effervescent (nishinoya yū)

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR / the barbecue

"Asahi, nice serve!"

You tapped your pen against your notebook as you watched Akaashi and Bokuto line up for their first spike of the game. Across the net, Kageyama and Tsukishima readied themselves to block. You sighed in disappointment as they successfully blocked the spike, only for it to land out of bounds, giving Fukurōdani the point.

The rally continued back and forth for a while, Karasuno holding onto a mere one-point gap for far longer than they had in the past. Next to you, Kiyoko scribbled something down into her notes while Yachi watched the game with her jaw set and gaze focused.

Bokuto came back up to the front, but the rotation also put Kageyama, Tsukishima, and Asahi up against him. The three blockers all jumped up, and for a moment you thought they'd pull it off, but Bokuto surprised everyone by pulling off one of his stupidly skilled cuts.

"That's an insane cut shot," Sugawara noted from next to you. Yachi flinched and looked up at him, her head cocked to the side in confusion.

"A strong hit that cuts in front of three blockers is very difficult to execute," Kiyoko elaborated for Yachi's sake. "It can be hard on your shoulders if they're not flexible, too."

You linked your hands behind your head and glanced over as Bokuto got down on one knee and celebrated loudly. "He's not one of the top aces in the country for no reason, huh?" you asked with a frustrated grin.

"Did you see that, Akaashi?" Bokuto demanded, moving from spot to spot like a dog trying to see if they'd pleased their owner. "Hey, did you see my awesome cut shot just now?"

"I did. Amazing."

"It was pure luck, though!"

 Yachi gulped. "So this is what we'll be facing if we get to Nationals...Wow." She grabbed her arms and shivered, her face turning a pale shade of green. "That sounds absolutely terrifying. I don't know if my stomach can take that..."

You laughed and rubbed her back. "Don't worry. Soon enough, Karasuno will get to that point, no problem. Besides, it wouldn't be exciting if there wasn't a challenge, right?"

She blinked slowly and smiled back at you. "Right!"

You turned back to face the game. Bokuto was such an interesting player, you had to give it to him. Compared to some of the more powerful aces in Japan, like that Ushijima kid you'd heard so much about, he seemed like a natural mood maker for both his team and his opponents. You looked over to the reserved Karasuno players and saw Hinata, Yamaguchi, and Sugawara staring at Bokuto with shameless, awe-filled smiles on their faces.

He can be really annoying, but he's definitely fun to watch, you thought to yourself as the next rally started. Hinata ran out onto the court, his smile falling and a thoughtful expression filling his face instead.

Nishinoya received a spike and sent it up to Kageyama, who tossed it to Hinata. Akaashi and Fukurōdani's #2 jumped to meet him, and you expected Hinata to do an all-out spike without thinking about it. However, your expectation were quickly crushed as he feinted instead, and judging by the reactions of everyone else on the team, they were similarly shocked.

"A feint?!"

Akaashi glared at Bokuto. "You're the one that taught it to him."

On the other side of the net, Kageyama looked more concerned for Hinata than shocked. "You actually used your head?" he asked. "You're gonna get a fever."

"You are the only person who doesn't get to say stuff like that to me!"

You shifted your weight onto one leg and kept a close eye on Kageyama and Hinata as the next rally started. "They seem different today," you noted. "Like they're using their heads. It's kind of scary, to be honest."