Sunshine...?

99

Kiyoko pulls you aside just as you're preparing to head onto the court. "Y/n, mind having a quick word with me?"

You raise a brow, but nod. You follow her out of the gym and lean against one of the walls. "Everything alright?"

"Are you fine with going to Shiratorizawa every day?"

You filled with confusion. "Yeah, I guess. Why do you ask?"

She shuffles in place, fidgeting with her fingers. "Well, I heard Shiratorizawa's ace confess to you around the time of the tournament. And I noticed how you kept talking with him frequently. Are you sure you'll be fine with the current arrangement? There won't be any problems, will there? I mean, what if you run into him? What would you do?"

"Calm down, Kiyoko. Everything's fine. I can handle all of that. I doubt that I'll actually get into contact with Ushijima again, but I'll be fine if I have to be around him. If anything, I feel bad for hime since I rejected him. I can only imagine how it must feel to be rejected by someone you liked and respected for so long. I was once the closest person to him, so it's a little weird that we have a distance between us now. I won't let anything he's said to me bother me. I'll be fine. I'm more worried about you and Hitoka being able to handle all the extra work I'm leaving you two."

Kiyoko shakes her head. "That won't be a problem. And, as long as you're going to be fine, I guess there's nothing for me to worry about. Also sorry about eavesdropping on personal conversations you had. I was only walking to find you, but ended up hearing those personal things instead."

You shake your head, waving a hand in front of you. "Don't worry about it. It was an accident, so it's fine. I didn't really care about people hearing what he and I talked about, but I was taking everyone else's feelings into consideration, so I never said a word about it. Just don't say anything to the others, ok?"

She nods. "Sure thing, Y/n. That was all. Let's get you some time on the court before you need to head back to the camp."

You nod, walking back into the gym with the girl. Wordlessly, you walk onto the court and join the team you'll be the libero for. You get into position, ready to receive anything that comes your way.

***

The walk to Shiratorizawa was quiet and lonely, making it feels longer than it actually was. You breath in deeply the moment you're in front of the volleyball gym doors. You quietly open the door, walking into the gym. You walk with purpose, heading over to the coaches. You were ready to do any task they gave you. Even though, they seemed to not want you to do much. You noticed that coach Washijo liked making Hinata do everything. You guessed it was payback for Hinata coming when he wasn't wanted.

You stand beside the coaches, looking out over the court. "How is everyone doing today?"

Coach Anabara smiles softly at you. "Things are running much smoother today. Except..." He hesitates, looking at certain first years that were doing the drills they had been instructed to do. "Hyakuzawa and Koganegawa seem to be having some trouble. Koganegawa is still off with his sets, and we're trying to have him work on that. Hyakuzawa is still struggling to fully get a hang of the basics. It seems like when we try to pair the boys up for 2v2 matches, no one wants to work with him. Oh, uh, do you have any suggestions for us? I've heard from coach Washijo that you're actually a pretty impressive person when it comes to volleyball."

You look over at the older coach. "How would you know that, sir?"

Washijo looks over at you from the corner of his eye. "Ushijima talked about you a bit. He never had one bad thing to say about you. In fact, he said you could've been one of the best female volleyball players, had you actually played the sport yourself."

You blink, taking in the fact that you just got praised. "I see. Um, thank you. I think that Hyakuzawa just needs a little more motivation to improve. If he's given the proper advice on what he could do better, he might be able to make adjustments where they're needed. Um... I guess I would start off with trying to get his receives in a better condition. Maybe we could offer solutions to his problem?"

Anabara hums, nodding along with your words. "Sounds like a plan. But how do we go about that?"

"Uh-"

"Hyakuzawa!" Hinata walked up to the boy, a bright and cheery smile on his face. From where you stood, you couldn't hear what your boyfriend was saying to the tall boy. You just saw the was Hyakuzawa seemed to get into a better mood, a determined look crossing his face.

You let your eyes follow the tall boy back to the court. "Maybe Shoyo took care of it before I could come up with a plan."

Coach Anabara chuckles. "It actually seems like a good thing that he's around."

Coach Washijo just snorted. "He doesn't have much value on the court. I won't change my mind about that."

You hum, looking between the coach and the players. "I don't know, Shoyo can be quite the convincing person. He might actually grow on you. That's just what he's like."

Hinata spotted you talking with the coaches, still trying to focus on the balls that were flying his way. He wondered what you could be talking about. He made eye contact with you as you looked in his direction. You offer a warm smile to him, to which he reciprocates. You give a gesture, reminding him to focus. He gives a brief nod, before running after a a ball that bounced over his head.

Coach Anabara glances at you briefly. "What's your relationship to Karasuno's number ten?"

You tense slightly, not expecting to be asked about that. "Well, we're a couple. We've been friends our whole lives and started dating a few months after school began."

Washijo hummed. "I see. You're biased because of your connection to him. No wonder Ushijima seemed off during and after finals. You must have had a pretty heavy influence over him, and to find out you would chose someone who holds little to no value. Such a shame. That's disappointing."