Kaede had woken up fine, nothing out of the ordinary happening with her legs.

Tobio had gone out for his morning run, leaving her at home to make their lunches for the day. This routine of theirs had been the same for years and she didn't mind that, it kept at least the beginning of her day consistent and stable, even if the rest of it went manic.

She hummed along to the song playing on the radio as she prepared the food, ignoring the burning that was beginning to flare up in her thighs as she did so. She hoped the pain would just go away for once and leave her alone so she could get along with her life like it was normal. But that wasn't how it worked. Wishing the pain away, wishing for a normal life didn't fix the problem. It never would.

It was a bad idea to push herself through the flaring pain, she knew that once she finally decided to give in and attempt to take a seat and collapsed to the ground after taking just one measly step, an excruciating burning clawing up her thighs and calf.

A week, maybe a week and a half had passed since this last happened. They had been happening less and less recently, but Kaede knew they would never completely go away and that the break between each one probably wasn't a good thing.

From what she had learnt dealing with this for the past few years, occasionally the amount of cramp spasms she would have in a period of time would decrease, but then would suddenly happen relentlessly, more than three times in a day.

There was absolutely nothing she could do about this to stop them before they started, Kaede just had to wait them out and breathe through the pain, hoping that whatever medicine she had been prescribed would speed the process up.

Speaking of, she had dropped to the ground in the kitchen, waves of cramps crawling up her legs, slowly getting more and more painful as each second passed.

Kaede dropped her head back, turning her face to the ceiling as she squeezed her eyes shut, simultaneously biting her lip to stop from crying out, calling for Tobio despite knowing he was out on his run.

Why did this always have to happen when her medication was out of reach and she was alone?

When the next wave of cramps hit, she couldn't help but whimper, tears stinging at the corners of her eyes. All she wanted was for Tobio to get home right in that instant, help her out like he always did and then she could get back to preparing lunch and pretend that everything was normal for a little while longer.

But life doesn't work like that and miracles don't happen.

Kaede wasn't even sure how long it had been since her brother had left. His morning runs usually lasted about forty-five minutes, surely he had to be almost home now?

The cramps and burning sensations only increased as she attempted to straighten her legs out in front of her to try and stretch some of the pain away, so instead she curled in on herself. Her head dropped low as she bit back the tears that were slowly falling from her eyes.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed when Tobio finally got home but the way that she was desperately trying to hold in pained screams was enough to tell him that this had been going on for a while already and he shot into action as soon as he saw her on the ground in the kitchen.

"Where's your bag?" He asked, not even bothering to get close to her, the medication was more important than anything. Instead he had walked to the door on the other side of the room, ready to run to where-ever to get what she needed.

"My desk." She hissed, throwing her head back as a fresh wave washed over her legs, the pain now radiating up her hips as she heard his heavy footsteps run around the house.

Soon he was by her side, her bag in his hands.

"Front pocket. Red lid. Two." Kaede muttered, knowing he understood what she meant.

Tobio was quick to dig out the red pill bottle and pick out two tablets, passing them to his sister as he quickly grabbed a glass from the sink, pouring a little water in it then handing it back to her.

She immediately threw the pills to the back of her throat and gulped the liquid to force them down, cringing due to the taste, then she set the glass down on the floor next to her, squeezing her eyes shut once more as she waited for the pain to subside.

Kaede heard her twin leave the room once more, only noticing his return when the familiar sound of crutches clashing against each other entered the kitchen.

He set the crutches down before dropping to the ground next to her. "I saw a woman with a dog on my run." Tobio said quietly, watching as she slowly dropped her head and looked at him, obviously trying to ignore the pain. "It was big, some sort of Husky I think. You would've thought it was cute."

She smiled weakly, the cramps finally starting to calm down. "You know I love dogs." She managed. It was true, she loved animals, though they never had any pets. Animals of any sort never seemed to get along with her twin, besides, her parents would never allow it.

"Yeah. What were you making for lunch?" He asked, looking up at the table behind him for a moment.

"Thought we could have tamagoyaki today, haven't had it for a while." She shrugged, wincing as a wave of cramps flared up her thighs again, less painful than before but it still hurt like a bitch.

Tobio nodded. "Cool."

He sat and waited by her side, knowing that it wouldn't be much longer until the cramps would stop and she would want to get up. So he stayed silent and thought about what they should do today.

