Losing is Winning

Chapter 5

It had been encouraging to get this kind of reassurement from Hinata that night, to know that someone believed that deeply in him and that it was okay for him to figure everything out step by step. It had lifted Tobio up—in more than just one way. Maybe, hearing this declaration of trust right before their match had played a role in their victory the next day, maybe it had not. If Tobio was honest, he hadn't thought much about it back then, simply striving on the elation of their win and letting himself be taken even higher.

The higher you were, however, the deeper you could fall, too.

The thing with emotional highs was, you started to lose the grip on reality, and you stopped evaluating the situation correctly. When Karasuno lost against Aoba Johsai in the Interhigh Preliminaries one and a half months later, Tobio felt like someone had hit him right in the gut and sent him into a nosedive straight towards the ground.

Losing against them on their second encounter was devastating. Not only had this match been one of the vital stepping stones towards the Spring Cup and, thus, towards the bigger stage, it had also felt like failing on a more personal level.

But as weak as Tobio had felt after that pivotal match point, his determination to get better the moment he raced Hinata towards the doors of the Nekoma High School's gymnasium was equally strong. After this weekend in Tokyo and the training camp in a few weeks, nothing Oikawa could do would be able to stop Karasuno anymore.

The atmosphere between all those top high school players was suppressing to say the least. Every single one of them was on the level Seijoh's players were on, but instead of feeling intimidated, anticipation balled in Tobio's stomach.

This is the perfect place to improve. He had no doubt that the whole team would be able to get stronger through this camp.

"Warm up, you two," Coach Ukai called from the other side of the gym. "You can join the next match."

Their first attack worked great. The ball ricocheted from Hinata's palm and smashed straight into the ground. Tobio's stomach fluttered when the players from the new schools all stopped to stare. Satisfaction settled in him, something that had almost become normal by now.

When Hinata's eyes, big and bright, met his, he could barely keep the corners of his mouth from rising into the usual, unintentionally intimidating smile. Quickly, he bit down on his lip—he didn't want to ruin the moment with it.

Well, only a few minutes later and Tobio didn't have to worry about that anymore. Whereas their quick-attack had worked as reliably as ever the first few times, they started to get blocked more often than not soon after.

Stay calm, Tobio reminded himself when the ball once again bounced off the blockers' hands and flew back only inches away from Hinata's face. You already knew that some players can block this attack. Just focus on improvements. Breathing in deeply in an attempt to properly concentrate again, Tobio went back to his position.

The matches went on until the sun set, and he used every second of it to analyze their plays and come up with new strategies.

Once they had cleaned up the gym for the day, Tobio and the rest of the team walked towards the canteen, but when he turned to talk to Hinata, he noticed that the ball of orange hair was nowhere to be seen. Weird, he thought. Usually, he was walking right next to him. "Did you see Hinata?" he asked Tanaka and Nishinoya, who were walking closest to him.

"Didn't see him since we left the gym," Tanaka said and Nishinoya shrugged along before they went back to their own conversation.

Tobio looked around a second time, to no avail. His mind was reeling with thoughts about the matches, and he wanted to discuss his new ideas and strategies with Hinata, work out how they would best be used and what new hand signs they would need for those new attack variations. Forcing his excitement for those ideas down, Tobio shrugged internally. He would have to wait for him to appear during dinner, then.