CHAPTER EIGHT
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reminder: this book is written in english though the characters converse in japanese. if a character speaks in english or in any language(s), their dialogue will be written in bold-italic.
20 - 14
the red team was already leading the first and only set to be played during their 3 vs 3 match. it wasn't even a practice match nor an official match. however, watching them play is nerve-wracking. the opposing team was clearly getting destroyed, but it was more likely that lev haiba who was getting destroyed by the wing spiker of the red team.
"nice receive!" lev said, after shōhei received the cross-shot from kiiro. the red team's setter, teshiro, tossed the ball for their middle blocker, but his spike was blocked by kiiro who always manages to match lev's jump height peak.
kiiro's team gained another point, and they are four points away from claiming the set. meanwhile, lev has a scowl on his face while glaring at the female with a mocking grin etched on her lips. he wouldn't deny that her skills are top-tier and way beyond his, but it frustates and embarrasses him for understimating her just because of her small figure.
kiiro walked up to her teammates. "pass the ball to me," she said, gaining confused looks from both of the males.
"this is a 3 vs 3 match for a reason, not a one-on-one, kii-chan," kuroo interjected, which caused kiiro to pinch his arm.
"you shut up, old man. i'm just saying to pass the ball to me so i could just kill it because i'm getting tired of running around," she explained, folding her arms and puffing her cheeks out.
kuroo snickered, annoying the weary female further, but all he received from her was either a deadpan or a sigh. the setter quietly observed the two in front of him before glancing at the other team, and then flickering his eyes back at his sister.
"high tosses, you say, kiiro?" he asked, gaining a firm nod from her. the trio went back to their positions, waiting for kenma to serve, as it was already his turn based on their planned rotation.
the ball went over the net, and lev went to receive it, followed up by shōhei's spike. unfortunately, it was blocked by kiiro, and the ball was in the red team's hands again. the ball was passed to kenma, then he tossed it to kiiro. the female who was positioned on the left side jumped to spike a straight down, which wasn't blocked nor saved by the opposing team.
"nice hit!"
"nice toss!"
their play continued for three minutes, and the red team was already on their match point. kiiro knew she was already at her limit, but others couldn't see her weariness. it has been awhile since she played volleyball, and she hasn't been physically active with sports or working out. to add to that, she doesn't have great stamina like her older brother. her weak immune system makes her weak stamina even worse.
now, it was her turn to serve the ball. she was placed at the defensive line while the other two were up front. she couldn't do her usual, unreal cut-shot or straight down anymore, which was quite a relief for the opposing team. however, they didn't know that the skilled wing spiker was also good with other offense techniques.
she dribbled the ball for a few seconds after the whistle blew, raising the ball in her hand before throwing it in the air and jumped up high to do a jump serve. her serve was received by shōhei in the back row, and he passed to their setter. the female went back to the defense line area. her legs apart while intently watching the ball, waiting to defend the ball on their side.
"lev, it's all yours!" teshiro tossed the ball towards the light grey-haired middle blocker.
lev jumped high and spiked the ball with all of his might, but then kuroo, who was blocking him, touched the ball on his fingertips.
"mōitten!" he yelled, with a big smirk on his face, as he whipped his head to meet those certain golden orbs.
kenma cast a quick glance at his sister for a split second while positioning himself before tossing the ball right in the center, allowing the ace goddess to do the rest. the opposing team's middle blocker and setter prepared themselves to block the upcoming center back row attack.
as kiiro heaved a sigh, she ran towards the center and jumped high right before she could even step inside the front zone. using all of her strength, she spiked a straight shot.
it was a moment of silence until the piercing sound of the whistle broke the lingering silence, announcing the victory of the red team.
"nice kill!"
the audience cheered for them, causing lev to frown at their cheers. the straight shot spiked by kiiro went past the blockers' hands and sharply dropped inside the other side of the court. the other blue team players noticed the freshman's defeated expression, and it made them chuckle, shaking their heads in amusement.
"woah! kiiro, you were so good!"
"teach me how you do your cut-shot!"
kiiro received an overwhelming amount of praise from left and right from the nekoma boys. her face slowly burned up as she nervously chewed her lower lip. she hasn't encountered this kind of experience before and it is surely overwhelming her.
her older brother stood silently watching his teammates lavish her with compliments. his gaze fell on his little sister, and he noticed how red her face was, worried that she was feeling unwell. he grabbed her shoulders and turned her body to face him.
