sugawara x reader || never alone

Chapter 23: Never Alone

"Why can't (Y/n) go as a starter with Kageyama as a setter for her? Why can't she play another position?" Hinata asked excitedly, hoping you'd be set to play alongside him, either as a setter or a fellow wing spiker. He had been meaning to ask Daichi this and even forfeited his unspoken, yet still painfully obvious competition with Kageyama after practice.

"Well, if you can't already tell, (Y/n) seems more comfortable playing with people she's close with," Daichi explained, turning his head and smiling as he saw you and his best friend getting along well. "And Sugawara's the only one that really took the extra step to help her both socially and in a volleyball-improvement manner. She can only hit his sets without having wandering thoughts and no matter how much she pushes her issues away on the court, they're still lingering there like invisible shackles. And don't get me wrong, she's an amazing player with a lot of talent in any position you put her in, but none of that can be used in games if she's not in the right mentality either. (Y/n) needs to be in tip-top physical and mental strength in order to play as a starter. She's good as a setter already, but we need more than that for us to really benefit from her skill level."

"Ah," Hinata said slowly, as if he had made a revelation. Daichi was fully aware that half the words he said had gone in ear and out the other as soon as they reached his hollow little head, but whatever would get the child away would do. Even if it meant facing the truth that could prevent you from playing in any of the matches in the upcoming Prelims. "So if Kageyama and I became good friends with her, she'd be in the starting lineup?"
"Not exactly," Daichi replied. Surprisingly, his patience with Hinata was steady when he talked about you and Suga's relationship. "I could be completely wrong. She might be the best player during actual games but we haven't even had a real match to prove that yet. So far, she's only able to keep volleyball and real life separate when she has reason to do so," Daich pauses, his eyes widening and his expression softening with sudden realization. His next words came out lower than intended. "That reason could be Suga."

He smiled back at Hinata and returned his voice to its usual, confident tone. "But I have a feeling that her attacks and plays with Suga might be enough to take them both to starter positions."

Despite his words, Daichi's thoughts from his likely theory wouldn't stop resurfacing.

Sugawara makes her care.

"Do you think you can do it?"

You gulped. That was your mother's special attack.

The spike-float...

A unique combination your mother had created and used in her matches. Her team was not professional and since her health was rapidly declining, she never came public with the move.

But the boys had found the tape.

And that's what led you to face your biggest fears. Your own emotions.

You shook your head in disbelief, as if that action would clear your mind from distractions that came from the outside.

You felt your emotions rushing back.

You... you wanted to make him proud.

Maybe then... he would feel the same way...

"I-I don't know..."

"Why do you do that?" You asked nonchalantly, trying to sound only half-interested in the subject. Your mother only hummed in curiosity. "How do you make the ball all floaty in mid-air?"

"Well, jump-floats are effective," She started. "But they're limited to possible service aces or just serves for pinch servers. So I thought, you're in air for only a split-second before you spike. What if I took advantage of all the time I could see at the summit? So I combined the two..."