"Welcome to the Karasuno Boys Volleyball Club!"

A tremor zips from Yachi's toes to her head. It's unreal. She's standing here, by Shimizu's side, as the second manager of the team.

"Alright!" Sawamura claps to get everyone's attention. "Since Yachi is now an official member and exams are over, I'm treating everyone to pork buns!"

The boys, who are already excited enough to have Yachi be part of the team, become more riled up with the notion of free food.

"Er, I don't know if I can," Yachi turns to Shimizu and rattles her brain for ideas. "My mom... I think she wants me home to help her cook dinner!"

"Why don't you call and ask her if you can come with us instead?" suggests Hinata.

Yachi is reluctant for two reasons. She had already faced her mother and spoken her true feelings about joining the team - announced it, actually, in a public space. Hasn't she already spent her allowance of bravery points? Asking for her mother's permission, in any situation, is scary. Yachi doesn't want to admit to her second reason - that she's actually using her mother as an excuse to avoid socializing with the others.

It's a difficult decision. Quickly weighing the pros and cons, she rationalizes that there shouldn't be any harm in going out for pork buns. That is, if food is the only thing she has to worry about.

"Oh! That's a good idea, Hinata." Yachi tries her best to sound convincing. Luckily, Hinata is too distracted to notice her lack of enthusiasm. She flips open her phone and calls her mother. After two or three rings, Madoka picks up.

"Hello?"

"Hello, mom? It's me." Yachi pulls at the ends of her bangs.

"Hitoka? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah! I was just, um, wondering if I could hang out with the volleyball team for a little bit. The captain said that he's treating us all to pork buns from the market." Please, Mom. Hear my voice. Get me out of this. "I told them that I probably wouldn't be able to go since I thought you might need my help cooking dinner tonight." Yachi prays that her mother can somehow magically sense what she's truly feeling deep down, and will go along with it.

"Nonsense! I can't remember the last time you've ever asked me permission to hang out with others at school." Madoka completely misses any hints that Yachi believes she put out. "You go have fun. And please don't stay out too late."

"Um, okay."

"Be safe!"

"I will."

When Madoka ends the call, the cons of joining the team seem to weigh heavier. Yachi knows she needs another excuse. Her main method of escape is no longer valid.

"So?" Hinata grins at her like a puppy waiting for a tennis ball. "What'd she say?"

"She said it's fine, but…" Yachi isn't going down without a little resistance. "But, I don't think I have enough money on me for pork buns today!"

"Hmm?" Hinata looks confused at her remark. "Didn't Captain say he was treating us?"

She reached too far and skewed the facts. "O-Oh yeah. I forgot."

"So you can come after all! Awesome!" Satisfied with the confirmation, Hinata runs off to join Tanaka and Nishinoya in celebrating.

Yachi feels her throat closing. There's something pushing on her chest, and it's slowly getting heavier. It's getting harder for her to breathe. She needs to breathe through her nose and think rationally, use logic, or things will only get worse. She knows this feeling. Resist with logic. These aren't strangers. Why is she so afraid of spending time with them?"

"Hitoka-chan." Shimizu puts her hand on Yachi's shoulder, and the air returns to normal in an instant. "You don't have to come."

"W-What!? But the captain said that part of the reason why we're going is to celebrate my joining. Wouldn't it be rude to leave?"

"In most cases, maybe. But we know about your current limitations." Shimizu signals the captain. "Sawamura-san!"

Shimizu waves Sawamura over, and when he nears, the younger of the girls shrinks closer to the older. The confidence Sawamura exudes makes Yachi nervous.

"Hitoka-chan is considering going home instead. Is that okay?" asks Shimizu.

Yachi is mortified. She can already tell that Sawamura is judging her. He must regret accepting such a rude person like herself into the club. He might as well kick her off the team now. Surely five minutes on the volleyball team will still count on her resume, right? She squeezes her eyes shut and clings to Shimizu for support.

