"Hey, what's this?"

Kageyama Tobio, second grade, rummaged through a large toy box on the deck of the backyard. Because he wasn't very tall, he was forced to stand on his tip toes and reach into the bin, his dark hair falling in his eyes. He frowned as he tried to reach down, wishing his arms were just a bit longer. His family was inside the house, sipping tea and discussing things that bored him out of his mind. They had sent the kids, he and his cousin, outside to play.

"What's what?" Mikaela Kaisha, a girl with looks identical to Kageyama's, leaned over next to him. With raven black hair and dark blue eyes, the two looked like they could've been twins. However, they were only cousins. Close cousins, but still only cousins.

Kageyama tugged out a ball that was as big as his head. It was black, yellow, and white, and soft to touch. "It's a volleyball," he said in awe. "I didn't know you had one."

"A volleyball!" Mikaela exclaimed excitedly, her dark eyes lighting up. "It's Papa's. He said he used to play."

"Miwa never lets me use hers," Kageyama said, referring to his older sister. "It's just a ball. Do you know how to play?"

His cousin frowned. "I dunno. Papa didn't tell me a lot. But he showed me how to hit it. Wanna try?"

Kageyama nodded, his eyes widening. "Sure. How do you hit it?"

"Something like this!" she exclaimed excitedly, making a triangle with her hands. "He told me, you make a triangle with your hands, and when the ball comes to you, push it off your finger tips. And you can't bend your elbows a lot."

"Let me try," he said, smiling. Mikaela tossed it high, and the ball came down, broke through the triangle Kageyama had made with his hands, and smacked him in the face.

Mikaela Kaisha burst out laughing, tumbling back onto the grass, laughing so hard her stomach hurt. Kageyama frowned angrily and stomped his foot. "That was my first time," he scowled, kicking the grass with his sneaker. "Don't laugh at me!" But it was impossible not to laugh. Mikaela inhaled sharply and stood up, smiling.

"Sorry," she giggled.

"Try again," he ordered.

And that was where it all began.

Mikaela started looking forward to the times when Kageyama's family and her own would get together for family gatherings. About once or twice a month. Instead of being bored like she used to before, she looked forwards to hanging out with her quiet cousin. She and Kageyama took her father's volleyball outside to play with every time. But they both owned their own volleyball now, and just practiced hitting it back and forth.

Their grandfather noticed their interest, and one day, took them to see a volleyball game. The two children were in complete and total awe at the way the ball went back and forth, down and up. Three touches before it went over the net. Serves. Spikes. Everything. The players were only in Junior High, but to Kageyama and Mikaela, they were so big and so spectacular. Kageyama took trips down to the gym when his older sister was practicing, and Mikaela was so jealous that she dragged her father out into the yard to practice with her in Kageyama's place.

Then came grade three.

After the match they went to see, they kept practicing together, and at school. There was a club for young volleyball learners, because they were much too young to be on a team. They learned how to underhand serve, work on a court with more people, and pass around a few times.

Kageyama took a liking to the setter position a year later. He no longer messed up the pass they had learned so long ago. Mikaela would pass it to him, and he would volley it, and Mikaela would make some sort of spike. Spiking was what she loved, the way the ball plummeted straight down and hit the ground. The sense of power that she got from hitting it.

"You'll be the best setter ever," she exclaimed one day when they were practicing. "And I'll be the best spiker!"

"You can't even spike yet!" he protested. "I'm not going to set it for you if you can't spike it!"

Mikaela pouted. "Well, you can't even set very well!"

"Hey! I so can!"

"You can set just as well as I can spike!"

"No, my setting is better!"

"No, it's not!"

"Yes, it is!"

Then came Junior High.

The pair had always gone to the same school, always been best friends. That didn't change. So here they were, at Kitagawa Daiichi. And they were both thrilled, because now, they could play in official games, with strong people. Mikaela immediately tried out for the team on the same day that Kageyama did. "My name is Mikaela Kaisha," she said proudly. "I've been playing volleyball since second grade."

