"Bet you're probably thinking, 'wow, Suna's got a girlfriend, he's probably fired up s'oz of that', or something along those things. You're wrong though, that's got nothing to do with winning a game. They're like parallel lines which never connect."
Once again, Kita's cold logic settled the gossip session of the team. "We've made it all the way here, why don't we just win the entire thing?" And with that, everyone's focus went back to this afternoon's finals.
--
Megumi and Kayo went out for lunch together in a nearby convenience store. Kayo kept giving a 'look' towards her, obviously asking her to spill the beans and the juicy deets. Instead of giving her what she wants, Megumi tried to sway the topic. "So, how were the flowers?"
"Oh – them, lovely. Never thought I'll enjoy them."
"How's Kyoto?"
"Oh come on, Meg! Kyoto's just an hour or two away from Hyogo. Why are you asking me this? I should be the one who's doing the 'asking' you know."
Crap, this is it, the inevitable has come.
"Kayo, you know it's just an act, right?"
"Actually, I wonder about that. I've been thinking about it since the start, how he came up with this plan, among others, and I think maybe Suna likes you a little or something."
"Pffffft!! *coughs*" Megumi choked on her onigiri and Kayo handed her water. After swallowing her food, she blurted, "No way, that jerk likes me, and I don't like him either!"
"Eh? He may be unmotivated and lazy af, but I think he could be nice if he tries. Anyway, he told the twins you're dating, and those idiots aren't the kind of idiots who can keep their mouth shut. The whole team probably knows about your so-called 'relationship' right now. Sorry, my friend, but you really got to try even harder from this point forward."
Megumi just facepalmed because Kayo is right. "What should I do?"
"Well, you can start by giving him Chuupeets later after the game."
"Really? That?"
"You haven't made your end of the bargain yet. That's his first request, hello?"
Oh yeah right, the 'three wishes'. One of those is to bring him his favourite snacks sometimes.
--
Both clubs have 16 playing members. The poles were set, the bandannas were tied, the helmets were worn, and emergency medics were on standby. Everyone was eager to watch the game that will determine which club is the strongest for this year's PE fest. This sport is exhilarating, after all. Excitement was prickling in the air.
The members positioned themselves around the pole they are supposed to defend. At the top of each pole, one member from each club was positioned. This one is supposed to stay and protect his place at the top of the pole no matter what, never allowing an opponent to overtake his place. However, anyone from his teammates may switch places with him when he's in a pinch. Surrounding him are his teammates who have two very important tasks – to protect the pole and keep it from toppling, and to overtake the opponents pole. The game will end only if one team successfully overtakes the other team's pole.
For the volleyball club, Akagi Michinari was the one whose role is to stay at the top of the pole. They divided the rest of the members into the attacking and the defensive units. 10 of them are supposed to support the pole, while the rest are to attack the opponent's pole. The game began at the sound of the whistle.
"IKUZO KOREEEEEEE!!"
Seems that both teams employed the same strategy. The attackers for each team were eyeing each other daggers as they calculate their next move. Finally, action started when someone from the basketball team sprinted rather foolishly towards the volleyball team's pole. The rest charged right after.
"OMIMI-SAN, GUARD THE BAAAAACK!!" Atsumu shouted.
It turns out, the first guy who charged was a decoy. When the rest of them attacked, they split and swerved around the pole, pincer style, and tackled the players there. The volleyball team's pole terribly shook and Akagi was hanging for dear life at the top. Crap.
Suna: "OI 'RAT, WHERE YOU GOIN'?"
Atsumu: "RESUME THE CHARGE, IMMA SUPPORT THE FRONT S'OZ THE BACK'S CRUMBLING!"
Osamu: "NO, I'LL PUSH THE FRONT GO ASSIST IN THE BACK!"
