I've been so busy these last few days that I don't even remember when was the last time I touched my computer. But I did have a splendid idea for somethign to write when there will be the summer training camp! Too bad it's in many time and chapters away...
SoulXHunter : Ahah, I suppose that punching Bokuto is very tempting most of the time, but it wouldn't work with him - he'd probably start crying and then he'd sulk like a child. As for winning, you'll have the answer reading this chapter but yes, Bokuto is a dumbass - still, even if it's hard, I find it interesting to write about the team BEFORE it becomes the one we know from the canon. I write about their potentials and evolutions and how they become a team that can trust each other so much and that's such a great thing for a writer... It's not that I don't like Ubugawa but we haven't seen much of them, and none seems to be the flirting type either (unlike some boys at Shinzen) so... no hitting on Ayaka for now. But don't worry, Bokuto will have lots of jealousy to deal with in the (not so far) future! ;)
curlystruggle : Thank you for your reviews, they made me very happy! ^^
FANFICTION
HAIKYUU! : SOWLMATES
CHAPTER X : The Perks of Playing with a Dimwit – Part II
"You don't always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go, and see what happens."
— Mandy Hale
"As human beings we suffer from an innate tendency to jump to conclusions; to judge people too quickly and to pronounce them failures or heroes without due consideration of the actual facts and ideals of the period."
— Prince
The second set started with a different rhythm from the first one: instead of letting Ubugawa High getting lots of points with their powerful serves, Fukurodani team was now getting used to its power and managed to receive more easily – though, they still needed a lot of work. When it came to attacks, Akaashi was still tossing to the player he considered to be the best choice and despite Bokuto's annoyance at that, the latter didn't dare say a thing – he was way too scared of Akaashi. He swallowed back his pride, kept his mouth shut and forced himself not to get too childish. That, in itself, was exceptional. Akaashi wasn't aware of his power over Bokuto but the rest of the team – and especially Ayaka who knew well enough the moody Ace to guess how he really felt. They knew that Akaashi was definitely an important player, not just thanks to his level which was much higher than all other first-years, and even most of second and third years, but also with the way he managed to take care of Bokuto. Even if there was room to improve for these two as a pair.
"Akaashi-kun is a very skilled setter, his technique is even better than Hisakawa's," Coach Yamiji told Shirofuku.
"Yes, and he gets along well with the team," she answered with a smile, taking notes of the boys' results and the coach's comments.
"Mhm…" Yamiji thought, glancing at the third-years who weren't playing for this match, "That, I do wonder…" He murmured to himself.
If the Captain, Suda, was smiling appreciatively, a little proudly, at the second and first years – they were doing better than expected with Bokuto's moody personality in a first match – the regular setter, Hisakawa, on the other hand was staying away. He was staring attentively at the match, especially Akaashi and Bokuto's teamwork. The regular setter wasn't saying a thing, but his pride was hurt – it could be seen in his eyes. He was jealous.
Yamiji was very well aware that rivalry between players on the same team was natural and usually lead to improvement. But Hisakawa, with this match, was slowly understanding that Akaashi, a first-year, was not only a more skillful setter than him, but also managed to pull the best out of his teammates – especially Bokuto, their Ace. Hisakawa was a very talented setter – he was the regular setter of the Fukurodani Academy's team, after all – but his talent was smothered by his pragmatism. When he tossed, when he played, he thought of his teammates as pawns to be used in the best of way to win. And it worked – many great setters had such an amazing level thanks to such a thinking pattern. But with Bokuto as their Ace and one of their most important player, thinking rationally didn't work. Bokuto was the most eccentric of their players, but also the most powerful. The rest of the second-years were also quite wild, following their Ace's footsteps. The problem was that they were all too wild to be used with reason. It had been Hisakawa's mistake: thinking that Bokuto was a player of the same kind as all the other ones. Akaashi, on the other hand, despite thinking rationally and carefully, knew how to pull the best out of his teammates. He was able to think rationally but he also knew how to control and use Bokuto's wildness. Akaashi knew how to play and use every single type of players without problem. And that made him the best setter of Fukurodani's team.
Yamiji's attention was brought back on the court when the whistle resonated and Bokuto's loud scream erupted:
"AAAaagh! Another kill block!" He exclaimed, falling on his knees dramatically.