"Second grade," the tallest girl on the team mused, smiling. "So you've been playing for a while."

Mikaela nodded vigorously. "Yep! I really like volleyball!"

"What position do you play?" asked another tall girl with silver hair.

She shrugged, thinking about it for a minute. "I think I'm a... wing spiker."

"You think?" she questioned with a smirk.

The black-haired girl squirmed under their gaze. "It's all I've really tried, I guess."

"Have you tried setting?" a shorter girl with brown hair and a big nose asked.

Mikaela giggled nervously. "I tried, but I'm no good at that. My cousin's much better than I am."

"Well," said the tall girl, clapping her hands. "Let's do a practice game and figure out what you're good at, okay?"

The girls' team had lots of talent. There were two other girls her age besides herself, who both wanted to be on the team. Mikaela squirmed. I have to do well if I want to play in matches. I have to do well if I want to be on the court. But the game went on and she really didn't do much, and what she did do, she messed up on. She was out of place for blocking, and could barely jump to reach the top of the tall net. Her attempt at an underhand serve hit the net and fell. She had even been set to once, but the set threw her off- it was nothing like Kageyama's- and she fumbled it. Her receives were solid enough, but that was it.

Mikaela's cheeks were bright red. She was in the back row now, and being glared down by one of the girl that was going to serve on the other side. She's going to serve to me. The server narrowed her eyes at Mikaela, and Mikaela felt butterflies in her stomach. Oh no, oh no- I can't do this. I can't do this. I can't-

The server tossed the ball up and hit it- hard. The volleyball rocketed across the court, over the net, and dropped right in front of Mikaela's waiting arms.

Crap!-

She dove, skidding across the ground, and felt the volleyball smack of her arms and soar into the air. She would've stared at the ball in awe- that receive was the best one she'd done all day- but she had only hit the ball straight up and she needed to move. Mikaela rolled- some sort of backwards somersault, she guessed- out of the way, which gave the setter on her team plenty of time to set the ball up to one of their spikers. "Great receive!" someone called, and she beamed.

But the rally wasn't quite over- the other side received the ball and prepared to spike it back. The girls in the front row set up to block the spike, and Mikaela readied herself to receive.

The triple block must've been menacing, because she actually watched the spiker shift her form in midair. It's a tip! She lunged forwards as the ball was tipped over the blockers and bumped it to the setter again. This time, their hitter scored the point.

"Nice receive," the setter said, smiling at her. Mikaela smiled so wide that her face hurt. "Next rally!"

She rotated to the back left corner of the court. Damn, she just wanted to get back into the front row so she could spike...

But as luck would have it, the other side got a clean receive off the serve and set up to spike the ball. Mikaela positioned herself to receive the line shot, but the ball hit off the blockers' hands and went flying.

The ball isn't dead yet-

She bolted, running out of the court and towards the bench-

It hasn't hit the ground yet-

Mikaela leaped forwards, diving, anything to get her hands under the ball. She got one fist under the volleyball and swung up with all her might. The ball hit her hand and flew through the air, allowing one of the girls on her team to hit the ball over the net and score the point, signalling the end of the set. They won.

"Awesome save!" one of the girls cheered, and Mikaela's heart swelled when the team captain came over to help her up. Behind the captain, the girls started taking down the net and gathering the volleyballs. She held out a hand. "That was an amazing read and a great receive," she complimented.

"T- Thank you!" she stammered, stumbling to her feet.

"How'd you like a spot on the starting line up?" she continued. "We have a position we need filled."

She couldn't even find words to express her happiness. "Y- Yes! Yes please! Thank you! Oh my god, thank you! I won't let you down!"

The captain grinned at her. "I know you won't. You'll be a great libero."

Her smile faltered.

"...A what?"

It was when Kageyama and Mikaela were walking home together that same day did Mikaela finally tell someone what she was feeling. "How'd volleyball go?" she asked her cousin, hefting her bag over one shoulder.

Kageyama grinned. "It was great! Everyone's really good. There's one guy named Oikawa-san who has a really, really good serve. I think I'm going to ask him to teach me." He looked over at her. "How about you?"

