Unpolished Gems

Chapter 23

At the moment, the score was 5-10 with Nekoma in the lead. Although some points were lost due to Hinata getting blocked a couple of times, Keishin was sure [Name] will be a huge help in getting those points back.

"Nice serve!"

The ball was sent over to Karasuno, something which Nishinoya easily caught. Kageyama was quick to follow through and easily maneuvered himself under the ball. His eyes quickly darted from the approaching Asahi and [Name] as he debated on who he should set to.

Settling on [Name], Kageyama grinned once he realized he made the right decision. The blockers had expected the ball to be sent to the ace so now they were all scrambling to reach the white-haired male.

Jumping up, [Name] had a clear shot for a straight so without a second thought, he hit the ball. Noticing this though, Yaku was quick to run over to receive the ball head-on.

Nekoma readied themselves set up an attack, full confidence flowing through them at the assumption that Yaku would be able to bump the ball up from his position. What they didn't expect though was for a loud whistle to echo through the gym as a signal that the ball has dropped to the ground.

Kuroo immediately turned around in confusion only to see a wide-eyed Yaku on the ground with the ball bouncing away out of bounds.

'No way...'

"Yaku-san, you good?!" Yamamoto was quick to ask as he and the others surrounded their fallen libero with worry. 

"That spike..." Yaku held a bit of a haunted tone as he looked past everyone and stared at the white-haired first-year being jumped on and complimented by his own teammates. "It was insanely strong."

"Eh?" Inuoka asked in disbelief as he looked over in the direction his senior was staring at. "He doesn't look that strong to me."

"Should we call a time-out?" Kuroo asked with a neutral voice, his eyes holding an incomprehensible look.

"No," Kenma was quick to answer as he watched the other team with half-lidded eyes. "Let's continue to observe for now."

"Alright then." Kuroo nodded before sticking a hand out towards the fallen Yaku. Quickly grabbing the outstretched hand, Yaku dusted himself off before seeing the large grin on Kuroo's face.

"What?"

"Don't tell me you're letting that one measly spike get you down?" A teasing tone was present in his voice as he watched a tick mark appear on the other's face.

"HAH?!" Yaku was quick to try and kick the annoying captain. "I was just caught off guard, dammit!"

"Good, good." A sly smirk appeared on Kuroo's face as he looked over at Karasuno's side. His eyes met metallic-grey ones as he places his hands on his hips. "We can't let our libero fall just when the match is finally getting interesting."

With another whistle, the next rally began with Karasuno serving.

Over by Nekoma's bench, Isagi couldn't help but vibrate in his seat seeing as how he can finally see [Name]'s beautiful playing style after so long. 

"Tell me, kid," Nekomata spoke suddenly, his eyes slightly opened to observe the match before him. "Is there something you know about him?"

A small smile appeared on Isagi's face as he feigned his innocence. "I don't know what you mean, Nekomata-sensei. Who exactly are you talking about?"

A small irked smile appeared on Nekomata's face as he let out a sigh. "That white-haired kid over there, you know him. Don't you?"

"Who knows?" Isagi simply shrugged the accusation off as he continued to watch [Name] with a fond smile. "Even if I did, why should I tell you?" A mischievous glint appeared in his eyes as he said those words.