04.

4 0 0
                                    

m

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

m.j.s

"Finally! Tsuki come block," the ginger boy speaks, excited to have someone guard his hits. I scan the two boys for a moment, taking in their appearances and immediately inferring which boy was which from Hinata's earlier descriptions. I'm proven correct as the blonde boy responds to Hinata's request.
"No," he responds simply. I can't tell if he's joking or not, but given his stoic face, I judge that he may be serious. The other boy nudges the former and jogs towards the court. His eyes land on me momentarily, stalling at my long hair and not so masculine figure. He hesitates for a moment so I decide to take the initiative.
"I'm Maihua. I'm Daichi's little sister," I introduce in attempt to put the pieces together in his whirring brain. "You're Tadashi, right?" A smile is brought to his freckled cheeks and my mouth finds itself matching his grin.
"Yeah. I'm a freshman," he tells me simply. I hear Hinata arguing with the blonde so I choose to continue my conversation with the boy in front of me, knowing that their argument is likely to last long enough for me to get to know the him a little better. He walks towards the other side of the court and crosses his arms over his muscular chest.
"Me too." I speak. "What position do you play?"
His hand reaches back behind his head, ruffling the dark hair there before answering. "Well, I kind of suck. I'm only a pinch server." He says, seeming to lack confidence. My eyebrows furrow at the disappointment that drips heavily from his words.
"What's wrong with that?" I ask, utterly confused by his nonchalant tone. "That's like super important."
"Yeah, but I want to be more than that. I thought coming to college for volleyball would allow me to play more and get better but I hate not playing in games." He spills. His dark eyes widen slightly in panic. "Sorry, I didn't mean to complain so much."
"Don't worry about it! I love listening. What do you want to improve on?" I ask curiously. He looks down at his arms and shrugs.
"Well, I want to be able to stay in and receive after I serve instead of immediately getting taken out." He looks at me in the eyes before quickly looking back at the other boys. The longer I stare at him, the prettier he becomes.
"I'm the libero for the girls' team! Maybe we could practice together sometime." I tell him eagerly but realize immediately that I sound like an overly excited child who just heard that another kid on the playground has the same hobbies as her. Not wanting to sound that way, I add  "I mean, I'm sure you're practicing a ton already and you probably don't need my help. I just thought that it might be fun to change the dynamic a little bit from what you do in practice. Plus, I'd like to try to handle some of your serves."
I smile at him confidently.
"That might be kind of cool-"
"Hey! Tsuki finally agreed to block!" Hinata yells, interrupting our conversation. My attention shifts back to the hitter. I give him a thumbs-up and smile.
"Get ready guys." Noya warns us. Hinata throws the ball up for him to set, allowing Noya to get under it and pass it directly back through the air.
Now that Tsukishima stands in front of Hinata's right arm, it seems more like a real-life game scenario where I am only focused on the opening for a line shot. This centers my attention on the gap.
Fewer of Hinata's hits come through due to the large wall in front of him, but for the ones that do, I will admit that his power leaves my arms a little sore. His line shot is really messy but even in the short thirty minutes that we practice, I can see some improvements in his accuracy.
Soon enough, the rest of the team starts filing in along with the excited nerves I feel due to me being the only one in the gym who doesn't belong here. Our play ceases when Daichi calls the boys into a huddle. I take this as my opportunity to grab a drink and regain my composure, mentally preparing for the out-of-my-comfort-zone experience I'm likely to experience within the next two hours.
As my eyes scan the boys circling my brother, they fail to spot the rude setter from yesterday. Not that I was seeking him out or anything, but the absence of his presence seems to be out of the ordinary for the team. I sit on the bench, scrolling through my school assignments for next Monday as I wait for my brother to finish his pre-practice speech.
"My favorite Sawamura!" A voice breaks me from my thoughts. Suddenly, I feel a hand tug my ponytail. My head lifts back abruptly. Not abruptly enough to hurt, but enough to tear my attention away from my phone.
I smile. "Suga!" The silver-haired boy sits next to me, nudging my shoulder and wiggling his eyebrows.
"Excited to practice with the big leagues today?" He asks. I roll my eyes. "You have much to learn, little one. Especially from such experienced players like me and Asahi."
Those two are the ones I'm most acquainted with. Daichi has been playing with them for the past four years, so I've been exposed to their little friendship triangle quite often.
"Right, right, is that why you three are the last ones here?" I joke, looking him in his hazel-brown eyes. He shoves my shoulder again and rolls his eyes. We banter back and forth for a little while longer before their coach Ukai calls them all in to run a new receiving drill.
"Where's Kageyama?" Ukai asks the group. Hums of uncertainty rise from the circle of boys. As if being summoned by the mention of his name, the back door of the gym opens, and in comes the rude absentee. Seeing him in the pure light almost makes me reevaluate my previous opinion of him. His black hair falls effortlessly over his forehead and his build is one I find myself quite attracted to. He walks in as if he isn't - I look down at my phone screen - seven minutes late to practice.
He walks closer, eyes trained on his teammates. He sets his bag down at the end of the bench.
"Sorry coach, I got caught up," his excuse lacks substance but Ukai doesn't seem to mind. He just rolls his eyes and tells the boy to hustle.
It is then that Kageyama notices me, causing our eyes to meet momentarily as I had already been watching him. He looks away soon after as he bends down to put on his shoes three seats away from me. My green eyes watch his movements for just a moment longer but I refuse to let him catch me gawking at him so I return my attention to the drill that has started on the court.
"Why are you wearing basketball shoes?" His voice interrupts me from watching the boys pass the ball. "Actually, better question, what are you doing here?" Having not expected him to speak to me, I am shocked at the questions. His eyebrows perk up expectantly, impatiently even, when I don't immediately answer.
"Well, in regards to the shoes, I like them more." I state simply, giving in to his incessant look. "They help me move around the court more than volleyball shoes do." I ramble out truthfully. "And as for why I'm here, Daichi invited me." He doesn't say anything else but he looks at my shoes again before turning his attention to where he should be playing alongside his teammates.
"Hmm." He hums. Without another word, he stands and joins the rest of the boys.
    That kid is quite the conversation-maker, huh?

you were right // kageyama AUWhere stories live. Discover now