Carry the Day

Chapter 13: A new coach

"One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four." I chanted. I jumped up and down, lightly and slowly. My eyes closed as I concentrated on my legs, and how much they could take. I'd done about six sets of twelve jumps now, so I was halfway with my training. 

We were already training for about an hour or so when the door was slammed open. I snapped my head over to the door, eyes widened when I saw Takeda-sensei step inside with a gigantic smile on his face. I rose an eyebrow and tilted my head to the side. 'What's he so happy about?'  I wondered.

Then, a guy with blond hair stepped out from behind him and stood beside sensei. "Good job, everyone." Takeda-sensei said as Daichi-senpai asked everyone to gather around.

I walked over to stand beside Tsukishima and looked at the blond guy. I narrowed my eyes at him. I didn't know what to make of this. I started jumping again. "One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four." I said.

"Can you stop? It's annoying." Tsukishima mumbled from beside me. 

Rolling my eyes, I smirked and started chanting louder. I didn't care everyone was looking at us, I was too busy annoying Tsukishima. I heard him scoff and he narrowed his eyes at me. I stopped jumping and smirked at him for one last time before looking back to Takeda-sensei, my training finished.

"Let me introduce you. This is Ukai-kun, starting today he will be your coach." Takeda-sensei said.

My eyes widened at the news. 'Ukai? And he'll be our coach?'  I thought. A smirk formed on my face as my eyes darkened just a bit. 'With this guy's help, we're one step closer to being the best we can be.'  I thought, fists clenching in anticipation.

Everyone was silent until Daich-senpai stepped forward. "Coach?" he asked, surprised. "Is this true?" he asked. He turned to Ukai-kun and looked up at him.

"Only 'til the match with Nekoma, though." he answered. His voice was flat, his eyes looked bored. I'm not sure if he was really wanting to coach us. 'Maybe this is what Takeda-sensei meant when he said the match with Nekoma could change his mind. This is him.'  I concluded with a nod.

Tanaka pointed at Ukai-kun as he looked at Takeda-sensei. "But this is the guy from Foothill Store. Is he really a coach?" he asked.

Sensei smiled as he looked at Tanaka. "He's a senpai to all of you." he said. "He's director Ukai's grandson." he said.

Shouts of surprise echoed through the gym as everyone looked at sensei with wide eyes. Obviously they were all too stupid to make the connection when sensei first introduced him. "Are they that stupid?" I asked.

"Obviously." Tsukishima answered. He looked at the others blankly, annoyance flashing through his eyes at their loudness. He scoffed as he put a hand on his hip and looked away.

I sighed at my teammates' stupidity and looked at Ukai-kun expectantly. "We've got no time to waste. Let's get started." he said. He put his hands on his hips. "I want to see what you guys are made of." he said. "The game will start at 6.30. The opponents have already been invited." he said.

"Huh? Opponents?" Daichi-senpai asked.

Ukai-kun smirked at us. "The Karasuno neighborhood association team." he said. Then he looked at me and nodded. "I've already been informed of you." he said.

I nodded at him before turning my back to him and walking to my bag, getting a bottle of water while the others continued training. I heard my phone go off and grabbed it, looking at the caller ID. My face lit up when I saw who it was.

"You look creepy like that. Stop it." Tsukishima said as he and Yamaguchi walked up to me.

I looked at him and smirked. "Well, I'm always creepy. Deal with it." I said. Then I quickly walked passed him, leaving him gaping like a fish as I walked outside.