Hold Me Tight

Chapter One

Things to Know

gakuran: uniform jacket
mangaka: manga artist

*****

The gym bustled with excitement as Sato and Kiyoko stood on the sidelines next to each other, watching.  There wasn't much to do whenever the team divided amongst themselves and had practice matches, because usually at least one player ended up working the scoreboard.  In the end, Kiyoko and Sato ended up filling water bottles and stuck on the sidelines.

"They've been getting better," Kiyoko said as she wrote something down in a notebook.  Sato leaned closer to her, trying to catch a glimpse, as he nodded.  She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and snapped the notebook closed, which made him exaggerate a frown.  "You can see there's a difference since Interhigh."

"Well, Tsukishima-san's been getting more into it, which helps a lot.  Especially since he's a key part of our defense." Sato stared at the closed notebook in her hands and waited for a second.  When he spoke again, his voice was whiny.  "Come on, show me.  I thought we were friends.  Friends share everything with each other."

Kiyoko chuckled as she hugged the notebook to her chest.  "I'll share it with you when it's ready.  I'm just trying to help you out." She paused and looked him over.  "Where are your notes?"

Sato tapped his temple three times.  "All up here.  I'm like an elephant; I never forget."

She shook her head slightly as she chuckled again, something she did a lot with him.  It was almost like an affectionate way of saying he was annoying.  After a few minutes, she went back to her notebook while he went back to watching the team.

Hinata got blocked out before doing an insane broad shot immediately after.  That's what he did: run around and have Kageyama set to him until he scored.  It wasn't going to work forever.  Everyone should know that by now, but they didn't.  Seijoh should've been the wake-up call, because that's how Karasuno had lost.  They had lost because Seijoh had managed to take down the one thing Karasuno had been so sure was invincible.

Ukai blew his whistle, and everyone stopped.  "Good!  Let's call it a day!"

Sato's eyes scanned over the gym, and everyone looked hungry.  They looked like they were being taken away from a meal they had been craving.  He had never seen them like this before, and he loved it.

"Can we do another set?" Hinata asked, and he didn't have that scary look in his eyes that freaked Sato out.

Sato wished he could figure out what exactly brought it out.  Sometimes it never came out in a game, but when it came out, it sent chills down everyone's spine.  He wanted to know more about it.  He wanted to understand Hinata better.

"Huh?" Ukai asked, and Kageyama stepped forward to stand next to Hinata.

"Yeah, just one more!" Kageyama asked, and Ukai scratched the back of his head.

"You know constantly practicing alone isn't going to cut it." Ukai looked over at Daichi.  "Captain, can you talk some sense into them?"

Daichi couldn't.  He was wearing the same expression Kageyama and Hinata wore.  Everyone wore that same hungry expression, and Sato knew Ukai would cave.  There was no possible way he wouldn't.  He looked over at Sato.

"Can you talk some sense into them, Sato?" Ukai asked, and he jumped back slightly when he saw the same hungry expression on Sato's face.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I don't think I can," Sato said, and he picked up a stray volleyball.  He held it in both hands, squeezing it slightly before he tossed it to Daichi, who caught it easily.  "They don't seem satisfied just yet, so might as well let them continue.  I mean, any practice is better than no practice, don't you agree?"