New Developments

The bus ride to Tokyo was rather uneventful. Resu spent the time with her earbuds in, playing a game on her phone. She was tapping buttons rhythmically and ignoring what was going on around her, which was probably just everyone just chatting about the match and voicing their nerves.

Yesssssss... Full combo! Resu internally cheered for herself, but only a small smile appeared on her features.

A tap on her shoulder interrupted her. With a grimace, she shoved her phone into her bag as she noticed the bus had stopped in front of their destination, Nekoma High. Resu followed the team off the bus and stood with Shimizu as they lined up facing the opposing team.

Ah... They live up to their nickname. They have a rather catlike presence, Resu thought while inspecting the team with narrowed eyes. Too bad I didn't come here. I associate with cats more than dumb birds, that's for sure.

She watched Hinata run up to a boy with strangely colored hair - it sort of reminds me of pudding, in a way - and immediately start talking with him. Resu smirked slightly; Hinata was always so friendly and positive. The exact opposite of herself, really.

When she saw a Nekoma boy with an aura similar to Tanaka's approach the first year her protective instincts kicked in. Although the aforementioned second year had already beat her to it, she stepped up next to him and tilted her head back a bit.

"Back off," she growled, placing a hand on Hinata's shoulder and leaning forward, baring her teeth. Tanaka and Resu both were nearly snarling at the boy who only mimicked their actions.

"Honestly, you two are so embarrassing," Sugawara sighed in disappointment. The two second years flinched visibly.

"Knock it off, Yamamoto," a different Nekoma student scolded. He and Sugawara both apologized to each other and followed the rest of the team inside. Resu gave Yamamoto the universal "I'm keeping an eye on you" gesture before going in after them.

She made her way up to the bleachers and leaned over the railing, her head propped against her palm. Her eyes scanned the court as the match was signaled to begin, curious to see what Shimizu had meant by what she said.

Although Resu didn't notice it at first, the air felt like it had changed. The team she had seen as dorks the whole time she'd known them adjourned serious, focused expressions and she would be lying if she said she wasn't surprised.

Nekoma served first and she watched Asahi receive the ball, sending it towards Kageyama who positioned himself for a toss. (I'm pretty sure those are the correct verbs, right?) With alarming speed, Hinata darted towards the other end of the net where the blockers weren't and spiked the ball down. Resu froze.

Huh? His eyes were closed... Her mouth twitched into a thin smirk.

Hmm. This might be more interesting than I first thought.

Karasuno's next move consisted of Hinata acting as a decoy and Asahi spiking the ball instead. Resu watched their movements almost scrutinously for some reason, leaning closer over the railing. As Nekoma took a timeout, she noticed a sudden shift in their presence; in a sense, it seemed that they were doing the same thing as she was.

As the match went on with Nekoma winning the first set, the second year felt herself growing a bit bored at the repetitive actions. Resu watched the game lazily while tapping at something on her phone. She paused, narrowing her eyes at the screen. Ah, as I suspected...

Resu moved her gaze back to the match, noticing Hinata acting rather sporadically. Upon looking closer, she saw that he was trying to spike with his eyes open now. She reasoned that it was probably because he was now getting blocked, although his plan didn't seem to be turning out all that well.

More idle time for Resu passed and she realized as Hinata and Nishinoya failed to receive the ball that the match was over. With a relieved sigh, Resu moved towards the stairs to join the team below.

"Once more!'

The tall girl flinched and snapped her head towards the court. Hinata was demanding a rematch and Resu grimaced. Please don't agree with him...

"Yeah, I'd like that. Why not?"

You gotta be kidding me.

And so, Resu sat through two more matches, half-asleep in the bleachers. She started a bit as Ukai told Hinata enough was enough and she peered over the edge, noticing the teams were beginning to clean up.

"About fuckin' time," Resu grumbled, trudging down the stairs with a large yawn. She wandered over to the teams and helped half-heartedly with cleaning. It was amusing to see Hinata still completely full of energy, jumping up and down with the Nekoma boy who had primarily blocked him, as well as Asahi desperately trying to calm down a frightened Nekoma first year.

A tap on her shoulder caused her to tense and turn around with a scowl. Nekoma's captain stood in front of her with a light smile. Resu instantly narrowed her eyes at his expression, waiting for him to speak.

"Kuroo Tetsurou," he said, extending a hand towards her with the same smirk on his face.

"Noakui Resu," she replied dryly, shaking his hand loosely while maintaining eye contact with the catlike boy.

"Are you another manager for Karasuno?" Kuroo asked curiously, his eyes flashing with an intent Resu couldn't recognize.

