His Warrior Queen: A Haikyuu!! Novel (Tsukishima x OC)

Chapter 4: She's Just a Girl

Nakano awoke early and quietly slipped out of the big sleeping room.  Today was the day of the practice game against Nekoma, and she'd decided she wanted to make sure the boys had a perfect breakfast.  She walked down to the bathrooms to get ready.

The training camp had been a greater success than she had hoped.  She felt like she was really getting closer to the boys and building a good rapport with them.  And best of all, she hadn't had a recurrence of her nightmare since joining the team.  Not even on the first night of the camp, which frankly surprised her.  She'd fully expected to experience the accident over again after talking about it with the team that evening, even if it was only briefly.  Talking about that wasn't something she usually did, but she knew she wouldn't be able to avoid it forever.  Fortunately, things hadn't gotten too deep.  Thank goodness for Hinata and his wild enthusiasm.  His crazy outburst had almost certainly saved her from having to go into detail about things she preferred to simply no longer think about.  Luckily none of the boys directly commented on the fact that she'd kept her legs covered at all times, although she knew Yams had noticed it for sure.  And Tsukishima, of course.  She knew he would be aware.  Probably several of the others did too, but they were all kind enough not to mention it.  

Physically, this camp was really helping her.  Her stamina was increasing, that much she was sure of.  Soon she'd be able to join the boys on their 5 mile runs.  And it felt amazing to be able to handle a volleyball again in the company of real players, and not just her mom and her sister.  I can't believe it, she thought, this is actually working.  I think this might really be exactly what I needed.  I owe these guys so much already.  She quickly cleaned herself up and got dressed.  Time to show them just how much I appreciate what they've done for me.  She'd gotten Coach's permission to slip out to a nearby market and pick up some mackerel for today's breakfast.  Grilled mackerel, miso soup, and rice is like the perfect breakfast, she thought.  I hope the boys enjoy it.  

Nakano set to work with a will.  Cooking for 12 hungry boys, plus herself, Kiyoko, Coach and Takeda-sensei was no mean feat.  But she was ready.  She'd watched her sensei and her senpai carefully over the past several days and was pretty sure she had a good handle on just how much food she would need to make.  She paid extra attention to the grilled mackerel, making sure it was perfectly seasoned and prepared.  Soon, the whole place was filled with the delicious smell of breakfast.  I'll prepare eggs too, she thought, in several different ways, as I know some of the boys will really like that. Especially Tobio-chan.

Nishinoya was the first to stick his head in the kitchen.  "Nakano?  What smells so good?"

"Breakfast!" Nakano said with a big smile.  "Go tell the rest of the team to get in here.  They'd better be hungry!"  She didn't have to tell him twice.  Noya ran off, yelling at the rest of the team that Nakano had made them breakfast all by herself.

Coach Ukai was the first person to come in for a plate full.  "What's this?  You cooked all of this by yourself?  You should have let us know...we'd have come in early to help."

Nakano smiled.  "It's my pleasure, Coach.  I wanted to thank you guys for letting me be a part of the team.  And I want to make sure these boys are properly fueled up for today's match!"  The boys were filing in to get food, and Tanaka and Noya exploded into tears at her words.  "She's an angel!" Noya cried.  "We're so lucky!  We have a goddess and an angel attending us now!"  Tanaka agreed.  Nakano laughed  as she served them food.  "Just eat, my two favorite senpais.  There's plenty more too, so don't be shy."

Kiyoko grabbed an apron as she came in to the kitchen.  "I'll help with serving..." she started, but Nakano stopped her.  "I've got this, Kiyoko-senpai.  You've done so much for me and made me feel so welcome...let me serve you today, okay?"  Nakano handed her a full plate and took the apron back from her.