Unpolished Gems

chapter 45

"Awesome! You're not losing to the great king!" Hinata cheered as he bounced his way over to his fellow first years. A sloppy grin was present on his face he continued to make animated movements while speaking.

"He may be the best all-rounder in the prefecture, but I'm the best setter!" Kageyama proclaimed as he turned back to stare at Oikawa's behind. While he didn't want to be petty, he made sure to louden his voice so the other could hear the last bit of his sentence.

"Best setter..." [Name] hummed contemplatively from behind Kageyama. The grip he had on Kageyama's shoulder tightened lightly as he looked at the other's face curiously. 

"But it's your serve next!" Hinata informed causing an embarrassed look of realization to flash onto Kageyama's face.

"Huh, he's right." [Name] snapped out of his thoughts and affirmed the sentence as he looked around the court and noted who was standing in what position now. "You're at the rear now."

"That means you can't do the same attack next. It's against the rules!" Hinata continued to babble on, completely disregarding the now-shaking Kageyama.

"Shut up!" Kageyama yelled in embarrassment as he stomped his way over to the serving area with his hands balled into fists by his side. "I meant when I'm back at the front!"

The childish behavior seemed to garner a soft snort from [Name] as he watched in amusement. The noise caught Hinata's attention causing the ginger to snicker knowingly at the sight of how [Name] was staring at Kageyama.

"So [Name]..." Ever the great—self-proclaimed in Kageyama's words—best friend he was, Hinata discreetly slid himself beside the white-haired spiker with a grin on his face. "Kageyama, huh?"

"Hm? What about him?" [Name] asked questioningly with a confused look on his face.

"What do you think of-" A loud whistle from the referee quickly caught the ginger off as his back straightened at the noise. "Ah, I'll ask again later. Sorry!"

"Huh..." [Name]'s eyes narrowed in confusion as he wondered what the hell the was about. Shrugging, he shoved it in the back of his mind and made his way over to his new position before Daichi comes and yells at him.

"Go for it, Kageyama!" The captain yells loudly as the setter bounces the ball on the floor. After a few warm-ups, he grips it tightly before waiting for his cue.

Throwing up in the air, Kageyama was quick to follow with large steps before jumping up and spiking the ball hard.

'Damn!' He cursed internally at the amount of force he accidentally put onto the hit. 

"Out! Out!"

All eyes followed the ball that went past Aoba Johsai's side of the court. As expected, it went way over bounds and bounced off the side of the wall.

"That missed with style," Iwaizumi commented with an amused smile playing on his lips while Oikawa merely chuckled behind him.

"It was a home run."

"Damn!" Kageyama sulked as an embarrassed flush once again took over his cheeks. A dark aura seemed to surround him at that moment due to his failure.

"Don't worry!"

"Still, I'm sorry!" Kageyama gave a low bow despite the reassurance from his teammates.

"It's fine." [Name] murmured from his spot without turning around. Although it wasn't the loudest he's spoken, it was enough for the setter to hear. "It was one point and everyone makes mistakes. Let's just get it back, okay?"

Taking a deep breath, Kageyama kept his composure and gave a wordless nod as he moved on and settled into his spot.

"Let me show you how it's done!" Oikawa spoke to himself as he grabbed the ball and pointed it towards the other team. It looks like it's his turn to serve now.