Behind a strong man [Ushiwaka /Oc]

Chapter 10 - A big moment

Behind a strong man

stands a woman cheering him on

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For the last month she had been reminded of it everyday. Tobio had made a big red circle on the calendar around the date of the finals and they were today. Tamiko was already up and doing chores in the kitchen when Tobio joined her for breakfast that Sunday morning. She could tell he was excited. He was fidgety and wore that suppressed smile of his. She didn't say anything about it. Instead she made him breakfast with his favourite glass of milk. After breakfast he quickly got ready since the team wanted to meet up nice and early.

"See you later." she said as he walked out of the door.

The rest of the morning she cleaned up.The school had already arranged the busses for the students to see the finals so she still had some time left. Since it was a school event, she put on her school uniform and drove to school. A lot of students were already gathered on the big carpark when she arrived. The bus for the volleyball team was already gone.

"Kageyama-senpai!" two girls called and waved.

She waved back to them. Those two were her juniors in the music activities and they adored her. She didn't know why but it didn't bother her. A teacher told her which bus to go on and when she climbed in, she was greeted.

"Tamiko-chan." a girl called. "I got you a seat."

Her name was Izumi and she was the only real friend she had in school apart from the boys of the volleyball club. They have gone to the same junior high school and have known each other for a while.

"Thanks, Izumi-chan." she said to the blond as she sat down.

"I can't believe Aoba Johsai lost. I wanted to see Oikawa-san." Izumi complained.

Tamiko didn't say anything to that. Every girl was complaining about that. Tamiko gazed out of the bus while more students climbed into the buss and took their seats.

"You saw their match yesterday, right?" Izumi asked.

"Yeah." she nodded.

"Karasuno must have a strong line-up." she ventured a guess.

"They have a few strong players. But I think it is their playing style that did the trick." Tamiko stated.

"Playing style?"

"Crows always flock into groups. One is lost without the others. They have beautiful teamwork." Tamiko smiled to herself.

"But Tamiko-chan, volleyball is a team sport. Of course they use teamwork. Our team included." Izumi reminded her.

"Not really. They focus on Ushijima too much to get the points. Like a single eagle." she persisted.

The drive to Sendai City Gymnasium didn't take too long. A lot more cars were parked by the stadium than for the other matches. It was clear that this was a big match. The stream of students flooded into the stadium and everyone took their seats. Tamiko and Izumi sat at the front just opposite the bench. It was a good view. A wave of black and orange sat at the other end. The players of Karasuno were also already on the court. Cameras were placed, the buzzer was checked, people were chatting. It was a lot of noise.

"Alright guys." one of the boys said. "Let's get ready for the cheering."

All of the students stood, all except Tamiko. A teacher saw this and walked over to her while the students started their chanting. With whispers she explained and the teacher nodded in understanding. She felt a little like a stranger amongst the chants. Izumi didn't ask since the players walked onto the court. Everyone cheered but Tamiko just gazed down at the boys as they started to warm up. She could tell their were in tip top shape. But Karasuno wasn't lacking. When Hinata hit a spike straight down, everyone was shocked.