~Back In The Game~

~Chapter Nineteen~

-Last Time-

"W-Whoa..." Hinata says while standing in front of Nishinoya.

"What's wrong Hinata?" Suga asks. 'Oh boy. I think I know where this is going.' You think.

"Holy crap!! He's shorter than me?!" 'Knew it...'

--

"Say wha?! Hey, you! C'mere and say that again!!" Nishinoya yells.

"Easy," Tanaka says calmly, putting a hand on Nishinoya's shoulder.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Hinata apologizes. "But um..."

"What?!" Nishinoya yells.

"Is it okay to ask...how tall are you?"

"I'm 5'3"!!"

'He's shorter than me!' You and Hinata think.

"W-Whoa..." Hinata says with stars surrounding him.

"Huh? W-What..." Nishinoya says.

"This is the first time since I joined this team that I got to look down on someone," Hinata explains while crying tears of joy. You facepalm at this.

"Stop crying stupid tears of dumb happiness!! It's not by that much!!!" You hear someone walking toward you so you turn around to see Kiyoko. You walk up to her.

"Hey, Kiyoko." You greet with a smile.

"Hello (Y/N)."

"Heading to the gym?"

"Yea."

"Oh, well, be careful, they are pretty rowdy right now."

"Thank you for letting me know."

"No problem."

You both walk up to the door and let Kiyoko go first to be polite. She has one foot in the gym before you both hear someone yell.

"KI! YO! KO! SAAAN!!" I came to visit you!" By now she's entirely in the gym. When you see her get into a surprised stance you peek around her to see why. You're shocked when you see Nishinoya flying toward the two of you. His eyes widen when he sees you. Before you can even react, Kiyoko slaps him and he's lying face-first on the gym floor.

"Come on (Y/N)." She says as she gently pulls you away. As she does you look back at the boy only to see him staring at you. You smile at him before looking ahead again.

"Ryu..." Nishinoya starts.

"Yeah?" Tanaka responds

"Who is she?"

"Ah! That's (Y/N)! She's our new first-year manager! Isn't she an angel?!"

"YEAH, SHE IS!"

-

"So! Where's Asahi? He's back right?!" Nishinoya asks after getting up off the floor. You, Hinata, and Kageyama stand next to each other looking confused and wondering who Asahi is. You look to Daichi and Suga for answers only to see they have their heads hung with sad faces.

"..."

"...No." Daichi finally answers.

"That spineless wuss...!!" Nishinoya exclaims angrily.

"Noya! Don't talk about our ace that way!" Tanaka reprimands.

"Shut up! Ace or no, a wuss is still a wuss!!"

'So this Ashai is our ace..." You think.

"Gawd, Noya, c'mon! Wait!"

"I already told you guys! If Asahi-san doesn't come back, I'm not coming back either!" Nishinoya exclaims as he walks out of the gym, slamming the doors behind him. As Kageyama asks Tanaka a question you notice Hinata leaving the gym so you follow him.

"Please teach me that receive!!" Hinata yells as he runs after Nishinoya with you behind him. "Nishiya-san, you're a libero, right?! The defensive specialist position..."

"My name's Nishinoya. And why do you think I'm a libero? Is it 'cause I'm short?"

"Huh? No. It's because you're good at receiving serves."

"He's right." You saying causing the two to jump. "The libero position isn't played by someone just because they're short..."

"They get to play it because they're good at defense. Right?" Hinata interrupts, earning an annoyed but proud look from you.

"..."

"Um...Right, sir?"

"So you guys do get it." Nishinoya finally responds.

"Oh! And the captain called you Karasuno's Guardian Deity!" Hinata announces proudly. Nishinoya becomes flustered and starts fidgeting and stuttering. 'Cute.' You think as you smile.

"Um...did he say that?" Nishinoya asks.

"Yep!" Hinata replies as you nod your head. The libero becomes flustered again and begins mumbling to himself. Hinata starts to say something but you stop him by whispering to him.

"Hinata. You're about to ask him for help, right?" He nods. "Don't forget to call him 'senpai'."

"Right." He says before turning his attention back to the libero. "I still really suck at digs and bumps and stuff. Those are some of the most important skills in the whole game. So...please teach me how to do it right...Nishinoya-senpai!!" The libero leans back in shock as if he just got pushed.

"You...After practice...I'm going to buy you a Gori Gori Ice Pop." Nishinoya says with a blush on his cheeks.

"Huh?"

"After all, I...am your senpai!!"

"!!"

"I'm still not coming back to the team though! I'm just gonna teach you the basics. That's all!"

"Thank you!"

-

As the three of you approach the gym Hinata runs ahead, Nishinoya goes to follow him but stops at the sound of your voice.

"Thank you." You say causing the boys to look at you.

"Huh?"

"Thank you for agreeing to help Hinata. I don't know what the situation is with Asahi, but I appreciate that you're willing to help Hinata. I know you don't know me much, or even at all, but I love this team and want to see them succeed and grow stronger. So, thank you so much Noya-senpai!!" You finish with a bow. Noticing that he isn't saying anything, you stand up straight only to see his face is beet red and he's frozen.

"Um...are you okay, Noya-senpai...?" The said boy falls to his knees but before you can check on him you hear your name being called from inside the gym.

"Coming!" You respond. You look at the boy hesitating before walking into the gym. You stop to say something to Nishinoya. "I'll do everything I can to help the situation involve Asahi." You continue into the gym, leaving Nishinoya still on his knees.

"She...called...me...senpai..." He whispers to himself. "She called me senpai!!" He celebrates before calming down as he remembers what else you said. "I wonder what she meant by that..."

-In The Gym-

As the boys are practicing you're helping Kiyoko until you get distracted watching them. Kiyoko notices and walks toward you.

"Are you okay, (Y/N)?" She asks

"Yea. They're just a bunch of goofballs." You explain with a chuckle and smile. "But something's missing."

~To Be Continued~