It was day three at Karasuno without their official setter, without two of their first years, and most importantly, without their Comedic Queen and Devoted Goddess. The team was slowly but surely losing their minds and today seemed to be the breaking point.

They happened to stumble upon the situation accidentally.

Narita and Kinnoshita were in the storage room untangling the volleyball nets. The team had become so used to Mirae and Emiko setting up and cleaning after practice, that these past few days they stuffed the equipment without so much as a thought.

Takeda Sensei nearly passed out at the mess.

"Can you imagine how Daichi would have reacted if he saw this?"

Narita chuckled. "Let's try not to think about that. I don't want any nightmares."

"Yeah, he was one strict captain," Kinnoshita paused and yanked a knot-free, "that's not to say Ennoshita isn't."

"I agree. It's just that our team as it is now is ten times more troublesome than it was last year."

"And we're missing five of our team members," he shook his head. "Ennoshita rules with an iron fist while being fair. Makes you wonder though, how would have Daichi led the team alongside Emiko and Mirae?"

"He wouldn't."

"No?"

"Well, you have to consider who else was here." He deadpanned at the confused look on Kinnoshita's face. "Sugawara and Asahi."

"Oh," he drawled. "Yea that makes a lot more sense now that I think about it."

"Now I'm not one to talk ill about our Upperclassmen, but Asahi is a walking-talking embodiment of anxiety. If he messed up a training recommendation or if he forgot to hand in his nutritional log, which the team collectively always forgets to do, he would have a panic attack. It would get to the point where Mirae would walk into the gym and Asahi would hyperventilate."

"How many days did it take Yachi to get used to them?"

"Three days?" Narita offered. "Even then, as anxious as Yachi gets, she's fared way better than Asahi ever could. You know just how bad Mirae and Emiko's screaming matches get. We can hear them from up in the clubroom. It takes five of us to restrain them."

"Wow." Kinnoshita paused, realization dawning on him. "Asahi would die, wouldn't he?"

"Yep."

"So what about Sugawara then?"

"He would feed Emiko."

"Feed Emiko?" Kinnoshita repeated. "Isn't it the other way around?"

"I meant that more in the figurative sense. He'd feed her ideas. Mould her into his minion then send her to the team and watch from the background as chaos ensues."

"Wow. You've given this a lot of thought, haven't you."

A shudder ran down his spine. He swallowed visibly. "I've had nightmares about this. Sugawara and Emiko would be a bad mix. If someone looked at our team the wrong way, he would open the gates of hell and send out the hellhound known as Emiko. It'd be the puppeteer and the puppet. Daichi wouldn't know who to control first. With the clashing of personalities, forget making it to nationals, Mirae wouldn't stay on as a manager."

"Now that would be a nightmare." Kinnoshita pointed to the ends of the net, "Okay I think the knots are gone. Let's pull it back."

Both boys grabbed the ends and yanked. Narita put a heck of a lot more power in his tug, surprising Kinnoshita who lurched and fell into the rack of medical supplies.

A metal box fell over and crashed to the ground.

"What was that?" Ennoshita spun around, glaring at the entry of the storage room. "It was Emiko, wasn't it. Emiko!" he roared, stalking towards the noise, "What did you do? Emiko, are you hurt?"

He paused at the scene. Narita was helping Kinnoshita back to his feet. Bandages, bottles of sanitizer, and tape sprawled by their feet.

"Um, Ennoshita? Emiko's not here."

He blinked. His facial muscles loosened. "Right. She is in Hyogo. I know that."

He turned around, red-faced, and left. The two boys stared at each other as sly smirks pulled at their lips. Their captain was breaking, and they were curious to know what they could get away with by blaming it on their absent manager.

"Emiko?" Nishinoya called as he sat up. "I just heard Emiko's name."

Tanaka flopped on his stomach. He used the motion of a push-up to squat to his feet. "Emiko's name is Emiko. Is she back? Has our comedic queen returned? Are we saved?"

"Shut-up, both of you, and get back to practice." Ennoshita tossed a volleyball towards them.

Nishinoya dove in to receive. "What is the point of practice when our girls aren't even here?"

"Nothing feels the same," Tanaka groaned, "the nets aren't set up as they should be. The volleyballs feel colder. The room isn't bright enough. Face it, guys, we're done for."

