them, felt Miwa holding the handle.

She struggled to hold the door open as Wakatoshi was much stronger then her, so she squeezed out. "Indeed." "But can we talk?"

He let go of the door a bit. "Do we have anything to talk about?" The man frowned in disbelief. The audacity she had to follow him like that. It was unbearable for him.

Because Miwa didn't prepare anything and expected it to run with the flow, she wasn't sure of how to react to his anger. "Do we?" It scared her but she pulled herself together, trying not to get intimidated.

Ushijima rolled his eyes to that. Probably for the first time ever. "I do not have time for your games." He looked at her with despise in his eyes, making sure she knew exactly how angry her appearance made him. "I want to get out here as soon as possible." The man opened the doors with that mumble and just as was about to close them right in front of her face, saw that woman appeared inside faster then he expected.

"You want to ignore those who came to support you?" She asked a bit unuse of how her disappearance was connected to his unwillingness to sign few little whiteboards for kids.

He felt his blood boil. She was like a cockroach, you couldn't possibly get rid off. "Why are you here, Miwa?" The man asked, clearly getting tired of her presence.

Miwa was determined to make him listen, even though, she wasn't quite sure what she would say to him back there. "Because I wanted to speak to you."

The man's clenched fist landed on the wall with a loud banging sound, leaving a big scratch there. "If you did, you would have reached out!" He exclaimed, making Miwa take a step back and lean onto the doors. The man looked at what he did and took his fist away from the palce. It was too much even for him. "Sorry." He mumbled and turned to her with the same irritation on his face. "I just really don't understand." Ushijima rubbed his fist and pointed at the doors, she was leaning onto. "And I do not want to speak to you."

Miwa could feel her knees shake and not from the excitement. "You have every right for that." The woman said in a shaky voice, shrugging from every his move as he landed on the bench. "Then I better go." Her hand reached the handle and she opened the doors a bit. The woman felt week and knew, she had one last thing to say. "But I did want to say I'm sorry."

He sighed with even more tired expression on his face. "It means nothing." Apparently, that apology wasn't enough for him. "You say you are sorry every single time." "And then every single time you do exactly the same thing." Ushijima was leaning his body to the front, unable to face her. He looked at the floor and Miwa felt her heart breaking with every new word that left his mouth.

She clenched her fists, feeling overwhelmed. "Being a douche?" The woman tried her best to remain calm. "I have been working on that for some time." She said quickly and nodded, making a point for both of them. "I can assure you, this apology is much more sincere than those you heard from me before."

He nodded without raising his sight at her. "Yeah, only still very meaningless." The man really was fed up with her behaviour. He didn't even want to know of why she came back in the first place. Ushijima pulledhis head up at last. "I sometimes called you reflectory when you left."

That was the final hit. "When you were on the run..." She mumbled in disbelief and felt her eyelids overfloating with tears. "I had no idea you were this connected to me."

Ushijima didn't notice that at first. "Of course, I was." He said a bit embarrassed of his own feelings and she saw a little blush appearing in his cheeks. "And I was a complete fool back then." The man was just as angry at himself for letting her go as he was angry at her for leaving him.

She made a step closer. "Don't say that."

Ushijima stood up that precise second, scaring her away. "Please, leave." He had no intentions to deal with her any longer.

Miwa was getting even more scared with every new second. "I felt bad about leaving too."

"Then why did you?"

Miwa hid her sight, felling the way his olive eyes were creating a hole in her body. Ushijima's death glare was the scariest thing in this world. "Because It was easier than admitting I had flaws." Miwa squeezed out the truth and felt a terrible weight on her chest. It was taking her down and she had troubles catching a proper breath. "It was easier to run away then to start the change here."

Ushijima couldn't believe her. "I could have supported you." He chuckled in disbelief and rubbed his head, unable to proceed all of that. The man remembered their last conversation and the puzzle turned into a clear picture. She left to have herself fixed.

Miwa couldn't stand him like that. "That's was the thing I was scared of!" She exclaimed louder than before and Ushijima's serious expression showed up again.

"Scared of me?"

The woman shook her head. "Scared of feelings towards you." She said confidently, unsure if taht even made any sense and still willing to let it all out. "Scared of all the emotions I felt when seeing you." "Scared you might not feel the same thing I do."

Ushijima tried to follow that flow of words that left her mouth and asked. "How did you know I didn't?" He was a good listener even when the person in front of him could barely speak.

Miwa sighed. "I didn't know that." She paused, to collect her thoughts and the throwing another honest hurricane of emotions at him. "I felt terrible for not being able to give you the love you deserve. I felt incomplete and broken."

Even the player got confused. He never asked her for anything more than she was willing to give. Where did all of that come from? "Your words make no sense." Ushijima stated, frowning even more.

She was too honest and knew it well. "Many things don't make sense when you say them out loud." She changed that topic and Ushijima got even more confused from that.

He asked her finally. "Do you regret leaving?"

Miwa widened her sight and looked him directly in the eyes, probably for the first time during that conversation. "I do not." She said confidently, remembering about how much she had changed just to be able to return to Japan and visit all of them.

Ushijima's eyebrows were as low on his forehead as they possibly could. It was all he ever wanted to known "Then we are done with this conversation." The man stated seriously and turned away from her picking up his stuff from the bench. "Thank you for being brave to face me at least now."

Miwa knew, he wouldn't listen anymore. It was a wrong move after all. "Thank you for letting me speak." She answered, disappearing behind the doors and catching herself into a hug, not to cry her eyes out right there. Miwa made unsure steps towards the court again, knowing her only wish had just got broken. Wakatoshi wouldn't want anything to do with her.

As she was almost approaching the bright lights that were highlighting the court, Ushijima appeared right behind her again. "I don't think you got what you deserved." He harshly grabbed her arm and pulled her after himself.

It was so unexpected, she almost fell. "Where are you pulling me?" The woman asked, trying to resist. "Leave me alone!" Her feet were squeaking as she tried to brake on the floor but nothing helped her stop the player from pulling her out off the corridor. Her wrist hurt but she couldn't escape him. Once again, Miwa felt helpeless. "Wakatoshi-kun. The people are watching!" She tried to reason him, thinking his way to embarrass her would have negative consequences on his career as well. "What are you doing?!" She asked in disbelief as both of them appeared on the court.

He let go of her, pushing her to stand in front of himself. "You dishonored me when comming here wearing that shirt." The man caught her by the fabric, she was wearing and pulled her closer. "I want it back." He stated seriously and let her go, making her almost loose her balance. Miwa opened her mouth in disbelief, scared and angry at the same time. "Come on, or I will cause an even bigger scene." He knew, all eyes were on him. It was about them but Ushijima wanted everyone to feel included in their fight. Miwa wasn't sure why, though.

Maybe that player she knew, was her own imagination all along. He wasn't that calm and focused person she knew before. "Wakatoshi-kun..." Miwa couldn't help but shake her head, unwilling to take the shirt off in front of so many eyes. It's wasn't in Ushijima's style to throw tantrums. She was usually the one who enjoyed drama.

The man mercilessly observed her with his angry sight. "I won't repeat myself." He said confidently. "Unlike you, I do not care of what they will say about me." Even those words felt true at that moment, considering how many reporters were there around them to see how drama unfolds. "Coward is more of a your style of doing things."

Miwa gasped in disbelief and her eyes got full of tears again. "How dare you?"

He stood without moving a muscle. "Miwa, shirt." The man ordered. "Now."

It made her feel bad but she bit her bottom lip. "Tsk- right." Angry for being humiliated like that, Miwa caught the tips of the shirt and as was taking it off and about to hand it over "Here you go-" She felt a large piece of fabric landing over her head and then get pulled down in quite rush. He head slipped through the t-shirt and she widened her sight in disbelief.

Ushijima took off his uniform shirt as well and made her wear it by pulling it over her. She was standing, wearing it, while Ushijima abs were out there for the publicity to see. He caught her in the tight hug and exclaimed in disbelief. "Don't you ever dare do that ever again?!" It seemed he was very sincere with his words, only surprising Miwa more by that whole plan. He caught Miwa by the shoulders after separating and she saw tears in his eyes too, which completely blown her away. "You hear me?!" The man exclaimed even louder than previously. "I don't care if you feel scared or petrified even. I want to know if you are okay." The man explained quickly and shook her by the shoulders with just as much of disbelief on his face. "Is that so much to ask?"

It was the last drop. Miwa mumbled, seeing the way he grabbed and wore the shirt she came in and the uniform shirt, she was wearing. Ushijima helped her pull her arms throught the shirt with number 11 on it and the Schweiden Adlers logo. "Not much..."  this time, she wasn't able to stop the tears and sobbed loudly, suddenly crying her eyes out. "Wakatoshi-" Miwa cried, looking directly at his face. The man leaned closer, rubbing her face with his fingers and calming her down a bit. "I went to therapy."

