ONLY ME || Haikyuu x Male

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

Karasuno ended up claiming the first set, as the last hit by the sudden substitute on Seijou ended up going out of bounds. As their team reconvened during the brief break between sets, Coach Ukai pulled Ren to the side, away from the group huddle with a rather serious expression on his face.

"I'll be putting you in now. You know why, yes?"

"Yes."

They shared a look, both of them silently acknowledging what they already knew to be fact. Ren was the only person who could handle the psychotic player on the other team. No matter how good any of his teammates may be, they simply didn't have the mindset, the mentality to battle against this newcomer. So now, the weight of this responsibility had come to rest on his shoulders and his alone.

"Good. Make me proud, kid." Coach Ukai gave him a pat on the back, gently nudging him over to the crowd. Ren joined his team on court, circling up between Nishinoya and Hinata. His best friend welcomed him in with a quick smile, but Daichi had begun to speak, so they weren't able to interact much more than that.

"Alright. So as you can all see, Hasegawa is joining us on court now. He's here as our counter to that crazy number sixteen. Can we trust you to handle him?"

His teammates all turned their heads or shifted their eyes to stare him down, and he gave them a sharp nod, feeling exhilaration bubble up in his chest. "I won't be able to cover everything all the time, of course, but I can assure you that I'll be able to defeat him. You can trust me on that." 

They all cheered, realigning themselves so they were in their proper positions on court. Ren stretched his arms, his eyes trained on Seijou's number sixteen as though he were a prowling hunter. There was something stirring inside him that said this was the most crucial match of his volleyball career. A game that could determine his fate as a player of the sport. It was an overwhelming amount of pressure, but he didn't feel his resolve waver at the intensity.

I'm going to crush him.

The game began with the referee's whistle blow, and the first two points were traded by Asahi and Oikawa, both of them serving the ball out. An eye for an eye, Ren supposed. But at least the ball returned into their possession, and Tsukishima, ever the calm one, served it cleanly within bounds, though it was easily accepted by Seijou. The spiky-haired hitter on the opposing side bumped it towards Oikawa, who called out an odd nickname as he set the ball towards their psychotic player. "It's yours, Mad Dog!"

Interesting...I guess they really do view him as a feral pup.

Time to put a leash on him.

Mad Dog approached parallel to the net, a rather obvious set up for a cut shot. Ren joined Tobio and Hinata in their blocking formation, though he could already tell that their defense wouldn't hold against the impending hit. Neither of the other two blockers saw the cut shot coming, and they were the ones who were on the right side, meaning that the fate of the point rested in their hands, not Rens. Thus, when Mad Dog swung, the ball slid right past their arms and slammed down onto their court, earning Seijou their second point.

Ren landed gracefully, turning around to address his shaken teammates. "Don't mind, everyone! That was unpreventable. Just be watchful from now on, and we'll be alright."

His words didn't do much to soothe his teammates fears, he could tell, but at least they seemed to loosen up a bit after his small speech. Returning to his initial position on court, Ren shook his head, refocusing the entirety of his attention to the game. The next two points were gained by Seijou, and they happened rather similarly, with Mad Dog hitting the ball, the block being insufficient to stop it, and no receivers ready to cover. Unfortunately, Ren was in the front row for now, so he couldn't do much about the lack of response from his teammates. But he did keep his eyes peeled, remaining hyper-observant of every little shift in their opposition.