The Half-assed Prince

Interhigh Day: 2 (Part 2)

Everytime I heard the sound of hands hitting the ball, I felt more and more anxious. It was already half of the second game when Kageyama replaced Sugawara on the court, and as soon as Kageyama stepped in, the atmosphere got even heavier. Even Oikawa felt it. His eyes twitched continuously, his gaze flitting from one player to another, as if analyzing each and every move to formulate the best strategy for his team; a sign of panic.

Kageyama was on a rampage. He kept his stance relaxed, his demeanor calm, and his eyes focused on each toss. Ever since his comeback, Karasuno kept gaining points at a steady pace until they were finally in their match point. Everyone looked surprised: just one last point and Karasuno would win the second game. Finally, with the combination of Kei and Kageyama, they perfectly blocked the ball spiked by their opponent, and it hit the floor of the other court. All of us jumped and screamed in happiness, even Ukai-san, who had been the most nervous, couldn't hide his feelings. He was the loudest among us.

Both teams now had one point each, meaning the game would continue to the third game: the final set. Whoever won this game would advance to the nationals.

The third game was so different from the last two. The rally was even longer. Both teams were persistent to not let the ball drop on the floor. Once again, Aobajousai led the game, but the point difference wasn't that huge. Kageyama and Hinata's freakish quick was still effective. Playing the role of a decoy, Hinata could still fool the other team.

The players of both teams were gasping for air. It was inevitable, since they kept jumping and running just to keep the ball floating. Exhaustion and frustration were written on their faces. I was sure they were wishing for the game to finish, and preferably have the victory.

Fortunately, Oikawa's service ace wasn't a threat anymore, thanks to Daichi and Nishinoya's skills. But that didn't change the fact that Seijo was gaining more points than Karasuno.

Karasuno was known for using brute force to gain points, but everyone was surprised when Kei suddenly used a feint which, of course, caught the other team off guard. Kei still continued using the feint and somehow Seijo's libero started getting used to it. As soon as he saw Kei jumping for a spike, he would immediately run towards the net. But that was his huge mistake, because Kei noticed it and instead of using a feint, he spiked the ball, almost hitting the libero's face. Tanaka and Nishinoya quickly teased him while Kageyama stuttered as he tried to complement him.

Our team probably had used everything that they had up their sleeves, but Seijo was really hard to defeat: they were now on their match point. I didn't want to doubt the skills of our team, but it seemed impossible for them to win the game. Just one last point for Seijo and the game would be over unless a miracle were to happen. As if on cue, Karasuno hit another point; they continuously racked up points until both teams reached the score of 24: a deuce. Whichever team got the first two points would win the game.

The deuce went on until both teams had now 30 points. All of them were exhausted and frustrated. The guys were panting, hastily wiping off sweat on their faces, but they still kept taunting each other. The more the game continued, the more the rally got longer. Even Oikawa was starting to freak out. For the first time, he missed a serve. I could hear a collective sigh of relief from our bench as Karasuno gained the advantage. Just one more point and it would all end, but the members of Aobajousai showed that even with their captain messed up, their team wouldn't break down. They were able to hit another point which made the score, once again, tied.

I didn't know if it was only me, but the gym suddenly went silent. It seemed like everyone was praying for their team to win. All you could hear was the heavy breathing coming from players and some murmurs from the crowd. The eerie silence was nerve wracking, it made me want to wish for the game to be finished, but I immediately regretted it because as soon as I said that Seijo hit another point. Now they were on their match point: one last point and it would be over.

Oikawa hit another serve directed to the side of the court, but thanks to Nishinoya's receive the ball went up on air. My heart almost stopped; I thought it was already over, but I knew Karasuno wouldn't let the game end without fighting 'til the last second. My breaths were starting to get heavy too, like I was also playing in the court. I'd been nervous throughout the game, but now it felt different, like something wrong was going to happen. As soon as I thought it, the ball that Hinata spiked was blocked by their opponent. The ball bounced back and it went down to Karasuno's court.

My eyes went wide; I blinked twice just to make sure I wasn't imagining things. But it was real: the game was over. Aobajousai won.

I still couldn't believe Karasuno lost. The team was sprawled on the floor, still in the position they were in as they tried to save the ball. Even Hinata was refusing to believe it, he just stared over the net. Then Daichi called him to line up. I quickly searched for Kei. I was expecting to see a long face but he seemed fine. I was sure it was just his mask because I could see the disappointment through his eyes.

Unlike yesterday, the bus was quiet. Everyone went straight to their seats, not saying anything. Disappoinment was written on everyone's faces. Their hardwork didn't pay off. Their strength wasn't enough to beat their opponent. I held back my tears because I knew they were hurting thrice as much as I was.

All of a sudden, I heard a sob. It came from the back of the bus, but I wasn't sure who it was. Much to my surprise, everyone slowly started joining in like they were just waiting for someone to give in, and before I knew it I was already crying too. It was a relief though, I mean, I was sure they were also holding back their tears. I looked at the back to see if Kei was crying too, but he wasn't. He was just staring out the window with his headphones on. I was sure he knew that his teammates were crying, because his seatmate Yamaguchi kept wiping his tears.

No one talked even after we separated ways. I couldn't even get myself to say goodbye to them. Once again, I told Kei that he didn't need to walk me but he didn't answer me. He just started walking towards the station.

I was hurting inside; I wasn't able to do anything. I remembered the time when he injured his finger and wasn't able to stay in the game. He was also down at that time, but his teammates him cheered up. And now that all of the members of Karasuno was down, I wasn't able to do a thing. I was useless. Ukai-san was expecting me to help him and yet...

Kei kept his head low as he continued walking. I knew he wanted to be alone; I knew that was why he insisted on accompanying me. But seeing him like this, seeing him full of pain.. I still couldn't do anything. I was happy that he could drop his mask in front of me but I hoped he could also share his pain with me.

I stopped walking, turned around, and wrapped my arms around him. This was the least I could do. I must've surprised him because I could feel him tense up.

"Akira...w-what are you--"

"Sshh! Let me.. let me just comfort you." I said.

I expected him to protest but instead he leaned his head on my shoulder. After a few seconds, he started sobbing. I tried my best not to cry too. I didn't want to break the brave face I was keeping up. I stroked his back as he kept sobbing until he finally calmed down.

I was glad that I was able to help him, I felt like maybe I wasn't useless after all. Because I was sure Kei would have never showed this side of him to anyone, except me. All of a sudden, I had the urge to see his face after he cried so I released him, but he held me tightly, and kept me in his arms.

"Let's stay like this for a little while." He said.

I could feel my face heating up. I knew I was the one who started it but for him to ask to stay like this was too much. I suddenly felt embarrassed for suddenly hugging him. I hoped he wouldn't hear my fast heartbeat. We stayed like that until he finally decided to release me.

I couldn't help but feel special. Kei wasn't the type to simply show his emotions to anyone and yet.. he chose me.