After lunch time, Yachi spared no time wasted and gets ready for the next training session in the afternoon. She helped the managers carried the freshly washed sports vests to the gym. As Yachi tries to carry a whole basket of fresh laundry by herself, she also had to carry a bag of freshly cleaned water bottles on her right arm so she made quite a deal in walking her way towards the gym with all of her arms full.

Then along the way in the corridor, she suddenly felt a hand reached out for the basket in her arms and lifted it off from her. Yachi's eyes widened in surprise, unexpected by the hands and also the one who came to pick it up from her.

"Tsukishima-san?" She was bewildered to see the blonde haired glasses boy next to her as he carries the basket easily in his own hands.

"You look like you're about to topple over with so many things." He drawled, easily carrying the basket as he walked beside her on their way to the gym.

Yachi shifted the bag on her hand, now finding the weight from her hands lighter and much better. "I just wanted to make shorter trips instead of going back and forth – but thank you very much for your help, Tsukishima-san."

"Just call me Tsukishima. Don't worry about it."

"Eh? A-alright."

Their way to the gym was quite, save for the sounds of the people in the distance, but Yachi felt incredibly weird being next to Tsukishima by herself. Like she had to say something to cut the silence between them because she felt incredibly awkward somehow.

But Tsukishima cuts her train of thoughts, "Don't stress yourself for not holding a conversation."

"W-what?" Yachi was caught off guard.

Surprisingly, Tsukishima smirked at her reaction. "It's written all over your face. Seriously, Yachi-san, just take a breather or two. You don't have to think about everything too much."

"D-do I really look that obvious?" Yachi asked. She heard someone said those words before and she distinctively remembered that it was Yamaguchi who voiced that when he walked her home last time.

Yachi falters, "I guess I may look like I'm overthinking too much." Stupid Hitoka! She thought to herself.

Tsukishima shrugged as he gave her a side eyed glance. "Hm... it's not that bothersome though but if you think about little details too much you might end up getting hurt without noticing."

Yachi perked up, "That's…that's actually right. Perhaps I just had to do my best but I worry too much that's why I become so worrisome like this. The outcome isn't as planned as I thought it could be." She ended up with a light sheepish chuckle.

This time Tsukishima's steps slowed down before he looked back to her fully, "Hey – why do you work so hard?"

The sudden question caught her off guard, "Hn? What do you mean 'Why I work hard'? Shouldn't I work hard and do my best?"

"Well, it's just you worked so hard for the team even when you're not a regular member or even a player yet…you worked the hardest out of all of us."

"That's not true." Yachi rebutted, "The others worked hard as well and besides….I haven't caught up to the rest of you so I need to catch up learning volleyball."

Tsukishima furrowed his eyebrows, "That's the thing I don't understand. It's just volleyball – what's the use of getting so worked up?"

For the first time in a while, Yachi finally understand the brief personality of the tall blonde haired glasses boy. While he might seem good in playing volleyball, he doesn't necessarily stand out as a player compared to the rest of the team members. In fact, he doesn't show that expression that he was also enjoying the matches.

It's like he's doing volleyball just for the sake of it. Now he's questioning why the other members worked so hard for something that could be just a fleeting goal or dreams to be the best and go to nationals.

"Tsukishima-kun. Don't you want to go to nationals?" Yachi asked simply.

Tsukishima didn't reply for a few seconds before he sighed, "It'd be nice if we go to nationals but for now…it's all like a distant goal the team is trying to pursue."

Yachi takes it all in. So Tsukishima isn't denying the wish of going to nationals but he doesn't really find the motivation for it.

By now Yachi sort of understands of what Tsukishima is like.

Yachi looked forward as they both continued to walk. "I wouldn't call it a hopeless wish or something like that but…I just feel like I want to do something more for myself. Becoming a manager was something I never thought I would be but – "

Yachi remembers Hinata's and Kageyama's joy when they were able to the fast quicks, Asahi's roars when he was able to spike through tall blockers, Nishinoya's agile moves across the floor as he saved a ball from touching the ground, Kiyoko's efforts in trying to keep up with the scores and analyzes with the team of her findings –

All the things that the members and her new friends showed how volleyball changed her life little by little with their passion leaking out to influence her positively.

Yachi smiled brightly, " – I found an amazing world I get to be a part of. You also happen to be inside of it so – it's something that I find myself motivated to work with my duties as a manager."

"Huh?" Tsukishima responded in a slightly surprised expression.

Yachi beamed at him, her eyes full of stars and beautiful dream. "You don't need a lofty reason to start something or be good at something. That was something Shimizu-senpai told me before and I realized how her words are true now. I can't really give you a confident answer to why I work hard or why the others do it as well. I think you have the answers already within you, Tsukishima-kun but that's something you'll have to speak out for yourself."

Tsukishima hummed, considering her words. "You certainly sound like you knew the answers though."

Yachi laughs lightly, "Oh I really wish that's the case!"

Tsukishima shook his head as a small smile appeared on his lips. "For someone who's an over-thinker, you really do get the gist of the details on something like this."

