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They had a practice match against Date Tech High, which proved to be much more difficult than Mikaela initially anticipated. She'd never seen Karasuno play Date Tech, but she'd seen Date Tech face Aoba Johsai, and they'd been nowhere near as threatening as they were now. Their blocking, as she had expected, was ridiculously good. Futakuchi, their captain, was the only one with a dangerous serve, but Aone of Date Tech was getting there. They were going to be a tough team to beat in the future.

Karasuno won four sets and lost four sets. By the time it was over, the boys were absolutely exhausted. Kageyama had done well all game, but Mikaela had mentioned to him that Tsukishima could jump higher than he currently was. Her cousin took it upon himself to set the ball higher for Tsukishima, which the blond did not appreciate.

All in all, it was good practice, and everyone seemed to be working on something. Asahi was trying to stagger the timing of his blocking, Hinata was trying to work on receiving, Kageyama's setting was still top notch, and Tsukishima was now (against his will) hitting significantly higher than he was before. Mikaela was still working with Hinata on the new serve technique they'd cooked up, but it was still a bit of a work in progress.

The break seemed to fly by, and New Year's came around. Mikaela managed to drag Kageyama to the local shrine to give their proper prayers (apparently Hinata wanted to go with him and Kageyama had shut him down flat, so Hinata came complaining to Mikaela and you can bet she made damn sure Kageyama got out to the shrine with her and Hinata) and they ended up meeting Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and Yachi there.

"Didn't think you'd be here," Mikaela remarked to Tsukishima as Hinata started badgering Yachi.

Tsukishima huffed. "Yamaguchi forced me."

She hummed in understanding as the six of them started heading up the stairs to the shrine. "Kaela!" Yamaguchi chirped happily, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "How's the basement?"

Mikaela grinned. "It's so nice. You should come over and see it after this!"

"For sure!" Yamaguchi beamed, dimples forming on his cheeks. "Is that an open invitation?"

"Sure, you're all welcome," she agreed with a shrug.

"Yay!" Hinata cheered, skipping circles around them. "I want to see your basement, Kaisha!"

Kageyama shrugged. "I should be training."

"You're taking a day off," Mikaela insisted, glaring at him. Kageyama glared back, mumbled something under his breath, and broke into a run up the steps. Hinata squawked in protest- something about Kageyama getting a head start- and took off after him. "So much for a day off," she muttered, and Yachi laughed.

"They're really into volleyball," the blonde said with a grin, smiling at Mikaela. She smiled back at her.

They made it up to the shrine, and everyone lined up and clapped their hands together in prayer. Mikaela squeezed her eyes shut, trying to gather all of her prayers in her head. I pray for good fortune for our upcoming games. I pray for future health and safety. I...

Mikaela paused.

That was odd.

"Kaela? Kaisha! You good?"

Mikaela jerked her head up to see Yamaguchi, staring at her with a confused grin on his face. "You okay?" he repeated. "Everyone's already gone. You blanked out."

"Tadashi, I..." Mikaela trailed off, looking at the shrine and then turning back to Yamaguchi. "You know, I used to pray an awful lot," she said with a casual shrug. "Parents' divorce, prosthetic problems, changing schools, friendship, my relationship with Kageyama, my relationship with my mother, my grades, volleyball... but I can't think of anything." She smiled softly. "This is the first time in a while I haven't had to urge to pray for those things."

Yamaguchi didn't say anything for a moment. "Kaisha, that's awesome," he said eventually, smiling at her.

Mikaela's smile split into a large grin. "Yams, life is good. I can't remember the last time I thought so."

He grinned back at her. "That's great news!" Yamaguchi leaned towards her and grabbed her in a hug, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. Mikaela laughed and hugged him back, smiling into his shoulder.

Life is good.

Yamaguchi pulled back, letting his hands rest on her shoulders. "Let's go," he said, gesturing behind him to where Kageyama and Hinata were arguing. Tsukishima seemed to be egging them on and Yachi was trying to break them apart. "This'll be fun."

