The Crow With Broken Wings

Feather to the Floor

"Kageyama!" I shouted. "Bring it to me!"
Kageyama leant back slightly and tossed the ball to the tip of my fingers. Instinctively, I swung my hand at the ball and successfully spiked it, my eyes having a fixed gaze on it.
"One more!" I cried, throwing my spiking hand in the air.

Kageyama simply nodded, calling for another ball to be thrown to him. Sugawara picked up a ball from from the basket and threw it above Kageyama.

I ran to the left of the court, ready to spike the ball. Kageyama positioned his hands and pushed the ball, perfectly directing it to the tip of my fingers. Again, I flung my hand forward with all my might.

Huh?

I landed on the floor in complete confusion, blankly staring at the floor.  No one said anything.

"T-The ball didn't...didn't touch my hand?" Bringing my hand to my face, I looked at my hand with a perplexed look about my face.
"Hinata, you idiot!" I turned around to see a very frustrated Kageyama. I quickly spun and flailed my arms in front of me.

"I'm sorry! I'll get the next one!" I was shaking slightly, hoping he wouldn't grip my hair again.

Kageyama remained silent in annoyance, turning and calling for another ball.

The rest of practice seemed to go well. I managed to perfectly spike the rest of the tosses. And yet...that one missed spike seemed to linger at the forefront of my mind.

Why? Why did I miss? I never usually miss. I couldn't seem to find an answer.

For the rest of the day's classes, I stared at my hand in utter dismay, not really focusing on my surroundings.

"Shouyou Hinata."

My teacher stared at me sternly, the other students chuckling under their breath.

"I-I'm sorry, What did you want?"

She rolled her eyes. "Your homework?"

"Oh right!" I pulled my homework from my bag and handed it to the teacher.

After class, I felt a strong tug on the neck of my shirt. I turned around to see who it was.
"K-Kageyama!" He let go of my shirt, almost causing me to fall over. His face had a vague look of irritation on his face.

"What happened in practice? Don't tell me you were being self-conscience about your height again."

"No...it's not that." I looked down again at my hand. What was it?

"Maybe you're loosing your stamina. I guess you should stop trying to be cool."

"Hey, what do you mean 'trying' to be cool?"
Kageyama looked at me expressionless.

"Come with me."

"Huh? Where are we going?"

"Where do you think you idiot?" He looked at me with a slightly impatient face. "We're going to practice in the gymnasium. We can't afford to have you miss my tosses in a real tournament."

"Right..." I wasn't exactly sure how to react. Was I pushing myself to hard? Or maybe I wasn't trying hard enough?

Whatever the reason, I can't afford to make the same mistake.