You met during a practice match between Karasuno's boys and girls team early on in your first year-both of you were on the sidelines, not regulars yet, but immediately recognized each other as fellow setters. He smiled and said, "Setter to setter...nice tosses out there." After that, you started bumping into each other at training camps and tournaments. You'd sit together during breaks and judge the other teams' formations and setter strategies.

By second year, you were texting regularly, mostly to nerd out over drills and setter theories. But the texts slowly started shifting into jokes, check-ins, and little compliments. During joint practice, you once ran a flawless synchronized quick set together. Everyone clapped, and you both just grinned at each other like it was the easiest thing in the world. On your birthdays, you always gift each other something setter-related. One year, Sugawara got you a personalized notebook titled "Brain of the Team" and filled the first page with a sweet note. Suga is a total tease and flirts in a way that seems harmless until you start noticing how soft his gaze gets when you laugh, or how he memorizes the things you like.

You once visited Karasuno's practice and helped out. After you left, Daichi asked Sugawara, "So when are you finally going to confess?" He just flushed and muttered, "They'd never feel that way about me." One night, while you were walking home after a late tournament, he said, "Is it weird that I feel most like myself when I'm with you?"