He nodded with just as serious expression as ever. Ushijima didn't really like to see her cry. "I noticed." His fingers slightly wiped the tears away. "Just wanted to make sure my guess was right."  The man smiled a bit, making her let out another wave of tears. "Stop crying." He mumbled, leaning even closer to her face. "I'm not nearly done with embarrassing the hell out of you." The man whispered and landed his lips on hers. It was their intimate moment - passionate and very spontaneous. Miwa could feel the way her knees became weak but only leaned on him more, unwilling to break that kiss. His hands appeared on her waist and she pulled herself to be as close to him as she possibly could. Ushijima moved harshly, still feeling angry about everything but Miwa couldn't possibly blame him. His lips were warm and the kiss brought that warm feeling all around her body. "I have missed that." He mumbled with a slight smile after separation, looking directly at her happy face.

She nodded, hiding into his shoulder. "I have missed you."

Ushijima kept hugging her tight and she soon heard a slight soft chuckle. "I know that." He said, rubbing her back in a reassuring gesture. As Miwa was ready to separate herself, he also added. "And they know that now." He caught her hand and looked her directly in the eyes. "You won't run away so easily this time, Miwa."

It made her let out an uncontrollable chuckle. "You are quite a manipulative person." The woman rubbed her face with the back of her palm, trying to calm herself down. "I never noticed that in you."

The man stood with a proud expression on his face, smiling like he never did before. "It's your influence." He nodded and Miwa felt the way he let their fingers cross. "You look great."

Miwa shook her head to that. "It is a sweaty t-shirt and I am as red as a tomato." The woman pretended not to like it, but knew, she was so gonna have that shirt framed and put on her wall. It was an even bigger treasure and Miwa was grateful for the way he made sure they were both very sincere. "How well can it possibly look?"

The next second another figure appeared near them. Not a reporter but a lady with beautiful styled curls on her head. "Oh, dang it." She chuckled, approaching the couple in a very confident way. Even reporters couldn't possibly do it that way. "And I thought of diving my proposal into two people..." Marcia sighed taking a look at another figure, who seemed to be more embarrassed for breaking their intimate moment.

Miwa couldn't help herself and rushed to hug the the who was standing right beside Marcia. "Shoyo! I'm so happy to see you." She laughed and happy tears kept rolling down her face. "You were amazing during the game today." The woman knew, it was all for him. All her efforts were leading her to change and it was all because of him.

He hugged her back just as sincerely. "You really think so?" She asked and she only sobbed loudly in answer to that, making him chuckle. "I'm glad to hear it from you." The man smiled sincerely and Miwa separated herself, starting to rub her face once again. Shoyo seemed happy and so spoke up about the amazing news he had just heard. "Marcia was telling me, she wanted to take me for Asas São Paulo team." The guy nodded to the other player too. "Ushijima-san too."

Marcia laughed to that, seeing the way Miwa didn't look nearly as good as she was before they entered the place. Her crying face wasn't a view, she was used to. "It's still open. We would be happy to have such players at our side." The woman grinned happily and patted Miwa on the back.

Ushijima's eyes sparkled and he looked at Miwa. "I can go abroad?" He knew, they both promised to go abroad during one of the talks, only Miwa was heading for a different country back there.

The second, Miwa was about to nodded with a reassuring smile, someone approached them with his big excited steps. "Ushijima-san! I just got a proposal to join Ali Roma." Kageyama was practically shining from all the excitement, like a lightbulb. However, he definitely had troubles expressing it properly. "I will be playing abroad!" He nodded in a rather serious manner, not really in the style of the happy person but then noticed Miwa. "What is she doing here? Didn'tse leave a mounth ago?" The man asked, not having the warmest feelings towards her. The other thing  he couldn't exactly tell time. Kageyama was so caught up in the sport,  he didn't care whether it was a year or couple of months.

Miwa hid her sight from that embarrasment but felt Ushijima grabbing it very gently again. Hinata smiled to that move. "It was 4 months ago, actually  Bakageyama." He then suddenly pointed at himself with his thumb So then it will be me playing for Asas São Paulo and you for Ali Roma?" He grinned happily too, making him look very alike to Marcia. He'd really be a great fit to Brazilian team.

Kageyama seemed to get even more fired up, completely forgetting about his previous feelings and Miwa even raised her sight to make sure her guess was right. "They want to let you compete more." She stated calmly, taking a look at the tanned man, approaching them too. "Very wise and beneficial strategy." The woman nodded respectfully.

The man had a warm smile on his face. "We kind of stole it from you." He shrugged his shoulders and rubbed the back of his head, acknowledging the obvious fact. "Not my proudest decision, to be honest."

Marcia only shook her head to that, jumping into the conversation. "Why should we reinvent the perfectly good wheel?" She asked rolling her eyes and a bit jealous of Miwa's great promoting skills. She was able to find and sell the story where others wouldn't. "Miwa made it work so we didn't stole it, we borrowed it." The woman fixed her curls and changed that topic into something more interesting for her. "So, Wakatoshi, would you be interested-"

Another two tall figures approached them and now they all stood in a circle. "You will let her take Ushijima-San?" Karol was much taller than Miwa so had to lean tot he front to ask that. He looked rather worried but then because of his built, very serious too.

Miwa shook her head. "Karol, it's not polite to interrupt sports promotors when they try to do their jobs."

He didn't seem to be satisfied with that answer. "Did you put up your proposal as well, then?"

Ushijima squeezed her hand a bit. "Your proposal?" He was definitely a bit intimidated by the sudden guests. All the people who faced them, were.

She expected that to happen. And expected the Polish guys to be impatient about the new player, they liked so much. "She is a polish sports promotor now." Tomasz explained quickly, but unlike Karol, only straightened up to appear taller. "Works for-"

Ushijima finished that for him. "Orzeł Warszawa..." He could not believe his ears. "Is this true, Miwa?"

She nodded but then referred to the players of the polish team as well. "You are being very impolite. Every country deserves to have a right to put up their proposal." The woman frowned, getting more serious, like she wasn't crying her eyes out a second ago. Obviously, she had to appear tough in front of the people she worked with. Her tender side was out there only for Ushijima to see. "I do not want you to interrupt in the future." Miwa said with slight irritation in her voice and both tall guys stood down a bit, realizing how impolite they behaved.

Ushijima was still processing all that. "But you wanted me in on the team?" He asked a bit unsure of why would Miwa didn't say anything earlier. Was it some kind of code, not to interrupt the other sports promotors? He wasn't sure.

Miwa nodded to that. "I did." She smiled and then pointed at the two guys near them too. "They wanted you in too." Hinata and Kageyama were completely shocked shocked see the tall guys being put down so effortlessly. They looked like giant mountains to them.

Karol smiled a bit. "Your game was amazing. We really would appreciate to have those powers spikes work for us." He patted his friend on the back and reached his hand to the japaneese players one by one. "I'm Karol Wiśniewski."

Tomasz did the same, following Karol's example. "Tomasz Kilijanek." He smiled only when shaking hands with Ushijima. "Pleasure to meet you, Ushijima-san." The tall guy seemed seemed be excited about the news but it only shocked Ushijiam more.

"I can go to Poland?" He asked, still holding Miwa's hand. At that moment he could not believe it all.

She smiled. "If you want to, of course."

However, before Ushijima could answer, Marcia appeared there breaking them apart. She was a bit irritated, polish guys interrupted her and so broke the two lovebirds apart, standing right between them. "Of course he doesn't want that." The woman leaned on Ushijima's shoulder. "Why would you pick Poland when there is Brazil?!" There was one thing about Herr, Marcia was a great actress. Not a bad person but she liked the drama. "A whole country of experiences." She leaned closer to Ushijima expecting him to fall for her charms.

The next second Miwa crossed her hands on her chest. "You better back off, Marcia." She stated confidently and the people saw the way polish players made a careful step back just in case. They definitely wouldn't want her to get angry. "You know, I try to be professional but you are overstepping the line." Miwa wasn't going to give up without a fight. It was one of the first thing, she learned when going to therapy.

"Am I?" Marcia grinned. "Or was it you, who left him here without a single clue?"

Miwa took the hit for that one. "And I apologized for that." She got embarrassed but only frowned more.

Brazialian woman kept pushing the buttons. "Just like you apologized for not reaching out to him?" It seemed all the promotors knew how to destroy their opponents. "Such a man should be hold close, Miwa." She bent over Ushijima like a snake around her pray and kept grinning her teeth. "You'd know that if you put more effo-"

Miwa's feet appeared under hers and she almost fell from they unexpected move. "Listen here." The woman caught her before the fall like a real gentleman would and helped her get up properly. Marcia was wearing heels and Miwa knew how to use it against her. "I do not want you to be sneaking around the place with your sleazy attitude." She tapped the other woman's chest right above the breasts. Miwa was about to finish her with killing arguments. The only thing, she had actually prepared beforehand. "I do not want him on the team for my personal benefit." She frowned, making a step, unabling Marcia to move away and only lean back. "The team is strong and they seek for strong players to join them." "My job as their sports promotor is to make them sell and I can assure you, Wakatoshi would sell just as efficiently in Poland as he would in Brazil." Her eyes got fired up, knowing,  having him on the team would only be beneficial. She wasn't thinking about themselves as love partners at that moment, that was how deep Miwa got into the whole volleyball thing.

