word of the day ☆ kageyama tobio x reader
synopsis: due to a conflict in schedule, yachi asks first-year reader to cover for her english tutoring session with a certain volleyball prodigy. details: fluff | mutual friends to lovers | first meeting | ~2.2k words | gn! reader | requested by @wordsofelie as part of my karasuno writing event
From your seat by the window, you catch snippets of Yachi’s anxious voice from the hallway.
“You’re only available this afternoon? Oh dear. Um, okay, I think I can go, but I need to double-check first!”
Leaning forward on your desk, you spot Yachi speaking with a student you don’t recognize. Judging by the neatly labeled folders the student hands her, they’re probably from the first-year project design committee.
You feel a small wave of pride. You convinced Yachi to sign up after seeing her beautiful volleyball posters.
Moments later, Yachi skitters into the classroom, her steps quick and slightly frantic as she collapses into the seat in front of you. She turns around, clasping her hands together nervously.
“Um…can I ask you for a favor?”
You raise an eyebrow, taken aback by her unusual boldness. “A favor? What happened? I could hear you worrying from all the way here.”
Yachi winces, the tips of her ears turning pink. “Uh, you see…the design committee wants to hold a meeting this afternoon after school. I’ll be excused from club activities, but that’s not the issue.” She sighs, brushing her bangs aside.
“What is it, then?”
“I promised to tutor Kageyama-kun in English,” she explains, voice softening with guilt. “He’s got a test this Friday, and I agreed to help him study for an hour today before practice starts.”
Kageyama? Oh, right.
You vaguely remember him—one of the two volleyball players who occasionally show up in your classroom to study with Yachi during lunch breaks.
“I see,” you say slowly. “So, you want me to cover for you?”
“If it’s not too much trouble?” Yachi’s hands clasp together as she leans forward slightly. “And…if you have questions about volleyball, this might be a good chance to ask?”
Her hopeful tone makes you pause. You suppose it wouldn’t hurt.
“But if not, I don’t want to bother you!” She shakes her head vigorously. “I can just double my other session with him later this week-”
“Alright. I’ll do it,” you say with a small shrug.
“I- wait, really?!” Her eyes widen in surprise.
“Yup. What time and place?”
Bracing yourself, you knock gently on what you hope is the correct clubroom door.
“Uh, hello? Is this the volleyball club?”
A voice from the other side calls out, “Yeah, come in!”
Taking a deep breath, you slide the door open, stepping into a room filled with what can only be described as chaos. A group of boys—clearly the team—turns to stare at you in unison, their expressions ranging from curious to outright surprised.
“Um, hello!” You clear your throat, suddenly aware of the weight of their attention. “Is Kageyama-san here?”
Technically, you’ve seen him before, but you’d rather not embarrass yourself by scanning every face in the room.
“That’s me,” a deep voice responds.
You follow the sound to a dark-haired boy seated a few feet away. When you meet his gaze, you’re taken aback by the sheer intensity of his stare.
His eyes look like blueberries…why haven’t I noticed that before?
You chuckle softly at the absurd thought before regaining your composure.
“Hi! Yachi couldn’t make it today because of a meeting, so she asked me to fill in for her.”
“Oh. Okay,” he says simply, blinking in confusion.
“Wait a second!” A boy with bright orange hair practically bounces up from his seat. “You’re Yachi-san’s classmate, right? You sit behind her during lunch sometimes!”
“That’s me,” you reply with a small smile.
You introduce yourself to the team formally before settling on the ground beside Kageyama.
“So, your vocabulary test is this Friday, right?”
“Yes,” he replies curtly, handing you a stack of papers and worksheets.
As you skim through the materials, the reason for his struggles becomes glaringly obvious. You suppress a small sigh.
“Hmmm. Okay, let’s start by marking the words you’re completely unfamiliar with. Could you underline them with a pencil?”
Kageyama nods and sets to work, though it doesn’t take long for him to underline more than half the list.
The orange-haired boy—Hinata, you later learn—leans over to peek at the paper. He immediately snorts. “Man, you really suck at this, Kageyama.”