"are you alright?" his eyebrows furrowed while he observed her flushed face.
the raven-haired girl meekly nodded. her straight lips turned into a frown, embarrassed at her current state. "i-it's making me shy..." she mumbled, almost inaudible.
the blond setter cracked a smile at her confession. his hands cupped her warm cheeks and he deeply stared into her golden orbs.
"i'm proud of you, kiiro."
her eyes widened after hearing his words. even if it wasn't said fluently in english, the sincerity within his solemn voice was enough to bring her to tears. her golden orbs were soon covered in tears, and her lips quivered, feeling that she couldn't handle her emotions any longer.
kiiro wrapped her arms around her brother, bursting into tears after she was occupied with his warm embrace. the kozume siblings stayed in that position for a good minute while others watched them having their own time.
meanwhile, lev came up to them after recovering from his sulky moment. "kiiro-san looks like a baby when crying," lev stated.
kiiro moved her head away from her brother's chest and glared at him. "urusai, lev!"
lev stuck his tongue at her, making the crying girl frown even more. everyone burst out laughing after witnessing a new side of the stoic female.
"i'm all good!" the raven-haired girl announced, walking out of the clubroom.
after the rollercoaster moment awhile ago, kiiro had changed back into her uniform and made sure that she was at least clean enough without any residues of sweat, only wearing the dark vest since her body was still warmed up from the match.
kenma walked up to her. "are you sure that you don't want to come with us?" he asked for the third time already.
kiiro nodded, slinging her black backpack over her shoulders. "yes, i have to get my assignments done," she replied, fixing her curtain bangs. "plus, you guys have a practice match on sunday with..." she trailed off, trying to remember the other team's name.
"karasuno," kenma said, gaining a nod from her.
"ah, yes, them! karasuno volleyball team... well, good luck to you guys."
kenma locked up the clubroom and left together with his sister, heading to the parking lot of their school, where the bus was waiting for the volleyball club. the boys were now wearing their red tracksuits, and were already sitting inside the bus, excluding lev and the captain, who was waiting for the last member to get on and the freshman who lost his signed permission slip.
kiiro waved at them, then bowed at the coaches before leaving the place together with the tall freshman beside her. her high ponytail swinging side-to-side as she light-skips in her steps as she sips her fifth carton of banana milk, already recharged because her precious milk.
the bus passed by them right as they were walking out of the campus and the nekoma boys all yelled their farewell to her and lev.
"see you, kiiro, lev!"
"join us next time!"
"kiiro, get into the back of the bus!"
"what the hell, tora-san?" she yelled, furrowing her eyebrows at him.
all of them laughed out loud, making the girl softly smiled as she watched the bus get farther while they all peered out of the windows and waved at them.
"kiiro-san, i'm heading over there." lev pointed at the same way where the bus went. the freshman wasn't permitted to come to the practice match since he lost his signed permission slip.
she nodded in response, patting his arm before saying her farewell to him. kiiro turned in the other direction to go to the station and get home. to her dismay, she had to walk to the station in the middle of the day.
it was the last weekday of may's first week, and classes had ended before lunch due to the faculty meeting. since school was only a half-day, she went to check out the volleyball practice after their teacher had dismissed them, and later found out from kuroo that the team was heading to miyagi after practice for the practice match with karasuno.
on her journey to the station, she felt her phone vibrating in her skirt pocket.
"okaa-san, hello?" kiiro greeted, confused as to why her mother called her since it's literally twelve at the morning in her parents' place.
"my kii-chan!" her mother said in a high-pitch voice, causing the raven-haired girl to cringe.
"why are you calling at this hour, okaa-san?" she questioned, squeezing the empty carton in her hand before tossing it into then trash can she passed by.
"my mother's senses have been tingling for a while..." the older woman trailed off, waiting for her daughter's reaction, but only received a brief hum from her. "so, i just wanted to check up on you and kenma."
"we're good, okaa-san," kiiro assured, climbing the stairs once she reached the station.
a big smile appeared on the mother's face, relieved that nothing bad happened to her precious children. "that's... that's great to know, darling."
kiiro caught the happy tone in her mother's voice. with a satisfied smile on the youngest kozume's face, she slightly nodded while looking out at the view of the tokyo suburbs.
"i managed to make new friends now, okaa-san."