17 – 19
Yamiji sighed upon seeing Akaashi rolling his eyes annoyingly. Well, they still had a lot of work to become a trusting team…
"We'll get the next one!"
"Cheer up, Bokuto!" Yukie shouted for encouragement.
The boys went back to their current positions – back to the initial ones.
NET
2nd year 1nd year 2st year
Bokuto (WS) Kaba (WS) Washio (MB)
2nd year 1st year 2nd year
Komi (L) Akaashi (S) Sarukui (WS)
"Let's get to the 20s first!" Bokuto exclaimed, answered by cheers from his teammates.
The serve from Ubugawa was aimed at Saru who couldn't receive it well enough, earning another point to the opposing team. Another serve but this time, Sarukui was ready and sent it back towards the setter. Akaashi ran under the ball then tossed it for Bokuto. Unfortunately, Ubugawa's block was ready and killed it the ball.
"Damn!" Bokuto swore, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists.
19 – 19
"Come on! Turn the tables around, win this set!" Ayaka shouted.
It surprised the Fukurodani's boys who haven't heard the first-year manager since the beginning of the match. She had only talked to them during breaks.
The surprise turned into determination as they all faced Ubugawa once again.
The serve, once again, was received by Saru who swore when he fell backwards. The ball was up, though. Akaashi ran under the ball, he threw a glance at Bokuto who started to run to spike. The block went after him so Akaashi sent the ball to Kaba. Unfortunately, the first-year lacked the power and technique Bokuto had so his spike was received effortlessly by the opposing team. Surprised by the receive, Akaashi wasn't sure what to do until Ubugawa spiked at them. Komi saved the ball, sending it back to Akaashi who shook himself.
The setter could barely breathe anymore. He glanced around, waiting for the ball and realized that Kaba wasn't ready for a spike. He could try a quick with Washio but despite his spike's power, he–
"AKEEAASGHI!"
Akaashi tossed the ball to Bokuto who spiked it against the block.
"One touch!" Ubugawa's middle blocker shouted.
But even their libero couldn't save this ball.
Fukurodani went into cheers and Bokuto most of all. Akaashi remained silent, frowning down at his hands. The block was against Bokuto – why would he toss to him when he wasn't the best option? Granted, he had spiked powerfully enough to get them a point but…
"Yeees! They've reached the 20s first! Now it's time to win this set!" Matsuoka exclaimed from the warm-up zone.
19 – 20
Everyone was shocked when Coach Yamiji called for a time-out at this moment when Fukurodani wasn't in much difficulty.
"Akaashi-kun, I want you to send all tosses only to Bokuto-san, whether he gets a point or not and whether or not there is a block against him. Is that understood?" He told the setter who frowned lightly.
"…Understood…" He answered with an unwilling voice.
"YEEAASH! I'm going to get us directly into victory!" Bokuto exclaimed enthusiastically, throwing his hands in the air.
But he was holding his water bottle in the same time and by doing so, he clenched the bottle just enough for water to spill from it. It fell right on Ayaka's head who glared at him.
"Ah, sorry, sorry!"
"You don't sound sorry at all."
Once the time-out was over, the two teams went back to their respective courts. It was Washio's turn to serve. It was received without difficulty by Ubugawa but the ball was sent back to the other side of the net.
"Chance ball!"
Akaashi went under the ball and, as Coach Yamiji has requested of him, tossed the ball to Bokuto who spiked it against the block.
19 – 21
This play gave two more points to Fukurodani. Washio served a fourth time but his jump was off and the ball hit the net, barely making it over to the other side. Ubugawa, expecting a powerful serve, it took them by surprise and Fukurodani got another easy point.
19 – 24
"Set point!" Honda whispered with a huge smile.
Washio served and Ubugawa received it perfectly. They tried to spike into Fukurodani's court but the block touched the ball and sent it backwards.
"One touch!" Kaba screamed.
Saru received the ball and sent to Akaashi. He glanced around, Bokuto was focusing the block's attention. The coach's words resonated in his mind but Akaashi threw the ball to Kaba who spiked it down on the other side.
19 – 25 – set won by Fukurodani
"Yeeees!" Kaba exclaimed, clenching his fists.
"Good job," Akaashi told him with a smile.
But when Akaashi looked around, he realized two things:
Bokuto kept his back away from him, probably pouting childishly.
Coach Yamiji had his lips thin, probably because the setter had not obeyed his order.
