𝑺𝑾𝑬𝑬𝑻 𝑳𝑰𝑲𝑬 𝑪𝑰𝑮𝑨𝑹𝑬𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑺 ➣Keishin Ukai

crash

"Ukai. . . ," you trail off, unsure of what to say to him.

"Just take it. That was our deal, was it not?" he says as he forces the money back into your hand, the money you dropped, trying to give it back to him.

You shake your head, stretching your hand out to give him the money back, the money you don't want. "Yes, but you don't have to actually pay me."

He scoffs. "So, if I wasn't impressed you weren't going to pay me?"

"No! I was going to pay you, I promise. But seriously, you don't have to do this. You being a coach is enough. I was never going to make you pay if you agreed to it. I was just trying to get you out here to watch and give them a chance." You smile nervously. "Please, take it."

He eyes you for a moment, scanning you up and down, unsure of whether or not he should take it back. He opens his mouth to speak, but decides against it and instead, reaches forward and takes back the cash. But he pauses before putting it back in his pocket. You watch, confused as he starts counting it and takes half of it, shoves it in your hand, and puts the rest in his pocket.

"No," he says when you start to hand it back. "You take half. Or I won't be Coach. I made a deal, and I'm not one to go back on deals but I'll give you an exception. Ah-ah, zip it. It's a deal. See," he says, taking your hand and shaking it. "We shook on it. No take backs."

You roll your eyes but decide to stop arguing. You know you won't be able to win against him. He'll just push and push and push. Might as well agree to it.

"Fine. Deal." You smile and turn your attention to the boys. You whistle, using your finger and thumb, catching their eyes as the gym goes silent. Ukai mutters a "Wow," next to you, leaving you to smile softly. "I'd like you to meet your new coach, Coach Ukai. He'll being coaching this team from now on so I expect you to treat him with respect."

"Coach Ukai? Like Ikkei Ukai?" Ennoshita asks.

You nod. "This is Ikkei Ukai's grandson, Keishin Ukai."

"Hey," Ukai says, with a small wave of his hand.

"Hi," they all reply with a small bow.

You look over at Ukai and the smile on his face leaves you speechless. To think he didn't want to do this just confuses you. Because as he begins to teach the boys, and begins to show them basic drills, you can't help but just feel like this is where he belongs. He just fits. Regardless of how much he fought it, you can't help but think that all along he wanted to do this, he just didn't have the confidence to do it. What changed? You're not sure, but you're grateful no matter what. Because now these boys get the chance to compete and to improve by playing against other teams.

When practice is over, you help Kiyoko clean up the volleyballs, letting the boys deal with putting the net away and into the closet. Ukai chats with Takeda, and the boys begin leaving, a few of them wanting to go get some meat buns on the way home. You say goodbye to Kiyoko and head out the door to catch Daichi and Suga before they head home.

"Daichi!" you holler, chasing after him and Suga before they cross the street.

"Y/n! You did it!" The second you reach him, he wraps you in a hug and spins you around. You laugh, quickly going to hug Suga when he sets you down again. "I'm so proud of you."

"I did it," you gush. "I can't believe I did it! But what do you guys think? Are you excited for him?"

Suga nods. "I think so. Sure, he's tough, but so was his grandfather. Besides, you seem to get along with him," Suga teases, bumping your shoulder with his.

"Yeah, he's easy to talk to. What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

He laughs as he shakes his head. "Nothing," he hums. "Thank you for getting us a coach, Y/n. You're too good for us."

"Oh, thank you," you say sheepishly, brushing your hair back as you smile down at your shoes. "It's nothing really. I love helping you guys."

"And we love receiving your help. It means a lot to us. We appreciate Kiyoko too. You guys are amazing," Daichi says, his bright smile returning as he shakes his head and looks at the incoming cars down the street.

And in an instant, it's gone. He rushes over to you, pulling you close to his chest and covering your ears with his hands. You frown, but don't say anything, even if you want to as Suga helps cover your ears too. It doesn't make sense to you, and you can't hear much except for Suga and Daichi singing. "La la la la!"

"Daichi," you say, trying to pull away, but he refuses, keeping you tightly secured against his chest. Suga helps to keep you there too and you frown, wondering what the hell is going on and why they're doing this.

Finally, they let you go, but quickly start dragging you away, back towards the gym. Suga keeps his hands on your ears, keeping your head from moving to look around.

"Guys, what's going on? Why are we going back to the gym?"

You try to stop them, to see what's going on. It's starting to annoy you. At least tell you what's going on and why this is happening. Sure, you trust them, but this was so sudden, with no warning.

They push you into the gym, shoving Takeda and Ukai back inside before they could leave, who question it but don't do anything to help you.

Finally, Suga lets go of you and you go to whip around to see the outside before they shut the door. But you're too late. They shut the door, and you frown, crossing your arms tightly across your chest.

"What the hell was that? You could've just asked me to come inside!" You stomp your foot, glaring daggers at both Daichi and Suga.

"Y/n," Daichi says.

"A warning would've been nice too! Instead of just grabbing me and plugging my ears!"

"Y/n."

"And then shoving me in here! Just tell me what was happening! I would've listened!"

"Y/n, there was a car crash outside."

You stop talking, your mouth frozen in the middle of a word. "Oh," you say softly, your heart racing, your body slumping. "A bad one?" you ask softly.

Daichi nods, his eyes on the ground. "We didn't want you to see."

"There was a car crash? How bad? Are the people okay?" Ukai asks, going to reach for the door, but Suga steps in his path.

"Bad. Just. . . stay in here for a bit. Please."

"Y/n?" Takeda asks, stepping forward to you.

"I'm okay," you whisper, squeezing your eyes shut against the dizziness. You bite at your nails, hugging your waist, trying to keep yourself together before you fall apart. "I'm okay," you say again, hoping it'll be true if you just repeat the words over and over again.

"What's wrong?" Ukai questions, obviously confused. "Is she okay? Kid, are you okay?"

"Fine," you mumble. "I'm fine." Fine. Fine. Fine. Fine. Fine. Fine. Fine. Fine fine fine fine fine fine fine fine fine fine fine fine fine fine fine fine fine fine fine fine fine fine. You're fine. It's fine.

"Y/n," Daichi says softly, reaching out to you.

"I want to go home," you whisper, finally opening your eyes to look at him. They're full of tears, tears you refuse to shed. "Please."  

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