"You have to come to practice today too."

Kaede's eyes snapped up to his, the glare she was holding dropped as soon as she noticed the guilty look on his face.

"I know you don't want too, but I don't want you walking home by yourself. You can sit at the back and study or something, just don't go home by yourself." He continued, the steady and firm look in his eye was enough to tell her that his decision was final.

"Fine. Now help me up."

Kaede hated anything to do with crutches or wheelchairs, or rather anything that made it clear to others that she had some sort of a difficulty.

She despised the stares and sympathetic looks she got from people when they saw her hobbling around on the crutches, but she had to admit it was much better than when she had to be in the wheel chair.

That had almost driven her insane.

Because of Tobio's stubbornness about her not being alone and her being so adamant that he went to morning practice, she ended up going along too, wanting nothing more than to hide into herself and turn invisible so no one saw how weak she looked.

They were late, of course, her twin had misjudged how long it would take for them to get to school with her being on crutches and so by the time they arrived, almost everyone was already there, wondering why their setter was absent.

To Kaede, it was clear that everyone had so many questions about her but she was glad they had all mostly stayed quiet and let her be. She wasn't sure how she would handle an entire volleyball team of guys firing questions at her left, right and center.

Tobio opened the door for her to the gym, walking in first and she followed, letting him close the door behind her as he mumbled his apology for being late.

"You can go take a seat where you did yesterday." He shrugged, then adding as an afterthought. "Let me know if you-"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." She muttered, turning as quickly as she could on the damned crutches so she could go and take a seat. In all honesty, her legs were killing her but her brother didn't need to know that, it would only make him worry.

Kaede took a seat where she had been yesterday, dropping the crutches to the ground beside her before she rubbed the palms of her hands. Unlike the usual crutches that people got, her mother had been adamant that she got the ones that you slipped your arm into and held a handle to move around on, rather than the larger ones that you leaned on that go under your armpit. This way she had more movement which was always more convenient for her. Being forced not to move much was always a struggle for her so having a type of crutch that had been adapted to give more free movement was great though it still sucked a great deal.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket after it buzzed and she grinned stupidly, biting her lip to keep the smile from being too obvious.

Hajime Iwaizumi (7:34): Even after seeing you yesterday, Oikawa is complaining as much as always. Dear god Kaede, do something or so help me I'll hit him.

Kaede Kageyama (7:36): You'll hit him anyway, I'm sure.

Kaede Kageyama (7:37): But I'll message him for you, not my fault he's needy though! And he's your team captain, surely you should know how to deal with him by now?

Hajime Iwaizumi (7:38): I do. I just don't want to.

She laughed a little, scrunching up her nose as she swiped out of the contact and onto Oikawa instead.

Kaede Kageyama (7:40): Iwaizumi-Senpai says you're being annoying. I literally saw you yesterday.

Tooru Oikawa (7:43): I'm not being annoying! :(

Tooru Oikawa (7:44): I miss you, it's not my fault that I used to see you basically every day and now I don't.

Kaede Kageyama (7:44): I saw you yesterday...

Tooru Oikawa (7:45): That's not the point!

Kaede Kageyama (7:46): Just stop annoying Iwa and get on with your practice, if you don't take it seriously, you'll never win against Karasuno.

Tooru Oikawa (7:46): Of course I'll win!

Kaede rolled her eyes and stuffed her phone back into her pocket, finally looking up to see how the practice was going.

Tobio and another boy were stood close to the net, the rest of the team - with the exception of one person - were split into two lines, ready to practice their spikes.

She watched carefully as a boy with orange hair - Hinata, was it? she was sure that Tobio had mentioned him a few times - threw the ball up to her brother, running to the net at full speed, and then-

In a blink of an eye the ball had been slammed down on the other side of the court and the pair shared a quick celebration.

Kaede had to stop her mouth from falling wide open. That set had been so fast that she almost missed it.

Kiyoko noticed her surprise, turning to look at her, a small smile gracing her lips. "Oh, that's Hinata and Kageyama's insane quick attack. It's the first time you've seen it, isn't it?"

"Yeah." She breathed, sinking back in her seat as she folded her arms over her chest. It was impressive, really. Sure, Tobio had always been skillful, it was evident even in his plays back in middle school despite how his last match went. It was a simple matter of him never having a partner who could keep up with him and his demanding sets, but of course she understood that he wasn't exactly one to adapt to his teammates.

