Disclaimer: I don't own Haikyuu, all rights go to Haruichi Furudate.

Note: I will be busier now, so updates might not happen as fast as you or I will like. Thank you for your understanding. And thanks to all of those who followed, favorited, reviewed, or just read! It made me really happy!

Eri loved her mother. So much. Of course, she had loved her mom from the very beginning, but Eri always found reasons to adore her mom. In this case, her dear sweet mum arrived to pick up Eri so the first year student wouldn't have to trek all the way to Seijoh's Training Camp by foot. Yes, Eri quite positively loved Ichijo Tatsu. However, despite the brilliant façade of warm smiles and happy disposition Tatsu made, Eri sensed something was amiss.

"Okaa-san?" Eri said, staring out of the car window.

The orangey-golden rays of the sun painted the sky with shades of red, gold, orange, and pale pink, and to Tatsu, appeared to give her daughter a natural halo.

"Yes?"

Eri remained silent for a moment, unsure if she should even ask. Unfortunately, Eri was a nosy, meddlesome person, and curiosity won. "Why did Grandfather and Issei-ojii visit, the first day of Golden Week?"

Tatsu yelped in shock, accidentally swerving the car into the other lane. This caused the multiple honking of horns, furious yells from other drivers, and Eri almost passed out in fright. After a very long and terrifying minute, Tatsu regained control of her car and managed to continue driving safely.

With a sharp turn of her head, Tatsu's eyes narrowed at her daughter. "Lying is pointless against you," she admitted, "So tell me how exactly you found that out."

Her hard voice left absolutely no room for argument, unlike Tatsu's normal comforting and cheery tone. Eri regretted even opening her mouth.

"…I found a letter, one with our family Clan's seal on it, while I was searching for one of my sketchbooks Kin had dragged off. I figured Grandfather must have sent it, since only he sends formal letters like that anymore," Eri mumbled out, slumping deeper into her seat. She hated her too inquisitive mind. "Grandfather wrote he and Uncle Issei would be paying a visit."

Tatsu sighed, and Eri knew her mother was cursing herself for not hiding it better. But now, Eri was intrigued; obviously, something of great importance caused her uncle and grandfather to travel to her home, and they rarely visited.

"I don't know if your father wants me telling you this," Tatsu confessed after a long moment of pause. "The Jūnikyūkirā Clan is stirring up some trouble in Southeastern Sendai, and it's getting noticed by the media now. Your grandfather wants to keep the Jūnikyūkirā Clan under wraps since it would open a can of worms that needs to stay sealed tight."

Eri raised an eyebrow; her mother wasn't telling her the whole story. "How does he intend to do that?"

Visibly, her mother bit her lower lip, a sign of hesitation and reluctance of sharing information. Eri waited it out, knowing pressing her mom would only make her clamp up and Eri would never get the desired details.

"He plans to bargain with the leader of the Jūnikyūkirā Clan, a treasure for a treasure," Tatsu finally relented, allowing Eri to ponder on her words.

"A treasure?" Eri echoed thoughtfully. "What does the Jūnikyūkirā Clan have to offer us? Better yet, what do we the Shuei-Gumi Clan have to give them? "

A forbearing, haunted and sad look washed over Tatsu's face before it switched to a more determined one. "That remains to be settled."

The rest of the car ride contained a thick, heavy silence that fell upon the two occupants like a cloak of night. Eventually, they reached Eri's rather undesired destination, and Eri sighed loudly, not bothering to hide her annoyance from her mom. Tatsu snickered in amusement, trying to push the previous conversation into the back corners of her mind.

"Shall I come in and shield you from them?" Tatsu grinned heartily. "I do need to talk to Mizoguchi for a moment anyway."

Eri shrugged halfheartedly, "If you wish."

The two swiftly exited Tatsu's blue car and strolled back to the gymnasium, Eri more or less was dragged. After Tatsu opened the door, Eri shuffled behind her mom to conceal her presence for just a little longer, already dreading the persistent inquiries she was sure she would receive shortly.

"Okaa-san!" Yama hurried over while holding several towels and water-bottles, clearly roped into the manager role. "Have you heard from Eri at all today?! She hasn't responded to her phone at all and sh-" Yama cut himself short when he noticed Eri awkwardly hiding behind Tatsu. "Eri! There you are." Yama's voice was sadistically delighted.

She was dead, fantastically dead. She'd have to crawl out of her grave by herself at this point. Mizoguchi zoomed over, opening his mouth to scold his cousin until he saw his (terrifying) aunt, Tatsu.

"A-aunt Tatsu?" He halted in his steps, a wave of confusion washing over him. "Why are you here?"

"Do I need a reason to visit my nephew?" Tatsu raised an eyebrow, giving him the spectacular 'mom' look.

"NO."

