Haikyuu Various! X Male! Reader

23. The Decision

11:05 a.m.

Karasuno High School

Gymnasium 2
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"How many times is it gonna take for you to make the last one?! Concentrate!"

You sat back on the floor, leaning your back against Kiyoko's legs. Both your online friends were busy so you were bored. And it was Kiyoko's turn to take notes.

"Azumane-san." Kageyama says.

"Hm?"

"Um... later, before afternoon practice starts, could you run a few sets with me? Just a few is fine."

"Sure. No prob."

"Ooh! Me too! Me too!" Hinata chimes in.

"Maybe later."

"Cutting their lunch break to practice even more? They sure have a lot of energy." Takeda says.

"Who, Kageyama? I saw him jogging this morning too." Uka replies.

"Really? I saw Hinata-kun doing the same. He apparently misses the mountain crossing he usually does on his way to and from school."

"Mountain crossing?!"

"Yes. He lives in Yukigaoka, which is on the other side of the mountain. He bikes to school every morning."

"What, really?! Eesh! That's gotta be a forty minute trip each way!"

"It takes him about thirty minutes. And I heard in middle school he had to cross a different mountain in the other direction."

"No wonder the kid's got stamina. He wastes energy like nobody's business, yet he still has enough left to last to the end. Anyway, do you think Nekoma's made the trip up here yet?"

"They should be coming in on the bullet train today. I hear they'll be staying at the karasuno sports park facilities and will hold practice games with various schools every day. The last day of their stay, of course.. they'll be playing us. What sort of team is Nekoma?"

"Can't say for sure what they're like now, but back in the day they had a really solid defense. Every so often they'd have a star player on offense, but even when they didn't, they were a team with no holes whatsoever. Totally the opposite of us! Like their name implies.. the 'cats'... are agile."

"Lunch break!" Daichi yells.

The boys yell in celebration and skip off to eat lunch, you hanging back to pick up some of the stray balls littered across the gym.

Ukai covers his chin in thought as he watches the boys.

"Is something wrong? Oh. Let me guess. You're having difficulty deciding on a starting lineup?" Takeda asks.

"Yeah. It's the setter spot. I just... can't pick. If we're looking at pure athletic ability, it's Kageyama for sure. But... right now, Sugawara has the best chemistry with Azumane, our ace. While their two years of experience playing together is Sugawara's biggest strength... Kageyama has such overwhelming talent that I wouldn't be surprised if he finds some way to overcome even that deficit in no time flat. He's already using the rough-edged weapon that is Hinata with precision as well as making good use of the other hitters. It only took him a month to manage that. If he was letting his talent go to his head and sitting back to rest on his laurels, that would be one thing... but the kid is one of the most dedicated players on the team. So. Say I put Kageyama into the starting slot for this upcoming practice match."