How to fly with clipped wings (English ver.) HAIKYUU!! FAN FICTION

Chapter 60: The Gift

Their team worked well. That was a fact. They gelled well, kept up with each other, and managed to pummel any team that they faced through a combination of pure force and skill. They were a well-oiled machine.

At least, that was what she thought.

They were five weeks away from nationals when Mikaela realized that was not the case.

The girls had just finished a long practice. Mikaela had worked them hard, and by the end of it, most of them were ready to collapse. Mikaela was tired too- she'd still probably go for a run later, but she was just too tired to try and crash the guys' practice now. After all the nets and such were taken down and put away, she herded herself with the rest of the girls into the change room.

"Look at this," Taki said excitedly as she peeled her sweaty shirt off of her body. Somehow, she had her phone in one hand and was reading the screen as she changed. "An article about the teams to look out for in nationals."

"How do you find these so quickly?" Somi asked, sliding up next to her to glance at her phone.

"I'm subscribed to a bunch," she replied. "Hey! It's us!"

The girls all chirped in excitement, some leaning forwards to look at Taki's phone. Mikaela rolled her eyes and worked at changing out of her shorts, throwing on her sweatpants. She'd seen enough articles and social media nonsense to last a lifetime- for the most part, it seemed like everyone else couldn't quite get enough of it.

Taki read it out loud, and it wasn't really anything Mikaela hadn't heard before: a strong team, led by 'Demon' Mikaela Kaisha. She'd had a couple articles call her the One-Legged Wonder and it had made her want to vomit. She was more than a metal leg, thanks.

"...and, after a strong game against Niiyama, it looks like these girls are set to win it all," Taki finished, looking up at Mikaela with stars in her eyes. "Guys, we're famous."

"I wonder if anyone'll ask for my autograph!" Somi squealed, and Mikaela rolled her eyes.

Yao shook her head. "Oh, come on. They're all going to be too focused on Mikaela-senpai."

"Hey," Mikaela complained, but she didn't protest. How could she? Every time she did, her team just reamed her out regardless. She just had to sit there and take it. "There's really no reason they should be. You're all equally valuable to this team," she preached, nearly cringing with how cliché that sounded. "It's not like I could do any of this on my own."

Yumina snorted. "Doesn't matter how much you downplay it, everyone's jealous of you anyways."

Everyone seemed to pause. The girls did joke about it frequently- apparently popularity was an easy topic, and Mikaela was an easy target- but Yumina sounded... bitter. Hostile. She was normally soft-spoken, did things quietly and efficiently. Mikaela had heard her be angry before, but... this time it was directed at her.

Nobody seemed to know what to say, so Mikaela just forced a laugh. "Nothing to be jealous of," she said forcefully, kicking out her leg as she pulled her hoodie on.

"You're the only one that says that," Yumina said with a roll of her eyes, almost like she was unaware how tense she was making everyone. "There's not a single person here who wouldn't want your talent, your popularity, your media coverage. The rest of us barely keep up with you on the court. You're almost an idol at this point, all you need is a hot boyfriend- oh wait, you had that too."

Mikaela's jaw slipped open, but she was shocked into silence. "Yumina-chan," Hiba said quietly, "I think that's enough."

She cocked an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. "What? It needed to be said."