Shirofuku Yukie - Blog Posts

multyfandomsdraws

3 weeks ago

i love owls

accommodations as a love language: a fukurodani essay

Fukurodani is probably the most unique team in Haikyuu when it comes to the team leadership structure. Bokuto is captain with Akaashi as his vice-captain. However, the unusual part of this is that Akaashi is a second year vice-captain in a team with no shortage of third years. If you know anything about Japanese senpai/kouhai dynamics, you will see how unusual this is. Compared to another second year setter-leader Kenma, Akaashi is very formal with the third years and seems to be a stickler to the system of sports culture.

Another unique thing about Fukurodani is that their captain’s number is 4 instead of 1. It becomes clear that Bokuto who wears the traditional number for the ace functions more as the ace of the team, rather than their leader. The training camp arc further cements this idea with Coach Ukkai and Miyanoshita Eri, manager of Ubugawa, making comments on Fukurodani’s play style:

Fukurodani is a team that has learned to accommodate Bokuto's ups-and-downs. They have complete trust in Bokuto’s abilities and Bokuto has trust in Fukurodani to not lose without him.

They are strong enough without Bokuto,

but they want Bokuto to do well.

Akaashi even states in 244 that although Bokuto's concerns may seem comical to some, they are very important to Bokuto and, therefore, Akaashi takes them seriously as well.

Bokuto is their mood maker and is very reliable. If you look through the Fukurodani matches, he is always the one praising his teammates for good plays and many people have commented that Bokuto being on a roll inspires others to do better as well.

This is especially striking considering Bokuto’s experience with his middle school team, ch. 335, where Bokuto was seen as too much and as a result, he often worked alone. Fukurdani is so important to Bokuto because they represent unconditional love and support.

As revealed later on in the plot, Bokuto is aware of his shortcomings. He takes responsibility for them, but also acknowledges Fukurodani’s help. He appreciates their support so much and wants to repay their kindness.

However, Bokuto is not the only one that receives the endless support of Fukurodani. They are a cohesive team and there are many scenes where they display familiarity with each other’s patterns.

Akaashi's habit of overthinking is noticed by Saru, Kaori points out that Akaashi is considered odd, Bokuto steps up to show his trust in Akaashi even when he starts to crumble. The team is not surprised when Akaashi starts crying and lets Bokuto be the one to comfort him.

It shows the unconditional love and support Fukurodani has for all members of the team.

They are not overly concerned when a member does not play their best because they trust each other wholeheartedly.

It is significant that they are the only team who are introduced together in the timeskip. It introduces the idea that Fukurodani is still a unit. There are even parallel lines where:

Bokuto, ch. 392: “梟谷(みんな)！！普通になった俺を見てくれ!”

“Everyone!! Look at how normal I am now (how far I’ve come)!”

Akaashi (and implied Konoha, Komi, Saru), ch. 400: “世界！！梟谷(うち)のエースを見てくれ！”

“World!! Look at our ace!”

There is an interesting technique used here in the Japanese where the kanji says “Fukurodani” but the Furigana says “everyone” and “our.” The world “our” is also special because it is “うち” which is a word that derives from “home.” Bokuto belongs to Fukurodani and Fukurodani is narratively a family.

Fukurodani is introduced in Haikyuu when Karasuno is learning to grapple with Hinata's new-found desire to improve begins to destabilize the team dynamic. They show Karasuno that selfishness is okay with your team's support, leading to the honing of new weapons and Kageyama's reclaimation of his crown. They symbolize a different type of strength that Karasuno did not have yet. Although the roles they cultivated allowed for some stagnation and stress during the Mujinazaka match, they were able to overcome difficulties to become even stronger, falling just short of #1 in Japan. Still, their loss became more of a reason to pursue their goals and although not all of them play volleyball anymore, they come together across Japan to support each other.

Managerial Duties: Fukurodani

Being a manager for Fukurodani Academy’s boys’ volleyball team was a bit like being the conductor of an orchestra that had no intention of following the sheet music. Between Bokuto’s mood swings, Konoha’s snark, and the constant low hum of chaos that seemed to follow Komi like a shadow, your days were never dull.

But somehow, it worked.

Maybe it was Akaashi’s unshakeable calm, or Washio’s quiet reliability. Maybe it was the way Sarukui knew when to reel Bokuto back with just a look, or how the other two managers—Yukie and Kaori—had learned to tag-team any brewing disaster before it hit critical mass. The team was loud, ridiculous, occasionally impossible, and you wouldn’t trade them for anything.