Marcia was leaning back and only let out a chuckle to that. "You are such a protective wife." Her hand landed on Miwa's angry face and the woman almost jumped back from that unexpected turn of events. She wasn't thinking of Ushijima as her husband. It was way to early for her, wasn't it? "What a cutie." The Brazilian woman exchanged a look with Hinata and they both chuckled once more, making Miwa realize they just wanted to make sure Miwa was serious. "Proposal is still open, though." Marcia winked to Ushijima but only saw him carefully grabbing Miwa's hand again.

"I promised a friend once, I'd play for Poland." He stated seriously, finally being able to read the whole situation. He was proud to know Miwa and was willing to take her proposal. "It would be a right thing to do." They exchanged a look but Miwa's eyes sparkled viciously.

"In your face!" She hissed, hugging Ushijima tight in her arms and looking directly at the brazilian woman. Miwa stuck her tongue out and Marcia immediately did the same.

The tanned italian guy chuckled to that. "Now that is professionalism, I see." He sighed, calling down and spoke up happily. "If everyone is satisfied then I propose we party tonight for our successful end of the player search." Miwa separated from Wakatoshi and Marcia wasn't sticking her tongue out in a disrespectful gesture. "I'm sure they would fit the teams perfectly."

The next second, as Miwa was about to thank them all, someone jumped onto her with such a spead and power, she wasn't able to keep her balance. "Guuh-" with that sound she got knocked down to the floor and fell there with a loud noise.

***

Chapter Text

Yachi sat at Miwa's stomach as the woman tried to understand what happened. Her head hurt a bit from the fall but started to hurt even more after Yachi straight up yelled at her. "How dare you run away like that?" The girl held Miwa by the shoulders and was crying her eyes out. "How dare you be so irresponsible? I wasn't answering you but that is not the reason to drop everything!" Poor kid had no idea and thought that after that incident in the gym, Miwa just wanted to escape. It was partly true but definitely not the main reason she left.

The woman sighed. "I'm sorry, Yachi." She said in the most sincere manner she ever could, just to reassure her. "I truly am."

Miwa got a bit up and immediately appeared in the girl's hug. "Well, be as sorry as you want." She said angrily but still in rather an emotional manner. "How could you do this to us? We needed your guidance!" Yachi sobbed and Miwa hugged her back.

"I know." She said, calming the girl down a bit. "But you managed." The woman smiled trying to make the girl feel better as she was really proud of her progress so far. "I saw your interview." "It seemes like you will be getting more and more recognition."

The girl only sobbed again. "I am only a substitute for you."

It made the woman shake her head. "Are you?" She asked curiously as they were both getting up from the ground. "Wasn't it your portfolio work trending recently?" Miwa caught her intern's hand and smiled. "I believe you made it with the inspiration from the project."

It made the girl cry again and she shook her head. "I'm sorry I was such a terrible intern." Miwa had to hug her again and calm her down once more. "I'm sorry I didn't answer you." Yachi mumbled into her shoulders with a quiet sob. It seemed everything that girl did was cute.

Miwa smiled to that. "It's not your fault." She rembered that night the two of them fell apart and only pulled Yachi closer. "I shouldn't have caused a scene back there."

At that moment, Yachi raised her head. "No." She said with rather serious expression on her face, only tears kept running down her cheeks. "You should have." The girl stated and then added explanation. "You protected me and I am very thankful for that." Yachi hid back into the woman's shoulder. "I want to be more like you."

It made Miwa widen her sight in disbelief. Noone had ever wanted to be like her. That feeling was so nice, she almost cried too. The woman caught air with her nose and immediately heard. "Oh, there we go." Macria got rather worried. "Miwa, your nose bleeds again."

Yachi looked at her face and noticed the stream of blood running from Miwa's nose, over her lips and to her chin. "Ah! I'm sorry." She jumped back in fear, thinking, it was because she knocked the woman down. Miwa immediately leaned her head back and someone handed her tissues, which she stuck into her nostrils in a try to stop the blood. "I'm so sorry!" Yachi caught by the tip of the shirt, unsure how to react but crying again.

Miwa couldn't possibly hug her again. She would never stain her new shirt as it was too valuable for the woman. Instead she frowned. "It's not your freaking fault, Yachi!" The woman exclaimed, leaning her head back and crossing her hands on her chest. She was scarily determined and so that pose didn't even look that ridiculous. "Confidence, remember?" Miwa raised her fist a bit and clenched it to emphasize the point. "Be a nasty bitch and send shivers down your enemies' spines." Miwa grinned. "Then you will be like me."

Yachi adored her confidence. The girl stood there with her eyes wide and full of tears. "Miss Sano-"

Miwa sighed, interrupting her. "If you say you're sorry just one more time, I swear I am going to kick your little ass." She landed her hand on Yachi's head and proudly rubbed it, messing her hairstyle.

Unexpectedly for all of them, another figure appeared near them. "You just came back and you are already a douche." Kuroo had a vicious smirk on his face, definitely curious to talk to her about stuff. "I almost forgot, you had it in you."

Miwa didn't lea her head back. "Hello, Kuroo." She stood, observing the ceiling and crossed her hands on her chest once more, not to look foolish with tissues sticking out of her nose.

He nodded to that. "Indeed." The man took a look around and immediately noticed respectful sports promotors, so decided to stay polite just in case. "We really need to talk, you know that?"

"I am fired?"

"Of course you are."

Miwa smiled to that, rolling her eyes. "Well, I suspected that so jokes on you." She pointed at the man, where she heard his voice and chuckled. It really wasn't anything unusual as she dropped everything and ran away from her duties.

Kuroo got irritated from hearing that. "Where the hell have you been?" He asked in slight disbelief, knowing it wasn't in Miwa's style, really.

"Poland." The wan explained clearly. "I got a new job there. And I like it more then your dumb project."

He smirked once more. "Oh really? What's your job then?"

"Sports promotor."

It made Kuroo take a step back. "What? That's funny." The man chuckled and then caught his stomach, unable to stop. "Hahaha! Eeeh!" He let out a loud sincere laughter, unable to believe that. Miwa as a sports promotor could be an anecdote, not the truth. "That's a good one, Miwa." He landed his palm on his forehead, laughing his pants off.

Yachi took a scared look at Miwa, whose smirk she couldn't see but could feel. The woman raised her pointer and landed it on the tall polish player. "This is Karol Wiśniewski and Tomasz Kilijanek, maybe you have heard about them." She stated, completely unbothered and yet willing to show the man his place. "They are-"

He finished that one for her, finally recognizing the two men. "The members of the polish team!" He exclaimed in disbelief and looked at Miwa. He was taller than her and so could easily see the way she grinned. "No!" The man exclaimed in disbelief once more, making Miwa chuckle loudly.

"Yeah." She even pulled her head up a bit to see the desperation on Kuroo's face. "Say hello, boys."

Karol nodded slightly. "Cześć." (Hi.)

The Japaneese sports promotor was completely blow away. He could never think, Miwa would have any success in sports promotion. "Sz- ch-" he tried to repeat that but couldn't possibly make his mouth let out those exact sounds. "yeah." The man squeezed out instead, and took a scared look at Miwa. "May I ask? Why did you pick Miwa?" He could not believe the news he had just heard. It was really hard to process. Unexpectedly for everyone, Kuroo turned it into insult. "There are so many good sports promotors around." He could not let her have any praise.

She gasped to that. "How dare you?"

Ushijima, who stood only a bit further way from her, in case something happened also spoke up. "You are very inexperienced." The man felt it had to be said and just like ever, went with that, what seemed to Miwa, unnecessary comment.

She gasped onle more, dramatically putting her hand to her chest. "How dare you both?"

It made the people around chuckle. Even Kageyama's tips went a bit up. That was when  the player of the Polish team spoke up. "We don't know honestly." He raised his shoulders and took a look at his friend Karol, who only nodded in agreement to that. "At first, we thought she just didn't understand that we don't need a promotor."

Tomasz quickly caught up with that joke.  "Yeah and then she threatened us until we agreed to work with her." They said just as seriously as ever but it made people around chuckle

As they did, Miwa hissed. "You are so going to sit on the bench during the next game." She had vicious grin on her face, knowing coach of the polish team would listen to her. "I swear, you will."

Tomasz pretended not to understand. "Did you get that?"

To that, Karol shook his head. "Something in threatening for sure." He stated and immediately noticed her sporty shoe flying into their direction. Luckily, they were professional players and easily caught it in the middle of way by reaching out Karol's hand. "Almost." The players chuckled and the next second barely managed to escape the other shoe "Hughh- that was close."

Tomasz got scared, as Miwa a as ready to throw again. He had no idea, what will fly into their direction next, so decided not to risk it just in case. "I just remembered." He said, pulling Karol by the shirt. "I didn't get the autograph from Kageyama yet." They caught the player by the arms and pulled him away. "Better I don't just miss that opportunity."

Hinata had no intention to joke with her anymore. "Wait for me." It was fun and all untill Miwa would get really angry. The boy only picked up her shoes and put it near her.

As Ushijima kneeled to help her get the shoes on and Miwa kept standing with her head leaning to the back, Kuroo chuckled again. "Your attitude of a brat didn't change a bit." He was in a great mood and was really happy to find out that Miwa, who he had know for so long, didn't change as much as he thought, she would.

