chapter twenty-two: manager's on work
┉┅━━━━━━━━━━┅┉
shoes squeaking against the floor while the loud sounds emitted from spiking the ball had been going on for who knows how long now. not a single thought of taking a break came across the volleyball players' minds because the only thing in their minds was… to be one of the representatives of tokyo prefectural.
"seriously?"
everyone stopped in their tracks as the ball fell from the air and dribbled on the floor, adding awkwardness to the dead silence that had taken over the whole place.
with a sigh, kiiro stepped inside the gym and closed the doors behind her before heading to the bench with the boys' stuff in her hands. "didn't i remind everyone here to take a break in between your practices?" she said, facing them in the process.
a guilty expression was plastered all over their faces. they couldn't even spare a glance at the manager. no words came out from either of them, not even the captain nor the seniors.
kiiro walked up towards them while putting her hair up in a high ponytail. a few strands of her blonde and black locks were hanging loosely, framing her face perfectly. "ten minute break, all of you." she raised a finger towards them.
the boys didn't have to get to tell twice as they immediately followed her order and took a seat in their chosen places within the gym. meanwhile, the manager was on the bench doing some tasks given by the head coaches. kuroo and kenma walked up to her in silence, thinking of apologizing to her.
"if you're apologizing, don't even say a word... that would be the nth time of your so-called apology," kiiro spoke up, startling the two males in front of her and making them frown after.
the captain crouched down and leaned his head to the side, trying to steal her gaze away from the notebook. "you know how nerve-wracking the qualifying is," he muttered.
kiiro hummed, "and i'd be wracking up your legs if you don't listen to me."
kuroo frowned even more, continuing to whine about random things, but all of them were ignored by the latter. later on, kiiro felt someone resting their head on her left shoulder, and she didn't bother to shake him off, knowing that it was only her brother.
"did you have milk today?" kenma muttered, gaining his sister's attention.
"oh..." she blinked multiple times before slowly nodding her head. "i had two boxes earlier."
"from the blond?" kenma asked again.
"which one? you're also a blond," kiiro cheekily said, as she gazed down at her brother.
kenma rolled his eyes and snuggled closer to her. "the one from karasuno, obviously..." he replied, muttering something under his breath after.
kiiro hummed in confirmation. "he's the only one who has been sending in boxes of milk." she said, chuckling briefly.
"it's amazing how consistent that four-glasses is treating you, huh?" kuroo butted in with a smug look across his face, but ended up getting chopped on the head.
she scrunched her nose and got up from her seat with her stuff. "get lost," she threatened.
kiiro glanced over to see the other boys resting at the sides. "i have to finish my homework in the library, so i'm leaving you guys here for at least two hours or so..." her almond-shaped eyes squinted on them. "but, take a ten-minute break after an hour, got it?" she continued.
all replied "yes" in sync, watching as their manager left the gym without any other words and left them in silence.
on the way to the library, there were barely any students in the hallways since classes had ended an hour ago. much to kiiro's favor, she likes how empty and silent the surroundings are. the sudden shift in the temperature greeted her as soon as she took a step inside the library. she made a beeline for a vacant table in the corner, making a small bow to the librarians at the front desk, before taking out her materials to begin doing her homework.
being a manager while also being a student in an advanced class would sound difficult for anyone. however, the freshman knew how to make things convenient for her, so managing her responsibilities with both hands wasn't that much of a challenge for her. perks for being gifted.
in the meantime, a certain blueberry head appeared in front of the gates of nekoma high. his dark blue eyes were scrutinizing the view of this unfamiliar school before him.
"what am i doing here again?" the male pondered. thoughts filling up his mind left and right, unsure of what his next move should be.
"oi, scowl face." a voice interrupted the trail of his thoughts. his eyes flickered away from the buildings and down at the pink-haired girl standing in front of him.
"w-who are you?" he asked in a hushed voice, and took a small step backwards.
reimi sighed after she noticed the latter's wary movements. "what are you even doing here, kageyama-kun?" she questioned.
kageyama blinked multiple times, averting his gaze. "i-i... i don't know."
a deadpan expression crossed out the curiosity painted all over reimi's face.
is this guy kidding with me?
"you don't know? does your body have its own world or something?" she sarcastically asked.
kageyama opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out, so he zigged his mouth shut before turning away from the female.
