𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗼𝗯𝗮 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝘀𝗮𝗶 | 𝗢𝗶𝗸𝗮𝘄𝗮 𝘅 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿

Chapter 18

"You need to take better care of your knee!" (Y/N) scolded. She watched as Oikawa walked off the court after their last set with Date Tech. The setter had a slight limp and she noticed he was putting more weight on his other leg.

Iwaizumi frowned, he knew of his friend's bad knee, patellar tendonitis the doctor called it, and his tendency to overwork it. He hadn't realized how bad it was until now.

(Y/N) made him sit on the bench. "You're lucky my dad taught me how to take care of jumper's knee." The team watched curiously as their manager began massaging their captain's knee, immediate relief shone in his eyes. She then wrapped an ice pack around it, "That should be good for now, make sure to warm up properly and come to me to re-wrap it before our next game."

"Yes ma'am." Oikawa saluted, his voice chipper. The team relaxed for their two-hour break, eating honey lemon slices and drinking electrolyte drinks. She wouldn't admit it, but she was nervous about their match against Shiratorizawa. Sure, there are strategies, but even a good plan couldn't beat the pure strength of that team. There were Tendou's blocks to take into account, as well as her brother's insane spikes and jump serves. She heard that the first-year, Shirabu, was insanely smart and level-headed.

Oikawa noticed his chibi-chan's troubled face as she continued to slurp at an already empty drink. He gently grabbed the can from her hand and placed it on the floor. "Don't be nervous, have a little faith in us." He grinned, "We can't always rely on your amazing plans."

Watari chimed in, "Yeah! Plus, the scouting you did on the players is more than enough."

The small manager sighed, "Thank you. There's one last thing that I should mention, it's not really a strategy."

The team perked up, all conversations stopped, their full attention turned to (Y/N).

"Shiratorizawa's main strategy is focusing all plays and strength on Wakatoshi, which means he won't be receiving any serves unless there's no other choice. Tendou guess blocks, so Oikawa, you'll have to do a lot of masking on your sets." (Y/N) finished, "They like to demoralize their opponents from the start, so we can't let them get in our heads or intimidate us."

"Hai!" The team replied, their expressions serious and determined.

After (Y/N) finished taping Oikawa's knee, they began warm-ups. Tendou waved from across the court during his stretches. The time had come. Multiple teams gathered in the stands to watch the anticipated showdown. She noticed Coach Ukai in the crowd with Karasuno. She smiled recognizing the familiar tuft of blonde hair belonging to Noya. She lifted a hand in greeting as he waved enthusiastically from the stands.

"I believe in all of you," Oikawa stated to the team before they headed out. All of their expressions hardened. It was game time.

The small manager sat beside the coaches, her notebook held in a death grip. It was murder out on the court. Kyotani had stopped listening to his teammates, resulting in chaos on Seijoh's side. The team stopped communicating, crashing into each other to dig, spike, and block the ball. Both Oikawa and Iwaizumi looked exhausted and it looked like, despite the wrap, Oikawa was still in pain.

Coach Irihata called for a timeout after Ushijima made his third service ace in the second set. The team shuffled over while (Y/N) passed out towels and water bottles.

"What the hell are you guys doing out there?!" Coach Irihata barked, "It looks like I just walked into a middle school volleyball game. Scratch that. Kitigawa First plays better than what I'm seeing! So tell me what's going on out there."

One of the third years, Hiroki, spoke up, "Kyotani is playing too recklessly, he's bringing down the whole team."

A few other older members nodded in agreement.