That was when Marcia intervened again.  "Wait until you see her scold them in polish." The woman took a step to Kuroo and smirked in just as sleazy manner as she did towards Wakatoshi. "My name is Marcia Martinez." "It's a pleasure to meet you." The woman reached her hand to him in a polite greeting.

He nodded to her previous words. "It truly is." Kuroo then reached out his hand too and they exchanged a handshake. "Brazil, I suppose?" He definitely was familiar with that face and attitude. "Did you come to see the match?"

The woman nodded slightly and pointed at the other woman. "Miwa was buzzing my ears off about the ninja Shoyo." She said in slight disbelief. "I thought she wasn't serious but, even though, I hate to admit it, she was right." Marcia wasn't a bad person. She was a huge tease, that was it. "That decoy could work perfectly in our team." The woman stated excitingly after remembering about what a good fit Shoyo would be to the team.

Kuroo smiled. "Will you be trying to get him on the contract?" He was not against those as exchanging players usually meant more money investments that they would be able to share between two countries. Greens really turned Tetsuro into a different person.

That was when Yachi gasped. "She already did." It wasn't from a surprise, rather from excitement. She was able to speak to her former classmate about that and so added. "And Hinata thinks it might be fun."

Marcia giggled to that cute manner of speaking. "If Miwa gets a man, I want one too."

The tanned sports promotor added. "Oh, me too." He chuckled loudly, as it was the funnies joke he had heard in a while. It seemed, he had troubles understanding everything at once too.

Miwa smiled to that. "Care to brag about yours, Domingo?"

He made a little bow. "Indeed I do." As he straightened up with a sincere smile on his face, the man announced. "Kageyama Tobio, obviously." He was really proud of that decision, no matter how copied it seemed to the rest and to him as well. There was one thing, all the sports promotors had in mind and those were money.

However, Marcia just had to make the last point. "My proposal is still open Wakatoshi." She smirked, seeing the way the tissues on Miwa's face almost turned bright red completely. It was a heavy blood loose, not like the ones, she saw Miwa have before. "I could fit you both on the team easily."

The woman could not stand that. "I don't see you wearing his uniform t-shirt to make such bold statements." She said and they all saw how a little blush appeared on Ushijima's face. That was such a rare view, Kuroo and Yachi opened their mouths in disbelief.

Marcia chuckled to that. "Oh really? Just because he likes you, doesn't mean he'd pick your team." She got closer to the player and put out her great argument. "Brazil is one of the best countries for volleyball."

It made Ushijima frown. "What's the fun in that?" He wasn't sure if playing with the best was the best strategy for him. "If I don't get to grow, I don't think I want to play with the best." He nodded politely, declining her offer and making Marcia frown.

The woman clenched her fists and hissed. "Oh we are so going to destroy you both during the volleyball season." She looked at both Miwa and Domingo but they didn't look threatened a bit. Every sports promotor was ready to kill for the team they were hired for and those two were not an exception. Hypothetically kill, of course.

Miwa even pulled her head up to smirk directly into the other woman's face. "Try destroying us and we will bring you back to the ground from your cloud immediately."

As they exchanged an intense stare, Yachi let out a chuckle. It brought their attention to the girl but she only laughed more, shaking her head. "You are behaving like kids." She really thought, they would behave differently. "are you really sports promotors?"

Domingo jumped in on that as the cheeks of Marcia and Miwa got pinkish blush too. "The best in the business, dear." He nodded to the girl politely, completely understanding where that view came from. Usually promotors were serious people but Kuroo's face showed disbelief. It made the Italian sports promotor add: "Perhaps Kuroo-san had heard something about that."

The man sighed. "I can't believe it." He wasn't able to understand what would make Miwa this interested in sport. "All the progress that made with advertising in Brazil and Poland..." the man paused, taking a look at all the sports promotors around and rubbed the back of his neck. "It's because of them?"

Domingo chuckled. "And none of them is Polish or Brazilian." He pointed ay the two women and they turned even more red. "That's the funniest part."

Miwa crossed her hands on her chest once more. "Immigrants." She said, hinting Marcia to add something.

"Heck yeah!" The gave each other a fist bump and laughed. "That's who has the job done."

Miwa was happy at that precise moment of time. She was happy to be around all those wonderful people, however her mind got blurry and Wakatoshiwas the first one to notice it as he never once left her side. "Alright, that's enough talking. Miwa you need something cold." He said, catching her into a hug and pulling the woman above the ground. "Let's get you to the bathroom." He was determined to help and Miwa couldn't be more thankful for that. It was at that moment, she knew her choice to speak to him was a right decision.

He was holding her bridestyle with a serious expression but Miwa felt the way his heart was beating and pulled herself a bit up, leaving a slight kiss on the man's cheek. "Thanks, Wakatoshi." It left a little blood stain, so she quickly rubbed the place with her fingers. "I still have to talk to the rest." She stated, getting more and more comfortable to be carried like that. Previous Miwa would never let that happen.

Ushijima smiled a bit to that kiss. "I know." He sighed, knowing the rest were just as curious as he was before. "They all deserve to know why you left."

***

Chapter Text

Ushijima took good care of her. He carried the woman to the little bathroom, they opened only to organizers andcourt staff usually. The man sat her right near the sink and kept repetitively putting cold, wet toilet paper onto her nose to treat her bleeding. "I think, the blood is stopping." At some point he sighed with relief, noticing that the tissue, she shoved up her nose wasn't turning red as quickly as previously. Miwa could see how much calmer he was when there were no people around.

She spoke, trying to smile but failing and only scrunching her face after feeling another cold thing landing on her face. "You have to get out there and give some autographs." Miwa said calmly, clearly uncomfortable from all the cold things.

He was just as focused on the task as previously. "It can wait." The man mumbled, helping her change the tissues. Miwa felt the blood stop, so leaned her head to the front. His fingers were gently touching her cheek and she finally smiled.

"Thank you for babysitting me." The woman said calmly and noticed him taking a cold thing away, after making sure the blood stopped completely. "I feel much better now." She touched her nose very carefully, seeing how Ushijima cleaned the place. "Are you sure we can be here?" She asked as he threw away the toilet paper and stained tissues.

Ushijima got closer to her again and only then spoke up. "It's an emergency." He explained as she could see him frown just as much as previously. He was still processing everything. It was a hard one to get used to. "I don't care whether we can." The man finally mumbled and heard another sound. "Your phone is buzzing all the time." He pointed at the thing, she put right near herself but the woman didn't bother to pick it up.

She only gave it a tired look. "Yeah, like it's about to blow up."

Ushijima wasn't sure If that was a joke so she could feel him tense up a bit. "Is it?" The man asked very carefully, like he genuinely believed it was a bomb and not a phone.

Miwa couldn't help herself. She laughed loudly, covering her mouth with a palm. "No, just a figure a speech." The woman caught her stomach too, unable to think straight. He was such a dork, it was adorable. Ushijima straightened up, getting a bit embarrassed and then felt her pulling him closer by the shirt. "Everyone saw that on livestream." She explained, having no guilt for wanting his attention so openly. After all, she did wait months before actually getting to see him again. "Of course, they would be texting and calling me." She raised her shoulders and even Ushijima caught her hint.

"They saw the kiss?" The man asked curiously, like he didn't want them to see it and like it wasn't his master mind plan all along. He didn't resist her pull and leaned onto the sink too.

Miwa rolled her eyes to that with another cute giggle. "Wakatoshi, don't play dumb now." She landed her hand on top of his and felt the man leaning even closer. It felt good, so she smirked, feeling his warm breath on her lips. "You knew exactly what you did when you pulled me out there." The woman just had to let him know, she was aware of the situation and carefully rubbed his cheek. "I'm just worried, your move would bring you troubles in the team."

The man smiled to that. She had never seen him smile so sincerely before. "I don't think it will." He said just as reassuringly and kindly. "That's what I like about Schweiden Adlers." Ushijima explained, without breaking his stare for a moment. Miwa looked like she starved for a touch but he couldn't possibly let her have it at the first try. "They give a lot of freedom to the players in the contract." He kept explaining instead: "As long as I publically didn't humiliate the team, I should be fine."

She sighed, realizing he wasn't going to kiss her. "Are you sure?" The woman asked, still feeling a bit of worry for having wear the team logo in front of thousands of people, or even millions by that point, considering how much her phone buzzed from constant messages.

It made her lean her head to the front and take another look at the shirt. "Yeah." Ushijima answered that, carefully grabbing her fingers and pulled them up, suddenly kissing them. "I confessed to you." He stated in just as calm manner as ever, letting her know he was finally able to cope with all of that. Ushijima wasn't going to let her leave and Miwa knew, she wouldn't. It felt too complete to have it broken again. The man saw the way she enjoyed his little move and smiled again. "It should be considered romantic, don't you think?

Miwa pulled her head up and he saw the happiest expression he had ever seen on her. "I literally was shaking. The woman let out a soft chuckle. "I still am."

The man only grabbed her hand tighter in his. "I am glad you are back." He notified her and noticed how much she widened her sight to those exact words. She was just as happily to be back. The man could feel it.

The woman turned as red as a tomato and leaned her head to the front, hiding herself from him. "Don't make blush!" She stated, imitating irritation and feeling how he put her palm to his chest. Miwa felt his heart beat and that made her loose her breath completely. "How can I speak to others if you keep on embarrassing me?" She couldn't believe, he'd make fun of her like that. Ushijima clearly enjoyed her tries to act normally and carefully tilted her head up putting his fingers to her chin.