During the break, Yamiji went to Akaashi while Bokuto drank annoyingly, grumbling to himself.
"You didn't toss to Bokuto-kun on this last point," Yamiji remarked, arms crossed.
The first-year setter hesitated before answering:
"No. The block was too high and too focused on Bokuto-san. I preferred tossing to Kaba who was at the opposite side of the court. He had more chances to get a point – and he did."
"I understand your point of view, Akaashi-kun, and you weren't wrong. But, I really want you to try to toss as much as possible to Bokuto-san during this finale set. I want to see how things will turn out."
"But… I can't ignore the other wing-spiker or middle-blocker…" Akaashi said, blinking and not understanding what the coach was thinking about.
"Just do as I say, Akaashi-kun. Just for this once and if it doesn't work the way I expect it will – you will play as you think is best in future games."
Akaashi registered two things: whatever the coach had in mind involved both him and Bokuto (otherwise the coach would have asked Bokuto and Hisakawa a long time ago) and the setter had impressed enough to be in 'future games'. When was this future, he couldn't tell but… Akaashi felt the number five on his chest vibrating, as if congratulating him.
"I understand," he answered with a tiny, proud smile.
Yamiji nodded then gave his instructions to the other players.
"Let's go win this match!" Bokuto exclaimed whose good mood had come back at some point during Akaashi and Yamiji's conversation.
"OOOSSS!"
As soon as the third set started, the energy from both teams became even more powerful, their will to win even more intense. Ubugawa was sending powerful serves which were getting harder and harder to receive, and when it was received, the tall block of the other school was waiting for them, ready to kill every single spiked ball. Following Coach Yamiji's instruction, Akaashi kept tossing to Bokuto. They lost many points because of this tactic because firstly, Ubugawa's wall managed to kill several balls; and secondly (and more importantly), because Bokuto kept getting more and more annoyed with every spike he missed. Akaashi noted to himself (without much surprise) that the more annoyed and frustrated the Ace got, the more mistakes he'll make.
"Why does Akaashi-kun keep tossing to Bokuto-senpai when he's not into it anymore?" Honda asked, frowning, "At this rhythm, we're going to lose the match…"
"Akaashi-kun keeps glancing annoyingly at the coach. I think he's the one who wants that?" Ayaka hesitated, just as confused about this (not working) tactic.
21 – 17
Suddenly, the whistle resonated and Fukurodani gathered around their coach for their first time-out of the set.
"Finally a time-out…" Ayaka murmured in relief.
She helped Yukie distributing towels and bottles to the boys. Bokuto was angrily munching onto the spots cap of his bottle, highly annoyed by his repeated mistakes. Akaashi was talking to Yamiji, an annoyed look on his face while the coach seemed strangely satisfied – they were losing, weren't they…?
"Excellent job, keep tossing to Bokuto-kun, Akaashi-kun," Yamiji told the setter.
"But…"
He glanced over his shoulder at the Ace, his composure breaking enough to show his anger.
"He's… not… why would I have to keep tossing to this dimwit who keeps missing?" He asked the coach.
"Trust me, trust me, Akaashi-kun."
"U-understood…" He answered with a nod, drinking all the while trying not to show his anger to the coach.
I don't understand it at all… He thought to himself, handing the bottle back to Ayaka.
His gesture was a little rougher than usual, proving what the girl thought: he was getting just as impatient, frustrated and annoyed as Bokuto (and the rest of the team).
The teams went back to their respective courts, Ubugawa sending another powerful serve. It was received by Komi who sent to Akaashi. Once again, Bokuto spiked it but the wall made it rebound back in Fukurodani's court.
"Got it!" Saru exclaimed, sending it back to Akaashi.
He threw a quick glance at the Ace to know whether or not he was ready but before he could determine in what state he was, Bokuto shouted:
"HERE!"
Akaashi tossed to him another time. The wall was waiting for him, jumping high but the ball hit the net and fell right back on Fukurodani's ground.
22 – 17
Everyone on the Fukurodani's court breathed heavily, annoyed to see all of their points getting away. The team glanced at Bokuto who was staring down at the floor.
"Bokuto-senpai… D-don't mind…" Kaba hesitated, not knowing what to say after the terrible failure from the Ace.
"Akeaashi…" Bokuto started in a low voice.
