Carry the Day

Chapter 10: Bring it

Suga-senpai nodded to me just when I heard Seijoh's coach ordering Tooru to go warm up. We gave each other one last glance before turning our backs to one another and starting our warming-up. 

We arrived at match point quickly. Only one more point and we'd win the match. Then the whistle blew, the referee signaling a member change. I stood up and walked to the court, staring down at the line. "Go get them." Ennoshita said with a smile as he walked passed me and to the bench.

I exhaled slowly before pulling my sweats down, revealing my shorts, and my leg. I heard multiple gasps coming from Seijoh's side of the court. I kissed my necklace before tucking it back in my jersey. When I stood in my place on the backline, I dared to look up into the eyes of my former teammates.

Kindaichi looked broken, his eyes flashing with sorrow and regret. Kunimi was frozen, petrified by the sight of my leg. And finally, Tooru, who was a combination of both. He stared at me, mouth opening and closing like a fish. He shook his head, slapped his cheek lightly and looked back at me. Now he was finally serious.

"Don't you dare underestimate her. We all know what happened. She won't back down, even with that leg. That's how stupid she is, after all." Tooru said. Then he smirked and turned back to me. "But that doesn't mean we can't take advantage of it now." he said.

He walked to the backline, ready to serve. "No matter how strong your offense is..." he said. "It means nothing if you can't connect to it." he said. He held the ball up, pointing at Tsukishima before throwing it up and slamming it down.

The ball zoomed over the net and right at Tsukishima. 'His aim is as scary as ever.'  I thought as I watched Tsukishima fail to return the ball. 

Tooru put his hand on his hip and nodded to himself. "Just like I thought. I watched part of the match. You, number 6, and you, number 5. You're not good at receiving, are you?" he asked them, tilting his head with a smile.

He threw the ball in the air again, and hit it right to Tsukishima again. I sprinted down the court and jumped in front of him, but failed to return it anyway. I huffed at Tooru's mocking smile as he got handed another ball. "Bring it to me. I'll show you who's the best." I said. My voice echoed through the gym as I walked back to my original position.

Tooru simply nodded and threw the ball up. He slammed it down, not caring to hold back as he watched the ball zoom at me. I exhaled slowly and bent my knees, shrugging my shoulders and holding my arms straight. I focused on the ball only. 'Closer.'  I thought. 'Closer, closer... Now.'  I thought as I felt the sting of the ball on my arms as the ball flew up.

A smirk appeared on my face as I watched Tooru stare at me. "You're right. I still have a long way to go before I'm back to normal, but at least I have the defense ready." I said. A warm feeling spread through my body as I relaxed completely. I felt back where I belonged and nothing could take away this feeling. 

A scoff sounded from beside me. "Don't get all cocky just because you received one ball." Tsukishima said from beside me. And there goes the feeling.

My eye twitched in annoyance as I looked at him. "You're just jealous I received it while you couldn't." I told him.

Tsukishima glared down at me before looking away. I blinked, not used to him not giving a snarky comeback back to me. Seijoh got the chance ball and Kindaichi spiked. Hinata was able to get in front of him just in time for a one touch. Once the ginger landed, he sprinted to the other side of the net, jumped, and hit that King's Toss.

The ball seemed to go in slow motion as it whizzed passed Tooru's face and onto the court. He didn't even get the time to move as the whistle was blown, signaling our win. I cheered with the rest of the team as we celebrated our victory. I was so overwhelmed that I hugged the closest person to me, which happened to be Tsukishima.

I froze up and quickly let go of him, staring at him with wide eyes and red cheeks. "I'm sorry." I said. I bowed quickly and chuckled awkwardly. Tsukishima looked down at me, quickly looking away after meeting my eyes. 

He held his hand in front of his mouth. "It's fine..." he mumbled. It was so silent I almost couldn't hear it. An awkward silence came over us as we tried to look at anyone but each other.

"Let's go line up, Tsukki." I said. 

I knew I irked him with that, and he immediately retaliated. Everything was back to normal now, no awkward silences or anything. I hoped so at least.

Alright, a lot happened in this chapter, but I think it all worked out pretty well. Tsukki and Akira keep getting closer; You know where I'm going with this, probably. Oikawa and Akira went head to head; A little bit of rivalry here and there won't hurt anyone.

That's it for this chapter, next chapter will be out next week!