Disclaimer: Haikyuu is not mine. It is property of Haruichi Furudate, Weekly Shōnen Jump and Shueisha.
Chapter 25 – Winners and Losers.
The first day of the Inter-High preliminaries finally rolled around and we all piled into a bus and set out for Sendai City Gymnasium, where the games would be held.
Upon arriving, we all got out of the bus and made our way towards the front doors. As we did, we overheard some people talking while looking at the match line-ups.
"Shiratorizawa will probably win straight as usual." One of the two boys said.
"No, Aoba Johsai seems to be a threat this year as well. They're a cut above the rest now that Oikawa-san is in Year 3. And I hear their first years are improving fast." The other said.
"But can they win the block against Date Tech…? I'm glad we weren't in Block A!" the first said, sounding pleased. Block A… that's the Block we're in…
"Let's see… Block A has… To… Torino…?" the second boy said uncertainly and I sweat-dropped. I guess it does have that kanji in it…
"Isn't it read 'Karasuno?' They used to be good, a few years ago, I mean. But now they've earned themselves a totally lame nickname. The Clipped Crow." The first boy added with a laugh in his voice.
It's then that I noticed that our team was walking towards those guys and I gulped worriedly. Usually it was just Tanaka-senpai and maybe Nishinoya-senpai now too, that liked to start things…
They all gathered around behind the two guys, who jumped in shock and turned around to face Karasuno's team.
"A-Ah… um…!" one of the guys stammered, afraid.
Tanaka-senpai loomed over them, "What was that you said? Clipped what…?" he asked threateningly, before being dragged away by the collar by Daichi-senpai.
"I'm sorry for him." He bowed to the boys, who accepted the apology. With that mess averted, we continued inside.
As we made our way through the entrance area, I heard a lot of chatter around us, about some of the members of Karasuno.
I think I heard them talking about rumours about Asahi-senpai… and none of them painted him in a good light. Rumours are just rumours after all. Asahi-senpai is the opposite of what people seem to think he is, it seems.
"Well, it can't be helped." Suga-senpai laughed lightly.
"It's the image you project." Daichi-senpai added.
"I-I only wanted to look a little wild on the outside, that's all!" Asahi-senpai stammered, and I laughed quietly behind my hand.
What was with some guys, and wanting to look 'wild'…? Was that what some girls liked? Though I like Asahi-senpai as a person, that look isn't really my type at all.
The people surrounding us continued to whisper non-too-quietly as we walked. Things like awing over Shimizu-senpai, which set of Tanaka-senpai and Nishinoya-senpai's protective instincts, to people talking about Nishinoya-senpai as a Libero, then of course, the expected gossip about Kageyama-kun. It seemed like a lot of our players were known amongst the circuit, despite us being ranked 8th in the prefecture. But I didn't hear much of anything about Hinata.
Well that's to be expected, I thought, looking over to my friend; Hinata is our trump card. He's definitely going to make his mark this year.
I smiled to myself at that thought, and as I watched Hinata marvel over the smell of air-salonpas spray of all things, I noticed another team swiftly approaching us out of the corner of my eye.
I turned to look at them and jumped in surprise. At the very front of the group, quickly approaching Asahi-senpai, was a really tall guy with white guy… and, I think he doesn't have eyebrows…!
'Eek!' I gasped, and dashed to hide behind the closest person to me, which happened to be Kageyama-kun. He looked at me incredulously, but indulged me and let me peek out from behind him.
'It's Date Tech…!' Suga-senpai spoke up, and I widened my eyes, then squinted to read the kanji on their white and dark green jersey jackets… it did indeed read Date Kogyo Koko, the school's official name.
That tall, scary white haired guy, who was wearing a white and dark green jersey, pointed at Asahi-senpai without a word, surprising us all.
"Hey. Who do you think you are?" Nishinoya-senpai asked, his voice deeper and serious. I glanced to him to see an intense look in his eyes.
It's understandable… After the clash they had last year and the chain of events afterwards caused by it.
Surprisingly, Asahi-senpai held Nishinoya-senpai back and boldly faced on the pointing giant.
After a tense few moments, another person in the same jersey, with short curly black hair, caught up with his team and went to pull the giant's arm down and stop his pointing.
"Hold it, hold it, hold it. Stop that, Aone-kun! I'm so sorry, I'm sorry!" he said, desperately fighting against the giant named Aone's stubborn pointing; he turned to another boy on his team, with straight brown hair and an uncaring posture, 'Hey, Futakuchi, give me a hand here…!' he added.