She laughed. "I don't doubt that."

They wandered over to the group, and together they began to tour the stalls that various vendors had set up. Some were selling little trinkets and such, but Mikaela's main interest was the fortune table, where they were handing out their odds for the year to come. The six of them gathered around the table and picked out their fortunes, eager to open them.

"Ha!" Hinata cried out as he tore his open. "Future blessing!"

"Same here," Yachi said happily, showing her card to Hinata.

"This is garbage," Kageyama said with a scowl, glaring so hard at his card that it looked like he wanted to burn a hole through it.

Tsukishima leaned over the setter's shoulder and smirked. "Great curse? Wow, you really are unlucky."

Mikaela's jaw dropped. "Kags, you got great curse?"

He scowled, about to reply, but Hinata jumped on his back. "Aw, Kageyama's cursed! Noroiyama!"

Kageyama snarled in retaliation and shook himself, trying to rid Hinata from his back. The orange-haired boy clung on like a koala to a tree, and Kageyama couldn't manage to shake him. Yamaguchi showed off his fortune- also future blessing, like Yachi and Hinata- and ran over to go help Kageyama as Mikaela tore open hers.

She laughed. "Curse. Wow."

Tsukishima smirked, and held up his card. "Of course I got the same thing as you. I'm not even surprised at this point."

"Why?" Mikaela taunted with a grin. "Sick of me?"

"I can't seem to get rid of you, no matter how hard I try," Tsukishima remarked, twisting the card over in his hand and refusing to look at her. "You're annoying."

Her grin widened. "You don't seem to be trying very hard," she teased.

To Mikaela's delight, his cheeks reddened. "Idiot," he said with a scowl, turning away from her and tucking his chin into his scarf. "You're not worth the effort."

"Whatever lets you sleep at night, Tsukishima."

"Frankly, you're one of the most annoying people I know, your Highness."

"Worse than Tobio?"

"Slightly."

"Really? Worse than Shoyo?"

Tsukishima muttered something under his breath. "Dear lord, you're a pain."

"Oi! Kaela! Tsukki!" They both turned, conversation temporarily on hold. Yamaguchi was waving at them; he and Yachi were standing next to a booth but Hinata and Kageyama were nowhere to be found. "There's some cool stuff over here!"

The pair headed over to the stand, where Yachi was examining several small keychains and assorted accessories. Yachi was scanning the keychains and nearly jumped when Mikaela nudged her. "Oh! Mikaela!"

"Hey, Yachi," she said casually, leaning over the booth. "Cool stuff?"

"Yep," Yachi agreed, fingers drifting over a small bracelet with a fake jewel on the end. "Are you excited for nationals? I'm sure the boys are."

Mikaela nodded. "Yeah. A bit nervous, but I think everyone is."

She laughed. "I don't know how you could do that without being nervous."

The manager grinned. "I guess so." Mikaela bit her lip, trying best how to word her question in her head. After a quick internal debate, she came to her usual conclusion: what the hell, why not? "Hey, Yachi," Mikaela said quickly, rushing to get all of the question out before she lost her nerve, "want to be the team's manager next year?"

Yachi's jaw dropped open. "What? Me? Why? How? Is this a good idea? Why did you ask me? What-"

"Wait! Breathe!" Mikaela grabbed Yachi's shoulders as the poor girl nearly tipped off of her feet, overwhelmed. "I kind of want to try playing volleyball next year, so I can't commit to being the manager. You've been to a couple games, you've drawn posters, you know the boys..." she trailed off. "I can't think of anyone more perfect than you."

Yachi couldn't form words. "...More perfect than me?"

Mikaela nodded. "Yeah. It's completely up to you, though."

"Yes!"

"Really?" she said in relief. "You'll do it?"

Yachi nodded vigorously, her eyes sparkling. "I'd love to! I've always admired what you do and it looks like fun!"

Mikaela exhaled, a grin forcing its way onto her face. "Great. Great! Thank you so much. Do you want to come to our practice tomorrow?"