"Of course!"

Yachi cracks open an eye to look up at Sawamura. He's smiling.

"Yachi-san, I know being around lots of people can be frightening, especially a rowdy bunch like them." He jabs his thumb in the direction of the team, where Nishinoya is doing a handstand on Tanaka's shoulders. Most of the boys are chattering loudly. Sawamura slightly raises the pitch of his voice and leans close to speak softly. "Still, I think it's important that you take this as a chance to try getting to know your teammates. Eventually you'll need to start getting comfortable with them in order to best manage them. But if it's too much for today, I won't force you to do something that makes you uncomfortable." He stands up straight and his usual voice returns. "Think it over, and let me know what your decision is after we finish packing up and changing." Sawamura waves and leaves to help put away the volleyball net.

Relief washes over instantly. The captain himself has given Yachi an out, but she's mostly glad that he isn't upset with her.

"Shimizu-senpai, what did Sawamura-senpai mean when he said 'getting to know your teammates'? I thought I was a manager, not a player."

"Hitoka-chan, this is our team. Every time we win, it's because we worked hard together." Shimizu clicks her pen and opens her notebook. "In the meantime, I have to go talk to Coach Ukai about the results of today's practice. While you think about what you want to do, can you please convince those two to help clean up?" She gestures to Hinata and Kageyama, who, in a test of telepathy, are trying to set a ball back and forth with their eyes closed.

Our team.

"Did everyone get a bun?" Sawamura thumbs through the bills in his wallet.

Staring at the fresh food in her hands, Yachi wonders what could've possibly possessed her to come along. She can't remember telling the captain that she wanted to join them after practice. There's no recollection of walking past the road that led to her usual bus stop. What she faintly recalls is the aching urge she had to bolt down that road and disappear from the team's view.

"Yachi-san, is everything alright? You haven't eaten yet." Worry crosses Sawamura's face.

"O-Oh, right!" Without thinking, Yachi takes a sizable bite - it's so big she can barely move her jaw to chew. She manages to get it down with an incredible amount of effort. "Delicious! Thank you for the food." And it truly was delicious. The cool, cloudy day made the steaming bun taste even better.

Sawamura nods. "I'm glad you like it! And I'm glad you decided to come." He walks away to converse with the other third years.

Yachi looks around at her new teammates. The diverse personalities are more evident when she is simply observing them as classmates, instead of studying them as athletes. Some of the boys are talkative and rambunctious. Others are more reserved and only speak sparingly.

Finally, Yachi realizes that she is standing alone. Everyone is involved in a conversation except her. This is why she hates socializing, especially in big groups. It's awful to be left out. Conversation seems to come so naturally to everyone else. Maybe there's something wrong with her.

"Hitoka-chan!" Shimizu waves Yachi over to the group of third years.

Yachi smiles half-heartedly, and wonders if that smile is enough to hide how terrified she is. Still, she'd rather join her mentor than the louder, rowdier group of freshmen and second years. Hesitantly, she makes her way.

The three senior boys tower over her, and her mouth goes dry. Combined with their older age, their demeanors alone scream confidence in themselves - Yachi's antithesis. But they aren't strangers! Yachi has been working with them for more than two weeks now, yet she has to repeat this mantra over and over. So why is she still petrified? Why does she want to run away so badly?

"Yachi-san," says Azumane, "I'm glad that we're all finally able to relax together."

"Huh?" Yachi has been so accustomed to hearing Azumane yell while playing. This is the first chance she's gotten to properly listen to him speak. It's a deep voice. Warm and full. Encouraged by the gentleness, Yachi peeks up at Azumane. He's smiling at her shoes, and rubbing his neck.

"I mean, we've all been working really hard lately, what with juggling exams and volleyball."

"Yachi-san, especially!" Sawamura says.

"She's been helping the freak duo study," chimes Sugawara. "Remember?"