Miwa felt dejavu, knowing for sure,  he did it before. The woman sat completely still, only wishing he'd do something more. She wasn't used to showing this type of affection. "I think your blush is cute." The man mumbled, continuing the tease and only seeing her turn even more red but that time without hiding her sight.

She smirked. "Oh, do you?"

The man leaned closer and Miwa felt he was going for the kiss but instead, Ushijima turned his head in the last second. "I do." He whispered to her ear and Miwa felt the hurricane of butterflies in her stomach. It seemed Wakatoshi could feel it too. "You are mine, you know that?" The man touched her cheek with his nose while saying that.

"I'm afraid, I am." Miwa sighed, getting even more fired up. She rushed her fingers through his hair and then felt the man carefully placing his lips on hers at last. Ushijima could feel her so well, even without touching. He moved confidently, leaning onto the sink even more and making her lean back. Miwa placed her hand on his cheek, notifying him not to stop. The man smiled to that a bit and didn't. It felt way to good for both of them. The woman, however wasn't satisfied even with that. She picked up his hand and placed it right under the t-shirt on her ribs. Ushijima could feel her every little body move as well as how much fire she had in her. Miwa wouldn't be able to be so open with anyone else and that thought made him feel special. They had to separate at some point and Miwa kept enjoying him touching her skin. "This is much more pleasurable than I remember." She smiled sincerely and stopped caring about her blushy face completely. Miwa was sure, the two of them were meant together. "I feel good with you, Wakatoshi." The woman kept smiling and felt the way he kept curiously touch her.

He stopped at her wais and slid the woman closer to himself. "I'm glad." The man smirked slightly and kissed her lips once more.

It was shorter that time and Miwa even felt sad because of that. She was so close to him, she could feel how fired up he got. "Now, you go and sign the whiteboards." The woman said calmly, rubbing his face once more.

"You don't like kissing?" The man asked, pulling her even closer by the waist and starting to wander all around her back. He leaned towards her and went for the neck too. The man wanted this so much, the "stop" lever wasn't even there to begin with. Ushijima wanted her all for himself.

Miwa wanted him too. It ached to say that but she had to squeeze out: "I still want to talk to the people." She wanted to do it with him and she wanted to never leave his side, being the most comfortable she had ever been. Ushijima kept kissing her neck, making the woman regret saying that. His moves were very confident and she could feel the way he enjoyed himself with every little kiss and bite. It made her moan slightly until the man straightened up, separating completely.

"Understandable." He knew, it would be embarrassing if he made her feel uncomfortable right away, so looked at himself in the mirror and fixed the hair, she messed up during the kiss. "Once again then and-"the man was looking at himself in the mirror, until felt her catching his t-shirt again. Miwa had frown on her face and was clearly shy to do something like that. She kissed him. For the first time, it wasn't only his initiative and the man felt himself getting overwhelmed. Miwa was much better at kissing and knew exactly what she did. He smiled, catching her cheeks and separating himself. "I will see you there, Miwa." The man carefully kissed her forehead and let go, taking a step away and opening the doors as they both left the little bathroom.

Just as promised, the player headed and immediately got separated by a crowd of fans, patiently waiting for his autograph. He gave her just one more look and smiled, getting very involved in the task. "Huh?" Miwa heard, standing there and being unsure of who to talk to first. "Miwa-san." Akaashi came closer with another person right beside him. It wasn't Bokuto who accompanied him. "Wonderful to see you." The man notified, fixing his glasses and nodding to her in a very polite manner.

She did that same. "Indeed, Akaashi." It felt good to be able to talk to people she didn't see for so long. "How are things with the literature department?" She asked quite curiously, knowing the man really wanted that job.

It made him smile. "I applied." Akaashi notifed her and immediately saw a smile appearing on  her face. "Just have to wait for the answer and I will be good to go." He explained and exchanged a look with a person who accompanied him. "This is mangaka I work with." He pointed slightly with his whe palm and Miwa finally took a proper look at the man.

He had slightly longer black hair and grey eyes. The man was slightly shorter, probably about the same size as Hinata, only less buff. The guy looked skinny, even though tried to hide it with baggy clothes. "Tenma Udai, was it?" She smiled, finally recognizing him fully.

He got surprised. "How do you know my name?"

Miwa knew him because dedicated huge amount of time studying Karasuno and the players that once inspired Hinata. However, she was too lazy to explain all that, so she came up with the excuse: "I know many people." That wasn't a proper answer but didn't result in any questions, so worked perfectly. She was much more curiois to find out about him. "Pleasure to meet you." She nodded to him just as respectfully as she did to Akaashi. His face only grew more curious, so iwa has to put at least something out. "You were quite an inspiration to Hinata back in highschool." She smiled, pointing at the tangerine man quite away from them, still busy, talking with Tomasz and Kageyama. "I don't suppose you play now, do you?" The woman asked quite straightforwardly.

It made him shake his head. "I don't." The man notified briefly before adding. "I just figured, my real passion is art."

Luckily Miwa knew a thing or two about arts, so she chuckled softly. "Well, yeah." The woman mumbled happily. "I do know something about that." She looked at the floor and the raised her sight back to the guy's with an even more sincere smile. "But it's wonderful to get to know you."

He blushed to that. "Indeed." The guy nodded, taking a step back from a sudden feeling. "Akaashi was telling me what a great person you are." He tried to act unbothered but only heard Akaashi's chuckle. He had only heard what a charming lady Miwa was, so when she actually showed it, the man got surprised.

Miwa raised her brows with curiosity. "I am?" She asked, taking a look at Akaashi and immediately we receiving a nodd. It made her realize how caring they all were. "Akaashi is very kind to say that." She then notified quickly. "In reality I'm just a messed up individual." The woman made a truthful observation, until suddenly felt someone's hands in her waist. "Whooa!" She exclaimed, getting pulled up above the ground and only realized who the person to pick up her was. "Bokuto!" Miwa only gasped, seeing his spikey black and grey hair and sparkling yellow eyes. He really resembled an owl with his appearance, only Miwa tightly gripped his hands, scared she might fall, so didn't have time to appreciate the man more.

"Hey hey hey!" Bokuto chuckled proudly from the easy way he picked her up. There is my queen!" He notified and Miwa could feel her cheeks turning red. The man helped her get on the ground and hugged her. "And she kissed Ushiwaka, haha!" He spoke excitingly as ever and after separation from a hug, caught her shoulders. "I got scared you might not show up."

Miwa got surprised by that sudden statement. "You knew I would come here?" How could they possibly know that if even she wasn't fully sure if whether she should come. It felt good but brought just as much stress as her therapist had predicted, it would.

The man chuckled to that very sincerely. "Of course." He grinned happily and let go of her shoulders. "You promised that to us, didn't you?" Bokuto winked to her, making her cheeks turn red again. He paused, realizing she was too overwhelmed to speak, so added after a little pause. "Plus I heard you yell from the tribunes."

Miwa widened her sight to that in quite a disbelief. "I yelled from the tribunes?" She didn't particularly remember her behavioir because of all the emotions. "I was very excited to see the game." She sighed happily, knowing Bokuto recognized her even before she manager to talk to Wakatoshi. "I truly was."

The man smirked, suddenly unzipping his sporty back jacket with gold elements on it. "Then you need this." He took it off and pulled it over Miwa. "We won after all." The man said just as proudly, making her chuckle again. He looked at her face, while after he helped her wear the jacket and Miwa smirked, standing in his favorite pose with the players on his chest. It made him smile happily once more. "I have missed you."

She nodded. "I have missed you too, baby." Rushing to hug him again, Mowa happily sighed only once more. "And I loved your entrance today." She giggled in a cute manner, trying to get the guy to blush. "You were just exploding with positivity." Miwa was really happy back there. Probably the happiest the had ever seen her be.

The guy liked standing in the hug with her so only pulled th egomaniac closer. "You yelled "that's my baby"?" He asked and felt how much Miwa shrugged to that, answering his question pretty clearly. The man explained with a soft chuckle. "I recognised your laughter, boo." He smiled, fulling her above the ground once more and making a happy turn. "Good to have you back." He sighed, letting her go. After all the signs of the tiring game had to appear from somewhere. "And I'm sorry they took your names down from all the great work you did."

She rubbed the back of her neck. "It was my order, really." The woman said calmly, happy he praised her like that. Miwa smiled, suddenly straightening up and looking in the direction of Kuroo. "I thought it would be better to gift this one."

Bokuto frowned to that a bit. "You didn't recieve money?"

The tall man with dark messy hair stood right beside Yachi and they seem to politely chitchat, discussing something quite important. Miwa sighed. "I transfered them all to Yachi." She said without zero regrets. "She did much more in this project that I ever could." It felt good to know the girl. Miwa turned her head back to him with another reassuring smile. "I want her to be successful and few thousands wouldn't hurt." It was very truthful. No matter how much the media tried to hide it it's hard to thrive through without any money on your bank account, so Miwa didn't feel guilty for that one.

