Winner [Haikyu!! x OC] (Ongoing)

Split Step

"Hey, Lily, if you want to stay longer, I can help you practice more," Watari offers.

It's Friday, and I have never been more thankful for a weekend. Stressing about a club and the possibility of peer tutoring in English all week has totally drained me. Luckily, Iwaizumi has continued to "need my help" whenever we have an English worksheet, and participating in the boys volleyball club has given me the much needed opportunity to relieve some of that stress through physical activity.

"Yeah, that would be awesome. Thanks, Watari-kun."

Watari has started coming to the gym early with me to help me practice. I've gotten a lot better at the drill he taught me, and I actually feel pretty accomplished. I'd say I'm at a Could-Beat-Most-of-the-Kids-in-Gym-Class level, albeit without a lot of technical skill. I've learned a bunch about volleyball as a sport too, like typical lingo and different strategies. Even though I'm new to volleyball, it feels great to be part of the team.

As I hit the ball back and forth with Watari, one of my spikes goes way off course. I sigh. I may have improved, but I'm still far from skilled.

But I guess this is good practice for the libero too, because Watari performs a spectacular dive to save the ball. The receive doesn't come to me though and I'm too slow to get to it properly, the ball sliding past the tips of my fingers.

"UGH, I need to move my feet!" I jump up and down a few times to help my legs get the message that they need to be more agile. I grab the ball and do a couple more jumps before tossing it to Watari. I'm ultra-focused on the ball. Its trajectory, the way Watari's body is facing to hit it, its speed. I keep myself in motion so I don't have to start from zero to meet the ball. I'm in the zone, and it shows. We have one of the longest rallies we've had since I started practicing with him. Until I send a set sailing behind me. I glare at my fingers. "Stay tense!" I snarl, flexing them back and forth.

"Lily, nice job! That rally was awesome!" Watari is grinning at me.

I smile back. "Thanks! I think I'm finally getting a little better at this." I chuckle a bit. "But I'm still crap."

"What's that little jump you're doing?"

I look up to see Iwaizumi studying me curiously. Oikawa is standing next to him doing the same thing. I didn't even realize they were still here. I cock my head in confusion. "To get myself pumped up?"

Iwaizumi shakes his head. "No, when you're playing."

"Jump?" I have no idea what he is talking about.

Oikawa waves me back to the ball. "Just go again. We'll stop you if we notice it again."

"Okay..." I look at Watari and we both shrug. I shove my confusion and slight annoyance at being interrupted and ordered around to the back of my mind. Now that I know Iwaizumi and Oikawa are watching me, I am determined to give my best performance.

Watari tosses the ball and I return it right above his head.

I have to move. I have to get in the best position for this spike. Watari's hands meet the ball and push it back and I'm ready—

"Stop!"

I jerk to a halt with my arms in the air.

Oikawa and Iwaizumi are both pointing at my feet. Some of the other boys have joined them and are now watching as well.

The ball drops in front of me.

"You did it just now," Iwaizumi claims.

"What? I didn't jump. I can't jump and spike at the same time yet." I look at Watari. "Did you see me jump?"

Watari shakes his head.

"Well it wasn't a jump, per se," Oikawa concedes thoughtfully. "It was more like a—" He mimics my ready position and moves his feet out and back in quickly.

He looks a little silly demonstrating what he saw, but that's not the reason I laugh. Not the only reason, at least. "You mean my split step? Have you guys never seen that before? I use it in tennis all the time," I tell them.

They all shake their heads, so I explain further. "The best example would probably be when my opponent is serving." I imitate holding my racquet. "They toss the ball, and I'm moving back and forth to keep myself ready, then right as they're about to make contact with the ball, I split step." I jump my feet outward, knowing what they mean now, and shoot forward to mime a swift forehand stroke. "And that makes it so I can quickly move anywhere to return their serve. But I'll split step to get ready for any stroke."

"Hmmm," Oikawa hums thoughtfully.

"You play tennis, Lily?" Iwaizumi asks.

"Along with basketball, swimming, and running," I say, proud of my athleticism when Iwaizumi's eyebrows shoot up.

"You play that many sports? No wonder you're catching on to volleyball so fast," he remarks.

My cheeks warm from the praise, but I don't have a chance to respond.

"Iwa-chan, I'm going to hit some serves before we leave," Oikawa walks away toward a basket of balls at the baseline. Iwaizumi follows him and the rest of the group disperses.

I scowl at Oikawa's back. He's so rude. Why did he want to know what my split step was if he wasn't interested in my answer?