"Yes please!" she chirped happily, beaming. "Thank you!"

"No, thank you," Mikaela emphasized, relaxing her shoulders. She hadn't even realized how nervous she'd been about that until Yachi had agreed and the tension had flooded out of her shoulders. She turned towards the table. "Any of these catch your eye?"

"A few." The blonde held up one small chain that had a series of stars on it, showing it to Mikaela. "Isn't this cute?" Yachi exclaimed, swinging the chain back and forth.

"Yeah, it is," Mikaela agreed, watching the star spin in circles before Yachi set it down. "Are you going to get it?"

She shook her head. "I think I'm going to get this one, though." She held up a different keychain with a shooting star pendant. Similar in colour and style, but not quite the same. "Are you going to get one?"

Mikaela smiled and shook her head. "I'm okay, I've got my own already." She pulled her bag around to show off her dinosaur keychain, swinging from the zipper. She cupped it in her hand and held it out to her friend.

Yachi's eyes widened. "That's so cute! Where'd you get it?"

"From one of the museums in Tokyo," Mikaela said, lifting her eyes to notice Tsukishima eyeing her and the keychain. When he noticed her watching, he huffed and turned away. She smiled to herself. "Yeah, I love it."

She didn't miss the proud smirk on Tsukishima's face before he walked away.

Nationals came at her like a truck with no brakes.

Mikaela was set to badger Ukai about the brackets for the tournament and who was facing who until he emailed it to her online. She was startled; she had been completely prepared to go hunting for it on her own.

Coach Ukai (10:22): I only sent it to you now so you didn't waste your whole break on this.

The first team they were up against was Tsubakihara Academy. Mikaela scoured though dozens of videos, social media pages, the academy's social media, articles, anything she could get her hands on. Thankfully, they were just at nationals the previous year, so there was recent footage. They had lost in the first round, so it was hard to get anything useful, but Mikaela picked up on some smaller details.

She snapped her pencil in half when she saw who they would play after: Inarizaki High, who was seeded second in the tournament and had a bye in the first round. If they beat Tsubakihara Academy, they'd have to face Miya Atsumu the next round.

"Oh, it's on," Mikaela grumbled to herself as she immediately started looking up as much as she could about Inarizaki High.

We're going to destroy you, Miya Atsumu.

"Are you tired, Kaela?" Yamaguchi said with a laugh as Mikaela yawned for what must've been the tenth time that morning.

She shook her head. "N... No," she forced out, rubbing her eyes. "Just..."

"Tired," Tsukishima finished for her.

Mikaela glared at him. "No."

"Let me guess," the blond taunted, smirking at her. He leaned forwards, his arms crossed. "You stayed up all night hunting some lead about a team we might play. Better yet, it's not actually the team that we'd be facing in the first round, but a different team that we might face along the way, so the information might actually be useless."

Mikaela opened her mouth, then closed it. She crossed her arms and tucked her chin into her chest, glaring at the pavement. "I hate you," she grumbled.

"Which means I'm right."

"Oh, fuck off."

"Oh really? Well-"

"It's too early in the morning for this," Daichi announced loudly, clapping his hands on their shoulders and pulling them apart. He frowned at them, and Mikaela immediately shrunk back. "Let's just get on the bus so we can get to the hotel."

"Yes, sir," Mikaela and Tsukishima said in unison. They glared at each other, but Mikaela's glare eventually morphed into a smile. "I can't stay mad at you," she said with a sigh, rolling her eyes. "You're just too dumb."

"Captain's right, it's too early for this," the middle blocker said with a snort, adjusting his glasses.

"Ah, young love," Sugawara said with a happy sigh as he walked past.

That successfully shut both of them up. After an awkward pause, Tsukishima coughed and removed himself from the conversation. Mikaela sighed as he pushed past her to board the bus, her eyes trailing after him as he left. God, he's so good looking.

Mikaela blinked and shook herself. Not now, moron. She nearly jumped out of her skin when Kageyama tapped her on the shoulder. "Ready to go?"