"They want me to be a libero," Mikaela replied miserably.

"What?!" he cried in surprise. "But you- but you love spiking! And you're good at it! And liberos aren't allowed offensive plays!"

"I know," she moaned, groaning up to the sky. "But... I messed up on everything else. And then I made a bunch of good receives, and a really good save." Mikaela perked up. "It was great, and we got the point to win the set. But... it was so good that the team captain decided I should be a defensive specialist." She sighed in defeat. "But if I want to get on the court, I guess I'm going to have to be a libero."

Kageyama was silent for a minute. "Do you want to be a libero?" he asked finally.

Mikaela shrugged. "I love saving the ball, but you can do that from any position. And I'm not very good at passing it back to the setter." She huffed. "I want to spike it."

"Then we'll keep practicing," he assured her, "and you'll tell your captain one day what you want to do."

The black-haired girl blinked and latched onto Kageyama in a bear hug, burying her face in his shoulder. The boy made a noise that sounded kind of like a squeak. "Hey! Get off me!" Mikaela laughed, grinning.

"Thanks, Tobio. I needed that."

"...Whatever."

Mikaela grinned.

It was halfway through the school year when Kageyama asked Mikaela if she wanted to watch one of his practice matches. "I'd love to!" she cried, jumping up and down excitedly. "I want to watch this Oikawa-senpai you were talking about!"

"I probably won't go on the court, though," Kageyama huffed.

Mikaela blinked. "It's a practice game. And if your team is as good as you say it is, they'll probably let you play because they'll have a big lead!"

"Are you saying I'm not good enough?" Kageyama demanded, frowning at her.

His cousin shook her head, a teasing smile forming across her face. "No, I'm just saying there are people better."

Mikaela sat up on the stage as the Kitagawa Daiichi Junior High boys' volleyball team faced off against another school. She immediately spotted Oikawa, with fluffy brown hair and a jersey with the number 1 on the back and front. I can't wait to watch him play. But she was severely disappointed. The boy Kageyama looked up to so much missed many sets, botched a few serves, and continuously fumbled the ball. The team was losing. Mikaela was confused. "I thought he was better than that," she mumbled to herself.

And then the coach sent Kageyama in for Oikawa.

She was practically jumping around with glee. Kageyama was going in! He was going to play! She watched as he set the ball perfectly to all the players, and the huge smile he had on his face. He just loved the thrill of being on the court, and Mikaela felt the exact same way.

When the practice match was over, Mikaela immediately went to congratulate Kageyama as the team was dismissed, on the steps outside the gym doors. "You did so good!" she nearly yelled, wrapping her sweaty cousin in a hug before quickly letting go.

Kageyama grinned, drinking his water faster than normal. He was tired. "That was great," he admitted, smiling broadly. "Thanks for coming."

Mikaela beamed. "Happy to come! That was great!"

"It was fun," he said as an afterthought. She laughed.

Then, Mikaela frowned. "Hey, Tobio?" she asked cautiously.

Kageyama stopped his water-guzzling and looked up. "Hmm?"

"What was the ace's name?"

"He's Iwaizumi-san," Kageyama replied, frowning. "Why?"

Mikaela kicked her shoe against the ground. "Do you think... Do you think it would be a bad idea to ask him to teach me how to spike?"

Her cousin blinked at her, before shrugging. "I've asked Oikawa-san to teach me how to serve a few times, but he keeps saying no. But I think Iwaizumi-san is a bit nicer. Maybe he'll teach you."

"I'm going to ask," she decided. I'm going to prove to my captain that I can and will spike. I'll have the best spike on the team! And Iwaizumi-san was really good. Maybe he can teach me. She cut herself out of her thoughts. "Are you going to ask Oikawa-san again?"

Kageyama nodded. "He and Iwaizumi-san are good friends, I think. Maybe he'll be there."

Mikaela eagerly followed Kageyama back into the gym. Sure enough, the captain was there, hitting serves across the net with such power that she could barely believe it. Kageyama picked a discarded volleyball off the ground. Mikaela unzipped her jacket and looked around the gym, frowning. Iwaizumi wasn't there. She sighed.

