Chapter Text
Tendou looked up tiredly as he sipped on his water bottle when he heard his name being mentioned.
“What are you guys talking about?” He asked as he walked over to see what they were looking at. It was a video of a girl's volleyball team, apparently based in America.
“Watch their number 5. Short Purple hair.” Semi said as he tilted the phone in Tendou’s direction. He watched as she single-handedly shut down a block on the opposite side of the court from her teammates. Shirabu gasped in awe.
“How did she do that? It looked like the ball was going to go to the opposite side!” Tendou shook his head.
“No. Even I could tell that the ball was going the way it went.” The younger boy looked at him in shock.
“How?” Tendou shrugged.
“I could feel it.” Semi elbowed the younger setter.
“That’s why he’s called the Guess Monster. Cause 90% of the time, he always knows where the ball is going to go. Look, they are calling her the Analyst.” Tendou watched her for a moment longer. He rolled his shoulders.
“I wonder what it would be like to either play with or play against this... Analyst.” He mused to himself as he walked away, grabbing his bag in the process.
“Ivy! Come look at this volleyball player we found that lives in Japan! He’s just like you!” Ivy stood and walked over to where her teammates were huddled around Abi’s phone. She watched as a lanky red-haired teen shut down a block coming from the middle of the court by himself. She raised an eyebrow.
“Wow. That’s not a skill you find just anywhere. I mean, I'm the only one here in America that can guess block. What do they call him?” She asked, watching him for a minute longer.
“He’s the Guess Monster of Shiratorizawa Academy. Hey! Ivy, isn’t that the school you are going to go to when you move to Japan at the end of the week?” Abi asked and she nodded.
“Hey, what’s he singing?” One of the other girls asked. Abi turned up the volume on her phone.
‘Baki Baki ni ore, nani wo? Kokoro wo da yo. Konagona ni kudake, nani wo? Seishin wo da yo.’ Ivy stifled a laugh.
“It’s the tune I hum during games, but I think he added his own words.” The rest of the girls rolled their eyes and laughed. They all converged on their Ace and hugged her tightly.
“I’m gonna miss you all so much.” She said, her voice muffled cause her mouth was pressed into Abi’s shoulder.
By the same time next week, She was standing in front of her new school, dressed in her new school uniform. She took a deep breath and began walking towards the gate. She made her way to the front office, following the map she had been mailed.
“Hello? My name is Ivy Morrigan. I was told to come here to get my schedule for classes?” She said in flawless Japanese to the woman sitting behind the counter. The woman beamed at her.
“Sure thing, sweetie! Do you want me to call one of your classmates to the office to show you around?” She asked as she clicked around on her computer.
“That would be wonderful, thank you.” She carefully took the printed schedule and shuffled in place as the woman called someone down.
“You called me, Mrs. Moon?” A voice came from the doorway. Ivy turned and stared in shock.
“Ah! Tendou-kun! Yes, I would like you to show Ivy-chan around the school. She has the same classes as you, so I figured you were the best person to fit that role.” He nodded in agreement and turned to Ivy.
“Oh! Ivy-chan. Do you want a club form?” Ivy’s eyes lit up.
“Is there one for the female volleyball team?” The woman's smile turned to a frown.
“I’m afraid not darling. None of the girls wanted to play. But, I’ll give you the boy's form. And you and Tendou-Kun here can go and talk to Coach Washijou about you joining. Sounds good?” She nodded and took the form meekly, her expression downcast. Tendou led the way out of the office and headed towards their first class.
“So, Ivy-chan,” He sang, “What’s it like being labeled the Analyst of America?” She tilted her head.
“Well, Tendou-Kun, I could ask you the same thing, Guess Monster of Shiratorizawa Academy.” He stopped and stared at her in amazement.
“You know who I am?” She laughed brightly.
“All of my old team knows who you are. They thought it was crazy that I was so similar to someone who lived across the world from me.” He held out his hand and she took it.
“So, to the coach's office?” She nodded. They walked through the halls until they came to a purple door with a white eagle painted on it. Tendou knocked softly.
“Come in.” He called and Tendou pushed the door open. “Ah, Tendou, what can I do for you today.”
“Hello, sir. My name is Ivy Morrigan. I am a transfer from America. I played volleyball there, but there is no girl's volleyball team here. I was wondering if I could join your team.” He looked at her with a considerate expression after scanning over her form.
