Haruka POV
(Spring High Tournament Day 2 - Fukurodani vs Eiwa High)
Current score
Fukurodani - Eiwa
Total : 1-0
2nd set : 17 - 13
The opposing side serves the volleyball and Mai dives for it. "It's up!" Mai shouts, and Chika gets herself into position ready to set the volleyball.
She carefully checks her surroundings, noticing all the blockers ready to block Minako and Kata.
The tip of her lips turn up and she unhesitatingly tosses the volleyball to me. I immediately sprint over and jump up then spike the ball down with all my power.
"Another powerful spike by Fukurodani's ace, Haruka!" The announcer says, and our side of the crowd cheers.
The opponents grunt in frustration.
Chika and I look at each other and high five.
The score changes to 18-13.
Only a few more points until we win this round!
The next player serves the ball and I receive it.
I click my tongue. They're trying to get me to not spike.
Chika follows the ball and gets ready to toss it.
"Over here!" Kata shouts with a wave.
The split moment the blockers look at her. Chika tosses the volleyball to her. "Kata!" Chika calls out, tossing the ball to her.
Kata spikes the ball down, but the other team's blocker touches it and they barely receive it. The volleyball ends up going back to our side after the first receive.
"Chance ball!" Mai shouts as she receives the ball and it goes up in the air again.
Chika goes into position ready to toss the volleyball. She looks over to Minako and sees the blockers hovering around her.
I glance over to my side and notice the blockers are eyeing me too. I look to Chika and Minako and without the need for words, we understand each other.
"Pass it here!" I shout.
I start running to the net and jump. The blockers follow me, but at the same time, Minako quickly sprints and jumps up in the air. Chika tosses the ball to Minako who easily spikes through the blockers.
The score changes to 19-13.
The match continues with each team gaining more points. Eventually the score becomes 24-19.
Our opponents spike the volleyball and Kata barely receives it. "Got it!" Kata shouts as the ball flies up in the air.
Chika gets herself into position ready to set the ball. She tosses it towards me and I spike the ball down, but they block it. The volleyball comes back to our side.
Emiko receives it and Chika gets in position again. Chika bites the bottom of her lip in thought as the ball slowly falls.
"Chika!" Airi calls out to her and Chika's eyes widen.
Chika tosses the ball, but at a different timing than how we've been normally setting in this match.
Airi grins already knowing and slowly she runs up, then jumps and spikes the ball down at the opponents who were unable to block it.
Chika and Airi turn to each other then give each other a fist bump.
I chuckle. A second tempo spike. Not an easy feat, but with all the practice that we've done, it's normal for us.
The crowd cheers as we score the winning point.
2-0
The referee blows his whistle. "Game goes to Fukurodani!" he announces.
"Yes!" We all cheer.
We line up and bow our heads down. "Thank you for the match!" we shout.
"Congratulations! You girls did great today! Before we know it, we'll be going to finals!" Coach Kaneko grins as she pats our backs.
"Don't jinx it," Chika sweatdrops.
"I-I hope I won't," Coach Kaneko frantically blurts out, and Minako snickers.
I wipe the sweat off my face and take a drink of water.
Right now, we finished our second match of the Spring High Tournament. We won our first match already, and with our second win, tomorrow we will be heading to the third round.
Ding
My phone rings and I check the text message from Keiji.
<Congrats on your wins, let's do our best tomorrow too>
I smile. <Don't message me you idiot, tell me in person>
My phone immediately rings again. <Sure, only if you don't immediately fall asleep when you get back to the rooms>
I blush. <I won't!>
"Who are you texting?" Mai asks as she tries to peek at my phone.
"N-no one," I try to hide my phone.
Emiko giggles. "Probably Akaashi right?"
"N-no I'm not!" I stammer, and I scroll down my message list.
My eyes widen when I notice the text message from Kotori. <Haruka! Watch my game against Karasuno!>
"Hey Kata, do you think we can watch the match between Nohebi and Karasuno before we go?" I ask.
"Hm, I don't see why not," Kata says and turns to Coach Kaneko. "Would that be possible?"
"I'm fine with it. It's a good experience for you girls," Coach Kaneko points out.
"I agree," Minako says and scratches her chin. "But when did you get the message Haruka?"
"It's been about 40 minutes since I got the message," I tell them.
"Their match still might be ongoing. Let's check it out," Airi says excitedly and leads the way.
We head over to the other side of the court to see the girls' volleyball match between Nohebi and Karasuno and see Sakusa along with Komori watching the match.
"Haruka!" Komori waves.
"Komori, Sakusa! What are the two of you doing here?" I ask surprised.
"Sakusa wanted to watch the match before he left," Komori grins. "Since Natsuki is playing in this match."
"Why do you even care, Sakusa? You're not even going to play against her," I point out.
"It doesn't matter. Even if I don't play against her, Natsuki is someone that I acknowledge as a good player," Sakusa answers.
"What does that make me then?" I ask, and Sakusa remains silent.
"Damn you Sakusa! I'm going to—!" I'm about to angrily beat him up and the girls stop me.
"Apparently, Natsuki was taught by Ushjima in her primary and middle school years," Komori explains.
"Oh, so it's your obsession with Ushijima once again, huh?" I smirk. "I bet he doesn't even remember your name."
A vein pops on his head and he flicks my forehead.
I glare at him. This jerk!
"Nosy as usual," Sakusa insults me then turns to Komori. "And Komori, you talk too much," Sakusa mutters, and Komori laughs.
"But how's the match going between the two teams?" Kata asks.
"Not so well for Nohebi," Komori says and glances over to the board.