She saw Kageyama approach Oikawa, and suddenly, she felt scared. Oikawa didn't look very calm or composed, mostly angry and tired. Now probably wasn't the best time. Mikaela started walking over as Kageyama asked, "Oikawa-san, please teach me how to serve."

The captain looked up with such anger and frustration that Mikaela closed the distance between them as quick as possible. She saw Oikawa's hand pull up. He was ready to hit Kageyama.

Mikaela grabbed Kageyama's shoulders and pulled him backwards.

At the same time, someone stepped in and grabbed Oikawa's arm before he could complete the swing.

"Calm down, dumbass!" barked the mysterious savior. Mikaela recognized him. Iwaizumi, Kitagawa Daiichi's ace.

Oikawa muttered an apology, shaking his head, and Iwaizumi turned to Kageyama. "That's enough for today." Kageyama nodded slowly. Iwaizumi narrowed his eyes. "Who's she?"

Kageyama blinked. "Oh, this is Mikaela Kaisha. She's my cousin and she plays on the girls' team."

"I see," Iwaizumi said absentmindedly, no longer caring. "Now, go home."

Now probably wasn't the best time to ask.

Mikaela and Kageyama went home.

"You're still going to ask Oikawa-san for serving help."

"Of course," Kageyama said instantly. "His serves are really good."

Mikaela sighed, "and you don't care that he tried to hit you?"

"Not really," the boy admitted, shrugging.

He half expected Mikaela to burst, screaming that he was an idiot, but instead she just rolled her eyes. "Fine. Go ahead! But if he does try to hit you again, you're not allowed to ask anymore, okay?"

"Deal," he replied earnestly. Mikaela grinned.

Practices went worse than usual today. Mikaela, for her libero training, received all kinds of strange serves that took her a while to get used to. But she couldn't get it back to the setter. Nine times out of ten, the ball was received, but rebounded to any spot where the setter wasn't.

"Maybe I'm not cut out to be a libero," Mikaela told her captain, Tsudeki Hayama, that day after practice.

Tsudeki shook her head. "You're one of the best divers I've seen. You can always get under the ball, and you seem to know where the ball's going to go before anyone else. We just need to work on your passing." The black-haired soon-to-be libero slumped in defeat.

She went to see Kageyama as soon as practice was done. His team's practice was held in the second gym. She got there as they were all packing up, and she spotted Iwaizumi. Mikaela steeled herself. I want to have good spikes. I want to have good spikes.

"Oikawa-san, please show me how you serve," she heard her cousin say.

Mikaela tensed, but Oikawa just glared at him. "Don't want to! Nya!"

"Don't pick on the first year," Iwaizumi scolded, dragging the captain away. Mikaela hustled over.

"I- Iwaizumi-san?" she called timidly, squeezing a volleyball that she had grabbed off the ground between her hands.

The ace blinked. "You're Kageyama's cousin, right?"

She nodded. "Mikaela Kaisha."

"Right. What do you want?"

"Teach me how to spike!"

Oikawa stared at the girl, somewhat puzzled, before he started snickering as Iwaizumi's face heated up. "You want me to teach you? Well, uh, I mean..." he composed himself. "Why me? Aren't you on the girls' team? Ask one of them."

Mikaela pouted, glaring at her shoes, squeezing the volleyball between her hands, and she muttered something that nobody could make out. When Iwaizumi raised his eyebrows, Mikaela grumbled, "they want me to be a libero."

"What's wrong with that?"

"I don't want to be a libero," she replied, eyebrows knitting together, "I want to spike the ball, I want to attack, and if I'm stuck on defense the entire time I'll go crazy. That, and I suck at passing to the setter."

To her surprise, Oikawa burst out laughing. "She's got guts."

"And you want me to teach you?" Iwaizumi said slowly.

Mikaela nodded feverishly, her cheeks bright red. "I... I came to see one of your practice matches. And you were really good! And Tobio said you're the ace! And it'd be really cool to learn from the ace of the team, right?"

