Descending |Haikyuu!! Reader x Various|

.36.

"What?" I replied feebly.

"The vice captain." Ennoshita restated, tucking his phone away and smiling towards me. "I'll need you if I plan to escape this week with my sanity."

There was a moment of quiet, in which I let his question sink in. Vice captain? Me?

"I-I suppose." I nodded, hesitant to sign up for something I didn't really know anything about. "What exactly does that entail?"

"Well, we'd bunk with the other captains and vice captains separate from our team. We have to supervise our teammates' individual practices." He thought for a moment. "Oh, and we get first dibs on meals."

The other captains and vice captains.

I thought about it for a moment. Sure, I knew Kenma and Fukunaga well enough, but what about the others? Complete strangers.

"Um, okay." I answered, really wishing I'd stayed in bed this morning. "Yeah, I'll do it."

∆∆∆

"(Boy Name)!" I responded quickly to Kageyama's yell, diving as the spike was hit. I vaguely noted that I landed a little too roughly, but I didn't have time to worry about the sudden ache in my ribs.

"Sorry! Cover!" I called, pulling myself up from the floor. Ennoshita was suddenly beside me, just past the line to send it back to Kageyama.

The set was too fast to watch from my position, a sign I knew meant Hinata was there to hit it. I watched as the spike hit opposite me, needling through the receivers there.

"Nice kill!" I called to him as the whistle signaled the end of the match.

I huffed out a breath, glad that the pain from my dive was already fading. I glanced towards Nekoma, wondering how they reacted to our victory.

I was nothing short of shocked to see Kenma, the usually calm and collected Kenma, sending me a horribly sour expression. His wrinkled nose and obvious distaste was near comical, if I hadn't been on the receiving end of it.

I hadn't a moment to dwell, though, because Tanaka had suddenly thrown an arm heavily over my shoulder.

"(Boy Name)," He began, "I believe that last save was nothing short of luck and you'll never convince me otherwise." He insisted, voice practically giddy.

"Incorrect, my friend." And then Noya was there, too, hooking an arm over my shoulder. "Pure skill. I know it when I see it."

"And what do you know about skill?" Tanaka questioned, causing me to snort and duck beneath their arms to escape. The two didn't appear to notice my absence, and instead continued to walk ahead as I paused.

I looked back at Nekoma, but they had already gone outside to do their penalties. I wondered, probably a little too anxiously, if Kenma disliked me.

"You'll have to try not to take it personally." A voice spoke from my left, and I jumped a little. "He reserves that look for when someone's giving him trouble."

I looked and found the source to be one of the players who had been playing on the court beside ours. In a teal jersey. With the number one brandished across its front.

"Oh, you saw that." I chuckled, hoping I could somehow push down the anxiety of talking to Fukurodani's captain.

"Yeah." He cracked a smile, but it seemed more polite than humorous. "I'm Akaashi Keiji." He offered his hand.

"Hi, Akaashi. I'm (Boy Name)." I returned the smile, shaking his hand.

"Oh, then you're the--"

"(Boy Name)!" The voice was only half a second warning for its rapidly approaching owner, who didn't appear to be losing momentum as he approached.

"Shōyō!" I half stopped-half caught the bouncing second year. "What is the problem?"

He flashed a large grin, apparently too excited to speak.

"Daichi is coming!" He gushed. "And he's bringing friends!"

"Friends?" Akaashi asked, seeming far too worried about the innocent sentence.

"His team!" Hinata explained, turning towards Akaashi. "Aren't you so excited, (Boy Name)?"

"Y-Yeah." I grinned, suddenly very excited. "Are they playing?"

"Yeah, he's bringing some of the first string team to play against all of us!"

A college team. A first string college team. A powerhouse first string college team.

"What's the matter, Akaashi-san?" Hinata asked, bringing me back from my sudden daydreams.

"Oh, nothing, Hinata." He offered a flippant hand gesture. "I just have a sneaking suspicion." There was a moment's pause.

"You don't think that--"

"I actually do." He interrupted Hinata's question. "We're in for it if I'm correct."

"I'm lost." I admitted, confused at the range of emotions on both of their faces.

"Well, I've come up with a wild guess as to who would want to come to a high school training camp." Akaashi started, looking wary. "We happen to know quite a few...players who went to Chuo last year."

"Really? Like who?" I asked, but I never got the chance to receive an answer.

Because, all of a sudden, all attention was spent at the cost of quite a few new arrivals. All heads whipped around to take in the gaggle of overly athletic college-age guys entering the gym, escorted by coach Nekomata and Ukai.

I started to join the rest of the gym as they approached the group of seven, but something made me stop dead in my tracks.

"Are you okay, (Boy Name)?" Hinata asked when he realized I wasn't following.

I recognized Sawamura Daichi, as expected.

I didn't know the others. There was a tall, intimidating looking guy with abhorrent bed head, sticking close to a muscular guy with eyebrows that made him look permanently surprised and a hair style that reminded me uncannily of an owl.

They were quickly followed by an imposing giant with an impeccable deadpan expression, who was listening to a smirking red-head who had a mischievous look in his eye.

Bringing up the rear was a short, amused-looking guy who looked normal compared to the others. What really pulled me up short was who he was talking to.

Something I hadn't expected to see.

A familiar face.

Quick Addendum:

In order to avoid some confusion;
The team is comprised of, in order of appearance:

Sawamura Daichi • Karasuno
Kuroo Tetsurō • Nekoma
Bokuto Kōtarō • Fukurodani
Ushijima Wakatoshi • Shiratorizawa
Tendō Satori • Shiratorizawa
Komi Haruki • Fukurodani

And mystery dude.