"Sure," she said with a shrug, following her cousin onto the bus.

The trip was long and a bit bumpy, but at least Mikaela got a semi-decent nap in along the way. She was awoken to several excited shouts of "it's the Sky Tree!" and groaned before pulling her jacket over her eyes. Kageyama shook her awake again as they pulled up to their hotel. "We're here," he said quietly, jerking his chin towards the window.

Mikaela blearily opened her eyes and squinted out the window, looking at the twenty-story tall hotel building. "Damn," she said tiredly. "That's nice."

"I don't think it's that one," Shimizu said from the seat in front of them.

Mikaela blinked rapidly, trying to get rid of the sleep in her eyes, and looked next to the grand hotel, where there was a sad, three-story inn with small doors in the front. "Shouldn't have gotten my hopes up," she grumbled, pulling herself out of her seat.

Karasuno stumbled off the bus as a team and started unloading their bags from the back of the bus. Daichi started calling out instructions: drop off their luggage, grab their volleyball equipment, head to the rental gym. Mikaela nearly stumbled from the weight of her bag. Crap, what the hell did I pack?

"I bet this place is totally haunted!" Tanaka cried out in excitement, bolting for the door with Nishinoya and Hinata hot on his heels. "Let's go explore!" One stare from Daichi was all that was needed for the three boys to halt in their tracks and say, "Yes, sir," before continuing into the hotel at a much slower speed.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Mikaela grumbled under her breath, hefting her bag onto her shoulder.

"It won't be that bad," Yamaguchi said, nudging her gently. "I mean, if we've got food to eat and a roof over our heads, what more can we ask for?"

Mikaela sighed and followed him through the doors.

The rental gym was good and practice went moderately well, but it was easy to tell that some of the team were beginning to feel the nerves settle in. "Is the air thinner around here?" Asahi asked with a wheeze as he bumped the ball to Daichi.

"Deep breaths, Asahi," Sugawara encouraged, tossing another ball to Hinata.

"We're almost at sea level," Ennoshita added.

Mikaela sighed, swirling a pencil between her fingers as she watched Nishinoya and Tanaka rally the ball back and forth, screaming whenever it came to them. Kageyama seemed as calm as always; the high intensity of tournaments and the like never seemed to bother him. Her eyes drifted to Tsukishima, who was rallying with Yamaguchi.

"Kaisha-chan?" Mikaela turned around, bringing her face to face with Shimizu. "How're you feeling?"

She shrugged. "Fine, I guess. A bit antsy."

She smiled. "I can tell. Do you need anything?"

"I need a good night's sleep," Mikaela said, and they both laughed. "But otherwise, no, I'm alright. Thank you though."

"I assume your lack of sleep is from the usual?" Ukai asked, wandering over.

"The usual?" Mikaela questioned, quirking an eyebrow. He held her stare, and she sighed. "Yep, the usual."

"Mikaela, although I appreciate the dedication, your sleep is a priority," he said sternly, shaking his head. "Besides, we can't have our star stalker falling asleep in the middle of our games."

She snorted. "Like that'll ever happen."

"Did you get good information, at least?"

"Of course."

"Mikaela."

"If you're talking about whether my information is 'relevant' or not, then yes, my information is all practical and specifically game-focused," Mikaela said with a roll of her eyes. "There's a lot more to work with when the teams are at nationals level."

Ukai nodded, watching as Daichi called them all to the service line to start serving drills. "I agree. I think we'll go over our match for tomorrow one more time, and I'd love your input, and then I've got a gift for them."

Mikaela straightened up. "What is it?"

"Secret. It'll be good, though." She shrugged, deciding not to press him any further on it, and turned back to practice. Hinata was paused at the serving line, adjusting himself for the serve she'd taught him. Mikaela beamed to herself as he successfully pulled it off. "Did you teach him how to do that?" Ukai asked, pointing at Hinata. She nodded. "Impressive. I never would've thought to try and teach him that."