Or that was how it was until now.

As the game continued she watched him carefully, taking in how he had changed so much in such a short time.

How hadn't she noticed before?

Tobio was working with the team, giving them the sets that would most likely lead them to success, prioritizing a different range of attacks instead of using the same, high speed one that he usually used in an attempt to outrun his opponents.

Coach yelled to the team and they immediately all moved into position, everyone holding their own volleyball as they practiced their serves. She watched as her twin wandered a few steps behind the serving line, catching her eye as he did so and shooting her a smirk before he turned his focus back to the court and steadied himself in preparation to serve. Kaede watched transfixed as he threw the ball into the air, launching himself up high too as he slammed it down on the other side of the court, the power and force behind it was clear.

That serve of his was insane too.

Seriously, how much had changed with him that she never noticed?

In one swift movement, she turned to grab her crutches off of the floor, but slipping them over her wrists and onto her arms took a second too long.

"Hey. I wanted to ask you about something." Kiyoko started, getting her attention and stopping her in her tracks. Kaede turned back, sighing heavily as she dropped her crutches to the ground again.

"Yeah?" She ground out, her mind working on overdrive, thinking too hard on her life, spiraling insanely.

"I've been looking for a new manager but I haven't found anyone. If you're interested, then you would want too?" She was obviously hesitant, having asked so many people about this before only to be told that they didn't want to take the position.

Kaede pressed her lips together firmly, desperately trying to hold herself together as she replied, her eyes strained at the court. "I'm sorry." She said quietly, the sounds of tires squealing and metal scratching against another piece of metal echoing in her ears. "I can't."

Then, she forced a small smile onto her lips as she pushed herself out of the chair, completely forgetting her crutches as she tried to leave the gym as quick as possible. Memories and thoughts were flashing through her mind and overwhelmingly claustrophobic in that instant.

Blindly closing the door behind her, she gulped in a breath of fresh air, sliding to the ground on the steps as she tried to calm down.

It was ridiculous really, panicking now of all times where she was as safe as anyone could be. Besides, it wouldn't be long until Tobio would notice she had left - without her crutches at that - or perhaps he had seen her leave. Either way, she was sure he would follow her out if the captain and coach allowed.

The numbness in her thighs along with the deep breaths she was forcing herself to suck in was, to her surprise, enough to keep the panic attack at bay.

Slowly, she closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the wall behind her, wishing that her life could just be normal. Hoping that one day she would just get over the incident.

Suddenly, the door slid open beside her and her eyes shot back open as she turned to look at whoever it was.

Thankfully, Tobio's head appeared and he stepped outside, sitting on the step next to her after closing the doors, the crutches that he had been carrying now placed in between them.

"You left these behind, dumbass." He said quietly, giving her a quick glance over, something that she never failed to see him do.

Kaede nodded, sighing and once again closing her eyes.

"You okay?" Tobio asked carefully, watching as her face morphed into something distressed, clearly she wasn't.

Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she could figure out which words to say, though her throat felt incredibly dry and uncomfortable. "Your manager offered me the position for next year."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." Kaede swallowed, shrugging. "I told her no."

Her twin was obviously upset in someway, but she ignored it, deciding instead to force herself to continue talking before she started overthinking again. "I said I couldn't and then I just started thinking about the crash and-"

"-Kae."

"-And I just panicked. I can't be a manager Tobes. I want to fucking play." Tears of frustration built up in her eyes and she wiped at them furiously, crying was stupid. Especially over this.

Awkwardly, he placed a hand over her shoulder and gave her a hug.

"And here I am interrupting you from your own practice because I can't handle it. I'm sorry, I should've just stayed at Seijoh."

A beat of silence between them, almost as if the setter was thinking about what to say before he finally opened his mouth.

"I'm glad you're here."

She smiled weakly, mumbling a thank you before moving to grab her crutches and hauling herself off of the ground. "You should get back to practice. I'm going to class."

He nodded hesitantly. "Sure? We still have a while?"

Kaede's smile widened a little more as he spoke. "Yeah, my teacher is usually early. Drop my bag off at my room when practice finishes?"

He agreed and turned back to the door, sending one last glance at her before he walked back inside and she turned awkwardly on the crutches to head towards the main building.