"I guess that's the perks of being a villager B."

Tsukishima snorted out a small laugh. "Yeah. You say such odd comebacks, Yachi-san."

"I'll take that as a compliment." She laughs along with him.

Yaku hissed as he took off his kneepads and sees the blooming bruise on his knee. He is usually used to getting such bruises on his skin but sliding across the floor with a busted knee like this felt really uncomfortable. He should have gotten a thicker kneepad so it wouldn't hurt as much but he couldn't find it anywhere in his bag earlier.

So he tried to treat off the bruise with a cooling gel in hopes to makes it better. Practice was starting in fifteen minutes so he had a bunch of time to get ready for then.

"Damn it." He cursed when he flinched upon the cold gel touching his skin.

"Yaku-san! Are you okay?" Yachi came towards him as she held several fresh clean towels in her hands before she puts it aside as she sits down next to him. She inspected the bruise on his knee and frowned, "That won't do. We should have it compressed – please wait, Yaku-san. I'll be right back."

"I can handle it – " before Yaku could finish the sentence, Yachi already ran away to get the equipment. She quickly grabbed several things from the other side of the court as Yaku watched her pulled an ice pack from the portable cooler and several bandages and kneepad.

Yachi came back quickly as she crouched next to him, "It's going to be just a tad bit cold." She warned gently as she wrapped the ice pack with a towel and gently pressed it against his knee.

Yaku hissed in pain when he felt the cool ice touched his knee but find the pain slowly ease down as the minute passes by. Yachi held it to his knee and rolled out the white bandage. "It's better to compress with ice rather than a cooling gel, the bruise will also heal quickly like this."

"Thanks for the help, Yachi-san." He said seeing her hand holding the ice pack to his bruised knee. "I lost my usual padded kneepads so my knee was busted ever since this morning."

Yachi frowns a little, "Oh…Yaku-san if you have any discomfort please inform me right away. It won't do if you keep playing with an injury like this."

Yaku shook his head, "It's just a small bruise – Ouch!"

"Sorry! Um, please don't move too much." Yachi warned gently as she pressed on the cold compress. "We should hold this for ten to fifteen minutes. Make sure you also do this two to three times a day to heal your bruise."

"R-right." Yaku hissed in pain as he held on to his knees. Seriously, he should have been used by this but every time he just worked a little harder – his knees are always telling another story. "I'm sorry to bother your time, Yachi-san."

"Don't worry, Yaku-san. It's my job to help you." Yachi gave him a friendly smile, "It would be troubling if Nekoma don't have their dependable libero during practice but if the pain doesn't go away then I suggest we might have to check it to a doctor."

"I'll keep that in mind." Yaku says as he reached out for the ice pack, "I'll hold this one. You can continue with the rest of the preparation."

"You sure? I'm done with everything though." Yachi replied, "We just need to wrap it properly before putting a new kneepad."

Yaku smiles lightly before he grabbed the hand that Yachi pressed the cold ice on, gently lifting it off from the ice and switched it with his hand instead. Yachi was a little surprised by such gesture, he did it so smoothly.

"It's fine, Yachi-san. Tell you what – I'll call for you if I need any more help." Yaku reassured her.

"Okay. You promise?"

Yaku smiles wider, gently poking her right cheek. "I promise. Now go or the others would cry like a baby if they have their bottles unfilled."

Yachi laughs from his words and nodded, getting up to carry the towels and runs off to another corner to put them down on the benches.

Yaku watches Yachi with a smile, his chest felt lighter when he sees her expression. She sure was cute. Honestly Yaku felt the butterflies in his stomach when Yachi tended to him earlier. Her sweet soft scent and her light touches on his knee. He managed to brush his hand against hers and Yaku couldn't help but blush at the previous action he did.

Through the end of the day, spending her time as Nekoma's temporary manager was quite eventful. She learned that dealing with people who are outside of her circles were quite eye opening. Yachi learns that she still lacked a lot of knowledge when it comes to volleyball and how to support them fully.

Still she did try her best. She made sure that all of the members were accommodated and she attentively followed Coach Naoi and Nekomata-sensei orders when they needed her. Never in her life she thought she was able to be so quick in attending to her managerial duties before. It was quite exhilarating and Yachi finds herself having fun while doing it.

All in all, her vibrant expression wasn't left unnoticed by Nekoma's members.

Kuroo loves to rile up the members of Karasuno who were watching like a hawk from the other side of the room. Whenever Yachi came up to him and talked about their scores, he smoothly leaned against her while lowers his height so that he reads the pages on her notes properly.

Unknown to Yachi, Kuroo listens "closely" to her. Hanging his head near her face, their cheeks barely touching each other as he stood closely right behind her. Kuroo lifted his eyes from this position and sees the seething faces of Karasuno's members, Tanaka, Nishinoya, and Hinata, who were gritting their teeth when they saw how close Kuroo stood behind Yachi.

Kuroo's lips tugged wider in a smirk. He can imagine the sounds they make already.

Yachi looked up from her note and blinked her pretty brown eyes at Kuroo before her cheeks reddens at their close proximity. "K-Kuroo-san?"