Kageyama whirls to face him, glaring. “As if you’re doing any better!”
“Hinata, could you shut up and work on your proverbs? I don’t have all day.”
“Tsukishima!”
Well, isn’t this interesting…
“This is so hard.” Kageyama huffs in frustration. “I won’t even need this stuff in the future.”
“Yeah, but you need it to go to the next training camp,” Hinata chimes in.
“Also, don’t be rude, King,” Tsukishima adds. “They weren't even supposed to tutor you at all.”
At that, Kageyama immediately straightens and bows his head toward you. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude.”
“It’s fine, I get it.” You wave your hand dismissively. “I’m not too fond of science because I don’t see how chemistry will help me be a better sports journalist.”
Kageyama stops writing before shooting his head up. “Sports journalist?”
The rest of the members scattered around the room pause too, almost like you’ve dropped the most shocking revelation of the century.
“You like sports?” Kageyama questions.
“Yep! I don’t have a particular favorite at the moment.” You tap your chin thoughtfully. “I’m still trying to explore everything, but-”
“What about volleyball?” Kageyama’s full attention is on you now. He’s leaning forward and the pencil that was once in his hand is now rolling on the floor.
You hear an amused huff from somewhere in the room.
“Uh, volleyball?” You fumble for a response, caught off guard by the sudden shift in focus. “Well, it’s the sport I enjoyed playing the most in physical education.”
“What did you like about it?” He presses, moving a little closer.
“Uh-”
Yachi wasn’t kidding when she said volleyball was his life.
“Relax, Kageyama. They're not going anywhere, give them some space,” a gray-haired senior advises him.
“Oh, sorry,” Kageyama mumbles, leaning back a bit.
“It’s fine.” You smile, finding his passion quite endearing.
“I guess I like that I don’t have to handle the ball for a long time. Plus, your entire team just stays on one side of the court. When it comes to basketball or soccer, I look like a fool because I can’t dribble the ball well. It always gets away from me, and the other teams snatch it before I know what’s going on.”
You pause mid-ramble, momentarily embarrassed, but Kageyama doesn’t seem to mind. In fact, he looks even more engaged.
“Also, I find volleyball unpredictable and thrilling. The rallies always keep me on the edge of my seat. I’m sure you understand what I mean?”
“Yes. I do.” Something in his eyes shifts. “Thrilling…”
“Yeah-”
“Thrilling. Causing a feeling of great excitement or happiness,” Kageyama recites from memory.
The atmosphere in the room lightens instantly. Everyone attempts to hold back a laugh, including you. A few of his team members fail to do so, but he pays them no mind.
“That’s right, Kageyama-san. Volleyball is thrilling,” you nod at him with a shaky smile.
“Yes!” He cheers to himself silently, pumping his fists in genuine excitement.
Cute.
An idea suddenly pops into your head.
“Speaking of volleyball, do you have plans to play professionally?”
“Of course!” He answers with absolute confidence. “I don’t plan on doing anything else.”
“Ah, I see. And you plan on playing on international teams one day?”
“Definitely,” he responds without missing a beat.
“Great. You know what I think, Kageyama-san?”
“What?” He looks at you expectantly.
“Maybe learning some basic English could help you play better with foreign teammates.”
Kageyama tilts his head. “English can…help?”
“You don’t need to be a fluent speaker, but teamwork improves when you can understand each other more, right?”
“That’s…” He stops to think about it carefully. You wait, hoping that it motivates him to study a bit more.
“But, wouldn’t there be translators and everything?” Hinata pipes up.
“That’s true, but they won’t always be there,” you respond in a steady tone. “I believe it’s always better to be prepared. It helps to have a common language at times.”
“A common language…” Hinata repeats.
“Well, for instance, I plan on being a sports journalist here,” you continue, “but there’s a chance I’ll need to interview foreign players. It could help to know a bit of what they’re saying so that it doesn’t get very awkward. But, that’s just my perspective.”
Kageyama looks up, and to your surprise, he speaks before anyone else can.
“You’re right.”
The room goes silent. For a moment, you’re sure you didn’t hear him correctly.
“You’re right,” he repeats, more firmly this time. “How good should I be?”