“Tendou, is this America’s Analyst the boys were talking about last week?” The red-headed boy nodded. “You can practice with us this afternoon. If I like what I see, you can join, Got it?” She nodded with a bright smile.
“Yes, Coach!”
“Now scram. The first bell rings in 10 minutes and you have to get back to the actual school building.” The two bowed as they left the room. She bounced around Tendou excitedly.
“I might be able to play again!” He smiled softly at her excited form. He led her to their classroom and they entered as the first bell rang.
“Alright students. As you can see, we have a new student. Please stand in front and state your name.” Ivy moved from in front of the classroom door and stood in front of her new peers.
“Hi! My name is Ivy Morrigan and I just moved here from America. Please take care of me!” She bowed.
“Miss Morrigan, please take the empty seat between Tendou and Ushijima. Boys raise your hands.” Tendou smirked and barely raised his hand. Ivy walked over and sat next to the two boys. She quickly paid attention, not wanting to get behind.
After school was over Ivy sighed and stretched, gathering her supplies and placing them in her bag. She felt a pair of arms wrap around her stomach and a small weight was placed on her head.
"Ivy-chan. How was your first day in a Japanese school?” She shrugged.
“It was okay. I’m just glad I knew Japanese beforehand.” She slung her bag over her shoulder.
“Satori. Leave the poor girl alone and let’s get to practice before we’re late.” A rumbly voice said from the front of the room. Ivy looked up at Tendou as best she could. He winked at her before pulling away.
“Actually, Toshi, She’s coming with us. She might be joining the team.” The other boy raised an eyebrow. He looked her up and down before walking away. Ivy scowled as she followed Tendou to the gym. She slipped into the girl's bathroom on the way there to change into a black t-shirt with the sleeves cut off and a pair of black leggings. Once in the gym, she sat down and put her knee braces on before putting on her black volleyball shoes with purple markings. She stretched while still sitting down before standing and finishing other stretches. She pulled her hair up with a small plastic elastic because she knew it would just get in her way if it was left down. She snagged a ball from the cart and began warming up her arms, passing, setting, and spiking the ball at the wall. A whistle blew and she jogged over to where Coach Washijou was standing, putting the ball away on her way.
“Alright, boys. As you can see, we have a girl among us. This is Ivy Morrigan. She just transferred here from America where she played volleyball. But there is no girl’s team here, so she asked if she could join our team. What are your thoughts?” He asked. Semi raised his hand.
“Go Semi.”
“Well, I think having a player like Morrigan would be very beneficial for our team in the long run. She is a very skilled player all around and if we put her as a blocker with Tendou, we could seriously boost our defense, rivaling that of Date Tech’s Iron Wall.” The coach nodded in agreement.
“Tendou?” Tendou cocked his head, looking at her as he answered.
“I think she should join our team. I’ve seen the way she plays and having her here could pull out more of the best of us as individual players and as a team. Even if we only use her as a sub or a pinch blocker, she could be our greatest weapon. Essentially waiting until the perfect time to bring her out and crush the competition.” Ivy felt the tips of her ears burn at the praise.
“Ushijima? What do you think?” Ushijima scanned her again.
“I want to see how she plays with us before making any decisions.” The coach nodded at his words.
“Very well. Now, we're going to go straight into Four on Four. Semi, Reon, Tendou, and Morrigan are on one side. Shirabu, Hayato, Kawanishi, and Ushijima you both are playing on the other. You know your positions. Go.” They all broke away.
Ivy worked on slowing her breathing as she sipped from her water bottle. They had won two out of the five sets they had played. Her hands were stinging from blocking Ushijima’s spikes but she was proud of herself for blocking as many as she had. They all gathered around the coach once again.
“Well? Any changes, Ushijima?” He asked.
“I want her here. She would be very valuable to us.” He stated simply. Ivy stared at him in shock. The coach nodded and turned to the box next to him. He pulled out four items and after checking the sizes, handed them to her.
“Welcome Ivy Morrigan to the Shiratorizawa Academy Volleyball Club. Welcome, Number 6.” He said with a small smile and the rest of the boys crowded around her chatting loudly. “Oh, Ivy, I already talked to all the referees and other officials for all the matches we’re going to play, since you are a girl, you can choose whether to wear short’s like the boys or your leggings. We just don’t want you to be attacked by other teams for wearing spandex like you would on an all-girls team. Something about distracting their players or even playing because you have a crush on one of these boys.” Ivy felt her face turn red.
