Chapter 7: Wake up, Piggy

Shimizu and Hotaru began to lay out the futons in the spare room that the two were going to share for the rainy night. The older of the two sighed, grabbed two pillows, and forcibly threw them towards the entry way, "Please get ready for bed you two, you'll need it for tomorrow's match."

Hotaru was a bit surprised at the sudden action, but turned around to see the pillows slide down the faces of Nishinoya and Tanaka to reveal their gleeful expressions. They walked away happily, mumbling to themselves about the fact that Shimizu was able to sense their presence. Shimizu stood up and gathered some spare clothes Sawamura rounded up from the boys for the girls to wear for the night, "Let's go bathe, Hotaru-chan."

Hotaru nodded and the two made their way downstairs to where the women's bath was located.

"Give my glasses back!"

"But you looks so weird without them! I need to get my phone upstairs so I can take a picture for blackmail!"

"Don't you even dare think about running away wi- HEY!"

After Tsukishima's loud protest the door to the men's bath swung open and a very naked, wet, sudsy Hinata ran out with Tsukishima's glasses in his hand, "Don't worry I'll give them back after I-" He stopped midsentence and midstep once he noticed the two girls in front of him.

Tsukishima soon followed behind him, hair still wet with shampoo suds and a short towel around his waist since he knew better than to run out naked. "Hinata you better-" He stopped for a moment once he noticed the two girls as well.

Hotaru's face quickly heated up as she slowly made her way behind her stoic senior to block her vision. The two freshmen stared at their beautiful senior for a moment, but began to move steadily. Hinata gave Tsukishima his glasses back as the two began to make their way back into the men's bath with their heads down low. Once out of site crashes from inside the bath could be heard as well as Hinata's screams of anguish.

Shimizu looked back a bit to her flustered underclassman, "Did you see anything, Hotaru-chan?"

Hotaru nodded.

"Are you okay?"

Hotaru shook her head.

"Do you want to take a nice relaxing bath with tons of bubbles?"

Hotaru nodded and the two briskly walked past the men's bath and into the women's bath. Shimizu made a mental note to inform Sawamura what had just happened.

Hinata sighed as he pressed a button for a drink from the vending machine, "I can't believe that happened…" He sighed recalling the events that happened just moments ago. Once he and Tsukishima made it back into the bath room, the taller of the two grabbed the closest objects he could reach and proceeded to throw them all at the short middle blocker.

"Either way I see it it's your fault." Kageyama said from the small seating area, sipping on his own milk carton.

"Tch." Tsukishima voiced from his seat, also sipping from his own strawberry milk carton, "Of course it was his fault. I don't see why you're so fascinated by how I look without my glasses."

"It was because I thought your eyes would disappear or something, but instead you just looked weirder and meaner."

"Meaner?!"

Yamaguchi chimed in from his seat, "When you have your glasses off, you squint more and so it looks like you're glaring all the time."

Kageyama scoffed, "Either way your face isn't a pleasant one to look at."

"I don't think I should be hearing that from you, King." Tsukishima retorted, "Your smile isn't exactly welcoming."

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop with the King shi-"

"You four should head off to bed soon." The four freshmen visibly jumped at the intrusion of a fifth voice. They all turned to meet the stoic gaze of their manager, fresh out of the bath. She adjusted her glasses as they began to slip off her nose which was still moist from her bath, "You have a practice match tomorrow so you'll be getting up earlier to eat breakfast and to warm up. I suggest you start getting ready for bed." She suggested as she made her way towards the stairs.

The four freshmen all chimed a "Yes ma'am" together as they got up to throw their empty drinks away. As Hinata lingered near the trashcan his gaze perked up to a sudden noise that came from down the dark hall. Frightening thoughts quickly flowed into his over imaginative mind, "H-Hey, do you guys hear that?"

The other three looked up lazily at the dark hallways, only to find nothing there. "Tch," Tsukishima scoffed as he began to make his ways towards the stairs, "I didn't know you were such a scaredy cat when it came to the dark, Hinata."

