🔹🏐The Courts Calling🏐🔹- A Haikyuu Fanfiction

Rivals to the Core (Part 4)- Bully From the Past

Flashback (2 Years Ago)
(15 Years Old) Shinobu's POV...

Wow. What a great way to end my very first game as a starter on the court, the one thing I've been waiting for since I joined the team. Sitting in the sidelines, my guts feeling as if they just got ripped from my body then shoved back in all knotted up and torn.

Many people will say that screwing up is one of the worst feelings in the world, especially when it something you've worked so hard for only to have it completely destroyed. Well, I can say right now, that feeling can't even begin to compare to the one that I get every time I've looked into my senpai's eyes since then. It's like when you do something to upset your parent, and they give you the signature 'I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed' speech.

My senpai's... I hate just being around them. They finally had enough faith in me to put me on the court as a starter, and because of my actions, we lost the pointed needed to win. We needed this win too. Our team is still young, and our senpai's stress all the time how important it is to impress sponsors so we can keep the team going.

But thanks to my self-absorbed, hot-headed, loudmouthed teammate, who seems to have made it her job to make my life as difficult as she can in every way possible, we screwed up. While I would love nothing more than to just tell them everything that happened on the court, make it clear that Akiraa is the one who pushed me to my limits, so she can go down for it, I know my senpai's would be furious if I try to throw the blame on one of my teammates... no matter how much I hate her guts. As they always say, we are a pack, and we never turn on each other.

And now here we both are, standing out in the lobby of our gym while the rest of our teammates continued on with practice inside. Anybody of anybody would know that this is the opposite of a good thing. Being brought out into the lobby by our older teammates almost never ends in a good way.

My eyes remain glued to the floor while Kanna speaks, still unable to muster up the courage to look into her eyes again and be smacked with that horrible look of utter disappointment. Akiraa stands next to me, her arms crossed while looking off to the side, most likely for the same reason I'm keeping my eyes down.

It doesn't matter if we're looking down, though. Kanna will always make sure she is making herself heard. "That was the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened on the history of this team!" She exclaims, and we both seem to jump a bit when her head snaps around to face us. "I mean, what were you two even thinking? Getting into a quarrel in the middle of the court? During a game!? How do you think that made the team look?"

Both mine and Akiraa's gazes lower back down to the ground, our skin burning under the firm glare of our older teammate.

After a second of silence, another firm tone booms from behind Kanna, causing my whole body to flinch. "She asked you a question!" Ichika snapped, appearing from the spot against the wall where she had been watching with her arms crossed over her chest. "You made this team look like a bunch of bumbling amatures who shouldn't even be allowed on a real volleyball court! What were you even thinking?!"

After her words practically stab us in the chest like a knife, I feel a sudden surge of rage rise from Akiraa beside me, and I look to see her arms hugging tightly around her body while her nails dig deep into the skin of her shoulder. She's trying hard not to explode right now, and my own anger begins to rise just wondering what on earth she could have to say about this, considering it's all her fault.

Kanna seems to notice this too, and she glances over to Akiraa with a stern look. "Well?" She demands, catching her student's attention. "If you have something to say, go ahead and say it."

She didn't even need to ask twice before Akiraa snaps. "I... I just don't see what I did wrong!" She exclaims, unraveling her arms and slamming them down as if punching an imaginary table. "All I wanted to do was try out some of those new techniques we've been working on during practice. It's not my fault I'm too fast for Shinobu to keep up!"