AN: I completely forgot about the managers! Thanks to BooksWriteMusic for reminding me, haha. So I'll do Kiyoko, then Yachi and THEN I'll start Nekoma! Sorry for the mess up haha. Anyways, enjoy!
-AP

The Machinelike Manager

It's not that Kiyoko Shimizu found it particularly hard to show emotions. She could laugh and cry just like anybody else could, and, when she became manager, her emotions overwhelmed her just as much as Yachi's did now. She just got used to the unpredictability of Karasuno Boys' Volleyball Team, and she'd been there from win to loss to win again, so much so that it barely bothered the girl anymore.

Daichi, Sugawara and Asahi weren't really what you'd call a handful. They were usually calm and kept their cool, and Azumane apologized if he accidentally brushed her shoulder in the halls, so it's not like she wasn't respected. In fact, even when Tanaka and Nishinoya joined, they respected her, even if they flirted every time they saw the now third-year.

Most of it was joking, anyways. Nishinoya flirted with pretty much everyone jokingly at first, plus, he had a huge crush on Asahi from the moment he saw the large lump of panic. So, his constant flirting didn't bother her; And Tanaka? Well, serious or not, he'd beat the shit out of anybody who'd try to hurt her and she appreciated that in somebody.

The first-years were nothing short of a handful.

Hinata seemed somewhat scared of her, Kageyama yelled something along the lines of 'Tanaka-senpai would kill me, sorry' every time they were within 10 yards of each other without anybody else, Tsukishima kept on patting her head and claiming he thought she was Yamaguchi, and the pinch-server himself just seemed to, miraculously, enjoy her company.

A handful indeed; Full of contrasting personalities, easy accidents, and hyperactive kids. She didn't need to control them, though; They were already terrified of making Daichi mad, which was probably a good thing. If she learnt anything in her first-year it's that Sawamura Daichi was scary when he was angry.

Sometimes she wondered how she became so...uncaring for things around her. Surely, it wasn't the team. The team had been her everything when she thought there was nothing left. The team made her everything she was, and was everything she truly strived to be. And yet, she found herself not wanting to wake up in the morning to get to practice.

She found herself not wanting to go to practice at all.

It just started as one little lie. One little 'I feel sick today, I can't come'. But it grew and grew and grew. She was taking weeks off of school without seeing the team, and she felt relieved. Kiyoko wondered if this was how Suga felt when Kageyama came along; The relief of power was so refreshing. She didn't even do much, just sat in her bed and stewed in it all.

She heard footsteps up the stairs and turned over, pretending to be asleep. Another morning, another lie. Her mother opened the door and sighed. "Shimizu-kun, I know you're awake." She sat up, looking at her mother and cocking her head to the side. Her mother always saw through her anyway; She was only confused the woman hadn't noticed sooner. "Shimizu, go to school. Now. I know you've got practice. The boys have been coming to my work, asking how you were. They're worried about you."

The girl sighed, but knew there was no use arguing with her parent. She got up as her mother left, sluggishly pulling on her tracksuit, and then grabbing some toast on the way down, before setting off to school.

She really didn't expect this.

When she got there, the entire team was waiting. They all seemed nervous. It took a second of her being next to the gym for the entire team to try to hug her simultaneously, bombarding her with questions.

"Guys, you'll smother her, stop it!" Daichi commanded, and the team drew back, looking sheepishly at the ground. Sawamura walked up to her and patted her on the shoulder with a fond smile. "Welcome back, Shimizu. We missed you."

That threw her off. Welcome back? She expected that. But the sincerity of the "we missed you" hit her hard. Suddenly, the manager felt tears gathering, and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. Daichi seemed taken aback. "W-why are you crying?!" She laughed to herself and shook her head, looking at the tearful blonde assistant manager in the corner with a smile. "I don't even know."

"Well, whatever it is..." Sugawara patted her shoulder with a sunny smile. Asahi continued the sentence, standing at a distance, looking shy as per usual, but still making eye contact, with a nervous smile. "You know you can tell us." She laughed. What they had said when she became official manager in the end of her first year, in perfect unison, all slightly arrogant, when she was upset about her senpai leaving.

"Because we're a family." The entire team shouted it loudly, and then ran inside, all giggling a little like middle school kids, leaving only Yachi outside with her. The blonde looked nervous, but smiled anyway. "Shimizu-senpai, are you okay?" Her eyes were concerned, and the dark-haired girl walked into the gym, ruffling her kouhai's hair as she went. She looked back with probably one of the first genuine smiles she'd ever experienced, and with tears still budding like sakura in early March in the corners of her eyes, she let out a fond sigh, looking at the excitable group of boys in front of her, in her charge.

"I am now."

AN: This is short, but yeah. Sorry it can't be alphabetized, I had to write this considering I completely forgot about Yachi and Kiyoko originally. Yachi's next! Review if you liked!
-AP