𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍'𝐒 𝐀𝐂𝐄

15; woozy

seishun, dai, miu, and kumi were back on the court together.

they were there to play the last set, without substitution. akemi and naoki were there as well, taking in deep breaths as the outcome relied on the sixth of them.

tsukki was serving first.

beginning to feel the weight of niiyama's glares, tsukki looked a hint nervous. she tossed the ball up and slammed her hand down on it. it went right to seishun. seishun received it with ease, still, and got it up for kumi. seishun ignored the way the impact from her serve was felt in her fingers.

kumi set it to dai, and dai slammed it down. her shot was received and sent to their setter within an instant. it was set to their opposite hitter, who aimed for seishun. seishun was not loving how they were all aiming for her.

kumi looked as though she was about to set it to seishun, but suddenly dumped it. niiyama received the point.

the next fourteen points went by painstakingly. the second niiyama scored a point, itachiyama soon followed after, until it was 7-7. seishun was continuously being aimed for, her arms and fingers throbbing.

itachiyama's setter had the ball in her hands. she served it, switching up and aiming right for kumi. naturally, seishun slid over to the spot where kumi usually stood. with the ball perfectly in front of seishun, she did a quick one-handed set for dai, who slammed it down, gaining them the point.

the crowd cheered at that. it was an incredible play. most people had never seen someone, who wasn't a setter, deliver a perfect one-handed set. it was the perfect quick attack, and dai slapped hands with seishun after.

now, it was seishun's serve. she caught the ball in her right hand and made her way over to the service line. she bounced the ball up and down with her usable hand, a slow exhale leaving her lips. her serves would play a key role.

at the whistle, seishun tossed the ball high up into the air. one step, two steps, three steps, seishun jumped up, and with precision, slammed the ball down. similiarly to how it had happened against tokonami, the girl whom seishun had aimed for reached up to set it, and the ball slammed against her fingers. she was subbed out a few seconds later.

miu turned to look at her with wide eyes. she held up three fingers. "three people taken out," she whispered. "do it to number seven, next, for payback!"

seishun ignored miu and bounced the ball again. seishun received six aces in a row, bringing the score to 13-7.

for the seventh time, seishun tossed the ball high into the air. then, with less strength than usual, her hand slammed down on the ball. it was still a hard serve, but it was receivable.

tsukki messed up the receive a bit, calling out a sorry as her receive was free-balled over.

"free!" miu shouted. akemi set it up perfectly for kumi to work with. she pushed it to dai. the point played out for a little longer until a line-shot from akemi brought them the point.

"match point!" called the referee.

seishun was given the ball again. she looked down at her left hand. it was hurting more than before, and seishun knew all the continuous usage and motion wasn't doing her any good. still, seishun served the same way she had, the previous point, with a receivable serve.

as soon as the setter got it up, it was given to tsukki. with that same blank expression, tsukki slammed it down to the side, seemingly aiming where no one was. however, seishun had seen it coming.

seishun dove for it, successfully getting it up with her left hand, despite the pain that it caused. with her expression twisted in pure pain, and with a quiet whimper, seishun was back on her feet. it hurt like hell.