I look at the scoreboard and my eyes widen.
Karasuno v.s. Nohebi
22 - 14
"Nohebi was doing well and won the first set, but Karasuno caught up and now they're in the lead," Komori states.
"How is that possible? When we played against Nohebi, the score was always close, but Karasuno is way in the lead," Airi says worryingly.
"Maybe they're just lucky," Emiko comments.
Sakusa crosses his arms. "If you got this far, then you know nothing is lucky. Their team is good at reading their opponents because of that player," Sakusa says as he points to Tomoyo. "It seems like she has been instructing the team along with Natsuki."
"I agree with Sakusa. Nothing here is luck. I've seen her play. She's the brains in the team and can easily control the tide in this game," I say. "Not to mention, they have Natsuki with the experience, skills, and strength." I sigh. "I don't know much about the other players, but they must be good if they've made it this far."
I watch Kotori throw the ball in the air then jump and serve it with everything inch of power she's got.
The ball flies over to the other side and Karasuno's libero receives it.
Exactly... They aren't famous players like Natsuki, but Karasuno's other players are skilled as well.
...
I don't even know what will be the outcome of this match.
15 minutes later, the match is finally over between Karasuno v.s. Nohebi with the score being 2-1.
The crowd cheers for Karasuno, and Nohebi looks over to them frustrated. I watch the two captains shake hands then they line up and bow their heads down.
"Thanks for the match!" They shout.
Kotori looks up and notices me. She turns her head in frustration and I purse my lips seeing her like this.
"Everyone, let's head to the bus," Coach Kaneko tells us and I quickly stand up.
"You guys go ahead. I'm going to check on Kotori," I tell them, and head off.
"That girl is always going off," Kata mumbles.
"The two of them have always been good rivals," Komori chuckles.
Sakusa sighs. "More like they don't admit it but their personalities are quite similar to one another."
I rush out of the stands and try to find Kotori, but after walking for a while, I realize that finding her here was like finding a needle in a haystack.
What should I do?
Should I just leave? But I feel like I should go find her...
"Haruka?" I hear someone call out to me and see Kotori there.
"Kotori, where's your team?" I ask and she shrugs.
"They're pretty defeated right now. I just wanted to get some space by myself and think about what happened today," Kotori says, and tightens her hands into a fist. "I hate it. Losing this early in the game." She grits her teeth frustrated.
"... I'm sorry about your loss," I sincerely tell her. Kotori turns her head away from me and she shakes her head.
Kotori chuckles. "Don't feel sorry. There's nothing to feel sorry about. It was a fair and square game. I wasn't in top shape." I notice the change in her mood. "... No, it's more than that. I was no match for them."
"Don't say that! You got this far, you should be proud of yourself! Not many teams can even make it to Nationals and get to this point!" I argue.
Kotori's eyes widen.
"You're right," Kotori smiles. "I hate losing this early, but I know that there can only be one winner in this tournament to begin with... And if that's the case, then I want you to win." Kotori looks me in the eyes and I can see tears stream down her face. Kotori grabs my shoulders. "You better win this Haruka! I'm holding it against you if you lose! Win this. Beat the other teams and take the trophy home so in the future, we can play against each other in the end!" Kotori shouts. "All my support goes to you, Haruka!"
A small smile forms on my face and I place my hand above hers. "Of course," I confidently tell her. "I came here to win, so I'll be the one to make it to the top."
Kotori laughs. "Always more cocky than you need to be."
"Sometimes you just have to be," I laugh.
Keiji POV
(At night)
After meeting up with Haruka and spending some time with her, I go back to the room where the team was relaxing and hanging out.
"Where's Bokuto?" I ask, realizing everyone but Bokuto is here.
"He's over there," Konoha gestures to the sliding door where Bokuto was outside staring at the sky.
Why is he standing out there? I would think he would be watching himself on TV like he normally does.
I walk over and slide the door open. "This is unlike you, Bokuto-san. Aren't you going to watch TV?" I ask, joining him outside.
"I've already watched it, didn't I?" Bokuto says as he puts his hands on his hips.
"I mean, I thought you would rewatch it about 100 times..." I explain, surprised by his answer.
This is quite unusual of Bokuto.
"Just what do you take me for?" Bokuto questions. "I wasn't really featured, so it's only enough to watch it 20 times," Bokuto states, and I sweatdrop.
Watching it 20 times is still a lot...
"Akaashi... Even after I graduate, I plan to keep playing volleyball as always. Just because this is the last tournament of my high school life, I don't think things will change much from here on out," Bokuto says, and looks up to the sky. "But I guess I really do wish I can play more with everyone."
I stare at him confused by his sudden words. "... Bokuto-san, you're not going to die or something, right?"
Bokuto looks back at me confused. "I'm going to live until I'm 130 years old," he casually laughs.
I slightly frown, troubled by his words. "What are you talking about? This is still only the second day. There's still round three, quarterfinals, semi-finals, and finals. We've still got a long way to go."
"Yeah... We're gonna win them all," Bokuto says confidently.
Of course we will. As setter, I'll help bring this team to the top. This will be my last game with the third years here, after all. I tighten my hands into a fist. I want to win this with them and will do all that can to make this happen. This is my resolve.
I push him back into the room. "Let's hurry back inside. And please don't wander around in that thin shirt. You'll catch your death of a cold. The flu is going around. Don't underestimate how vicious January can be."
"Huh?" Bokuto says, confused.
Today, the Men and Women Divisions played 32 games in total with the best 16 teams decided. Tomorrow will be the start of day 3 and the third round.