For Your Safety (ON TEMPORARY HIATUS)

Chapter 10

(Kunimi POV)

I could feel his eyes on me, searing into my skin, making the back of my neck tingle with a phantom heat. The intensity of the itch that the stare caused on my neck seemed to increase whenever Oikawa's serves curved toward me, becoming almost distracting. I was barely able to jump my feet into a lightly grounded position, right foot and then left in a skipping motion, to receive the incoming ball with as much ease as the ridiculous speed and strength allowed. I watched the ball sail only slightly off course, still landing in the basket that sat where the setter would be positioned. I gritted my teeth covertly, acknowledging to myself that Oikawa was trying to push me to try harder.

My typical, laid-back approach to training was thoroughly compromised today, especially during our receiving drills. With the constant eyes absorbing all the information my body was emitting whenever I received a ball, as well as Oikawa's increasingly annoying pushing to extract every inch of effort from me, lazing about was no longer an option today. I looked over to Oikawa, locking eyes with him, achieving a neutral expression to cover the annoyance that would otherwise be occupying my face.

That moment of eye contact was enough for him to pass on his apologies for pushing me so hard. It's not that I didn't understand why he was pushing so hard; a mixture of wanting to improve the team so we a guaranteed a ticket to nationals and giving Hinata an opportunity to see proper technique to encourage him to strive for improvement without being prompted. He pushed the others in the areas that they were proficient in as well; I wasn't special. It doesn't mean the extra effort wasn't annoying or make me want to try harder.

The back of my neck was no longer tingling as I took my exit from the court, retrieving my water bottle before joining Kindaichi on the sidelines. I watched Hinata as he prepared himself to try and receive Oikawa's serve. His small frame didn't stop moving, jumping up and down with his feet constantly rebounding off the floor as if it were burning the soles of his feet. With his centre of mass constantly shifting, he was going to have a lot of trouble receiving the ball. A sliver of discontent escaped my mouth in the form of a quiet sigh as I silently prayed that he wasn't trying to copy my technique. I didn't look like I had ants in my pants, surely.

It didn't surprise me when Oikawa opted for not sending an arm-ripping jump serve to Hinata, sending a weaker one that would be easier to pick up due to its slower speed. Nor did it surprise me that the ball deflected from Hinata's awaiting arms to greet his unprepared face. It also didn't surprise me when he proceeded to fall flat on his ass. The ball cruelly bounced toward me, stopping just short of my feet.

Hinata's face was flushed almost as red as his hair with embarrassment from being hit in the face again with a volleyball. I didn't blame him; getting hit in the face with a volleyball and proceeding to fall over both times before the first practice was over would be embarrassing for the guy, especially considering he comes from a fast-improving school such as Karasuno. I picked up the ball that lay at my feet and made my way over to Hinata's form that was still stuck to the floor, noting how the subtle advancements that Oikawa was making in his direction was halted when he saw me approaching him.

"You are meant to receive with just your arms." I stated simply, peering down at the boy through my lashes, not offering my hand to assist in his return to his feet. "Your face isn't meant to get involved, boke."

Hinata's face dropped suddenly, the red draining from his face and becoming pale. His eyes widened and dropped to the ground instantly, staring in the direction of his fiddling fingers which were wriggling in his lap to let out his unexpected nervous energy. I was thrown off by his sudden tension, rewinding through what I said. Was I too harsh? Regret grew within me as I wished I had've thought about what we already knew about Hinata's situation.