True enough, the pole is slanting several degrees to the right, out of balance. One player from other team jumped and his feet were now in Omimi Ren's shoulders. The latter grunted and tried to throw him away but got a kick instead. A freshman tried to assist his senpai by pushing him away from the pole, losing his balance, and therefore shaking away the climber on his back. Both fell to the ground. Atsumu arrived just in time to retake Omimi's position while also dangerously kicking the other players who were bracing themselves for another jump attack. Omimi got back up and helped Osamu in the front to push the pole to the left for better balance. The pole somehow straightened and they hear Akagi sigh in relief. He was in the clear for now.
Meanwhile, in the basketball team's pole, its tallest players were gathered around the pole with their smallest player, their pointguard, Isao, barking instructions at the top. It seems that the more agile players were the ones doing the attacks and the pillars are the ones holding the fort. The player at the top was scowling as he realized their first attempt seem to have failed. He gave a signal to two giant players under him and the two left the pole and ran towards their fallen comrades. They picked up two of them and suddenly motioned for a 'throw' towards the volleyball team's pole. Atsumu noticed this shouted, "HEY, CUP YOUR HANDS AND GIMME A LIFT TOWARDS AKAGI!" His kouhai did as he was told, he was lifted upwards and now Atsumu was using Omimi's shoulders as his stand, Akagi right beside him.
Suna knew that they are clearly at a disadvantage. He ordered his 2 remaining attack unit comrades, Aran and Ginjima, to retreat and help the defense, which they obliged, no problem. Ginjima and him hurriedly ran and strengthened the foundation of the pole, while Aran picked up the stray basketball team members who were on the ground and piled their bodies near the pole before they will be thrown by the two giants again towards Akagi's place. He pinned the four of them, not giving them any room for movement, and thank goodness they were small guys.
The basketball team felt smug as there were no more attackers who are going after their pole.
When the first guy came flying towards the center, Akagi made his one hand let go it the pole, swerved to the right in a circling motion to gain momentum, and kicked the poor guy square in the chest. He landed right back at the guy who threw him. 2 more down. Another guy was thrown towards the center but this time it hit right where Atsumu was standing. The base shook again and the pole slanted few degrees to the right. Suna and Ginjima went there for support to steady its balance. It took all of Omimi's strength and two more kouhais at the base to keep the rat from falling as they were thrown few feet backwards.
The guy who was thrown was now pulling Akagi down from the top. The latter kicked, refusing to go down. The guy kept pulling when he suddenly yelped in pain. "AAAAHHHHHHH!!" Somebody from the volleyball team was biting his leg. It was Osamu. The guy fell from the top.
Atsumu: "GROSS 'SAMU! I KNEW YOU'D EAT ANYTHING BUT THAT'S NOT FOOD!"
Seeing that the pole was now steady, Suna and Ginjima lunged for the remaining guy in attack. He was tall and with huge build, not very easily toppled. The two tried to push him to the ground, but their strength wasn't enough. Just then, the guy was pushed from behind, by no other than Aran, who was using the fallen basketball player whom Osamu bit earlier like a baseball bat. The guy fell to the ground, and the twins ran towards him, pinning him to the ground, along with his other fallen comrades.
"HURRY, TILT THE POLE!" Kita ordered from pole's base. Everyone understood this. They planned it earlier after all.
"If we can, let's knock down as many of their players as possible and pile them on the ground to restrict their movement. To keep them from returning to their base, we trap them using the pole. Let's leave only the stronger ones to add in the pole's weight and lock them in their pinned positions. I'm not fond of hurting people so let's just minimize the harm as much as we can. Are there any questions?"
"There it is, Mr. No-Gaps Kita Shinsuke. Man, talk about scary." Suna muttered under his breath.
The basketball team didn't like what they are seeing. They shouldn't have relaxed and watch the situation unravel before their very eyes. Isao isn't pleased with this huge miscalculation. Eight of their players, including their two biggest ones, are trapped under the opponent's pole, which was tilted at an extreme 30-degree angle. One, two, two and three players are under it, respectively.
