serendipity

because of the libero [yū nishinoya]

[ 1039 words ]

[ listen to ---> 'woman like me' by little mix & nicki minaj ]

You liked volleyball.

At the age of seven, you'd reached a stage in your life that meant it was easy to be cooed at by adults, but still taken seriously when you said you wanted to play professional volleyball when you were older.

By the time you reached twelve years old, your skills in the sport had grown drastically, to the point where middle schools were seeking you out to join their volleyball club in hopes you'd keep up in your training.

At fifteen, your skills had grown so much that you were known as an 'all-rounder'. If someone asked you to play setter, you would. Middle blocker, you would. Wing spikier, you would. Ace, you would. Libero, you would - and you'd enjoy it. Playing the libero was your favorite part.

Who would want to fly above the net when they can float along the ground instead?

In your high school volleyball team, you were known as their most valuable player. Without you, they'd have to fight to win, but you made it easy.

Age seventeen had you built up yours hands full of callouses, and you'd worn through at least two sets of knee and elbow pads from how much you dove to the floor. You'd even bitten your lip wide open in a game once, bruising your jaw from how fast you dropped to the ground. You were dedicated, that was for sure, and other libero's from opposing and even male teams would come to watch your practice and competitive games to see how they could mimic you.

Karasuno's number 4, Nishinoya Yū, had heard about you for years. But he'd been one of the few libero's that hadn't seen you play a game. When he found out that you'd be playing at the Inter-high Preliminaries, he really wanted to go watch a game. After loosing their game to Aobajohsai, the Karasuno team went off to watch your match against Date Tech's female team.

Date Tech's female team had a similar style to their male counterparts, however, Nishinoya found himself in awe at their opposers, as did the rest of his team and the crowd.

You stood out like a beacon, clad in red while the rest of your teammates wore black. But it wasn't your bright color that caught everyone's attention, instead it was how fast you were able to catch the ball after your opposition had blocked it. It was almost as if you knew where the ball would land before it hit their hands.

The gym erupted in cheers, Date Tech having been caught off-guard at your teams quick recovery, and therefore your team scored the first point. It seemed to come too easy.

"She moves faster than you Hinata!" Tanaka said, pointing down at you with a wide grin. Hinata nodded, his enthusiasm rivaling Tanaka's.

"She's awesome!" Nishinoya agreed with Hinata. She was awesome.

Another set from your team was blocked, but again you stopped the ball touching the ground, the slap of the ball hitting off your forearm was loud, and even made Nishinoya cringe.

"That one must've hurt." Asahi mumbled from the seat next to the libero.

"That would've hurt me, I wouldn't be surprised." Nishinoya added, right as one of your teams spikes landed the ball outside thee court.

Date Tech served, your team received and then managed to not get blocked, however Date Tech 's libero got the ball before it could get too far away, and they spiked over the net. Your middle blockers tried to block, but the ball's momentum was too much and it clipped their fingers, heading for the back of the court.

You acted fast, running after the ball to try and dig it before it could touch the floor. You wouldn't make it, Nishinoya could tell. Everyone could. But then you dropped to the floor, sliding across the wood and digging the ball with your foot, sending it back to your teammates on the court. They got it back into play, scoring a point, but you ended rolling, crashing into the wall.

You lifted yourself up, shaking yourself off, rolling your shoulders, and legs. Nothing seemed broken, even though you ached. Then you flexed your hands, and a pain shot up your arm, and a quiet cry of pain came from your mouth. That finger wasn't supposed to be bent like that, was it?

Your benched teammates came to you first, and when they started reeling back with their faces sickly pale, the others on court decided to take a look at what was wrong too.

The medic came with your team's coach, and you were taken away, hand clutched to your chest. Even from where Nishinoya was he could tell you were holding back tears. Whatever happened must have hurt a lot.

A minuet or so later the game was back on, but no One's head was in the game. Date Tech was ahead by a couple points. It wasn't looking too good for your team.

Kiyoko wandered back into their isle. Nishinoya didn't even realize she'd left. "I saw her hand. (t/n)'s libero broke her pointer finger, and jarred her middle and ring fingers too." Asahi looked about ready to faint at the news. 

"Woah, and she didn't even cry." Tanaka said, gripping the railing in front of him. "What a badass!"

Nishinoya was both as excited about Kiyoko's news as Tanaka was, and also as squeamish as Asahi. Hurting your fingers like that wasn't good for a libero. Really, it wasn't good for playing volleyball at all. 

The ball smacked the ground again, and another point went to Date Tech's team. Their opposes looked more defeated, and Nishinoya wanted nothing more that to go down onto the court and serve as their libero in your place. He didn't have to want anymore. There you were.

Walking in the doorway with your head high, your bandaged hand hanging at your side, but your looked ready to get back on the court. Just with you being there Nishinoya could see the teams confidence boost. They'd beat Date Tech. Nishinoya could feel it. 

All because of their libero.