"Well, it's almost never seen in guy's games," she explained as Hinata set himself up again. "It's not even that common on the women's side, either. But it actually works a bit better when you're a bit shorter, I think."

Ukai nodded. "Have you ever played against someone who uses that kind of serve?"

Mikaela shook her head. "Nah. I didn't even know it existed until I started watching American volleyball."

He paused. "American volleyball?"

"Yep. Just online videos and stuff."

"So you've never actually seen it done."

"Not really."

"How'd you learn how to do it, then?"

"Watching a lot of the same video. I practiced it a lot on my own but I never understood why it was even a decent option, but it's because I wasn't doing it right. As soon as I got it- it's hard to learn from just watching other people do it- I taught it to Hinata. His overhand serve isn't overly strong, but it's consistent, and this serve will be a nice alternative if he's trying to change it up in a game. Granted, Yamaguchi's serves are top notch and he's a perfect pinch server, but if you've already used your substitutions in a set and don't have another option, this could work."

Ukai stared at her, unblinking, and Mikaela shrugged. "What?"

"Every time I hear you talk about volleyball, I'm impressed," he said quietly, and Mikaela blushed under the praise. "We're going to miss you next year."

She paused. "I never said anything to you about leaving next year."

The coach shrugged, his eyes following the volleyball as Kageyama served it over the net. "Well, you never made it obvious, but it was easy enough to figure out. You brought Yachi- is that her name? Yachi?- in for a few practices. I know she made the posters and such that we see around, but there's been an increase in the practices she's attended. Plus you're as obsessed with volleyball as Kageyama is, so I'd genuinely be surprised if you weren't playing volleyball now that the surgery is complete and you're feeling fine."

Mikaela didn't reply.

"Well?"

"Yeah," she said softly, watching Nishinoya successfully receive Kinoshita's jump floater. "Yeah, that's all right."

"Are you staying at Karasuno?"

"Yep."

Ukai nodded. "Well, that's good to hear, at least. You should probably tell the team."

She sighed. This was inevitable. "I wanted to, but they're so concentrated on this tournament," she mumbled, avoiding eye contact with the coach. "There hasn't been a good time. I don't know when to do it."

"They'll probably be more proud of you than upset," he pointed out. "Tell them tonight. If anything, some of them have already started to suspect and are concerned about it enough already."

Mikaela bit her lip- she hadn't thought of that. "Okay," she said quietly.

They stood in silence as the team switched from serving drills to spiking drills, trying to stay in a relatively typical sort of environment. Mikaela's eyes lingered on Tsukishima as he leaped into a spike.

"Thank you," she forced out quietly, trying to ignore the heat behind her eyes. "For everything."

"No, thank you," Ukai returned with a casual shrug. "You gave a lot for this team. I'm proud of you."

"Th- Thank you."

Mikaela turned away so that he couldn't see the tears gathering in her eyes.

Back at the hotel, Ukai did, in fact, go over the video of their first opponent one more time, but this time with Mikaela's commentary. She pointed out their ace and his favorite types of shots and tells. She tried to go into as much detail as she could about their strengths and how to counteract some of their common attacks. She described their weaknesses (albeit few) and tried to elaborate in such a way that it would make sense to everyone.

God, she loved doing this. She was going to miss it.

"Alright, tonight, there's one last thing you should watch," Ukai announced, pulling out another cassette tape. "This is the Takinoue Appliances special- the 'I'm Awesome!' movie!" The team seemed confused, but the coach was more than happy to explain further. "It's a montage of all of your amazing, awesome, and just downright crazy plays! Everyone gets the spotlight!"

"Awesome!" Nishinoya cried out.

"I wanna watch!" Tanaka added.

Several other members of the team leaned forwards, ready to get their own tape, but Ukai withdrew the bag slightly. "In a second. First, I think Mikaela has something she wants to say."

All eyes turned to her, and Mikaela immediately got cold feet. Great intro, Ukai. Thanks. "Uh, yeah, I guess," Mikaela stammered, shifting nervously. She tucked her arms behind her back. She exhaled slowly. "Okay. I wanted to wait until after nationals, but it's probably better to do it now anyways. I'm quitting as your team manager."

