Mirae
We've got a situation
Life or death
I need your help

Emiko
Oh how the turn tables...
What do you want?

Mirae
We need to stall the next match and I figured your very specific skill set would be perfect

Emiko
Hold up, you think I'm perfect?

Mirae
I said your skill set
Please?

Emiko
But I promised Mad Dog I'd watch him play

Mirae
You're a manager for Karasuno, aren't you?

Emiko
Sure, but I get time off don't I?

Mirae
Look, Hinata might have sprained his ankle and I can't just magically heal him
On top of that he's starting to hyperventilate because Kageyama's getting suspicious of the fact that he's sitting still for more than three minutes

Emiko
Well if its Tobio you're worried about I know of a way to silence him real quick

Mirae
No it's not that simple
I'm thinking a level 10 emergency plan

Emiko
That sounds serious...
Fine, I guess I can help you

Mirae
Okay, the nurse isn't here yet but they said it won't be too long
Continue with the plan and stall our game until they give Hinata the okay to play
If not, Coach will have to sub him out

Emiko
Peace was never an option

Emiko glanced over the railing and saw that Seijoh was walking onto the court. She frowned.

She poked 'Tome. He looked up. "Do you mind videotaping the match for me? If you could focus on Seijoh's number four, I'll buy you ice-cream."

"Number four?" Shoji glared at the court, "I hate him."

"Because he's a better spiker than you?" Takita laughed from beside him. He flinched as Shoji raised his fist. "If you hit me I'll throw you over the railing."

Emiko backed away, leaving her phone in 'Tome's (hopefully) safe hands. She needed an accomplice for the plan.

"Tobio's not exactly my first choice," Emiko murmured as she eyed the setter up and down. He was watching the match almost cynically, and she could tell by the look in his eyes that he was judging each play that Seijoh's setter was making. "But he's reliable. Maybe."

She thought back to her first year in middle school, trying to remember anything, something about him. Just then, Kageyama looked up. "What?" he snapped.

"You're drooling."

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "No I'm not!"

She turned her attention to Tsukishima. "He owes me, but I don't want to cash in on that just yet. Would he help me if I said this was Mirae's plan?"

She recalled how it was becoming part of his routine to greet Mirae while avoiding eye contact with everyone else when he entered the gym for practice.

Determined, Emiko rolled up her sleeves and walked between the seats towards him. She barely had the chance to clear her throat before he glanced at her and said, "No."

"You don't even know what I was about to say!"

"I don't care. Go away."

She turned to the only second-year left: Tadashi.

"Um, did Coach tell you what he wanted to see me about?" he asked.

Emiko continued to drag him down the stairs of the gymnasium. "There is no Coach."

"What?" he deadpanned and tried to dig his heels so she would stop. It didn't work.

"There's no Coach."

"Did you kill him?"

"I wish," she laughed, "but I don't have the facilities to get rid of a body yet. No, today Tadashi, is your lucky day because I have chosen you to help me on this epic quest."

"Emiko, I know I'm not part of the starting line-up. I mean they only put me in as a pinch server, but I still have to get to our game."

Emiko stopped and he nearly ran into her. "Yes, the game. We have to find a way to stall the game."

"What? Why?"

"Mirae's orders. Can't say. Your job is to help me. I chose you."

Tadashi scratched the back of his head, wishing that either Coach or Tsukishima would realize he was gone and come looking for him.

"I have a feeling that you didn't choose me. I was probably the only one you could ask."

He wasn't wrong.

Tadashi had begun to back away. Realizing this, Emiko tackled him into the room she intended to bring him to.

She turned around and pointed to the box. "What do you know about electricity?"

Tadashi frowned. "I won't help you burn down the gymnasium. Let's go talk to one of the referees first."

"Do you even hear yourself?" Emiko rolled her eyes. "Adults are the most unreasonable of all people. You try asking a referee to postpone a game, you'll have better luck catching a bathroom ghost. No, we do this my way."

Emiko was surprised by just how stubborn Tadashi was. She spent ten minutes trying to persuade him to just mess with the electric lines but he wouldn't budge.

"Damn you and your unwillingness to spend a night in jail if we have to. Fine!" Emiko huffed. She threw the door open and marched out.

They found their game's referee standing by the visitor information center. Tadashi explained that one of their team members had an emergency and would need an extra half hour or so before he could play.

"Sorry kids," the older man shrugged, "game starts in twenty minutes. Your Coach will just have to sub him out."

"Told you so," Emiko sang.

"We're still not messing with the electricity."

"Tadashi you are no fun." Just then, another idea popped into her head. "Can't have a game if the other team doesn't show up."

"What? If the other team doesn't show up then they'd just forfeit."

"Exactly, two birds with one stone." Before he had a chance to ask her what she meant, Emiko grabbed his arm and began to drag him towards the gym that the other team was doing their warm ups in.

She had done this only one time before, but every lock had to be similar. Emiko grabbed a pin from her shirt and stabbed it into the closed door. She broke the end so that it was stuck into the lock.

