𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐖

iii - king's story

Once the two teams had split onto their sides, the game began with Crow acting as the up referee while Kiyoko played the down ref. "Whoa, he just destroyed that massive first year," Kinoshita noted as Tanaka tooled Tsukishima.

"Hell yeah!" The baldy ripped his shirt off and started waving it around like a maniac.

"Stop that, Tanaka!"

"Tone it down, man."

"Keep your shirt on!"

"Might've been a bad idea to provoke him," Daichi chuckled as he stood with the blonde first year, who tutted. The next point went to their team when Tsukishima shut down Hinata's first hitting attempt. Crow called it, gesturing to the ground where the ball fell after allotting the point earned.

No, he was not phased by the height of Hinata's jump.

"It really surprised me the other night as well, but boy, you sure can fly," The blonde taunted. "Now if only you were just thirty centimetres taller, you could've been a superstar."

"Keep talking to a minimum over there," Crow said after moving the whistle away from his mouth momentarily.

"Ah, sorry about that Crow," Daichi said. "But please let it go since we're trying to see them as people and as players, okay?"

"Fine."

"Crow's being awfully cooperative today," Ennoshita muttered to Suga, who nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it's a wonder. I didn't think he'd volunteer to ref, either, but he is the most familiar with refereeing so I guess that's a good thing," He paused as Hinata got blocked again. "Maybe he's interested in the first years too."

"Who knows with him," The three off to the side chuckled as Kinoshita flipped the score to 4 H/K/T and 6 T/Y/D. "How many does that make it now? Tanaka seems to be scoring at will, though."

"Nice block, Tsukishima."

"Damn it."

"Look at you," Tsukishima smirked at the king. "Your team keeps getting blocked. What happened to the king's sets? You know, the ones opponents can't keep up with. And the ones teammates can't keep up with either."

"Shut up," Kageyama replied tersely, walking away from the net.

"Give us a good serve, Yamaguchi!"

Crow signalled serve, only for it to go in the net. "Ah, sorry Tsukki." Thus, he whistled and gave the point to the other team before gesturing to the net.

"Don't worry about it."

"I don't need fast attacks," Kageyama suddenly had the ball, replying to the earlier taunt. "To win."

"Give 'em the killer serve!" Hinata hollered as the ball bounced. If he's smart, Crow thought to himself as he whistled for the serve, then he'll aim for one of the first years.

Of course he aimed for Daichi. Crow almost rolled his eyes as he blew the whistle after the ball had hit the ground on Hinata and Kageyama's side, assigning the point to Tsukishima's team before gesturing to where the ball fell. "Were you expecting to score a few points in a row?" Daichi questioned, causing the first year to flinch. "I don't have any outstanding talents, but I've spent two years more than you guys etching this receiving skill into my body," He smirked. "Don't think it's going down without a fight."

"S-so cool!" Hinata whispered as Kageyama frowned.

"Come on, King," Tsukishima butted in, his hand on his hip. "Don't you think it's about time you pulled out all the stops?"

"What's your problem, man?" Hinata demanded. "You keep trying to pick a fight with him. What the hell is the King's set?"

"Don't you know why he's called the King?" Tsukishima pointed to the person he was referring to. Crow didn't really care, letting a yawn escape his mouth before sighing.

"Well, for some reason, he's really good," The ginger said. "The other schools must've gotten scared of his skills and named him that, no?"

"Ha!" The blonde beanpole laughed. "I'm sure there are a lot of people who think that way," His expression suddenly turned sinister. "But rumor has it that he was given the nickname of King of the Court by the guys from Kitagawa First, the king's teammates. It means..." He trailed off, then his voice raised. "Egotistical King. Oppressive Despot. I only heard rumors about it at first, but I was convinced after watching that match. He got so oppressive that they had to sub him out of the final."

Sounds depressing and traumatizing, Crow leaned on the top of the pole.

"That's why you've stopped making quick sets?" Tsukishima resumed. "Are you chickening out due to what happened in the final?"

"Teme," Tanaka huffed at him. "You've been running your mouth for a while now--"

"Tanaka," Daichi shook his head. Better not let the first years go off on tangents like this during regular practices or games, captain, Crow's expression darkened at the thought. The other second years shuddered.

"If you make sets, but nobody jumps to hit them--"

"That's right," Kageyama finally spoke up, still tense. "The idea of making a set only to find that there's nobody there...terrifies me," He admitted, tensing up even more.

"But that was back in junior high, right?" Hinata piped up. "So long as he sets for me, I don't really care," He shook his head, looking sincere.

Crow's lips upturned. That's a good kid. A bit naiive, but still good overall.

"Breaking through your guard is a far more pressing issue!" The ginger pointed at Tsukishima challengingly, causing Tanaka and Daichi to snicker. "We're gonna beat Tsukishima and join this team for real," Hinata stomped over to his setter. "You'll get to play setter with your head held high, and then you'll set for me! Does anything else matter?"

The look on Kageyama's face was hilarious, but Crow had had enough. "Oh I don't know, maybe finishing this game?" He called down to them, witnessing them jump slightly from his interference. Thus, with that said, the game resumed and he whistled for serve.

"Your spirit won't make up for your lack of height," The blonde that was about to serve stated. "If you think hard work trumps all else, then you're sorely mistaken." He served the ball, Tanaka recieving it nicely.

"Gimme!" The two spikers yelled several times as the ball was up in the air. At first, the setter started to go with Tanaka, but all of a sudden, Hinata shouted his name.

"Kageyama!" He was already behind him, in the air, poised and ready to hit. "I'm here!" So, he set.