Kageyama watched from the side with an innocent expression on his face. Mikaela held her breath. Iwaizumi shrugged, his cheeks faintly pink. "Sure. No harm in it, I guess."

Her face lit up. "Really?! Thank you so much, Iwaizumi-senpai!"

"Senpai?" he said, his voice dangerously close to a squeak. Oikawa was snickering at him. "Well, uh, okay."

And that was how her training started. Too bad Oikawa still refused to teach Kageyama.

It was around that time when Mikaela found her greatest weapon.

She was ambidextrous.

Iwaizumi learned of that and jumped on the opportunity to get her to try left-handed spikes. He told her that most people are used to receiving right-handed spikes, and if she could use both hands with the same force, her capabilities and danger level would increase. Kageyama immediately started adjusting his sets for both her hands, and Mikaela found herself loving spiking more and more.

Mikaela went to volleyball practice, then worked with Iwaizumi in the boys' gym. Some of his team mates (mostly Oikawa) teased him for helping a little girl, but her spikes were gradually becoming better and better. Iwaizumi got extra practice time as well. Kageyama often joined them, as well as Oikawa- with the captain setting balls for his ace with Kageyama working on his setting for Mikaela.

Back with the girls', it seemed like nothing was getting better. Mikaela was still furiously digging the ball, but still had a lot of trouble passing. She focused more on getting the ball in a high, spin-less arc so the setter could get to it. It worked, but Tsudeki still wanted more accuracy. Given that their previous libero had graduated last year, she was the only one who could fit the bill. She never got to work on her spikes or tips or anything, until she went to practice with Iwaizumi.

Then, the boys graduated.

After their graduation, Kageyama had shaken all the third years' hands and wished them luck in high school. Mikaela had come to shake Oikawa's hand and bury her face into Iwaizumi's chest in a rough hug. "You guys better be the best damn team in high school," she had said into his jacket. Iwaizumi had laughed and awkwardly hugged her back before she detached herself.

"You'll be a great spiker," he told her, ruffling her hair.

"If they'd ever let me spike," she groaned, scuffing her shoes on the ground.

Iwaizumi grinned. "They will. You're going to be a famous volleyball prodigy one day, and you're going to tell everyone that Iwaizumi Hajime taught you how to spike. They'll call you the Two-Handed Devil or something."

"Is that the only reason you taught me?"

"Maybe."

"And... Devil?!"

"It matches your personality."

"Iwaizumi!"

"And you'd better hope that you grow a bit."

"Hey!"

After they graduated, the next year flew by. Kageyama was Kitagawa Daiichi's setter, but Mikaela was starting to notice the changes in his personality. He, much like herself, had difficulty communicating and connecting with other players on the court. He grew into the nickname 'King of the Court' partially for his superb playing skills, and partially for his dictator personality. His sets were becoming more and more demanding.

"Tobio," Mikaela said one day after their practice game had ended dangerously close to Kitagawa Daiichi's loss, "maybe you ought to match up with the other spikers on your team."

Kageyama shook his head. "They'd get stuffed. I'm setting the best possible ball. They just need to keep up with me." He paused. "You could hit all the sets I make."

"But I'm not on the court," she protested. But what Kageyama was saying was probably true. They practiced together often, and Mikaela could hit whatever he set for her. Not that they'd ever played together in a game, though. So maybe he was wrong. "And you, as the setter, have to try and connect with your team."

"You don't," he pointed out strictly.

Mikaela winced, then frowned. "Hey! Volleyball's all I need. But you're setter!"

"Yeah. Sure." He brushed off the suggestion like it was a fly.

Their second year in Junior High passed by quickly. In their third year, Mikaela had four other girls her age on the team with her. Nobody in the year directly under her had shown any potential or interest as a libero, and this was the last possible year. She gnawed at her nails nervously when she saw some of the girls who had signed up. I want to be a wing spiker. Please, please, please let their be someone who can be a libero.

They held their practice match, and Mikaela's wish finally came true.

