Receiving Practice

Chapter 1

(Chapter is 1615 words)

Yamaguchi bounced the ball on the wooden floor twice. He saw the scoreboard out of the corner of his eye, 22:22. Seijoh and Nekoma were tied, both of the teams only needing 3 points to win and Yamaguchi was just put in the game to hopefully execute his serve. Nervous sweat beat his face as he looked up to see everyone staring at him, waiting for his next move. Yamaguchi took a breath to try and center himself. He threw the ball up into the air and waited for the perfect time to jump up and hit it.

He felt the ball on his hand as he served it onto the other side of the court. It appeared to be heading straight for Nekomas captain.

"I got it!" Kuroo yelled as he got himself into position, ready to receive.

Just as the ball was about to hit his hands, it swerved away from him, earning Seijoh a point. Yamaguchi's team cheered as he let out a relieved sigh. All the members on Nekoma sat there frozen like statues with shocked looks sitting on their faces.

"Shake it off guys, we got the next one!" Kuroo said, hoping to encourage his team.

"Nice serve Yamaguchi, get us another point!" Oikawa said to his teammate, giving him a thumbs up.

Yamaguchi gave him a determined nod and the ball was passed back to him. The whistle loudly blew into the ears of all the players in the gym as Yamaguchi prepared to get another point.

He bounced the ball twice and took a deep breath, just as he did before. He threw the ball in the air and jumped up smacking the ball on impact. The ball was headed to the left corner of the court and looked as if it was going to go out.

"Leave it!" The team libero shouted.

Before they could even realize the ball was in, the whistle blew and Yamaguchi earned another point for Seijoh. The cheers of his teammates re-entered the gym and you could hear a few of the benched members yell out, "Alright Yamaguchi!"

The pinch server smiled in satisfaction and was determined to make this last point and win the practice match for his team. He repeated the same process as he had the last two times and was ready to serve. Before he threw the ball up, he caught a glimpse at his opposing team. They all looked tired, sweaty and an evil aura surrounded them as if daring Tadashi to make a move.

They had no idea what trick Yamaguchi was going to pull out of his hat, but they weren't going down without a fight. The sound of the ball slapping against Yamaguchi's hand echoed throughout the gym. The ball hit the top of the net and slowly fell to the other side. Yaku dove onto the floor to try and reach the ball in time, but sadly failed.

Silence rang through the gym before the whistle had desterbed it. The members of the Seijoh volleyball team cheered and a few of the players on the court ran to give Yamaguchi a high five. Both teams lined up behind the line and thanked each other for the game. Everyone then moved to the side of the court for water and a quick team meeting.

"Great work out there guys, you all played great. Yamaguchi, your serve was fantastic, I can tell that it will be really useful in a real game!" Oikawa smiled and patted his underclassman's shoulder. Yamaguchi blushed at the compliment and at all the attention he wasn't used to.

"Thank you Oikawa-san!" yamaguchi exclaimed as he bowed down. Oikawa only laughed.

"Ok guys, lets head back to our gym and we can work on receiving." The captain ordered the team.

They all agreed and started walking to the exit.

(Meanwhile at Nekomas team meeting)

"Ok. We played a good game even though we lost. This is only a practice match so we don't need to worry." Kuroo said as he wiped sweat away from his forehead.