Karasuno's Queen of the School [Kageyama Tobio]

[9] First Attack Past Tooru

There was no way I would let my team lose after how hard they had worked. Even if Toto was the opponent.

I had to prove myself, and I would do it no matter what. Being known as the girl who could only excel with a book and pencil since my first year of school was going to end now; no more teasing, no more bullying and no more anxiety attacks.

If my dad felt like everything I did was mistakes, I would show everyone that I could handle my own, because if I could show my worth in a gymnasium, then maybe I could do it everywhere else too.

Shimizu bit her bottom lip and quickly began flipping through her small binder, while Takeda Sensei struggled to comprehend how the tides had changed so quickly.

"Don't mind, Tsukishima!" Sawamura coaxed.

I began to shake my leg, eyes darting from Hinata and Tsukishima in panic. Both of them seemed frustrated that they were being targeted for their weak points, and even more so that they had been called out for it by Tooru himself.

Luckily, Hinata seemed to be energized enough to not be discouraged.

"Hey, you! Great King! Aim at me, I'll receive it, aim here!" Hinata demanded with quick stomps and arms flailing.

No matter how stressed the bench seemed to be, we couldn't help but laugh at his attempt to ease the tension that had risen, but Tsukishima seemed to feel otherwise.

"Stop raising a fuss. It's embarrassing." He hissed at Hinata, and I shook my head while Yamaguchi sighed.

"What did you just say?" Hinata exclaimed, insulted with brows furrowed.

Before Sawamura could intervene, Hinata spoke once more, surprising me a great deal.

"In volleyball, everyone on this side of the net is your ally." He recited, using Tanaka-San's words from before, arms outstretched as he stood in front Tsukishima.

Disgusted, Tsukishima-Kun grimaced while Tanaka praised Hinata for his wonderful 'adage' and I rolled my eyes at his intervention.

"Alright. All of you scoot to the back." Sawamura ordered suddenly, eyes narrowed. "Tsukishima, you go closer to the sideline."

Smiling wide, I began to quickly see where the Captain was going with this. He was trying to avoid having Tsukishima be such an open target, and by placing him near the sideline, it would be harder to aim for him, or else deal with the risk of hitting the ball out.

Not even Toto could serve the same way as before and not worry about hitting the ball astray.

Once everyone had quickly stepped into their new places, Tooru paused to scan the court and I just knew he was looking for the kink in our armor.

Not having time to waste, he tossed the ball up once more and sprinted to jump up and reach it, smirk wide.

"You can't defend it all by yourself!" He shouted, making me gasp in realization, as did everyone else sitting with me on the sidelines.

"Tsukishima-Kun!"

"Tsukki!"

"He aimed it directly at the edge!"

To our great relief, Tsukishima managed to poorly receive, albeit receive, the ball and keep it in play, and I grinned, clapping my hands as I watched the ball soar up and over the net.

"Nice receive, Tsukishima!!"

"T-Tsukki, nice!" Yamaguchi weakly praised from beside me, and I turned to offer some pleasant observations, hoping to ease his mindset.

"Because Tooru's focus was his aim, the power that went into the serve was lessened, and more so directed into control," I said while he nodded in comprehension. "So Tsukishima had a better chance at receiving it."

"Ooh, you got it! Good job." Tooru complimented from the other side of the court, hand above his eyes. "Buuuut... now we have a chance ball."

Our small moment of reassurance was cut short when we saw Aoba Johsai prepare itself for a spike. Regrettably, Sawamura-Kun's rotation had backfired on us because now our usual strong vanguard was pushed towards the back, leaving Hinata, Ennoshita, and the Captain in their place instead. In other words, a position where none of our tall players were where we needed them to be.

"Kindaichi!"

The ball was set away from where our short wall had already stood firm and their middle blocker sprinted over, already in the air with an arm extended to spike it down on our side of the net.

There was a sudden flash of orange as my breath hitched and the ball smacked down on Hinata's fingertips, just enough for it to be blocked and considered a one-touch.

"Alright!"

"Nice one-touch Hinata!!"

"Hinata's speed is unmatchable." Yamaguchi breathed in awe and I couldn't help but nod in silent agreement.

"Free ball!"

This was it: If Kageyama and Hinata could pull off that freak quick one more time without messing up, then the match would be ours. Any other alternative or second thought play could be easily countered by Tooru's brilliance.

However, Toto hadn't seen their quick, and therefore wouldn't be able to break it down.

In the blink of an eye, Hinata made a full turn around the court, sprinting from one side to the other without skipping a beat. The volleyball landed gracefully onto Kageyama's hands, and it was set.

My eyes flashed to the Tooru and his shock was more than enough to satisfy my nerves.

He was distracted.

SMACK!

The ball whizzed past his shoulder at an incredible speed, not giving him the slightest chance to try and save it from hitting the court.

The gym was silent as the ball rocketed off the wooden floor and into the corner. Paralyzed from the waist down, Tooru's wide eyes turned slowly to watch it roll around a bit before it laid still and the whistle blew, signaling the end of the game. Shakily, we all stood up and watched with open mouths as the referee announced the finishing mark, just as astounded as the onlookers were.

"End of the match. Set count 2 to 1. Last score 25 to 23. Winner: Karasuno High School."

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I felt so happy when I wrote that they won lol, sorry it's short, next chapter will compensate for it, PROMISE~!

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...If you want to be the last one standing, become strong...