She had expected a few outbursts, namely from Tanaka and Nishinoya. However, to her surprise, they were both staring at her with dropped jaws. "...Seriously?" Ennoshita said slowly.

Mikaela nodded, swallowing nervously. "Uh, most of you have seen or met Yachi by now- she'll be taking over for me. I'm going to be trying out for the girl's team."

"You're gonna play," Tanaka repeated, and she nodded sheepishly.

"Not at Niiyama?" Tsukishima asked, leaning his chin into his palm. He was smirking.

She grinned. "Karasuno. You can't get rid of me that easily."

"Mikaela, that's awesome," Daichi said warmly, breaking the awkward tension. "You're getting back into playing! I'll talk to Michimiya when we get back, she might want to meet you."

"You're so grown up," Sugawara said with a wistful sigh. "Mikaela, that's great."

This was followed with several more congratulatory phrases and Mikaela felt a weight lifted from her shoulders. After several promises to Tanaka and Nishinoya that she would still attend their games and be rooting them on as much as she could, Hinata attacked her in a hug, mumbling into her shoulder about how happy he was that she was staying at Karasuno and playing volleyball. Ukai handed out their tapes, and everyone settled down into their evening routines.

Kageyama wanted to go out for a run, and Hinata was ready to join him, but Ennoshita was quick to make sure they didn't go alone. Mikaela was prepared to volunteer to go with him, but Ennoshita actually managed to convince Tsukishima to go along with them. After laughing at him (he glared at her in retaliation) Mikaela hunted out Yamaguchi.

Tsukishima had been bothering her more than usual lately. It wasn't that he was doing anything different; Mikaela would always be annoyed with him regardless. But her feelings for him were starting to drive her insane.

Kageyama definitely wasn't the right person to talk to about it. She wasn't close enough with Shimizu to try and talk about it. Maybe Yachi, but she wasn't here at the moment. Hinata? Would he get it?

Yamaguchi was the natural choice.

"Hinata and Kageyama are going out on a jog," she remarked as she wandered over to where Yamaguchi was sitting, his video playing on the tablet in his hands. "You gonna go too?"

The pinch server shook his head. "Nah, I feel better watching the movie."

"Fair enough." Mikaela sat herself down to Yamaguchi, and he tilted the screen towards her. She watched the screen as Yamaguchi nailed a service ace against Aoba Johsai. "This is cool," she said as the video flipped to another one of Yamaguchi's serves, this time against Shiratorizawa. "You'd better be hyped for tomorrow."

"I am," Yamaguchi said with a laugh. "Nervous, but I feel a lot better now." He paused the video and turned his head to glance at her. "You okay, Kaela? You seem a bit... fidgety."

"Yes," she replied automatically. Then, she sighed. "No. Can I talk to you about something?"

He nodded. "Of course!"

"It's about Tsukishima."

Immediately, Yamaguchi's innocent expression flipped into a shit-eating grin. God, she hadn't even known he could make that expression. "Tsukki, huh?" Yamaguchi said teasingly, grinning wildly.

"Tadashi!" Mikaela exclaimed, flushing bright red.

"Sorry, sorry! I couldn't help it!" Yamaguchi waved his hands in front of him, his teasing grin morphing into something more bashful and sympathetic. "Sorry."

She huffed. "I guess you know, then?"

"I guessed," he corrected. "So you like him?"

Mikaela groaned, tucking her knees up to her chest and burying her forehead into her knees. "Why the hell is it so obvious," she grumbled.

Yamaguchi laughed. "Oh, Kaela."

"Help," she mumbled weakly.

He paused, collecting himself. "Okay. I'm sorry. What's up?"

She grumbled something under her breath that Yamaguchi couldn't catch, so he sat patiently and waited for her to continue. "I don't know what to do," Mikaela said pathetically, her eyes flitting to Sugawara, who was studiously setting out his school notes and study materials. "Honestly, I just want to pretend I don't feel the way I do, because that would be so much easier for everyone involved, but it's driving me insane."

