everything stays - olivia olson . blood warning
today was the day.
the day where everything for shiritorizawa's boys' volleyball could change. today would decide whether or not they go to nationals, and also whether or not they would end the year with a senior manager. for kawanishi taichi, he could capture the girl of his dreams. ushijima could do the same. after months of practice matches and stressing over preliminaries, today was the day that shiritorizawa secured their legacy.
and for y/n, it was where she made her choice where she wanted to be at the end of the year.
up in the stands, multiple people of importance were watching. talent scouts from all over japan had their eye on the high school players, but so did tenma udai, tenma ren, and ushijima kiyoko, as well as oikawa tooru and iwaizumi hajime. across from each other, karasuno's school chants failed to combat shiritorizawa's proud cheers and solid fight song.
the intimidating group walked down the hallways quickly, albeit because they were running late, and they heard the quiet chatter of karasuno ahead.
"so, 'toshi. you scared?" tendou whispered. the hardened stare that sat on ushijima's face softened for a moment, knowing what tendou was referring to.
"i think so. is it normal to be scared?"
"wakatoshi, this is one of the biggest days of your life," tendou said. "i'm amazed you aren't shaking."
ushijima shrugged shortly before hardening his expression once more.
ushijima led his teammates through the double doors, immediately welcomed by the raging sounds of shiritorizawa's large support group. despite the sounds and the people trying to draw his attention, all ushijima's eyes could stick on was the two first years that'd he'd met beforehand, as well as the empty seat beside their coach where y/n and kaori should have been.
the team was signaled by an already seated washijo to begin their own warmups, which they had no problem doing, but it was then that a storm began to brew.
-
in the women's bathroom, y/n carefully washed her hands while kaori changed into her uniform in the changing rooms. y/n's jacket was draped over the counter, purposefully obscuring the shiritorizawa crest. she didn't want to think too much about the day before it was time.
"are you alright, y/n?" kaori asked through the door of her changing room.
"i'm fine."
"you've been really quiet today. if you want me to tell coach that you don't feel well, i'm sure he'll let you take your time."
"no, no. i said that i'd be here for it. i'll just..." y/n stopped to exhale. "focus on the game."
"i'm just saying, i'm sure everyone would understand." kaori walked out with her jacket on over her maroon skirt and black shirt, matching her older sister.
"maybe." y/n sighed and glanced down at her watch. "we should get back."
kaori shortly nodded, though the slight frown on her face was still visible.
-
"shiritorizawa sure is big... i didn't see their managers though?" yachi hitoka exhaled deeply in relief as she and shimizu kiyoko were making their way to the bathrooms. yachi had expressed a slight sickness as her anxiety heightened, so shimizu offered to walk her to the restrooms to calm her down. "i wonder if they're as scary as the actual team... they probably are. do you think they're girls too?" yachi began to let her mind run and shimizu sighed.
