LET ME DOWN SLOWLY ⸻ sakusa kiyoomi.

𝐨𝐧𝐞 | first glimpse.

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FIRST GLIMPSE !!

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"THIS YEAR'S LINEUP OF ŌKAMIKUMO Academy, a heavy favorite to win this year's Interhigh Nationals are certainly clashing hard with this year's Spring High Tournament victors!" The voice of the volleyball team's commentator sounded in the built-in speaker system of the Sendai City Gymnasium. In the center court of the blue and orange-floored volleyball courts, stood six girls on each side of the court, one side dressed in sky blue jerseys with a vertical white gradient, the other side in tan jerseys with sharp blue accents.

"The current reigning champions of the Interhigh Tournament and Spring Tournament Soraya High School scores a point with that beautiful quick attack from top five ace Yuna Hoshino and their setter, Chizuru Abe — and Ōkamikumo's setter is next to serve!"

The stadium's bright lights were blinding, its high, black and silver ceiling opalescent and unreaching. Entering the center court, were two young men in matching yellow and green-gradient jackets labeled 'Itachiyama' stopped by the barriers, a distance away from where most of the other level-ground spectators were standing.

They faced the back of the Ōkamikumo players, watching as a tall and wiry girl with long blonde hair tied up in a ponytail used her arms to force the volleyball into the ground, the sound of the material ricocheting off the court's floor echoing in their ears.

The referee blew his whistle, and the girl paused for a moment, letting her arms lower down to her hips before tossing the ball up high in the air; she pushed off of her right foot, stepping forward two times before she jumped, and hit the falling ball; it, the top male high libero confirmed, was a jump float serve.

The ball seemed to travel over the net in a blink of an eye; one moment, it was sailing through the air in an impossibly straight line. The next, it was falling at the middle of the court, where Soraya's number 6 raised her arms to receive the ball overhand —

Komori swore he could see number 6's lips move in a shit! as the ball hit the tips of her fingers and landed on the floor just behind her. Two other back row players had landed on the floor, arms outstretched, but not enough to receive the missed pass.

Cheers spread throughout the gym, the synchronized voices of Ōkamikumo's concert band hitting the drums as shouts of "go, go, Ōkamikumo, go, go, Ōkamikumo!" competed with the loud boos of the Soraya cheer squad.

"And Kina Tsukishima, the top high school setter of Japan lands a perfect service ace with her signature jump floater, which Soraya's Akari Mitzuki fails to receive! Ōkamikumo and Soraya are at 27-27 of their fifth and final set; who will secure first place for the Interhighs?"

Said Kina Tsukishima's pure look of focus never faded from her lightly tanned features as she spun on her heel to face Soraya again; a small "hmm" that escaped from the masked mouth of one Sakusa Kiyoomi promoted Komori Motoya to incline his head slightly towards his cousin, a small grin playing at his lips.

"That's Tsuki-chan," Komori told him, "my friend from elementary school."

"Mm," the ravenette replied to his bushy-eyebrowed cousin; while he didn't say it out loud, Sakusa could clearly hear the note of pride in Komori's voice when he talked about the setter. After winning the boys' Interhighs, Itachiyama had gone to watch the final match of this year's Interhighs.