Another Manager (Akashi Seijuro x OC)

1.4 The View From the Summit

"A player is not a soloist. They are one member of an orchestra. The moment even one of them believes that they are unique, all is lost."

—Coach Bernardo Rocha de Rezende of
the Brazilian Men's National Volleyball Team

———

Kiyoko came in as the guys were stretching and warming up. Ai made sure to greet her personally; after all, she was a year older and a sort of mentor. She had taught her everything she needed to know about volleyball ever since Ai had joined their club. Thanks to her and watching practice games, Ai felt comfortable with the new sport.

It was a change, from the ground-play of basketball to the aerial style of volleyball, but she enjoyed it the same. She couldn't choose one over the other now.

After setting up for the game, Ai had her notebook and pencil in hand, ready to take notes. Kiyoko had the whistle, Narita stood at the net, and Kinoshita managed the scoreboard with Sugawara and Ennoshita, who observed from the side.

Tsukishima was relentless when it came to mocking the other team. He kept going on about Kageyama's title as "King" and Hinata's sorry of a height. It made Ai frown and wonder whatever he had against them.

Having an interest in psychology, she tried to analyze him and reminded herself to talk to him when she had the chance. It isn't just a bad personality that conjured insults; it's insecurity.
Whatever Tsukishima had to go through made him the person he was now, and he was simply acting accordingly. Ai speculated it to be an unfortunate childhood or trauma, but she couldn't be certain. Nevertheless, it was obvious that he needed a few doses of love and affection.

His good friend Yamaguchi seemed to care for him, and the way they interacted showed that they were close to some level. Yamaguchi was on the introverted side of the spectrum and didn't seem to mind apologizing forwardly. Ai could tell that he was one of the reasons Tsukishima didn't slip further down the slope into darkness. He was bright and had a big heart to keep up with the snide remarks.

Daichi was his usual, considerate self, reading the room and stopping Tanaka from intervening in critical moments. Tanaka often lost himself in his emotions, and it was good to have someone keep him in check. Sugawara also gave Kageyama supportive advice as a fellow setter.

Kageyama had been struggling with abandonment, and it seemed that his infamous nickname triggered unwanted memories. "A tyrannical dictator." However, it mellowed out with Hinata's extraordinary appreciation for every toss he got; the shorter player was driven by the admiration of the view from the summit. They seemed to support and complement each other fairly well. It relieved her of some of her duties of maintaining a healthy mentality for every member of the team.

When Hinata and Kageyama strategized their plan of attack, it reminded Ai of the time she first saw Kuroko's skills applied to a practice match. She had been shocked and speechless at the role he played within the team. She didn't know there could be such a position as passing the ball around the court to open members.

In a way, the relationship described the pair in front of her now. Kageyama was the shadow to Hinata as was Kuroko to Aomine and the others. She thought of this as she wiped the sweat and drool off of the floor from Hinata's face receives.

———

Last Spring

Since Ai didn't want to cut off the ties with her friends, she decided to visit them whenever she could. Yōsen was the closest to her, being roughly three and a half hours by train.