Chapter 14: More Tedious Gameplay

[8-5]

Yukigaoka's favor.

Hayato rushed in front, his sneakers snapping into the ground as he hopped. Well hopping was an understatement. He twisted his body as with a serpentine curve, the ball arrived in his slender hands.

A toss.

As he began to descend from the tip of the net, he rolled his eyes back as the ball launched in a fierce back set.

A good set to be sure.

Hinata's competitive spirit raged as he sprinted out at the ball like a voracious bear, arms skewing out as he launched up.

His left hand straightened out like the tip of a spear as his other hand smacked the ball down, his eyes half closed.

A blur of blue followed as the opposing libero snagged the ball back up into the air, racing back as Kageyama fell into place. The prodigious setter narrowed his eyes as his hands lightly tapped the ball, causing it to dance in a high-flying arc.

"Move it!" he roared angrily as the pin began his approach, hands back as he jumped up, eyes focused solely on the ball.

Hayato arrived at a candid pace, swinging his hands aside and shooting up. The width of his arms went straight over the net as the outside swung.

*Wam!*

Area 5.

The ball snagged off the side of Hayato's arm as it sped towards Seiya, who froze up, waving his arm as it zagged straight through his legs. Landing on the tips of his feet, Hayato sighed.

A one man block could be easily circumvented if one were to just aim right. It seemed that Kitagawa Daichi was turning it up a notch. Sometimes he could block their hits, and sometimes he couldn't. But when he had the hitters contained, Hayato could shut them down every single time.

[8-6]

The opposing crowd roared in approval of the hit, while the outside hitter smiled joyously.

The next few points were a constant back and forth, Yukigaoka's lead constantly shaken as the Kitagawa Players began to adjust. Of course, not all things were going in their favor. Hinata managed a few good hits in the line, Koji managed to tip a ball and save a few with various unconventional means, and of course, Hayato simply stuffed out quite a bit of opposition.

[20-20]

The crowd raged and roared as they shook their styrofoam beaters and yelled their voices out. Among the crowd, Karasuno watched in anticipation as the possibly last set began to convene. Sugawara and Daichi watched closely.

"In my opinion…. If Kitagawa Daiichi had been more prepared and known about their opponents beforehand, the first set could have been different. While No. 7 has the ability to carry a lot of points for his team, volleyball isn't a one man show." Analyzing the situation, Sugawara ruffled his own hair, the others turning to him.

"He knows it too. Seems like a pretty nice guy." Tanaka shook his water bottle, droplets falling into his mouth as Hayato set the ball back row, a panicked Kawashima managing to knock it over the net.

Remaining silent, Daichi watched intently as the rallies continued on.

Usually, a rally in volleyball would only last an upward of seven seconds in the lower pools. Either someone got blocked on the first bump-set-spike, or a hit landed. To the players though, it seemed as if each struggle for a point lasted an eternity…..

Hayato felt his heart burst out of his chest as he sprinted. Trying to keep a steady breath, the handsome youth hooked the ball over his shoulder, sending it straight to Izumi, who bumped the ball over high.

"Free ball!!!!"

A chorus of shouts arose as the Kitagawa Daiichi players shifted and ran, getting into their positions as the ball was dug.

Exhaling loudly, Hayato felt his body falter a little. He needed to end this damned set soon or his body would probably give out. It was honestly miraculous how much stamina he held as a little middle schooler, but his tank was running low.

On the other side, Kageyama flicked the ball to the right-side hitter, who skirted up,

Gritting his teeth, Hayato's hands spread up as he side-stepped long, pulling himself up to the net, a great monolith.

The opposite gritted his teeth and his eyes dilated as he winced, left hand whirling as the berth of his hand slammed into the ball.

Straight down.

Denied.

Disrespected.

The ball swirled forth as it sped… Into the demonic Yukigaoka Setters forearms. Like a flying carp smashing into a brick wall, the ball had nowhere else to go then straight down.

His bleach-brown hair batting about, the opposite landed, the heels of his feet crashing into the wooden floor as he uselessly waved his hand.

Hayato groaned as his muscles throbbed and his mid spun a little

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Author Notes:

Hi. If you didn't know, I have not touched this fanfiction in quite some time. Why didn't I update for such a long time? Dunno. Just didn't feel like it. My update schedule is also whenever.

But mostly I sorta messed up the pacing…. And there are some inconsistencies. I also went overboard with my main character's volleyball skills and physical capabilities. But that plot hole, I am going to pointedly push into the dirt. Just don't mention it.

I'm probably gonna make Yukigaoka lose so I can take a break from thinking about the fifty ways I can describe a person serving a ball. If I made them win, I might go overboard with the next game and go against some random team and make it another twenty chapters.

I need to take a step back and ease my writing into a different more well-paced format. Also, I've decided to for the most part, completely disrespect rotations. I hate remembering to write about certain rotations. Dunno how the author did it.

My writing skills when talking about Volleyball is kinda bad right now so yeah. Also, the main reason I even felt like writing this chapter is because Club Volleyball Season in my area is almost in full swing.

Don't expect consistent updates though.

Don't expect consistent updates.

Don't expect consistent updates.

Don't expect consistent updates.

Don't expect consistent updates.

Don't expect consistent updates.