"Tha-That's not it, Tsukishima!" Hinata defended. He glared at the three as they walked closer and closer to the stairs, but another footstep could be heard coming from the depths of the hallways. The orange haired middle blockers frantically turned around, "G-G-Guys!"

The other three turned around, unsure if they wanted to entertain the idea coming from their frantic teammate. Kageyama was the first to speak up, "Hinata, if you yell like that you're going to wake the upperclass-"

The footsteps grew louder.

Everyone stiffened.

"H-Hey, wh-what is that…" Yamaguchi whispered as the four freshman instinctively huddled together for protection.

The footsteps grew louder.

"It's probably just one of the upperclassmen…" Tsukishima calmly stated.

The footsteps grew louder.

"But aren't they all up stairs?!" Hinata panicked.

The footsteps grew louder.

"I'm sure one of them just came down to take a piss."

"So crude, Kageyama!"

The footsteps stopped.

The four jumped at once at the sudden silence. All eyes were glued on the darkness of the hallway as a figure slowly emerged. Pale feet were the first to be seen followed by the ghostly hem of a plain, white dress resting just above pale knees. Long, wet, black hair clung against the white dress as the figure emerged completely, revealing a head of black hair similar to that of many horror films.

Their eyes widened as Hinata let out a scream of pure terror, clinging onto an equally terrified Yamaguchi, Kageyama was suddenly on top of the vending machine, and Tsukishima remained silent with wide eyes gazing at the emerging figure. Tsukishima regained his composure and slightly adjusted his glasses, "Wa-Wait a min-"

"Why are you all yelling?" A concerned voice came.

Everyone resumed their original positions and squinted into the darkness. The once ghostly figure stepped forward only to reveal a very concerned Hotaru fresh out of the bath. "Na-Nadeshiko-chan?!"

Kageyama punched Hinata's head, his anger and annoyance needing to be released, "What the hell, Hinata idiot?! Getting us all worked up for nothing!"

"Bu-But why aren't you wearing any slippers?" Hinata began to defend his reasoning, "A-And that dress that looks so close to what ghosts wear, and your hair!"

Hotaru blushed a bit at her unruly look, "There was only one pair of slipper in the women's bathe so I let Kiyoko-chan take it. As for this dress, it's one of Tsukki's shirts that Sawamura senpai borrowed for Kiyoko-chan and me…" She looked down, taking in the length of the shirt, "I guess it does kind of look like a dress on me." She said with a slight laugh.

The four boys let out long sighs of relief, they shoulders dropping as they released the tension they all held. However, that fear reentered their spirits as they sensed a menacing presence behind them.

"You guys," A very angry Sawamura growled out, "HURRY UP AND GET TO BED!"

The five first years hurriedly made their way back upstairs. Hotaru turned around and smiled at the boys before they entered their room, "Well, good night. I hope I didn't scare you too badly so you can get a good night's rest before the match."

Hinata and Kageyama's hearts fluttered at her radiant smile, completely forgetting about the scare she had given them earlier. They both chimed a stern, "Yes ma'am!" as if they were obeying an order and made their way into the room. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi peaked into the room and saw the idiot duo already sound asleep, "They're really a couple of simple minded idiots, aren't they?"

"I think that's just Hotaru's influence…"

The next morning Kiyoko and Hotaru woke up early to prepare the boys a hardy breakfast to get them through the practice match. Bending down to take a look in the fridge, Kiyoko frowned, "Hotaru-chan," She called, "Do you mind running to the convenience store real quick to buy a couple cartons of milk and eggs? I don't think this will be enough for what we had in mind."

Hotaru shook her head with a smile, "I don't mind at all." She untied the apron, placed it on the counter, slipped on Kiyoko's manager jersey and made her way towards the entrance of the lodging. It was a beautiful day, the air still a bit humid from last night's storm, but seeing the shining sun and chirping birds made the presence of the storm forgotten. She managed to make it to the convenience store without any trouble and found the milk and eggs in the same fashion. Since it was fairly early in the morning, the quaint store was barren when it came to customers.

