The next day, right after breakfast, the first few circulations of matches started.

It was refreshing seeing how other teams played as I was seated on the side bench ready with my little bag of first aid. I was the medical help for other teams as well so I had to sit through every match. The teams that weren't playing at the moment would do all kinds of physical activities to improve their stamina in the meantime.

Meanwhile, I would disinfect and put bandages on any bigger scratches the players acquired while playing and put cold packs on sore muscles. The coaches from other teams would occasionally come to me to thank me for how nicely I care for their students and exchange a couple of words.

When our school finally got to play it was a disaster. They lost almost every game and were more and more exhausted after each penalty they had to complete after their loss.

I felt bad for the boys, they seemed to train so hard back in school but clearly, it wasn't enough. I could see the same anxiousness in Ukai's eyes as he saw how the points were quickly going up for the other teams.

I saw how especially angry Ukai was when we lost to the Nekoma team.

As the day was coming to an end a final run around the gym signaled the end of practice.

After dinner, everyone went straight to bed, tired from the exhausting training.

When I woke the next morning, everything was still silent.

"Everyone must be still sleeping." I murmured to myself as I quietly made my way down the hall to get to the cafeteria. I made myself a coffee and went to drink it outside since the sun and quietness of early morning was one of my favorite things.

Opening the cafeteria door to the outside, I seemed to have hit something on the other side. I carefully peeked my head out to see what was blocking the way and a familiar figure in a cloud of smoke showed out.

"Good morning Ukai." I greeted with an apologetic smile as he got out of the way.

"Morning Y/N." He grunted and waved the smoke away so it wouldn't bother me.

I chuckled at his sleepy tone and almost shut eyes to shield him from the bright sun rays.

He seemed to be still in his sleeping clothes as he had on sweatpants and a loose scrunched-up white t-shirt. His usual hairband hairstyle was replaced with his hair loosely hanging by the sides of his face.

"Not a morning person?" I asked.

"You could say that. But it's more because I couldn't sleep last night. I kept thinking about our loses." He pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand.

"Yeah, it was sad seeing them look so defeated in the evening." I acknowledged myself and took a sip of my coffee.

"But today it's going to be better. I know that." I added to encourage him a bit to which he only nodded.

"Also from where do you know Mr. Naoi from? You seemed to know each other well."

"Him? We were classmates and friends in high school. Now you could say we're rivals since I agreed to coach Karasuno." He said with a strained smile.

"Oh, I see."

"He doesn't bother you, does he? Because if yes, I could tell the boys to accidentally send a loose ball his way to teach him a lesson." He smirked.

I looked at him wide-eyed, not knowing if it was just a joke or if he was serious.

"No, no, no. It's not anything like that. I was just curious." I explained while frantically waving my hand.

"If you say so." He hummed and averted his gaze back to the scenery in front of him.

Silence suddenly engulfed us and we continued to enjoy the calm morning.

When he finished his cigarette he turned around to go back into the building but stopped when opened the door and looked at me.

"How was the tuna onigiri by the way?"

I was confused at first but then I remembered.

"Uh, oh! You were right, it wasn't good." I chuckled.

"See? You should have listened to me." He smiled and closed the door behind himself.

A small smile appeared on my lips as the image of Ukai stayed in my head.

His intimidating aura was completely gone this morning. On the other hand, he seemed more calm and thoughtful rather than arrogant.