ONLY ME || Haikyuu x Male

CHAPTER EIGHT

In addition to the provoking words, there was a sort of arrogance about the brown-haired boy that made Ren's blood boil. Poor Asahi had his spirit crushed by this team, and they didn't even have the decency to at least act a little ashamed for their player's rather brash behavior. His indignation fueled him more than he thought it would, and all of a sudden, he was pushing his way through the Karasuno team, moving to stand in front of Asahi.

"Pardon me, but don't powerhouse teams have better things to do than try and pick on others? I thought your skill was supposed to be able to speak for itself. Unless, of course, you're not a powerhouse team and attempting to unnerve your opponents is the only way for you to actually achieve victory." Ren tilted his head, smoothly shifting his gaze so that he looked back at his teammates with a sneer. "Perhaps the so-called 'targeting' is really just a hint at their own weakness. Trying to spotlight the toughest players on a team so that your pathetic blockers know who to be cautious of."

The brown-haired player sputtered, lips opening and closing in shock. "Pathetic? Don't you know who we are? Dateko is an Iron Wall. A fortress that you couldn't possibly dream of penetrating!"

He wasn't quite sure where this confidence was coming from, but Ren couldn't seem to stop himself from laughing. His subconscious was aware of the eeriness of his chuckle, and as the other team seemed to flinch away from his gaze, he knew that his expression was depicting the psycho that he'd spent so many hours learning to repress.

"Big words from a weakling. I hate to break this to you, but I'm going to break you down until all that remains is dust. We'll see just how strong your 'iron wall' is when I destroy it."

With an air of finality, Ren spun around, giving his teammates a pointed look. It took them all a moment, but they got the hint and started walking, the entire Karasuno team moving in the opposite direction, away from Dateko. Once they were out of Dateko's field of vision, Ren's facade collapsed, and he squatted down, covering his face with his hands.

"H-Hasegawa-san! Are you okay?" Kageyama was the first to notice that he'd dropped to the ground, and his question caused the rest of the team to turn around as well.

"Yes...I just can't believe I did that. I mean, making such a bold claim? Who am I to say something so ballsy like that?" He hadn't intended to make enemies so quickly, and being rude and abrasive like he had...oh goodness.

"Our all-rounder. That's who. You were right to say that, you know? You're really good, Hasegawa-san!" Ren looked up, letting his hands drop from his head. Kageyama was kneeling in front of him, kind eyes staring into his own. He felt his breath escape his lungs as he marveled at the statuesque visual that was before him.

"He's right. We all know that you're fully capable of backing up your claims. So you better show 'em what you got, okay, Hasegawa?" Daichi smiled encouragingly, even reaching out a hand to help Ren up.

Ren leveled his gaze with Daichi, staring at him to deliver his unspoken question. Would he even be playing today? Would he be given another chance to stand on the court? Would they trust him enough to let him run free? Free enough to be able to be as strong as he'd promised Dateko he'd be. But he couldn't possibly ask any of that out loud. He was already dragging his team down by dumping the issue of his hallucinations on them. He couldn't dim their morale too. So he just smiled, accepting Daichi's hand and pulling himself to his feet.

"I will, captain. You can count on it."

+++++

Tokonami High School was already warming up by the time that Karasuno arrived at their designated court, and Ren hurried to shake off his jacket to join his teammates in stretching. They would have to wait until the opposite team was done with their warmups before starting their own, so he passed the time by doing the splits on the court beside Kageyama.