Iruka Kihira is blessed with a gift.

For fifteen years, no one has ever acknowledged this gift of hers. No one paid much attention to the mediocre girl. She was academically competent enough to be put into a college-prep class, but never the valedictorian. She is shown to have potential in most sports she tried, but never good enough to be put into a school team. She liked making friends, but never sociable enough to be the popular kid.

Iruka Kihira is ordinary. And she knows exactly why.

But she doesn't chase that extra length of effort to be better, to be the best. She could study a couple hours everyday until her brain fried if she wanted too. She could sign up for the basketball team or football team, show up for practice and work her butt off until the coach takes notice of her if she wanted to. She could approach people and start interacting with everyone and anyone she comes across if she could erase that sense of insecurity in her heart.

Instead, she chooses to be whatever she wants to be and do whatever she wants to do. As long as it is within her comfort zone.

Nonetheless, she had thought of doing something worthful before. In fact, she longed to be extraordinary (apparently to her, being good in something is extraordinary). But Iruka Kihira lacked passion and confidence. Every time she tries to get involved in something, vowing to herself she will turn her boring, uneventful life upside down, her insecurity kicks in and sends her hightailing out of the area faster than a bullet train. She tried everything. The school band, the track team, girl scouts, even taekwondo, for the sake of her friend, Akiyo. But she didn't like the hierarchical system in the school band, or the egoistic track team coach who only focused on the school runners, or having to wake up during the godly hours of a morning to show up at the scouts' camp, or how ridiculous she looked like in the taekwondo outfit. As much as she cared about her image in school, and knowing that most of her middle school classmates probably sees her as one of the "inactive, antisocial" kind, it got to the point she just gave up altogether.

She guesses it can't be helped.

Kihira yawns once again, not bothering to cover her mouth. There is hardly anyone left in the classroom besides a few classmates. She slaps her hand over her backpack strap and heaves it over her shoulders. Hana walks by her table. "Going home now?"

Kihira picks up her textbooks. "Yeah. You?"

"I have Art Club." Hana replies, adjusting the strap of her bag. "You should join the art club you know, since you're good in art."

Kihira inwardly sighs. "Well yeah, but I can't paint."

"We don't just paint. We do pencil work too." Hana flashes her an encouraging smile. Hana tops Kihira's list of Extraordinarily Nice People. She is the epitome of an angel - sweet, kind, helpful and extremely considerate. As considerate as Kihira would label her to be, it will help if Hana could lay off her this once.

"Well..." Kihira drifts, trying to find the right words in order to not hurt the fragile girl's feelings. "Maybe. I just think that being in a club for art would just constrict my style."

Hana places a hand on her shoulder, flashing her another one of her signature sunny smiles. "I understand. I feel that way sometimes, but it keeps you inspired." She puts her hand down. "Well, I better get going. See ya!"

Kihira waves as Hana hurries out of the class. Sighing again, she drags herself out of the classroom. It's been two weeks since she started high school in Karasuno and she hasn't found a club. Her middle school life was a complete waste of three years, she concluded. But no matter how demotivated she is, she will not pass up the chance of starting life anew. She is still willing to give herself another chance to turn her teenage school life into something worth remembering.

But first she has to find a club.

She exits the school. Since her house is just a few blocks away, her parents decided she can walk to school and back everyday until they find a transport for her, and Kihira finalized to herself that day will never happen. She never likes walking home alone. Walking home alone is one of the moments her paranoia acts up and her peculiar mind starts playing games on her. It's extremely mind-boggling to have thoughts nagging in her mind about things that don't even happen.

Perhaps the dark alley you walk by so often lurks the most dangerous rapists. Perhaps that man cycling past you and making eye contact with you is thinking of touching you. Perhaps walking right behind you right now is a big grubby man, waiting to pounce on you, drug you and drag you into a car nearby.

Kihira spins her head around instantly.

She sighs and slaps her forehead. She is paranoid.

But she is a realist. There's a possibility that those incidents could happen. She can only be mentally ready if it happens. Stay calm, and just kick the guy's nuts right? That was what Akiyo told her.

It's difficult being a teenage girl.

At this point she was nearing her neighbourhood. She turns the corner and hears a chattering noise. She spots two figures up front, a blonde and a brunette. The brunette seems excited, walking with little hops in his steps whilst the tall blonde merely struts in a composed manner, seemingly unperturbed by his friend's enthusiasm.

Kihira looks at the ground and slows her walking pace, not wanting to startle the duo. It's nice to know that there are schoolmates taking the same route home as her, even though she hasn't seen them walk this route before. It gives her the sense of security.

Now that most of her worries have been cleared, she just has one last thing to agonize.

She sighs again, this time heavier.

"Kihira!"

Akiyo slams her hands on her table, jolting the brown-haired girl from her train of thoughts. Narrowing her eyes at her rambunctious friend, Kihira sits up straight. It is seven in the morning, and Kihira is not the most pleasant person during these early hours. "God damn it, Akiyo, can you be a bit more unstartling?"

Akiyo still has the silly grin on her face. "Can you accompany me to the gym?"

"Gym?" Kihira rubs her eyes. "Why on earth?"

"J...Just don't ask!" Akiyo was already tugging at her sleeve, spluttering, avoiding eye contact, and trying very hard to hide a wide grin. This could only mean one thing.

"Another crush of yours?" Kihira groans, but got off her seat anyways.

"I didn't say crush!"

