𝚃𝙾𝙱𝙸𝙾'𝚂 𝙱𝚁𝙾𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚁

Chapter 33*

Night turned to morning. One by one, Matsubara's players got up off their futons and left to get ready for the day. Y/N had finished showering and was changed into his practice gear. He was sitting on one of the benches as he dried his hair with a towel.

He had spent most of last night thinking of their match against Karasuno, which was set to happen later that day. While he didn't think they would lose, he was curious as to what they had up their sleeve.

First, the duo, Kageyama and Hinata. They balanced each other and made a powerful team together. But he also took into consideration the rest of the players. Karasuno's libero, Nishinoya, was a strong defensive component of their team.

While it was Hattori who had initially come to admire the younger libero's skills, he was soon brought to Y/N's attention. Second, there were their middle blockers. Among them, Tsukishima. Y/N had gotten the chance to play with and against the blonde boy, so he was a lot more familiar with his habits and movements.

Perhaps, he could use that to his advantage. Then, of course, there were their spikers. Among their most powerful was their captain, Daichi, their ace, Asahi, and Tanaka. Daichi and Asahi were both on the bulkier side, with Asahi being one of the tallest. Tanaka was impulsive but agile.

Lastly, there were their setters, Sugawara and Tadashi, F/N's younger brother. Sure, Tadashi lagged behind a little. But Y/N could see that he had the potential to be better. If anyone paid attention, they could see that the younger Yamaguchi was improving greatly.

On the other hand was Sugawara. His connection to the third years made it easier to understand his team, both on and off the field. He surely used that to his advantage when it came to deciding who to set up attacks for.

Y/N pulled the towel down and let it hang off his shoulders. Even though he was thinking about the team as a whole, he wondered how much his brother had improved. Did he develop any of the skills he had taught him? Or had he developed his own style?

He shook his head, slightly amused by the thought. He stood up from his spot and began making his way out of the locker room.

For his sake, it's better if he didn't follow after me...

Once everyone was freshened up and ready, Coach Goro went over the remaining plans. "Today is the last full day of training camp," he said. "Tomorrow, we'll pack up our gear and clean up our designated gyms and cabins."

He flipped through the papers attached to his clipboard, making sure he had addressed everything. "Oh, and a reminder that the hosts will be holding a farewell barbeque to thank everyone for attending the camp."

At that, everyone erupted into cheers. "LET'S GO!!"

Y/N shook his head. As much as he wanted to yell at all of them for being so noisy, he figured he'd use this as their motivation. If he knew his team well (which he did), he knew one of their biggest motivators was good eats. So long as the food promised was good, there was nothing that would stop them from winning.

So, he let them be, which genuinely surprised F/N after he had gotten over his excitement. But, he decided to leave it at that. Why anger a demon who is already calm?

"Alright," Coach Goro said, his loud spoke resounding throughout the cabin. "Dismissed. Enjoy your breakfast, take your thirty-minute break, and then meet up at the field for some warm-up exercises."

"Yes, sir!!"

--

Kuroo and the rest talking, but Y/N wasn't listening entirely. He was tapping his foot against the ground, his mind occupied on the upcoming match. It wasn't a state he was put in often. The last time he remembered feeling this way was during last year's finals.

There was a surge of excitement yet also... anxiousness? He wasn't quite sure how to describe it. All he knew was that was feeling on edge. The first to notice how out-of-it Y/N seemed was, of course, Kuroo.

His gaze drifted to the (h/c)-ette, seeing how zoned out he was. Seeing as F/N, Bokuto, Akaashi, and Kenma were engaged in the conversation, he decided to slowly move away from it and direct his attention to Y/N. He nudged his shoulder slightly, managing to get the wing spiker to look at him.

"What?" he said, snapping his attention to the middle blocker.

"That's what I want to ask you," Kuroo replied in a quiet tone. "What's up? You seem out of it."

Y/N shook his head. "Nothing, just..."

He trailed off, which made Kuroo raise an eyebrow. "Is it... the Karasuno match?"

When the (h/c)-ette didn't respond, Kuroo knew he had hit the nail on the head. He nodded. "You'll be fine. It's nothing you can't handle... You played against him in a practice match. You can do it again."

"That's not really what I'm worried about," he replied, his gaze drifting to their surroundings. "I'm just... feeling a lot at once..."

Before Kuroo could offer any more reassurance, Y/N was called out by some of his teammates. He turned his head to show he had heard them.

"Let's go!" they shouted. "We're meeting up at the field!"

F/N jumped up from his seat. "This isn't over, F/N!" Bokuto yelled. "I'll prove that I can be a better setter than you!"

"Yeah, yeah," the older Yamaguchi replied, chest swelling with pride. "In your dreams, you'd be a better setter than me."

Y/N shook his head and pulled F/N along. He waved goodbye to the group as he walked away. "We'll come to see your match later!"

--

"Thank you very much to all who participated and all who came to the gymnasium to watch the final match of the training camp. Please give a round of applause to Matsubara and Karasuno!"

On cue, both teams lined up on their respective side of the gym. From his spot, Y/N's gaze trailed to the other side. It seemed he wasn't the only one on edge. Tobio seemed restless, as though he were anxious or nervous.

For some reason, it made Y/N feel less anxious. He fought back a smirk, covering his mouth with his hand. "Remember, teams, this is your last match. Put your best efforts out there and win! Don't forget to have fun!"

With that, the referees called up the captains. Y/N and Daichi stepped up until they were face-to-face. Daichi scratched the back of his neck.

"Just so you know, I'm still not up for a bet."

Y/N chuckled and shook his head, finally letting his smirk show. "No bet needed," he replied, outstretching his hand to Daichi. "Let's do our best, Captain."

Daichi was sure that smirk meant there was hell to come throughout their match. But, he was less terrified than he would be if they had established a punishment game bet between them. He accepted the handshake with a firm grip, his eyes glistening with determination.

"Yeah. Let's do our best...!"

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To be continued...