Stormy Summer

The Flying Sun

Happy (Belated) New Year!

I hope you all had a good start into the year.
Stay safe and healthy!

Just like clockwork, Bokuto seemed to be getting more and more excited as time went on, and he didn't get any spikes.

As the referee whistled for a short break after Fukurodani won the first set, Akaashi approached Bokuto, who still seemed a little dazed. Whatever Akaashi told him at that moment seemed to get Bokuto back to attention, as he straightened up immediately.

Akaashi then pointed in our direction, and Hinata, the ginger, started shouting and cheering excitedly, holding the T-Shirt up higher so Bokuto could see.

As the game continued, Bokuto seemed to have caught himself, as he now scored point after point. The cheering from the audience seemed to fire him up even more.

Rose and I quickly joined in as Hinata and Yamaguchi cheered for Bokuto as well.

It wasn't long before they won the second set as well, and Bokuto walked over to us, arms raised in victory.

Hinata's eyes were filled with glee as he cheered for Bokuto.

Before I knew what was happening, I was caught in a sweaty head-lock as Bokuto hugged me from over the barrier.

"Wasn't that awesome?" he gushed as I tried to break away for air, nodding into the chest I was currently pressed against as a way to answer. There was no need for me to answer, though, as Hinata cheered in agreement.

As soon as Bokuto had arrived, he was off to his teammates again, yelling to Akaashi about how the smaller arena is the best, after all.

We spent the rest of the day watching several other teams play, meeting up with Kuro and Kenma somewhere along the way.

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The next morning, we first went to watch Karasuno's game along with Bokuto and Akaashi. Hinata's team was playing against a team that is considered one of the powerhouses in Japan.

Since we arrived somewhat late, most of the seats were already taken, and we went to just stand on the sidelines once again.

"What's 'All Japan Youth'?" Charlie whispered toward Rose and me just as the one narrating the game mentioned it.

I could see Rose was about to answer, but, instead, Akaashi spoke up, "It's a training camp for students from all over Japan," he stated, glancing at Charlie's still-confused expression, "you have to be invited to participate," he added and Charlie nodded.

"So it's kind of a big deal?" she sounded unsure, and, judging from her expression, she regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth when Bokuto turned to stare at her in disbelief.

"I guess it would be," I spoke before Bokuto could say anything to make Charlie feel bad about not knowing, "those who attend get national attention."

Charlie nodded again but didn't say anything more, and we were soon interrupted by a sudden silence that cut through the chatter and whistling that went on mere seconds ago.

Suddenly, the air was tense as one of the players on the other side of the court served the ball, immediately receiving a point as Karasuno's team couldn't even move to save that ball.

"What a show-off."

Anna's words had me snickering as quietly as possible, seeing as this guy didn't seem to appreciate any kind of noise while he was playing.

"For sure," I whispered back, nonetheless.

We went to watch the game.

"Aran's not bad, though I'm better!" Bokuto exclaimed, his fists raised in a mock-fighting stance. After a second of silence, he turned to look at us over his shoulder, "Right, Akaashi, Sally?"

"Yes," Akaashi said at the same time as I answered with "Definitely."

Though Akaashi had a thoughtful look on his face as he frowned at Karasuno's opposing team.

It got quieter after that, though I could swear that I heard Charlie and Rose let out audible gasps as it looked like Hinata was about to jump right into one of the much taller blockers of the opposing team.

However, as Hinata ran toward the net, just as he seemed like he was about to jump, he ran off to the side and jumped there instead. That seemingly simple change in his direction completely caught the other team off-guard as they had already begun to jump for their block.

Only seconds after Hinata scored, we started cheering for him, hoping that they'll win this game.

"Way to go, Hinata!" Bokuto shouted.

"Absolutely terrifying," Akaashi's words caught me off-guard for a second before I realized he was talking about the effect Karasuno's attack seemed to have on everyone on and off the court. And I couldn't help but silently agree with him.

I don't know that much about Volleyball like they all do, but this one thing was clear.

There was something special about Karasuno.

As our cheering quietened down again, while the now-familiar booing of the opponent's cheer-squad started up again, most likely to distract Karasuno's servers from getting the ball over the net.

However, the booing soon got quieter and quieter until it stopped altogether. What I didn't realize at first, though, was that the booing would soon be replaced by drumming.

I could see Rose and Charlie fidged nervously as soon as the drums started, and even Anna looked up from her phone once more at the change from the usual booing of the opponent's supporters.

And as Kageyama's serve barely made it over the net, I realized that it must've been because Karasuno's team had barely reacted to the booing.

I almost expected the tension the supporters had raised to subside as soon as they stopped. That didn't happen. In fact, the tension seemed almost palpable, even from the sidelines where we were.

"Holy crap!" Bokuto seemed more and more excited the longer the game went on. Akaashi, on the other hand, kept the same, seemingly expressionless frown on his face.

Rose and I could do barely anything more than to just nod along, as Bokuto jumped in excitement.

Next Update: 31st January 2021