"Yeah, sorry~!" the one called Futakuchi complied and assisted in pushing down Aone's arm, "This dude has a habit of singling out a team's ace wherever he goes." He said as they managed to get Aone to stop, and started to turn him around to walk, "So, I'd like you to get good and ready… to lose again." He said finally with a smile.
And with that, they began on their way, the short curly-haired boy complaining about how rude his teammates were.
As they left, I let out a deep sigh of relief, unintentionally mimicking Asahi-senpai. It seems though he put on a braver face than I, he was also afraid.
"Jeez, look at that cold sweat…! Why're you such a wimp off the court?" Nishinoya-senpai sighed, unmoved by the encounter. I flinched a bit, and got out from my spot behind Kageyama-kun finally.
"Noya-san, sugarcoat it!" Tanaka-senpai gasped.
"Sawamura!" a new voice suddenly came, and Daichi-senpai turned around to face the newcomer, a boy with light brown hair and freckles, "Long time no see!"
"Oh! Ikejiri!" he greeted, seeming to know the boy, and he looked to us, "Go ahead without me, okay?" he said to us and we nodded.
A friend from middle school, perhaps… I thought, as we went ahead without senpai.
There was still a little while until their first match, and that while was passed trying to quell Hinata's nerves again. Thankfully, Asahi-senpai provided him with an effective method of doing so, and all was fine, this time.
As I watched them chat with each other, Shimizu-senpai approached me, with the bag containing the team's 'Fly' banner, and handed it to me.
"Each team can only have one manager down on the court with them at a time. I'm going to have to ask you to put the banner up for us and look after it." She said, handing the bag to me.
"Ah… o-okay. Uhm…" I trailed off. Shimizu-senpai blinked at me curiously.
"Oh that's right! Michimiya was saying to me today that you were going to go cheer on the girls' team as well today. You're heading out towards the end of the Second Set, right?' Suga-senpai jumped in to the conversation.
"Yes, that's right…! Is that okay? I forgot to ask…" I said, rubbing the back of my head abashedly.
Shimizu-senpai hummed, before nodding, "Okay, you can go. I'll collect the banner after the match then." She nodded. I turned to Daichi-senpai and Suga-senpai and the rest, who nodded in agreement.
"We'll win this match, just you watch!" Hinata crowed and I smiled and nodded.
"I'll let you know whatever you miss." Shimizu-senpai added.
I sighed out in relief, feeling better, "Then I'll head up to the stands now. Everyone, do your best today!" I told them and they all nodded, parting from me; apart from Takeda-sensei, who I looked up at curiously.
He smiled down at me, "You'll need some help putting the banner up right?" he reasoned, and I smiled, nodding.
"Thank you, sensei!" I said, and we headed up to the stands with the banner. We made it up there in time to see the Karasuno boys arrive on the courts. Takeda-sensei and I quickly set to work on hanging the banner for them.
Sensei bid me farewell and hurried back down to the court. Karasuno got started on their practice and warm-ups and I settled in in the stands and got comfortable.
As I sat and watched the boys warming up, I heard a group of footsteps approaching me and I jumped up, realizing I was blocking the way to a bunch of free seats.
"Ah, I'm sorry. Go ahea—" I cut myself off when realizing who was in front of me, "Oh! Um, it was Kindaichi-san, wasn't it? And… erm, I don't know your na—ah, the whole team…!" I gasped, surprised.
Kindaichi-san rubbed the back of his head, smiling a little, "Th-that's right… it was Mogami-san, right?" he asked me and I nodded to him.
"I'm Kunimi. As soon as Yuutarou saw you he just dragged us all over here." The boy named Kunimi said, sounding slightly teasing. Kindaichi-san turned red.
"A-Akira…!" he cried, looking embarrassed.
I smiled nervously and bowed my head, "It's nice to see you guys again." I greeted the Aoba Johsai boys, as I shuffled along to give them seats.
"Ah! If it isn't Moeka-chan~!" Oikawa-san finally came into view, and greeted me with a charming smile. I saw just beside him, the spiky haired Ace giving him a threatening stare, as if daring him to try something.
Unperturbed, he continued, inching closer; "But you're so unfair, Moeka-chan! You left me high and dry for weeks without a single text or phone call or anything…!" he said, and I gasped.
Oh yeah… I'd forgotten all about him giving me his number and email after the practice match.
Putting on the most apologetic expression I could, I looked up to Oikawa-san, "I'm so sorry!" I told him.