"Well then you have your answer," Tatsu sniped as only a mother could. "I do need to talk to you anyways, come!" She expertly dragged off her nephew into the corner of the gym, where none of the guys were crowding Eri.

Oikawa cleared his throat with authority. "So where were you all day, Ichijo-san?"

Eri blinked slowly like an owl, mocking him before her eyes sparkled mischievously although her face remained blank. "Hey, Kunimi-kun!" Eri called over to the boy on the outer edge of the circle. "I think I found Oikawa's nose in my business."

Kunimi spewed the water he was currently drinking and hacked violently while laughing at the same time. In fact, many members of the volleyball team laughed at Oikawa's expense. Eri did find their energy and company fun…. At certain times.

"Despite your wicked sense of humor," Iwaizumi said, still catching his breath, "You still haven't answered. This is twice in a row you've disappeared on us!"

Eri ground her teeth slightly, she knew they wouldn't have forgotten that yet. "…I was doing some work for my Uncle, and this time, Himiko-chan and Irihata-sensei did know of my whereabouts."

Yabaha-san did not look satisfied with that answer at all, and pushed his way closer to interrogate her further. Bring it on, Mop Hair. You can't intimidate me. However, both Matsukawa and Kunimi, the ever saints saved Eri from any extra questioning.

"C' mon guys, do you really think she'll tell us anything she doesn't want to even if we tied her to a chair and poked her with a stick?" Kunimi pointed out with a deadpan face, and with an eyebrow raised.

"She's back safe and sound, have some trust in her," Matsukawa rubbed the back of his head tiredly, and Eri was grateful for his attempt to smooth away the wrinkles of the discussion.

Although the majority of the team weren't entirely pleased with her response, they left it well enough alone and scattered into the far corners of the gym. Yama, clearly disgruntled, shut his own mouth which was quite the shock since he never shuts up. Eri sighed in relief, it went better than she expected, yet it was still stressful. Himiko crept up behind and whacked her on the head, smiling softly.

"You're still one of the biggest idiots I know."

"I know."

Golden week was over, and Eri was so relieved to be back in her own comfy bed surrounded by a fortress of pillows. No more noise from annoying guys from the next room over, no more waking up earlier than humans were supposed to, no more mountains and mountains of dishes to wash, just her regular old schedule back. She briefly wondered what her mom discussed with Mizoguchi was about, but ultimately decided to leave that alone…. for now. Oikawa had tried to wrangle extra information out of her but was stopped by a smack to the head by the trusty Iwaizumi. Trust was something hard gained but easily lost. And she might have lost theirs.

On the plus side, Takara was supposed to be returning from Tokyo later in the early afternoon and had invited Eri out with her sister and Himiko for a mall date. Himiko, of course, had accepted for the both of them, Eri had gotten used to it very well by this point. All the boys and coaches had returned to their homes, to rest before Monday arrived and then school would be back in session. Currently, Eri was lying like a slug on her bed, doing absolutely nothing productive.

Perhaps she could be finishing that self-imposed art project, or typing that pressing email to her uncle, or digging through her parent's bedroom on any other clues about the alarming situation with the Jūnikyūkirā Clan. Even better, she could be snoozing, since she lost more sleep than she would have liked during the training camp. No, instead she was just laying on her bed, with her cat Yuki curled up next to her side. It was quite relaxing. That is, it was until her phone rang abruptly and loudly. Her cat jolted, giving Eri a rather nasty scratch on her wrist.

Sourly, Eri reached over her cat, who had now settled back down and was purring happily, to answer her phone. "Moshi Moshi?"

"Eri-chan!" Takara's normal cheerful voice bubbled out. "I'm finally back in Sendai!"

Ah, it was Takara. "Taka-chan, it was only a week."

"Ah, but I missed you even though the Ice Skating Training Camp was really fun!" Eri could practically feel Takara' radiant smile through the phone. "Anyways, my sister and I are heading for the mall, when do you expect you and Toyosaki-san will arrive?"

Ooh…. Eri quickly glanced at the clock, 3:48 pm. "… Give or take, I'd say… around 4:00." And that's only if we bike our butts off, she thought bitterly.

"Great! See you soon!" The line ended and Eri sank deeper into her bed.

Time for the impossible, Eri mentally sighed and rolled, literally, and collapsed onto the floor. She was aware Himiko was in the bedroom the Ichijo's had given her since she was a very frequent visitor, and called out to the other girl. "Himi-nee! Be ready in two minutes!"

"Alright, I'm good to go whenever you are!"

At this point, Eri couldn't care that her hair was a horrible, tangled mess, she was wearing a wrinkled shirt and shorts she'd normally wear only in the house and her sandals didn't match. She didn't want to spend any more effort in changing her appearance, instead, she focused on getting there on time. "Let's go."