Bokuto smiled too, giving the people on the opposite side a curious look. "I'm sure she is happy she got to work with you Miwa." He turned his head to face he and smirked. "I heard Kuroo wanted to hire her for the next project too."

It made Miwa roll her eyes. "Well he better do that, since I am not staying here." She stayed, turning the douche mode for a second there but quickly spilling the truth behind that. "And she is best in the business for now." Miwa stated with a pause, not hesitating for a second. She carefully put her hand on the man's shoulder. "Thank you for not being angry with me."

He nodded. "Anger is an unhealthy feeling, Miwa." The man stated, rasinig his shoulders up but the frowning a bit.  "However, I completely understand Wakatoshi on that one." He said confidently and Miwa could feel his spikey comment striking in her heart. "You have left without saying anything." The man notified her once more, reminding her of how much she wanted to speak to Wakatoshi. "It's like-" the man kept explaining but lost his words. "What was that word?"

Tenma raised one brow. "Ghosting?" He asked, trying to guess that. Looked like he was quite surprised to see them be in such a good relationship, even considering Miwa's leave.

Bokuto nodded in thanks. "Yeah." He then returned his attention back to Miwa, still explaining it to her. "And ghosts are scary."

Miwa chuckled softly to that, unable to keep still and Tenma only turned his head to Akaashi, mumbling: "I don't think he understands that one."

Akaashi sighed. "We are working on it."

Suddenly Bokuto patted her back. "Anyways." He stated, changing the topic. "I can't only steal you for myself today, can I?" He said with another smirk, trying to hint her something but Miwa was to excited to notice that.

"I really want to talk to Sakusa next-" She said, jumping on the spot and turning to find the tall guy with curly hair and moles. As she was achieving it, she directly bumped into someone, making her jump back, quite sacred. "aaah!" He scream wasn't loud,rather unsure and lost.

Sakusa stood with his hands in his pockets and his masked pulled down to show his face. "How dare you "aaah!" me after I haven't seen you for so long." The man asked with quite an irritation making Miwa immediately calm down and smile very sincerely. "You good?" He asked curiously, seeing her previously with Wakatoshi. All the stadium saw them, really.

Miwa nodded. "Better than ever."

Sakusa smirked. "Your looks say otherwise."

It made Miwa immitate the direct hit and she caught her chest as if it was a painful sarcastic comment. "Ughh-" She sighed, pretending to be hurt but then straightened up with another sincere chuckle. "I have missed that."

Sakusa nodded, thinking, he had missed that too. "Good thing you and Wakatoshi got along." He stated very calmly, even despite everything he said to her before during their little dates. The man knew when he had to back off and she appreciated him deeply for that. She even saw a smile on his face. "I was worried you'd chicken out."

Miwa put her pointer and thumb together, showing to him how close she was to actually dropping dropping the idea. "I was this close to it, really."

Sakusa chuckled softly to that. "Yeah. That's why I said, I was worried." The man straightened up and pulled his hand out of his pockets. "But then I rembered that you are Miwa Sano." He landed his pointer at her forehead. "If anyone, only she is insane enough to come up with various schemes." The man tapped it few times, making Miwa scrunch her face from the wave of laughter. She was more than happy to talk to him like that.

She nodded to that. "I do that sometimes, don't I?"

In another second she appeared in the hug and Miwa could feel tears entering her eyes once more. "We have missed you." Sakusa spoke kindly and openly, probably for the first time ever. It wasn't  a tease and wasn't even a comment. He spoke about how genuinely they cared about her.

She answered that. "I have missed you too." Miwa saw how uncomfortable he got, so didn't try to make it worse. She separated herself. "And congratulations on the win today." Miwa smiled sincerely, happy to be able to observe them during the game. "I knew my favorite boys would win."

In another second, she heard another male voice jumping g on that conversation. "And yet you came wearing Ushijima's shirt." Atsumu stood right beside her with a smirk on his face. "What a heartbreaking thing to do, Miwa."

She couldn't help herself and rushed directly to him, jumping to hug the man. "Atsumu!" Miwa exclaimed, seeing how he caught her into a hug. "You are not going to believe where I ended up."

He chuckled, hugging her back. "Poland?"  Mowa even raises her sight to that. How could they all possibly know about that already. "Everyone talks about that, Miwa." Atsumu mumbled and Miwa remembered the way her phone was about to blow up from constant messages. It seemed to her, the whole world's already knew by that point. She took a careful step back with a smile on her face and rubbed the back of her head. It made Atsumu chyckle once more. "However, I don't think I'd ever be able fo outlive loosing you."

Miwa's cheeks turned red once again. "You are just saying that." She put her hands behindher back, unable to face the boys directly. Her emotions were overfloating her again.

Sakusa spoke too. "No, he was the most worried of us all." The man pointed at Atsumu and she saw the way the man frowned to that accusation.

Bokuto just had to say something too. "We were sure, you show up for the game but Atsumu wasn't." He smirked, clearly making fun of a player and then exchanged a happy look with Sakusa.

Atsumu sighed, knowing he shouldn't have ever question Miwa's choices. "I doubted our pretty promotor." He mumbled, rubbing his blonde hair and raising his shoulders. "I feel like a fool."

Miwa shook her head. "You are not a fool." The woman straightened up and clenched her fists and then spoke up very confidently. "Only a complete dork." Itade him smile, so Miwa continued. "I have missed talking to you."

He gotore confident too. "I bet."

His words made her chuckle as she saw how much Sakusa rolled his eyes to that. "I love that you didn't change." She caught Bokuto's and Atsumu's hand and gave a nodd to Sakusa. "I love you all for being the way you are." She smiled sincerely showing her white teeth. "You all helped me get better." Miwa spoke proudly until felt herlsef getting lifted again. "Whaaaa!" Miwaexclaimed loudly, feeling this time the lift was longer as thean was taller. She recognised him only after appearing on his shoulder. "Karol!"

Bokuoto widened his sight unable to react right away and so Atsumu spoke up. "Whoa!" He gasped. "Dude, you are tall." The man pointed at the polish player and glanced at Sakusa, who only observed everything with much curiosity. "Is he from the Polish team?"

Miwa tried to escape that. "Karol!" She landed her fist on his back, trying to break free but the guy tensed and it was the same as hitting the concrete wall. "Put me down!" The woman had no intention to finish that conversation they had just yet.

The man nodded. "I'm Karol." He reached his free hand to exchange a handshake with Bokuto and Atusumu. The guy only nodded to Sakusa, just as Miwa had taught him to. "Nice to meet you."  He smiled, as the woman keslpt trying to escape, while hanging from his shoulder. "Sorry for stealing her away but there were other people she promised to talk to."

Miwa started to try to escape even more  "I'm not done talking to my favorite boys." She tried to slip away from the man, not really carrimg about the words that left her mouth.

Karol frowned. "Me and Tomasz are your favorite boys now." He said as it was obvious and added. "Along with the other members of the Orzeł Warszawa."

Bokuto finally woke up from the shock. "You work for Orzeł Warszawa?" He asked, practically jumping on the spot from excitement. "I heard their advertising was quite successful in the last couple of months."

Karol pointed at Miwa touching one of her buttcheeks. "That woman did that."

Miwa managed to land a slap on the back of his head, irritated he'd humiliate her like that. "Don't point at my butt!" She exclaimed, only hearing the guy's around chuckle. The man who held her let out a slight laughter too, so she got even more angry. "Karol. I'm going to kick your ass." She hissed, expecting him to get scared but forgot that she was in fact hanging from his shoulder and not the other way around.

The guy kept laughing. "Yeah, you won't reach." He turned, ready to carry her away and Miwa saw the way that little scene made the other players laugh very sincerely.

She gave up. "I will get myself a ladder!" Miwa exclaimed once more and crossed her hands on her chest. "You could have helped me, you know?" The woman referred to the players players they only exchanged a happy look.

Atsumu shook his head. "He is super tall." The man reasoned in the most terrible way possible. "I don't think we can mess with him."

Sakusa nodded to that. "You are probably going to be fine."

The audacity they had to make fun of her like that. Yes, she left them for couple of months but that doesn't mean they can d something like that to her. "Probably?" She gasped, getting carried away, literally. "Where are you taking me?"

Karol didn't answer. In the next second, she appeared on the ground and took a look around. It was a huge crowd that gathered around the polish players, after finding out about their visit. "Miss Sano can you comment?" The reporters finally had enough bravery bravery ask her directly and Miwa gave a suspicious glance to Karol and Tomasz, who stood right beside her. They were probably asked to give interview but understood nothing, so decided to use her help.

She didn't answer that right away but then felt someone grabbing her hand. "Do you want to talk to them?" Ushijima asked with a slight frown on his face, aware of how much she hated nasty reporters and the way they create stories.

It made her feel so safe, she couldn't help herself and blushed a bit. "Why, I certainly can." The woman nodded and turned to the reporters, taking a confident step to the front. "What is your question?"

She saw a camera pointed at her and waved to it slightly, knowing someone out there, who would watch it would probably understand. "Do you like volleyball?" The reperter asked curiously and with a bit of smirk on his face.