He waved me off, smiling, "I mean, I understand, you were probably just really busy, right? I can't think of another—"
"No, wait! Um, I'm really sorry, Oikawa-san! The truth is, I…" I blushed, "I ended up throwing away the number right away. It didn't feel right, being given your contact details just like that. We hardly know each other at all, and it made my teammates uncomfortable, so I just did what I thought was best. I'm sorry." I said, and bowed my head in apology to him.
All was quiet. And then, I heard some snickers from the other Aoba Johsai boys. When I looked up, I saw Oikawa-san's shell-shocked expression, and the team's Ace shaking his head at his captain.
"See, Shittykawa? I told you, I wasn't lying to you when I said I saw her throw it away. Not every girl in the world is going to fall over at your feet." He told Oikawa-san.
"Did… Did you really throw it away…?" he asked me, still in disbelief.
I nodded, "Yes, I did." I clarified, feeling a little bad for some reason. I mean, I know I shouldn't feel bad – it was the right thing to do. But Oikawa-san is looking at me like I killed his puppy…!
"Wow, I like this girl~" drawled a voice, suddenly nearby.
"Yeah, it's not every day you see that guy get so insistently turned down." Agreed another nearby voice.
I turned to see two of the taller Aoba Johsai boys; one with short reddish-brown hair, and the other with dark curly hair and thick eyebrows.
"I'm Hanamaki." Said the first, followed by the second, introducing himself as a Matsukawa.
"I-It's nice to meet you." I nodded to them.
Oikawa-san smiled, seemingly getting over it, and gestured to the Ace, "And this one is Iwa-chan—" he began.
"I can introduce myself, you ass!" the spikey haired Ace smacked Oikawa-san on the back of the head, "Iwaizumi Hajime." He nodded to me.
"Mogami Moeka." I nodded back to him. And then, Hinata finally noticed what was going up in the stands, having come to get a drink from the bags below the stands.
"Ehhh?! The Grand King…!" he cried, getting the attention of Oikawa-san. Kageyama-kun's too, and he moved to join Hinata.
"Ooh! Yahoo, Tobio-chan, and the shorty! Having fun with your deviant combination~?" he asked, making a peace sign.
"W-Why are they sitting with Mogami-san…?" I think I heard Hinata mumbling, while I saw Kageyama-kun frown. Feeling sheepish, I just shrugged, and mouthed to him 'they just showed up.' To that, the Setter let out a sigh and turned to walk away, telling Hinata to stop getting distracted and get back to warm-ups.
"Ho… so you guys have a Libero now. You didn't when we had out practice game." Oikawa-san commented.
I nodded, "Our Ace came back too." I nodded, "The team has gotten a lot stronger since the last time you guys saw us." I added.
"Really… Well I can't wait to see it for myself." Oikawa-san nodded, his observant gaze becoming serious.
I nodded, turning my attention to the court below us. After a few more minutes, the referees called for the start of the match and everyone lined up at opposite sides of the net. The captains were called in to give their greeting handshake, and with that, the match was ready to begin.
As the teams were having their pre-game pep talks, I noticed that a lot of the Aoba Johsai team already left. It seemed they had only come to scout what kind of players Karasuno was bringing this year. The only ones remaining with me were Kindaichi-san, Iwaizumi-san and Oikawa-san, who had settled into a disinterested looking slouch.
I heard Iwaizumi-san laugh a little, gesturing down to Karasuno's opponent team, Tokonami.
"Their opponent is confused. Which is only natural. After all, who'd put that guy up for middle blocker where you fight for height?" he said.
"Those who mock will pay the piper…" Kindaichi-san quoted, and both Iwaizumi-san and I grinned.
"Indeed. Any insight into why that guy got Middle Blocker, Mogami-san?" Iwaizumi-san asked me.
I shook my head; "I'm not allowed to leak our secret weapons to someone who'll be our opponents, no matter how big or small." I said with a cheeky smile.
"Figures. But that's fair." Iwaizumi-san snorted.
"So you have confidence that Karasuno will make it to us? We're planning on going all the way to the final match, and then some." Oikawa-san said behind us.
I turned around and nodded to him confidently, "Definitely. Karasuno is strong, and I have faith that they're going to win just like last time." I agreed.
Oikawa-san smirked, "Careful, Moeka-chan~" he said, "The higher the pedestal you put them on, the further they'll fall when we crush them. Where there are Winners, there are also Losers. Aoba Johsai are Winners." He said, with unfaltering confidence in his team.
I tried to think of a response to say to that, but was distracted by the referee's whistle, calling for the match to finally begin.