“Yes, coach.” She squeaked, burying her face into the clothing items. They laughed at her and she felt an arm sling over her shoulders.
“Put the jacket on Ivy-chan! Let’s see how it looks!” Tendou crowed from next to her. She went and placed her jersey, track pants, and practice shirt by her bag and slipped the purple and white jacket on. Suddenly, the elastic in her hair snapped and her curly purple hair fell down around her shoulders and framed her face, the color matching her jacket. Ivy’s face turned pink again and the boys chuckled.
“Welcome to the team... Analyst.” Tendou murmured into her ear. Her soft smile turned into a determined grin and she looked up at him, blowing her hair out of her face.
“Why thank you, Guess Monster.” She said in reply. The team grouped around her once again.
“We should go celebrate with some onigiri from the Kombini down the street!” Shiribu said. Several of the other boys nodded in agreement and they turned to Ushijima with pleading eyes. He nodded and the boys cheered, racing off to clean up the gym. The three of them stood there watching the others.
“Thank You for convincing me to talk to Coach Washijou this morning Tendou.” He ruffled her hair.
“Your welcome.” Once the gym was clean, they all grabbed their bags and donned their jackets before they left the gym and locked it up. They all trooped to the dorms to drop off their bags first. Ivy finally was able to see her dorm room for the first time. She was able to get a room without a roommate. Her boxes and suitcases were all lined up neatly against her wall. She dropped her bag on her bed before she grabbed her wallet, keys, and her student ID and left her room. She went quickly back down the stairs and out to the front gate where Tendou and Ushijima were already waiting.
“Just waiting for the rest of the boys?” She asked. They both nodded. Within five minutes the rest of the boys had gathered and they were on their way to the Konbini. They walked with Tendou and Ushijima in the front, her in the middle, and the rest of the boys around the sides and the back, keeping her in the middle. She rolled her eyes but didn’t fight the positioning. She pulled out her phone and shot off a quick snap to her friends.
“They are treating me like a princess.’ She said with a quick selfie of her pouting. She closed Snapchat before she began scrolling through different socials trying to catch up on things she had missed. Tendou turned around and snagged her phone from her grasp. At her yelp of indignation, he smirked as he quickly typed away on her phone. As soon as his phone pinged, he handed it back to her.
“Just giving myself your number.” He winked before turning back around. Soon after, her phone pinged this time and she pulled it out to find that she had been added to a new group chat.
Guessing Game added “Ivy Rogue”
Guessing Game changed Ivy Rogue’s name to “Analytical Queen”
She looked back up.
“You added me to a group chat?” He nodded without looking back at her.
“Yup! It’s the team group chat. That way if there are any emergencies while away at a match, or we have a team activity coming up that we forgot to mention, we can quickly tell everyone.” She nodded in understanding as she turned her screen off as they walked up to the Konbini.
They all trooped in and headed to the takeaway area. Ivy quickly grabbed two salmon-filled Onigiri before she slipped away to go grab herself a drink. She browsed the shelves before her eyes caught upon a blue bottle. She lit up and reached inside to grab the bottle before she walked back to the group who was in the process of checking out. She felt someone tap on her shoulder and she turned around to see who it was, but before she could, there was a sharp pain in the bridge of her nose and she felt warm liquid running down her lip and dripping off her chin onto her brand new white and purple jacket as she landed on the floor.
“FUCK! What the hell is wrong with you? Jesus!” She cried, drawing the attention of all the boys.
“YO! What the fuck? Ivy are you okay?” Tendou slid his knees by her side, a handful of napkins in hand pressing gently underneath her nose to stem the blood flow for a moment. He gently leaned her forward and pinched her nose closed with his other hand. A bigger hand grabbed the napkins from Tendou and Tendou grabbed one of her hands with his now free one, before another hand began unzipping her jacket.
“I’m just taking off your jacket to try and get the blood off before it stains too badly,” Ushijima said softly. She helped him by slipping her arms out of her jacket once it was completely unzipped. She squeezed Tendou’s hand lightly.
“Thank you Tendou.” He smiled at her softly.
“Call me Satori. And you’re welcome. You’re part of our team now. And we protect each other.” Her mouth turned up into a small smile before it twisted into a grimace of pain. She looked up and saw a girl about their age being held back by Reon whose face was twisted into a fierce scowl.
“What the hell was that for?” He demanded, jostling the girl lightly.