Young, blonde, blue-eyed Moronika Hisaki had brilliant passing and receiving, but difficult serves and spikes. It was perfect. Mikaela approached her immediately after practice. "Hey, Moronika!" she called as the team was dismissed by their captain.

The girl gulped nervously. She was really shy and quiet, Mikaela had noticed quickly. "Y- Yes, Mikaela-senpai?"

"Do you know what position I play?"

Moronika nodded slowly. "You're the libero."

"And what does the libero do?"

The girl was starting relax. These were easy questions to answer, if you knew what the answer was. "The libero is the defensive specialist. She has to have steady receives, good digging skills, and gets substituted differently than all the other players. Why?"

"I think you could be a libero," Mikaela said firmly, watching the girl's eyes light up. "Would you be interested?"

"Yes!" Moronika cried, losing her shy exterior for a brief second. Then, it was back. "I mean, yes, I would love to."

"Great," Mikaela said in relief. "I'll let our captain know and we'll start your training right away. I have a feeling you'll be playing a lot this year."

"R- Really?" she squeaked. Her smile turned into a frown. "Are you injured? Or... leaving?"

Mikaela laughed. "No, nothing serious. I'm hoping for a change in position. I want to try wing spiker."

"Spiking?" Moronika mused thoughtfully. She shook her head. "I don't like doing that. It scares me."

She laughed again, offering her hand in a high-five. "You won't have to."

They went to their grandfather's funeral together.

He'd been the one to encourage them to continue with volleyball; he'd been the one to show them how to play and would take them to games. He'd showed them how to bump, set, and spike. He would watch volleyball videos with them despite being in a hospital bed.

And now he was gone.

That was the day, Mikaela realized, that she and Kageyama both had the same promise in mind.

They'd make him proud.

It was four weeks before the final Junior High Athletics Meet. Mikaela had invested almost all of her time into teaching Moronika, and the girl learned incredibly quickly. Her reflexes were faster than Mikaela's, and she was doing fantastic.

The team had a meeting after practice. "We've got a practice match tomorrow against another school," their current captain, Yukinagi Noriko explained. "And Shukashi can't make it, she's got an appointment." Shukashi was their current ace, one of their wing spikers. Mikaela envied her incredibly. "We're also going to be missing two of our other wing spikers for other reasons, so we may have to have a middle blocker play as a wing spiker. Everyone good with that?"

The team nodded, some of the girls who played wing spikers grinding their teeth. Mikaela raised her hand. "Yukinagi?"

The team captain raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Mikaela?"

"Can I make a request for positioning?"

"You can try," Yukinagi replied sarcastically, yet as serious as always. "What is it?"

"Play Moronika as libero the entire time," she offered, "and play me as wing spiker."

It was her big opportunity. Yukinagi's jaw dropped, her strict exterior melting under surprise. She wasn't the only one- her team mates shared dumbfounded expressions, with an 'are you kidding me?' look plastered on some of their faces. "What?! Why?"

"I want to try out being on offense," she said as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "That, and the libero position was kind of forced on me in my first year here. I want to try out wing spiker, and now would be a good time. This school's going to be an easy match, right?" she joked.

Yukinagi nodded thoughtfully, listening to the reasoning behind her argument. "I guess it wouldn't hurt. It would definitely give Moronika-chan more experience. Everyone okay with that?"

To Mikaela's surprise, there were no complaints.

"Great," Yukinagi said, clapping her hands together. "Don't be late tomorrow. Dismissed!"

Mikaela immediately celebrated with Kageyama, who promised to come and see her match. "Finally," she cheered in excitement. "I finally get to spike the ball!" She finally understood Kageyama's pure joy of being on the court- she was finally going in as the position she had always wanted, and nothing had made her more excited.

"You better not mess up," her cousin warned.

The black-haired girl glared at him. "Way to ruin my mood!"

