OBSERVERS - TSUKISHIMA KEI

TEN - THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION TEAM

For the past week, Amaku had stayed up until early morning devising specific training for each individual player on the team. Blue ink was stained to her fingers and she was exhausted, but it was worth it. Each player had a detailed report on their abilities and what they needed to improve on, as well as how to.

When she showed it to Daichi, he was thrilled, and completely impressed.

"This is remarkable, Amaku." He praised. "I've been meaning to talk to you about something."

For a moment, the girl thought she was about to be removed from the team. Was she too mean to Tsukishima? Maybe she shouldn't have spiked that ball at his head last practice.

"I already spoke to Kiyoko about this, and she's fine with it." He leaned against the wall of the gym. "We decided we think it'd be best if you became our assistant coach."

Amaku was silent for a while. "That's allowed?"

"I talked to some of the faculty about it, and they didn't have an issue with it. It's totally okay if you don't want to do it!" Daichi said.

"No, I do. It just might be a lot without a real coach." She admitted.

"Just think about it, then." Daichi patted her shoulder before walking away. She stood there for a moment, thinking. Was it all that different from what she'd already been doing?

Practice was starting in a few minutes, so Amaku made her way over to the clubroom to change. Her face was twisted as she walked, contemplating. She was so lost in thought she didn't even hear Hinata call out to her as she walked by, stuck in her own head.

She was like that until she headed into the gym, a volleyball heading straight to her face. She had caught it before it could hit her instinctively, looking for the culprit with a scary expression on her face.

She saw a guilty looking Hinata and threw it at him, making him yelp and the whole gym of boys laugh.

Before she could yell at him, Takeda and a few others appeared behind her, the sound of the door opening bringing her attention to them.

"Excuse me!" He said. Daichi brought the team over, everyone confused to why the guy from the convenience store was in their gym next to their coach.

"This is Ukai." Takeda said. "As of today he will be your coach. Say hello everyone."

Everyone stared at the man, absolutely bewildered to why he was here.

"Woah, are you serious? We have a new coach?" Daichi asked.

"Just until after the Nekoma game." Ukai said.

"Hey wait, isn't that the grumpy guy that runs the convenience store?" Tanaka said. "He's coaching us?"

"He actually used to go to this school. He's the old coach Ukai's grandson." Takeda explained.

This caused even more shock and confusion, Amaku's jaw dropping.

"But your stores called sakanoshita, right?" Hinata asked. "You should've called it Ukai, dude- I mean sir."

"It's named from my mom's side of the family." He said, his hands on his hips. "Anyway, let's not waste anymore time. I set you up a game for 6:30. So, come on let's see what you've got. They're gonna be here soon!"

"Who will?" Daichi asked.

"Our friendly neighborhood association team." Ukai grinned.

At that, Amaku went to the storage closet to get out the practice uniforms. She sorted them out neatly, then went to her backpack to put on her knee brace. She was wearing shorts, and while she didn't mind the scar running up her leg, it definitely brought a lot of attention to a memory she didn't want to think about.

When she finished, she approached Ukai, a folder in hand. "Sir?"

"Geez, how old do you think I am?" He asked, swatting at the air. "What's up, kid?"

"I figured you might want to take a look." She handed him the folder. "Inside is an assessment of each player."

Ukai scanned it over, staring at the girl in shock. "If you can do all of this, what do you need me here for?"

"Well, I'm a first year." Amaku shrugged. "But this is natural to me. Daichi offered me a coaching position, but I don't have the time for it. I could make your job a hell of a lot easier, though."

"Yeah, well with your ability to do this" He points to the folder. "you could've gone pro."

Amaku shut down at that, excusing herself. It was like being hit with a truck, and she couldn't figure out why those words caused her to feel like that. Her legs carried her into the hallway without realizing.

It wasn't like he was wrong, she could've. She defiantly could've. She should've.

"Idiot." Amaku's nails were digging into her palms, desperately trying to keep her head clear.

She wasn't sure how long she stood there, but when she came back into the gym, there was four men, probably in their mid twenties, all stretching and warming up. That must've been who they were playing.

Her attention was grabbed when she saw Hinata jumping onto the bars of the windows, staring outside.

"Hinata!" She scolded, walking up to him as fast as she could. "What the fuck are you doing?!"

"There's Asahi, look!" He called out loudly. "Asahi! Hey!"

"Asahi! You got to be kidding me! Late on the coaches first day?" Ukai yelled. "What position do you play?"

Even from inside, Amaku could hear the poor boy stuttering profusely.

"Whatever I don't care, we need some more players. Get your ass in there and warm up! Chop Chop man bun!"

Amaku was thrilled to have him back, and so was the rest of the team. Still, the air grew heavier as he stepped into the gym.

"So, we just need a setter and a middle blocker." Ukai said. "I would play setter myself but I really should watch the game. Can I borrow two of your players?"

There was a bit of a stare off between Suga and Kageyama, both of them silently competing with who would play the setter position for their team.

Suga stepped forward after a moment, Kageyama calling out his name in protest. "Listen, you're not doing this for me, are you? Because if the only way I can rise up the ranks is at your expense, I'm not doing it."

"You know what, when you joined the club, I knew I had to fight you for the setter spot. But it was kind of a relief." He said. "The setter is the attack axis for the whole team. A setter has to be composed and steadfast. But I was too nervous to put the ball in the right spot. After what happened to Asahi, I was so afraid that my tosses would cause another spiker to get blocked. So, I was content to just hide in Kageyama's shadow. It was easier. Just the thought of a spike getting shut down like that terrifies me."

Suga was facing Asahi now. "Please, let me set for you one more time, okay?"

He turned back to Kageyama, determination on his face. "I'm playing on their side. Oh, and I'm not loosing."

"I still need a middle blocker." Ukai said.

Before anyone could speak, Amaku stepped up slightly. "I can do it."