Behind a strong man [Ushiwaka /Oc]

Chapter 8 - A deciding Game

Behind every strong man

stands a woman with a past

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The summer slowly turned to autumn when the middle of September passed. The next matches were starting on October 25th and Tamiko knew it was going to be a long weekend. If Karasuno won every match, she had to go to every match. As the dates first day of the four drew closer, Tobio became more and more excited. The evening before, Tobio was very elated and also anxious. Their next opponents were going to be a teams they have never heard of and knew nothing of, and should they beat them, they would have to face Aoba Johsai and Oikawa again. They had lost last time. She could tell from his expression while they watched television that he was not going to let that happen again. A sigh escaped her as she sank into the sofa, still knitting. The past weekends Tobio had spent in Tokyo and when she was alone she was still in a little state of awe. When she had returned from the summer training camp in August, she had been more than surprised to see the house still standing and the kitchen all cleaned. All she had to do was vacuum through the house, which Tobio had forgotten but that she could forgive. As a reward for his hard work she had cooked him his favourite curry and he even took over more of the chores. Now it was growing darker and gloomier outside as the seasons began to change.

The stadium was more packed than the previous games, mainly because Aoba Johsai and Shiratorizawa were still in the game. But Karasuno had also caught the attention of some spectators. Many came with the purpose of seeing the #9 and #10 combo. Tamiko's heart swelled with pride. Also seeing Tobio interact with his teammates made her happy as well. She could still remember the time when he had his last match at junior high where he had to sit out on the bench. He had refused to leave his room and was very aggressive, especially after he had been turned down from Shiratorizawa. She literally had to slap some sense into him and a week after he had started his first year in high school, his behaviour improved. It had been an emotional rollercoaster that had dragged her along but she had stayed persistent. And now, seeing the result, she was glad that she did help him. He was interacting with the others although he was still complaining and bossing them around but the others seemed to joke around with him. It was a much friendlier atmosphere than from what she heard when he was in junior high.

"Hello, Kageyama-san." Yachi greeted her.

There were also three other spectators. Two former players from Karasuno, who introduced themselves as Makoto Shimada, a dark haired man with glasses, and Yusuke Takinoue, with short messy blond hair. The older sister of Tanaka Ryunosuke was also there. Tamiko introduced herself to the three. The two men were very surprised.

"You are Kageyama's older sister?" Shimada repeated to make sure.

"I didn't think he had one. You two don't look alike." Takinoue noted.

"I know." Tamiko smiled.

"Do you go to Karasuno?" Saeko asked.

"No, I go to Shiratorizawa Academy." she said.

"Wow, it's not easy to get accepted to that school." Shimada commented.

"Yeah. You can even get kicked if you don't fulfil their standards."

"Geez, I wouldn't be able to deal with that pressure." Takinoue claimed and his friend laughed.

The first match passed nicely. Johzenji high school had a lively team and Tamiko enjoy watching the match. Their play was so unpredictable that Tobio took the ball to the face when he tried to block.

"Uh, that must have hurt." Tamiko laughed.

Kageyama was sent off to get the bleeding to stop but Tamiko stayed where she was. She didn't want to get him out of the zone and it was just a nosebleed. Nothing too serious. A more serious injury sadly hit the captain of their team, the following day. In the match against Wakutani South high school Tanaka collided with Daichi, shoulder against cheek. Without a captain on the court, it became a dire situation. But despite the missing foundation, the future captain, although being very nervous himself, managed to organise the team and they won.