You’d been with them long enough now that their habits were second nature. You knew who needed water before they asked, who always forgot their kneepads, who preferred warm-ups in silence and who needed to scream themselves into the zone. You’d taped ankles, refereed arguments, restocked first-aid kits, and once used a mop handle to redirect a rogue serve mid-flight.

So naturally, the one time you stepped out of the gym to speak with a teacher, chaos found its way in without you.

The package arrived during warmups. A small cardboard box, scuffed at the corners, with your name written neatly on the top in permanent marker. No return address. No label.

Kaori found it by the entrance and placed it on the bench, assuming you’d handle it when you got back.

But Bokuto saw it.

He was mid-warmup, mid-laugh even, when something square and cardboard caught his eye from across the gym. Like a hawk sighting prey, his eyes zeroed in and he made a beeline for the bench.

Before anyone could react, he was already crouching in front of the package, fingers hovering over the taped seam.

“Bokuto-san, don’t—”

Smack.

Kaori’s hand came down on his faster than lightning, swatting his fingers away just before he could peel back the flap.

Bokuto yelped, more offended at being stopped than anything else, still pointing dramatically at the box like it had personally challenged him to a duel. He cradled his hand with exaggerated care, rubbing it as if he'd just been grievously injured. "Oww, what was that for?" he whined, lower lip jutting out.

“It’s not yours,” Yukie said immediately, sliding in front of it like a bodyguard.

“Aw c'mon!” Bokuto cried, jogging over. “What if it’s important?! Or fragile?! Or snack-related?! I mean—it was sent to a manager, so it’s stuff for us, right?!”

“Then she’ll open it when she gets back,” Konoha muttered, clearly unimpressed.

“But what if she wants us to open it for her?”

“She doesn’t,” Kaori said flatly.

“You don’t know that!”

“You don’t know that she does,” Akaashi chimed in, walking past with a towel draped over his shoulders. “And opening someone else’s package is literally a crime.”

Bokuto paused, scandalized. “Wait. Really?”

“Federal offense,” Akaashi confirmed, not even stopping.

“Yeah, that’s like... a serious thing,” Sarukui added.

Komi nodded enthusiastically. “You could totally get arrested.”

“Or banned from deliveries for life,” Konoha threw in with a shrug.

“I think that’s made up,” Washio said, but no one contradicted him.

Bokuto groaned. “This system is broken.”

“I bet it’s mysterious,” Komi offered, grinning. “Like something cursed. Or magical. Or both.”

“It’s probably just more athletic tape,” Sarukui said.

“No, no, no,” Bokuto shook his head. “It could be owls.”

“Why would someone send owls to the school gym?” Washio asked.

“Why wouldn’t they?” Bokuto countered.

The entire team was crowded around the bench now, forming a semicircle of ridiculous anticipation. The box sat there, untouched, radiating unearned power.

Kaori had her arms crossed. “No one’s opening it.”

Yukie nodded. “Not unless you want to explain to Coach why you’re committing petty theft.”

“And a federal offense,” Akaashi added as he passed.

Yukie groaned. “Right. And a federal offense.”

Just then, the gym doors opened.

You stepped in, unaware of the tension until twelve pairs of eyes swiveled to you at once.

“What did I miss?” you asked slowly, eyebrows raised.

Everyone pointed.

“Box,” Bokuto said gravely.

“Highly suspicious,” Komi added.

Akaashi sighed. “Please tell them it’s not cursed.”

You blinked at the package. “Oh. That’s just the kneepads my uncle donated.”

Silence.

Bokuto looked devastated. “It’s what?”

“Kneepads.” You opened the box casually, pulling out a neat stack of new gear. “He runs a sports supply store. Said he had extras.”

“You’re telling me,” Bokuto said slowly, “I waited fifteen minutes to NOT see a magical owl?”

“Yes?” you replied, mildly confused.

“…I mean, that’s cool too, I guess,” he muttered, thinking about it for a second. Then, as if deciding he could live with the outcome, he gave a small nod, still pouting a little. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay with this.”

Washio nodded. “I like kneepads.”

You grinned. “Good. Because there’s enough for all of you.”

One by one, you handed the kneepads out, and the team eagerly grabbed their pairs, excitedly comparing colors and sizes before jogging off to try them on over their uniforms. Bokuto was already halfway across the gym, yelling something about testing them with a jump serve.

You turned to find Yukie and Kaori standing off to the side, arms crossed.

“So,” you said, raising an eyebrow, “they were debating what was in the box, and the majority vote was a magical owl?”

Kaori rubbed her face with both hands. “Don’t even ask.”