The day seemed to pass by achingly slowly until the practice match. Chukara Junior High arrived at their school as soon as the bell rang, and then everyone was warming up, with Kageyama joining the spectators at the benches. Their setter, second year Askinawa Kitara, practiced warming up a bit with Mikaela before the match started. Yukinagi put her on the starting line, to her joy, in the place of their missing ace. "Don't let us down," the captain threatened, "or else I'm moving you back to libero."

"Got it," she replied firmly.

Chukara Junior High served first. The ball was received by Moronika, the libero, with a perfect receive. The setter, Ashinawa, got ready to set.

"Here!" Mikaela called.

"Here!" called Yukinagi at the same time.

The blockers split up, and Ashinawa passed to Yukinagi, who scored the point. Mikaela pursed her lips but thought nothing of it, until the game continued. She'd only touched the ball once, and that was for a receive. They score was 12-9, and she hadn't gotten a chance to spike at all. The setter doesn't trust me. Mikaela bit her lip. Chukara Junior High called a time out, and Mikaela took the opportunity. "I've been open a few times," she said warily to Ashinawa. "You can set to me."

"I know," she replied carefully, but that was it. That was the same as, no, I'm not going to set to you, you don't know how to spike. Mikaela's temper was rising, and Yukinagi could tell.

"Ashinawa," the captain said softly, "send the next point to Mikaela. There's no point of her being out there if you're not going to set to her." The setter nodded stiffly and Mikaela sent Yukinagi a silent thank you. They went back onto the court, with Mikaela taking her position on the left side.

The setter followed Yukinagi's suggestion.

Moronika made another great receive, and Mikaela raised a hand. "Here!"

She could see the distrust in the setter's eyes, but Ashinawa still set the ball in a high arc in her direction. That was when Mikaela's eyes widened. It was too far. She wouldn't be able to reach it for a spike. And that was done on purpose. Mikaela was filled with rage. Ashinawa had set it on purpose so that she wouldn't be able to hit it! What did this girl have against her?

...Unless she used her left hand.

Blessing her ambidextrous ability, Mikaela felt time slowing down. Kageyama had his fists clenched in anticipation at the sidelines; she could see him out of the corner of her eye. She counted her steps. One, two, and up. But instead of jumping up off her left, like right-handed player did, she jumped off her right, pulling her left hand back.

The blockers hadn't anticipated this, and it left a hole in the blocking.

Mikaela felt like she had been hit in a patch of warm sunlight- she had never felt so alive. She pulled all her practicing into one move, and swung her left hand at the ball as hard as she could.

The ball blasted past the blockers and smacked onto the ground beside the other team's libero, then bounced up with enough force to send it rolling back to the far corner of the gym. Mikaela landed, and she knew that moment would be ingrained into her memory for the rest of her life. Mikaela stared at her left hand, grinning wildly, before she looked back at the rest of her team.

Yukinagi was smirking, and Moronika was beaming. "That was fantastic!" she called, alongside the rest of the team. "Since when are you left-handed?!" Mikaela felt warm, like every compliment was making her day that much better. Her team mates high-fived her, praising her for her hidden talents.

To put the icing on the cake, Mikaela turned to the setter. "No matter where you set it," she said clearly to a dumbfounded Ashinawa, "even if it's purposely to mess me up, I can and will hit it."

The sets ended, 25-20 and 25-16. Mikaela scored nine more points after her very first spike.

It must've been the best day of her life.

The Junior High Athletics Meet day had arrived, and Mikaela was buzzing with excitement. She and Kageyama were both going, to play for their respective teams, and Mikaela had played nothing but wing spiker since her debut against Chukara Junior High. They'd played a couple more practice matches since then, and word had gotten around about the sudden appearance of the terrifying ambidextrous spiker.

She had even made herself a nickname, first given to her by Moronika, then spread among her team mates and the other teams she played.

Demon.

For her terrifyingly strong spikes and serves, and scary ability to use both hands.

The court's Demon.

And she loved it so much.

(Yet it was incredibly similar to what Iwaizumi suggested... Hmph.)

