Inarizaki's Hidden Foundation

Ch. 4 - Decisions

"No, don't make me go, tell Coach I got sick or something," you tell Mina in homeroom.

"What do you mean?? You stuck with this the entire week and you're so good at the job everyone's sure to want you to be a co-manager!" Mina exclaims.

"Okay, not after what happened yesterday with Kita.. as captain he's got a lot of pull and he definitely doesn't like me so he'll vote no. And I never wanted to do this in the first place so it's fine, I can accept not being manager."

It was at that moment the Miya twins and Suna had walked in to take their seats behind you both, overhearing what you said.

"Yeah, that was the first time anyone, like ANYONE, even Coach talked to Kita like that. And I can't believe you didn't know he was our captain. Don't you feel his cold presence whenever he's around? It's like he kind of just oozes 'you better listen to me or else' vibes," Osamu says.

Suna comments, "I thought it was kind of badass."

"It's alright, Y/N. You definitely got our votes so you'll have at least 3 in your favor," Atsumu says, winking.

"Well, gee thanks. Good to know I won't be completely humiliated today," you groan, rolling your eyes. The decision wasn't going to happen until after practice so enduring the 3 hours before then was not going to be fun. You might be helping out for naught and it was all going to be Kita's fault. Jerk, you think to yourself. If he wasn't so damn demeaning you wouldn't have talked back and be in this position. You hope for the day to go by as fast as possible.

At practice, you purposely keep your glasses on to spite Kita. If you're not going to be manager anyways, might as well go down defiantly. Petty, yes, but you don't care. Kita seems to take particular note of the glasses wearing and looks a bit disgruntled when he sees you but doesn't say anything.

The practice goes by like any other practice except that you can't help but feel a constant blaring stare whenever you turn your back to the court. Coach calls everyone over after the 3vs3 practice match between the players is finished. Oh boy.. here it comes. Time to decide on manager positions.

"Alright Y/N and Mina, why don't you grab your stuff in the lockers and come back in 15 minutes? The team and I will discuss whether we want you as managers and give you the result when you get back." Coach instructs.

You and Mina say "Yes, sir" and walk to the adjacent building where the girls' locker room is.

"Don't worry," Mina tries to reassure you. "I'm sure Kita isn't that petty to not let you be manager just because of one dumb conversation."

You've already accepted your fate but to ease Mina's nerves, you say, "Yeah, yeah for sure." It's been a long day already, so you pull out your tight ponytail, letting down the long locks of hair you've grown out for 3 years.

After the 15 minutes are up, you and Mina head back to the gym.

There's no telling what Coach is thinking or what decision was made because he has the same stern expression as usual on. The other players also don't seem to let anything up when you look at their faces.

You both stand in front of the team and Coach, who says, "So this decision was a little tricky, but we were able to compromise nonetheless. We have decided that.. " he pauses. "Y/N, Mina. You must both accept our offer to be managers for our team or neither of you."

What? Did you hear that correctly? They're offering you the position. But why do you both have to take it?

Before you can ask, Coach continues, "We decided this because Mina, you are very enthusiastic and certainly know a lot about managership but you run around inefficiently on your own. Y/N is observant and makes good decisions and calls that are effective for you both. We need your ability to work as a duo in order to be good managers for the team."

Mina reddened at his comment about her but says, "Thank you, sir! We-"

"When do you need us to make a decision by?" you interrupt.

Coach blinks. "Right now would be ideal but I can give you until Monday if you need to think on it."

"That would be appreciated, thank you," you reply. Mina tries to plead with you with her eyes to say yes but you don't budge.

"Alright, then. Come see me on Monday to let me know your decision," Coach says. "You are all dismissed."

Once you were outside, Mina pulls on your arm, complaining, "Y/N!!! Please, you have to do this with me. You're a natural at this position and the guys are really cool, right? You'll do it right?"

You sigh, "I don't know.. I know you really want this but I'd be really uncomfortable. Coach said 'compromise', which probably meant Kita voted me out and that's just gonna be a chip on my shoulder."

"Urghh none of that matters! This will be such a great opportunity for us. Plus, it'll look good on college applications for you." she says. Wow, she's really playing that card. She knows you want to go to one of the most prestigious universities, Tokyo University, and you're still lacking extracurriculars. But you can't deny that she's right. Especially if Inarizaki is able to go far, which you've heard they do every year, then it'll be an awesome bonus for you.

"I still want to think about it," you say.

"Mina! Y/N! Wait up!" Osamu calls from behind you both, trailed by his twin.

"What's up?" Mina says, brightening at seeing Osamu.

"Do you both want to go to a house party tomorrow night? We and all the guys will be there," he says.

"OHH! A party!!" Mina turns to you, smiling widely. "C'mon let's go Y/N! We have no homework due though you probably already finished next week's. Which makes you free. It'll be good to let off a little steam and relax, hmm?"

You think for a second. "I mean I guess so.. it's been a weird week. Ok, fine we can go."

Osamu hoots and Atsumu adds, "It'll be fun! It's held by our upperclassman who always throws the best parties." He whispers separately to you, "I'm excited to see you let loose a little bit, Y/N."

Ok, kind of weird. But you don't think much of it since you could totally take him on if he tried anything funny. You all part ways and go home. While waving bye, you sneak a glance at Kita, and he looks back in your direction, making eye contact. His gaze makes you feel uneasy so you look away first and then you get angry by the fact that you were feeling uneasy. You really can't decide if you want to take the position or not but for now you're not going to think about it.

God, I hope tomorrow is fun, you think as you make your way home.