insouciant || ON HIATUS

ℂℍ𝔸ℙ𝕋𝔼ℝ 𝟚𝟠

Mamoru watched the ball hit the ground at an alarming speed. It went by so fast, there was no blocker to stop it and no receiver.

"Good!" Kageyama grinned, blue eyes gleaming with renewed energy.

Hinata still looked dumbfounded. Probably because-

"Hinata had his eyes closed," Mamoru said aloud, breaking the stunned silence.

"It hit my hand," Hinata screeched at the same time.

"Hey," Daichi wheezed, eyes wide with shock. "Mamoru just said Hinata had his eyes closed."

"What?!"

Mamoru was pleased to see the look of shock on Tsukishima's face. It was a much better look than that condescending smirk of his.

Daichi glanced at Mamoru, a silent prompt to explain. He avoided all of their piercing stares as he explained what he saw.

"From the moment he jumped up until he spiked, Hinata-kun had his eyes closed," he clarified hesitantly. "Which means Kageyama-kun tossed it directly into his palm when he wasn't even looking. He synched the toss the moment he'd swing with total accuracy."

Much better than I expected, Mamoru thought to himself.

"Awesome, awesome!" Hinata screeched, jumping up and down. "Hey, what was that? It hit my hand, right there!"

He was like...an excited puppy. It was actually kind of cute.

Mamoru looked away from him. He had a surprising weakness for cute things.

"Hey, you," Kageyama barked, pointing at him with wide eyes. "Why did you have your eyes closed?!"

"You told me not to watch the ball!" Hinata exclaimed. His voice lowered in thought. "When my eyes are open, I can't help but follow the ball."

"I said that, but-"

"It worked though, right? What's wrong with that?"

"Sure, but who trusts anyone 100%?"

"Well, I have no choice but to trust you right now," Hinata protested.

Tanaka interrupted the bickering by placing a hand on the boy's hair and ruffling it wildly. "You're awesome, man!"

Mamoru watched Kageyama's eyes widen before narrowing with newfound excitement and determination. He approached Hinata.

"All right. If Hinata's spike scores, the marks will even out."

Now they were getting somewhere.

"I don't have any faith in us whatsoever."

Okay, they were slowly getting somewhere.

"But I'll keep bringing the ball to you. Just trust me, and jump."

But even as the resolve steeled, the quick wasn't getting anywhere. It seemed like beginner's luck, but Mamoru refused to believe they couldn't do it again. They just needed a little push.

The scores were widening now. 15 to 22 in Daichi's team's favor.

However, despite the failures, Kageyama was actually getting more precise. It was like testing the waters, judging what worked and what didn't.

And even more odd, he had a lopsided smile on his face.

"Hey, that's the second time it hit my face," Hinata squawked indignantly from his spot on the floor. He was holding a reddened cheek. "What're you smiling about?"