The Junior High Athletics Meet went incredibly well. They blew through all of their matches with easy wins. They made it to the finals with ease, ready to play against Shiratorizawa Girls' Volleyball team. Shukashi, the team's ace, played alongside Mikaela. It was just too much offensive power for the other teams to handle. Shukashi had easily accepted Mikaela as a strong player, and wasn't even jealous or frustrated at all. Mikaela loved her for that.

The game started with Mikaela's serve.

She had been working on her serve for a while. She was very strong, so the serve had a lot of power, but little control. Mikaela served, and it was received, but sent back over the net as a free ball. Moronika, the beautiful libero she was, received it with ease. Ashinawa set in up to Mikaela, who took a good run at the ball, especially since she started in the back court. She heard shouts from the other team that made her determination stronger- shouts of, "watch out!" and such made her heart beat faster.

She moved up the ball, ready to spike, and then tipped it gently over the blockers, scoring their first point.

"You," Yukinagi declared, clapping her on the back, "are a truly evil player, and I love it."

The game continued, but it was dangerously close. They won the first set, 25-23, and lost the second, 26-24. The third set was going well, and both Shukashi and Mikaela had been giving it their all. Mikaela never remembered feeling so tired. She had spotted Iwaizumi and Oikawa watching her game, which filled her heart to the brim.

What made it all worthwhile was when she scored the winning point, a left-handed spike that punched straight through the blockers and went to the back corner of the court.

They had won.

It was definitely, Mikaela decided as she was swarmed by her joyful team mates, the best day of her life.

She was disappointed to hear that Kageyama had lost his finals match, and scared for her best friend. He was more tense than usual, and more demanding than usual. He had been pulled off in the last game, because his demands were just too much. It took a lot of comforting and persuading to get Kageyama to even just talk to her. He was scary when he was mad, but that was a trait that they both shared.

Weeks, school ended, and break began. They trained together every day.

But then, the dreaded day arrived.

Mikaela had been accepted to Niiyama Girl's High, the top school in the prefecture for volleyball. Kageyama, who had applied to Shiratorizawa, was rejected.

They were parting ways. Kageyama was headed to Karasuno. She was not. "I'm going to miss you," she admitted on their last day together over the break. "You're my best friend."

Kageyama shrugged. "I'll still see you when our families get together. And we can visit each other."

"My parents divorced a year ago," she reminded him. Their family visits had become less and less frequent because of it. Mikaela loved both her parents, but the divorce made it difficult. "And I'm living with my dad, remember? He lives closer to Niiyama than Mom does."

Kageyama's eyes drifted to the ground. She knew her cousin wouldn't admit it, but he would miss her. She heard her mother calling her, saying that they had to leave. Mikaela hugged him tightly. "Make some friends, okay?" she whispered. "A setter's got to connect with his team."

He hugged her back. "Yeah. Sure."

"See ya, Kags," she called finally, remembering not to use his nickname from volleyball. He hated that.

"See ya, Kaisha," he replied, smirking slightly.

They parted ways. And Mikaela didn't look back.

Little did she know that in less than two months, she would be at Karasuno, for circumstances more horrible than she would've hoped, and they would be closer than she ever would've imagined.

Some disclaimers;

I DO NOT OWN HAIKYUU. Haikyuu belongs to its respective owners, not myself.

Welcome! This is my first attempt at a Haikyuu! OC story (excluding a one-shot I wrote ages ago), and I'm really excited for this one. This chapter was just for some background knowledge! I've had to do a fair bit of research for this story (you'll see in upcoming chapters ;) ) and this will hopefully challenge me a bit.

I'm not sure if I'm going to do a pairing in this story or not. This story is significantly more focused on my OC's development and her own problems (and there's a lot, oh boy) but I think I want to try a pairing. We'll see as the story goes on.

I've had the idea for an ambidextrous player for a while now, and I've actually had this one chapter written for ages XD I wanted to release it now, though, because I wouldn't be surprised if the Haikyuu! author comes up with an ambidextrous player soon.

My updates tend to be about once a week, and I'll do my best to stick to that schedule.

Thank you for reading this far! I hope to hear your thoughts :)

~Until next time!