"Komaki, Nice Serve!"
Tokonami was first up to serve, and their captain sent his serve over; it was met by Asahi-senpai with a nice receive. The ball went up for Kageyama-kun who went into position, and sent the ball Tanaka-senpai's way.
Tanaka-senpai spiked the ball, and it ricocheted off of the oppositions' blockers arms, scoring our first point. Tanaka-senpai and Nishinoya-senpai proceeded to cheer obnoxiously.
Eventually, their cheering got on both Daichi-senpai and the referee's nerves and I sighed out exasperatedly.
Next up was Tanaka-senpai's serve; he'd calmed down a little after receiving a scolding.
Tokonami received, and their Setter sent the ball to their Number 4 for a spike. It bounced off of Hinata and Daichi-senpai's arms, but Nishinoya-senpai received it cleanly, sending it back up.
Daichi-senpai bumped it up again, and Asahi-senpai went in for a spike. He send it down between two of the three blockers arms, scoring us another point.
"Whoa, that had huge momentum." Iwaizumi-san said, impressed and Kindaichi-san nodded in agreement.
I smiled, "Nice kill! Keep going, guys!" I called out to the boys, cupping my hands by my mouth to try and amplify it over the obnoxious cheering nearby coming from Date Tech's cheer squad.
Since Karasuno scored from Tanaka-senpai's serve, he got to go again, and sent another one over. Tokonami bumped it back up and sent it over again, and it was again received by Nishinoya-san.
I smiled, getting a feeling that that was coming up. I watched eagerly as the ball went over towards Kageyama-kun, and Hinata got into position, before running in.
Hinata spiked so suddenly that Tokonami, having no experience against Hinata's speed, had no time to react to it either. Another point on our side…!
"Nice Kill, Hinata-kun…!" I cheered out again, and he bashfully grinned and rubbed his head, looking up to me in the stands with a nod, before getting back into it.
"Wow… now that's something alright…" I heard Oikawa-san murmur breathlessly behind me.
I grinned to myself. Hinata really was something. I could agree with that.
…
The match continued on after that, with an obvious point lead. The scores were currently at 12 – 22 to Karasuno. Having three different spikers for Kageyama-kun to toss to seemed to be confusing Tokonami. They didn't know who to focus on because each spiker was a threat on their own.
They made a mistake on their marking again, trying to block Hinata, and the ball went to Tanaka-senpai again. Another point.
'They're already going to win the first set, by the looks of things." Kindaichi-san said, and Iwaizumi-san nodded.
"Their Libero is going to be real trouble. And having that Number 3 on their team allows Kageyama to use his tosses more effectively." He agreed.
I tried to ignore them, instead focusing on the match at hand, also glancing at my wristwatch. If I wanted to watch at least some of the girls' team's match, I might have to go soon.
As it stood, it looked like Karasuno had the first set in the bag. Karasuno was clearly the superior team to Tokonami in this case, but it didn't look like a certain player of theirs was giving up just yet.
I paid a bit more attention to their Number 4, and realised it was that guy who Daichi-senpai had gone away with earlier.
He was really fighting for it, despite the odds. I could appreciate that.
Despite it all, his spike was shut down, winning Karasuno the first set.
The Second Set started off really well as well thanks to Kageyama-kun's Service Aces, with Karasuno immediately gaining a good point lead against Tokonami who just didn't seem to be able to keep up.
I smiled, and nodded, getting up, which caused Kindaichi-san to look at me; 'Eh? Are you going somewhere?" he asked me.
I nodded, "I've promised to also go cheer on our girls' team, and they're playing at the same time so I want to catch at least some of it. Bye-bye!" I said.
"O-Oh, yeah, sure." He nodded.
I glanced at the banner, still hanging, "Oh yeah, um… our other manager will be picking that up afterwards." I gestured to it, and bowed my head slightly, "It was nice seeing you guys." I said, and went on my way.
It took me a few minutes to navigate Sendai City Gymnasium's hallways, but I managed to find the way to the stands overlooking the girls' games and made my way to them.
By the time I arrived in the stands, I could see that Karasuno girls' were already about half-way into their second set.
I bit my lip as I noticed the scoreboard. 18 – 09 to their opponents, Shiratojoshi. They had just scored their 18th point due to an unlucky out-of-bounds serve by Yui-senpai.
I gathered my breath in my lungs, and cupped my hands, "Don't mind, Yui-senpai!" I cheered loudly, startling people around me as well as the girls' on court. Yui-senpai looked up at me, stunned.
