WildFire

23

Another perfect jump floater from Kairi to start the match. It glided swiftly through the air like a wavering butterfly–shifting with every second–and slanted left at the last second.

"Nice," Tsumugi whispered, though none of you responded to her praise–all too fixated on the game.

The jump floater was perfect! It had to catch the libero off guard—it had to be of use somehow. Yet when the ball met contact with him, it wasn't off at all. Instead, it flew in an arch towards Oikawa effortlessly. The white, red and green swirled together as it spun towards the captain, reminding you–rather uselessly–of the ridiculous bright lights at a Christmas party.

Oikawa reached towards the ball, a grin on his face.

You scanned the front row–where would it come from? Would they try a back attack? It couldn't possibly have come from Iwaizumi–they were separated right now. That was good for you. Maybe it would come from Thick-eyebrows, or Turnip-head, or Kunimi.

Oikawa sent it flying out through the air, and your eyes locked on Kunimi–who was ready to spike.

His form was as good as the other members, and his jump didn't seem the least bit weighed down from fatigue. You readied yourself, putting your arms out in front of you in preparation for the oncoming attack. Wait. Why did he seem...slow?

Your eyes widened as you realized. A feint! It has to be!

Powered by another burst of adrenaline, you dove forward, your arm flying out just in time to catch the volleyball from touching the floor. Your elbow skidded painfully across the ground from the dive, and it hurt to move. You didn't want to give up, but it was so hard to get up with your energy now all used up on that one receive.

You pushed yourself up warily, not letting on your tiredness, and got back into position.

But it was already over.

You looked up just in time to see the scoreboard flip, spelling out your victory. You had won. You had played against the Seijoh's Boys Volleyball Team–against one of Miyagi's most feared teams–and you had won. You had won against Kunimi. But not alone in the slightest.

You looked over to see Pika's beaming face, and you embraced her in a hug. It was a warm hug, and you laughed, shaking her off after a few seconds.

"Ah, sorry," Pika said, wiping her forehead. "We're all so sweaty and gross, aren't we?"

"You are!" Alyssa called from her spot at the bench, and you all rushed over there, snatching your water bottles to drink. Water had never tasted so sweet before–though perhaps that was not all from the exhaustion. You bet everything would be delicious with the taste of victory still fresh on your tongue.

"Good job," Iwaizumi congratulated–him and the other boys walking over. Though his face told of his disappointment in himself, his grin was still genuine, "You guys played well."

"You too," Kairi pitched in, smiling warmly.

"That was an intense game," the bushy eyebrowed guy agreed, rubbing his arms with a pained smile.

"That was fun–we should do it again some time!" Tsumugi suggested with a grin, and added with a hearty laugh. "We'll beat you again!"

"Nuh uh!" Oikawa interjected. He seemed the most ruffled out of anyone, but his pride didn't seem that hurt. "Today was just a warm up, next time we'll beat you."

"Keep dreaming," Sumiko snorted, then walked over to put an arm around you and Etsuko. She grinned smugly at Oikawa, as if showing off limited prizes. "Our first-years this year are pretty awesome, aren't they? Ai and Ryouka will be ready to play any time next year as well. Nationals, here we come!"

"Hey," Oikawa whined defensively, obviously hurt by the word 'nationals'. "Our first-years also did pretty well. Kunimi-chan, Kindaichi-chan were amazing! And that's a great compliment coming from me!"

"Ah, well," Kindaichi–turnip-head–blushed, scratching the back of his head with embarrassment. "Thank you, Oikawa-senpai!"

"We could have a dinner to celebrate!" Sumiko suggested with her trademark toothy grin. "First win of the year. First of many, I'm sure!"

"I can't, I gotta be home soon," Alyssa said apologetically, and Pika shook her head as well.

"We should have dinner together too—ramen, maybe?" Oikawa suggested with a bright expression, his features lighting up like LED lights. Wait, no. That was a rather disturbing picture: Oikawa, but his head was an enlarged LED light. You shuddered at your wild imagination.

"You say that as if you don't actually owe us," thick-eyebrows stated, making you tilt your head with confusion. It didn't offer any help when he then shot a glance at Kindaichi and Kunimi. "Next time first-years, ask him."

"Sure," Kunimi replied, and your heart skipped a beat. His voice–you loved his voice. That matter-of-fact tone you didn't realize you missed so much. You studied him, soaking in every feature: the way his back was slightly hunched over, as if tired and weighed down by something invisible—the way his eyes slid sideways away from the person he was replying to.

"[Name]?" Sumiko nudged your shoulder, and you snapped back to attention–focusing on your team captain. "Are you having dinner with us tonight?"

"Er, no, Mom wants me back before it's too late," you apologized as Sumiko sighed—a whiny kind of sigh that sounded exasperated.

"I can't either," Kunimi said, as people began to scatter. The coaches murmured their advice and suggestions before leaving as well. "Bye."

"Bye Kunimi-chan!" Oikawa hollered after the boy.

You stared after the boy, feeling conflicted inside. Should you chase after him? You wanted to run to him, feeling an instinctive impulse to wrap your arms around his bigger figure–to dig your face into the crook of his neck. You wanted to cry and let him listen to your stories of the three past years without him.

But you were also scared. Too scared. You were terrified of the thought of your affection tossed away, your hugs thrown off, your kept-in stories being rejected. You were scared of yourself being turned away. After all, no matter how you looked at it, you had left him first. You had abandoned him without notice, all because you were mad over a disagreement.

You could feel tears prick your eyes and you wiped them away with your arms.

"Are you okay?" Ryouka asked, concerned in her voice.

"Yawning," you lied, letting out a small giggle at Ryouka's dumbfounded expression. You quickly explained, "I always cry when I yawn–don't know why. Something about muscular tension or something? Also, I should probably get going now, see you guys all next time!"

"Bye [Name]!" Sumiko shouted, and when you looked back to wave, she added, full volume. "Have fun, libero!"

You couldn't stop the grin from forming on your face–not that you wanted to stop it anyways. You laughed, stepping out of the gym, and taking a deep breath to register the reality. As the fog in your mind cleared, you listed off the events that had happened in the last few days. The last few hours.

You were now the libero of the Seijoh's Girls Volleyball Team.

You had won your first ever match as the libero.

You saw Kunimi again.

You glanced to the side, where a tall boy was leaning casually on a tree. His body was tense as if nervous, and his otter-like brown eyes were curious yet wary as he mustered a small smile. "Hey."

And he was right here, in front of you.