"i-i'll go now," he stuttered. mentally cursing himself for acting all nervous and messing himself up in front of some stranger. his back swiftly turned to face the girl, and he was about to walk away when reimi stopped him.
"kiiro is at the library."
in a speed of light, his legs moved on their own, and he passed by the pastel pink-haired girl without a second thought. as if the miyagi boy knew his way around the nekoma campus, he made long strides along the empty corridors.
"your audacity is out of this world!" reimi hissed at the boy she was chasing after.
however, her remark was left unrecognized by the oblivious kageyama, irking her even more. as a result, she sent thousands of daggers to the back of his head, muttering inaudible curses under her breath.
"get back here!" she whispered-yelled, yet kageyama kept on walking ahead of her while whipping his head to the multiple ways to look for the library.
with the last ounces of her patience fading, she pushed her cardigan sleeves up to her elbows, and she had never been this ready to pounce on someone.
"i can't believe- mmph!" kageyama placed his hand on her mouth, not bothering about her spitting in his palm.
meanwhile, reimi squinted her eyes at him after realizing what he had just done, but the volleyball player boy was too preoccupied with peering inside a room through the door's small window.
it took a split second before reimi realized why kageyama suddenly halted in front of a room.
he found the library.
she snatched his hand off her face and wiped off her mouth with her sleeve, while still glaring at him. her baby blue eyes then averted away to follow his gaze inside the library. only to find out that kageyama is staring at her friend, kiiro.
reimi glanced back at kageyama then back at kiiro before snickering, which captured his attention. "don't tell me you..." she trailed off, but he immediately dismissed her statement with how intense he shook his head.
"what? no, stop. i don't like her." kageyama mumbled, slightly glaring at her.
"i didn't even say anything?" reimi smugly raised her eyebrow at him.
kageyama felt his cheeks warming up, so he instantly looked away from reimi. his gaze returned automatically to the raven-haired girl inside the silent room by herself.
"pfft, you're totally head over heels over her," reimi teased the boy. "but i don't approve of you because you have too much audacity."
"who said i need your approval?" kageyama rebutted.
reimi scoffed in disbelief, folding her arms together before staring at him dead in the eye. "look, kageyama tobio. every boy who wants kiiro needs to get through me. i don't care about who you are or how great you are at volleyball. heck, who knows if you suck at academics. you don't deserve her, so shut it."
"i-" kageyama was indeed speechless, which boosted the latter's pride.
"plus, why are you even here?" reimi added, moving her body closer to him.
his palms started to sweat and he felt his throat getting dry every second. not even a single limb of his couldn't move to escape the suffocating situation as his eyes darted around but not reimi.
"again. why are you here, kageyama?" the way she said his name brought shivers down his spine.
"i-i just wanted t-to see k-kiiro..." he barely even stutter those words out, but nonetheless, he was relieved that the girl moved away from him.
kageyama released the breath he had been holding and lightly patted his chest. on the other hand, reimi was looking back inside the library to check out her friend, but everything remained unchanged with kiiro.
"well, if you wanna see her, i bet you also want to talk to her, hmm?" reimi asked, turning her head to the male beside her, and the latter responded with a nod.
"right now is not a good time though. sad to break it to you," she continued, sarcasm laced within, gazing back inside the library. "manager's on work. do not bother her at all if you still want to live because-"
"she doesn't like it when someone would interfere her in the middle of her focusing on something, especially right now because she's spinning her pen." kageyama finished her sentence by pointing to kiiro's spinning pen.
a surprised-pikachu face appeared on reimi's face. "how the did yo-"
"hagihara-san, who's this boy?" another voice butted in their conversation
for the nth time today, reimi was once again interrupted. she didn't fail to recognize the voice because it surely belongs to their homeroom teacher. silently cursing in her mind for getting caught. she bravely faced the older man, while kageyama stayed silent behind her.
"yoshida sensei!" she greeted lively with the sweetest smile on her face. "how are you doing?" she asked.
kageyama furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he stared down at the pink-haired girl. "her voice is different from awhile ago..." he thought.
"you didn't answer my question, hagihara-san." yoshida repeated himself, glancing at kageyama."who is he?"
reimi bit her lower lip while trying to come up with an excuse, but the only thing that she came up with left the karasuno setter stunned.