The Receive

Following the next day after the long series of matches from the second day of the Spring High, groups of people had started to bunch towards the Sendai City Gymnasium.

Adults, students and even children with their family had come to see the big match between Karasuno and Shiratorizawa to decide who would represent the Miyagi prefecture in the Spring High Tournament Nationals.

"I know that we came here last time but the atmosphere here makes my stomach upset…"

"Yeah, I get how you feel."

Hinata mumbled his sentence and placed his hand to his belly trying his best to calm it down. Yamaguchi who was right behind him had a wry smile on his face but you were able to see his quivering mouth.

"Should we widen the gap for you."

"I would like that. Oh! But if you see an opportunity to touch the ball or to even block it, I will just adjust myself like how we did during the game against Fukurodani."

"I'll just provide a soft block in the middle and follow your tempo when you set it up. But I might need to watch out for their middle blocker."

"That's fine, I'll adjust it when I see the situation at the front."

Nishinoya tapped his chest and replied to Haruto who wanted to talk for a bit before they would go out and play. Tsukishima also told his thoughts and Haruto began to speak on what they could do.

Entering the gym the sounds of people cheering and specific sections of the stands yelling for their school, entered the ears of the team.

"I feel like this match has a bit more people watching it compared to the Inter Highs…"

"I heard they're going to broadcast this match. You can see the camera's over there."

Daichi pointed towards the sides of the court where huge camera's were placed and Hinata felt his stomach churn even more than it already was.

He looked at his surroundings and wanted to see if other people were feeling the same nerves he was having knowing that they would be on television. 

Hinata's eyes landed on Kageyama who was calmly tying his shoes while looking at his fingers to see if his nails were too long. He then looked at Haruto who he saw was strangely quiet during the time they first entered the gym.

'Those guys don't look nervous at all…' He swallowed a bit as he mentally praised their mental power.

'I shouldn't lose to them.'

Hinata slapped his cheeks and took in a deep breath as he didn't want to seem weak towards the people he didn't want to lose against.

A little while after getting their gear and uniforms on, Shiratorizawa entered the gym and the atmosphere really turned up making it worthy of a finals match. 

Tsutomu who was walking near the back saw Haruto and waved his hand but suddenly felt a shiver crawl down his spine when he saw his coach eyeing him from the side. His raised arm awkwardly moved towards his nose and Tsutomu pretended to rub it while his head turned away.

'What is this idiot doing?' Haruto felt his lips twitch as he tried to hold in his chuckle and just gave a small wave back before going to his bench after hearing Ukai's call.

[NOW, JAPAN BOYS VOLLEYBALL, MIYAGI PREFECTURE SPRING HIGH FINALS. KARASUNO HIGH VS. SHIRATORIZAWA ACADEMY]

[WE WILL NOW INTRODUCE THE PLAYERS.]

The speaker on the announcement spoke out as players from each of the teams were called out by their name and jersey number. As every player was called out, each of them showed a different reaction.

Kageyama tried to look normal but he had an excited look on his face while Hinata varied by showing an awkward face as he didn't know what to do.

Haruto waved his hands around as he saw some people in the stands, notable Yui who also came to watch and some other people such as Tsukishima's brother and some players from the Kaji Wild Dogs.

Tsukishima had a sour look on his face when he looked at his brother screaming and calling out his name. He sent a glare his way and he eventually tuned his voice down but still cheered regardless.

After the names were called everyone went back to their benches and were told to quickly finish what they needed to do as they will start in five minutes.

Haruto nodded and quickly went out to get his bottle filled and also meet up with Mahiru who was signaling him to quickly see her. 

Walking out of the door he saw Mahiru looking at him and quickly went up to get close.

"How are you feeling?"

"A bit nervous but nothing too bad."

Mahiru's eyes scanned his face and saw how his small smile contained a bit of nervousness but that was quickly overshadowed by the confident look in his eyes.

Whether it was in his team or in himself, Mahiru didn't know but she knew that this match was an important one for him.

'What can I do…' Mahiru debated in her head on what she could do to support him when an idea suddenly popped in her head.

Her cheeks turned a shade of red as she looked at her surroundings to see who was near them before turning them back to Haruto who finished filling his bottle.

"Haruto, come closer…" 

Haruto heard her soft whisper and came close to her without a single thought. His eyes widened when he saw Mahiru's face approach his own and felt the softness of her lips onto his.

After having their moment together, Mahiru separated and hid her face onto his chest feeling embarrassed with doing it around people even if they weren't paying any attention to them.

"Do your best okay…"

"...Is this what you call an angel's blessing before a match?"

"What nonsense are you saying?"

Haruto felt a smile appear on his face and chuckled a bit when he saw Mahiru's tiny glare being sent towards him from under.

"Thanks. I'll do my best." Haruto placed his lips on top of Mahiru's head and gave her a quick long squeeze before letting go. He was able to see her nostrils flare up as she put on an encouraging gesture and Haruto sent a kind smile her way.

