"Alright, warm-ups are about done, yeah?" Ukai Keishin clapped his hands, the sound especially crisp in the spacious gymnasium. Like a starting pistol, it instantly pulled everyone's attention back.
With his hands on his hips, he swept his gaze across the court before it finally landed on the short guy by the sidelines, his hair sticking straight up as he idly stretched his legs.
"Hey, you with the spiky hair." Ukai Keishin jerked his chin. "You're the libero, right?"
Nishinoya Yū froze for a moment and pointed at his own nose. "Huh? You calling me, old man?"
"Who are you calling old man?! Call me Coach!" A vein throbbed at Ukai's temple. Then he impatiently waved him over. "What's with you? You've been standing there doing nothing this whole time. Are you injured?"
Sawamura Daichi's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly stepped forward. The only reason Nishinoya refused to play was because of that stubborn vow of his: I won't practice until Asahi Senpai comes back. If the new coach thought he was putting on airs or throwing a tantrum, his first impression would plummet straight to rock bottom.
"Um, Coach..." Daichi tried to put his thoughts into words. "Nishinoya isn't injured, he's just a little..."
"A little what? Constipated?" Ukai Keishin frowned, utterly baffled. "If you're not injured, get moving. Perfect timing—the Neighborhood Association Team's libero can't make it because he still has deliveries to finish at work. They're short a defensive anchor. You, go over there."
He pointed at the group of adults stretching nearby.
"Huh?" Nishinoya and Daichi voiced their confusion at the same time.
"What do you mean, 'huh'? How are we supposed to play if we don't have enough people?" Ukai Keishin said as if it were obvious. "You're a libero, so filling in