A short while before the bell went for the start of the school day, a boy with green hair that she recognized from before made his way to her.

He had been one of the two from her class that stared at her when she was first introduced. Was he on the volleyball team as well? Is that where else kaede recognized him from?

"Uh, hi." He mumbled, fumbling with something before holding it out to her. "Kageyama, or uh, your brother, is outside. He told me to give this to you."

She nodded, taking the bag - her bag - from him before muttering back a quiet thank you and pushing herself out of her seat and making her way to the door to see her twin.

"Yeah?" She flicked her hair over her shoulder once she had stood still and faced the boy.

"You alright?"

"Yeah." Kaede shrugged. "Could be better. But i'm fine." Then she turned and pointed awkwardly towards the door to her class. The crutches were seriously restricting her movement and it was annoying her beyond belief. "Who was that? The boy who gave me my bag? I'm sure your captain told me his name."

Tobio glanced at the door before looking back at her. "Yamaguchi. He was the one who told the team about you apparently."

"Yeah." She nodded once, beginning to turn as the bell rang out, the school day starting. "See you at lunch?"

"I'll come and get you."

The bell rang again and she shoved her books into her bag. As much as she enjoyed school, today just hadn't been her day and she desperately needed a break.

Kaede fumbled a little as she balanced with one crutch, trying to swing her bag onto her back without toppling over.

"Here, let me help you with that."

She turned her head to look at who was talking to her, smiling shyly as she noticed the green haired boy from before stood next to her.

Slowly, he reached out and took her bag from her hands, waiting patiently as she grabbed the other crutch and slipped it onto her other arm, finally turning to face him again.

He smiled sweetly and led her to the door. "If you don't mind me asking, what did you do? You weren't on crutches yesterday."

There it was, the question she had been expecting from too many people yet surprisingly no one had asked. It really shouldn't have been surprising, she didn't know anyone well enough to care. Though she had made a lie in advance, just in case this scenario happened.

"Twisted my ankle. Not too bad, should be off of these soon." She forced a smile onto her face as he glanced at her before they stepped out of the class.

"Hey." Tobio spoke up, the blond boy across the corridor stood up tall too and stepped towards them.

"Hi." She breathed, glad to see him. It was a shock how much his presence calmed her, even if he wasn't doing or saying anything, just knowing he was there to support and protect her made her feel at ease.

"Where's your bag?" He asked suddenly after inspecting her and she spun as quickly as she could to the other boy who was still holding on to it.

"Sorry. Thank you." She said quietly, reaching out to take her bag back, but a hand slapped hers lightly, snatching the bag themselves.

"Ready?" Tobio asked, slinging the bag over his shoulder, opposite to his own.

"Hey, are you going to lunch?" The boy asked quickly and the Kageyama twins turned to him, nodding. "Mind if we tag along?"

Kaede didn't miss the glare her brother sent to the taller boy who had been silent the entire time, but eventually he shrugged, glancing down to her as she copied his movement.

"Okay." He said finally, turning to walk back down the corridor, slowing himself down so he didn't leave his twin behind.

A few minutes later and the four of them took a seat at the bench the twins had claimed a few days prior and everyone pulled out their lunches, starting to eat in silence.

"Why did you transfer?" The green haired boy - god, she really needed to remember his name - asked quietly, quickly glancing at her before going back to his food.

Kaede thought for a moment. What reasoning did she want to give him? Sure, they were all true, but not everyone needed to know everything. "It's easier to get here than to get to Aoba Johsai. I got bored of having to travel that far every day." She shrugged eventually. The silence between them was slowly becoming awkward, yet she had no idea what to say, so she finally went with the first thing that she knew would create a conversation. "What position do you play?"

She didn't fail to miss the frustration that was laced in his voice when he answered, but it wasn't any of her business so she didn't think much of it. "Pinch server. I don't really play a lot though. Have you played before?"

Kaede wanted to take back asking about volleyball. Yeah, she had wanted to fill the silence with something, but why, of all of the topics that she could have said something about, did she choose the one thing she wanted to avoid for herself?

"No. Not really." She shrugged, turning back to her bento box.

"Really?" Shock was clear in his tone of voice and she winced, knowing what was about to come. "I thought you would have, you know, seeing as Kageyama does. Wait, what should we call you? You have the same name." He laughed sheepishly, putting his own lunch away.

Kaede shrugged again, glancing at her twin who did the same thing. "Kags is fine."

