The Devil Who Can Stop Time: Haikyuu x Reader

Ch 22: Futakuchi vs (L/N)

Futakuchi found himself grinding his teeth together, a low growl escaping his lips.  What the hell was this?  They hadn't even been seeing your full power until now?  Were you looking down on them?  He hated this.  He wanted more than anything to stop you at least once.  And he would accomplish it during this game, if it was the last thing he did.

The end of the first set.  And Karasuno was the one to take it.  But Date Tech, more specifically No Brows, had started to grow uncomfortably accustomed to Hinata's quick.

"Keishin-nii, I think it's time we changed things up," you muttered softly, your eyes trained on the teal and white team in front of you.  Keishin nodded before explaining the new plan to the rest of the team.

Futakuchi's eyes widened as both teams walked back onto the court.  Karasuno had changed their rotation.  Which meant he wouldn't be matched up with you anymore.  He wouldn't have nearly as many opportunities to block you.

"Sorry about that, Tsukki," you sent a small smile up at him.  "We're kinda forcing you into a one on one battle with No Brows, aren't we?"

"It's alright," Tsukki waved his hand with a small smile.  "I mean come on, let's be honest about this.  Nobody's expecting me to score the game-winning point on that guy, ya know?  It's Hinata's job to deal out the real damage."  You frowned but allowed him to continue.  "Think about it.  From my position, all I'm supposed to be responsible for is holding down the fort the best I can.  It's not different from any other game, really.  And face it, putting all that aside, it's pretty clear that their blockers have already locked on to Asahi, anyways."

You rolled your eyes and folded your arms over your chest.  "You really are stupid, aren't you?" You sighed.  "Listen here, Shittyshima.  The reason you're on this court is because you're good, and god knows your fundamentals are leagues above that little orange dumbass over there.  So quit doubting yourself, ok?  It's annoying."  Tsukki clicked his tongue and said nothing, choosing instead to turn away as you grabbed the ball and walked towards the end line to serve.  Still, he could feel a pang ripping its way through his chest.  How come you always had this effect on him?  Why did your words always carry so much weight? It was so frustrating.

The first few points of the second set went relatively the same as before, with Hinata drawing every last ounce of attention onto himself.  Asahi was starting to run into a bit more trouble this time around, though, which was worrisome to say the least.  Still, little by little, you all started pulling ahead.

Blocks were traded back and forth between the Iron wall and your own Tsukki, Asahi combo until once again, Hinata was back in the front.  You took a deep breath as you approached the front line, your eyes zeroing in on Date Tech's blockers.  You leapt into the air, and suddenly, you were faced with two blockers staring you down -- the brunette and No Brows standing together against you.

Futakuchi grinned.  This was finally his chance.  For the first time since that little orange middle blocker started using his freak quick attack — since the start of the game, really — you were truly staring face to face with Date Tech's incredibly famous iron wall.  Of course, he would have preferred to be able to set to a three man block against you, but still, even if there were only two of them, there was no way you'd be standing a single chance against them.  Your eyes flickered to the right, and he could feel his smile only widen.  He wasn't sure why he had gotten so worked up earlier.  You were just a normal hitter, after all, unable to hide your intentions before you went in for the kill.  Your hand swung down, and he quickly darted his arms to the right.  By the time he heard his coach yelling at him, though, it was far too late.  The ball was past him without so much as a glance off his arms.

You landed back on the gym floor, your smirk remaining unchanged as you stared back up at him defiantly.  You'd meant to do that.  There was no way he could deny it.  You had actually just led him into giving up his block.  What the hell was this?!  He was a good blocker; he knew that.  So how come you kept beating him?!

Only three points later, the game was over.  Asahi had scored the final point -- something that, at the end of the day, was probably exactly what you needed.  The whistle, followed by excited shouting from the flock of crows, echoed in Futakuchi's head as he stared at you.  He didn't understand it, any of it.  You weren't even tall enough to pass your team's libero.  So how in the world had you won?  The celebration lasted a few minutes, the entire team jumping all over the ace with words of congratulations.

You were matched up with No Brows during the lineup.  You grinned up at him and took his hand in your own.  "You played a great game!" You said excitedly.

"Aone," he grunted.

You blinked in shock before nodding happily.  "You can call me (L/N).  It's really nice to meet you, Aone-san!"  Aone paused a moment before nodding back down at you.  That strange feeling from earlier had only grown during your game, and once again he found himself confused.  To be perfectly honest, he wasn't even sure why he'd given you his name.  All he knew was that you were a threat, and he couldn't help but respect that about you.

As both teams were walking away, a heavy hand landed on your shoulder.  You quickly turned to see the tall brunette frowning, the top of his face hidden as he ducked his head.  "You, um... You deserve to be on the court," he muttered.  "My name's Futakuchi.  I just wanted to say... I will block you someday."

"I know," you smiled kindly as you slipped his hand gently off your shoulder.  "Thank you, Futakuchi-san.  I'll be looking forward to it."

You left the gym without another word, with Futakuchi unable to do anything more than just watch, practically frozen in place.  Had you always been so gentle?  He could have sworn he recalled you being terrifying when you were staring him down as you went in for a spike earlier.  Geez, it was stuff like this that made him make fun of you in the first place.  That girlish face of yours really wasn't doing you any favors in intimidating your opponents, after all.  He still almost couldn't believe you were actually a player.  He'd be sure not to underestimate you next time, though.  When he saw you again, he'd be absolutely certain to win.