"It'll take them an hour or so until they call someone to break the lock." She grinned proudly. "Now come on, we have to get to the court before my Uncle sees that we're gone."

They walked back together, and sure enough, the team was beginning their warm-up drills. She smacked Tadashi's back. He tried to smile but froze when the doors behind them opened and the other team walked in.

"I thought you jammed the lock?"

"I did," she frowned, "but I guess these locks are more fragile than the ones in France. Alright, plan C, it is." She grabbed his arm and ran back towards the electric room. Barely any people were standing outside anymore now that the match was going to start.

"We're definitely going to get in trouble," Tadashi murmured.

"Don't worry, my Uncle will just blame me. I won't snitch on you."

He stood watch by the door as Emiko tried to decipher which lever and which button did what. Finally, she huffed and decided to unplug a red wire, completely ignoring the DO NOT TOUCH sign above it. Then, she flicked all the levers.

The entire gymnasium was engulfed in darkness.

"I'll guide us back."

Emiko asked for his phone and turned on the flashlight. She and Tadashi carefully walked back to the court where people were being ordered to sit down until they knew what was going on.

"Where's Hinata and Mirae?"

"One second." She sent a message on Tadashi's phone to Mirae and after a few seconds, she received a reply. "They're still in the nurse's office." She laughed, "Hinata's had like, ten pain-relieving pills. Even if he broke his foot he wouldn't be able to feel it by now."

"He broke his foot?" Tadashi tried to contain the fear in his voice.

"Relax, I said if he broke his foot. Geez, you're just like Yachi, no wonder you like her."

"I don't-" he stuttered. Even without the lights, he could tell she was rolling her eyes.

Then, the lights flashed on.

"Damn backup generators," Emiko growled. "Alright. I really didn't want to do this but I guess some unknown force wants to test me. Plan D, it is."

Tadashi did not know what Plan D was, but he knew he didn't like it.

"Tadashi, I'm going to take one for the team." Emiko stood up and pointed to the bleachers. "I'm going to go up there and throw myself over the railing. I'm going to die."

"Are you insane?" Tadashi pulled her to the side, wary of passersby's who happened to be listening or worse, Coach Ukai. "How is that going to help?"

"It'll be ruled a suicide and they'll have to close the gym for the death scene and everything. Don't worry, I've seen it on T.V. I know what to do."

Before he had a chance to stop her, Emiko bolted for the stairs.

"Stop!" Tadashi yelled. He sprinted after her. She wasn't fit in any way, shape, or form, evident as he could hear her struggling for air and in no time, he had reached her. She tried to grab at the railings but he had her by the shoulders.

"A fall from here isn't likely to kill you."

She struggled against him. "You don't understand, I love Hinata! I will die for him!"

"I doubt this is what Mirae had in mind when she said to stall for time!"

"She knows I love Hinata too! She knows I would do anything for him!"

Tadashi was beginning to lose his grip. Just as he was contemplating screaming Coach Ukai's name, he saw Hinata run into the gym below them.

"Look!" Tadashi shrieked. "He's here! You don't have to die!"

Emiko stopped struggling. "Dammit. Oh, uh, I mean cool. Whatever. We bought them enough time."

"Okay, I'm going down there now," Tadashi pointed to the team. "You're not going to..."

"Nah," Emiko dropped into a seat on the bleachers. She was exhausted. "Good luck with your game though."

Tadashi left. A few second later he was on the court, apologizing to the team and lining up. Emiko patted her pockets and frowned. "Dammit, Yaotome still has my phone. What am I going to do now? I don't want to sit here and watch them play, that's boring!"

"You're their manager." Emiko turned around and saw Kunimi and Kindaichi sitting a few seats higher. She grinned and climbed over the seats until she pushed herself between them.

"I have graced you with my presence," she beamed, "you're welcome."

Kunimi groaned. "Shut-up. We're trying to watch."

The whistle blew and Kageyama served the ball with unnatural force. He scored three service aces before the other team could dig up the ball.

Broad jumps and line shots, cross-court spikes and fake-outs. Karasuno was comfortably in the lead.

Hinata ran in for a fast attack at minus tempo, dodging all the blockers.

"God, I hate that move."

"Maybe its because every time you see that attack, you're on the opposite side of the net."

"At least I'm on the side of the net."

Emiko's face burned red. "It's not that I don't make the teams. I choose not to play. There is a difference."

"Whatever you say."

"Sure, we believe you."

They watched the game in silence after that, seeing as it was a constant push and pull scenario. The rallies weren't too long, but the opposite team's spiking techniques and Karasuno's combo plays were starting to gain some serious attention.

The set ended in favour of Karasuno. 25:20

"That was intense," Kindaichi murmured. He looked over to see Emiko and Kunimi sharing his bag of almond covered chocolates. "That's mine!"

"No, it's not," they replied.

"Say, did you guys ever patch things up with Tobio?" Emiko smacked Kindaichi's hand away from the bag. "Not to make it weird or anything, but when Karasuno plays against you in a real match, I'll have to support them."

"Harsh," Kunimi muttered but he barely glanced up from his phone.

