Time quickly passed.
The harsh fall of snow that accompanied Winter was no longer present but was now replaced by carpets of snow that began to fade away gradually.
Subtle hints of warm rays signaled the eventual transition of seasons, but seeing the mist coming out of people's mouths, Winter has decided to stay for just a bit longer.
With the new weather bringing more opportunities for public spaces to regain their original liveliness, people took advantage.
Especially the shrines, which were now packed with individuals who wished for a prosperous new year considering the current date.
–Clap Clap
"Dear God, please ask the holy spirit of volleyball to bless this poor one's abilities for the future. You… can also play a part in giving me a few inches in height which I can appreciate…"
"Shut it, midget. Stop tainting the shrine with your nonsense."
"...."
In front of the sole Shinto Shrine where a long line had formed, three individuals clapped their hands twice before bowing to express their heartfelt wishes.
The two quietly express themselves but the midget that was stuck between them had his desires accidentally slip out, which caused one of them to curse under his breath.
"Unless you want to be smited before Nationals, I suggest you say your prayers first before fighting."
""....Yes..""
Haruto heard the subdued voices of Kageyama and Hinata after his warning and tried his best to quickly finish his prayers..
'These guys never change.'
Finishing their prayers that took a while, the three left the main hall and a gust of cool wind brushed past their faces.
Hinata felt his spine shiver and lowered his hat. "I thought it was getting warmer but this is still too cold for my liking."
"It's still the first day of the New Year so don't expect the weather to suddenly be all warm and sunshines."
Kageyama dug his hands into his pocket in an attempt to warm his hands as he didn't disagree with what Hinata said.
Haruto was the same as he lifted the scarf wrapped around his neck and covered his mouth.
It was a few days after Haruto and Mahiru came back from their Winter trip and after spending Christmas with his family, they finally came back to their apartment that had been left alone for a week.
Mahiru being the person she was, wanted to do a large cleanup session seeing the amount of dust that accumulated while they were gone.
But Haruto managed to calm her down before she began moving the furniture around on her own.
The days that followed after were standard, as if they returned back to before the trip and nearing the end of the year, his friends suddenly wanted to meet up.
"Ah! Tsukishima!! Yamaguchi too!"
"Hah, to think they came this early as well."
Kageyama smirked and didn't even try to hide his laugh as he watched Hinata run towards the two. Each having a different expression that even made Haruto join in.
"Who would blame them? They're going to have a hot meal after staying out in the cold weather so of course they're excited."
"...Mahiru really has you wrapped around her finger."
"Something I would gladly accept with open arms. Don't tell me you're not excited as well?"
Kageyama kept his silence as Haruto gave him a long look.
Between the five of them, it was originally decided that they would visit the shrine and have brunch together in hopes of keeping their spirits high before Nationals.
But during the planning stage, unexpectedly, a person suggested something that they couldn't refuse.
'I can cook a meal if you guys want?'
Yes. Mahiru planned to cook a meal for New Year's and pushed an invitation to the others.
The boys were already accustomed to Mahiru's various snacks that she often made whenever they finished practice. And just like Haruto, they were instantly hooked.
Once they heard her offer, they didn't hesitate to accept.
After some adjustments based on whenever they were free, it was decided that they would hold a large brunch at Haruto's apartment since his place was the closest to being the place where most of them can easily reach.
Considering some of them lived a few ways off.
"I heard that Amanai and Yachi offered to help so I'm guessing that Mahiru is having a field day back at my place."
"Hopefully Kanoka isn't causing too much trouble…"
Haruto tilted his head. "Why? Is she some sort of klutz in the kitchen or something?"
Kageyama scratched his face after remembering what happened before.
"She tried to peel potatoes one time for curry…"
"And?"
"Instead of using a peeler she felt like using a grater was a better choice…"
"That's… pretty innovative, no?"
Haruto was surprised by the unique way but he somehow felt like it wasn't too bad.
He himself often made mistakes that often worked better than what he originally thought so he could relate.
"But still, curry~ huh~~"
He nudged Kageyama's side with a small grin and seeing his expression, Haruto poked his waist harder seeing his reaction to his teasing.
"So spring has finally come for young Kageyama~~ I feel proud!"
"This guy….!?"
Kageyama grit his teeth and felt the need to smack the annoying expression off his face but it proved difficult as Haruto was quite slippery.
Immediately leaving him to catch up to Hinata who was being held by his face by Tsukishima.
And based on his annoyed expression, it would be a while before the two make up.
—BZZT BZZT
Feeling a slight vibration in his pocket, Haruto took out his phone. Possibly being Mahiru, he opened his messages but to his surprise it was from Kuroo.
[Happy New Year~~!! Hoping to see your crushed expression after I shut you down in a few days~]
[PS. Bokuto said he also looks forward to playing against you. Such sweet competition, haha!!]
Attached was a picture of Kuroo with Bokuto, Kenma, Akaashi and surprisingly Sakusa who was almost too small to recognize considering the distance he had between the others.
Komori was also seen a bit closer trying to get Sakusa into frame but based on his expression, it was proving difficult to do.
"Who's that?"
Off to the side, Hinata became curious seeing Haruto let out a small laugh after looking down on his phone which caused the others to gather around him.
"Just Kuroo and Bokuto greeting me. Along with a few others."
"Hmm? There's also Sakusa there, I'm surprised he's willing to go out to where a ton of people gather."
"I can bet that he didn't want to go and Komori dragged him along."
Haruto let out one last laugh and raised his phone to take a picture of them together to send back and Hinata couldn't hold back his curiously.
"Who are those guys with Kuroo and Bokuto..?"
