It had been a brutal practice the day before.

You and your brother, Yoichi, had gone way over the expected training time. What started as a quick one-on-one turned into an intense two-hour session of you pushing each other to the limit. Though volleyball was your main sport, your instincts on the soccer field had always come naturally, much to Isagi’s simultaneous pride and frustration. He swore up and down that you must’ve been born with some kind of radar. You only shrugged.

Now, though, your body had declared full shutdown. You were buried under your blanket, limbs slack, mouth slightly open, textbooks and notebooks scattered like a fallen fortress on the bed. The day was supposed to be uneventful—just a rare rest day, nothing more.

But Yoichi had other plans.

“C’mon, guys, it’s fine. My sister’s super chill,” he was saying confidently as he guided a swarm of loud, curious voices into the house. “You’ll probably like her.”

“You never even told us you had a sister, Yoichi,” Rin muttered, arms crossed but following along.

“She plays volleyball,” Yoichi added, as if that explained everything. "Though she has an annoyingly good instinct for football."

“She any good?” Shidou asked, a wicked grin already forming.

“Broke my goddamn ankles four times yesterday, so yeah. Better than you.” Yoichi shot back instinctively, causing a ripple of laughter from Nagi, Reo, and Karasu.

“Ohhh, now I have to see this mystery girl,” Ness said dramatically, practically bouncing behind Kaiser, who looked supremely uninterested but still walked along.

Yoichi reached your door confidently, tapping it once with his knuckles. No answer. He glanced back at them with a smirk. “She’s probably just reading or being moody. Hang on.”

He opened the door.

And froze.

There you were, dead to the world. The books were still open—one resting dangerously close to your face—and your phone sat half-buried near your pillow. A volleyball jersey was crumpled on the floor from the night before. A half-finished protein bar still in its wrapper sat abandoned on your nightstand. Your breathing was deep, steady. Unbothered.

Bachira peeked over his shoulder and grinned, poking Isagi's cheek with a giggle. "You didn't even check if she was awake..?"

Yoichi scoffed and shoved the boy off him. "Shut up. She's usually an early riser."

Nagi and Reo looked around, with Nagi's expression a bit curious but bored overall. "She has a lot of books.."

Reo nodded, looking at one of the covers on a book and quirking an eyebrow. "She's got good taste."

Oyota glimpsed at the book and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, she does.."

Sae sighed and rubbed his forehead in slight annoyance. "Isagi, did you even inform her we were coming?"

Yoichi rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well, I mean.."

Chigiri rolls his eyes and smirked, crossing his arms. "Doesn't matter. She's already my new favorite Isagi."

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