~Back In The Game~

~Chapter Twenty-Eight~

-Last Time-

"We're ready to play!!" The two exclaim together.

--

"..." Ukai watches as Hinata and Kageyama regroup with their teammates. "Sensei." He says getting Takeda's attention. "Those two."

"Hm? Do you mean Hinata and Kageyama?"

"Yeah. They from the same middle school? Wait, it has to be earlier. The same elementary school then?"

"Oh no. They met at the beginning of this very semester. At first, they didn't hit it off at all. In fact, I hear it was pretty rough...? Ukai-kun?"

"...Now that was cold."

"Huh?...?"

-Small Timeskip- [Score: Municipal Team-20, Karasuno-18]

"Heh! Not bad, kids. Not bad!" Shimada says as one of his teammates tells him it's his serve. Shimada uses a jump float serve. The ball is heading toward Hinata. He gets ready to receive the ball but at the last second, it swerves in a different direction. Hinata dives for the ball but ends up face-planting onto the floor.

"Bwah Ha Ha! Check that out!" Shimada laughs.

"Someone sure is being mature." Takinoue comments sarcastically

"Hmmm? What was that?" Takeda asks. "It didn't seem like a particularly powerful serve from here, but..."

"It's called a Jump Float serve." Ukai interrupts with the answer. "You can do one without the jump, just from a standing position. The point is to hit the ball so it has no spin. That way when it's in the air it'll wobble erratically, curving or dipping unpredictably."

"Oh! So it's like a knuckleball in baseball! Interesting!"

"You can do it in soccer too. They even still call it a knuckleball, though they don't use their hands. By the way, depending on the ball used in the game, it'll move differently. The one we're using today is a type that won't swerve much..."

"Wait! Wait! Let me write this down!" Takeda says scrambling for something to take notes with.

"Do it again, Shimada!" One of the players encourages as said man serves again. Tanaka tries to receive it but fails due to the ball wobbling. This continues.

"That's four in a row." Ukai comments.

'Gee, thanks, coach.' You think sarcastically.

"That rookie pair might have a mean quick set, but everybody's receiving sucks." Ukai continues. "Especially the rookies." The whistle is blown indicating that it's the Municipal Team's match point.

"Time to wrap this up!" Shimada declares as he serves once again. The ball flies toward Daichi, who receives it and passes it to Kageyama. The setter compliments his captain with a 'Nice pass.' Hinata runs to the net and jumps.

"You won't get past us this time, shorty!" Takinoue exclaims as Ashai, another teammate, and he jump to block Hinata. Kageyama sets the ball to Tanaka, who is in the air on the other side of the net.

"Oops!" Asahi says as he follows the ball with his eyes.

"Gah!!" Takinoue looks at Tanaka.

"Hi there!!" Tanaka says. "Didja miss me?!" He asks as he spikes the ball, completely unmarked. Noya receives the ball, sending it to Suga as he gets praised.

"Suga!" Asahi calls for the ball. Suga smiles and calls to Ashai as he sets the ball to him. Hinata rushes to Asahi and jumps to block him. Asahi spikes the ball with so much force that when it hits Hinata's hand he flinches. You wince and watch as the ball hits the floor earning the Municipal Team a point. This point secures them the second set win, in turn, it secures them the game. As the Municipal Team celebrates, Tanaka goes to Hinata.