Akagi remained at the top of the pole, while Reisuke was pushing it downward from one end, Omimi supporting the other end, and Aran was lying down, using his body's entire weight to trap the caught guys from behind.
"WHAT? THEY ONLY HAVE 4 PEOPLE ON DEFENSE?!" Isao roared.
"That's the Law of Leverage, loser." Osamu replied. Suna wondered if he knew or understand what the law of leverage is.
"SYNCHRONIZED ATTACK!" The rat yelled. All at once, the twelve attackers from the volleyball team charged forward and tackled the base of the basketball team's pole. Two members from that team met the attack head on.
"BAKAAA!! NO YOU FOOLS!! ONLY FIVE PEOPLE WILL REMAIN IN THE FOUNDATION IF YOU DO THAT!" Isao yelled, but he was too late. The two guys were overwhelmed by their sudden charge.
"KITA-SAN!" Atsumu yelled, cupping his hand from underneath, offering a lift to Kita. Kita doesn't appreciate being tossed but it was rude to ignore Atsumu's offer. He stepped into his outstretched palms and he felt being thrown towards the direction of the pole. Kita positioned himself for a flying kick and he hit the pole. It was falling forcefully towards the ground now.
"THAT'S GRAVITY FOR YA!" Atsumu shouted. Again, Suna wondered if the rat listened to his sensei's discussion on gravity.
Isao was taken aback with that clever technique. Though he was thankful it wasn't him who was hit. However the fall of the pole cannot be stopped and his grasp from the pole was sliding away. But by some miracle, his comrades supported the pole's falling motion and it did not touch the ground yet. Kita scowled. Suna knew that it'll only take a little more push and the pole will go down.
"MOU IPPON, 'SAMU!" Atsumu positioning his hand again the same way as before. Damn, that rat, a setter through and through, Suna thought. This time, it was his twin who was tossed to Isao, and it was almost comical when Osamu it missed the target but landed on the pole anyway, pushing it further down. Osamu pulled Isao's leg down so he can climb the pole. They look absolutely ridiculous. Just then, he thought of a brilliant idea.
Hahaha this is too funny. Suna chuckled and eventually laughed, silently thinking what fun he could have had if he has his phone right now and he was in the sidelines taking horrible pictures. But then, what more fun is there than to actually play in this stupid game?
"KITA-SAN!!" Suna called his captain and crouched down, exposing his back. "JUMP!"
Kita perfectly understood. He did a run-up and sprinted towards Suna's direction, stepped on his back and used the momentum to launch another flying kick towards Isao's direction. Suna's face was pushed forward by the force of Kita's leap. When he looked up, he saw his captain hit the pole again, (he's convinced this time it was on purpose so no one will get hurt, tch) and Isao was finally driven out from his place, as his hand slipped from the pole. Kita has overtaken the top. The Volleyball team won.
Atsumu: "KORAAAAAAAAA!!!"
Osamu: "YAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
Aran: "KEEP IT DOWN, YOU TWO!" and he smacked the back of their heads.
Loud cheers can be heard from all over the field. His teammates were celebrating. Suna's mouth hurt and he can taste blood from inside. He touched his mouth and sure enough, it was bleeding. Probably a busted lip. But he doesn't care. That was fun.
"KITA-SAN, NICE KILL!!" Ginjima added, giving Kita a high-five.
"Hey should get that treated immediately." Kita approached him.
"Yeah." With that, he made his way to the tent / bench to look for a towel.
--
"Here." He looked to the right and saw the president handing him a towel.
"Thanks." He took it and brought it to his mouth.
"Have the medics check that after."
"Yeah."
"I also brought you this." She was handing out a pack of jelly sticks to him.
CHUUPEET!!
"Congrats on the win. That was a cool move right there." Was she actually complimenting him?
Suna was feeling elated. That's two wins for today. He smiled to Megumi. "I know."