Once Hotaru had what she needed she went over to the cashier and stood behind the only other customer they had. As she stood in line in silence she noticed the boy in front of her begin to frantically search through his pants pockets. The impatient and cranky young adult behind the counter groaned, "If you don't have money to pay for your stuff get lost."

The boy looked down a bit dejected, the blonde half of his hair falling down to cover his face. Hotaru stepped up, "I don't mind paying for his things." She looked down back at the counter and saw it was only a cup of instant ramen and a sports drink. She frowned slightly, her maternal side taking over for a split second, 'That's not a very good breakfast at all.' None the less, she paid for his things with her own pocket money and used the money from the club to pay for the milk and eggs.

Once the two were outside the boy, a bit squeamishly, said as he avoided eye contact, "Th-Thank you for paying for my things."

Hotaru flashed her signature, heart melting smile, "It was not problem at all. Though if that's your breakfast I fear for your health."

"The hotel that I'm staying at doesn't have any breakfast items I really like…"

"Oh you're from out of town? Where are you from?"

"… Tokyo."

"Our tiny town must be so boring compared to Tokyo. I visit sometimes when my parents need to go for a business trip, it's a really beautiful city." Hotaru giggled a bit, "Well if you need any help I'm staying at the lodging just down the road from here, just ask for Hotaru."

The boy looked at her very quickly, then averted his eyes again, "Kozume Kenma."

Hotaru's smiled widened, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kozume-kun."

"Just Kenma is fine..." He paused for a moment and rummaged through his jersey pocket for a paper and pen. He scribbled some information down and handed it to Hotaru, "…. If you're ever in Tokyo I'll return the favor for today… if you'd like…"

Hotaru took the piece of paper with his email and phone number and smiled, "I'd like that, Kenma-kun," She turned around and began to make her way back to the lodging, "I hope you enjoy your stay here and maybe our paths will cross again! Maybe in Tokyo!" She walked slowly down the road away from her new found friend. Kenma's eyes made their way onto her back, reading the letters on the black jersey she had borrowed from Kiyoko. He grinned a bit and began to make his way to his hotel.

Once everyone was packed and ready to go, they all began to make their way to the gymnasium where The Battle at the Garbage Dump was going to take place. As they arrived at the location, they saw the unfamiliar red jerseys of the Nekoma team entering the building. Hinata vocalized a bit of surprise and broke away from the team, running to catch up to a familiar player as Sawamura went ahead of the team to go great the Nekoma captain inside.

Kiyoko shot her gaze downward a bit towards Hotaru, who was happily humming and smiling next to her. "You look very happy today."

"Well it's the first time since we entered high school that I get to see Tadachi and Tsukki play!" Hotaru's smile widened even more, "I'm also really excited to see the rest of the team play as well." They continued to make their way towards the gymnasium entrance where Hotaru saw Tanaka trying to intimidate the other team, Sugawara calming Tanaka down, and Hinata talking to a very familiar boy.

Hotaru's face brightened up with happiness at the familiar face. She broke away from Kiyoko and ran over to Hinata and, "Kenma-kun!" She called cheerfully. The boys that had gathered around the opening looked towards her direction as she approached them. She smiled at the quite Nekoma setter, "You didn't tell me you were part of Nekoma. You should have told me since I was wearing Kiyoko-chan's Karasuno jersey."

Kenma scratched the back of his head a bit, "Well I didn't really see the point since we were going to see each other anyways a few hours later…"

"I guess that's true…"

Suddenly, the two were brought back by their hot blooded seniors. Nekoma's Taketora leaning down and whispering in Kenma's ear, "Hey, where did you meet s-such a cutie?! How can you not tell any of us? Get her to introduce me to the other beautiful girl." Meanwhile, Karasuno's Tanaka stood in front of their precious flower, protecting her from what he thought were vicious cats. A shorter boy pushed the two Nekoma players into the gymnasium as Tanaka followed them to make sure they don't try anything on Karasuno's precious manager and flower.