“I—huh?” You blink again, confused by the sudden shift.
“How good should I be?” he asks, clearly serious, his intense gaze fixed on you.
“Oh, I heard you the first time,” you clarify, still trying to make sense of the situation. “I just don’t understand what you mean.”
“What should my goal be? How many words should I start memorizing?”
“Your goal?” You blink at him. “Your goal now for high school is to pass your English classes.”
Kageyama pouts. “I know, but you said it was important for volleyball. I need to be good enough at it then.”
You scramble your brain for a possible answer. “So…we’re talking about many years from now?”
He nods, patiently waiting for your verdict.
“Okay, fine,” you sigh. “If I get the chance to interview you in the future, we’ll do it in basic English. How does that sound?”
“I’ll do it,” he replies immediately, eyes lighting up.
Did he even process what I said?
“Please continue to teach me.” Kageyama bows before you, causing everyone to startle.
“Look at that! The King’s actually asking?”
“Shut up!” Kageyama grumbles at his teammate before turning back to you.
You’re flustered by his unexpected gesture, but can’t help the tiny smile tugging at the corner of your lips.
“Alright. Now come on, we’ve got thirty more minutes before you guys start practice.”
Yachi calls you later that evening in total disbelief. “Kageyama-kun just told me you guys went through his entire vocabulary list today.”
“Yes.”
“I couldn’t believe it at first!” Yachi exclaims, her tone rising in excitement. “Sometimes we barely get through half the list after an hour.”
You think back to his progress before you found a way to motivate him. “Well, it seemed that way at first-”
“Then he says that learning English is important for his future after all! He even wants to dedicate extra time to study for it. He never would have done that before!”
“Ah-”
“And here’s the thing,” she continues, “he asked if you could tutor him again on other days! What exactly did you do?”
“Well, I-”
“Or is it something that I didn’t do? Did he say anything about me being a bad teacher or-”
“Yachi-san!” You cut her off before she spirals any further. “Don’t worry, he didn’t say anything about you. I think this is all because I may have challenged him to do a basic English interview with me in the future.”
Yachi blows a fuse. “You challenged- wait, what? In the future? What do you-”
“Wait, is that a bad thing?”
“No! I mean, it’s good, I suppose?” Yachi’s voice softens as she carefully chooses her words. “Um, it actually explains something he asked me for help with earlier.”
“What is it?”
“You told him to write down one word every day and use it in a meaningful sentence, right?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Well, you see, his sentence, um…”
“What’s wrong?”
“He asked me how to write, ‘Meeting Yachi-san’s friend was thrilling.’”
You freeze for a moment, the weight of her words sinking in.
“Wait- what?”
“He said meeting you was thrilling.”
“Oh...”
The silence on the line stretches, your mind racing. Something electric runs through your veins, and you can almost feel your heart thumping faster.
“What about you?” Yachi asks, her voice hesitant but curious.
“Me?”
“Was meeting Kageyama-kun thrilling too?”
You think back to that afternoon and it’s easy to respond with certainty.
“Yes.”
A week later, Kageyama walks into your classroom during lunch. He shows you a test paper with what he says is the highest score he’s ever gotten on an English test.
You can hear Hinata grumbling to Yachi about how unfair it is that Kageyama got extra help, but all you can focus on is Kageyama’s smile. It’s the most genuine, beautiful one you’ve ever seen.
I want to see it more.
I want to be around him more.
I want to achieve our goals together.
“Dream.”
Kageyama’s voice snaps you out of your thoughts.
“What?”
He points to the bottom of his test paper, where he was asked to write a sentence in English using any of the provided vocabulary words. You attempt to read his messy handwriting, but he reads it out for you anyway.
“Their dream is to be a sports journalist.”
You feel the heat rise to your cheeks.
He wrote about me?
Hinata squawks, reaching for the test paper and reviewing it with Yachi.
“Oh my gosh, he actually got all the grammar right,” she gasps in awe. “Good job, Kageyama-kun!”
He thanks her briefly before fixing his gaze on you once more.
“Dream. That was the word of the day.”
masterlist
