Of Cats and Crows (Sugawara Koushi)

The Dragon's Lair

Riza and Watanabe pushed their equipment carts through the busy hallways. The ladies were playing on center court for this game. And honestly, this was probably the best match to play on center court. The boys had another hour until their game, which they would be playing on the far right court. So, they decided to root the girls on from the sidelines until they had to warm up.

"Mitsumi!" A very familiar voice called out. "We finally get to watch you and Suga play!"

"Yu!" Mitsumi was surprised to see him and a few of his teammates. She gave him a big hug, "How did your last game go?"

Hinata looked a bit upset behind his bright brown eyes. "We lost to Inarizaki. But it's okay! Takeda-sensei and Coach decided to let us come support you guys!" He just looked happy to watch his friends play. Sometime Mitsumi wondered how Hinata was so innocent.

Mitsumi put a hand on his head and played with his fluffy hair. "I'm just happy I get to see you all here. That's a big win." She gave a genuine closed-eyed smile. All of her nerves dissipated for a little bit.

"Got some fans?" Shimura hobbled over. "Didn't know you were that much of a hotshot."

The libero rolled her eyes. "This is my captain, Shimura Akihara. Captain, this is my cousin Nishinoya Yu and some of his friends from the Karasuno Volleyball Team." Mitsumi introduced everyone.

The captain smacked Mitsumi on the back in a friendly manner. "Didn't think you were the formal type."

"Hinata, you idiot! You're drooling!" Kageyama smacked the human ball of sunshine on the back of the head.

Hinata smacked out of his idolizing mode and rubbed his head. "Ow!!! Kageyama!!!"

"I'll see you guys after!" Mitsumi jogged off with a wave. She was lucky that the press was too focused on interviewing her coach. There was no way she would be able to keep a nice face if they approached her.

The air suddenly got really tense as Kyoto University walked in. The Tokyo ladies had smirks so large, that you could see them from the studio booth at the top of the stadium. They were tired from the game earlier in the day, but they had enough energy that they could set fire to the court with their looks alone. They were ready to pull all the stops out.

"Usagi, is it just me, or are they glaring at us?" Naomi, the vice-captain, glanced at her captain. The color on her face had completely evaporated.

Usagi shrugged indifferently and glanced over at her teammates "If yer feeling sick, tell Coach to bench ya." She took a good look at the people across the net and snorted a bit. They beat them once, so they could beat them again easily.

"You're so cold." Naomi pouted and got to warm up with her teammates.

Tsukibahara glared at Mitsumi down the sidelines. Their eyes locked in a firey fury for a moment. The current assistant coach was irritated that she couldn't be the one playing on the court. She knew her ladies had some new tricks up their sleeves. And to her enjoyment, the captain was benched for the game.

...

"Is it just me, or is it like a trillion degrees in here?" Takuma was fanning himself with Watanabe's clipboard. The first set had just started with Makoto serving. The rally was already showing that it was going to be a long one.

"I think I'm gonna puke." Bokuto and Ichiyama were both holding their stomachs. The tension was too much to bear.

Suga took a look around at his teammates. And as he suspected, they were looking like total idiots. Takuma was looking like he ran a marathon. Bokuto and Ichiyama were dying. Watanabe looked like she had seen a ghost. Matsuda and Yamamura had their hands clapped in front of them as if they were praying. "You guys are saying your prayers already?! Get a grip!" Even though he said that he too was praying that this match would end well. He and Kuroo seemed to be the only ones unaffected by the insane tension in the room.