Earthquake - Oihina fic

Chapter 16 - Seijoh vs Karasuno pt. 1

It had been raining. The day was a dark grey, the showers on pause after their first burst early morning. Now, impending clouds quietly festered in the background. It was barely drizzling but the weather predictions said it would pour again later and might even thunder.

Finally. The day had come.

Here Hinata was, with his whole team, at Aoba Johsai's gym, everyone in uniform, with Seijoh on one side of the net and Karasuno on the other. And there, at the back, in plain sight -

Hinata had tried. When the team had got off the bus, and the coaches had greeted each other, he tried so hard not to make it obvious, not to search high and low for that Seijoh star. But it was like he was a computer and some default programming in his system made his brain automatically scan every nook and cranny for a 6 foot, 18 year old, brown-haired, brown-eyed disgustingly good-looking setter in white and turquoise. Hinata had felt his presence before he saw him. The redhead forced himself not to look.

But now.

Hinata could not fight how he'd been coded. He looked, and saw, only Oikawa at the back row, on the other side of the net, holding the ball with those invaluable, healing hands. Oikawa's gaze shifted onto Hinata. Two lines became one.

And there it was.

FUCK. Kageyama thought.

Am I imagining it? Daichi, posed in position, watched. Oikawa is... looking at Hinata... and only Hinata...

Tsukishima pretended not to notice... that from the moment they had assembled in the front row the shrimp seemed transfixed with something on the other side of the net. And now... all eyes were on that arrogant third-year setter who seemed just as transfixed... on this side of the net...

One look. That was all it took. One look between them and Kageyama knew instantly.

The orange-haired spiker felt the blood boom to the right of his chest, the ache in the bite seemed to pulse in response to its creator's gaze. Oikawa glanced down, at Hinata's leg, and smirked. His eyes went back up to the middle blocker -

So you're wearing my knee brace. I still won't go easy on you.

Hinata half-grinned back: I wasn't expecting you to. And we're still going to beat you.

'Oikawa,' Iwaizumi said. 'You ready?'

'Oh I'm always ready,' Oikawa replied, still looking at number 10.

The whistle sounded.

Oikawa breathed and threw the ball up - if felt like it hung in the air -

I -

And slowly descended -

Was made -

He ran forward -

For this.

And jumped -

BAM!

The ball was like a bullet - it ricocheted off Asahi's arms and off court.

Service ace.

'Give them another one Oikawa!'

Hinata turned to the setter. So powerful, so fast, so strong...

Impressed, Oikawa grinned, aren't you?

But now was not the time to be daunted or turned on by Oikawa's serves.

'Bring it!' Hinata yelled.

BAM. Another one straight at Asahi that he couldn't save. Oikawa knew what would come next. Their good old captain would step in for his ace. Well. He had a strategy for that -