His Warrior Queen: A Haikyuu!! Novel (Tsukishima x OC)

Chapter 91: New Year's Day

The strawberry blonde blinked, confused by the sudden change of topic.  "Uhhh...well...I usually review for several days before the exam.  Sometimes I work with someone else, we quiz each other, check our knowledge against one another, you know?  And then, the day before the test, I make sure to eat well, and get plenty of rest..."  The girl trailed off as understanding dawned in her eyes.  "We've reached the day before the test, haven't we, Takeda-sensei?"

"Something like that.  This is a little bigger than a single test, so it needs bigger preparation too."

"I guess that makes sense," Nakano said, and then sighed deeply.  

"What's bothering you now, Coach?"

"What about next year's Nationals?"

"Huh?" Takeda grunted out, looking rather surprised.

"I'm here now, and I'm going to do every single little thing I can, down to rubbing Hinata's back while he throws up, if I have to, to help this team go as far as they can.  But...I...I..."  The girl appeared to struggle to get the words out.  When she spoke again, her voice was a tight whisper, yet as intense as if she were yelling.  "I want to be on a team again, sensei!  I want to be on the court, and play, and go with my own team to Nationals!  But that means I have to leave these boys...and...I feel terrible doing that.  I don't want to leave them.  They deserve better than that from me."

"Nakano, no one on this team would fault you for wanting to play again.  In fact, you've been quite clear about that since the very beginning, and if you tried to give up on that, even for the benefit of this team, I think the boys would be very upset with you.  They want to see you play on a team of your own - almost as much as you want to, I think.  So don't worry about that.  Plus, you can still support them.  You've also got very good instincts on how to motivate people, and you can still use those for the benefit of the boys team, even if you're working with the girls team.  So don't feel like you're hurting these boys in any way.  Keep working towards your goal, even as you help these boys to achieve theirs."

Nakano could feel eyes on her, and looked up to see her captain staring at her, nodding his head, as if he knew exactly what she and their teacher were talking about.  She chuckled, a blush gracing her features.  "Thanks, Takeda-sensei.  I think I needed to hear that."

"Here's something else I think you need to hear.  I hope you'll give serious consideration to the idea of becoming a coach in the future.  You'd be a very good one."

Nakano's eyes went wide once again.  "Sensei, how did you..."

"I pay attention to what's going on, Ogawa-chan, even when you all think I don't."  The man's smile was just a touch smug.  "Now, it looks like we're at match point.  Perhaps you can convince Daichi-kun that today would be a good day for extended stretches and an early dismissal."

Nakano tossed her teacher a bright smile, and ran over to be ready to speak to her captain just as soon as the match ended.

🏐🏐🏐

Sunday afternoon found Nakano in her bedroom, doing a little reorganizing.  Despite his best efforts, Daichi had not been able to convince Coach Ukai that a Sunday practice would be a good idea.  Instead, the blonde man had agreed to allow for an extended Saturday practice, with the promise that under no circumstances was he to hear about the team getting together to play volleyball on Sunday.  A resting day was what their bodies needed, their coach insisted, and he was bound and determined the team was going to take one.  He made Nakano swear up and down that she would not allow the boys to use her backyard volleyball court, and that she would let him know if any of them tried to organize a practice.