I Fell In Love With You On New Year's Eve

Chapter 17

Oikawa stood in front of the others with a look of pride on his face. This was his team. This was his family. This was their moment. "Alright guys, I hate to say it, but Karasuno is a formidable enemy. If we let our guard down, we'll get swallowed up. So, we need to go all-out from the start. Do not underestimate the opponent." He scanned to look at the faces of each member before continuing. "That being said, however, I want you all to know that I have nothing but confidence in you guys. You are all more than capable and I have loved watching each and every one of you grow into your talents and I look forward to continuing to play as a team. Remember that we are stronger when all six players on the court are strong, and I truly believe that we are." Oikawa turned his gaze down slightly, "I know that I haven't always been the captain that you've wanted, but I'm the captain that you've got and I hope that that's been enough. Now I want you to believe in yourselves like I believe in-"

"We believe in you captain!" came a resounding cheer from the team, effectively cutting Oikawa off mid-sentence.

His heart swelled at the reassurance. "You guys, I-I don't know what to say."

Suddenly, a whistle sounded, signifying that the match was about to begin.

"You don't have to say anything," Iwaizumi said as he put his hand on Oikawa's shoulder before adding sweetly, "but if you mess up, you owe us ramen." He patted his shoulder and ran off.

"Oooh, I'll take extra char siu pork in mine!" Makki called back as he joined Iwaizumi, taking his place on the court.

Mattsun patted Oikawa on the back, "and I'd like a side of gyoza with mine. Thanks captain!" he added with a smirk before turning to the rest of the team, "you guys make sure to put in your orders, too!"

"I-I never agreed to...you know what. Whatever."

It was determined by the coin toss that Aoba Johsai would serve first, and Oikawa was happy to comply, unleashing a powerful serve that he was sure would be an easy first point. This was not the case, however, as Karasuno's libero attacked from the back row and set the ball to the ace, who easily slammed it down and gave the opponent the coveted first point.

"He fucking learned that from me!" Watari yelled from the back, coming as a shock to the entire team. "Their libero. He took that back-row attack from me, dammit..." he trailed off and continued to mutter to himself under his breath. The others figured that it would be best to just leave him alone.

Karasuno irritatingly took the second point as well when one of their wing spikers, Tanka, spiked the ball easily past Iwaizumi, who became both visibly and vocally pissed, joining in with Watari's lamenting and cursing of the other team.

The team as a whole, it seemed, was having trouble adjusting to Karasuno's new skill level since the last time they'd played them just months ago. Makki and Mattsun were both being blocked out, Iwaizumi was being scored on, and Oikawa's serves were either being received or going out of bounds. On match point, Kyotani was sent in to replace Kunimi, who looked almost relieved to be out of the game, in the hopes of shaking things up a bit. While the new addition had definitely been successful in intimidating the other team, he had not been very successful on a little thing known as "teamwork," stealing a ball that had been meant for Kindaichi and effectively losing them the set.

While Oikawa was busy being worried about Kindaichi, who had been pushed to the ground by Kyotani, Iwaizumi walked over to the cause of the problem with a scowl. "What the hell what that, Kentaro? Why would you steal a ball that was so obviously meant for someone else?"

"I was feeling stressed because I wasn't put in the game and I wanted to hit something," Kyotani deadpanned.

"That's not a valid reason!" Oikawa shrieked as he came to join Iwaizumi, having helped Kindaichi up from the floor.