Another Manager (Akashi Seijuro x OC)

1.6 An Interesting Team

After the mishap, Ai had Hinata squeeze her hand as he battled with lingering nausea and helped him stay hydrated. Throwing up took a lot of energy; defying gravity and the natural digestive system to hurl up and vomit what he'd already eaten required stamina. "Breathe deeply," she said as Hinata whimpered. "Try to calm your body."

The rest of the guys had to endure the odor, but it wasn't as bad with the windows open. 

By the time they had arrived at Seijoh private school, Ai had come up with an idea. She looked up the nearest drug store and calculated if the time it would take her to get there would be worth the trip.

Coming to a decision, she caught Takeda-sensei before he went inside to greet the other school's teacher and coach.

"I apologize for the inconvenience." She bowed.

He laughed and forgave her. "It's all good. Shimizu-san's here, too. And, I know you wouldn't be asking if it wasn't important. Go on." He smiled and waved her off.

She kept her head bowed while she heard Hinata rushing in after him to find a restroom. Next was Daichi. She looked around and found him lecturing Tanaka and Tsukishima for their rude behavior. She joined him in apologizing to the other team, observing their surprise at a second female manager for Karasuno.

"Captain, I'm afraid I have a request to ask."

He turned to her, keeping his hold on the back of Tanaka's jacket collar. "How rare. What's up?"

"I need to run an errand. However, I'll join the team in greeting Seijoh before I leave. I'm sorry to do this. I'll be back as soon as I can."

He nodded while Tanaka piqued his interest. "Okay. I'll tell Shimizu so you won't have to worry."

"Thank you so much." She bowed.

As promised, she thanked Seijoh for having them over before she left. Ai hurried to the store, checking the map on her phone. Fifteen minutes there by foot. She was wearing the knee-length school skirt, but her sports shoes allowed her to run.

.

Walking down the aisles out of breath, she found what she was looking for. After making the quick purchase, she ran back.

.

Unfortunately, she had missed most of the first set, as expected, but had impeccable timing as she entered the gymnasium and witnessed Hinata hitting a serve right into the back of Kageyama's head. It did nothing but confirm her concern for Hinata's anxiety.

With the first set over, the players had a short water break.

"You're back." Takeda-sensei smiled in relief from the bench.

"I am." She pulled out a small bottle from the paper bag. The brown container looked like an elixir of some sort.

"What's that?" Tanaka asked inquisitively.

"Lavender," she replied. "Shōyō. Come here."

He ran over from his conversation with Kageyama, looking irritated. That was good. He was no longer in panic.

Ai took his right sleeve in her hand and dabbed the essential oil onto his shirt. "This is lavender oil; the scent will help you to relax. I'll put it on your sleeve so you won't have to worry about allergic reactions. It'll come right out when you wash it, too," she explained.

"Woah! I want some!" Tanaka lined up for his turn, his eyes twinkling.

"Wow. Never underestimate a girl," Sugawara said, amazed.

"Lady," she corrected as she applied some to Tanaka's sleeve. "Who else would like a dose?"

Ennoshita raised his hand, huffing from participating in the match. "Sure."

They came up to her one by one, and the guys who were done pressed their noses to their arms, smelling.

"That smells good," Hinata sighed.

"Who knew lavender would come in handy?" Daichi seemed pleased and appreciative.

"I'll try some," Takeda-sensei offered.

For the people who were wearing long sleeved jackets, she used the oil at their wrists. The team behind the net shot them weird looks, wondering why everyone from Karasuno was sniffing their clothes. Did their sweat stink that bad? A particular tall guy with vertically-styled hair subtly checked his own shirt and smelled.

Maybe I should try a different deodorant..., Kindaichi thought.

After Ai had everyone, including Tsukishima, smelling floral, she sent them off to play the second set. A gallery had started to form upstairs, and they pointed and giggled at the team members who were still whiffing their sleeves. An interesting team, indeed.

Ai pulled out her notebook and started her real task. Research was just as important as taking care of the team.

Every Aoba Johsai player had above-average defensive and offensive skills. The school's team was also famous for their power blocking. Their guys could probably compete for ace no matter where they went, but Ai grew up with high standards.

.

Karasuno won back the second set. Hinata and Kageyama enacted their decoy and insane quick attacks, Tanaka spiked block-free, Tsukishima stopped the opponent's spikes, and Daichi and Ennoshita followed up on receives. The formidable allies began to form the feeling of being a united team.

Ai filled her notes with half Japanese and half English, earning a compliment from Takeda-sensei. Her four years in America, from fourth grade through the first year of middle school, had paid off. She passed out towels and water bottles as she heard the girls screaming for someone.

It wasn't the first time she'd heard something similar. Kise worked part-time as a model, and everyone except Kuroko was very popular anyway.

Not that Kuroko was left out; he had his own number one fan. Akashi had also paid no attention to the other girls, because he had already set his eyes on one.

———

When Ai was at Teikō, she and Momoi didn't really need to concern themselves with scouting their opponents. The two of them simply had to make sure the six main players were in good shape for their games. They had it easy in that way; they could always count on the undefeated strength of the Generation of Miracles to prevail.

Therefore, it didn't matter who they were paired up with. Their opponent most likely didn't stand a chance. Even the Uncrowned Kings were no match for the entire team of the Generation of Miracles.

Ai trusted that no matter what happened or who they faced, she could believe in their limitless power, boundless skills, and Akashi's ability to lead the team to victory.

Nonetheless, Ai had the opportunity to learn from the best about scouting. Momoi was magnificent at what she did and became famous for it. Ai was the Kuroko to her light and made up for where she lacked. She shadowed her and made sure that the team had what they needed before the thought ever crossed their minds.

Never was there a time when they realized they didn't have something they wanted or required, and it earned suspicions from Midorima that it was uncanny how she seemed to read their minds and desires.

Akashi had simply laughed at their disheveled composure. He praised and boasted her and her abilities, while the team thanked their prayers they didn't have to worry about Momoi's terrible "cooking".

She made honey lemons, baked cookies, and prepared savory snacks, too. It was one of the things she conceptually didn't understand; how could someone be so bad at cooking? It was only a little chemistry and following the directional recipes.

Surely, everyone could act according to the instructions while not creating a flame hazard, like setting the house on fire.

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Vote/comment please 🥺

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How often does Kise do his part-time modeling job?

Total Word Count: 1269