Yamaguchi and Tsukishima walked up behind Hotaru, "How did you know him?" Yamaguchi asked.

"Oh, I met him by chance this morning at the convenience store. He's really soft spoken, but Kenma-kun is friendly." She said with a smile.

"Already calling him by his first name I see." Tsukishima smugly voiced.

Hotaru blushed a bit, much to Tsukishima's unexpected annoyance and surprise, "W-Well he-"

"Hotaru-chan, do you mind helping me?" Kiyoko called from inside the gymnasium.

Hotaru quickly made her way to lend Kiyoko a hand, leaving her two friends to imagine what could have caused her sudden closeness to the Nekoma setter. Yamaguchi looked towards Tsukishima, "It's not like to you to take interest in Hotaru calling someone by their first name." He stated, noticing his friend's slight annoyance at Hotaru's embarrassed demeanor.

Tsukishima briskly walked away in his usual manner, "I couldn't care less as to who Takenaka is friends with."

Yamaguchi frowned at Tsukishima's rather cold statement, but followed his friend inside the gymnasium nonetheless. Over the years he's always been the one to look at his two friends' relationship from a different stand point and has begun to see things more clearly than other people or even Hotaru and Tsukishima themselves.

Hotaru found her way to the stands to watch from above since she wasn't allowed to be down below with the team since she was only a spectator and not an actual manager to the team. She watched as the team met with Coach Ukai for a defense plan to start the match, her excitement beginning to rise along with her happiness of seeing her best friends play again. She heard people enter the stands from the side and turned to see two men come in.

"Oh, I wasn't expecting anyone else to be here." The blonde of the two voiced.

"Maybe she's Nekoma's second manager…" The other wondered.

Hotaru smiled and shook her head, "I'm here to cheer on Karasuno. My name is Takenaka Hotaru, pleased to meet you."

"Ah, you're the family that owns the shrine." The blonde said and introduced himself, "I'm Takinoue Yusuke. I used to be a part of the Karasuno volleyball team back in the day along with their coach."

"I'm Shimada Makoto, I was part of the team back in the day too. How do you know the team? Are you a manager in training?"

"Oh no nothing like that." Hotaru laughed, "I was helping with the training camp through the week, but I'm not a manager or anything. I'm a close friend of number 11 and number 12 down there."

The referee blew the whistle signaling the start of the match. Hotaru's expression noticeably perked up as she watched as everyone get into place with a huge grin plastered on her face.

"You seem rather happy." Shimada pointed out.

"Well this is the first time in a long time I'll get to see my friends play." Hotaru said, never taking her eyes off the court, but a small pout came upon her face, "Neither one of them is on the court though…"

"That's because they're receiving first," Takinoue explained, "When they're on the receiving end the libero takes the place of one of the middle blockers, in this case number 10 or 12."

"I se-" Before Hotaru could even finish, Kageyama sent an incredibly fast and accurate pass to Hinata who spiked it with ease, winning them the first point. Hotaru's mouth dropped slightly at the incredible play that just happened. She had heard Kiyoko talk about Kageyama and Hinata's incredible spike, but this was the first time she had witnessed it firsthand. Indeed it lived up to the hype.

Eventually Nekoma had to call a time out.

"Seems like those boys are doing pretty well." Takinoue thought out loud.

Hotaru squatted down a bit, rested her chin on top of the railing, and pouted, "I'm really happy that Tsukki is playing, but I want Tadachi to play too…"

"It can't be helped." Shimada said, "Only the strongest 6 can stand on the court."

Hotaru looked up at the bespectacled man, getting the feeling that he was speaking from experience. Her attention returned to the court where Karasuno was up to serve. 'Only the strong he says, but Tsukki isn't that strong. Or at least I didn't think he was that physically strong. He is tall and smart, but he's too skinny to be super strong.' Kageyama had set the ball perfectly to Tsukishima who took the opportunity to hit it with all his might. Hotaru's eyes widened at bit, surprised at the force the ball had when it hit the ground. It was, after all, the first time she had seen him play ever since their middle school days. 'but Tsukki doesn't look that strong…'

Her mind was suddenly filled with images of the previous night. The memory of a naked and flustered Hinata was blurred out and more focused on Tsukishima behind him. The towel sloppily wrapped around his waist to cover his private parts, but not doing much to cover the abs that were slowly forming from the many years of volleyball practice. His slightly toned arms holding up the wet towel as his short hair clung to his embarrassed face.

