effervescent (nishinoya yū)

CHAPTER ELEVEN / the indomitable setter

Your dad nudged you as Sugawara jogged onto the court, meeting the rest of his team with a big grin. "So, what's this guy like?" he asked. Your mom perked up and looked over as well.

"He's not incredible," you admitted. "In a battle of pure skill, Kageyama or Oikawa would be able to beat him. But he's a really attentive guy and he has the undeniable trust of his team." You smiled as he immediately started off by affectionately hitting every member of his team. "He's also really good at rallying them."

"Hm." Your dad rubbed his chin as he watched Sugawara. "From what I saw while he was warming up, he looks like he's diligent as well." He laughed a little and moved his hands down to his hips. "It's kind of funny. He's a third-year but he's one of the shortest guys on the team."

You nodded and crossed your arms as the rally started. "He has a pretty low block for a volleyball player, but he makes up for it with his intelligence and likability." You huffed out a little laugh as you looked over at Kageyama. "Between our two setters, Sugawara is the more approachable one."

Your mom shivered as she followed your gaze. "Yeah. That Kageyama kid is intimidating."

"Nice receive!" Sugawara tossed the ball to Tanaka in an arc above Tsukishima's head. Watari dove in and bumped the ball to Oikawa, who tossed it to Iwaizumi.

Oikawa's eyes widened as Iwaizumi jumped to spike, but his warning came too late as Tsukishima rose up, blocking the spike and earning Karasuno a hard-fought point.

Shimada laughed with his arms crossed proudly. "Shut out! Could they tell a straight down was coming?"

"Yeah!" Takinoue exclaimed, fist-bumping your dad. "That was a neat trick! They switched blocker positions right before the opponent spiked!"

Hinata ran out onto the court and Sugawara beckoned him over for a quick talk as Tsukishima got ready to serve. Compared to the look Hinata always had when he talked to Kageyama, he looked a lot more enthusiastic and at ease. You ran a hand through your hair and followed the ball with your eyes as #13 received the ball.

"Whoa, they gave it right back!" Shimada groaned.

Takinoue leaned forward expectantly. "Fast attack time?"

Oikawa tossed the ball to an already-jumping Matsukawa. Hinata jumped a little bit later, his eyes narrowed, and to your disbelief Hinata actually managed to block Matsukawa's spike despite the former being almost nine inches taller. The gymnasium erupted into cheers and surprise as Sugawara praised Hinata heartily.

Tsukishima went back once again for another serve. You watched Sugawara and let out a little noise as you saw him spread his hand behind his left thigh, to which Hinata and Tanaka nodded. You remembered hearing them talk about signals, but if you were being honest, you were a little impressed that they managed to remember them. Signals had always been hard for you when you played, simply because you rarely needed to use them.

Iwaizumi cleared Sugawara's low block, but Sawamura was able to save it and send it back up to Sugawara. Hinata ran up, and you could feel Aoba Johsai's confusion at the silence of his approach. He jumped and successfully hit a fast attack from Sugawara, getting Karasuno another point.

They managed to earn two more points before Aoba Johsai broke their streak. You grimaced as Oikawa lined up to serve, simply slamming the ball down on the ground and catching it instead of doing his whole flourishing warmup. He looked...intense.

He did his infamous serve and you winced when Nishinoya and Tanaka both tried to go in for a receive, only to stop and watch helplessly as the ball flew straight past them.