Winner [Haikyu!! x OC] (Completed)

Team

All other sources of wisdom have failed.

My brain is fried from running through the same dilemma over and over again. My friends and family have been somewhat helpful, yet at the same time, entirely unhelpful. I even tried asking Aya, but she admitted that she didn't know how to advise me.

So it's time for me to seek counsel from a source that has never failed me. I honestly don't know why I didn't think of coming to him earlier. I pause outside the doors to the basketball gym, take a deep breath and clear my thoughts, then push my way through.

The sound of basketballs hitting the court fills my ears with familiarity as the boys run different drills all around the court.

One of the players who tried to recruit me to the team notices me first. He finishes his drill, then passes his ball to a teammate before running over to me and bowing.

"Kara-san! Welcome. Have you changed your mind about joining our team?" His gray eyes are sharp and eager.

I smile at him. These guys have accomplished a huge turnaround in their attitude toward me. Or at least one of them has. I wish I could remember his name so I can properly express my respect, but I don't, so I do what I can and bow in return.

"No, I haven't. I—" I hesitate when I realize that I technically could manage the boys basketball team this season. If I choose to join my own sports team next year, then I won't be able to actually join that club until the new school year starts, which means I'd have until then to do what I want. But I don't know what I want, so I shake the thought off and continue.

"Sorry, could you remind me what your name is?" I ask.

"Itsuki," he replies. "How can I help you, Kara-san?"

"Itsuki-san, I was hoping to talk to Coach Roku." I feel my fingers twisting together in front of me and I quickly pull them apart. I don't know why I would be nervous, but apparently I am.

Itsuki nods. "Of course." He leads me over to where Coach Roku is talking some of the boys through a drill. "Coach! Kara-san is here to speak with you. Though she says she has not decided to join our team."

He throws me a crooked smile at the end of his introduction to let me know he's joking, but I bow my head and mutter an apology all the same.

Coach Roku turns and offers me a bright smile. "Kara-san! Welcome. How can I help you?"

It's almost the exact thing Itsuki greeted me with, and for a moment, I feel a sense of déjà vu. I can tell that Itsuki is absorbing everything about Coach Roku— learning everything he can and applying it. My respect for him as an athlete grows even more. If he isn't the team captain, he should be.

"Well, Coach, I just had some questions about my role as a manager... and my role as an athlete..." My mind is struggling to find a good way to phrase my question. My fingers are strangling each other again. I wish they would cut it out.

"I see." Coach Roku nods at the boy still standing beside us. "Thank you, Itsuki. Get back to your drills."

Itsuki bows and jogs back across the court.

"Itsuki-san is doing really well," I note as I watch him leave.

"Yes," Coach Roku agrees. "Once I relieved him from his role as captain, he's been shaping up rather quickly."

I look back at him. "You mean he's not the team captain?"

"Not anymore. Though he has since become one of the most defining leaders of the team."