Hotaru mentally slapped herself as she looked down to hide her embarrassed face from everyone, 'Wh-Why would I suddenly remember that?!' She peaked up a bit to catch a glimpse of the match as Nishinoya and Tsukishima switched out, the latter of the two taking a quick drink as he stayed focused on the match. He paused and glanced up towards the stands, feeling Hotaru's gaze. She instinctively ducked down further towards the ground to hide herself from Tsukishima's sight.

"What are you doing?" Takinoue asked.

"I… I'm not sure myself…"

She looked back as Tsukishima returned to the court, the heat in her cheeks growing warmer and warmer, 'When did Tsukki grow up so much…?'

The three spectators continued to watch as the match progressed. Later into the set it seemed as if Karasuno had hit a wall. Mainly speaking, the freak freshmen duo. It seemed like one of Nekoma's players has gotten used to Hinata's speed and erratic movements, completely sealing Kageyama and Hinata's god-like toss and spike. Since Nekoma showed no sign of letting up and Karasuno showed no sign of backing down from a direct challenge, Hinata was once again blocked, handing the first set victory to Nekoma.

The players took the court to start the second set. Hotaru was slightly surprised to see Hinata take the court as well, "Coach Ukai is letting Hinata-kun continue?"

"If this was an official match I feel Ukai would have pulled him out by now." Takinoue said, "But since this is just a practice match he's seeing if #10 can overcome this."

"Since this is just a practice match," Shimada supported, "There will be other teams in official matches that can most certainly keep up with his movements. If he can't overcome it here, he won't be much use in official matches."

Hotaru hummed in understanding as she returned her attention back to the match. She watched as Hinata failed time and again to hit the new toss Kageyama set to him. Her eyes would brighten with hope every time a toss went to Hinata, in hopes that this would be the spike that would be the first in many more to come. Hinata, yet again, was barely able to get the ball over the net. Though Karasuno's ultimate decoy wasn't working at 100%, the other members of the team were doing a fantastic job in backing him up to make sure they don't needlessly lose any points. This continued until finally Hinata began to hit the tosses with more power and accuracy.

The match was going in Nekoma's favor and they were the first ones to eventually get to 20 points. Coach Ukai stood up and loudly proclaimed, "We may be a bit rough around the edges, but use that as your weapon! Attack, attack, and attack! Wield your weapons with pride!"

Spike after spike, the tenacious crows slowly began to catch up to the sly cats. Though their attacks seemed futile, they continued their assault on Nekoma's strong defense, all in vain. Hotaru pouted seeing the final score: Karasuno 23 Nekoma 25. She knew the boys played their hardest and to the best of their abilities, but the pang of disappointment couldn't be overlooked. It was, after all, the first time in a long time she had gotten to see her dear friend play and the first time she got to see the team play at all.

Looking down, she was able to see everyone's look of disappointment as well, except for Hinata who looked up sternly at the other team, "Let's play one more!" He proclaimed more than he asked.

Everyone looked at him in disbelief. Hinata was probably the one out of everyone who had been running around the most, yet he still wants to continue playing? Just how endless is his stamina? Out of all the looks of disbelief came Nekomata sensei's smile and laughter, "I'd like that. That's what practice matches are for after all." Hinata's face gleamed with happiness as the two teams got back into place to start another match.

Again and again they played until the light of the sunset began to spill into the gymnasium. By this time everyone was exhausted, all except for, "One more match!" Hinata yelled, not wanting the day to end in a complete defeat for Karasuno.

Coach Ukai strung him up by the back of his collar and scolded, "That's enough! They need to catch the train back to Tokyo!"