"Insane how?" Yamaguchi asked quietly.

Mikaela shrugged. "I just can't stop thinking about it. I'm trying to concentrate on nationals, but it's hard. I just... I can't focus."

"And you'd rather just... ignore it?"

"Yeah."

"Why? It's causing you enough trouble, right?"

"It's better than confessing." Yamaguchi frowned at her, and Mikaela rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. I don't want to get rejected by him, that'd completely ruin our friendship."

He shrugged. "It'll feel a lot better to get off your chest."

She nodded. "Yeah, but it's not worth ruining our friendship. Yams, he..." she lowered her voice. "He means a lot to me," Mikaela murmured weakly, tucking her knees tighter into her chest.

"Oh, Kaela," Yamaguchi said with a sigh. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she leaned into him, grateful for the support. "Just one question," he said quietly, and Mikaela nodded. "Do you seriously think he's going to reject you?"

"Maybe," she said, and when Yamaguchi frowned at her, she sighed. "No. I... I think there's a chance he feels the same. But I don't want to risk it. I've seen him reject people before, it's not pretty."

He went quiet, and they sat in silence for a minute until Yamaguchi piped up, "Mikaela, I've known Tsukki for a long time."

She nodded, indicating for him to continue.

"We met when I was getting bullied by these kids," he said with a weak laugh, and Mikaela turned to look at him. "It was such a long time ago, the details are a bit fuzzy. But I remember that they were teasing me and trying to get me carry their bags. Or something. And then Tsukki walked by. I recognized him from my class, but he was always so intimidating, so I never talked to him. He was taller than everyone else in class. He just looked at them and called them lame, and they took off."

Yamaguchi smiled wistfully. "I've followed him around ever since. He's why I'm at Karasuno. He's my best friend." He turned to look at her. "I know him really well. So believe me when I say that he likes you too."

Mikaela couldn't help but let the optimism flood her head. "Really?" she squeaked out. "Has he told you that?"

"He doesn't have to," the pinch server said honestly. "We don't talk about that sort of stuff, honestly. Tsukki just mostly gets annoyed with it. I've asked him for advice a few times, and he generally does give decent advice. But he doesn't make friends easily. He just doesn't want to. The fact you guys have got as close as you are is a good sign."

"So he's never explicitly told you," Mikaela clarified, and Yamaguchi sighed.

"Kaisha, do you trust me?"

"Yes?"

"Then trust me when I say he likes you. I wouldn't tell you that if I didn't believe it."

Mikaela exhaled slowly, surprised at how much lighter she felt. "Thanks, Tadashi. I feel a bit better."

He beamed at her. "Happy to help. Now, what are you going to do?"

"...Hide my feelings?"

"No."

She'd never heard Yamaguchi sound so firm. Mikaela sighed, leaning back into the wall. "I have to confess, because he's not going to, is he?"

He grinned, glad that she finally caught on. "Yep."

"And if he says no?"

"He won't."

"But if he does?"

Yamaguchi glared at her- like, he actually glared. Mikaela almost shrunk back right then and there. "He won't," Yamaguchi said firmly. "But if, on the off chance he does, then you keep being friends. It's only going to be awkward if you make it awkward."

Easier said than done. "Thanks, Tadashi," Mikaela said gratefully, forcing a smile onto her face. "It's nice to talk about it."

"Anytime!" he chirped happily, hugging her gently. She hugged him back, smiling into his shoulder. "I hope it all works out, Kaela. The sooner you get this done, the better you'll feel."

She nodded, pulling back from his hug. "I don't want things to be awkward between us during nationals, though."

Yamaguchi shrugged. "Isn't it awkward already?"

"Fair enough," Mikaela said with a laugh. "Okay. I'll tell him."

"And you'll tell me after? As soon as it's done?"

"Of course," she promised.

This better work out.

** Noroi is Japanese for curse. Hinata was just making a play on Kageyama's name (Noroiyama) like he does with Bakayama. :)

Hello! I hope your holidays are going well!

