Unpolished Gems

Chapter 47

"The flow that Oikawa created..."

[Name] pumped his fist lightly as Hinata and the others were quick to appear behind him, each one saying their own form of congratulations.

Although it was a short-lived moment, Karasuno's morale seemed to boost right back as it was finally their turn to serve again. [Name] stood at the serving line as he spun the ball in his hands lightly.

'The flow finally changed again.' Kageyama thought as he glanced back just in time to see the genius spiker throw the ball up high. 'But it's early...'

The players of Aoba Johsai held their breaths as they waited for what type of serve it was going to be. No matter what they did, they couldn't figure out a pattern of how he moved.

Intentional or not, everyone has certain habits they fall back onto. They had set patterns engraved into their brains, something that their bodies follow out of instinct. But [Name].... they couldn't decipher anything about his movements, he was a total enigma.

It was as though everything was done on a whim for him.

'How annoying.' Oikawa clicked his tongue as he watched the ball soar up high before flying over to their side of the net. As much as he wanted to say that everyone could be deciphered eventually, he knew there was a different class of people who could make decisions last second and still execute them perfectly.

It was a type of genius he hated, it was a type of genius [Name] was, and it was also a type of genius he knew he'd never be.

"Go Karasuno!" A few people eventually started cheering for them as they scored another point, bringing back their two-point lead.

[Name] wiped his jaw which was starting to prick with sweat with the back of his hand. A tired sigh escaped his lips as he waited for the ball to be handed back to him. His eyes turned to the scoreboard for a moment. 17-15 in their favor.

'Just a few more and the first set is done.' He thought tiredly. Then after that, there's the second set....maybe even a third set if they're unlucky. Shaking his head, he was quick to focus on their current match,

He can't be thinking of future possibilities yet. It'll only tire him out more. The most optimal route would be to win in straight sets but despite his skills, he knew they wouldn't be able to achieve that goal so easily.

Seijoh was a fighter. They won't go down so easily based on the matches he's heard about them and Shiratorizawa. While they do go down eventually with enough brute force, that wasn't exactly Karasuno's specialty.

"Nice serve!" Daichi called out as [Name] prepped himself for his next throw. His head tilted sideways as he thought over what he should do next.

If he truly wanted to, he could keep trying to repeat Oikawa's jump serves but that can only go so well. He could also try to keep switching things up, basically wrack up enough points through service aces until the first set is done.

But deep within, his conscience spoke to him. Although nothing was wrong with what he was thinking, it still wouldn't be fair to the other players on the court. If he does this, they can win the first set but will it really feel like a win?

He's usually one of the best players when entering the court so he can't exactly speak for other people, but he wasn't blind. He could see the grief and regret that lingers in the eyes of those background people filled with so much passion and dreams but not enough talent.

He could see how regretful they were for not being able to do more and knowing Karasuno, they'd definitely feel that way if he were to end up doing everything by himself.