Descending |Haikyuu!! Reader x Various|

.25.

The first point I spiked onto the other side of the net was the last of the set. The feeling of the ball on the receiving end of my swing for the first time was a long-awaited yet necessary luxury.

In the limbo between sets, there were high fives all around and encouragements were shouted every few seconds. The morale of the team was steady enough to take the rest of the game, I was sure of it.

"(Boy Name), look." I turned around at Nishinoya's voice, looking into the crowd where he was pointing. The group behind our banner was as large as ever, and it took me a moment to realize who he was pointing out in particular.

I recognized the familiar silver-haired boy easily, and Kiyoko would have been hard to forget. The two of them were on either side of two other guys I didn't really recognize, but they seemed familiar.

"Suga." I smiled, waving with the team as he caught our attention.

"And he brought Asahi! And Daichi!" Noya waved vigorously, and I remembered the names he spouted easily. They were the ace and the captain of Karasuno's strongest team.

Had they been watching the entire time? Did they think I was playing well enough to be a part of the team? Should I have played more offensively in the first set?

I pushed the nerve-inducing thoughts from my mind, and gave my water bottle back to a waiting Yachi.

The court seemed to have cooled down since the last set, and the previous tension had become much less suffocating. I felt like I'd finally found my comfort zone after waiting to go on the offensive for so long.

Admittedly, I should have realized my newfound comfort on the court would come with consequences.

Ennoshita served first, and it went directly where everyone had been aiming so far. Seijou's ace had to dart forward to receive the ball, and I suspected he was out of the running for the immediate attack.

We probably should have guessed the constant targeting of any self-respecting player would make them lash out. Who would have guessed it would be so constructive for Aoba Johsai?

Yahaba sent up a long toss, a little slower than normal. It arced toward the other side of the court, out of the other wing spikers' reach and into the territory I'd started to fear.

Honestly, you never really know when a ball decides to plummet directly towards your face. There is no sixth sense that says, 'Hey, idiot, duck'.

No, you don't know. Not until it's doing its best to become one with your skull. You'll feel a spike plow straight into your nose, that's for damn sure. Especially if the spiker is Kyōtani Kentarō.

I was on the ground in half a second, and I watched the ball sail directly into Kageyama's hands. I was still on the ground when Ennoshita earned us a point. I was bleeding by the time anyone realized.

"(Boy Name)! Are you okay?" Noya was leaning over my line of sight in a second, blocking the lights from my view. No longer blinded by the bright white above me, I could see the team in disarray around me.

I sat up, chuckling slightly as I placed my hand over my bleeding nose. Hopefully, I could avoid dirtying the court.

"I'm fine. Bleeding, though." I let them help me up, and felt someone tugging on my arm gently.

"Come on, (Boy Name). I'll take you to get it checked out." Yachi was at my side, looking on anxiously as she tried hurrying me off.

"O-okay. I'll be back." I was hesitant to leave the court, but I promised the team I'd return soon enough.

I was stepping over the line when Tsukishima was suddenly there. He placed a hand on my shoulder to stop me, and he looked unnecessarily smug about the entire situation.

"Nice receive." He was obviously holding back laughter, and seemed unperturbed about the elbow I sent into his ribs as I walked away.

Before I could actually leave, I watched Ukai send Kinoshita onto the court. At least they'd stay afloat while I was gone.

Yachi didn't say anything as we walked, but she looked increasingly worried about the blood soaked tissue I held to my face.

Once the bleeding stopped, which took a little longer than I would have liked, they did a test for a concussion. When everything turned up aces, I was sent back to play.

Overall, I'd missed about ten minutes of the game. Who would have thought so much damage could be done in so little time?

The score was ten to seventeen, not in our favor. Kinoshita looked like he was boiling alive out there, and Tanaka looked tired for once in his life. Kageyama looked irritated, but most likely aimed towards himself more than anyone.

"Are you good?" Ukai shouted over the noise of the gym as soon as I was in eye sight, and I nodded. I noticed his obvious sigh of relief. "Fix them."

I nodded, not entirely sure what had gone wrong. I was up to the line just in time to catch the last portion of the current play, and it was enough to see the issue.

Noya saved a serve from Yahaba, which had been aimed rather deliberately to the corner, and Kageyama was about to set by the time I felt the rhythm disrupted by something.

I wasn't entirely sure what it was, but the entire play, from the receive to the lackluster spike from Tanaka, was off. The pumped atmosphere had seemed to dissipate.

Where was the energetic team I had walked away from?

The whistle blew for me to come in, and the team finally stopped looking at the ground for the first time since I'd come back.

"I'm gone for a few minutes..." I didn't have to finish my sentence to them to understand. They all seemed to realize just how far they'd fallen in the score, and the trance seemed to break.

"Alright, pouting's over!" Ennoshita called over the general din of the gym. "Your ace is here. Make the best of it."

I tried to ignore the obvious surprise in the other team's mood when he called me the ace. Sure, I may not have proved it yet this game, but, by the end of the set, they wouldn't doubt it.

I am Karasuno's ace.