Strategize: Haikyuu Fanfic

Chapter 42: Conflicted

"Am I imagining it, of have things started to become strained between Hinata and Kageyama-kun...?" Yachi mumbled to Shimizu as her eyes remained fixated to the match.

The manager replied with a hint of uneasiness. "They have..."

Recently, Hinata's been trying to act differently during matches: he would steal the ball tossed to the ace, and would even go as far as opening his eyes whenever they pull the oddball quick, which results in him missing. The ginger had the burning desire to become Karasuno's ace by improving the oddball quick. He wanted to stop relying on Kageyama for shouldering all the technical aspects, as he wanted to fight on his own in the air by refusing to shut his eyes. The setter completely disagrees with the ginger, stating that he should just leave the way it is, as there is nothing wrong with it.

The thought that's been gnawing the back of Ayame's mind arises:

Will we grow if we keep playing it safe?

Ever since Hinata proposed the idea to him, the two first years refused to talk to each other. Which seem to concern almost all of the club members, including Ayame. During the trip back to Karasuno, she spent her time listing the pros and cons to the controversial topic, which required lots of hair pulling, frustrated grunts, and headaches.

We can fine tune the oddball quick, but Hinata lacks in basic aspects like serving and recieving, we can't simply revolve our offense on one move. But then again, if he manages to hit the ball with his eyes open... he will definitely become a foe to be feared. If only we had enough time...

She rubbed the bridge of her nose as she sighed heavily. The girl took a quick glance at the coach for an opinion but he's also drowning in his own thoughts.

The sky grew dark, and the moon glowed along with the scattered stars. The raven haired girl was about to walk Yachi home, as to make sure she gets there safely, until Hinata and Kageyama came approaching in their direction.

"Yachi-san, could you put the ball in play for us, just for a little bit? Just throw the ball high above Kageyama's head."

The blonde girl looked at her female friend, who shrugged and said, "I can wait. I'll walk you home afterwards."

Yachi turned to Hinata, "O-Osu! I'll give it a shot!"

The three started practicing, yet every single time they attempted to do the oddball quick without Hinata shutting his eyes, it ended as a failure. Toss after toss, the middle blocker fails to spike it properly due to the ball distracting him from his movements. They've been practicing for hours - four hours in fact, it was ten at night - Ayame watched (though on the inside she was in panic) as Kageyama grew frustrated at the ginger, and tensions grew quickly when the duo started arguing.

"I want the strength to fight on my own!"

"YOU'RE GONNA DESTROY THE TEAM'S BALANCE WITH YOUR SELFISHNESS!!" Kageyama shoved Hinata down, knocking him off his feet.

"L-let's-let's all get along?! Okay?" Poor Yachi, who felt helpless as she tried to break the argument up. Her body frozen in place, yet her body shook with fear.

The setter calmed himself, quoting the words he first said to Hinata at the start of the year, "I'll toss the ball to anyone, as long as they are essential to achieving victory." He paused before speaking again.

"...the same holds true, even now."

"KAGEYAMAAAAAAAA!!"

The ginger shrieked, launching himself on the setter by grabbing him around the waist, knocking him off his feet.

"YOU LITTLE--LET GO!!"

"I WON'T LET GO UNTIL YOU TOSS TO ME!"

The two wrestled each other in fury, the unbearable stress built up inside of them, all released in raging punches, rough shoving, and earsplitting screaming. The raven haired girl panicked, not knowing how to break up the fight without anyone getting injured in the process. The conflict inside her grew and grew, who's side should she take? What are the consequences? Is perfecting the quick really worth it? Her head throbbed of frustration as the questions pierced her mind. Frantically, she shook Yachi's shoulders, who was still frozen in place, in hopes to snap her out.

"Y-Yachi! Go get someone! I'll try to do something!"

The blonde nodded and sprinted out the door, desperately crying for help, "Somebody! Senpai!!"