He turned around and walked back into the gymnasium, eager to play more than ever as he had got a blessing from the kind angel by his side.

***

"SHI-RA-TORI-ZAWA!!! SHI-RA-TORI-ZAWA!!"

"KARASUNO GO GO! KARASUNO GO GO!!"

*Tweet

Amidst the cheers from each section of the stands, the whistle from the ref was heard and the players from both teams started to walk into their positions on the court.

"Asahi, nice serve!!"

Daichi called out as he took in a deep breath, amping himself for the set that was about to happen. 

Winning the coin toss, Karasuno had the chance to get the first serve with Asahi getting the ball and walking a few spaces behind the service line.

*Tweet

He had heard the whistle and bounced the ball a few times before throwing it up into the air. Doing his approach, Asahi contacted the ball in the air and brought his elbow forward, following through with his swing.

With the ball crossing over to the net, its spin caused it to dip a bit down towards the space between Tsutomu and another player.

"Got it!"

Tsutomu called out as he lowered his body and placed a bit of strength into his forearms so the serve could just bounce off him. Noticing the contact he guided it towards the setter and waited for him to use the ball.

"Ushijima-san!"

Giving a set behind him, Ushijima carefully watched the ball before moving his feet to smash the ball through whatever obstacles came his way.

'The set is closer to the line…'

Haruto noted as he led the blockers at the front and planted his feet into the ground to set the distance of where the block should be set.

'Nice block.'

Nishinoya licked his lips as he saw how the line was nicely visible but it didn't have too much space for Ushijima to take advantage of.

"Huff!"

Tensing his core solid, Ushijima crossed his left arm and smashed the ball down the line where Nishinoya was placed quietly, waiting for the spike.

It came towards him and he felt the power that came along with the ball, remembering the feeling it gave off from their match during the Inter Highs.

Heavy.

Nishinoya allowed his body to move back to try and absorb the force. He was able to successfully bring the ball upwards but he failed to absorb the power that was behind it.

"Shit! My bad, it's going long!!" He cursed under his breath before calling out as he watched it go back onto Shiratorizawa's side.

"Free ball!"

The libero quickly got in place, noticing the ball going back to their side. He passed it again to the setter who again gave the ball to Ushijima.

Haruto watched the set again and decided that this time should be one where he places his arms on the ball to help reduce the speed for the people in the back row.

"We're closing the line."

Hearing his words, Tsukishima and Kageyama nodded and shifted their feet towards their left side.

Haruto led the block and waited for the timing where Ushijima would bring his arm down so they could set up the block at its strongest point.

Pushing his arms forwards, Haruto felt a strong power fight against his arms as he placed strength into the block so it didn't easily break apart.

"Touch!" 

Haruto yelled out as he looked behind him and saw how Daichi was already moving backwards to pass that ball.

Putting his arms over his head, Daichi pushed the ball towards Kageyama who was already deciding on what to do.

Noticing Haruto beginning his approach, he gave a fast set towards the outside which had a bit of height added to it.

Opening up his body towards the setter, Haruto kept his body upright as he crossed his right arm across his body, hitting it down the line.

The ball flew between the gap of the antenna and Ushijima and quickly descended towards the floor where their libero was waiting.

He lowered himself forward as he noticed that he was a bit far back and had his arms contact the ball.

Due to his unstable platform, the ball flew off him and like how it had happened with Nishinoya it flew back towards his opponent's side.

Daichi who was going after the ball in front of him, suddenly stopped when he briefly saw his foot touch the line.

"Out!!"

Raising his hands upwards he signaled the ball to be out and saw where the ball landed on the floor.

*Swoosh

The linesmen who carefully watched the ball, raised their flags up into the air and signaled that the ball was out. Allowing for Karasuno to get the first point of the game.

"That was way too intense for just the first point."

"I get what you mean."

Yachi who was in the stands, felt a nervous cold sweat drip down her back as she recalled how fast they needed to move just to pass and block the ball from both sides.

"I'm happy to know that they're not as helpless as they were last time..." Mahiru noted as Karasuno's defense had improved greatly that they were somewhat prepared to face Ushijima spikes. 

*BOOM

Mahiru suddenly frowned when she saw how Ushijima managed to hit the ball at a powerful angle that bounced off the triple block Karasuno held up. 

'It's [1-1]..' Mahiru let out a sigh and prepared herself as this was going to be a long game.

Haruto who was on the court, briefly glanced at his forearms as he walked in place to receive the ball.

'I need to steadily adjust myself..'

He thought to himself, noticing that Ushijima had also managed to add a bit of flare into his spikes. He repeatedly squeezed his palms together and got down low to pass the potential serve coming his way.

"But it won't take too long..." Haruto mumbled as he focused on the server's body movements. 

***

I hope you enjoyed it. Peacu.