"Oh yeah!" The tallest boy scratches the hair on his chin. "Even Tsukishima couldn't keep up with those two. That's either a testament to either Yachi-san's hard work or Tsukishima's allergies. Maybe even both."

Sawamura raises a brow. "I didn't know Tsukishima was allergic to anything."

"Yeah, when it comes to Hinata and Kageyama?" Asahi nods. "I'm pretty sure Tsukishima's allergic to patience and basic kindness."

Yachi looks between the boys who, just moments ago, intimidated her with their mere appearance. When all three start laughing, Yachi sees who they truly are - kids. Older than her, and much taller than her, but kids nonetheless. Shimizu can't help giggling; it gives Yachi permission to let out a chuckle.

"You've been doing great with them, Hitoka-chan," says Shimizu. "I hope they didn't take up too much of your time over the weekend."

"Wow Yachi-san, you even tutored them over the weekend?" Sugawara grins, impressed. "That's dedication."

"Shimizu's right, though. Don't let those two knuckleheads be your number one priority," says Sawamura. "I'm sure you have other things you wanna do."

"Oh no, it's all right! I really want to help out in the best ways that I can, and part of that includes my study skills." Yachi reflects on Sawamura's words. "And I don't really have other things I wanna do, anyways…"

The silence that follows lasts a few beats too long. Yachi can hear her heart beat in her throat. She did it again. Why does she always say such weird and unnecessary things?

"Um- by the way!" Sugawara says a bit too loudly. "You guys know the appliance store near my house?"

"Oh no," Sawamura rubs his face. "This isn't another one of those cons where you convince us to chip in for an overpriced birthday present for your mother again, is it? I already bought everyone pork buns, man."

Azumane shakes his head. "I bet she doesn't even know how to use that rice cooker. Way too many buttons."

"Wha- NO, I-!" Instinctively defending himself, Sugawara fumbles and almost forgets the purpose of his conversation. He clears his throat. "I was gonna say that I saw an incredible poster in the storefront window. At first I thought it was about an action movie, but when I looked closer, it was this epic picture of Hinata! Ever since that poster went up, the locals have been donating money to support us." Sugawara beams at Yachi, turning her cheeks beet red. "I had no idea you were so talented at graphic design and photography, Yachi-san."

"Dang, no wonder you chose her, Shimizu." Sawamura crosses his arms. "Our new manager's got a lot of different talents hidden up her sleeve."

"You can say that again," adds Azumane. "Yachi-san, what gave you the idea to make a poster like that?"

"Well, when I overheard Takeda-sensei talk about how we were lacking funds, I wanted to help somehow." The blonde presses her index fingers together, painfully aware that all the attention is on her. "I remember asking Hinata what inspired him to take up volleyball, and he wouldn't let up about a certain Little Giant. I thought that if the Little Giant of the past was able to inspire Hinata this much, maybe having our own, present-day Little Giant would bring back some support from our community." "Of course, I still had to consider how to present the photo, like selecting the best shot of Hinata mid-spike. I wanted it to move as many people as possible - and I'm sure our older community members remember the old Little Giant - so I chose a shot that kept Hinata's face more ambiguous. And the first time I ever saw Hinata fly, I thought he was going to jump all the way to heaven! I had to play with the contrast and lighting to try and capture that same feeling- Oh! I also had to choose the correct font that would grab the attention of passersby, and my mom had to help me because the first few that I picked apparently looked too aggressive. She said that simple and bold would be best, because it would imply that we weren't just trying to go to Nationals - we are going to Nationals. If you look closely in the background of that poster, you'll see… that…"

Like fish with gaping mouths, the boys stare. Asahi almost loses his grip on his bun.

The color runs from Yachi's face. I've been rambling and I didn't even notice! "Um-"

"So cool…" They speak in unison, almost as if they rehearsed it.

Chuckling at their dumbfounded faces, Shimizu sticks her thumb up in approval.

Yachi loses facial autonomy as her lips stretch into a grin.