He nodded, letting a short silence fall between them again which, to almost everyone's surprise, was eventually interrupted by Tobio.

He slid his own bento box off of the table and shoved it into his bag before looking at his twin. "You good to come to practice tonight?"

She glared at him. "I'll just go home."

"Serio-"

"I'll be fine."

"Kaede-"

"I'm not having this argument with you right now." She interrupted again, very aware of the extra two people sat with them at the bench.

"Can you call Iwaizumi or someone then? They can come and get you." He suggested, knowing that she would almost always fall for hanging out with the older boys.

"They have practice just as you do. I can't just rely on them to look after me all of the time. I'm walking home Tobio." Kaede countered, knowing that it was a logical point.

"Just text him at least."

She rolled her eyes and pulled her phone out of her pocket, knowing that his eyes were staring at her every movement as she opened her messages.

Kaede Kageyama (1:12): Tobio want's to know if you have practice tonight because I want to walk home and he's being frustrating. Feel free to say you do just because you don't want to come get me. You probably have practice anyway so this is pointless.

"I hate you. He's probably busy, you know." She continued, shutting her phone off and placing it onto the bench as she glared at him again. "You know that if they pick me up they're coming over, right? And Iwaizumi doesn't come without Oikawa."

Tobio's response was shut down before he even started as her phone started vibrating on the table. The setter was quick to reach out, accept the call and put it on speaker before handing it to her. She rolled her eyes and greeted the boy on the phone.

"Kage-Chan!" The older setter's voice sounded loudly, making her wince and turn the volume down.

Iwaizumi proceeded to tell him to shut up before he actually spoke to her. "How come he won't let you walk home by yourself?"

"Talk some sense into her." Her twin interrupted and she glared at him for a moment.

"I'm on crutches." Kaede emphasized a moment later, praying that no one said anything whilst they were on speaker with the other two boys near them.

"Holy shit, Kage-Chan, did y-" Oikawa burst back in as always, quickly being shut down.

"I twisted my ankle." She hissed swiftly, loud enough to block out the rest of his sentence before he realised he needed to stop talking. "Anyway. Can you tell him that he's overreacting and that I can walk home by myself."

Yamaguchi glanced away from the pair and caught his friends eye, only getting a shrug in response. Clearly he didn't care. The pinch server himself was only slightly interested in the whole ordeal, mainly due to the randomness of it all. Yeah, he understood being protective, especially over someone on crutches, but this was a bit extreme.

"Iwaizumi, do you have practice today?" Tobio cut in once again, ignoring the glare she sent him again as he questioned his old senpai.

"Yeah-"

"So i'll just walk home." Kaede interrupted, smiling to herself. "See."

"Kaede." Iwaizumi's voice continued and she frowned quickly, hoping that he wasn't about to give another option. "I can come and get you after school? You can come to our practice? Mattsun and Hanamaki miss you."

"And you don't." She teased, trying to avoid the topic. Seriously, why were all of her friends so overprotective?

"I saw you yesterday." He pointed out and she frowned, suddenly shaking her head. Boy did she sound like Oikawa right now.

She laughed, flicking her hair over her shoulder. "Yeah, Oikawa misses me though. Don't make me let him take your place as my favorite."

In all honesty she never had favorites, but it was funny to mess with all of them this way. Especially when Oikawa got all pouty about it. Seriously, everyone seemed to enjoy screwing with him.

"Kage-Chan! Why is he your favorite! He's so mean!" The boy in question exploded back into the conversation, how he had stayed away for so long was a wonder. Kaede swore she saw Tobio roll his eyes.

"He isn't anymore." A smirk would be growing on his face right about now as he got ready to be told he was better, she just knew it, and he was probably laughing at the ace. "Yeah, Hanamaki takes the title now. Where is he?"

A whine and a small chuckle from the other end of the call before someone yelled for the other wing spiker.

"I've been told that I am now your favorite. Why has this honor been bestowed upon me?" He asked as soon as he was near the other two boys, holding in a laugh as he saw the pout that was on his captain's face yet again.

"Iwaizumi said he didn't miss me. So, naturally, you swapped positions with him."

The other two boys at the table had no idea what was going on and shared a confused glance once more before the taller of the two shrugged again and continued eating slowly, leaving the twins to deal with whatever they were doing.

