A Co-Captain's Doubts

A Difference in Setters

Walking in a straight line shouldn't take so much concentration, and it certainly shouldn't make Sugawara feel as though he'd traversed a mile when in fact it was a rather short distance from the corner of the gymnasium, to the bench he'd spent too much time on. Letting out a controlled breath as he put one foot in front of the other, he squinted his eyes at the harsh lighting that made his head throb harder, and kept up the pretense he didn't require assistance. He could practically feel Daichi's eyes burning holes into his back, Asahi's lighter but still insistent stare an accompanying sensation.

He was fine... Enough anyway. Ignoring the urge to turn around and lecture his friends for staring, he gave his attention to the wooden bench and lowered himself onto it tentatively. He was fairly certain the nurse had been correct in her diagnosis. He felt concussed, but he hadn't expected to feel worse with every passing minute, it had only been a punch to the face after all. Two if you counted his split lip. Then there was the wet floor sign...

Letting out a frustrated breath through his nose, Suga closed his eyes against the light that made his eyes ache.

"Control your thoughts, Koshi... It's a matter of will power. You can do this. Endure... Be useful."

Sugawara chanted this in his head, but all he wanted to do was slump over and close his eyes. He was exhausted, and not just physically. After making his speech between the first and second set, the desert in his head had finally seemed to stop expanding, but it remained very present. He still felt like an outsider looking in and all he wanted was to close that distance. For now, there was nothing more he could do but he would watch and support. He'd be another pair of eyes on the look-out, a friendly voice cheering them on. Even if he felt like his head might split in two.

Although the thick headphones Tsukishima had given Suga were doing well to muffle noise, the setter could still hear the shrill whistle as the ref announced the beginning of the second set. Swallowing back nausea that visited him in short waves, Sugawara peeled his eyes open once more and took in the current situation on the court. He was anticipating the angst and stiffness he'd watched in the first set, but blinked surprised as he took in the energy Karasuno was giving off. The worry and irritation from before were gone, replaced with languid confidence and an air of focus. His teammates wore faces of composed seriousness, there was a definite change from the beginning of the match and it seemed Suga wasn't the only one to notice.

Chancing a glance over to Kita Wasaki, he could see Kanda taking note of the change in morale too and looking less than pleased. Before he could look away the massive wing-spiker turned his gaze to Sugawara, catching him watching and giving a pointed stare filled with cold calculation. A chill ran down Suga's spine in response, and he looked away quickly to break the tense eye contact.

Had the other boy heard the pep talk he'd given? At the very least he'd seen Suga talking to the rest of them, did Kanda suspect the benched setter to be the reason Karasuno didn't seem shaken? Suga couldn't take credit for that if he wanted to. His teammates were all tenacious, excellent players, he hadn't made them that way, only reminded them of it. So truthfully, he didn't deserve the lingering glare he could feel on his skin, or the dread settling in the pit of his stomach as Kanda grabbed up the ball and prepared to serve. He had no reason to be wary of the oversized brute, although the throbbing beneath his icepack might suggest otherwise.

Deciding to watch the larger boy's hands rather than his face, Suga held his breath in the quiet before the serve then sucked in a quick breath as the ball was tossed in the air.

It looked as though the play had been rehearsed. Jumping into action, Daichi dipped low to the ground and connected squarely with the powerful serve. The ball jumped neatly into the air above Kageyama who immediately set above an eager Hinata, and then the rally was over so quick it took Kita Wasaki a whole three seconds to turn their heads to where Hinata had slammed the ball to the corner of the court.