Lemon Tea

Interhigh

"What are you working on Takeda?" 

"Hi L/n, I'm just finishing up some paperwork for an upcoming volleyball tournament." 

"Oh you're having a tournament?"

 "Yeah, next weekend. Want to come?" he asked, his eyes beaming. 

"Hm, it sounds fun. Plus I have a few students on your team. But can I? It wouldn't be odd?" 

"No of course not, please come!" he said, nearly shouting, jumping to his feet. "The more people there the better!"

The next day after the bell rang and you began to pack your things, you were interrupted by a student at your desk. 

"Miss L/n?" Suga asked. "I collected the printouts for today." 

"Oh thank you Sugawara. Oh by the way, you're on the volleyball team right?" 

A little surprised, he nodded. "Yeah, so is Daichi," he said, gesturing to the boy who had begun to walk up to him.

 "Well I'm planning on going to your tournament next week." 

"Really?" both of the boys exclaimed. 

"Yes, is that ok?" 

"Yeah! How did you find out about the tournament?" Daichi asked. 

"Oh I was talking to Takeda. I thought it would be nice to cheer all of you on. Although I don't think I can stay the whole time.." 

"That's ok! The team will appreciate it." 

"Well I'm looking forward to it. Takeda said you guys are really good!" 

"Haha well we've definitely been working hard that's for sure," Daichi sighed.

~

The weather was heating up and you would be going straight from the tournament to meet your friends at a trendy restaurant, so you opted for a pair of culottes and an airy linen button up. You slung your bag over your shoulder and left for the tournament. 

You walked into the building and were instantly taken back, feeling out of place in a sea of young athletes and spectators who seemed to know where they were going. You made your way to a large bracket posted on the wall and found where Karasuno would be playing. You walked into the gym, blown away by its size, and found a seat. 

They were in the middle of their first set with a team in blue called Tokonami, and they were winning. Takeda wasn't lying, they were very good, they were practically crushing the other team. Karasuno made it look effortless. 

Before noticing any of this, however, you noticed Ukai in a black Karasuno track suit seated next to Takeda on the court. 

Huh? Wasn't he just a temporary coach? Did he decide to stay longer? 

His attitude on the court was totally different than usual. He was laser focused, shouting instructions or encouragement. You blushed slightly after realizing where you'd been looking, refocusing on the game in front of you instead of the coach. 

You redirected your attention to the game, spotting a few other students you hadn't known were on the team. 

Suddenly, a black haired boy set the ball to a short red head, jumping what seemed like 10 feet in the air, spiking the ball too quickly to even see. You sat there wide eyed. 

"We're late! What if we missed the match?"

 "Who knew it would be so packed?" 

You turned to see two guys, around your age, standing at the railing watching Karasuno. 

"Oh we're safe, they haven't started against Date Tech yet." 

Date Tech? Was that the next team they would play? You were sure they were good, but from the looks of this game Karasuno wouldn't have anything to worry about. The two guys sat down a couple seats down from you, one had his black hair parted in the middle with glasses while the other had short dirty blonde hair. 

"I wonder how they know the team. Maybe one of the boy's siblings?" you thought to yourself.

 They wrapped up the second set, Karasuno winning by a landslide. You felt proud, that was your school after all! But you couldn't help but feel bad for the other team, watching them gloomily walk away from the court. 

They would have a short break in between games so you set out to find the team. Takeda had demanded you "swing by and say hi to everyone!" 

You left the gym, walking down the hall until you ran into Takeda. 

"Oh L/n! I was just coming to look for you. The team is this way. And thank you again for coming, it means a lot to me and the team" he said, leading you to the end of the hall. 

"Hi Miss Y/n." Daichi said upon seeing you. "Thanks for coming!" Suga added. 

You visited with the rest of team, congratulating them, when you noticed Ukai had slipped away from the group and was going out the back door. 

"I'll be right back, I'm going to stop by the vending machine." 

Ukai had been smoking a cigarette by the side of the building. 

"Here." 

Ukai looked up at you, surprised to see it was you. He looked at your outstretched hand and took a can from it. 

"Uh-" 

"I wasn't sure what you liked so I just got an iced coffee. I figured you could use a pick me up before the next match." 

"Thank you," he said still slightly shocked, looking down to find you smiling up at him. 

He met your eyes and smiled back causing your face to grow slightly warm. Any intimidation you felt melted away, his brown eyes seemed to soften and his smile was genuine. He took a last puff of his cigarette before throwing it away. 

"We'd better head back inside," he said, cracking open the can of coffee. "It's almost time for the next match."