effervescent (nishinoya yū)

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN / the breakdown

"He looks so intense up close."

You smiled and patted Yachi's shoulder comfortingly. You could feel the poor girl shaking under your hand, which was understandable considering how intense Mister Two Meters was. As the team ran out onto the court from their huddle and Hinata passed by the player, it once again brought everything into perspective.

"Tsukishima, nice serve!"

You leaned on the railing and followed the ball as Kakugawa's players got the ball up to their setter, who immediately called for Two Meters (Hyakuzawa, judging by the pamphlet in your hands) and tossed the ball to him.

"He dares to challenge them with a super straight ball!" Takahashi, the man who had zealously cheered Karasuno on throughout their match against Ohgiminami, had a grin on his face as he and Ukai Sr. watched the match.

"So they want to start off on a good note with a shot from their ace, huh?" Much like Takahashi, Ukai Sr. didn't seem all too worried about Karasuno's chances against Hyakuzawa, and his relaxed nature seemed to soothe Yachi's nerves a little.

Hinata, Kageyama, and Tanaka all lined up and jumped to block. Your eyes widened in disbelief as Hyakuzawa's spiking hand easily cleared the tops of Karasuno's blockers, sending a fast and steep spike that blasted past and earned Kakugawa's first point.

"Seriously?" a spectator behind you demanded.

"There's no point in even blocking them."

As the next rally started, Hyakuzawa easily got past Karasuno's blockers again, but Nishinoya managed to get the ball. It flew awry, but Tanaka bumped it back into play and shouted for Hinata. He was met with three blockers, one of which included Hyakuzawa. Instead of spiking, he went in for a feint, but with a look of indifference Hyakuzawa killed it.

Next to you, Yachi looked around curiously. "There's a bigger audience now..."

"Yeah," you said, resting your chin on your hand. A pretty woman wearing glasses and a pink blouse stopped between Takahashi and the Oikawa-lookalike (whose name you had just recently learned was Yū, funnily enough), and you looked over.

"Wow, he's big."

"Oh, Miss Mikako," Takahashi said with a distinct note of surprise in his voice.

Mikako turned. "Oh, Mister Ohno, hello there!"

Takahashi introduced Mikako to Ukai Sr. "This is my neighbor. Miss Mikako is the adviser for a middle school volleyball team."

Mikako bowed to Ukai Sr. and turned her attention back to the game. "One of the players on the opposing team is really tall. My team is full of short kids, so I can't help but sympathize with the smaller team."

"Well, height matters, of course." Mikako looked to you curiously as you put your chin on the railing and smiled. "Still, it isn't the only thing that matters in a game. After all, there's always another way to go in for the kill."

Next to you, Yachi visibly trembled. "S-Stop saying 'kill' when you talk about volleyball, it freaks me out!"

"Miss, you know a lot about volleyball," Yū noted.

You laughed. "I guess I do, huh?"

Tanaka spiked the ball, but #3 got a one-touch on it. The ball flew above the net and Hinata jumped to attempt a joust, but Hyakuzawa simply pushed it over Hinata's hands with minimal effort. You grunted and crossed your arms, scowling at the back of Hyakuzawa's head as he reset.

#1 served. Nishinoya and Sawamura were about to go in for the receive, but Nishinoya called it as an out, and you sighed in relief as Karasuno finally got a point. Sure, it was on Kakugawa's fault, but a point was a point.