Sunshine...?

72

Bokuto proudly shows you off to the guys still in the gym with him. "Hey, I got one of the Karasuno managers here to help us out!"

You smile, waving at the other guys. "I'm L/n Y/n, one of the first year managers at Karasuno. You might also recognize me from actually playing on the court with the guys."

Akaashi looked over at you, seeing why his ace looked happier than usual. "Right. You passed out during the weekend training camp. Are you much better from how you were then?"

You nod, looking at the floor. "I see there are people that actually remember that. Yes, that's me."

Bokuto gasped. "I forgot! You probably don't know our names. I'm Bokuto Koutarou, the captain and ace of Fukurodani. This is my setter, Akaashi."

Akaashi waves. "Nice to actually meet you, L/n-san."

"Ah, you don't need to call me that. Just L/n is fine." You offer a kind smile to the older boys.

Bokuto pointed at the Nekoma players. "Do I need to introduce you to the guys from Nekoma?"

You shake your head. "No, I actually met them before. My team is pretty close to theirs. I know who's who on the Nekoma team."

Bokuto grins. "Hey hey hey! Well, that's less work for me. Now, how good are you at blocking? I wanna get some spiking practice in, and Akaashi will be setting to me."

You shrug. "I can try my best. I can't promise that I'll be good enough."

The ace pats your head. "Don't worry about that! I bet you'll be fine!"

"I'm better at receives. Instead of blocking, I could always receive your spikes and send them back to Akaashi-san. Would that work?"

The third year hums, bringing a hand to his chin while thinking. "I don't usually like it when my spikes get received, but I'll make an exception for you! As long as you keep getting it back to Akaashi so he can give it to me, I see no problems!" He chuckles, jogging over to the court.

Akaashi sighs. "Please let us know if you need a break. I would feel really bad if you were to pass out again. If you feel unwell, let me know immediately. I'll make sure that Bokuto-san understands that people need breaks."

"Thank you. I promise to say something if I'm not able to perform at my best."

***

You don't know how long you've been receiving, but you were getting exhausted. You've been sending perfect receives back to Akaashi, watching every movement of the ball. You paid close attention to Bokuto, making sure you would reach the ball before it touched the floor.

Finally, you felt that feeling again. You felt weak. Your vision started to get blurry. You tried taking a step but stumbled and fell onto your knees.

"Akaashi! Don't toss the ball!" Bokuto runs to the other side of the net, kneeling down beside you. "Are you feeling alright, L/n?"

You shake your head, everything starting to spin. "I'm sorry. I'm not feeling tok good right now. Would it be ok if I rested for a little bit?"

Akaashi nodded, holding the volleyball in his hands. "Please take your time to recover. We can find an alternative for a while."

Bokuto carefully picked you up, cradling you in his muscular arms. "Let me put you in a safe spot. I don't want you to get hit by a ball." He carries you to a safe spot, gently setting you down on the floor. "If you feel better, you can join us again. But don't push yourself. You need plenty of rest right now." He stands up straight and walks back to the court, where his setter is waiting for him.

Your head tips to the side. You close your eyes for a few moments.  You slow your breathing, trying to recover. During this time, you heard voices shouting out away from you.

Tsukishima walked into the gym after having been dragged into practicing with the others. He held a frown on his face, even while blocking. He wasn't putting any effort into it, not really caring about what was going on.

You open your eyes, your vision clearing up. You look over at the court that Bokuto and Akaashi were playing on, seeing a familiar face. Slowly and carefully, you stand up. You walk over to the court as they pause to catch their breaths.

You tilt your head to one side as you look at the blond from your team. "Tsukishima? What are you doing here?"

Tsukishima looks at you, his eyes going wide. "They dragged me in to help out. Why are you here, L/n?"

Bokuto walks over to you, placing his hand on your shoulder. "Are you feeling better now? Do you want to join us? You can keep resting since you were only resting for about half an hour at most."

You shake your head. "I don't think I can continue to help with your practice tonight. I reached my limit and should take it easy for the rest of the night. And to answer your question, Tsukishima, I was originally looking for the team. When I couldn't find any of you, I came here to help Bokuto-san out."

Tsukishima blinks. "Did you pass out again?"

"No. I was close, though. Bokuto-san helped me out before anything bad could happen. I'm glad to see you practice a little extra. You're good, since you're tall and have played for a long time, but you can always improve. If you get better at blocking, we could have a much better defense."

Tsukishima snorted. "I have no intention of staying much longer."

Bokuto tipped his head to one side. "But -"

Kuroo walls over. "I can join you all for a bit. It's better to have two middle blockers, right?"

Bokuto jumped up. "Hey hey hey! Let's do it!" He turned to you, a big smile on his face. "You'll stay and watch me, right, L/n?"

You nod. "Of course! I'd love to watch you play!"

"Hey hey hey!"

Tsukishima frowned. Shrimpy will get mad if he finds out about this. Looks like I need to keep my mouth shut for the time being. As long as L/n is fine, I guess I don't have any problems. I'll stay for a while longer to keep my eye on her. I should be the one to take her back to the building we're staying at.

***

"Is it because you suck?" Bokuto made the comment to the Karasuno first year.

Kuroo added fuel to the fire. "If things stay like this, you're gonna lose to chibi-chan."

Tsukishima was beyond annoyed. He forgot all about the fact that he was gonna stay around and walk you back. After saying some words with a fake smile on his face, he excused himself and left the gym.

You furrowed your brows. "Looks like I have another problem to deal with."

Kuroo turned to you, an apologetic look on his face. "Sorry if I struck a nerve with him."

You shake your head. "It'll be fine. I can keep things from getting bad. Are you all gonna practice for a while? I can get you all some water or something."

Bokuto hugged you. "You're the best!"