All Himiko had to do was race over to her own house, a house away from the Ichijo Residence, hop onto her bike and speed off towards the city area, with Eri puffing and huffing along behind her. Eri really hated exercise, it was a wonder she was so skinny. Eri had never biked so hard and fast in her life, except for that time she and her cousin were chased by a dog but that's another story entirely. It was a ten-minute bike ride to their destination, and they screeched to a halt right at 3:59 pm, Eri was wheezing a storm while Himiko was right as rain.

"What a lovely bike ride," Himiko smiled delightfully, being blessed in both artistic and athletic abilities.

However, Eri only possessed skills in the arts, and most definitely did not belong to the other category. Eri thought her lungs would burst open if she took another breath. "Quite…..lovely….indeed…" Eri managed to gasp out, still attempting to recover long lost air. Himiko practically dragged Eri's flimsy body around to the area they were supposed to meet the Oikawa sisters since Eri was still inhaling large greedy gulps of air. Eri's legs burned like never before.

If this is how Kunimi and Kindaichi feel after practice, then thank my lucky stars I'm not a volleyball player.

"Eri-chan!" Takara's familiar voice shouted from the other side of the street.

Swiftly, Eri turned her head to spot three other girls, recognizing one of them. One of the girls she assumed was Taka-chan's older sister. The other had long shiny copper hair, along with the smallest hints of waves, her hair was currently styled into a loose messy ponytail yet still elegant. The girl's skin was pale, paler than the normal Japanese person would be, and her eyes a strikingly piercing light green. In a hurried fashion, Eri and Himiko crossed the street to meet their companions.

"Eri-chan!" Takara wept the dark-haired girl into a crushing hug, grinning brightly before releasing Eri. "I'm so glad to see you!"

Eri nodded her head in response. "It is good to see you again, how was Tokyo?"

"Really fun! But aside from that," Takara dramatically spun on her heel and stretched her arms out in her sister's direction. "This is my older sister, Oikawa Tanya! She's a second year at Seijoh!"

Oikawa Tanya smiled politely, bowing gently in traditional Japanese custom. "Nice to meet you. Please just call me Tanya, it's what I'm used to."

"I'm in Tanya's class so I actually know her already," Himiko smiled gracefully in return. "We're friends."

At least Himiko is familiar with her, it was this moment that Eri remembered Tanya was not the only girl she did not know. The other girl, technically a full grown woman, was literally a carbon copy of a certain setter from Seijoh she knew, just shorter in height, longer hair and female. And she had a pretty good guess who the woman was.

"I'm Oikawa-Watanabe Takako, Watanabe is fine," the woman said warmly. "Don't mind me, I'm just tagging along to get a break from my son."

All three Oikawa sisters, this will be an interesting time together, Eri was anticipating all the mischief she knew they would be getting into that afternoon.

"Let's go!" Takara declared, concluding introductions and the five of them began walking towards the shopping district. "I'm looking for a bracelet I promised a friend back in Tokyo I'd buy, and I need opinions."

"At the end, let's head to that café, my treat," Watanabe offered amiably, twirling her blue wallet in her hand.

Eri was not opposed to free food at all. Let the shopping trip begin. It turned out that Takara was quite the picky shopper, Watanabe was not afraid to spout out her most honest and blunt opinion, and Tanya shared similar fashion choices as Himiko: elegant, practical, and stylish. Eri was mostly there for the free food promised at the end, and because Takara had asked her to be there, she didn't want to disappoint her. Now that was something new. The hunt for the perfect wristlet was still ongoing. Apparently, the bracelet was for one of Takara's fellow pro ice skaters, and a guy. So the bracelet wasn't supposed to be too fancy.

"What about this one?" Himiko asked, pointing at a dark brown leather strand.

"Too skinny," was Takara's immediate response. "How about this green one?"

"Looks like a baby barfed it up," Watanabe waved her hand dismissively at it. "Disgusting."

"This black one looks nice," Tanya held up the bracelet.

"Ehhh, too elaborate for a guy," Takara shut down that idea.

"Red?"

"He doesn't like that color much anymore."

"What in the world are you thinking, that purple and orange wristlet is absolutely hideous, put that down!"

"I thought it looked good, how about that striped one?"

"Nah, too retro. Something more modern and practical."

"Nee-chan, this guy seems really picky…"

"Or it's just you, Takara. Are you sure this guy is just a fellow ice skater friend?"

"Shut up and help me look like you two said you would."

At this point, they were never going to find a bracelet that suited Takara's tastes. Eri was beginning to think this friend of hers was more than a simple friend, at least in Takara's eyes. Although she was genuinely curious, who was she to pry in Takara's private life like that? A wide black and white wristband caught Eri's attention, it was similar to the wristbands gymnasts used for their grips on the uneven bars. Fingering it, Eri turned it over, the price was fine and it was of nice quality. Simple, practical, and stylish in some aspects.