She took a second. "Do I like it?" Miwa took a look around and saw how all the people gathered, expecting her to answer. She saw Yachi and Kuroo, then MSBY players. Hinata kept trying to explain how the time worked to Kageyama. At the back, she noticed the people from Shiratorizawa and Karasuno exchanging a sincere laugh. Even Washijou sensei, she only met once,  came to support Wakatoshi. Ushijima stood right beside her just as serious as focused and ever and Miwa thought about how she wanted this moment to last forever.  "Well, that's not a hard question to answer." Miwa smiled very sincerely and felt how tight Ushijima held her hand. He knew the answer already, so smiled. That made Miwa let out a chuckle while answering. "I love it."

***

This is an official ending. However, because I love to think about Wakatoshi as a family man I drafted just one more chapter - a sneak peak into their family life. If you did like this pairing, then I would be happy if you checked it out. It's strictly and fully personal, though! Thank you for reading this far. I appreciate that very much!

***
Chapt. 39 draft

Time flies quite fast when the life is full of wonders. That's why when Wakatoshi entered the room of his apartment he quickly pulled down his running shoes, notifying his wife. "I'm back from the run." The man headed inside the room and landed on the sofa, seeing Miwa busy with her laptop. "How was you day, dear?"

It made her sigh but in a kind way. "I was busy with this logo design for one of the customers." She stated, putting the laptop down and closing the screen. "I swear it's not getting easier no matter how hard i try." Miwa didn't particularly like logo designs and yet it seeemd to be the only thing that kept bringing their family money (well, except for Wakatoshi's piles money from the plays and her regular monthly payment from the Polish sports comittee, obviously.)

He nodded, getting closer to her. "You are much better at sports promotion."The man went for her neck, leaning onto her and kissed it passionately.

Miwa felt how harsh he was but then kind of enjoyed it. "I am so glad you started to acknowledge that after so many years." She felt appreciated and, therefore, really happy. Ushijima was great at reading her and so his mouth appeared on hers just as quickly. "Wakatoshi-" She separated herself a bit. "you have to eat something first." The woman rubbed his sweaty forehead with the back of her palm but it didn't help a bit.

"Will you help me cook?" He asked, returning to his initial plan and kissing her neck quite passionately.

Miwa's hand appeared on his hair. "You know, I'm terrible at cooking." She let out a slight gasp to the way his hands were holding her waist and he left kisses all around her neck. "There is something in the fridge." the woman added but felt his wondering getting out of hand. "Wakatoshi..." She pulled him away a bit. "Why are you so fired up today?" Miwa was smiling happily but then Ushijima blushed a bit, knowing she was way too good at reading him too.

"You will never guess who I met today-" The man started but before managed to finish that, the couple heard some noises in the little bedroom. "uh?" He looked at his wife and they heard kid's sobs.

Miwa had to pull him away even more. "Another attention lover wants my attention." The woman giggled at Wakatoshi's suprised face but as was ready to stand up, he jumped on his feet way faster, heading directly towards that room.

"Do you think, she is hungry?" He asked her from there and then appeared in the doorway holding a little baby before handing her to his wife. "There you go."

Miwa nodded to that, picking up baby and looking at the clock. "She is hungry and right on time." It made her smile as she could not worry about the kid's schedule. "I adore you, Ami." Miwa smiled, pulling down the stipe of her loose undershirt and positioned the kid in a way, she would be most comfortable to breastfeed her. "You never bring any troubles to your mommy." Miwa noticed Wakatoshi's curious expression and he kneeled right near the sofa, she was sitting at, looking at the whole process. He saw it countless times already and just adored Miwa for her motherly instincts.

"Was she quiet today?" The man asked, seeing how she started to feed the kid.

Miwa nodded. "Yeah. I even managed to do few business calls." She rubbed the kid's head very carefully with her thumb while holding her but then scrunched her nose. "You are going to bite my nipple off," She said, trying to fix the situation but let out only: "auwa..." As everything was fixed, Miwa raised her sight to her husband. "So, who did you meet?"

She always payed attention to what he had to say and so Ushijima started pulling his body a bit up and leaning onto her legs. "Kuroo Tetsuro." The man stated quite confidently. "He came all the way here to announce the all-star game, they are planning." His eyes fired up a bit and he added. "I could play with Oikawa again."

"Oh, that would be such view." She smiled kindly, making his heart fill up with warmth. "When are you going?" However, her question surprised him a bit.

"I'm going?" The man asked with quite a confused expression on his face. He shook his head. "We are all going." He explained it briefly and added. "I wanted you all to be there."

It made Miwa widen her sight. "Wakatoshi, Ami is still a little baby." She was sure it wasn't the best time for them all to travel that far. "The flight that long would be a very intense thing." The woman looked at the little kid in her hands, getting a bit guilty for not being able to attend it. "Plus, we'd mess up her sleep schedule."

However, Ushijima wasn't ready to give up  "I can take care of her on the flight." He came up with the argument quite quickly, trying to make it look reasonable enough for her to agree to it. Of course, he didn't want to deal with a kid who would cry all the time but then he really wanted them to be there for the game. "She never cries when she is with me." He added to that argument and saw Miwa's sight back at himself. "She hardly ever cries with you too."

It made his wife roll her eyes and chuckle. "Whoa-" she let out suddenly and added  "thank you." "But she never was on the plane, Wakatoshi." Unfortunately for him, her arguments were just as reasonable. They never took their kid on the flight before. "I'm a bit worried."

Ushijima's hand picked up her phone from the little coffee table. "Check it online than." He handed it and his hands appeared under hers, notifying her to let the baby go. "I will hold her." The man explained and noticed the way she blushed to that move. It wasn't an ease to have someone help like that but she definitely felt like he cared.

Miwa pulled her hands a bit up and sighed in a tired manner. "You are just unchangeable." She said in disbelief, unlocking his phone and googling the right information. Luckily it has answers for everything. The woman spend few seconds looking for a reliable source and squinted sher eyes while reading the article that she had found. "It says they can get on the plane from 3-6 months." By they she meant babies, obviously but Ushijima got that.

He helped her take the baby back and hugged her as she was sitting and he kept kneeling on the floor in front of her. "Then it's perfect." He said, pulling his head up and leaving a light kiss on his daughter's head. "She is exactly 8 months and 20 days old. The man announced proudly and smiled. "Then we are all good."

Miwa smiled, seeing how adorable that looked and how the kid smiled a bit too. "Do you really want us to be there so much?"

The man nodded, turning into his more serious self. "I do." He then quickly added: "I will invite Tendo too. It could be fun."

Those words comming from Wakatoshi made Miwa widen her sight. "Fun?" He really did change after they got married. Wakatoshi still was very focused on his games, yet that shifted a bit and sometimes Miwa felt there were two people inside his head. One serious and the other one kind and passionate. He was able to switch between them and it didn't seem to bother him much.

"I don't seem like the fun one?" He asked, knowing precisely, that just probably sounded weird but only saw Miwa shake her head in disagreement.

"You do seem like a fun one." She stated and he saw the same warm smile appearing on her face. The woman looked at the baby once more and sighed. "Fine." Miwa mumbled. "Let's try this then."

Her husband's eyes sparkled happily but he remained his serious self. "Did you hear, Ami?" He gently rubbed the kid's head and almost whispered, not to scare her. "We are going to Japan." The man kept communicating with a kid, seeing how her mom's cheeks turned red. Miwa loved how fatherly he behaved with their daughter. "You are going to see your dad play." That was when a small smile appeared on the player's face and he pulled himself up. "I am really happy you agreed." His face appeared in front of Miwa's and she recieved a warm passionate kiss of gratitude.

As he separated, Miwa felt flustered and frowned a bit. "I'm gonna have you breastfeed her the next time." She stated pointing at Ushijima's chest and making him lean all the way back. "You will know how easy it is."

It made him let out a soft chuckle. "No, sorry." The man stood up and rubbed her face gently with her fingers, unable to get enough of that beautiful blush. "You are doing great." He nodded and picked up his phone from his pocket. "I better go call Tendo then too."

Miwa nodded to that, as it was a reasonable thing to do. "The sooner the better." She said, seeing the way her husband, leaned onto he doorway to their bedroom, clearly struggling to find the right contact. However, Ushijima always struggled with technology, so that wasn't surprising. The view of his strong back made Miwa feel so safe, she just had to look back, not to get more blush on her face. "He is a busy man." She mumbled, finally noticing that the kid was fed. The woman heard her husband talking in the other room but didn't try to hear specifics, she dedicated that time to her daughter instead. As Ushijma appeared in the room once again, she pointed at the way, their kid stood, holding onto the sofa and swaying into different directions. "Look, Wakatoshi." The woman called her husband closer. "We can stand for a bit and we are much better at crawling now." The kid was observing the world around her trying to grab the remote on the sofa, she wasn't able to reach. Ushijima got on the floor near his wife. "Her curiosity grows." Miwa explained and felt the way he grabbed her arm.

"Tendo agreed to be there." He said, changing the topic a bit, but then returning to it just as quickly. "She is going to do great things one day." The man's other hand appeared on Miwa's waist, turning her to face him. "Just like her parents." He smiled but saw nothing, except Miwa's irritated face. She would rather take care of her daughter back there. "No interrupting, I get that." The man separated himself with a little chuckle again and saw how Miwa helped the kid get on the floor. Ami started to crawl somewhere and he headed to the kitchen. "What was that about the food?"

