Monochromatic: Haikyuu Fanfic

Chapter 11: Strategist

"Sports manga are never wrong, Iwaizumi." Fukui warns. "You'll see."

She continues to hand the boys with water bottles one by one, and soon enough their warm ups came to a close. All the players lined up.

"Enjel-senpai!" One of the girls called from above, "come on! The match is about to start!"

Fukui looked up at the girls in the sides, smiling sheepishly. "Ah! Sorry, girls! I'll be on my way!"

Oikawa looks to his side and notices that Iwaizumi looks nervous, with his eyebrows furrowed like an old man. The setter grins teasingly.

"Iwa-chan, don't tell me you're jealous that Umeko-chan is more popular with girls than you - Ouch! Don't hit me with that volleyball - hey!"

***

End of second set. Aobajousai won the first, and this time Karasuno is in the lead by a hair. Fukui didn't look one bit surprised. She stood just beside the cluster of girls who cheered for Oikawa. Although she stood right beside the girls and leaning forward, she didn't bother yelling or cheering. She just watched and then sighed.

"What did I tell them... Karasuno is bound to win." Fukui shakes her head disapprovingly. "Did they listen? Nope."

Even in the midst of the loud noises, a girl overeheard her. "It would be such a shame to lose though! Oikawa-kun worked hard in practices, so he's going to win!"

However, another voice interrupted, and Fukui turns her head to the girl behind her. "Ah well... I'd be sort of relieved if Oikawa-kun looses. That means he doesn't have to go on a date with the other girl on Karasuno..."

"That's true..."

"But even so," Miko mused, "I don't think he really likes that girl... Sure she may be cute, but... asking a girl on a date as a bet, Oikawa-kun was never that bold or insensitive around Hikari-chan..."

This sparked Fukui's interest. "Hikari-chan...?"

"Oikawa-kun's ex-girlfriend." The other said. "They were together for the first and second years in highschool... they broke up last year though..."

"Oh..."

The whistle blew.

Karasuno took the set.

***

"What? They're only having two people recieve?"

The whole court is fills with murmurs of disbelief, some dumbfounded and some stupefied by what's before them. There is six players on one side of the court, but on the other, only two took the huge space. One is number four, the libero with the cool hair, and the other is jersey number one, perhaps the captain. Both of them wore determined faces, knees bent and arms propped to a sturdy position. Oikawa dribbles the ball in his hand, readying for a serve.

"Who thought that would be a good idea? Is the coach crazy?" One of the girls said.

"The chessboard player..."

The girls' attention turned to Fukui, who wears a thoughtful expression, eyebrows raised slightly and her eyes lights up. She hums, musing and deep in thought. They all looked at her expectantly.

"Well?"

"Huh?"

"Are you going to tell us or what?"

"Oh! Oh yeah!" Fukui snaps her fingers, and some of the fangirls can't help but sigh at her light-headedness.

Fukui explains. "Well, I don't know how to word this properly, but... It may seem like volleyball is just jumping and hitting the ball, but it's much more than that."

She recalls, "I don't know much about the techy flashy aspects of it, but I remember back in Tokyo, my friend said to me that volleyball is like a game of chess, there are kings, queens, knights, and bishops, but all of them can't make sense of their moves without the brain of the chessboard player - the mastermind of it all. Any team member could jump high, spike strongly, or toss with precision, but overall, the one who is behind those moves sets the outcome of the game - win or lose. Those are called the strategists. "

"So...?"

She points crudely at the girl by the benches on the other side of the court. Ayame. "She's the chessboard player of Karasuno, along with the coach. I remember Oikawa telling me about someone named Ayame who strategizes for their moves. Surely, he wouldn't pass out on the offer of throwing her off a bit, seeing that he's quite popular with girls, well... He probably asked her on a date to put unnecessary pressure on her. Maybe that way, she's more prone to making impulsive descisions."

"Ohhhh....."

Their silence snaps Fukui off her thoughts and a wave of embarrassment overtakes. "I- I - I don't know if what I said made any sense, and I'm really bad at explaining things -!! "

"To think that someone light-headed like Enjel-san would see these kind of things so well..."

"That sorta hurts..." Fukui laughs weakly.