Lemon Tea

Summer Training Camp

You followed the Fukurodani managers as they showed you where you would be staying and dropped off your stuff. After the long drive, you relished the quick break you had by freshening up before meeting back at the gym. 

As you were walking, you were drawn away by sudden yelling.

 "I can't believe it, Karasuno has two lady managers and now a lady coach!" a grating voice cried. 

"Yamamoto shut up!!!" his team screamed back. You laughed awkwardly. 

"I'll introduce you to the other coaches," Ukai said, guiding you into the gym. "They're already aware Takeda is coming later, so don't worry about that." 

You nodded. You were a little nervous being in such an unfamiliar situation and were wondering if you could actually be of any help to the team. You didn't know all that much about volleyball. While you'd expected being around Ukai would add to your anxiety, his presence was actually very comforting, a welcome constant in this new environment.

 As you walked in, you couldn't help but feel out of place, people turning to look at you. 

"Hey, do you feel like people are staring at us?" 

"D-don't worry about it," he said smiling through gritted teeth, annoyed. 

"Ahh Keishin," A short older man said upon entering the gym. "Glad you could make it." 

"Thank you for inviting us, Coach Nekomata," Ukai said, bowing to the older man whom he obviously respected. 

"And who's this?" he said, gesturing to you. 

"This is Y/n L/n, she's a teacher at Karasuno and will be helping me out until Takeda can get here," 

"Oh that's right. Thank you for the help, L/n." the old man said as a taller, younger man wearing a similar jacket joined him. 

"Nice to meet you, thank you for having me. Let me know if there's any way I can help!" you said with nervous excitement. Nekomata laughed. 

"Hang on to that enthusiasm, you'll need it. Ah, this is Naoi, my assistant coach." 

"Nice to meet you L/n, how's it going Ukai?" he said, grabbing Ukai's hand strongly, the two chuckling. 

"Hey Naoi what's up." 

You only looked at the two, silently waiting for an explanation.  

"This guy played for Nekoma at the same time as me," Ukai said casually. 

"Oh so you were rivals?" 

"You could say that. Well. I guess we still are," Naoi said confidently, glancing at Y/n before making eye contact with Ukai, smirking. 

"Do you play volleyball, L/n?" he continued, ignoring Ukai's glare.

 "No no, I mean I've played before in school or just for fun, but never on a team. I'm just here to help while Takeda is gone." 

"Really? I'm sure you'd play well though" 

"Hah I'm mediocre at best," you joked. 

"Oh- it looks like Nekomata is calling me," Naoi said, turning to leave. "And L/n, let me know if you have any questions," Naoi said, smiling warmly at you. 

"Ok, thank you," you said, slightly taken off guard, but pleasantly surprised by everyone's kindness. 

You looked to see Ukai scowling in Naoi's direction, obviously not pleased by the interaction despite being happy to see Naoi at first. That must be some rivalry, you thought to yourself. 

Ukai huffed. "Let's go, the first set is about to start."

Ukai introduced you to the coaches of other teams in between sets, all of them equally as welcoming as the Nekoma coaches. As it neared lunch time, you went with Yachi and a few other managers to help in the kitchen, Shimizu staying to help Ukai. 

"So, Miss Y/n," a girl named Shirofuku asked, washing vegetables in the sink. "Do you have a boyfriend or something?"

 "Yukie!" her friend Suzumeda scolded her. 

"What? I'm curious." 

"Haha it's ok, but I don't. Sorry, I'm boring." 

"Really? You seem so popular though." 

You laughed in surprise. "Popular? That's a word I've never heard used to describe myself." 

"You're a super popular teacher Miss Y/n!" Yachi added. 

"As a teacher maybe, with guys it's a different story, trust me" you said, joking. 

"Hm... I don't know, I've seen a few heads turn." Suzumeda added. 

"What do you mean?" Yachi asked. 

"She means that if she wanted, she could have your pick of any of the coaches here," Shirofuku said with an over-the-top wink, eliciting a giggle from everyone and an eye roll from you. 

Soon, the teams started to file in for lunch and after that the practice matches resumed.