Karasuno's Mangers: Little Ukai and The Runaway

55: Big Boy Pants

Noya/Hinata Ennoshita Tanaka

Kageyama Tsukki Shoji

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Kiyotani Kindaichi Kunimi

Fujii Watari/ Kaku Yahaba

The boys walked onto the court to begin the first set. Tsukishima faced the net and across from him was Kindaichi. He didn't have a personal vendetta against Seijoh's middle blocker, and honestly they got along just fine at the Shiratorizawa training camp last year. Still, he was annoyed.

"Where's your coach?"

"Family emergency," he kept his answer short.

Kindaichi frowned. "Not that I care, but is that teacher experienced enough? This is the city finals."

"Mirae's experienced enough."

"Wait, what?"

Tsukki smirked. It was true that their manager helped with their training and yes, she was a volleyball prodigy too, but Mirae was also a strategist. She could see things that other's couldn't.

"Man, she doesn't look so good. Is she okay?"

He didn't bother with a reply. He rolled his eyes and watched Seijoh's setter, Yahaba, prepare for his serve. The referee blew the whistle and he ran up, throwing the ball in the air. It came towards Nishinoya with extreme force. He growled, coming in one step too late for the receive.

"Sorry, Kageyama, cover!"

"Got it!"

Kageyama stepped forward and with his back to the net, he lunged underneath the ball. Using the method that Mirae had taught him a few weeks ago, he snapped his torso upright and sent the ball to Hinata.

It wasn't the dropping set that his middle blocker was used to, but it was precise enough that Hinata could execute a fast attack between the two blockers.

"Yeah!"

"Whoo!"

Hinata bounced on the balls of his feet, complimenting Kageyama's set from such a tricky place. The latter rolled his eyes and nudged him. Together, they faced the Coach's bench and raised their fists at Mirae.

Her eyes softened.

25:23

"Amazing job, boys!" Takeda Sensei praised. He was pacing left and right, giving each player an extra boost of confidence. "You're all in great form and you're communicating better than ever."

"See, there's nothing to worry about!" Tanaka slung his arm over Mirae's shoulder. "We're playing exactly how we trained and you've got Coach's notes. We didn't even need to use our time outs."

"Just keep that pretty smile on your face, Mirae. There's nothing to worry about."

She patted Noya's back, nodding.

The biological explanation of what nerves are and how they work is easy enough to understand, but that did not make this easier. She felt that if she opened her mouth, she was going to be sick.

"Um," Yachi stepped forward and tapped Mirae's shoulder. "Take a breather, sit down and drink some water. The boys can sense your anxiety."

She looked away. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Assistant Coach is an intimidating title to live up to especially in the finals when you have no real coaching experience. You have nothing to worry about, they know what they're doing. If anything, they need to know that you know that they know what they're doing."