Karasuno's Queen of the School [Kageyama Tobio]

[33] As Long As He's Happy

"You're so awesome, Tomo-Chan!" Tanaka cheered as he went back for his third and final rice ball, practically swallowing it whole with an extra pancake in hand. I opened my mouth to tell Tanaka-San that too much food before a practice could make him throw up, but Takeda Sensei caught our attention just in time. I fixed my jacket, zipping it up and setting down the spatula in order to listen without distractions. Kageyama's own club jacket was waiting for him on a nearby chair, ready to be given back.

"Everyone! I have someone to introduce to you!"

I burst into a smile, relieved to see a pretty familiar face amidst my upsetting morning. He hadn't noticed me yet since I was hidden behind the bodies of much larger volleyball players, but I danced around, hoping to catch his attention.

"Starting today, this will be who'll be handling coaching!" I jumped even higher at the announcement, bumping into Sugawara in the process, "Ukai-Kun!"

Mr. Ukai was looking up at the ceiling, taking in his surroundings, seemingly uninterested. I knew better, though, with all the stories he would tell with my dad when they were drunk. He also loved volleyball. He had even taken off his earrings and was sporting a track suit.

"C-Coaching?! Really?!" Sawamura-Kun exclaimed in partial shock and partial excitement, just as taken aback as everyone else in the gym. I finally managed to squeeze myself in between Tsukishima (who clicked his tongue at me) and Tanaka, tripping over their shoes and stumbling into the front. Hinata caught my arm just in time before I hit the floor, nearly missing Mr. Ukai's words.

"Up through the match with Nekoma, that is," he clarified, unfazed by the Captain's face that fell.

"Ehh? But he's the guy from Sakanoshita, right?" Tanaka asked, finger pointing, "Is he really a coach?"

Mr. Takeda seemed proud to answer the question. "He was a student here at Karasuno and is grandson of Coach Ukai himself!"

Everyone gasped, close to having a heart attack. I gladly took the opportunity to walk up to him, smiling wide. Mr. Ukai was surprised, to say the least. He jumped back a good few feet before narrowing his eyes at me accusingly, finger pointing from my nose to the volleyball club, realizing slowly but surely why I had been with them a few nights ago.

"You're part of the club?" he asked, which was more of a comment to himself. Nevertheless, I nodded.

"I'm the team's tutor," I clarified, "I made some breakfast, want some?"

He glanced at me questionably before shrugging, stepping over to snatch a pancake. I made a mental note to tell my dad about this, forgetting for a moment that it must have been odd for the team to realize that we knew each other. As expected, when I turned, I was bombarded with questions.

"You know him?!"

"Tomo-Chan, he's the one that gave you beer!"

"Do you think you can get us more pork buns later?"

I clung my notebook to my chest, overwhelmed by Tanaka, Hinata and Suga. I tried to respond to them each in order and in full sentences just to make sure to clarify any confusion, since after all, I wanted my personal space back. Even being so closed off and veered into a corner, the sight of black hair scrambling into the gym only moments after satisfying each volleyball player still caught my attention, just enough to make my chest clench and hands ache all over again. Like someone had pressed rewind and sent me back to early this morning.

"Oi, Kageyama-Kun, you're late!"

Each club member turned to face him, surprised to see him so disheveled and even more surprised at the fact that he, the star setter, was late to practice. I tried to pry my stare away in time before he could see me but I was too late. We locked eyes for a moment before Hinata tackled him to the floor, leaving me a red mess. Sure, I was embarrassed that he had forgotten about me, and normally I would shrug it off since it wasn't anything new, but this time was worse since I had actually hoped that he would be different.