Secrets (Haikyuu Fanfiction Series!!!)

22. Friendly Rivalry

Haruka POV
(Next Day ~ Inter-High Preliminaries)

"Haruka!" Chika calls out to me and tosses the volleyball to me.

I sprint to the net and jump then spike the ball down.

I grin. "Nice Chika, but keep the tosses a little lower," I advise her and she nods her head.

"Of course. I'll adjust to that," Chika answers.

I glance over to the other side of the court and see Nohebi's girls' volleyball team practicing for the upcoming match against us.

To my left, I notice Kotori practicing her jump serves and after she serves, she catches my gaze. Kotori squints to get a better look of me and then immediately speed walks towards me.

I sweatdrop.

Is it possible to ignore her?

I turn around to avoid her gaze but she calls out to me.

"Haruka!" Kotori shouts and I flinch.

"Haruka, I think your friend is calling out to you," Emiko tells me and my eye slightly twitches.

Why me???

I turn back around and walk towards her. The two of us meet at the net face to face. "Do you have something you want to tell me?" I ask and she points her finger at me.

"Haruka Akiyama! I'm going to beat you in this match!" Kotori declares. "I'm going to be the one to win, and once I beat you, then Akaashi will realize that I'm much better than you!"

A vein pops on my head and a surge of anger flows through me. "Huh? Who do you think you are? The game hasn't even started yet. If your goal to beat us is because of that, then I'll easily win this match," I taunt and a vein pops on Kotori's head.

"Oh, Haruka, are you jealous?" Kotori points out. "Are you afraid that he'll break up with you once he realizes that I'm better than you?"

"H-Huh? Me jealous? I'm not jealous, and I'm not afraid of anything! I'm fearless," I argue.

The two of us glare at each other with neither of us backing down.

"Wow, it's a heated competition before the match has even started," Airi says in awe.

"It seems so," Kata sweatdrops.

Minako snickers. "Well, I love the rivalry going on between the two, so this match is going to be interesting."

I walk back to my team and I notice the wide smile on Mai's face.

"Don't worry Haruka. Akaashi has all eyes on you," Mai says as she wiggles her eyebrow.

I frown. "I'm not jealous of her."

"I never said you were," Mai smirks and I facepalm myself.

I'm so done and the game hasn't even started yet.

Girls Volleyball Match

~Fukurodani v.s. Nohebi~

Set 1 Current score: 22-22

I don't like Kotori at times, but when her mouth is shut, she's a worthy rival. It's not just her, but her team is a difficult team to play against. Just knowing that their team mascot is a snake really shows what type of opponents we are playing against.

Similar to how a snake slithers around quietly with stealth, their team would keep the game play in flow by receiving and just having the volleyball up in the air. Yet like how a snake attacks its prey once it sees the perfect opportunity, their team is not afraid to spike the volleyball down when they see the given opportunity available.