The Half-assed Prince

Interhigh Day: 1

After months of waiting, the Interhigh Volleyball competition finally arrived. Although I wasn't officially part of the team, Ukai-san insisted on bringing me to the competition. It was thanks to Takeda-sensei that I was able to join them.

We arrived early at the location. Players from different schools were everywhere, radiating all kinds of auras. They were distinguishable by their jerseys, unique for every team. Karasuno, ironically, stood out quite a bit: black usually didn't attract too much attention, but all eyes followed the team everywhere they went. Their dark jerseys contrasted with everyone else's bright colors, but it was probably their reputation that made them stand out the most. Everyone wanted to see how the Fallen Crows would fare this time around.

In the first game, Karasuno would be up against Tokonami. Excitement and anxiety were written on everyone's faces, and they all dealt with it in different ways.

Hinata, who was the most excited yet the most nervous, kept going back and forth to the bathroom. On the other hand, Tanaka and Kei kept getting scolded by Daichi-san because they kept glaring at other players they bumped into.

Then the game finally started. As they postioned themselves in their usual formation, I could hear murmuring in the crowd and from the other team. Everyone, especially their opponent, was left shocked at the sight of Hinata as the middle blocker. They had the same reaction that I had before. I was sure that they would underestimate Hinata because of his height, but that was Ukai-san's main goal. They'd lower their guard and relax so that when their freak quick came, it was sure to make their jaws drop.

Karasuno won the first match in a breeze. I knew that they were strong and powerful but I didn't expect them to win so easily.

They were still dominating the game even in the second match, utilizing  normal (but powerful) quicks to blast through the other team's defense, and eventually won. They didn't use the freak quick in the whole match. Even though I was disappointed, I knew it was all part of the plan.

Karasuno would be having a second game in the afternoon against Dateko. I heard that Karasuno lost to them last March. Dateko, known as the Iron Wall, blocked every single one of Asahi's spikes back then, which caused him to lose his confidence and almost stop playing volleyball.

Dateko had an intimidating presence. Most of the players were tall, no wonder they were called the Iron Wall. Even Kei, who was the tallest in the team, lost to their heights.

Speaking of Kei, I saw him sitting in the corner so I went towards him, handed him a bottle of energy drink and sat next to him. I stared at him as he drank.

"You really look cool when you're playing." I suddenly blurted out.

I was surprised with what I said; it slipped out of my mouth unconsciously, but it surprised Kei the most. You could see the shades of red quickly spreading out around his face.

I laughed.

"And you're also cute when you're embarrassed." I said.

"T-That's because you keep saying that I-I look c-cool." He stuttered.

"But it's true. Your face always brightens up when you play volleyball. It's like you really enjoy playing."

"It's not true. I only play because I have to, not because I enjoy it." He denied.

Kei was always contradicting himself. Even though it was obvious, he still didn't want to admit it. Maybe that was the reason why I enjoyed seeing them play, because I could get to see the other side of Kei when he was playing.

I wasn't sure if it was because of the weather, since it was summer, but I noticed that Kei was sweating a lot. Good thing I always had a handkerchief with me. I picked it out from my pocket and was about to wipe off the sweat from Kei's face when he suddenly stopped my hand.