"Imagine if a villain just showed up. Who'd defend us?"

"Exactly!" Tanaka cried, "Emiko would know just what to do. She's seen almost every episode of My Hero Academia ten times; she'd know how to protect us."

"Like Bakugo with the anger issues? She'd tame him like that Mad Dog spiker from Seijoh! Or that One for All thing? She'd make him cry; I would bet my life on that."

"Bakugo isn't a villain."

"He was when he was bullying Midoriya."

"Oh true."

"Exactly! And speaking of bullies, Mirae would be the first to make him sit down and apologize and reflect on his way of life. With our precious managers, no villain would dare exploit us! Um, Tanaka, why are you looking like that?"

"I was just wondering, what would we do if a villain took them both and we could only save one?"

Noya gasped. "If a villain really wanted to hurt us, that's what they'd do."

"Right? Think about it, they both take care of us so well so how would we choose who to sacrifice and who to give up?"

"If we're being realistic, we should give up Emiko."

"Definitely." Tanaka nodded his head. "The villain would send her right back within five minutes. That's how we win."

Noya grinned, "I love loopholes."

On the other side of the gym, Hinata thanked Yaotome for setting to him and then he ran up to Yachi. She was flipping through the to-do list that was left by her co-managers, frustration bleeding its way into her thoughts because it seemed impossible to do everything daily.

"Yachi!" Hinata grinned, pulling the clipboard from her hands. "So?"

"So?" she frowned.

His eyes grazed the papers. Then, he glanced up and asked, "I need the notes."

"Notes? What notes?" she panicked.

"The notes on my technique. I've been practicing my footwork and mid-air form so my jumps don't waver. I asked you to watch me practice, so, what criticism do you have for me?"

Yachi's hands shook. She thought Hinata only wanted some attention, someone to smile and say good job. She did not expect him to want physical notes critiquing his technique and offering advice.

"Why didn't you just fill in the worksheet Mirae made? She said she left a few of them behind." To prove his point, he lifted the stack of papers on the clipboard and sure enough, written in bold letters at the top of a page, was Hinata's Practice. There was a checklist of good, bad, and excellent on a variety of volleyball techniques.

"Who are you?" Tsukishima scoffed, a smile playing on his face as he walked towards them. "A professional athlete? A VIP?"

"No! Er- I mean yes!"

"You mean maybe?"

"No! I want to be a professional volleyball player."

Tsukishima rolled his eyes. "Have you ever wondered why Mirae is going out of her way to help you practice? Why she's making these checklists for you?"

"It's because she's a kind person who sees potential in me."

He blinked and a cruel smile spread across his face. "No, it's because she feels sorry for you."

Hinata clenched his hands by his side. He glared, grinding his teeth together and growled, "You're lying. She sees how hard I practice and how readily I accept criticism. She likes me because I'm a likeable person."

"What are you saying? That I'm not a likeable person?"

"All I'm saying is that she smiles and talks to me the most and to you the least."

Yachi felt the tension a second too late. Tsukishima reached out to smack him upside the head but Hinata spun around and dodged. Those words were provocative so unlike the numerous other times when he would click his tongue and walk away, he lunged.

Hinata sprinted, Tsukki hot on his tail.

"A fight?" Tanaka asked becoming high on alert.

"Mirae and Emiko used to fight like that." Nishinoya sighed, a dream-like expression crossing his face as he reminisced. "I wonder what they're doing right about now."

"Probably missing us."

"You don't think they replaced us, do you?"

"What?" Tanaka shrieked. "No. No way. Our girls would never do that to us."

"Is that Emiko getting chased?" Ennoshita growled as he stomped back into the gym. "Who'd you make angry now? Emiko, stop running and apologize! Emiko!"

Tadashi and Ukai stood off to the side, watching with wide eyes and worried expressions.

"Ennoshita must really be missing Emiko," Coach said and shook his head, "I can't even begin to imagine why. It's been three days, but he is always looking around as if waiting for her to waltz back in and cause trouble."

"I agree. If we accidentally drop something or raise our voices, he thinks it's her."

"I'm worried for his mental health," Coach paused, "should we tell Takeda Sensei to take him to the counsellor?"