They all froze – except Akaashi who frowned at the Ace.
"It's enough! Don't toss to me today!" Boktuo exclaimed, turning away dramatically from the setter.
Akaashi's fury flashed behind his eyes and Ayaka hit her forehand with her hand. Before anyone had time to say anything – to change Bokuto's mind, to calm down Akaashi, anything at this point… they all shivered and took a step back, except Bokuto who was painfully unaware of the dangerous aura of murder coming from the setter.
"I'm not sure I heard right, could you repeat another time, Bokuto-senpai?" Akaashi asked with a cold, raging voice.
Bokuto glanced over his shoulder, opening his lip to actually make the mistake of repeating his words but upon seeing the fiery surrounding the usually serene setter, the Ace hissed in terror and took a step back.
The whistle for another time-out resonated and even if Akaashi was still downright furious, it relieved everyone who was pretty sure that no matter how calm Akaashi Keiji was… Bokuto Koutarou was even more infuriating.
The team gathered around their coach, even if Bokuto tried to remain as far away from Akaashi as possible and the latter was trying not to strangle him.
"Akaashi-kun, you can toss to everyone now," Yamiji said with the same satisfied smile.
The setter stared with a hanging mouth at his coach. He clenched his bottle water, his annoyance still obvious despite trying to hold it back as much as possible in front of the coach. The setter took a very deep breath, then breathed out slowly.
"I will," he said but his voice was still hard.
The other players startled as the setter gave the bottle back to Yukie and turned around. The teammates glanced at each other awkwardly, not daring to look at a very sheepish-looking Bokuto. Then they all followed Akaashi.
Ubugawa served another time and Saru received the ball, despite falling backwards. Akaashi ran under the ball, lifting up his hands to toss. He glanced around. Saru couldn't spike it after this receive, the block was still focused on Bokuto whose eyes were wide and stupid-looking (his moves were hesitant as well).
"Washio-senpai!" Akaashi called, tossing the ball.
The middle-blocker hit it straight into Ubugawa's court.
22 – 18
Akaashi felt a little better now that they had managed to mark a point without using the imbecile they called Ace. The setter felt slightly proud to know that their coach had made a ridiculously stupid mistake by making him toss constantly to a completely useless Bokuto. Still, four points could be won back. And they'd win this match.
Unfortunately, for their next positions, their defense was weakened with their libero going into the warm-up zone.
NET
1st year 2nd year 2nd year
Hoshino (MB) Bokuto (WS) Kaba (WS)
1st year 2nd year 2nd year
Akaashi (S) Sarukui (WS) Washio (MB)
Washio served a powerful serve but Ubugawa had no trouble receiving it. They tried to spike and even if Bokuto remained painfully useless and still in the middle, Hoshino managed to touch the ball before it was too late. It went up and Akaashi positioned himself, glancing around to decide whose to toss. His eyes widened slightly when he noticed that the block from Ubugawa was hesitant, not knowing who to mark: the Ace or another player?
Akaashi tossed to Kaba who marked another point.
22 – 19
The team prepared for another serve and Akaashi noticed that Bokuto still looked like a lost chicken who had wandered on the volleyball court. It was almost satisfying, if it wasn't so infuriating.
Washio's serve was received and once again, they spiked it to Fukurodani's side of the court. It was received by Sarukui and Akaashi was ready to toss again. This time, he sent it to Hoshino but his spike wasn't powerful enough to break through the wall. The touch from Ubugawa gave them the chance to attack once again and they marked another point with a spike.
23 – 19
"Damn!" Akaashi swore to himself, getting up after diving for the ball he had missed.
"Two more points and Ubugawa wins…" Honda murmured, Ayaka not answering her comrade.
It was another terribly powerful serve from Ubugawa, aimed right at Akaashi. It was shorter and he dived for it, but the ball went out after hitting his hands.
24 – 19
The first-year punched angrily the floor of the court, unaware of Bokuto's gaze on him.
"Don't mind!"
"Match point… I guess the results are settled, then…" Ayaka said.
"It's never over, as long as they keep fighting, they can still win!" Honda said with a forced enthusiasm.
The girl glanced at him but didn't say a thing.
Fukurodani got ready once again to receive another deadly serve. Sarukui received and Akaashi ran to toss, glancing around to decide of the best choice.
"AKEEAAGSHI! I'M OPEN!" Bokuto shouted from the center, already starting to run.