"No. Just a spectator," Resu said, her suspicion of this boy leaking through her tone. He smiled again, a thin, unnerving smile.

"Ah, I didn't think so. Well, nice meeting you." Kuroo waved goodbye at her before retreating leisurely back to his team.

His words burned in the back of Resu's mind as she boarded the bus. However, she didn't have much time to think about it because once she sat down, she immediately fell fast asleep.

Sometimes, when Resu went to sleep, she wouldn't wake up no matter what. She could sleep for hours on end and no one would be able to wake her, which in turn usually caused problems. Today happened to be one of those times. She didn't even wake up when her head slammed into the window when they went over a particularly deep pothole.

"She's not waking up," Nishinoya chirped, repeatedly prodding at her cheek. "Should we just leave her here?"

"I don't think that's a good idea, Noya," Asahi said with a worried frown.

"How are we gonna get her inside then?" Tanaka asked with a sigh. He was hungry and he just wanted to eat and go to sleep after.

The three boys looked at Resu. She was definitely not a small girl, standing at 5'11" with a pretty athletic build. They exchanged uncomfortable glances.

...

"Tanaka, be careful! We're trying not to drop her..."

"Why does it matter? She won't wake up anyways!"

Thunk.

"Oops."

"Nishinoya..."

-----

Resu eye's snapped open and took a moment to adjust. She was in her futon, surrounded by light breathing or heavy snoring.

"When did I get here?" She whispered to herself, gently touching the back of her head. It hurt a bit for some reason.

The last thing she remembered was sitting in the bus and thinking about Kuroo's weird words. But that was the last thing on her mind as her stomach growled. Oh, right. Since she didn't wake up for dinner, she didn't eat anything. Great.

Resu stood up and left the room as quietly as she could, not wanting to wake the others. She snuck down the hall and to the kitchen, glancing at the clock on the wall. It read 11:13 A.M. as she opened the refrigerator and peered in.

Hmm... There's nothing in here I can really eat without fully preparing it. Maybe there's some cereal in the cabinets?

As Resu was about to back away from the fridge, the lights suddenly flicked on and surprised her, causing her to hit her already bruised head on the edge of the freezer. Hissing under her breath, she straightened her back and glared at the doorway.

Hinata, rubbing his eyes and yawning, stood by the door.

"Resu, what are you doing?"

"If you didn't remember, I fell into a temporarily unconscious state and missed dinner," Resu replied smoothly, opening cabinets in search of a bowl and cereal. She spotted some and pulled them out, pleased, before preparing her nearly midnight snack. "What are you doing up?"

"I thought I heard something."

"Me too."

Kageyama basically appeared from the shadows, startling the both of them. Resu shook her head while muttering something to herself, grabbing the milk and an ice pack. Placing the ice on the back of her head, she began eating her cereal, only to hear more footsteps padding down the hallway. She rolled her eyes as Nishinoya and Tanaka joined them, not noticing them flinching at the fact she was holding an ice pack to her head. The third years and the rest of the second years squeezed into the kitchen as they heard the noise as well and Resu resisted smashing her already aching head into the counter.

"Alright, everybody can go back to sleep now. Resu's just trying to eat her fuckin' cereal," she snapped, raising her arms in an exasperated gesture.

"But I'm wide awake now!" Hinata complained, glancing at the rest of the team. "Everyone else is too!"

"Your point?" Resu asked, draining the milk from the bowl and wiping the drops away from her mouth.

"We...we should have a slumber party!"

"We're not twelve year old girls in middle school, Hinata."

"What do girls even do at sleepovers?" Tanaka wondered absently. Heads turned towards Resu expectantly and she recoiled slightly.

"I don't know! I've...never been to one," she admitted quietly, placing her dishes in the sink and the ice pack back in the freezer.

Nishinoya slapped her on the back causing her to snarl almost instinctively at the contact.

"The more reason to have one! Ryu, search what girls do at sleepovers!"

"Got it!"

"You've got to be kidding me," Daichi sighed, running a hand down his face. Sugawara chuckled.

"C'mon, it could be fun."

"Alright, let's see... It seems like watching movies, talking about boys, pillow fights, and truth or dare seem to be the norm."

Resu scoffed. "That sounds like stereotypical movie shit to me."

Hinata tugged on her arm with a large grin and sparkling eyes and she looked away. He's too bright...I have to resist... But when Nishinoya latched onto her other arm with a similar expression, she gave in with a low growl.

"I have a feeling this isn't going to end well..." Asahi muttered to no one in particular.