"Hang on, Kaede. I never said I didn't miss you." The ace interrupted.

"No! Nope! I'm her favorite now, you can't have that back!" Makki argued quickly and she laughed, clutching at her stomach a little as she heard Oikawa groan out in the background.

"Anyway." Iwaizumi started. "Yeah, we have practice, but I can come pick you up before and you can come watch?"

She rolled her eyes. "That wasn't quite the point-"

"We can stop for ice cream on the way." He added.

Kaede grinned, sticking her tongue out when she noticed the smirk on Tobio's face. "Text me when you get here then, Iwa."

"I love you Kage-Chan!" Oikawa yelled in the background, making her smile a little more.

"Love you too, Oiks. See you later."

The phone was hung up and she groaned, folding her arms on the table before dropping her head down. "I hate you." She mumbled to her brother who only shrugged.

"I told you he would come and get you."

"Fuck off. I could've just walked home."

He rolled his eyes again, tapping her knee under the table with his, swiftly receiving a hard kick in return. Tobio winced.

"It was either our practice or theirs. You know that."

"Yeah." Kaede sighed, lifting her head to catch his eye. He looked guilty, knowing that his sister didn't want to be at either of those particular places, but he didn't want her walking home alone after what happened in the morning. "I know."

Iwaizumi stayed true to his word and they did in fact take a small detour to get ice cream on the way over to Aoba Johsai High. Oikawa had stayed behind to run practice as the ace quickly picked her up.

Anyone else and they probably wouldn't have done it, Kaede still wished they had just refused, but of course they wouldn't. They never seemed to have the same views as her either.

Because of the short time it took to get between the schools, she had been forced to go with Tobio to the gym and wait with him until Iwaizumi arrived. Though she was quick to leave as soon as the text came through that he was pulling up in the school car park.

Kaede had finished her ice cream half way back during the car ride, finally starting a conversation that she knew her friend wanted to have.

"Cramps this morning." She shrugged, nudging the crutches that sat in between them on the car seat. "Tobio was out on his run and my meds were in my room."

He sighed, shaking his head at her, though Kaede knew he didn't mean to be condoning. "How are you now?"

"Absolutely fine." Then, for emphasis, she kicked her feet out as far as she could in the small space she had in front of her and crossed her legs. "Though I think i'm probably going to go through a rough patch again like I did before. 'Cause they stopped happening as much and last time they did that they got really bad for a while afterwards."

Iwaizumi thought for a second, glancing over her for a moment before looking back up to her eyes. "Can't you go back to the hospital and see if they know of anything that can help you with this?"

She wished it was that easy, just go back to her doctor and complain that she needed more done. But it didn't work that way at all. Her case was special, none of the other medications they had tried had been successful for helping with her issue which led to their current method of dealing with it: leaving the cramps alone until they happened and then taking medication to get them to stop before the pain got too bad.

Kaede was desperate for another way though. To stop the cramps before they started.

"Not really." She concluded eventually, turning to watch as buildings flew past, ranges and flashes of colour from luminescent shop windows flickering in her view for single moments before they were gone, left behind the vehicle as they traveled closer to the school. "Sorry for interrupting your practice."

He smiled, reaching over to nudge her before his face dropped, a scowl appearing. "It might shut Oikawa up for a while." He muttered, glaring at nothing in particular.

She laughed halfheartedly. Of course she was looking forward to seeing her friends, but in the circumstances they they were in, it wasn't great. All Kaede wanted to do was go home and study for a while, not have to watch her friends play volleyball whilst she sat at the side lines.

"How are the first years getting on?"

"They're promising. Though it's rather obvious that they're holding a grudge against your brother." Iwaizumi shrugged. "We all have our eyes on nationals this year."

Kaede smiled. "I'll be rooting for you."

His response was cut off as the car turned into the school car park, so he paid for the trip and the two climbed out. He was quick to walk around the car and help her out, pulling the bag from her arms as she struggled to pick her crutches up and haul herself to her feet.

She thanked the driver and moved out of the way so her friend could shut the door for her.

Studying the school, she sighed to herself. Had it been a good decision to transfer? She really did miss being here.

Wordlessly, she followed the ace further onto the property, reminiscing about the short time she spent taking classes at the school.

"You ready?" Iwaizumi paused at the door to the gym, turning to look back at her. "You know, everyone is going to jump you as soon as we go through the doors. Even Yahaba was asking after you the other day."

