Wings of Steel

Part 7~Shake My Hand

Panting, Shoyo fell to the floor. The sets came to an end. His leg throbbed in pain as he resisted the urge the rip it off and take care of the stump.

"Good job," the words felt meaningless as Shoyo continued to lie face down on the gym.

"D-Daichi-san, Suga-san, did you both know those two could attack like that when you said what you said? That's amazing!" Tankaa stared at the other two in awe, and usually, wonder reversed for Kyoki.

"Of course not," Suga gasped, shaking his head. "I just meant he should give Hinata tosses. He'd have no trouble spiking."

"I thought maybe Hinata could get used to Kageyama's somewhat reckless tosses, but that isn't exactly what happened." Daichi glanced around the gym, watching Shoyo slowly push himself up and Kageyama grip onto the net to stay up. "Well, I was sort of hoping for them pulling their forces together but ended up with them making each other's power better. Hinata is inexperienced, but he has natural speed and jumping ability. Then Kageyama perfectly utilises Hinata's abilities with his finely-honed skill. The two of them bring out the best in each other. As a duo, they may exceed all expectations."

Shoyo shook his leg, sighing as he walked towards Tsukishima and Yamaguchi.

"What?" Tsukishima raised his eyebrow as Shoyo held out his hand.

"We're supposed to shake hands after a match. Didn't your mother teach you any manners?" Shoyo grinned, smirking as Tsukishima gaped in offence. "Besides, we're teammates now, might as well be civil."

"I think your idea of civil is different from mine."

"Just shake my hand." Shoyo reached out to grab Tsukishima's hand as he jumped out of the way. "Come on, shake it!"

"Get away from me!"

Tanaka watched in horror as he watched the Shoyo trying to grab Tsukishima. "What are those first-years doing?"

Shoyo screamed in pride as he finally grabbed Tsukishima's hand, shaking it violently. Tsukishima pulled away, staring at his hand.

"Are you all right, Tsukki?" Yamaguchi stared at Tsukishima in equal terror as Shoyo snickered.

"You're way too dramatic. Kind of like Ken."

Tsukishima stared in confusion as Daichi walked closer. "Tsukishima. How did you like the three-on-three?"

"It made no difference to me." Tsukishima finally lowered his hand, getting over his melodrama. "He's the King from an elite school, anyway. There's nothing strange about commoners losing to him."

"But considering that, you played pretty seriously. Here." Daichi handed Tsukishima back his jumper.

Shoyo and Kageyama shared a look, pulling out the sheets of paper. "Captain!" Diachi turned around, carefully taking the forms.

"Shimizu. The stuff is here, right?"

Kiyoko nodded as Shoyo tilted his head. "What stuff?"

Kiyoko walked back, pulling out a box and bringing it to the team. She slowly opened the box, revealing the black jackets. "The sizes should be okay, but let me know if you need anything."

Shoyo bounced, throwing the jacket on. "This is so cool!" He beamed, lining up with the others.

"We're the Karasuno Volleyball club from here on out, ready and," Daichi paused, speaking with the rest of the club. "Good to have you with us."

"Thanks!"

Shoyo grinned, talking to Tanaka as he showed off the pose he had spent time practising.

Kageyama had other ideas. He picked up the ball, turning to Shoyo. "Hey, Hinata, are you rested? You ready to go? Let's practise quick attacks again. Let's do it while you're still in the zone."

Shoyo gulped, tapping his leg on the ground with a hiss. "That would be a no. I'm pretty sure I won't get home tonight if I do anything."

"What?"

Shoyo chuckled, resisting the urge to step back and leave when the door slammed open. "It's decided. It's decided. The practice match. It's against one of the top four teams in the prefecture. Aoba Johsai High School." Takeda grinned as he held up the paper.

The club paused, staring in shock. "The one nicknamed Seijoh?"

"Seriously?!" Shoyo's eyes sparkled. "A practice match with one of the top four!" Kageyama wasn't as happy.

Takeda pulled himself up, walking further into the gym. "Oh, so you two are the controversial Hinata-kun and Kageyama-kun. I'm the volleyball club advisor starting this year. I'm Takeda Ittetsu. I have no volleyball experience, so I can't help with your technique, but I'll do my best for anything else. It's good to meet you."

"Right."

Daichi and Suga walked closer, concerned looks on their faces. "Sensei."

Takeda turned, gulping slightly. "I've been running around setting up the practice match, so I haven't had time to drop in here."

"But sensei, how did you get a powerhouse like Seijoh to agree?" Suga stepped back as Daichi spoke up.

"You didn't get on your knees and beg again, did you?"

"No, no." Takeda shook his head with a smile. "I'm good at getting on my knees and begging, but I didn't do that this time. But they had a condition. Kageyama-kun must play setter the entire game."

"What's that about?" Tanaka glared at Takeda, a snarl on his face. "Sounds like they're not interested in Karasuno. They just want to assess Kageyama. Are they underestimating us?"

"Well, that's not quite how it is."

Suga frowned, his eyes narrowing as he spoke. "Sounds good. We don't get chances like this that often."

Tanaka snarled, spinning to stare at Suga, looking ready to attack. "You're going to agree to that, Suga-san?"

"I want to see how effective Hinata and Kageyama's attack will be against a top-four team."

Daichi frowned, sighing as he gave up. "Sensei, may we have the details?"

"Sure." Takeda looked down at his paper. "The schedule is rather sudden, but it's set for Tuesday next week. It's after classes, so there will only be time for one game. We'll rent the bus after school, so make sure you're not late."

"Yes."

~~~

Shoyo grinned, flicking through his phone as he waited, sitting by the gate. He was told Ken about the match, taking a break and letting his leg rest.

"Hinata! Do you want to join us! Daichi-san said he'll buy us pork buns." Tanaka grinned as Shoyo jolted.

On the one hand, he could go and get free food, but if he did, he probably wouldn't get home. "No, I'll pass." Shoyo dragged himself up, grabbing his back. "I-I need to get back to... to look after Natsu. Bye!" He pushed himself away as Tanaka and Diachi shared a look.

"Weird." They shrugged, continuing on their walk without him.