Zongman: Complete Guide to Characters

"Hey! Why do you want to be a manager?"

Kageyama Tobio, who was in the back row, leaned forward and said, "Aren't you interested in being a setter? Why don't you join the women's volleyball club?"

"If you speak to someone you don't know well in this tone, they will dislike you, Kageyama-kun."

Kageyama Tobio stumbled, "It doesn't matter! I——"

"Not only volleyball requires teamwork, a large part of life in this world also requires teamwork, don't you think so?" Yeyue turned around and tilted her head to Kageyama Tobio, "Although I don't mean to force you to change your personality, at least emotionally stable communication will reduce some misunderstandings."

"Oh, oh!" Kageyama Tobio was stunned when he saw her serious expression.

"Then let me introduce myself again. My name is Yeyue, just call me by my full name," Yeyue said with a bright smile, "I am the manager of the Karasuno volleyball team. I became a manager because I like the strong bond between teammates."

Kageyama Tobio still had his lips pouted, but his expression began to show some confusion.

"But I can't get excited myself, so I think that after becoming a manager, I might be able to empathize with the players on the battlefield more."

"Bonds?" There were three big question marks above Kageyama Tobio's head. "What are they?"

Yeyue smiled. I didn't expect to start explaining from here, "The so-called bond means being entangled by the things around you."

"What? If I get on the court and my hands and feet are tangled I won't be able to play! I don't want that!"

Yeyue looked at Kageyama Tobio's disgusted expression and her eyes twitched slightly. A complete volleyball idiot.

"It's just a metaphor! A metaphor! It's a metaphor of deep feelings, mutual trust and dependence. It's like when you, Kageyama, suddenly lift a ball at a tricky angle, but the person with whom you have a strong bond feels it and dunks the ball."

In the first half, Kageyama Tobio still had a confused look on his face, but in the second half he changed his expression to one of understanding.

"It means tacit understanding. It's so hard to understand."

"The meaning is somewhat similar, but also somewhat wrong," she curled the corners of her mouth, "but it's very close."

"Hmm - so you became a manager just to see how well we understand each other?" Kageyama Tobio looked at Yeyue with a frown, as if he was looking at an idiot.

"You can come and watch the game if you become a member of the women's volleyball team, right?"

"It's different." Yeyue waved her hands helplessly. How should she explain it to this volleyball idiot?

"I became a manager because... because I wanted to deepen my bond with you guys."

With this explanation, I think you can understand it, right?

"……what?"

"If you just come to watch the game, you will be happy for your team's victory. However, because the bond is not strong enough, you may change your support if you see a handsome guy on the other team."

“……” Kageyama Tobio’s expression became more and more weird. What was going on?

"But if I become a manager, I will be with you day and night, and the bond will be strong. I will empathize with my team's sadness and happiness. So I will stand firmly on Kageyama-kun's side."

“…I don’t need others to stand firmly on my side.”

"So it's just a metaphor!" Yeyue held his forehead helplessly.

"In short, I hope that I can contribute my own strength to your victory, Kageyama-kun, and then together with you, I can use my own strength to help you climb higher mountains."

Ye Yue held her chin to her chest and organized her words as she spoke, "Instead of just running to the national competition hall as a spectator to watch two unrelated teams compete, and then randomly choosing a side and cheering for it."

“…” Kageyama Tobio shrank his back, and his pouting lips always expressed his dissatisfaction with Yeyue’s choice.

After all, in his opinion, watching others play a game is not as enjoyable as playing it yourself.

If it were him, he would never give up his own opportunity to play volleyball and go to support others.

But this dissatisfaction seemed to have subsided a little at this moment.

"So you want us to make it to nationals?"

"No!" Yeyue raised his head, "I hope to see you, who are supported by me, grow little by little, and then gradually step into the national arena."

Kageyama Tobio blinked his blue eyes. Although he still couldn't quite understand the girl's logic, his knotted brows gradually relaxed.

"Although the result is important, the process is equally important. I want to see the whole thing."

"Oh! We will make it to the national level!" Kageyama Tobio nodded with a rare serious expression.