Kaede raised her eyebrows a little, looking him up and down. "Really? I didn't anyone really took much notice of me."

It was true, she rarely joined their practices, and when she did, she usually hid at the back and studied. Only occasionally did she actually socialize with the rest of the team and even then it was usually just because Oikawa or one of the other third years dragged her into a conversation.

"Anyway. You're missing practice."

He nodded, giving her a final once over before turning and pulling the door open. As he had warned, as soon as she stepped inside, three other boys were around her, one of which was clinging to her side in an instant.

"Hey Oikawa." Kaede smiled, glancing awkwardly around the room.

Obviously the rest of the team was used to their captain being bombarded by girls and flirting with them, but it was always a shock to witness him being completely smitten to someone who made jokes about him almost as much as Iwaizumi did.

"Hi Kage-Chan!" He squeezed her closer to him, enveloping her in a hug, though she couldn't return it due to having to hold herself up with crutches. "I really missed you!"

"I saw you yesterday." She pointed out, grimacing as he crushed her closer to himself, squeezing all of the air out of her lungs.

"Oi, Shittykawa!" Iwaizumi yelled, smacking him over the back of his head. "Let her go, she can't breathe!"

Reluctantly, the setter pulled back, smiling sheepishly. "Oh, sorry." He laughed, the other two third years stepping forwards to be in line with him.

"Hey, Kags. Missed you." Hanamaki smiled warmly. He wasn't as close with her as the ace and captain were, but he was still one of her best friends. Sometimes he wondered if she actually had any friends from her own year group.

"I don't think any of us understood how much Oikawa was obsessed with you. He's been so much more of a pain in the ass since you left." Matsukawa continued and she laughed a little at him, shaking her head.

"I don't even understand why myself. Besides I still call him almost every day so I don't really know what else to do to help you out." She shrugged, glancing at each of her friends. Iwaizumi had wandered off to the corner of the room that she usually hid in to study whilst they practiced and put her bag down, waiting for her so he could help her up onto the raised area of the gym.

"Stop talking like i'm not here!" Oikawa complained, pouting as per usual. This only fueled Kaede's laughter and she bit her lip to keep quiet.

"You know, you have a team that want's to practice here." A boy spoke up from behind and the third years turned to him. Oikawa nodded and apologized, turning back to her and grinning before he jogged off to the court. "It's good to see you, Kageyama." Yahaba nodded briefly towards her and she returned the gesture, finally turning and hobbling off to where Iwaizumi was still waiting for her.

He said nothing and lifted her up onto the stage area at the back of the gym where he had placed her bag.

"Thanks." Kaede muttered, slipping her hands out of her crutches and dumping them next to her.

"You need anything," Iwaizumi said softly, quietly, glancing down at her. "Just shout, alright?"

She smiled lightly and nodded. "I'm not glass you know, I'm not going to break after one day."

Kaede knew it wasn't what he meant, but he nodded and agreed anyway before turning and jogging back over to the court to join in with practice, leaving her to attempt to block everything out and focus on her revision.

When practice was over, Kaede packed her books back into her bag as quickly as possible and waited for Iwaizumi to help her off of the ledge so she could leave.

She had done well ignoring the game going on only a few metres away from herself, but of course she would always have the desperate want to just get up and join them.

The ace grabbed her bag and followed her quickly retreating figure out of the gym doors before they paused, waiting for the other third years to join them.

The five of them then decided to head to Oikawa's house for food and a movie before Kaede had to head back to her own house.

As the boys talked and joked, she began to notice just how much she had missed them and their antics.

"You alright?" Iwaizumi asked quietly from his place by her side. He never joined in with their over enthusiastic conversations, instead choosing to stay behind and observe.

Kaede sighed, nodding as she wobbled along on the crutches. "Yeah. Just thinking, I guess."

He hummed, adjusting the bag on his shoulder. The walk wasn't much longer but the pace was slower than usual.

"You know I could have carried my own bag." She commented, frowning when he only glanced at her and shrugged.

"I know."

Eventually they arrived at the setters house and each of them quickly made themselves at home, sprawling out on the sofa's or raiding their friends fridge for something to drink.

Kaede herself quickly grabbed an apple from the kitchen before wandering over to the recliner chair in the corner of the room with the blanket that she always used laid across the back. She dropped her crutches and curled up on the chair, draping the blanket across herself as she watched the other boys antics.