My cheeks heating up, I lowered my hands a little and smiled, blushing and waving down to them.
This situation was familiar. It feels a lot like Hinata's match against Kitagawa Daiichi last year. I really hope it goes better for Yui-senpai though…!
I watched as Yui-senpai's stunned expression slipped into a breathless smile that quickly became a motivated one. She nodded to me, before turning to her team to try to motivate them as well.
A few of the other girls kept glancing up at me curiously, before nodding to their captain. The match continued, with Shiratojoshi's serve.
One of the Karasuno girls, a dainty, cute girl with a short light brown bob tried and failed to receive it cleanly, falling backwards with a yelp.
I bit my lip, watching as Yui-senpai went over to comfort and encourage the girl, who had started crying a little.
Yui-senpai got back up, and looked back over to their opponents, looking determined.
That's right. It's not over yet. You could have a miraculous turnaround at any moment.
I brought up my hands again to cup them, and cheered again, "Go, Go, Karasuno! You can do it, Karasuno!" I called out.
Yui-senpai heard me and smiled and laughed a bit, and the other girls smiled a little too.
"Alright, girls! Let's keeping pushing! We can't lose face just because we're backed into a corner!" she said loud enough for me to hear her, and the girls all nodded in agreement.
Karasuno's girls picked up their game after that, fighting harder for their points. I was feeling optimistic for them, as best I could…
But as the ball hit the court on Karasuno's side again, and again… I felt myself getting colder, with dread sinking in. It didn't look good.
I kept up my cheering nonetheless, until the end.
In the end, my cheers didn't change a thing. Just like last year… In Hinata's game… In my team's game… I knew exactly what they were probably feeling right now.
I watched as they gathered their things, looking downtrodden and defeated, and left the gym, then hastily rushed down the stairs myself, ready to search for them.
After a bit of searching, and admittedly getting a little lost, I spotted Yui-senpai, walking on her own with her jersey jacket balled up in her hands. Her shoulders were hunched.
I ran towards her from behind, "Yui-senpai…!" I called as I approached.
She flinched, and slowly turned around to face me. Around her eyes were red. It looked like she'd been crying a little before I got there.
"M-Moeka-chan…" he mumbled, as I joined her, "…Thank you… for cheering us on today. I'm sorry, we totally messed up." She said, looking embarrassed and defeated;
"In actuality… we didn't train nearly as much as we should have, this year. We slacked a lot on morning practice, and I never did a good enough job as captain to wrangle them all together. I guess that's why we lo—"
I cut her off, pulling her into a quick hug. She stiffened, surprised, and I pulled back.
"You did your best with what you had though, right?" I asked her, and she blinked down at me; "I only got to see a bit of the match, but Yui-senpai, you and the other girls never gave up, regardless of the odds! I was moved!" I told her, tears pricking at the corners of my eyes.
"And, up, from what I saw, I think you're a great captain! Being able to motivate a team even in the worst scenarios is an important quality to have, I think." I added on.
Tears began to well up in the corner of Yui-senpai's eyes as well.
She laughed, and finally smiled, wiping at the corner of her eyes, "Thank you, Moeka-chan. You're a good friend." she thanked, and nodded; "Oh… what happened with the boys' match?" she asked me.
"I'm not sure. I left in the middle of it to catch yours…" I trailed off, as my phone buzzed in my pocket; I fished it out and read the text from Hinata, and smiled, "They won their match. They'll be playing a second one today." I replied to Yui-senpai's question.
Yui-senpai's smile grew, "Finally, some good news…!" she said.
I nodded and smiled to her, "Yeah!" I agreed.
"You should go back to them. Thanks for coming after me. I'll be fine on my own." She told me.
"Are you sure?" I asked, tilting my head. She nodded insistently. "Alright… chin up! Tell the girls I thought they did great, and to keep at it!" I said, and separated from her.
She put on a smile for me and looked like she had cheered up a little, but I knew she still had to be feeling bummed. I hope that she'll be okay. I hope that she won't give up like I did.
Karasuno girls aren't so weak. I want to become a stronger person too.
Onigiriri: Hm… Even though I got just about everything I wanted to do in this chapter done, I feel unsure about it. I'm wondering if it was too rushed…? But then again, the Tokonami match felt rushed in the anime too.
I hope you liked it! Date Tech's first appearance! More Aoba Johsai! And more Yui!
There was another scene I'd originally wanted to get in, but I couldn't figure out how to. I'll work it in later.
Hope you like! Thanks for all your reviews so far, I'm glad you've been enjoying this! x3