MECHTA ❨ haiba lev ❩

mechta [ seven ]

[ SEVEN ]

It was finally the day when Minari had to talk to her captain. To say that she was nervous while talking to her team captain was an understatement, since she was not particularly close with the upperclassman. If she were to tell the captain that she was leaving the team, she was afraid of what reaction she was going to get from the older girl. 

"Are you sure? You will leave the club to be the boys' manager?" asked their captain again, as she finally had the courage to confirm about her decision. "That's a big decision. Of course, we have other players who can replace you, but you're one of our best ones. It's such a shame that you were injured the last time. Are you really going to stop playing volleyball for now?"

"Yes, captain. I've thought about it and I think that this is what I want," Minari replied, bowing down. "I'm sorry that I had to leave the team behind. Thank you for your guidance until now."

The girl widened her eyes and flinched when the captain placed her hands on her shoulders. She slowly lifted her head up to see the captain giving her a soft smile.

Her mind flashed back to the moments she worked hard on the court, the moments she had victory sitting right on top of her head like a crown. Minari remembered how happy it was to rejoice a victory with a team right beside her, but she had made up her mind.

It was fun, it was one of the best moments and she sure won't forget about them, but she found a new dream for herself.

"Alright, then. But I'm happy you're not leaving the sport completely. You plan to become a coach in the future, don't you?" she was asked, and the younger girl nodded her head.

"I will strive to become a coach who would help a lot of future athletes achieve their dreams," Minari started, "And I want to show them just how fun volleyball really is."

"Very well, then. I'm sorry to see you go, but I give you my permission to leave the team. Good luck, Minari," said the captain, and Minari bowed. "You've done well for the team."

As the captain bid her goodbye, she started walking away from the girls' practice. With every step she took, Minari felt her heart feel a bit heavy.

A few more steps and she ended up sitting on the floor against the wall while sobbing to herself. She'd miss playing volleyball with the girls. She'd miss the trainings, the fun moments she shared with the members. But it has to end. 

"Minari?" a voice called out, making Minari widen her eyes and stop herself from crying.

"Oh. Lev, what are you doing here?" she asked, giving Lev a fake smile to hide the fact that she was crying just a few seconds ago. She quickly wiped the few tears that slipped from her eyes, trying to make it seem like she had not been crying. 

Lev furrowed his brows, and then took a handkerchief out of his pocket. He handed it to her, but Minari just stared at it. She was unaware why he was being this nice, and why he didn't just walk past her like other people would. Others would mind their business if they found someone crying, but the person in front of her looked at her with real concern tinting his eyes. 

"You were crying, weren't you?" He asked, crouching down in front of her.

Minari blinked, turning away to hide her flushed cheeks. Why is he so close? Why is he being so nice?

"It's okay to cry sometimes, you know? Bottling those feelings up will just make it worse. What happened?" Lev said, so the girl sighed. If he was talking to her like this and looked like he wasn't going to leave anytime soon, she might as well tell him what had happened. 

"I just talked to our captain. I'm just gonna miss the team, so I got a bit emotional. But I'm fine, don't worry. Why are you here, anyway?" asked Minari, making Lev nervously laugh and scratched the back of his head.

"I... I escaped receiving practice with-"

"HAIBA LEV! COME ON, WE'RE GOING TO THE GYM!" Minari exclaimed, standing up abruptly and dragging the taller one with her.

He just let her drag him, his eyes trained on the girl's hand that was gripping his wrist. A smile smile made its way to his lips, forgetting about the scolding he might get from the team and the coach. He felt that from that small interaction with each other, he broke one of her walls and she became comfortable with him a bit more. 

"Ah! Thank you, Nase! You found Lev!" Yaku sighed in relief, and then glared at the taller boy. "Lev, you have to practice! This damned boy, you have to focus with the fundamentals if you're going to dream about being the next ace."

"I know."

"If you know, why did you run away?!"

"Because I didn't want to!"

"Nonsense."

Minari chuckled, watching as the two bickered back and forth. For some reason, she found the boys' team comfortable. After all, she had to get used to them even more now. They looked like they were close with each other, more like brothers rather than simply being teammates. 

As she sat down on the bench next to the coach, Minari sighed. She started fiddling with her fingers, a habit of hers that she never got to get rid of, watching the boys play. Her eyes then trailed down to her knee, wondering when it will finally be fully healed. She wished she could join them with receiving practice, if it heals. 

"You're making Lev a tiny bit more obedient," Minari almost jumped in surprise when Coach Nekomata spoke.

"I don't know if that's truly the case, Coach. But I'll try my best to help them achieve their dreams, I'll do whatever I can to help them," she replied, which made the coach nod in satisfaction. "For the team, after all, I'm their manager now."

"I was right in choosing you as the manager. You have the spirit. Let's work together,"

She knew at that point, there was nothing she ever wanted to do but to help the boys achieve the dreams they have grasped so tightly.