effervescent (nishinoya yū)

CHAPTER SEVEN / the spring interhigh

"One more!"

Michimiya stood on the other side of the net and raised the ball in front of her. She served it and you dove to receive with your tongue poking through your lips. You watched the trajectory of the ball, sighing in relief as it landed perfectly in the setter's hands. She set the ball and Aihara spiked it clean into the other court.

You ran up to Aoki as she undid the wraps around her fingers. "Was that good?" you demanded.

She flinched and looked away. Even though you were shorter than her by a few inches and in the same year, you were only inches away and you looked like you were about to uncover the secret to life. "Y-Yes, that was the best one you've done all day," she said.

You pumped your fists. "Alright!"

Michimiya came over with the rest of the team in tow. "Ladies, let's go ahead and cool down before we lock up for the evening."

She led everyone through a short series of calisthenics. You felt something pinch a little as you stretched your dominant arm, but it quickly went away and you dismissed it as a simple training flaw. You'd have to stretch some more on your own time.

You headed back over to the clubroom and changed out of your athletic clothes. As you zipped your jacket up and pulled your bag over your shoulder, Michimiya called your name. You turned and saw her poking her head around the edge of the doorframe.

"I'm treating everyone to meat buns for their hard work over the past few weeks," she said. "Are you coming with us?"

"Ah, no, sorry," you said as you rubbed the back of your head. "I have to get back home soon, but I'll be sure to join you guys after the tournament!"

Michimiya stiffened a little. She pursed her lips, came inside the clubroom, and closed the door behind her. "Can I get your honest opinion about something?"

You blinked a few times, surprised. "Yeah, of course."

"Do you think we'll win?"

Your hand froze on the back of your neck. You worked your jaw a little. For a moment, you really wanted to be honest. You wanted to tell her, "No, I think we're going to be knocked out in the first round."

As those words came to the tip of your tongue, though, you remembered everything that had happened since you came to Karasuno. You remember telling Yaku and your dad that you had a good team and that you were going to make it all the way.

"Well, it's your last tournament, isn't it?"

You flinched when Michimiya let out a noise as though she'd been sucker-punched. "Y-Yeah, I know that, you don't have to remind me!" she protested.

You waved your hands frantically in front of you. "Oh, that came out completely wrong! I didn't mean..." You took a deep breath and closed one of your hands into a fist. You put it on your chest and gave her a confident smile. "Since it's your last tournament, we're going to make it all the way through. It's the least we can do!"

Slowly, a smile spread across her face as well. "That's the spirit!"

She gave you a fist-bump and waved as she left the clubroom. You watched her leave and deflated a little as the door closed. You immediately shook yourself out of it and hoisted your bag higher onto your shoulder. There was no way you'd let Karasuno get knocked out so soon!

As you left the clubroom and headed down the road, you saw Nishinoya and Ennoshita ahead. "Yo!" you shouted. They both turned around and grinned as you jogged to catch up to them. "Did you guys just finish practice? It's a little early."