"Gee, help yourself then." Oikawa muttered at his friends, though there was no anger in his tone.

Both Matsukawa and Hanamaki turned and pointed at her, their eyes going wide.

"You'll get mad at us but Kageyama literally just walked in here like she owns the damn place!" Makki complained, folding his arms as he flopped down onto the sofa. She grinned, taking a bite out of the apple.

Oikawa only shrugged, making clear that she was the one in charge for the time being before he disappeared upstairs to shower.

Of course, no one listened to his rules and Mattsun and Makki were quick to argue over who was deciding what they were watching. Iwaizumi glanced at her and rolled his eyes, making her giggle a little as she continued to eat. He had settled on the edge of the sofa closest to her, a bottle of water in his hands.

"Hey." He said quietly, getting her attention after a minute. Kaede looked up, raising an eyebrow and trying to ignore the other two boys who were still bickering over the damned remote. "Have you thought about becoming a manager for the team?"

She sighed, rolling over to stare up at the ceiling. Iwaizumi stayed silent as she thought, knowing damn well that things like this played on her mind all too often.

"I contemplated it a while back. Thought that it might not be so bad if I was to be there all of the time, help out with plays and whatnot, but I couldn't convince myself. Then Tobio suggested it when I transferred. I can't do it. It would drive me insane."

Without her realizing, a single tear of frustration had slipped from her eye and it didn't go unnoticed by the two other boys in the room who proceeded to nod at each other before pouncing on top of her.

She groaned, a small smile appearing on her face as she swatted the two boys away. They reluctantly climbed off of her, smiling cheekily.

"You should totally become a manager!" Hanamaki exclaimed and she shrugged, the smile dropping a little. "I mean you have great ideas for attacks and how to counter. So if you can't play, just show life who's boss and be a part of the team anyway!"

Kaede looked up at him and nodded, shrugging again as she sucked in a deep breath before taking another bite from the apple. That had been her reasoning before when she thought about it, but the whole thing was more complicated than that. Being near a court, watching other people play where she wanted to, it was too much to bear sometimes. Her desperation to get back onto the court herself would drive her mad.

"Move over." Iwaizumi was suddenly stood next to the chair, looking down at her. She did as he said and shuffled over, shifting the blanket a little as he slid himself next to her. "I'm sweaty. Sorry."

"I don't care." Kaede replied, throwing the blanket over his legs before she cuddled into his side, one of his arms wrapping around her shoulder.

"Oh, I see how it is. He gets your hugs but we get pushed away."

She looked up, a teasing smile on her face as she saw the pouts on her friends faces.

"Yeah, tell me that I take place as favorite and then go back to cuddling him." Makki crossed his arms, turning away from them to flop down on a different sofa.

"He gives good hugs." She rested her head down on his chest, sighing contently as someone finally settled on a movie.

Perhaps they were right. Maybe she should just try it out, get more involved with a team again. It could do her some good to be a part of it again, even if she couldn't play herself. She had a good eye for picking up on people's tells or pointing out their faults and area's for improvement so she could be useful, but it all depended on her own mental stability and ability to keep control of her emotions. The entire thing would be pointless if she couldn't get over the fact that she was never going to play again.

She sighed again, this time a little more stressful and a hand was quick to be placed in her hair, running through it gently in an attempt to soothe her. Clearly he knew what she was thinking about.

Then, ever so quietly, her voice barely a whisper, she spoke, knowing that she would probably regret saying what she was about to say, "I'll think about it."

Thank you so much for the reads already on this story!

This is my first story with an oc character and an actual plot line for it so i'm excited to see how far this goes and how I manage to write it all!

I hope you're enjoying this and it's not too confusing just yet.

As for Kaede, the longer this story goes on, the more problems and issues she has will be revealed, I just hope that it doesn't seem like I've gone overboard with the struggles that she faces!

It will seem like a lot, but really, as someone who is dealing with most of the same things (which is where I got my inspiration from if you were wondering) I think that it won't be too hard to understand, especially after some time.

Anyways, i'd appreciate any reviews/comments you leave with constructive criticism or anything of the sort as the only way I get better is by getting feedback from any of you!

Thank you again and I really do hope that you're enjoying learning more about Kaede Kageyama as the time goes on! :)