The Little Dragon / Haikyuu!!

Flying Back Attack

"Where the hell is Reo?" Coach Ukai yelled, practically pulling out his hair as the team waited in the corner of the gymnasium the next day. Karasuno were lined up, glancing at eachother worriedly as time ticked on. They had only just got there on time after waiting for their power server to arrive at the coach, only for her to never turn up. Noya had been glaring at his feet, sure that something was wrong. Reo would never be late for a match as important as this.

Meanwhile, Hinata kept trying to come up with reasons why she was absent, and Kageyama told him to 'shut his mouth' every time he spoke up.

The stands around the courts were practically jam packed most people having come to see Aoba Johsai play. There was an underlying tone of chatter and the occasional squeal coming from Seijohs side of the crowd.

Everyone was ready to play and people were getting slightly restless. The Seijoh boys glanced over to Karasuno a few times, discussing Reo's whereabouts amongst themselves. The warm ups had already been completed, so they were just kind of standing around, a few people stretching again.

Without warning, the gymnasium doors flew open, and the red haired girl tumbled in rapidly. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she walked straight over the courts and towards her team, the crowd watching her. She walked with a certain confidence the others hadn't witnessed before. Granted, the Karasuno boys knew she was a confident person, but this... It looked almost...fake?

"Its the Little Dragon!" People whispered in the stands.

"That's the girl with the strong serves!"

"Why would they need a girl on their team?"

The crowd buzzed.

Since yesterday, the bags under her eyes had worsened, and behind her exterior she looked as if she was barely even there. Kageyama noticed this and looked to her old friend Nishinoya, who was staring at her, eyebrows knitted together. He had noticed too.

"I'm here." She spoke steadily once she reached them, only looking at Coach Ukai. "I'm sorry I'm late."

"No snarky greetings? No grand entrance?" Tsukishima tilted his head.

He was met with silence as she continued staring at Ukai. She didn't fully trust herself to look at her friends, afraid to feel too many emotions before the big game. If she looked at them, the fear of losing the game and having to leave them would only grow. Right now, she was ready to play. Right now, she wasn't going to let anything distract her from being ready.

"Uh... okay. I'll hear your excuse after. Don't do it again." Ukai said, his annoyance evident in his tone. He herded the team into positions, also telling Reo that she would play first instead of Daichi.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Asahi tilted his head to look at her curiously as he stood beside her on the court.

"As long as we beat these guys." She smiled up at him, then turned her gaze straight ahead, looking more serious.

On the sidelines, Ukai and Takeda were looking at Reo, unsure. Something felt off, and it didn't help that it looked as if she was trying so hard just to stay standing.

As the whistle blew and Daichi and Oikawa shook hands, Reo couldn't help but notice how loud the crowd were for Seijoh. The volume was on par with Date Tech. She watched from the back line up of the court as Oikawa and Kageyama observed each other intensely.

Tsukishima served first, playing it safe. It was easily received and Seijoh were quick to spring into action. Her eyes stung and blurred a little from the lack of sleep, but nevertheless she watched the ball as two players ran up to spike. She stood on the balls of her feet, ready to sprint and receive the ball, she just didn't know which player would spike first.