one step further // haikyuu x OC

the game begins // 5

I tightened and adjusted my ponytail while observing the boys standing in a line across from the girls club. Daichi Sawamura was walking up and down the lines deciding teams. Looking down the line myself, I noticed Hinata Shouyou from my class was in the lineup, and he was back to avoiding eye contact. I also caught a glimpse of that tall blond boy and his friend that was with him in the hallway, they caught me looking at them. To ease the tension I smiled at them both, the beanpole choosing to look away expressionless, the brown-haired boy smiled back briefly.

His freckles are cute, I wanna be his friend.

Daichi clapped his hands together, calling everyone's attention. "Alright! I decided the teams, everyone else not playing will be either waiting to sub in or be in charge of the scores and being line judges. Ennoshita, will you be our ref today?" I saw a boy with drowsy eyes smile softly, nod, then turn to get the ref stand ready. One by one Daichi directed players to one side of the court or the other, filling both rotations.

When my team was finalized, I was disheartened to see I was the only girl on Team 2. I looked around in confusion, every boy had their eyes on me. Some in equal uncertainty, others in observation. Daichi saw this and offered me a sympathetic smile and a hardy laugh.

"Sorry to single you out, new recruit. But your captains here requested to see how you play before integrating you with the other members of the girls club." Michimiya and the co-captain waved at me before Yui told her to join the team on the other side of the court. Captain said she was going to sit out and observe my playing style; see what position she could work me into. One last announcement with his booming captain's voice, Daichi explained the handicaps the teams had to follow for this special match.

"Boys on team 2: No kill blocking. Only soft blocking or pull back entirely to receive. The only one allowed to attempt to kill block is your female teammate." That earned some groans, to which Sawamura's face quickly shut them up. A true captain. I didn't mind the handicaps so far.

"Team 1! Kageyama and Hinata, if they can pull it off, are allowed to attempt their quick attack since the teams aren't exactly evenly matched. You're the only boys on that team. To ensure you utilize all your players, Team 1 must run a 6-2 with setters Kageyama and Aoki coming up from the back row. I'm going to sit out and watch with Yui and discuss what we see." My eyes flicked over to Hinata, who pumped his fist. I was curious to see what the captain meant by "their" quick attack. What was so special about it?

"With that, let's get this started. Team 2 has the serve, with Toshiko serving first - by the request of Michimiya."

"Toshi, you're gonna play in the wing spikers position today, okay? Good luck!" Yui shouted at me with a grin. I nodded at her before she began giving instructions to the girl's libero. Sawamura threw a ball towards me that I caught with one hand. That gray-haired boy was on my team; he motioned for us to get closer. Now, I'm not the shortest girl around. 5' 7" is actually above average for American women. And I was always content with how tall I was. But as those boys came into my proximity, I suddenly felt swallowed by their height.

"Huddle up, everyone." He said, and we stood in a tight circle as he continued. It was he and one other boy with light brown hair who were basically in my height range, just an inch taller it seemed. "Before the game starts, I'd like us to introduce ourselves to the new student here. It should help us get settled into comfortable teamwork for this match up." He smiled sweetly at me, and I couldn't help but stare at him a bit, feeling his warm energy as he stood right next to me in the circle. "I'll start. I'm Sugawara Koushi, 3rd year, and I'm the official setter and vice captain for the Karasuno boy's volleyball club. If you ever need me to adjust my tosses to your hits, just let me know. Also, call me Suga."