“She deserved it! Coming here to Japan and taking all of your attention on the first day. What did she do during her practice? Whore herself out to all of you?” She sneered and Ivy felt her blood run cold. She felt tears well up in her eyes and begin to run down her cheeks. She suddenly ripped herself from Tendou and Ushijima’s grasp, leaving her food and jacket, along with her wallet and keys on the floor.
She ran out the door of the Kombini and headed in the direction of the academy. Not watching where she was going, she slammed into a boy. She hit the ground hard with a yelp of pain as her nose throbbed.
“Oh my god! Are you okay?” A boy her age knelt down and gently pressed a napkin to her nose, stemming the blood flow that had started again once she slammed into him. Blinking tears out of her eyes, she looked up and was face to face with a silvery-haired teen with a small mole under his left eye.
“What happened to you, Honey?” He pulled the napkin away from her nose and replaced it with a damp one, gently wiping away the dried blood from her face.
“A random girl punched me saying that I was whoring myself out to the boy’s volleyball team to be a player. She ruined my brand new jacket.” She said before sobbing softly, her emotions getting the best of her. She bowed her head and cried silently, feeling her tears running down her cheeks. A gentle hand was placed under her chin and lifted her head.
“You’re on a boys volleyball team?” He asked. She nodded.
“I just transferred here from America and my new school doesn’t have a girl's volleyball team, and so the coach let me practice with his team to see how well I worked with them and he said I could join the team. It hasn’t even been an hour since I was officially welcomed to the team! I don’t even know how she knew about it!” She cried. She was pulled into a gentle hug and she broke down again, sobbing into the boy’s shoulder. He shushed her softly and rubbed her back.
“IVY!” A loud voice rang out. She sniffled softly and turned to look to see where the voice was coming from. Seeing a shock of red hair her body relaxed and she was willingly swept into Tendou’s arms.
“Ivy! You’re okay! I was so worried when you just ran out of the store like that! You know what she said isn’t true right? We would never do that to you! Not in a million years! You may have just joined our team today, but you are already our Queen. And we need you.” She sniffled again and buried her face into his shoulder, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. He hugged her tightly. When they finally pulled apart, she grasped his hand and leaned against his shoulder.
“Thank you for finding her Suga-san.” The teen waved his hand.
“I’m just glad she has such caring teammates.” More voices called out her name from behind them and suddenly she was crowded by the rest of her team, Shirabu and Kawanishi competing for her attention, making her giggle softly.
“Well then. I’ll leave y’all to it then. Nice to meet you.” Suga turned and began to walk away.
“Wait!” She pushed through her teammates until she was standing next to him. She pulled him into a hug. “Thank you again. Can I have your number? So we can talk later?” He nodded with a soft smile and wrote his number on her arm.
“I never got your name by the way.” She smiled at him.
“Ivy Morrigan, but you can call me Ivy. And you are?”
“Koushi Sugawara. But you can call me Koushi or Suga. Up to you.” She squeezed his hand once again before heading back to her team. Tendou gently poked her nose and she hissed before swatting his hand away. Semi handed her a bag that had her wallet, keys, and snacks that she had been planning to buy inside.
“Thanks, guys. It means a lot.” Reon handed her a small ice pack that she gently placed on her nose with a wince of pain. They walked back to campus and decided to hang out in the common room of the dorm building, eating their snacks and chatting while doing homework until it was time for curfew. As soon as Ivy locked her door her phone pinged. Opening it up, she saw it was the group chat.
Guessing Game: IIIVVVVYYYYYY! I miss youuuuuuuuuu. =(
Analytical Queen: We were just talking to each other downstairs not even 5 min ago, Satori.
Guessing Game: But I miss my new fwiend! =(
Grand Ace: Tendou. We will see her tomorrow during class and again in practice.
Analytical Queen: So sorry to leave you again so soon, my monster, but I still need to unpack before I go to sleep.
Guessing Game: *sigh* Very well, my queen. I shall leave you to your unpacking. Goodnight.
Grand Ace: Good night, Morrigan
Analytical Queen: Goodnight Satori, Ushijima. You can call me Ivy, you know that, right?
Grand Ace: Very Well. Goodnight Ivy.
Analytical Queen: Goodnight Toshi
Analytical Queen has gone offline
Ivy sighed and tossed her phone on her bed and began the slow process of unpacking. She grabbed a box and a suitcase and placed them on her bed and started putting things away. She was only able to unpack two of her boxes and a suitcase before she fell asleep on top of her sheets, her phone tucked under her pillow, plugged in and her alarm ready to go off in the morning.