"I think he'll be fine. If anything, this just proves how much he misses her."

"Count me in to that bunch," Ukai groaned.

"Everything okay Coach?"

"Nothing is okay. Ever since that twerp moved in with me, I've been constantly worried for her life. It's gotten so bad to the point where I'll be sitting in my room, smoking and relaxing, and I'll hear the floorboards in her room creak. All throughout the house, her things are just lying around. Her hair elastics on the kitchen table, her coloured pens on the windowsills, her occult books in the living room. I don't even know how they end up where they do."

"That does seem odd."

"I went into her bedroom the other day," Ukai confessed, "she never lets me into her bedroom. Apparently, if I enter, my presence will break the protective seals against the Demon Queen. Oh, I should clarify, the Demon Queen is her mother and my sister Hina."

"Everyone on the team knows who the Demon Queen is," Tadashi chuckled, unable to control his expression. "What does your presence have to do with the protective seals though?"

"I'm the Demon Queen's brother."

"Oh. Makes sense."

"Yeah. Even when I go to talk to her, she keeps the door shut and makes me stand with my back to the door. Whatever. The other day I walked right in and blew out the single candle she lit for the protective seal. I also organized her room because a simple instruction of clean your room is too much for her to comprehend. When she comes back, she'll probably think a ghost went through and moved her stuff."

"I didn't know Emiko believed in the occult. Her ancestors' power and spiritual guidance sure, but not ghosts and the occult."

"She believes in a lot of things she shouldn't, it's one of the reasons she is the way she is. I'm just waiting to see when she begins blood sacrifices, that's when I'll send her to the Buddhist priests up in the mountains..."

Tadashi shuffled away. He watched the Coach glare at the floorboards and then sprinted once he was at a safe distance.

It was not just Ennoshita. Every one of the boys was acting in ways that proved just how much they missed their managers.

During strenuous workouts, tiring training, and stressful combination plays that just would not work, Emiko could be trusted to provide comedic relief as she sauntered around the court and gave out healthy snacks.

Most of them would laugh as she made a fool of herself. The others would roll their eyes, fond smiles tugging at their lips.

For the final act, she would find a way to provoke Mirae. Not that it took much planning, because it seemed that just by being nearby Emiko could draw a reaction.

An exaggerated fake cough or a sarcastic comment and Mirae would chase her out the gym with a string of colourful threats. Then she would turn back around and give the boys the attention they needed.

She would praise the first years for their hard work and grant them gold stickers on their training logs. She would actively spike, set, receive, and block with the second years. The deviant duo acted like they could improve just by listening to her. Tsukishima could feel his frustration leaving his body when she smiled at him. Tadashi respected her for the power she had over them.

It was not that Yachi was slacking; she showed up to practice half an hour early to set up most of the equipment, she helped clean and provided snacks as recommended.

The Karasuno Crows just had more chemistry with their equally unhinged patrons.

"Everyone has to be quiet right now!" Yaotome roared, stomping his foot for effect. He pointed a shaking finger at Yachi. "You are all making Miss. Manager Yachi stressed. This is unacceptable. Captain, Emiko is not here. She is in Hyogo. Stop calling her name like she teleports here just to cause a problem and then vanishes. Nishinoya, Tanaka, based on the number of times you have called out Mirae and Emiko's names, I would not be surprised if they sneezed themselves into cardiac arrest. They cannot hear you. Tsukishima and Hinata, you have to stop fighting so much. Use that energy to practice instead. I am sick and tired of seeing this. And for what? Sure, two of our managers are gone but we still have Yachi here! She is trying her best, she is doing everything she can, and so you all need to act more grateful. It's only been three days and this is what is happening to our team. I can't even imagine what will happen by day ten or twelve."

It was quiet, except for the sound of 'Tome's ragged breaths.

He closed his eyes and turned on his heels. "I apologize for bursting out like this, but someone has to do it!"

|Note|

But like... Can you imagine the chaos when Kageyama, Shoji, and Takita return?

We promise the team appreciates Yachi. Sincerely. However, this story is focused on our OC's so Yachi's role is minimized. We plan on bringing more of her in, but to do that we'd have to take one manager away... choose which one :P

We hope everyone is doing well :) Remember to take care of yourselves!

|End Note|