The out-of-breath little man never introduced himself, so Tadashi just thought of him as Lanyard Man. He led the team this and way and that through the crowd, and eventually brought them to the changing rooms. Yachi, Shimizu, Coach Ukai and Mr Takeda excused themselves while everyone else picked a spot on the long, wooden benches.
"Please get changed quickly," Lanyard Man said. "The crew is waiting."
Everyone stripped off and slipped into their jerseys, and Lanyard Man didn't so much as turn his back. He checked his watch every twenty seconds or so while his wrist was on the way to wipe sweat from his forehead.
"He seems stressed out," Tadashi said to Tsukki.
"I can see every vein in his forehead."
Minutes later, everyone was ready to go.
"This way," Lanyard Man said.
Barely time to breathe.
He led them through a different door to the one they'd come from, and they were suddenly inside a big, open-plan classroom that had been emptied of all its furniture. It was replaced by cables, camera stands, huge silver lighting fixtures, and a ton of people bustling around shouting to one another.
A sign on plain white paper—clearly printed at the last minute—was stuck to the far door.
MEDIA MARSHALLING AREA.
Lanyard Man disappeared.
Blue Tie Man replaced him.
He didn't introduce himself, either, but was wearing a shirt with the MMT Broadcasting logo on it.
"Karasuno," he said. "We don't have a lot of time. We need the captain and one other over here for a quick interview."
Daichi took a breath to speak, but Blue Tie Man powered on.
"And which ones are Kageyagga and Hanana?" He said.
Tadashi's eyes flicked to the two first years.
Kageyama cleared his throat.
"I'm Kageyama," he said, and pointed to the redhead in front of him. "That's Hinata."
"Uhuh, yeah. We need you, too. And what about...you? Glasses?"
Tsukki recoiled. Properly recoiled. Took a step back to keep his balance and everything.
"No, thank you," he said.
Blue Tie Man looked confused.
"No?"
"I politely decline."
"Allow me!" Nishinoya said, stepping forward.
Blue Tie Man shook his head.
"We already have a short one."
Nishinoya froze on the spot, and gave Blue Tie Man a look he usually reserved for people who hit on Shimizu.
"How about you?" Blue Tie Man said, nodding to the bunched-up third years. "The scary-looking one with the beard?"
Asahi pointed to himself, eyebrows up.
"Yeah, you," Blue Tie Man said.
Asahi looked like he was having trouble breathing.
"I...I...I don't..."
Blue Tie Man held out his hand.
"You know what, don't worry. We're already behind. Captain, pick someone. Let's go."
He clapped his hands at Daichi.
Like an owner impatient with his dog.
Tadashi was nervous all over again. When they'd said 'news crew' all those weeks ago, he'd imagined lines of cameras and lots of important-looking people in suits. Someone sitting in a folding chair shouting 'action!' and two or three meek interns to guide the talent around. Maybe a table full of snacks and water and tea.
This was nothing like that.
It was a whirlwind of sweating, annoyed, pushy people. The lights were too bright, the room was too hot…
Wasn't being on television supposed to be fun?
"This is...really tense," he said.
Tsukki hmm'd next to him.
Daichi tapped Suga and brought him over to the cameras. A pair of young-ish looking men rushed over with brushes and dusted them with some kind of face make up. A woman in black held up a tiny white sphere and gave the thumbs up to a camera man. The reporter studied her notebook, eyes so close to the page it was a wonder she could even see it.
Daichi and Suga looked like two little mice surrounded by cranky, cranky lions.
Kageyama and Hinata got much the same treatment—with the added bonus that Hinata was given a Miyagi prefecture phone book to stand on so they could both be in the shot. The two separate news teams got their interviews out of the way quickly and efficiently. Tadashi tried to listen in, but it all happened so fast he couldn't catch more than a few words here and there.
Blue Tie Man was back.
"Karasuno, this way," he said.
He manoeuvred them all into a line against the wall.
"Loosen it up a bit," he told them.
Tadashi stepped forward a little. Tsukki leaned against the wall.
"Now," Blue Tie Man said. He clapped again. Tadashi hated that sound. "Aoba Johsai are about to enter. We're filming, so when they come through the door we want a spontaneous greeting from the whole team. Then the captains will come together and shake hands. Understood?"
Daichi nodded.
"Sure," he said.
"Good," Blue Tie Man said. He walked to the other side of the room and knocked on a set of double-doors. "Okay! When you're ready."
Oh crap, Tadashi thought. Is this really it?
A whole month leading up to this moment, and now it was rushing at him like a runaway truck. He did his best to run through everything that led him here—just to make sure his head was in the right place. All he had time for was flashes.
Oikawa coming out. Lunch with Tsukki in the rain. A poster of Juviana. Taiga. The exhibition match…
It was a knot of feelings and memories, with no time to unpick them.
Both doors flung open and his heart rattled around in his chest. Through the centre of them, one hand on each door, strode the Grand King himself.
Oikawa Tooru.
