Winner [Haikyu!! x OC] (Completed)

Pinch Serve

My heart simply can't take this kind of tension. I'm well-accustomed to the feeling of stress present in a close match, of course. And I believe in my team 100%. But never have I had to sit on the sidelines, fully invested in the outcome of each point, but unable to do anything myself to influence the outcome. It's infuriating. And anxiety-inducing. All in all, it makes me want to scream. But I can't even do that. All I can do is cheer my team on with each point we win and encourage them with each point we lose.

That, and dutifully write down my stats. So that's what I do. Even though my hands are jittery and my heart has absolutely zero interest in stats right now. Not when the teams are tied at 15-15 in the third set.

The team huddles around the bench for a break.

Karasuno just caught up to us from several points behind, and it's all thanks to that freak duo of theirs.

I glare at the two of them on the other side of the court. So annoying.

"So, what are we going to do about that broad cross?" Makki asks.

I turn my attention back to the team and look at Oikawa. I don't know what a broad cross is, but our Captain is going to give us the solution either way.

But Oikawa stays silent. His eyes are narrowed, like he's thinking, but it almost looks like he's stumped.

I blink. Oikawa doesn't have the answer? I sneak glances around at other members of the team. No one is saying anything. Is that it? Is there no way to deal with this so-called broad cross? Surely there's something we can do to at least lessen its damage. It's times like these that I hate not knowing anything about volleyball. If I did, I would be able to help. But I don't. So I can't.

Coach Irihata steps up next to me.

I look at him in surprise. I've never seen him intervene in these team huddles. Sure, he coaches the boys during practice, but his coaching philosophy seems to let the team handle themselves during a match. Is he going to say something now?

"Let's shut down that broad cross," Coach Irihata says with a smile.

I stare at him, dumbfounded. Is that it? Obviously we all want to stop it. But the question is how.

"But how do we do that?" Kindaichi voices my thoughts.

"Shrimpy's broad cross is really fast," Oikawa steps in.

My eyes snap up to him. Oh. He does have the answer?

"But the attack isn't particularly powerful. And because it's fast, his momentum carries him and he's unable to redirect the ball." Oikawa looks at Coach Irihata, who nods.

My brow furrows, trying to make sense of what he's saying. If the attack doesn't have a lot of power behind it, then that should make it easier to pick up. And if he can't change his momentum to redirect the ball, then does that mean the attack has a limited path? If that's the case, then—

"We won't block the broad cross. We'll counter it with a dig," Oikawa concludes.

My jaw drops. That's not what I was thinking. We aren't going to block? I thought that if the broad cross has a limited path, then we'd just always have a blocker there. No block at all just doesn't make sense to me. Isn't volleyball all about blocking?

But Watari nods. "Yeah... if we don't have a blocker marking him, it would make it a lot easier for me to see. And if his spike isn't very powerful, then I shouldn't have a problem picking it up."