"But it is, isn't it?"

"J...Just come with me!" Akiyo pulls her out of the classroom and down the hallway. Whoever this guy is, Kihira can only guess this will last for three months. She wouldn't tell her friend up front, but Akiyo never had it well with boys. She's too feisty and loud around them - around anyone and everyone in fact. None of them ever reciprocates, be it in elementary school, middle school or possibly high school. The boys Akiyo chose to fall for just never had mutual interest.

Soon after, they reach main doors of a gym. Sounds of shoes squeaking against floors and balls bouncing off surfaces are heard. Akiyo doesn't stop running, pulling Kihira into the gym and up the stairs leading to the stands. Kihira eyes the group of boys in the room. Volleyball?

When they reach the stands, they lean their hands onto the balustrade, peering over the squabbling boys below. Kihira glances at Akiyo sideways, watching a wide grin crawling up her friend's face. "Okay, so who is it this time?" She is not amused, having to be dragged everywhere while she was half awake. Her eyes scan the boys, looking for one who could be Akiyo's potential crush.

"Guess." Akiyo says, still grinning ear to ear. "One hint. A tall one."

Kihira's eyes dart around the court. A tall one. It is difficult to make out their height from where she is standing. Definitely not the ginger head screaming at another raven-haired. The ashen-haired at the sides? The baldy? No, definitely not. A tall one...a tall one...

Her eyes lands on the opposite side of the court, at a particular spectacled blonde. He has just jumped and blocked a spike by the orange-haired boy. He smirked and said something about the boy's height before earning glares of daggers. The shorter boy held up his fists, shouting something along the lines of "You wanna go" while his teammates holds him back.

Kihira raises a brow at this. "Is it Tsukishima Kei?"

"Wha?" Akiyo is puzzled. "No no, it's Kageyama Tobio." She points to the raven-haired boy from before, who was now yelling at the ginger head about something incomprehensible to Kihira's ears.

"You said a tall one."

"He IS tall! He's about a hundred and eighty centimetres!"

"Well, he's not the tallest one on court."

"I didn't say he is the tallest." Akiyo says. "He is really popular in the volleyball community. He's nicknamed the King of the Court and it's so co-"

"And what exactly is so attractive about this...Kageyama guy?" Kihira asks while watching him toss a ball.

"He's cool, and really composed!"

That she could partially agree. Kihira watches as the ball flies over to the orange-haired's direction. He jumps to get ready to slam the ball over the net but the ball's speed is far too much for him to handle as he slaps air, groaning when he lands. The ball bounces off the floor and rolls off into a corner. Kageyama Tobio is now haranguing the poor ginger head for being an air head.

She chuckles. "Still think he's cool and composed?"

"He's cute when he's mad!"

She looks to Akiyo and decides to be blunt. "Akiyo, I don't think Kageyama Tobio here even notices your existence."

"I knoowww." Akiyo pouts, head sinking low to the level of the balustrade. "But it doesn't hurt to fantasize once in a while, does it?"

Kihira's eye twitches at the word 'fantasize'. When it comes to Akiyo, she knows exactly what fantasizing means to her friend. Her mind circulates around the fact that Akiyo's mind is bombarded with images of herself doing unspeakable things to Kageyama Tobio...

Eww.

"Watch out!"

Kihira snaps from her stance. The next thing she sees is a flurry of red, white and green spiralling towards her face at the speed of light. Akiyo yelps. Before it could hit her, Kihira clasps her hands around the ball, completely stopping the momentum and movement of the ball. Next comes a burning sensation on her palms. Gasps were heard from below. All eyes are suddenly on her.

The gym falls dead silent.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" The ginger head hollers at them while bowing profusely. Kihira stares at him and lowers the ball onto the baluster.

"Hinata!"

"You idiot! You could've killed her!"

"I'm sorry, Tanaka-senpai!"

"You dumbass! Watch the ball closely!"

Kihira waits until the commotion died down before giving Hinata a reassuring smile. "It's okay! We're fine!" She tosses the ball back down, directly into the hands of Kageyama Tobio. Before tearing her eyes from the court, she scans the opposite side of the court to make out who served and locks gaze with a very tall blonde.

He shifts his gaze away first and averts his focus on the game. She inwardly raises a brow. If there is one thing she learnt from reading strangers, it would be to never break eye contact first - it gives a shady impression.

At this point, she realizes that Akiyo has been glaring at her intensely. "What?"

Akiyo sighs. "Never mind. Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

Akiyo places her hands on the railing. "You know that guy?" She points at the tall blonde. "Tsu...tsu..."

"Tsukishima Kei?" Kihira asks, watching him as he blocks yet another one of the ginger head's spikes. He then proceeds to comment on the ginger's height before guffawing, completely oblivious to the shorter boy's exasperation. "He's my neighbour."

A/N: Greetings fellow fanfictioneers! I was looking around and found no TsukishimaxOC on the site. Poor Tsukki, no one loves him? So I just decided to write one and that's how this happened.

Before we advance, I would like to state that this is an extremely slow progressing story so please bear with me. If it doesn't hamper you, a review is very much appreciated! Reviews appease the feeling that I'm talking to a wall.

Disclaimer: These adorable volleyboys do not belong to me. They belong to Furudate Haruichi, unfortunately.

And I also don't own the cover image. You can't possibly think I could pull off such an attractive-looking Tsukishima from my magical fingertips , can you? But praise the lord on whoever did it.