Hinata stopped struggling and everyone circled the opposite coach to receive some advice. Afterwards, the two teams began to clean the gymnasium, each member slightly bonding with their new found rival. Takinoue and Shimada smiled at the nostalgic scene of young rivalry, "Really brings you back doesn't it?" Shimada voiced.

"Yeah." Takinoue stretched, "Well we should head out. It was a pleasure to watch the matches with you Hota-" The two gentlemen looked back and saw Hotaru asleep on one of the chairs, her head resting on the back rest of the seat. They stifled a laugh, somewhat unsure what to do in this situation. Takinoue looked over the railings of the stands and yelled, "Hey #11 or #12! Hotaru is sleeping up here so one of you should come get her!"

Nishinoya and Tanaka were visibly fired up at the thought of seeing Hotaru's sleeping face, but Daichi caught them by the back of their jerseys before they could make a dash for the stairs. He looked towards Tsukishima and motioned for him to go check on Hotaru since Yamaguchi was assisting with putting away the net. Tsukishima frowned, but made his way towards the stairs nonetheless. After all, he was used to being Hotaru's babysitter.

On his way up the stairs towards the stands he passed by the two Karasuno alumni. The three of them gave a slight nod to each other before continuing on their way. Tsukishima arrived where Hotaru was peacefully slumbering like a defenseless idiot. He felt his frown deepening. Though he knew Takinoue and Shimada were good people, he didn't like the fact that Hotaru was able to let her guard down so easily around two men she had just met.

Tsukishima mentally paused at the thoughts he was having, 'Tch. Why the hell do I care?' He approached Hotaru and shook her leg with his foot, not even putting the extra effort of taking his hands out of his pockets, bending down, and shaking her in a more peaceful manner. Hotaru grumbled a bit, but she didn't awaken. Tsukishima frowned, 'This idiot girl…'

A slight smirk played across his lips as he bent down and whispered in her ear, "Hey, wake up, Butaru."

Hotaru's eyes immediately snapped open, she sat up, and glared up at her tall friend, "Don't call me that."

Tsukishima smirked, turned around, and headed towards the stairs, "Let's go, Takenaka."

Hotaru pouted at Tsukishima's nonchalant manner. He knew she hated being called her old nickname. It's a well-kept secret between the three that Hotaru used to be a chubby child back during their elementary days. Tsukishima would often tease her back in childhood about her weight, calling her Butaru, "buta" meaning "pig." During their last year of elementary school, Hotaru's metabolism began to kick in and she began to naturally slim down. Looking back on some childhood pictures, she saw how chubby she was and demanded Yamaguchi and Tsukishima to keep it a secret, ending Tsukishima's Butaru nickname.

Though it does rear its ugly head from time to time much to Hotaru's distress. She followed Tsukishima down the stairs back towards the court where everyone was cleaning up. "You now I hate it when you call me that, Tsukki! What if someone heard you?" Hotaru complained.

"It's fine isn't it? There was no on up there with us so there's no way anyone would have heard." Tsukishima nonchalantly stated.

Hotaru pouted, but her eyes began to wander, examining Tsukishima's back, 'Were his shoulders always this broad?' Her mind reeled back to Tsukishima's first encounter with Leo as he pulled her back into his chest, 'His chest was really hard and well-built too…' The temperature in her cheeks rose higher as images of the previous night flashed into her head yet again, 'Hotaru stop it stop it stop it!' She scolded herself, covering her face to hide her embarrassment.

"Hey." Hotaru paused and peaked out through her fingers only to make straight eye contact with Tsukishima. "What are you doing walking down the stairs with your hands over your face? You'll trip and fall, idiot."

"No-Nothing at all!" She said. She frantically made her way down the last two steps and ran past Tsukishima, "I-I'm going to go find Kiyoko-chan and see if she needs help."

A puzzled look washed over Tsukishima's face as he watched his tiny friend disappear from sight, "What's gotten into her…?"

Hotaru ran outside, her face still burning from her earlier thoughts, 'What's gotten into me..?'