Miwa spoke in louder manner then previously. "It's in the fridge." He saw her pointing to the device and headed to open it. "Just have it warmed up and it's all good."

So Ushijima did that. He shoved the food into the microwave, waiting for it to het warm. As the food was ready, he picked up the plate and landed on the same sofa in the living room. "It's fine." The man stated, taking a first bite. "Did you cook it?"

The woman nodded, turning over the kid on the floor to lie on her back and handing her some toys. "I did." She then mumbled, quite proudly. "I got better after those lessons from Tendo." Miwa smiled to him and pulled her clenched hand up, with her thumb raised. "Not such a lost case after all."

For some reason, Ushijima felt, he wanted to do the same, so he also raised his thumb up, holding a fork. "I am extremely proud." He still wasn't used to forks and unlike Miwa had quite a few troubles with the way people's life looked like here. "Of both of you." The man added, returning to his food, which wasn't great but was prepared with love, so he managed to swallow it.

Miwa knew it wasn't any good but was happy at the way he ignored that, not to see her disadvantages. She did the same for him and felt it was the right thing to do. In their relationship noone tried to boss around and from the previous experiences, they both knew, sometimes it would be easier just to talk it out. "And we are proud of our dad." She smiled kindly, hearing the kid's blabbering and pulling her daughter up. "Yes we are?" She picked her up quite excitingly and the baby chuckled to that. "Yes we are!" Miwa giggled to that too. They played for couple more hours, while Wakatoshiade other few calls and took a shower after the tiring day. Fresh and clean, he kneeled beside his wife again and played with the kid for a bit too. That was until baby started to yawn, so he felt Miwa rubbing his back. "You want to take her to sleep?"

Ushijima picked her up. "I do." They both landed on the couch and Miwa followed their example. Her hands appeared around his belly and Miwa leaned her head on his shoulder. The baby seemed to get comfortable in his hands too and he smiled. "I love you very much, Ami."

The kid was blabbering something to that but Miwa spoke up on her behalf, clearly, having her best rest. "I'm sure, she loves you too." His wife had her eyes closed and breathed calmly through her nostrils. She was exhausted too.

"How do you know that?"

"Because we are family." Miwa's hug brought him a lot of love, so the man smiled again. "And I love you and you love me and we love her." The woman kept speaking with her eyes closed. "Our baby loves us too."

Ushijima felt confident, there was some truth in her words. "This is all I could ever wish for." He mumbled and they sat for a couple of moments. The man then felt Miwa's hand wandering under his shirt and he quickly caught the hint. "Are you fired up?" He asked, making Miwa lean back from him.

"Are you?" She asked, leaning her head curiously to the side but then biting her liver lip, to say everything without using words.

Ushijima straightened up on the spot and looked at the kid in his hands. "Ami." He referred directly to her, like the baby would understand any of that. "I love you but you have to go sleep quickly." The man stood up, making Miwa let out a chuckle. He was heading to the little bedroom and speaking to the kid quite seriously. "Let's get you to your little bed." "Mommy is fired up and I cannot possibly miss that opportunity."

Miwa chuckled even louder to the last words that left his mouth. "You are a dork." She really did love him very much. The woman kept sitting on the sofa, taking her time for relax, while Ushijima was busy with their child. That was the plan until in couple of minutes, the big figure appeared on top of her again. "Already?" The woman  couldn't believe her eyes.

He nodded, leaning to kiss her neck very gently. "Mhm." The man mumbled. "It's not a hard task."

Miwa rushed her fingers through his hair, letting him know how fired up that made her. "It is actually." She let out a soft chuckle,feeling his hands on her waist, getting under the undershirt, she was wearing. "You have to tell me your secret."

Ushijima chuckled to that too, clearly happy to be handling the kid so well. "I promise, there is no secret there." He kept kissing her neck again and again, until Miwa finally let out a slight moan. "Did you miss me?"

"Considering you weren't there last week and left very early today for the training, I can say..." She paused for a dramatic effect, seeing the way he lift his head up to have a look at her face. It made her blush and the woman pulled him in with a hug. "yes, I have missed you so much."

It seemed to fire him up too. "Me too." He said, rubbing his nose towards her collarbone. "I have missed you too." The man then pulled his body up, leaning onto his hands and carefully and very gently kissed her lips. Miwa's hands appeared on his cheeks and Ushijima knew, she wanted it to last longer. That brought memories of the last game at Schweiden Adlers when both of them acted on instincts of love and kissed passionately in front of the cameras too. People kept discussing it long after the whole thing happened and when the couple announced news about the wedding, both Ushijima and Miwa became the example of the true love couple according to their fans. That didn't mean, however, that the perfect couple didn't have fights. It was just that they tried to talk it out, as knowing from the experience, there was always more to it then it first seems. After they got both tired of that kiss, the man gave up his tries to get intimate with her and hugged her instead, making sure, they were both comfortable. "I was thinking, actually." He mumbled, letting out a relaxed sigh.

Miwa kept playing with his hair and chuckled. "This is going to be good." She mumbled and added: "Go on."

It made the man pull himself up again. "Would you like to have another kid with me?" He asked with much enthusiasm, getting out of his usual serious character completely and quite surprising Miwa with that behaviour. "I know it's a bit early and you have gone through so much pain with Ami, so it's alright to say no-" he then blabbering, trying to hide, how serious he was about all that.

The woman interrupted him. "I would like that."

Ushijima raised his brows up. "You would?"

"Would you like a boy this time?" Miwa kept smiling happily, excited about the idea of giving birth to another child. It was hard to be pregnant and giving birth but seeing how much happiness it brought into their lives, she was willing to go through it again.

Ushijima paused for a second and then exclaimed, hugging her very tight. "Doesn't matter!" He spoke directly into her chest. "Two girls would be just as much of a blessing." The man was so excited and fired up he could barely put his thoughts together properly. "Miwa." He sighed and went for another kiss, this time shorter but just as passionate. "I can't even express how happy I am."

She was happy to see him happy. "Me too." The woman said calmly but before it got them blabbering about who loves the other one more, she decided to change a topic. "And I'm excited to meet the players again." She said with a warm smile on her face. Miwa really did grow to like some of them very much. "Kenma was reaching out to me recently." The woman shared that information: "Did you know, he went to visit Hinata in Brazil?"

Ushijima slightly shook his head, getting more and more comfortable in the hug. "I don't use social media that much." He yawned.

"You should." Miwa said in more serious matter but still thinking, that he looked adorable. "Your fans will be very disappointed to find out I was handling your accounts all this time."

Ushijima only burried his face more into her chest during the long hug. "I'm sure they would be able to outlive that." He mumbled but then wondered again. "Do you think the guys from Shiratorizawa would want to visit?"

She chuckled at his innocence. "I'm sure they would." Her fingers kept gently playing with his hair as she spoke. "Goshki adores Ami too." The woman suddenly added. "He could help you babysit her."

"Help me?"

Miwa nodded, seeing the way he lazily raised his sight at her. "Well, I'm not taking care of her after her schedule gets messed up because of the flight."

Ushijima looked at her face for a second unsure of it was a joke but then sighed, too tired to even try to figure it out. "Fair enough." He mumbled, pulling down the stripe of her undershirt and kissing her collarbone. "You have been trying so hard to put her on the schedule." He rubbed the place with his nose and smiled, whole adding. "I even feel bad for ruining that..." the man was just too happy to know they would both be there to support him during the all-star game. The man lied like that for couple more moments until finally remembered. "how comes we are cuddling and not making love?"

Miwa widened her sight, not realizing how their intimate moment turned into cuddles too. "I don't know." She let out a chuckle. "Are we turning into an old couple?"

Her chuckle made him smile too, not like at those posters, more in a genuine and kind way. "I don't mind that..."

Miwa shook her head to that. "I do." She put her hands on his shoulders, pulling the man away, until they both sat at the sofa, not lied down. "I am still fired up." The woman said with a cute giggle and caught the tips of his shirt. "Now, take that shirt off." She pulled it up and the man didn't resist that move. He didn't mind them being an old couple, but he also didn't mind some intimacy.

"You don't want to be old?" He asked in slight disbelief, letting out a chuckle at the way she passionately rushed to kiss his neck too.

The woman leaned back, pulling her leg over his hips and landing on his lap. "Not yet!" She then put her hands on his shoulders and looked the man directly into the eyes. "I have just learned how to love." "I'm not letting that feeling go."

It didn't take long until Ushijima got fired up to the max and she could feel it while sitting on his body. His hands slid under her undershirt. "I will love you even if you are old." They wandered all around her back as the man observed her with his confident sight. "And you are blushing again."

She could feel herself getting week at the knees just from looking at him. "I hate when you do this to me." Miwa hid her sight away from him, getting busy with kissing the man's neck and chest instead.

His hand rushed through her hair too. "Some things just never change, do they?" The man couldn't be happier at that moment, when suddenly felt her rubbing her hips towards him. Ushijima leaned back with a loud groan. "Huggh-" he caught her hips with his hands, by gripping the skin under her house shorts and stopped that move, mumbling into her ear. "you are rushing again." He already could feel how fired up she was and after that, the woman was fully ready too.

***