How to fly with clipped wings (English ver.) HAIKYUU!! FAN FICTION

Chapter 9: The Practice

"Nice one, Mika-chan!" Oikawa trilled as Mikaela hit the floor of the court with a thump, staggering, her palm stinging.

Mikaela grinned and flashed him a thumbs up. "Great setting!"

"Of course!" the brown-haired diva sang as he volleyed another ball to Iwaizumi, who punched it down to the floor.

Oikawa, as luck may have it, had already been intending to have practice with Iwaizumi. It had been the ace's idea to invite her after they had their phone call (on Oikawa's phone) and the gym wasn't far, so she had agreed. Sure, her legs were burning by the time she got there, and she may have had to take a quick break, but she wasn't about to tell them that.

"Let's do serves!" Oikawa cheered next, rolling the cart of volleyballs to the far side of the gym. "You two, go receive."

"Oikawa, that's just mean," Mikaela complained, trudging towards the other side of the court.

"At least hold back a little, Shittykawa," Iwaizumi grumbled, ducking under the net.

They both settled into their positions- Mikaela took the right side of the court and Iwaizumi took the left. "How's the leg?" the dark-haired ace asked, glancing at her.

"Much better than a few weeks ago," she admitted, bending at the knees. "It's getting easier. Still hurts though."

He nodded, turning back to glare at Oikawa, who was hitting the ball against the floor. "That's good. But let me know if it hurts, got it?"

Mikaela felt her heart swell and she grinned. "Yeah, for sure."

Oikawa tossed the ball up and started running, then jumped in the air and hit the ball with a loud thwack. The ball had the power of a missile and was heading towards the sideline- on Iwaizumi's side (...thank goodness). The ace leaped and managed to dig the ball, but the crazy amount of power sent it flying back over the net.

"Shittykawa, you idiot!" Iwaizumi roared, scrambling to his feet, "keep it easy!" Oikawa just cackled from the other side of the court, already grabbing his next volleyball.

"Good dig," Mikaela said honestly. It really was- she wasn't sure if she'd be able to get that in her current state- screw that, she wasn't sure she'd be able to get that if she was in perfect form either. Iwaizumi grunted, still cursing his best friend, and she laughed. Oikawa served again, but it hit the top of the net and flipped over. "Got it," she called out, diving forwards with her arms outstretched. The ball smacked the fronts of her forearms (she barely got there in time) and shot straight up. She hit the ground and started scrambling to her feet.

"Want to spike it?" Iwaizumi called, already moving in position.

"Sure!" she managed, stumbling out of the way as her senpai pushed the ball off his fingertips. Sure, he wasn't a setter, but the set wasn't half bad. Mikaela took a run at it (well, as much as she could) and leaped, hitting it with her left hand to the ground on the other side of the court.

"Yes!" she and Iwaizumi cheered in unison.

"Heads up!" Oikawa cackled, serving again.

"Asshole!" Iwaizumi called back as he lunged for the ball, completely out of position.

Mikaela laughed, and practice (if you could call it that) continued kind of like that for a while. Iwaizumi got a turn to serve- and his serves were almost as bad as Oikawa's, even though the setter's serves were on a completely different level- and then after that it was her turn. She started out easy, staying with only simple overhand serves and avoiding jumping (but when she served with her left hand and it bounced oddly off Oikawa's arm, he started cursing her and she was laughing- loudly). After she realized that her legs were doing okay, she decided to give a jump serve a shot.