Haikyuu! x Reader

8. u. w - beautiful (FLUFF!×FEM!)

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Here I was. Shiratorizawa girls' volleyball team in a 'friendly' match against the boys' volleyball team. We were all tired and sweaty and our muscles felt as if they were about to tear open. But we couldn't give up. Not as we were so close. So close to victory. The boys had won the first set, we had won the second but they had took the third but we won back the fourth. It was now the fifth and final set.

They always said I was the backbone of the team. The one who took the most beating. The libero. A position that is against the spiker. In this case, the famous Ushijima Wakatoshi. Throughout the time-outs I was praised and told I was doing a great job, and that we were definitely sure to win. But...how can someone be so sure? I was only able to start receiving his spikes in the second set.

His team was full of talented players. Their setters, their pinch servers, their libero, and that demon blocker. The infamous 'Guess monster'. He read my setup when I was setting. But I quickly wiped that fuck-faced smirk he always wore right off his face when I received his spike perfectly. He might be able to read others perfectly, but I was able to see straight through him.

You get good at playing a game when you've been playing for most of your life.

It was now very close to the boys' match point. We were three away from our own. One more for them and it would be certain victory, if they scored this we wouldn't even have the will to carry on. Ushijima tried to smash the ball down in the middle of the court, it was almost about to slam down, but I took a risk. 'Crazy and reckless' is what I was called by other teams' liberos. But where would you be without taking risks in your life?

I pushed my foot underneath the ball at the last second and kicked it upwards, kind of like the kicks you would see in football. I could thank my friends from the football team for that trick. I fell and tried to regain, but stumbled. I wouldn't be able to last much longer, as that little stunt I pulled back there used up quite a bit of energy and willpower. I crouched forward and used my arms to push myself up.

"Connect!" I screamed, and looked opposite the court. I saw their famous spiker, watching me while wearing a weird, crazed grin. We tried to spike but their guess blocker could see what was happening and blocked it. This was our downfall. I looked over to our coach to see she was about to call a time-out, but I waved her away discreetly. I wasn't ever one to accept defeat. Maybe this was a way of trying to get me to feel failiure for once.

I had felt it before a couple of times, but since when did it feel so...bitter? The match point was taken brutally by the boys, the set won by the one and only Ushijima Wakatoshi. But when he hit it, the shocked look on his face told me he wasn't expecting me to receive it. It was a cut-shot, and it came to me at a hard angle. It didn't connect though, as it smashed off my arms and behind me.

The whistle blew, signalling the end of the match. The team patted each other on the back, downcast and half-heartedly, while I was stood there aimlessly and dejected. The male team lined up and we plodded along them, shaking each player's hand. Tears were threatening to fall out of my eyes, but I wouldn't let them. Not in front of my team. Ever. As I trod, downcast, shaking hands along the boys with my head hanging down, I felt a hand clutch mine tightly.

I looked up to see olive-green eyes boring into my E/C ones. I felt all eyes on me and Ushijima. "Well played." He said, his face serious. However, if you were as close as I was to him, you would have been able to see the corners of his mouth pulling up slightly. I snarled and ripped my hand out of his grasp. I walked straight to the disabled toilets.

I locked the door and slid down it, my face buried in my hands, sobs racking my body. My small frame shook and I hiccuped occasionally through my sobs. I didn't know why I was crying, but it felt necessary. The pent up rage I felt at myself for not being able to receive the spikes, the failure eating at me from inside for letting my team down, and the way he praised me. I felt small. I felt inferior.

Suddenly, a couple of soft knocks on the door and voices of my team were heard behind the door. I quickly wiped my eyes and unlocked the door with a smile plastered across my face. "Y/N? Are you okay?" They came over to me and gave me a hug. As we were about to make our way towards the changing rooms, I felt a pair of eyes on me. I almost immediately knew who it was.

I didn't bother looking back at him and held my head up high. I then heard footsteps making their way behind me and I quickened my pace. I was too slow. A hand grabbed my wrist and dragged me away from the changing rooms. I was too tired and took defeated to fight back. "Why were you...crying?" His deep voice enquired. I looked at him and I was taken aback.

His face seemed genuinely...concerned. His brows were furrowed slighly and he held a cofused look on his face. "Your performance was better than any other libero I have ever faced. Your form looked effortless, and even though it took some time and getting used to, your receives were perfect. You could even say...beautiful."

My heart skipped a beat. Did he not just realize what he said? My eyes were wide and he stood there with a slight blush dusted across his cheeks. The Ushijima Wakatoshi just called me beautiful? I stood there with a dumb look on my face. "I, uh, thanks. You're beautiful too-I mean handsome-I mean not handsome-I mean obviously you're not, you're sex-sigh. I'll shut up now." I looked away embarrassed.

He looked at me, slightly amused. "I could help you improve, if you'd like. Of course, I'm not a libero but I can throw spikes for you...if you want." I looked at him, eyes wide. "Really?" I almost squealed. It was his turn to look away. "Yes." He said. He looked at a clock nearby.

"Should we start now?"

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