"We didn't really patch things up." Kindaichi reached into his bag and brought out a pack of dried bananas. He held them tight. "We tried tolerating him for a while. When we started volleyball, we become teammates."

"Quit hogging the banana chips." Emiko offered a handful of the chocolate almonds in exchange for some banana chips. "What happened?"

"He became the King of the Court. He wasn't communicating with anyone, he didn't listen to the Coach, and he was ordering us to match his sets without a care for anything. He didn't care if we could jump high enough or fast enough."

"Faster, higher, those were the only words he'd bark during a game."

Emiko frowned. She stared at the court where Ennoshita was talking to the team. They agreed to whatever it was he said. Kageyama then turned around and whispered to Hinata. He made an encouraging gesture by resting his hand on Hinata's shoulder.

"We're talking about the same Tobio Kageyama, right?" she pointed down.

"He's changed."

"Don't be jealous,"

"I'm not jealous," Kindaichi snapped.

"You are," Kunimi rolled his eyes and leaned into Emiko's ear. "Kageyama didn't change his sets for anyone except for the orange-haired shorty. Kindaichi took it rough."

"You should've put worms in Tobio's bag."

"We did one better. Benched him for the rest of the season."

Emiko opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She watched Kageyama walk back onto the court, the team following close behind him.

The game had started again. The Spiker prepared to serve the ball.

"He couldn't have liked that," she murmured.

"It gave him a reality check," Kunimi shrugged. "I didn't really care either way though."

"Well, he's bounced back now." Emiko smiled as Tanaka spiked a beautiful cross-court. "Karasuno's going to wipe the floor with you guys next time."

"You're making it sound like you're going to single-handedly win."

"Well, what about you?" Kindaichi asked. "How'd you react to seeing Kageyama after all this time?"

"Well, I didn't pin him to the floor and colour on his face if that's what you're talking about." Beside her, Kunimi snorted. "No, we just talked. It was normal. Although, he has been acting suspicious as of lately."

"What do you mean?"

"If he sees me in the halls, he'll run the opposite way. If I try talking to him, he glares and gives me one-word answers. And just the other day, I walked into the gym and he was the only person there. He froze mid-jump and then ran like his life depended on it."

Kunimi laughed, "Same."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well you're not the kindest person," Kindaichi watched her wearily. She didn't lunge and strangle him, so he continued. "Just like in middle school, he's still socially awkward and quiet."

"And you're loud and unpredictable," Kunimi added, leaning over to steal some banana chips.

"Exactly. I couldn't find two people more different if I tried."

The referee blew his whistle. The other team had touched the net. The scoreboard read 19:15 in favour of Karasuno.

"Whatever. I don't care. It doesn't bother me. Nope. Not bothered. Not even the slightest."

Kunimi and Kindaichi shared a look.

Down on the court by the Coach's bench, Mirae was trying to pry Yachi's hands off her arm.

"We already won the first set and we're in the lead now," she glanced at the scoreboard just as Kageyama pulled a setter dump. 21:15.

Though she tried not to, Mirae found herself watching Hinata's face for any signs of discomfort. She promised not to tell Coach about his ankle and the nurse also confirmed that it wasn't anything too serious.

Still, when the Coaches called for time outs she was the first to be at his side with a bottle of water.

"Hinata," she whispered pulling him to the side.

"I'm fine, really," he pressed. "I'm jumping high enough and my spikes are counting. If anything was wrong, Kageyama would be the first to notice."

"I literally saw your face scrunch up when you landed earlier."

"Well yeah, because they got a one-touch on my spike."

"Let me see your ankle."

"No," he protested and stepped backwards, bumping into Kageyama.

"Watch it," he snapped. Then, he noticed the scowl on Mirae's face. "What's wrong."

"Nothing," Hinata stammered as he pushed Kageyama away. "Everything's great! Nothing to worry about, isn't that right Mirae?"

She pursed her lips and turned around. The referees called the end of the timeout and the players took their place on the court.

"We're going to be fine," Yachi stuttered as she and Mirae took their seat on the bench.

Nishinoya received the jump float serve and sent it high, directly ahead of Kageyama. Tanaka, Hinata, and Ennoshita ran in for a spike at third tempo, confusing the other side so that Ennoshita could spike with one blocker on him.

22:15.

"Now you're the one who seems worried," Yachi nudged Mirae. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," she frowned. "I just remembered..."

"What?"

She remembered what it was like to want to play so desperately. She remembered the anticipation, the obsession. All the times the volleyball pushed against the pads of her fingertips and the times when she lunged in unnatural positions to send the ball to her spikers.

Sometime during all of that, the feeling of being needed was gone. It made no difference if she was on the court or not, if she was the setter or not. There wasn't much of a team anymore.

As Hinata ran for a broad jump, Mirae clenched her fists. At that moment, all she could see was a girl with terrible technique and an insatiable drive. The heavy sound of palm against volleyball rang through the air. Unlike that girl, Hinata landed steadily on both feet, a grin etched on his face.

25:15.

|Note|

So that was quite the frenzy :P Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

|End Note|