✤Idyllic✤ Haikyuu Various! x Reader

chapter two;

The good news was that the next day, you skipped practice. The bad news was that you did it to tell your boss that you wouldn't be able to come in as often.

You dragged your feet as you walked to Ukai's convenience store, unsure of what you were even going to tell him. You liked your job. You really did. It was a nice distraction from everything else going on in your life. Ukai being your boss was an added bonus. He really was like a parental figure to you. You didn't want to just abandon the position altogether, and even though you technically weren't, it still felt like a betrayal.

Sooner than you wanted to, you arrived at your destination. Staring at the doors to the entrance for a little longer than you should've, you finally steeled yourself and pushed them open.

"Hey, Mr. Ukai," you greeted as you walked in, desperately hoping that your nervousness didn't show in the way you spoke.

"On time as always, (Y/N)," he said back, standing up from his chair and stretching. He looked you over, clearly concerned by how tense you were. "Something happen? You look like you're anxious."

"Yeah," you said after a moment of silence. It was better to just be out with it, right? "You know how I recently moved schools? My friend, Kiyoko, forced me to join the club she's in."

"Oh yeah? What club?" he asked, mildly interested.

You held back a grimace. "Volleyball."

It was no secret to Ukai that you got... weird... about the sport. You avoided the subject of it at all times, and outside of visiting his practice matches, you refused to watch it. The only reason you went to those in the first place was because he was the one coaching. And you knew that Karasuno was kind of a sore subject for him, too. He'd never outright said anything, but you assumed that it was for the same reason as you; a painful nostalgia that was difficult to overcome.

He nodded knowingly, more unphased by the information than you would've liked him to be. "Karasuno, right? I've been getting calls from someone on their team, you know. They want me to join as their coach."

Of course, with the reputation of Ukai's grandfather, it only seemed natural that they would try to hire him. But at the end of the day, despite being a phenomenal coach, Ukai wasn't his blood. He was his own person, and you doubted it felt nice to constantly live in somebody else's shadow.

"It would be a little funny if you did," you hummed. "They need the discipline, and you're a great coach."

"Yeah, well, I'm declining their offer. No use in drudging up old memories, yeah?" he sighed, and you nodded in agreement.

"I get it," you told him. "But there was something I needed to talk to you about. Because of the club practices, I'm not going to be able to come in as much anymore. This is my last shift during a practice day. I'm sorry- I know you liked having an extra set of helping hands."

He paused from where he was typing on his phone, looking up at you. "You know, I knew that you'd say something like that eventually. It's okay if you want to join a club and have to cut down your hours here, but what I'm worried about is how being apart of the volleyball club will affect you mentally."

You opened your mouth to say something- not even sure where you were even going to start, but he held up a hand to silence you before continuing.

"You loved that sport. Is it really fair to you to have to watch it from the sidelines?"

"It's better that way," you told him bitterly.

You didn't let him respond. Instead, you got to work setting your stuff down and stocking certain items from the cart in the back to the shelves. He stared at you for a moment, clearly wanting to say something, but it seemed he ultimately decided not to, because he went back to tapping away on his phone.