"One of them is a top 3 ace in all of Japan and another one is the best libero in highschool volleyball."
"T-Top 3 and best—!?"
Kageyama looked at him strangely. "Why are you surprised? I thought we told you about our time at our camp?"
"I know! But seeing how casual you guys are talking about them still feels strange."
"As if you're not close with Bokuto and some other prominent players."
One again the two began to bicker for no reason to which the other three tuned them out and after sending his message back to Kuroo, Tsukishima muttered under his breath.
"Top 3 is going to be hard to beat…"
"Why? Are you scared–?"
Haruto shut his phone and wrapped his arm around Tsukishima who tried to get his arm off him.
But to no avail, Haruto was a tough nut to crack.
"I didn't know little Tsukishima could get rattled from such a simple title~~"
"Simple my ass. And I'm not rattled."
"Sure, sure~ Don't worry this one will help our cracky middle not embarrass himself."
Tsukishima's face turned dark.
"You don't need to worry about me. I'll do just fine on my own."
"Whatever you say~!"
"You're irritating."
"Tell me something I don't know."
Haruto chuckled and took his arm off Tsukishima. Walking slightly ahead, he pointed towards a booth that had a few amulets used for bringing luck and got their attention.
"Let's get some before we leave."
***
–CLICK~
"We're back!"
"Excuse us…"
"Sorry for interrupting…"
As soon as the 5 entered Haruto's apartment, a savoury smell lingered in the air which made the boys feel their stomach rumble.
Giving them an appetite that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere despite not feeling the urge to eat just a few minutes prior.
"You guys came just in time."
At the end of the hallway, a head full of silky blonde hair fell and Mahiru gently greeted the visitors followed by two others who waved their hands.
"The food is almost done! Just a few more minutes." Yachi wiped her hands and took off the green apron that looked a bit large on her.
"If you don't mind, can I ask for help setting the table…?"
Kanoka just behind her asked but her eyes seemed to linger onto Kageyama who was surprisingly quick on the uptake.
Hinata, Yamaguchi and Tsukishima were also quick to offer help and quickly followed Kanoka.
Leaving behind Haruto and Mahiru to watch their friends run off to the living room.
Taking off his jacket, Mahiru was quick to help remove his scarf which exposed his neck.
Which wore an accessory that was not there before.
"How long are you going to stare?"
"Hehe!"
"Look at you acting so giddy."
Haruto wryly smiled seeing Mahiru so cheerful but he didn't mind as this also brought a smile to his face.
Looking down, he saw the necklace which had Mahiru's attention and was gifted to him for Christmas.
It wasn't anything flashy. Just a silver chain but it had a solid rectangular shaped pendant that had faint golden inscriptions that wrote "H/M".
Not only that, during the time he opened the box that contained the necklace. Mahiru told him that she researched the regulations regarding jewelry when playing volleyball.
At first she saw that some leagues banned its use but seeing how Nationals were, it was apparently okay to wear some but it must not be too loose due to safety reasons.
Based on that she tried to get the necklace just the right size and in the end she was successful.
Usually he never really wore jewelry but seeing that this was a gift that had a lot of thought behind it, he couldn't help but think of never taking this necklace off.
"You done yourself out once again. It smells delicious, I can't even imagine how it will taste."
Haruto followed Mahiru into the kitchen where he saw an exquisite row of food.
It followed a slight buffet style considering the amount of people coming but what amazed him was that the main course was placed in a multi-course boxed platter that was meant for each person.
It was colourful.
Prawns, sweet potatoes, fishcake, herring roe. These were just some of the dishes placed in the small box that together, made the platter too beautiful to even think of breaking apart.
"I had these platters just collecting dust in my place so seeing the extra help I was going to get today, I wanted to go all out!"
Mahiru pushed her chest out in satisfaction as she was happy with how it turned out and was glad that her efforts were recognized after seeing Haruto's reaction.
Ruffling the golden locks Mahiru had as he felt grateful, Haruto looked at the row of platters once more.
He felt his mouth water as the platters were too appetizing and seeing how much of the said food was in front of him…
He wanted to have a quick taste.
"Not yet."
Right there, Mahiru slapped his hand and prevented him from grabbing a small piece of meat on one of the chopping boards and Haruto glared at her.
Mahiru didn't mind and just smiled at him before placing some of the platters in his hands.
"Be a dear and help me bring these to the living room."
"Yeah, yeah. You got it, ma'am."
"If you do it quickly, I'll give you a sample of the dessert I made yesterday."
He didn't need to even think as Haruto was out of the kitchen quickly and Mahiru followed along with a few platters of her own.
The brunch was quickly beginning to get together as the table that began to be filled with a wide array of food.
Everyone was giddy. Well who wouldn't if they had such a layout of food in front of them.
"Well then, shall we?"
"""Thank you for the meal!!"""
At his cue everyone began to eat.
The atmosphere was light. Certain parts of the table had people laughing, arguing or just simple talking.
But in the end they were enjoying themselves at this gathering.
Haruto took a sip of his water as he already savoured the taste of the tempura. He leaned back and a small amulet fell out of his pocket.
He was quick to grab it but Mahiru managed to notice it.
"What was that?"
"This? Just… something for good luck."
Haruto smiled and placed it back into his pocket and returned to his meal which had a bit more meat dishes.
Perhaps being a bit biased in her portions, Haruto didn't complain and continued to eat peacefully and let himself go for the day.
***
"Did you forget anything?"
"Nope, got everything the night before."
"Perfect! Then let's go. We need to be at school by 8."
"No need to tell me twice."
7:30 AM
January 4th, 20XX
Spring National Tournament.
Start.
***
I hope you enjoyed it. Peacu.