effervescent (nishinoya yū)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN / the basics of first aid

The next day, during break, you hung out with the others in your and Ennoshita's classroom. They were unusually quiet and thoughtful as they ate their lunches and talked about the future of the volleyball club. You leaned back in your chair and closed your eyes as you listened to them, but the peace was quickly disturbed as someone called your name from the door.

"Ah, dammit!"

You fell out of your chair and got to your feet within the same second. Ennoshita gawked and reached out, probably trying to ask if you were okay, but you brushed their concern off and walked to the door. To your surprise, Kiyoko stood in front of you.

"Kiyoko?" you asked. "What are you doing here?"

Around you, people stared at Kiyoko and whispered, probably trying to figure out why the third-year beauty was in the second-year wing. Both of you ignored them and she pointed down the hall with her thumb. "Mister Takeda wants to see you," she said. "He said it was urgent."

You hummed and nodded. "Alright." You started to walk down the hallway but you paused mid-step and turned back around. "Are you and the other third-years staying on for the next matches?"

Kiyoko's brow furrowed a little. "I want to," she said. "I don't know about the others though."

"I see." You sighed and rubbed the back of your head. "Well, hopefully they will. I'd hate for their last match to be against Aoba Johsai of all people." She flinched and stared at you when you said that, but you dismissed her confusion and began heading down to the faculty room.

When you got there, Takeda looked up from his desk. "Ah, good." He shuffled some papers around and walked over to you. "It's not anything bad. I just wanted to talk to you about something."

You linked your hands behind your head. "What is it?" you asked.

"I'm sure you remember Nekoma," he began. "They're part of a group with three other powerhouse schools in the Tokyo prefecture, called the Fukurōdani Academy Group. I've been trying to talk with Coach Nekomata to see if they would be willing to let us practice with them over the summer."

"Has he said yes?" you asked, your curiosity piqued. You remembered Fukurōdani because of their ace, a third-year named Bokuto Kōtarō. He was close to being one of the top aces in all of Japan. Kikuchi had a crush on him for a while. "If you got the opportunity to train with them, it would do wonders for Karasuno."

"That's why I've been asking," he said with a smile. "I've been taking any opportunity I can to contact him and ask, but he hasn't said yes yet. However, I'm fairly certain he'll be willing to let us practice with them. After all, Nekomata's already said he wants the Battle at the Trash Heap to happen, so it'd be in their favor as well."

You nodded. "Wait, why are you telling me this?" you asked. "I'm not on Karasuno's team."

He crossed his arms and stared at you. "I know you want to come with us, and it'd be a great booster for the boys to have you there as well. However, I've been talking with the faculty and there's been some...complications."

"Like what?"

"Well, the Nekoma practice match wasn't a problem because we held both that and the training camp during Golden Week," he explained. "Since the supplementary classes for exams are the weekend that I'm aiming for, they've been giving me a hard time with letting you come on. Finally, though, I got to a compromise."

You usually didn't like the word "compromise," but in this context it was music to your ears. "What is it?"

"Volleyball camps usually come with quite a few health concerns for the players." He reached over for a piece of paper and handed it to you. As you read, he continued: "The staff was willing to let you come with us as an athletic trainer."