effervescent (nishinoya yū)

CHAPTER SIX / the dumpster showdown

When the match started, it didn't take long for Nekoma's coach to call a time-out. What with Kageyama and Hinata's freakish quick attack, Nishinoya's skills as a libero, and the overall offensive capabilities of the entire team, it was only inevitable.

Nishinoya ran up to you, his eyes practically sparkling and his lips curled into a bright grin. "Did you see that?!" he demanded, only inches away from your face.

You laughed and pushed a water bottle into his hand. "Yes, Yū, I saw everything," you replied. He jumped up in the air and pumped his fists. That only made you laugh a little harder, and you saw Kuroo look over from Nekoma's group huddle.

The game started back up again. As Karasuno slowly increased their point lead, you noticed that Nekoma had moved their three blockers to the left, which forced Hinata to run to the right to use his and Kageyama's quick. Although they managed to still score points, Nekoma's #7 was starting to keep up with Hinata with greater ease.

You had to admit, Kuroo's confidence wasn't misplaced. Their setter and libero were almost at a match with Kageyama and Nishinoya, and the rest of their team had almost unshakable defenses and a pretty solid offense. Still, they couldn't keep up with Kageyama as he hit a straight down spike, and you sighed as he turned around and started lecturing Hinata.

"Seriously," you said with your arms crossed. "If Kageyama's this skilled and confident in other parts of his life, he'd be absolutely terrifying."

Takeda laughed. "You say that like he isn't already."

Tsukishima wasn't that bad either. You had already seen glimpses of it during the practices, but he had a lot of potential. The setter fooled him with a decoy glance to the side, but even then it showed how impressive his analysis skills and reflexes were.

"He doesn't stand out."

You and Ukai looked at Takeda. "Hmm?" Ukai asked.

"It's obvious to an amateur that our Kageyama gives off sharp vibes," Takeda elaborated. "Nekoma's setter might indeed be doing amazing things but it's hard to tell by watching him."

"That's due to the stability of their receiving," Ukai replied. "The most important part of setting up a wide variety of attacks are receives that deliver the ball neatly above the head of the setter. Those receives enable the setter to utilize his best potential."

Huh. You put a bookmark on that remark, trying to remember to bring that to your next practice with Karasuno's team. That could be handy to put into action with your own setter. If she even shows up.

"Karasuno's setter, Kageyama, is holding together his uncoordinated team with overwhelming talent. While Nekoma's setter, Kozume, is supported by the receiving skills of his entire team."

The game proceeded rather smoothly, right up until the end. Nekoma had managed to pull ahead and was currently at match point. You leaned over and rested your elbows on your knees, watching Kageyama as he set the ball toward Hinata to prepare for their quick.

Your eyes widened as their #7, who had been keeping up with Hinata the entire game, met him at the net. He killed Hinata's spike, the ball flying down so fast that no one in Karasuno was able to receive it. The whistle blowed and the referee made the motion to switch sides.

The boys all came over to the bench to take a quick breather. A shadow fell over Hinata's face as he stared at the ground, at a loss of words. Kageyama brought his bottle down from his mouth and glared at Hinata.

"Hey, we can't let every little thing get us down," he scolded. "We're going to take back the next set!"

"There is no spike that can't be stopped," Ukai said. Hinata looked up a little. "Don't get distracted."