Kuroo smiles warmly and pinched gently at Yachi's cheek. "Thank you for the insights, Karasuno-chan."

"You're we-welcome." Yachi replied in a little stutter before she steps away from him, widening the gap between them.

'That caught me off guard! His face was so close!' Yachi's mind screamed in her head. Still, she needed to get a grip of herself. It's so cheeky of him to do that.

Handsome features and sharp jaw, Yachi wondered whether Kuroo knows how handsome he was because he really made Yachi's heart beats like crazy in her chest.

'Handsome guys like him are so unfair.' Yachi thought before she continues on with her managerial duties.

It wasn't only Kuroo who made these kinds of moves. Several Nekoma members were already shown to care for Yachi despite her being their temporary manager for one day.

Yaku likes to pat her head when she did a great job at assisting. Lev loves to bounce at Yachi and holds her hands to press on her soft palms. When she asked him why he does it, Lev merely responded.

"Your palms feel like a cat's paw, Yachi-san. It's so soft!"

Yachi merely gave him an embarrassed smile despite her confusion to his response. What an odd boy.

Inuoka's energy was all over the place when he comes near Yachi. When Yachi compliments him for his good play, Inuoka was so happy that he started to lightly jumps on his feet. Sometimes his energy reminded Yachi of Hinata when he was being praised.

Others like Tora, who was a little bit dramatic but overall sweet to Yachi. Kenma, Kai, Fukunaga, Teshiro and Shibiyama were very polite to her when they worked together. It certainly gave her a piece of mind when they were so cooperative.

Though sometimes they do strange antics as well but they are all nice.

After practice hours were over, Yachi collected all the sports vests and towels from the members and have Eri and Kiyoko head over to do the laundry as scheduled. Yachi helped to clean up the gym before she went to wash the water bottles outside at the handwashing station.

When she starts cleaning the water bottles on her own then she paused for a moment as she looked up. The moon was really bright and the night was a little cold despite being summer time. She could hear the crickets accompanying her and the gentle wind blowing by.

What a night, it's certainly peaceful. Yachi finds herself at ease as she hums lightly to a tune and washed the remaining bottles.

Another running water from her left side caught her attention as she looked aside to see Kuroo washing his hands.

Yachi greeted him, "Otsukaresamadesu[1] Kuroo-san."

He grinned back, "Otsukare~ do you still have something else to do after this?"

Yachi shook her head, "No. I'll be joining dinner with others."

"Is that so." He says while took one of the uncleaned bottle and start washing it.

Yachi looked up, "Oh, it's okay, Kuroo-san. I can handle it."

"I don't mind helping besides it'll get to job done faster."

Yachi smiled, grateful for his help. "Thank you, Kuroo-san. You helped me out so much today."

Kuroo furrowed his eyebrows, "What do you mean? You were the one who helped me and the team today. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be progressing our practice as smooth as this."

Yachi felt the feeling of pride and happiness spread across her chest. She was happy that her efforts were helpful in the end. "I'm glad…I had a lot fun with Nekoma team today."

"I can tell. You fit in our team perfectly. You sure you're just a new manager?"

Yachi chuckled, "Kuroo-san sure likes to joke around a lot."

Kuroo laughs lightly, already cleaning the last bottle before he decided to "accidentally" sprayed some water to Yachi's way. Yachi gasped when she felt the cold water droplets on her.

"Kuroo-san!" She yelled at him.

"Oops." He chuckled loudly before Yachi did the unexpected thing to return his gesture by spraying the water straight from the water faucet as she turned it on to the highest pressure and pointed it to his way.

Kuroo yelled in shock when the cold water hit his upper body, he then gasped. "Yacchan! Okay, this means war!"

Yachi squealed when Kuroo sprayed the water from his faucet on to her with the same amount of water pressure coming out, drenching her upper body as well. Yachi laughs loudly before she sprayed him again and they both ended up drenched with water after a few minutes of their short water fight.

They cooled off their laughter afterwards and Kuroo made a joke about not taking a bath after this because he's already wet but Yachi warned him that he should take a bath right or else he'll smell to the next morning.

"I'll take these back to the kitchen but I need to check the gym for a bit. You can go first, Kuroo-san." Yachi told him as she grabbed all the water bottle in a basket so she can carry it easily.

Kuroo hummed, his face was still smiling. He shook his head to shake the water from his hair and Yachi now realized that his usual-styled-up hair damped down. He surprisingly looked a lot younger with his hair down, somehow his styled up hair gave the impression of him being so much older like a young adult.

'He shakes himself like a cat, that's funny.' Yachi giggled at the view she sees.

"Don't be out for too long and eat dinner quick, Yachchan." He reminded her.

"Osu captain!" Yachi saluted.

Kuroo felt his insides gushing at the cuteness she showed and before he could crumble down by her cute attack, he smiled wider and patted her wet head. "I'll see you later."

Yachi nodded and watched him leave before she heads towards the gym to do a last minute check.

[1] Otsukaresamadesu – a term used for to say "Thank you for your hard work today."