PheonixBird06: Me too! Thank you for your review! :)

Monxu Aki: I'm glad you liked all the interactions and scenarios last chapter! Don't worry, even though the manga doesn't exactly go through everything I want to write about, I'm definitely going to include parts of Mikaela's time with the Karasuno girls' team. Thank you for your review! :D

xOphiuchusx: Thank you!

Padgent: I love her relationship with Oikawa and Iwaizumi- it sort of wrote itself. Thank you kindly for your review, happy holidays to you too! :D

SupMyDudez: Trust me, I've got something planned for her and Miya XD I was rereading the Inarizaki match and I thought of a couple things I could try and do. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, thank you for your review! :)

bbymojo: I think Oikawa is a favorite for a lot of people, and I have no problem writing about him as much as people desire ;) Thank you for your review! :D

Sayori1412: I'm the same way- I never realize how much I miss certain characters/teams until I read about them and I cry :,) I can't believe I've managed to keep this story afloat with a regular (almost) update schedule. Thank you so much for your review! :D

Swaggishima: I never realized how differently I write Mikaela around the Karasuno boys versus the Aoba Johsai boys, but I'm happy for the contrast- it shows the different relationships she has with each of them. Thank you so much for your review! :)

sakuraddiction: Wow! Thanks for binge reading this XD I'm glad you've enjoyed it! The whole mother-daughter thing was the only thing I had set in stone for this story, everything else either came down to reading fan reviews for inspiration (not some of my prouder moments) or letting the characters write themselves. Anyways, I'm glad you've caught up, thank you for your review! :D

Shadow Wolf 15846: This story was never a romance story to begin with, so I plan on taking things slowly. It's a subplot, if anything. Trust me though- you'll get a confession within the next two to three chapters. ;) Thank you for your review! :)

reddyeru: I'm so glad you liked it, thank you so much for your review! :D

hannymae: I don't really plan my timing when I release chapters but I'm happy it worked out for you XD Yeah, the redemption bit definitely could've been written better; I was trying to show how she didn't completely change her views but she's certainly trying... I think a bit of more time of that chapter could've helped. Your side commentary makes me laugh ("so sudden that it slapped me in the face and called me a bitch")! I also do not have an eye for shopping or fashion but I figured if there was absolutely anyone in the Haikyuu universe who would, it would be Oikawa XD The bit with Kindaichi and Kunimi was rough; Mikaela never really knew them outside of the fact they were Kageyama's teammates. She and Kageyama certainly weren't as close in middle school as they are now, and Mikaela wasn't nearly as protective and invested in his volleyball career as she is now. In middle school, she was concerned, but she never actively interfered with Kageyama's team. I guess she was just a bit too nervous to. Thank you so much for your wonderful review! :)

Tribble. Chan: I will always accept more nice words ;) The 'Asahi take the wheel' bit in your review made me cackle XD I'm glad you liked the interactions! Yeah, Makki and Mattsun were bound to make an appearance at some point; I like to think that they're just being kind enough to ignore it for her. I'm a bit torn of what to do with the time skip. I think I'm going to show bits and pieces of those five years because I can't do captions that say what she did with her life like Furudate can XD I'll try to condense it to a chapter but we'll have to see. I've got two much I want to write about ;-; Although for the Karasuno team, these next few years are important, sure, but they got wrapped up nice and quickly, but Mikaela's still got some much development and team bonding to do and... ugh. Anyways, thank you so much for your review! :D

Kitty: Nationals are starting next chapter! This was more of just a filler in between. Thank you for your review! :)

FyreDraagyn12: Aha I'm glad you enjoyed, thank you for your review! :D

AtheB: I'm so glad you liked it, thank you for binge reading this! Thank you so much for your review! :)

A bit of a filler chapter, but certain events of the manga inspired me to write more. Sigh. Thank you for all of your kind support, and I hope you're as excited as I am to dive into nationals next chapter!

Happy New Year! :)