"Taka-chan, this one looks good, what do you think?" Eri held it up for the girl, allowing her to inspect it.

After a few moments of looking the wristband all over, Takara smiled, proclaiming the wristband the perfect gift. Watanabe sighed in relief dramatically, as did Tanya. The purchase was much quicker than the search had been, and they finally made it out of that store.

"Wow! That took forever!" Takara exclaimed, stretching her arms up.

"Wonder why…" the eldest Oikawa sister muttered under her breath.

Himiko stifled a giggle. Takara spun around on her heel, beaming brightly.

"Where to next? We have another two hours or so," she asked.

Tanya pointed to a clothing store nearby, filled with stylish and probably pricey accessories. "I need a new shirt for the teaching conference I'm attending next weekend."

Eri raised an eyebrow and wrinkled her nose slightly in skeptics. "A teacher's conference?"

"I volunteer part-time at a school daycare, for kids whose parents' are teachers and have to stay late. I really do love it," Tanya said, a smile blooming on her face.

Eri really didn't get the concept of liking children. She was the youngest kid on her dad's side, and the youngest cousin on her mom's side was only three years younger than her. So she never grew up around babies or toddlers, since she always tried to avoid kids younger than five like the plague. Her mom said caring for children took practice and eventually, you'd get the hang of it and love it. She failed to see the appeal of changing stinky diapers and hold screaming, screeching babies.

Himiko blossomed cheerfully, "That's so sweet!"

Watanabe shook her head and stuck her tongue out playfully, "Takeru's enough for me, that boy is a wild alien, takes after Tooru and me too much."

Eri forgot Watanabe was a mother. Takara shrugged, not really caring for kids either, and she pushed all into the clothing shop. Tanya was a lot easier to shop with than Takara, mostly because she was a lot more agreeable. For instance, Tanya didn't entirely mind if one shirt had too many ruffles, or if the shirt she liked was a different shade of blue than she originally wanted. Himiko was like that, on the other hand, Eri was a nightmare to shop for. She preferred her clothes simple and plain, only have a few more elaborate clothes in her closets and maybe three dresses. Today, in fact, she was dressed like a slob that had crawled out of bed mere moments before. Unfortunately, that was the actual truth.

"I can't decide between the light green one and the dark red one," Tanya murmured, holding two hangers with two different cute blouses on them.

The green one was lower cut in the front and had cold shoulder white sleeves, while the red shirt had black sequins on the chest area and made from a silkier fabric. Eri gave them a closer look, before nodding her head at the green blouse.

"The green shirt compliments your eyes better, and contrasts well against your hair," Eri gave her final verdict.

Watanabe smirked, snatching up the green shirt to pay for it. "Are you sure you're not a fashion stylist in secret? You have a keen eye for this type of thing."

"It's an art."

The day was waning fast, and they visited the tea shop, where Watanabe bought some relaxation tea leaves. Himiko bought some new paints at the art store, and Takara bought EXO's newest album in the music store. A few other stores were visited; Eri didn't buy anything, although she noticed a pair of sparkling earrings that she was tempted to buy. Throughout the day, Eri silently listened to the conversations, earning valuable information. Apparently, Watanabe was employed at the Sendai Airport as an airline pilot, so it was one of the rare weekends she was out casually shopping. Tanya loved children and wanted to be a teacher, and Himiko was actually the one who asked Yama out, which was the opposite of what Yama had claimed. And lastly, Takara knew more about the Yakuza system than Eri was comfortable with, she gained that only from one casual sentence.

"Yeah, the disturbances in Sendai are wilder than normal," Takara had mentioned briefly and casually.

Everyone had their own secrets.

"I think it's time to hit that café, I'm craving some milk bread," Watanabe sighed happily, content with the day's trip. "Yup, it's been a good time."

Eri was looking forward to that delectable strawberry cake that was calling her name. And despite her not being as social as Takara or Himiko, she found herself enjoying the mall run with this group. High school was softening her up, but she found she didn't mind so much anymore. The five finally reached the cozy and warm café, with Watanabe graciously paying. Eri browsed over the menu choices, stuck between the strawberry parfait and the sweet melon cake.

"We meet again, little dragon."

How funny. Eri yanked her head up from the menu, spotting the owner of the voice.

"Adachi Takao. What a surprise."

Sorry for taking two months with this chapter, it's up now! I ask you do not get discouraged with the amount of OCs, and the lack of focus on the actual volleyball teams. Simple, this is an OC-centric fic where the story revolves around Eri, who although has volleyball connections, that's not entirely her main focus. The OCs are to develop Eri's character, as you might have noticed during the shopping trip. Thank you and have a good day/night, wherever you are!