Your duty as cheer captain wasn't just having the best technique and the most advanced skills. You weren't just the prettiest face or the girl with the best body. No. You were a natural-born talent, the only girl on the squad who could lead the others effortlessly through cheers and stunts.
That was exactly what you were doing at that very moment. You stood before your squad, cheering as loud as you could as the Aobajohsai High Boy's Volleyball team faced off with Shiratorizawa Academy in the Interhigh Preliminaries.
You weren't the biggest fan of a lot of the boys at Seijoh, especially the ones in the Volleyball club. Considering you were quite popular in the teenage sports' world, many people loved you, but another portion hated you.
A lot of the people that hated you were from your school, and many of them were ex-friends with a deep-seated jealousy for your achievements.
You couldn't blame them. It wasn't their fault you were incredible at everything you did.
The Seijoh team scored a point and you immediately took charge, leading your squad through a flawless execution of a cheer. One member of the Seijoh Volleyball team glanced over at you, and you glared back.
Tooru Oikawa. The captain of the volleyball team and your biggest rival. Not only was he just as popular as you, but some people even viewed him as more skilled than you. The audacity of those people was enough to make you fume.
"[y/n]," one of your squad members, Azumi Ogawa, said, placing a hand on your shoulder, "stop staring at Oikawa and get it together."
"He looked at me first," you replied, swatting her hand away. "He thinks he's soooo much better than me."
Azumi sighed, tugging at her turquoise skirt. "You two aren't comparable to each other. He's incredibly skilled at volleyball, and you're an amazing cheerleader."
You tilted your nose up. "Whatever. I don't want to cheer for him."
"Have you ever actually talked to him?" Azumi asked.
"A few times. And I'll be lucky if I never have to talk to him again."
"I'm not disagreeing that he can be an asshole, but you have a habit of judging people too harshly."
"And he deserves to be judged," you retorted, spinning back around to face the game. Oikawa had returned to the game, performing a graceful set to Iwaizumi. The spike was blocked.
Your mind was conflicted between being happy that Oikawa was going to lose this game, but also being angry at the fact that he would be bringing shame to your school.
The game ended fairly quickly, with the Seijoh team members returning to the bench in disappointment at their loss.
You grabbed your bag from the bench and started off towards the girls' locker room, already tugging the bow out of your [h/c] hair. The girls scurried after you, almost like they were afraid you would snap at them if they stepped out of line.
You ignored most of the chatting in the locker room, which mainly consisted of the girls swooning over Oikawa. After changing, you stalked out of the room, Azumi hurrying after you.
"I'm kinda disappointed they lost," she sighed.
"Me too," you admitted quietly. Only your best friend could see you like this, without your barriers, but only on a rare occasion. You weren't weak often, but when you were, Azumi was the pillar you could rely on.
"[y/n]," a sing-song voice called.
You stopped in your tracks but didn't turn around. "Oikawa."
