Kageyama's Queen of the School [Kageyama Tobio]

[10] End of the Game, Beginning of a Friendly Rivalry!

The whistle blew at 25 to 23 as the second set was won by Nekoma, my notes forgotten and my sense of position lost. I could faintly hear my name being called but nothing really could snap me out of my dreamy stupor.

Kageyama and Hinata hurried to huddle up with Nishinoya and the Captain as Ennoshita tripped on a stray volleyball.

Dad had to basically drag me to meet with the team once he realized I wasn't hearing Suga's calls, carrying my paralyzed body roughly down the stairs and over to the side benches where he quickly handed his responsibilities over me to Ukai, who wasn't too happy with the sudden arrangements. Takeda Sensei waved his hands over my face and fidgeted nervously when I lacked a response.

I replayed the wink in my head and let my shoulders drop, smiling weakly.

"Why is she so happy? We lost." Yamaguchi whispered a few feet away, clinging onto Tsukishima's uniform nervously despite being shrugged off twice already.

"Who cares, she's sadistic like her idiot boyfriend," Tsukishima mumbled. He flicked Yamaguchi's forehead and frowned, "Get off."

"Gomen, Tsukki!"

This finally caught my attention and I let my gaze shift over towards them.

"Be nice, Tsukishima," I warned with a wave of my finger, finding the strength to stand up from the bench and join the other members.

I wobbled over, ignoring Ukai's snickers.
My legs felt weak. I'd managed to see Kenna's astounding dive, connecting the ball to win the match and was at a loss. Not only was I blown away emotionally, but also mentally. This game couldn't have been any more intense.

"I never expected you to be so loud."

I glanced to my left, stiffening as Kageyama let his chin rest again on my head. By natural reaction, I started to heat up but he stayed in place, as though his wink had never happened.

I bit my lip and frowned. Damn him and his stupid indiffere--

"One more!"

Kageyama and I abruptly straightened up at Hinata's sudden shout of desperation, staring at him as he bent over with heavy, strained pants. All of us stared, bewildered. Another one?

On the other side of the net, Nekoma's coach let out a chuckle. "Well that's what practice games are for, right?"

His enthusiasm was contagious as the rest of us began to mimic his own smile, already feeling the rush as another game was suggested. I glanced at Kageyama and he smirked, wiping off his forehead to get back on the court.

-

By the end of the third game, I felt like I'd lost a few years of my life.

Shimizu glanced over my shoulder to see the scoreboard I'd taken, now able tobio sit with me after some leniency by the referee.

22-25
24-26
25-27
30-32

Everyone was past the point of
exhaustion, bent over or on the floor with ragged breaths. By now, I hoped they'd tired themselves out enough to head home. That in mind, I inched up to Kageyama to offer him a new, clean towel so he could wipe himself off but Hinata started to shout again, with, somehow, still enough energy to ask for another game.

"ONE MORE!" he exclaimed with his arms outstretched. Luckily for us, though, Kōchi snatched him up by the back of his collar before he could run up to the front line.

"HEY! C'mon, we're not doing that, we're gonna miss the train!" Ukai shouted as the Nekoma coach watched Hinata, terrified of his endless stamina. I let my shoulders drop and sighed. He had enough energy for both of us.

"Let's play each other in a regular game next time then," Coach Nekomata suggested, letting me breathe out in relief. "We'll have the greatest 'Battle at the Garbage Dump' that anyone's ever seen."

The gym went silent as the collective murmur of excitement from both teams trickled out of their obedient positions. My heart fluttered at the thought, making me grin with the rest of the teams, already picturing the stage where they would give it their all after much more training. It wouldn't be easy and I knew that each one of us would be forced to make sacrifices one way or another, but nothing could shake off the determination we had on our sleeves.

The intensity, the passion, the satisfaction... I bit my lip and glanced at the boys, proud of them even though they hadn't even beaten Nekoma. I could only wonder how far away that special court could be.

-

"LET'S START CLEANING UP!"

Hinata and Kageyama both bared their teeth at each other as they fought over a volleyball that had to be put away, tugging and pulling to make the other let go. I sighed and stood by the cart as I waited for them to realize that there were a lot more volleyballs on the floor.

"Bakeyama!" Hinata shouted as his fingers finally came loose and he went flying backwards, hitting the wall.

My eyes widened and I rushed over, dropping the net I had started to fold.

"Hinata! Be more careful!" I scolded, helping him back up. His eyes were doing in circles and I shook my head, realizing that Kenma was watching, shocked.

And that's when I felt it.

Behind us, Kageyama was intently staring Kenma down, giving me the shivers and frightening Kenma enough to make him scurry away. Unknown to me, Hinata had already felt better enough to make his way over to Inuoka-San and start chatting away about their plays.

Uneasily, I stepped over toward him and leaned over to hear his angry mutters.

"How long have you been playing volleyball? Who taught you? How long have you been a setter? How do you train? Do you get along with your team members? Have you ever hit a wall?"

I tensed, stuttering out his name to snap him out of his trance as goosebumps ran up and down my arms, horrified by his need to be so... demanding.

Before my trembling hand could take hold of his sleeve, Kageyama's head snapped to the side, switching targets to start staring intensely at me instead. I shivered and took a step back.

"You were watching him right?" he asked, stepping forward. I blinked and slid my left foot back.

He pressed on. "Taking notes? Doing your job?"

I pursed my lips and glanced away. My notes were definitely not something I wanted to tell him right away, especially since he was the one that most needed to adjust himself to the new plays that Kenma was using. Knowing him, the news wouldn't go down well.

"Just tell me something, don't try to keep anything from me," he snapped. I frowned and crossed my arms.

Well, there were a few things that he had to work on. There was the feints...

"...and the dumps," I listed, counting on my fingers as I read straight off the notes. He scowled and I smiled. Well, he was the one that asked, so I delivered.

-

Gwahhhhh finally back on the grind with this chapter! I just started Uni today so I'm hoping writing comes back as a relaxer and not a pressure. In any case, please enjoy this chapter and expect another one sometime before the end of next month!

Again, please read my A/N 2 and spread the news, it could literally change my life if you could just share the link or pass on the small word!

-

As long as I'm here, you're invincible.