Training Trepidation Into Composure

Chapter 7

The next day left Kuroo convinced that Yachi was, indeed, avoiding him. Which was fine. He was able to focus on the game so hard that they barely scored a win almost every match. It didn't help that his eyes drifted to her whenever he made a particularly good block. Nekoma even ended up running up the hill a couple times. Kenma didn't stop glaring at him for it.

For Yachi's part, she was now convinced that she'd made the right call, telling him that she was fine without his help. That he needed to focus on his duties as captain. She couldn't handle the guilt of knowing she was bothering and being a burden to the captain of a nationally recognized team. She was ashamed she'd allowed it to go on for so long. She had no idea why he'd allowed it to go on for so long.

She needed to get control of herself, but her thoughts kept swaying back to him. To the way he'd laughed at her jokes and smiled when she cheered. Even to the way she just missed the extra help. She gathered the last of Karasuno's practice bibs into the washer and set the timer on her phone. She left the laundry room and was grateful she wouldn't have to see him for the rest of the night. 

She huffed a stray hair out of her eyes and returned to the gym for Kageyama's solo practice. Now that he and Hinata were practicing separately, Yachi was found the manager duties even more strenuous than before. She now had to fit them between tossing balls to Kageyama while Coach Ukai observed the other players. Once he was satisfied with their individual training, he'd take over so she could continue her lower level manager duties. As the only first year manager, some of the more tedious tasks fell to her by default. Like washing the water bottles or taking out the trash.

Kiyoko helped when she could, but Kageyama wasn't the only crow needing assistance. All day Yachi had struggled, constantly on a timer even with Kiyoko's help. Now she had thirty minutes to toss before having to run to the kitchens to help Eri make dinner. By then the laundry would be finished and she could rope Yukie into helping her hang in return for taking down Fukurodani's laundry after dinner. Then she would run back to eat, fold and put away all the laundry, and then finally be able to call it a night. Yachi had no doubt she'd finally be able to go to bed at a decent hour. She very much looked forward to it.

After a lot of unsuccessful tosses to Kageyama, Coach Ukai finally returned to relieve her early. She thanked him as she ran to the laundry room. Maybe she wouldn't have to ask Yukie for the help after all. With the bibs all tucked into her arms, Yachi made her way to the lines outside. And immediately tripped over the sidewalk. The bibs flew into the humid grass which Yachi then fell on top of. "No," she whispered, and grabbed the closest one for inspection, dirt and green grass smeared across the number 6. "No, no." She felt the tears coming. It's okay, she had time. She could throw them back into the washer and still have them out before Yukie came to wash Fukurodani's bibs and towels.

Yachi snatched all the bibs into her arms and raced back to the laundry room. She still had twenty five minutes to spare. She reset the timer and left for the kitchen.

As soon as she arrived, Yachi heard someone struggling and threw her things on one of the tables and rushed to the back. There was a loud sizzling as Eri tried to push the large pot of boiling water off the heat before it overflowed more. "Wait!" Yachi called, trying to stop an even bigger disaster. "Let me help!"

Eri stood sharply, barely realizing her mistake of trying to push a pot off a grate above a still running flame, then calmly helped Yachi lift the heavy pot to another burner, "it just started boiling over, and I freaked out." She giggled then sighed and inspected the water burns, "you got here at the perfect time." She smiled and the two began prepping the rest of the dinner.

Yachi was glad she had dinner duty with Eri. The two would be the only ones returning to the camp next year, and Yachi genuinely enjoyed the older girl's company.  Especially once Yachi found out Eri used to be anxious as well, "but being around these guys, I dunno. Being the only person they listen to really has a way of improving your confidence." Yachi smiled indulgently. Though she doubted the team would ever listen to her the way they did to Kiyoko, she also didn't doubt the confidence she'd already noticed in herself since declaring her status as Villager B to her mom... in a crowded subway station.