Carry the Day

Chapter 19: Carry the Day

I never do one of these beforehand, but I just wanted to say that this is almost the end of this book. After this, there'll only be an epilogue of sorts to end this first book. And because this is the last 'real' chapter, prepare yourselves.

Because this one will be long AF. Enjoy reading!

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"What's going on with you?" Kei asked.

I took a sip from my water and glanced up at him. "It's nothing." I said. I closed my eyes and forced myself to relax.

Kei narrowed his eyes at me. "Tell me." he said.

I huffed and looked up at him. "I'm fine." I said. Before he had a chance to talk, I walked over to the others. My eyes found Toru's quickly as I glanced to the other side. He smirked at me, his eyes having a devilish glint to them. He knew I was trying to figure him out, but he also knew I couldn't.

The second set was about to begin and I made my way to the court. "Akira." coach said, stopping me. I looked over my shoulder, raising an eyebrow at him. "You won't be playing this set." he said. "You need to get whatever you're thinking off out of your mind." he told me.

My hands tightened into fists and my eyes darkened as I made my way back to the bench. I sat down, clenching the fabric of my jersey in my hand as I looked down. The constant buzzing of my phone rang through my head.

I only snapped out of it when I heard the team cheer. I looked up and saw Koushi congratulating Kei. 'He scored and I didn't even notice.'  I thought. 'I need to get this out of my head.'  I thought. I slowly exhaled and allowed myself to calm down. I grabbed my bag and searched for my phone. When I found it, I turned it off before throwing it back into my bag.

The relief spread over me quickly when I didn't hear its buzzing anymore. "Then, if they were able to hit the ball with a 100% of their abilities... Don't you think they'd be able to break through the block?" I heard Chikara say. I glanced at Tobio, Shoyo and him as he said that.

It was like a switch had finally flipped in Tobio's head. A small smile appeared on my face, but it soon dropped when I heard the screaming of fangirls. That could only mean it was Toru's turn to serve. When I looked at the court, he had the ball in his hands, a taunting smirk on his face. 

Yuu and Daichi were the only ones in the back; The only ones to receive. I watched as the ball sped towards them. Daichi was quick to react and saved the ball just in time. Koushi tossed the ball to Ryuu, who spiked passed the two blockers in front of him. A smirk spread on my face and I fist-pumped just a little as I watched the team cheer.

Toru's streak had been broken.

I watched Asahi spike and hit the blockers' fingertips. It went out, which meant a point for us. It was 14-13 at this moment, both teams going head to head. I could tell Koushi as giving his all. He wanted to stay on the court, but, looking at Tobio, I could see the same desire burn within him. 

I watched as coach called Tobio to him. 'Koushi's only got about one more play left.'  I concluded, my eyes narrowing. He tossed to Asahi, who completely broke through Kindaichi's, Yutaro's, block. Then it was time for Koushi to change and Tobio came back in the match.

With Tobio back in the game, everything went quite fast. He attempted to communicate with the others, giving high-fives and asking them how they'd like their tosses to be. His concentration was top notch, and he even managed to sync with Kei. His face when Tobio agreed to try and sync with him was definitely worth it. 

Naturally, the second set went to us. Now the third set was going to be the decisive factor of this match. The look Toru sent us as he walked back onto the court sent chills down my spine. So full of determination, desperation and bitterness. He wanted to beat Tobio so badly.