He looked exactly like Tadashi remembered. Tall and striking, hair swept across his forehead and spiking here and there in just the right way. Handsome face. Perfect shape. Mint-green shorts that seemed to ride just a bit too high up on his thighs, which seemed to go on forever. Tadashi imagined him sitting at home with a pair of scissors and a sewing kit, taking an inch off the legs of his shorts and sewing the hem back so nobody would know.
He took a ragged breath.
Finally. Face to face with Oikawa.
Not that Seijoh's captain noticed him at all. Nor did the rest of the team, flowing in behind Oikawa in V-formation. Tadashi remembered most of them from the inter-high. Iwazumi looked serious as ever, just behind Oikawa and to the left. Watari, their libero, was at the very back.
"Karasuno!" Daichi said, and the team oriented on him.
They bowed as one.
"Thank you for the invitation!" Daichi said.
"Thank you!" the team followed him.
Oikawa approached Daichi, long steps bringing him closer and closer.
Tadashi gulped. This was all happening so fast.
Oikawa held his hand out.
"Thank you for accepting it!" he said.
An incredibly warm grin was spread across his face.
The captains shook hands while the cameras rolled. Some reporters from the local newspapers took photos, and the room was filled with flashes and clicks.
Tadashi tried not to blink against it.
"We're eager for the chance to play such a strong team," Daichi said, returning his best smile, too.
Daichi had a nice smile. He was a good-looking guy, and warm and caring. He had a way of making you feel like he was listening, and that he was there for you, and that things wouldn't go wrong as long as he was around. The easy smile was as much a part of that as the rest of his personality.
But now, opposite Oikawa, he was eclipsed.
Charisma oozed off Aoba Johsai's captain in a way that made Tadashi kind of jealous. Everyone at Karasuno knew what kind of an ass he could be during a match. They knew the stories of how he treated Kageyama back at Kitagawa Daiichi junior high. But right now? In the glow of the smile, the voice and the smooth talk? Nobody remembered any of that.
All they could see was a handsome, outgoing and kind leader.
"You're too kind," Oikawa said, rubbing the back of his head. "When the idea for an exhibition match came up, there was no other team we'd settle for than Karasuno. I look forward to the challenge."
"Then we'll bring you our best challenge," Daichi said.
Oikawa grinned, and turned to face Kageyama.
"And I look forward to facing you again, Tobio-chan," he said.
Kageyama looked like he was caught in headlights.
"And...you," he stuttered out.
Oikawa chuckled and turned to the cameras.
"Now, interviews?" he said, and was immediately beset by a crowd of news-makers.
And that was it.
Blue Tie Man was gone, and Lanyard Man was back.
"This way," he huffed. "To the court."
Tadashi's heart was just beginning to settle down.
Could that really be it?
That was the moment he'd been waiting for all month? A ten second glimpse of Oikawa, then pushed out the door by an impatient little bald man with a lanyard?
He didn't know whether to feel relieved or annoyed.
Something deep inside screamed at him that it should have been more than this.
Karasuno was ushered through the double doors Aoba Johsai just came through. They exchanged brief nods with their opponents as they were led away and marched through a long, portrait-lined corridor.
Up ahead, Coach Ukai was waiting by another set of double doors. The sound of a huge crowd was leaking through them.
Lanyard Man pointed at them.
"Through there," he said. "The match starts in ten minutes. Please warm up quickly."
And he left.
Coach grinned at them.
"How was your brush with the media?" he said.
The entire team stood silent.
Tadashi felt like he'd left his brain back on the bus.
"That was...weird," Tanaka said.
"Oh my god, so weird," Suga said.
"Like...in one door, out the other," Ennoshita said.
Tadashi nodded.
"No time to think," he said.
Nishinoya's arms were crossed.
"I'll show that blue tie wearing ass who's short," he said. "Is there some kind of limit to short people who can appear on TV? What the hell was that about?"
Coach's eyebrows shot up, and he looked to Daichi.
"We got through it," Daichi said. "And nobody embarrassed themselves."
Coach put his hands on his hips.
"Well," he said. "That's show business for you. The important thing is you're here now. Brace yourselves. We have to warm up. We have to defeat Seijoh. Show them what you came here for!"
Tadashi sucked down a breath, squeezed his eyes shut, and let the pre-match tingles fill him up.
So his face-to-face meeting with Oikawa turned out to be a bust. The day wasn't over yet, and they still had the match to play. It was out there—on the court, with the ball in his hands and Taiga in the stands—that he'd make his impression on the Grand King of Aoba Johsai. When he opened his eyes, they stayed tightly narrowed. Determined.
This was his day.
Daichi turned to address the team.
"Soak in the crowd," he said. "Listen for your supporters. Play your best!"
"Yes!" Everyone called back.
Coach grinned.
He pushed the doors open, and light and sound gushed into the corridor. Tadashi could feel the crowd coming up through his feet. The smell of floor wax and volleyballs snaked up his nose and into his head, making him giddy.
"Do yourselves proud," Coach said.
And they walked into the light.
/
/
We're up to chapter 15 over at AO3! If you want to catch up, head over there and search my username :-)