Short Stuff [HAIKYUU: Tsukishima Kei x OC Fanfic] [Rewriting]

Chapter 20 - It's About Time I Stopped Holding Back

Tsukishima's POV

"Oi, she's calling you," Oikawa said, pointing down at my phone. I picked up and heard Aki's voice.

"Hey," she said.

"Is something wrong, short stuff?" I asked.

"Kind of," she answered. "Do you think I'll win?"

"Are you really asking me that?"

"Just answer me."

I let out a sigh before giving my answer.

"I know you'll win." I heard her let out a sigh as well.

"Well then that's good enough for me."

She hung up and I was left wondering why she asked such a question.

"Is she still nervous?" Kuro asked.

"How could she not be?" Oikawa said. "It's her first match after all."

He was right. Right now, she could be trying to figure out whether all the efforts she's made were worth it. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. Only she could decide on that.

The match was about to start and the teams slowly started entering the courts once more. Aki's team set up on their side of the court and the little girl was looking around for us. When she spotted us, she smiled and waved at us.

She looked reassured now.

Akira's POV

"This is it," Jiro told me as I stared at the court in front of me. The next opposing team was on the other side, setting down their bags and doing some stretches. "Are you ready?"

"I think so," I told him. I grabbed my racket and held it firmly in my hand. I jumped a couple of times in place and did some stretches. Once the referee called for the players, I took in a deep breath, faced my team, and gave a sincere bow.

"You can do it, Aki!" they yelled, along with my friends on the bleachers.

All of my friends were cheering for me. I can't let them down.

I walked to the court, bowed to the officials, and shook hands with the opposing team.

"Hayato Ichiro, Seijo," the guy told me as he gripped my hand tightly. "I'm not gonna hold back just 'cuz I'll be fighting some girly girl. You better prep yourself-"

"Yes yes, whatever," I told him. "Save your gangster monologue for after the game when I beat you."

He flinched and release my hand.

Guess I struck a nerve back there.

The ref held the coin toss and I won, letting Ichiro serve for the first run. We walked over to our sides of the court, waiting for the announcer to introduce the game. The whistle blew and Ichiro took his stance.

"A short serve, huh?" I muttered as he positioned his racket and the shuttlecock in front of him.

This could go both ways. He could fake and flick it hard enough to be a long serve or give the usual short serve. I have to be on the tip of my toes, no matter what happens. A lot is riding on this tournament. This would determine whether all that work was worth it, whether all my practice paid off-

"Oi! Calm your ass down!" Nishinoya yelled from the bleachers.

Hinata's POV

"Nishinoya, keep your voice down," Daichi-san told Nishinoya-senpai.

"Can she win against your team?" Kageyama asked Oikawa as he crossed his arms.

"I haven't seen a lot of their tournament matches but he's pretty good in practice. He's fast and his arms are very long - that means a wide range. With Aki-chan's small frame and undeveloped body, it might be hard for her to catch up," he said.

"Oi, what are you doing looking at her figure and all," Tsukishima said, raising a brow at Oikawa.

"Jealous much," I teased. He just sighed and rolled his eyes.

The other team's guy served and the ball went woosh straight to the back of the court and Aki-chan went ZOOM with a backstep and hit it like bwa-!!

(A/N: Let's switch over to a POV of someone who can actually describe the match, yes? ^_^)

Jiro's POV

Ichiro started the match off with a fake long serve from a short serve position, sending the ball straight to the back of the court. Before it hit the ground, Aki-chan back stepped quickly and hit it back with amazing speed.

"She's so new to the sport," our coach said. "Her body is still undeveloped and there's still a giant room for improvement.. but at the speed she's progressed and the amazing skill she has now... We just might win this tournament."

The rally between Ichiro and Akira was hard to follow. Seijo's team was known for their intense speed development practices and speed was an important factor in a badminton match. Compared to Aki-chan, she's gravely inexperienced and yet she's able to catch up to him.

The score was 10 to 9 with Aki-chan in the lead. She was serving next.

"You're putting up a pretty good fight," Ichiro taunted her. "Playing safe with all your shorts, huh? Are you scared, girly?!"

"Save it," Aki said, heading to the ref for a ball change. The ball was already beat up in such a short amount of time. "It's about time I stopped holding back."

...

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Wait what?

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Hey guys! Here's chapter 20 yay!

I'm juggling a lot of work right now between school, personal stuff, writing and other things so I'm really trying my best to update as often as possible so I won't leave you guys hanging for so long like the last time hahaha

I hope you guys really enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it for you guys! Stay tuned for the next part!

-Pikaroo