effervescent (nishinoya yū)

CHAPTER EIGHT / the iron wall

You made it back to the locker room before the other girls finished packing up their belongings. The moment you got through the door, Michimiya practically jumped you. Even though you were both about the same height, you still felt threatened as she grabbed your shoulders and shook you.

"Are you okay?" she demanded, staring into your eyes with her mouth almost quivering. Aihara and Sasaki exchanged looks from behind their captain and came forward to pull her off you. You gave them a grateful smile and scratched the back of your head.

"I'm sorry."

It was Michimiya's turn to widen her eyes and gawk at you. "Why?" she asked, calming down significantly. Before you could answer, she deadpanned and pointed an accusatory finger at you. "Don't you dare say it was your fault that we lost. We gave it our best shot and this is just an opportunity for you guys to learn for next year!"

You watched her a little closer. Even though she'd done a good job of hiding it, you could see the faint puffiness and redness around her eyes and nose. She was devastated and yet still tried to comfort you and your teammates. Your eyes softened.

"You were a good captain," you said. Michimiya's lip quivered ever so slightly. You pointed over your shoulder with your thumb. "The boys are about to start their match against Date Tech."

Aoki gasped and pressed her hands together. "We have to go support them!"

Michimiya nodded and pumped her fists a little. "Yeah! Come on, I think I remember which gymnasium they were playing in."

You grabbed your jacket and tossed it over your shoulder as you followed the others out. Sasaki trailed behind the others a little and you matched her slow jog. "What's wrong?" you asked.

She avoided your gaze. "I missed so many balls during that match. I put so much weight on your and Yui's shoulders. I'm so sorry."

"If I can't blame myself for our loss, then you can't either," you scolded as you flicked her shoulder. She finally made eye contact with you and looked surprised as you grinned at her. "Sure, we may have lost this year, but it's in the past. Next year, we'll win just for you and the others."

Tears pricked at the corners of Sasaki's eyes, but she managed to return your beaming expression and nodded. "Yeah!"

You both hurried to catch up with the others. "Hurry up!" Michimiya urged as you burst through the doors to the bleachers. She caught herself on the railing and sighed in relief. "Great! The boys are still playing round two."

You looked over to your right and grinned as you saw Takinoue. "Hey!"

Takinoue perked up and gave you a thumbs-up. "Hey, kid!" He nudged the man next to him. You recognized him from the Nekoma practice match. "Shimada, does she look familiar to you?"

Shimada looked over. He narrowed his eyes, obviously trying to place where he'd seen you before, and it didn't take long for him to gasp. He exclaimed your father's name and laughed. "Wow, you've grown up so much. I'm glad you're still playing volleyball!"

You came over to stand next to them and leaned against the railing. Takinoue let out a little noise. "What did you do to your wrist?"

"Sprained it during the match," you replied simply as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Luckily, his attention was drawn away as Hinata and Kageyama did their freak quick attack, easily earning Karasuno another point against Date Tech and increasing their lead.

"What was that?" Michimiya asked, at a complete loss for words.

"A fast attack?"

"That is a first-year, isn't it?"