"I will cheer for you. I want to see Kageyama-kun grow little by little and strengthen the bond between me and Kageyama-kun. So please take care of me during my next time as manager."

"Oh!"

——[Kageyama Tobio Favorability: 35%]

This volleyball idiot seemed to be picking and choosing what he wanted to hear. Yeyue turned around.

It's really difficult.

With such emotion in his heart, he held up his own face and couldn't help but smile.

"Ah! Come to think of it." Yeyue took out a bottle of water from the drawer and placed it on Kageyama Tobio's desk, "Here, how about trying it?"

"What? I have a water cup."

"No, I need to replenish electrolytes after exercise. This is the lemon mint water I prepared."

Kageyama Tobio's face showed understanding, "I see, thank you."

"I'll go ask the captain and the others. If it's okay, I'll prepare some more to replenish water after training."

"Oh! Thank you for your hard work." Kageyama Tobio stared at the clear lemon slices in the water glass and nodded.

Yeyue turned around and poked the page of the notebook with the tip of the pen.

What else can I do... myself? A massage? Homemade food?

You can ask the captain and prepare in advance.

noon.

"This recipe is not healthy enough!"

Yeyue looked at Kageyama Tobio, whose cheeks were stuffed with bread.

"Huh?" Kageyama Tobio was busy eating bread and didn't hear clearly what his desk mate and manager said.

"Never mind, it's nothing. There's just a practice match coming up soon, isn't it? As the setter, please work hard with Sugawara-senpai who can't play."

"I will!"

"Then please replenish your protein on a daily basis." Yeyue shook her head and put the steak and egg rolls in her lunch box into the other person's plastic bag of bread.

“Is it okay?” Kageyama Tobio’s cheeks were still full of bread, and his eyes were wide open.

"Yeah. Anyway, as a manager, I have to ensure your health."

“Please take enough protein!”

"Oh! Thank you very much!"

Kageyama Tobio didn't care at all that this was something he took out of a girl's lunch box. He grabbed it and ate it in one bite without any embarrassment.

"Wow! The king became close to the manager so quickly?"

“You bastard Tsukishima!” Kageyama Tobio hadn’t completely swallowed the food in his cheeks yet, and his muffled voice was unclear.

A blond boy who was taller than Kageyama Tobio, wearing black-framed glasses and looking cool and handsome, walked slowly in from the back door of the classroom with a somewhat evil smile.

"It's still morning, and you two are being so affectionate, isn't it... not a good idea?" Tsukishima Hotaru raised her chin and smiled provocatively.

It was not targeting Yeyue, but there was no doubt that she was brought in as well.

"Tsukishima!"

"I prepared this for everyone in the volleyball club. Everyone has one, including you, Tsukishima-san."

He moved his eyes away from Kageyama Tobio's face and looked at the stunned blond boy, "I hope that by then, Tsukishima-san won't hate me because he feels too close to me."

"What..." Tsukishima Hotaru's expression turned cold. "What is this? I'm different from this guy. If something is useless, I won't accept it."

"Well, this is an electrolyte drink. It may be helpful for sports injuries. Don't worry, I will try my best to maximize its usefulness."

Yeyue was calm and smiled as she took out a water cup from her bag again. "Please accept it. Whether it is useful or not, you won't know until you experience it, right?"

"..." Tsukishima Hotaru frowned and looked at the cup of water handed to her.

"Or is it that Tsukishima-san is someone who denies others before they come into contact with him?"

Tsukishima Hotaru sighed slightly, took the cup of water expressionlessly, threw the documents in her hand on Kageyama Tobio's desk, turned around and walked out of the classroom.

"He's a bit of a weird kid. But he doesn't seem to have a bad heart."

“…Huh!” Kageyama Tobio pointed excitedly at the tall figure that had already gone away, “You saw it just now, that guy has a bad personality, right?”

"Really? But I don't think he means any harm."

Tsukishima Hotaru paused as she was leaving, and when she turned around, she glanced at Yeyue.

He left without mercy.