The Half-assed Prince

Training Camp: Part 3

At first, Nekoma was leading the game. They were five points ahead oF Karasuno.  But gradually, thanks to their practice the day before, Karasuno gained points at a steady pace and was able to keep up with Nekoma.

I heard they really had a tough practice yesterday. Fukurodani's captain and Kuroo took care of Karasuno. Apparently, they organized themselves into new groups, consisting of members from different teams, and played quick but intense matches. That, I guess, was already hard: playing with people you weren't accustomed to.

The game continued until Karasuno won the first set. Everyone was surprised because ever since they came here, they hadn’t won even a single match against Nekoma.

The game went on. As expected, Nekoma was a tough opponent. They didn't give Karasuno a chance to keep up and eventually won the second set. So yeah, they reached the third set: the final match. The tension was palpable in the gym, making the atmosphere heavier. It was Karasuno's last chance to prove themselves to them.

Nekoma kicked the game off pretty well, staying two points ahead of Karasuno, but the scores gradually tied up with the continuous counters of our team. That when both teams started scoring alternately. Seriously, this was far more nerve wracking than my confession to Kei. Speaking of Kei, I heard he had a one-on-one tutoring with Kuroo last night. Kuroo gave him some tips on how to improve his way of blocking. And I guess Kei didn't disappoint him because his blocks really improved a lot.  In the third match, Karasuno gained a lot of points with his blocks.

The game continued until Karasuno was finally on their match point. Just one last point and they would win the game. It was Tanaka's turn to serve. You could see it on his face just how nervous he was, like he almost couldn’t take the pressure. He took a deep breath before he finally served the ball, which cleanly passed over the net. In a flash, Nekoma's libero received it. The ball kept going back and forth from Karasuno’s court to Nekoma's until Kageyama and Hinata unleashed their freak quick and finally, the ball dropped on Nekoma's court. The game was over. Karasuno won!!

Karasuno's members screamed at the top of their lungs. They finally had their first win against Nekoma. The day continued, with Karasuno winning 3 out of 6 matches. Well, that was better that winning 1 out of 4 matches like yesterday.

The coaches decided to have a barbecue party to formally end the training camp. Everyone was happy and satisfied. After the long and exhausting days of their training, it was finally over. All the members of each team became close friends. They were chatting and joking with each other, savoring every ounce of meat.

Tanaka and Nishinoya tried hitting on some of the managers, but it was written all over their faces that they weren't interested in them. Poor Tanaka and Nishinoya. Hinata was having a great chat with Kenma and some of the members of the other team. Hinata's eyes literally couldn't stop sparkling in awe as they told him ways to improve their freak quick.

Karasuno's third years were having a serious conversation with their co-third years. While Kei, surprisingly, was with Kuroo, who seemed to find his friend’s joke extremely amusing. He was laughing so hard as he slapped Kei in the shoulder. I never expected Kuroo to be all chummy with Kei, although that wasn't exactly a surprise since they were similar in some ways. I decided to stick with Kageyama who was standing in the corner alone, as distant as ever. He gave me a wry smile as he saw me approaching. Then we talked about our experience here. I was kind of surprised to see him smiling as he told me his thoughts about the training camp. Suddenly Shimizu-senpai, together with the other managers, called me. I excused myself to Kageyama and went to the girls.

Fukurodani's manager led us towards some trees. When I asked Shimizu-senpai about our destination, she shrugged and told me that she also had no idea. With curiosity bubbling up inside me, I continued following the girls and after a quick turn to the left, we finally arrived. I was stunned by the sight in front of me.