Akaashi's eyes flashed with annoyance and he tossed to Kaba. The first-year spiked the ball but Ubugawa's wall received, killing the spike. The ball fell on the ground and several players dived to receive it, but its rebound resonated just before the final whistle.
25 – 19 – Match won by Ubugawa High
The winners cheered in joy while the losers slowly got up to gather. The two teams faced each other, thanking for the match before the two teams went to the opposite coach, receiving comments and advices.
"It was a beautiful match and despite many flaws and mistakes, you are very promising – all of you." Ubugawa's coach told the Fukurodani team.
"Thank you!" They all explained in the same time, bowing.
Slowly, they stretched and dispersed. On the way to the changing-room, Akaashi couldn't help but frown at himself, glancing at Bokuto with a mix of annoyance and guilt.
"Bokuto-san!" He called, making the Ace turn around with wide eyes.
"Yeah, Akeeshi?" He asked with a smile.
The setter hesitated. Now that the match was over and some time had gone by, all of the Ace's frustration was gone – he was back to his usual self (perhaps a little more tired and less easily excited because they had lost).
He's such a dimwit… Keiji thought with a sigh before speaking up once again.
"On the last point, I should have tossed to you. You were open but… I was too annoyed to think clearly and because of me, we lost the match."
Bokuto's eyes widened slightly before he laughed, surprising the setter and the few players who were lazily staying around. He put a strong hand on the setter's shoulder, almost sending him flying.
"It's all right, Akeaashi! Don't need to apologize! You tossed to me plenty during the match, even if I kept failing and failing – thank you for trusting me for so long!"
No. I was following Coach Yamiji's stupid instruction… Akaashi thought but he couldn't find the courage to say it outloud to the hopeful and innocent Ace.
"I know that many times, it wasn't the best choice to toss to me, but you did it anyway… I'm not sure why but… thanks! Also… it's not your fault we lost the match."
Akaashi glanced up curiously at the Ace who grinned at him:
"Volleyball is teamwork, right?" He asked with a wink.
The setter's eyes widened as the boy echoed Kanemoto's words earlier during the match. Bokuto's gaze was drawn to said-girl and he couldn't help but smile happily. Ayaka was unaware of the Ace's attention on her and only Akaashi noticed it after glancing back at the wing-spiker.
"Well, at least, someone has enough influence on you to drive you to your best."
"Sorry, what did you say, Akeeshi?"
"Nothing."
"Eh? Buuut! Akeeasghi!"
They entered the changing-room, the entire team back to its usual self. They may have lost a match against Ubugawa High but they would get their revenge.
The next day…
"Good morning, everyone!" Ayaka exclaimed joyfully upon entering the classroom.
Various answers came to her and she was surprised to see Akaashi writing down seriously on a notebook. Panic invaded her as she wondered if she had forgotten about some test.
"Akaashi-kun, what is this? Do we have a test today?" She asked, sitting at her desk.
"No, I'm just writing down some notes and remarks about Bokuto-san," he answered.
"It sounded… weird…" She answered, relieved not to have to deal with last-minute studying.
The setter smiled lightly before showing her the notebook's cover: it was the owl-themed notebook she had offered him.
"After playing with Bokuto-san, I realized that he is… terribly…"
He sighed, both of them understanding what he meant.
"Let's say moody," Ayaka suggested with an amused smile.
"He is terribly moody, for lack of a better word… So, I decided to write down all of the weaknesses I know from him. Whether or not they might intervene in a match and how to deal with it."
"Akaashi-kun… this is great! I'm glad you're going to work so hard to be able to be effective with Bokuto-san!" She exclaimed, somehow proud of her pair of owls.
"I have five weaknesses already."
"Oh… Good luck, then."
They both smiled knowingly, slightly amused. Bokuto may be a dimwit, and he was moody – especially during matches – but at the very least… there were some times (very few of them according to Akaashi) when playing with the dimwit had some perks.
They lost the match. But they won so much more without even realizing it! I hope the love story between Bokuto and Ayaka isn't going too fast nor too slow - I'm trying to add as many cute and meaningful moments as possible without them going too fast...
Next chapter, beginning of the Golden Week, a defining turn in the relationships between the three protagonists of this love story Bokuto/Ayaka/Sowlmate! :D
Yours Truly,
May