one step further // haikyuu x OC

kiyoko's proposal // 28

"What was with that guy?! He was so weird!" Even with my bag - which he forbade I carry - and his own, Hinata still jumped high into the air. Allowing the energy he felt from ranting flow through his legs freely. It made me giggle.

"I don't know..." I said breathlessly, getting used to crutches hadn't come easily. It was wearing me out by the end of the day. "But I guess he's nice?"

"You guess? A person is either nice or they're not!"

"Well- I don't know! We've never talked until yesterday! It's like this injury got me lots of people's attention. Makes me feel awkward that everyone is 'suddenly my friend.'" Shouyou waited patiently for me as I continued talking and took my time getting down some stairs.

"It's suspicious!" He shouted as he held a door open for me. We continued through the walkway towards the gym.

"I don't know... maybe I shouldn't assume the worst out of people? Anyway, how long are you going to hold my bag hostage?! I'm just wishing the team good luck before going home." The whine he let out was interrupted by a soft 'ahem' that made us look further in the gym. It was Kiyoko, looking right at us and getting our attention.

"Toshiko, got a minute? I need to talk to you." Yikes. Another one, but this can't be as bad as when Tsukishima had to talk to me...

"Oh... yeah. I'll be right there!" I shouted before trying to get my bag back from my ginger friend. He seriously refused. Not until I had to leave. He even teased that he just might take it with him to the game and drop it off after. I rolled my eyes and laughed before hobbling over to their manager. A rush of excitement steeped in my gut because she wanted to talk to me. Kiyoko was definitely an upperclassman I wanted to get along with more. She led me to a relatively still part of the gym, away from the rambunctious boys gathering their things before the third round of the tournament.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" I asked shyly.

"I have a proposal for you." She said as she looked up from her clipboard that she always carried around.

"A proposal...?"

"Takeda reminded me today that soon I should think about finding a new manager to take over for me when the school year is over. I was hoping you could act as a temporary assistant manager until then."

"Me? Your assistant manager?!" Surprise was all over my face, which she met with a smile.

"Please? You would be a big help, especially since you know so much about volleyball. And you would only have to stick around until the girl's club is active again." I was so flustered by her request and heavy eye contact, words stumbled clumsily out of my mouth.

"I mean. Well- s-sure. Why not? If you think I'll be useful..."

Her smile lit up the room. "Great! Here's a manager's uniform. The bus leaves in 10 minutes."

"Wha?! I'm starting tonight?? But I-"

"Don't worry about grabbing anything, you'll mostly help with stats tonight. Don't take too long to change." I could tell she was hiding a smirk as she looked at her papers once again. I just sighed. I was so tired and wasn't planning on doing anything but wallowing in bed, but...

"Sounds like I don't have a choice, do I?" She laughed quietly and winked at me before briskly walking past to attend to her managerial duties.

xxx

It wasn't until warmups began that I was free from Tanaka and Noya's tirade. I mocked them in my head.

'Her smile has blessed your very soul!'

'You should be more grateful for breathing her air!'

'She winked at you?! No fair!!!'

They were so crazy sometimes. It wouldn't have been so bad if they didn't feel the need to flip a 180 and tell me they were kidding immediately after. As if an injury meant I couldn't joke around anymore! Ugh. A bit over the top for me that day. I stewed in front of the bench, exaggerating my bad mood. Until a strong hand patted my head, tuning me back into the environment, I blinked and looked up to see Ukai giving me an encouraging grin. Takeda was right by his side.

"How are the crutches treating you?" Takeda asked kindly. I laughed and leaned so that my walking aids were tucked into my armpits.

"Well," I began, showing them my palms which were lightly discolored with blues and purples. "I'm still getting used to it." They chuckled out of sympathy.

"I see. Glad to see you moving around anywa-"

"Oi! Hinata! That's not how receiving should look!" Ukai interrupted loudly as he walked away to fix Hinata's form and move them into the next drill. Takeda smiled apologetically and excused himself to help Coach. And with Kiyoko on the court helping as well I was left standing at the bench by myself again. Watching and wishing I could play, or at least be around the ball. Just before I could sit and mope a distant voice was fast approaching.

"Excuse me! Could you give me a hand?" A tall boy was jogging in my general direction. He was on the other team. I looked to my sides dumbly. Is this guy talking to me? What could he want?

"Me?" I pointed to myself out of confusion. Part of me was expecting a negative reaction, like 'No? Of course not you. Are you dumb?' But my assumption was way off. He smiled kindly as he continued closing the distance.

"My ball seems to have rolled to your feet." Eh? I looked down and, sure enough, a ball was chilling by my ankle brace.

"Oh," Moving both crutches to one hand I used them as a hold to balance while leaning down on one foot and picked up the ball just before he reached me. I looked up at him before talking again. "Sorry about that, I was zoning out and didn't notice." The boy gently took the ball out of my hands before smiling again. Up close he was even more charming, which was surprising; I wasn't so easily charmed by others. He was tall and very idol-esque with his swept brown hair and alluring gaze.

"Thank you for the help! Say... I didn't see a second manager at the practice match. Where were you hiding then?" He spoke very smoothly, very friendly.

"Practice match? Oh you must be talking about the game they had before I showed up. I just moved here not that long ago." His aura made me feel playful. I found myself immediately easing up with him.

"Is that right? What made you choose Karasuno as a school?" A hand placed on his hip told me he was also comfortable.

"Pure spite. And the rumors regarding them returning to their powerhouse status."

"That's interesting for a simple manager to say~" He humored himself, I had to press my lips together from letting out my amusement. I didn't wanna be too friendly with my friends' opponents.

"It would be - if I was 'simply a manager.' I'm a player. Just temporarily a manager for now." He opened his mouth to speak again when a volleyball bounced off the back of his head.

"Get your head out of your ass Shittykawa!" A broad player on his team was storming our way. "You really had a girl on crutches get your ball for you?!" The angry one reached his teammate quickly and began dragging him away by the back of the collar, muttering a curt apology to me. A stifled laugh dribbled out of my lips.

"Iwaaa! It's not even like that..." The other whined before giving me a nice wave. I could only awkwardly smile and bow my head as he was aggressively pulled away.

Little did I know... that small interaction was going to make me feel really shitty later.