Unpolished Gems

Chapter 37

'Karasuno's quickest offender is that number 10 but our wall can more than cope with him' Date Tech's coach thought as he closely watched his team's opponent. Although he was confident in his team's abilities, he needed to watch Karasuno closely. 'Why are they so composed then?'

"This is tiring..." [Name] mumbled as he stood there in a slacked position, his arms on his hips as he stared at the ceiling and waited for the next rally to start. Everything was going way longer than he had anticipated.

The scores were currently at 3-2 with Karasuno leading. Everyone was in position as they waited for Date Tech's number 6 to do their serve.

"[Name]!" Nishinoya called as he saw the closest person the ball was flying towards. The white-haired teen blinked at the call as he watched the ball fly at him quickly.

Shifting awkwardly, he lowered his stance the same way he's observed Daichi do and managed to get the ball up. Although he still sucked at receiving, he was at least learning by observing other people and picking up on certain things.

'First touch...' [Name] thought as he watched the ball fly over to Kageyama. From his peripheral vision, he also noticed Hinata starting to make his move around the court like he usually does for their quick attack.

As expected, the duo pulled off their impossibly fast toss and spike attack, catching Date Tech, along with everyone else in the stands, off guard. It was the usual reaction for people that haven't witnessed the attack yet.

The sight of Date Tech's usually attentive Iron Wall looking so shocked would've been comical had [Name[ been paying attention. Unfortunately, his mind was elsewhere causing him to be a bit distracted.

'That toss...' He thought, his hand clutching the side of his shirt. A deep sense of disappointment filled him as he made a realization. 'It doesn't excite me as much anymore.'

His lips seemed to turn into a straight line as he gazed blankly at the scene of Hinata celebrating beside Kageyama. He usually would be amazed or feel a bit pumped up at the sight of the toss yet right now, he wasn't feeling anything.

Is this the result of seeing the toss one too many times? Or was he just getting bored of volleyball again? Either way, it wasn't a good feeling as he stood there looking lost in the middle of the court while everyone huddled around Hinata and congratulated him.

"Do it, Tsukishima." He heard Nishinoya speak from behind him as he switched out of the court for the middle blocker. This interaction seemed to momentarily distract [Name] from his thoughts as he glanced at the blonde.

They made eye contact for a split second before giving each other a small nod, a sort of neutral thing they do every once in a while. They weren't exactly close but they didn't exactly dislike each other either.

"King, make sure you toss far from the net," Tsukishima spoke in his usual condescending tone as he approached their setter. "I don't want to be blocked."

Kageyama responded to this with silence as he gave the other a dark look. "Fine." He eventually agreed, albeit a bit hesitant, as he turned away in an annoyed manner.

"What?" Tsukishima asked with an equally annoyed look on his face.

"I got it, okay?" Kageyama yelled as he increasingly got more irked.

"I couldn't hear you properly." Tsukishima sighed as he stood there a lot calmer compared to the setter. "Don't take orders from commoners, huh?"

"What?"

[Name] couldn't help but watch the interaction in amusement. The dark feeling swirling within his chest disappeared for a moment as the sight brought him a comforting feeling of nostalgia. It was just like how a few people interacted with each other in Blue Lock and that made him feel a bit....lighter.