A Thousand Cranes for a Wish (USHIJIMA X OC)

Just A Graze

Umeko watched intently as the squeaking of volleyball shoes filled the hall. After those first two points the game started to pick up again. Even though Umeko only had basic knowledge of the sport, even she could tell that both teams were highly skilled as the ball rallied back and forth. Umeko had never seen a full practice match before so she was shocked by its intensity.

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"Got it!" Koreha's #5 easily received the ball and sent it over to their setter. #1 immediately tossed the ball up to their #13 who blasted the ball down as hard as he could.

Goshiki dashed into position and shakily managed to keep the ball up.

Shirabu leapt up and tossed. "Ushijima!" His form was a little out of place, but he made sure to send the ball exactly where it needed to be.

Ushijima locked in on the ball and jumped with his left arm pulled back, once he reached his highest point, he slammed his hand down in a form perfect spike. The ball broke through Koreha's three-man block.

The ball flew directly to #12 who was ready and waiting for the ball. A soon as the ball made contact with his forearms, it spun then rebounded to his right and landed behind him. #12 glared at his arms then turned to face Ushijima with a grin on his face. "Goddamn lefties."

Koreha's #1 gave #12 a hard pat on the back. "You received it the first two sets, what's up with you now, dude?"

"Oh, nothing much, just the leftie over there being a good cannon." Honestly #12 hated even the mere idea of receiving a left-handed spike. The spin was sent in the opposite direction, so he had to compensate on one side. However, if he overcompensated it would fly right off his arms.

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The minutes ticked by as Umeko couldn't pull her eyes away. Shirabu had already set three consecutive balls to Ushijima and he had scored every single one without fail. Just from watching previous matches she was able to deduce that somehow left-handed spikes were harder for players to defend against. She assumed it had something to do with the fact that since there are a lot more righties than lefties, the players weren't accustomed to the change in spin.

The point gap continued to widen and slowly but surely the game was already at seven to fifteen – with Shiratorizawa in the lead.

"Koreha University, timeout"

Both teams split up to their respective sides of the court. Umeko took this opportunity to pull out her phone and stylus. Since she wasn't participating in the team's meeting and there was nothing to watch, Umeko decided to finish off her latest digital work. If she was being honest, she would have preferred a much larger screen, but it would have to do.

Tendou wiped down his face with his towel then shuffled over so he was standing in front of Umeko. "How's the game so far? It's fun, right?" he grinned in a rather unsettling way.

If this was a few months ago Umeko probably would have run away at the mere sight of the red-haired boy, but now she was used to his smile and presence. "The game is interesting; you all look like you are having fun."

Tendou tilted his head, his grin never left his face. "Hmm~ But what about you? Are you having fun with us?"

Umeko was taken aback from his question. She wasn't expecting a curveball question like that, but somehow without even thinking about it, she was able to answer with one hundred percent certainty "Yes." She was more than just a little grateful to Tendou. If he didn't come talk to her that day she definitely wouldn't be where she was now. Knowing herself she would have continued her monotonous routine. There was nothing bad about that, but she just liked what she had now more. "Thank you for making me be your friend."