Kanna couldn't focus. She didn't know which way to look. Both games were happening at the same time—thankfully—in the same gym. Strategically, she sat right in the middle of both courts, so it'd be easier for her to watch them simultaneously. But it was proving to be too difficult of a task.
She'd be watching one game, and then suddenly hearing the whistle blow from the other. It was hard. She felt like she was missing a lot by watching the other side play—which she was—and it was making her feel more than a little frustrated.
Though she was trying her best to multi-task, she was mainly tuning into the Nekoma vs. Nohebi match. Seeing as Fukuroudani has already secured a position to play as a representative, she was more concerned about Nekoma possibly not making the cut.
"I'm sure Kou's going to forgive me for missing a few of his hits. Hopefully." She thought, cringing slightly upon hearing his cheering voice after an attack she didn't catch.
Not to mention, Nekoma's opponents were those troublesome snakes. Which wouldn't be much of a problem, if there weren't any easily provoked/swayed members in the team. Unfortunately, that's not the case.
"Come on, you guys! Yamamoto-san, Lev, hang in there!" She quietly cheered, watching worriedly as their faces contorted in agitation.
To top it all off, Nohebi's totally managed to take control of the atmosphere, and convince not just the referee, but the crowds as well, that they're 'righteous'. When they're far from it.
"If only they knew what those snakes were really up to. They wouldn't be saying all that." She sneered in response to the comments of the people around her.
On the other hand, if they manage to stay level-headed, they just might be able to push through without any major setbacks.
"Okay, I take that back." Kanna thought, flinching heavily when Yamamoto got hit on the face by the ball. "I hope he's alright. That's got to hurt."
Hearing the whistle blow, calling for a time-out, she turns her attention back to the game happening on the other side of the court. Cheering loudly along with the stands, when she witnessed a great team play of Konoha saving one of Sakusa's spikes and Koutarou landing a counter.
Her thought process was interrupted when she heard a loud yell from the side.
"I don't know what happened to make him yell like that, but Yaku-san, that's not the right response. You're losing your 'demon senpai' image."
Kanna shook her head at their antics and refocused on the games. For a while, she went back and forth from the both courts, gripping the railing in anxious anticipation. But then her attention was once again caught by shouts and murmurs from the Nekoma/Nohebi side.
"What? What happened?" Curiosity getting the best of her, she surveyed the court, seeing what all the fuss was about. "Oh no. He got hurt."
Seeing Yaku collapsing into Yamamoto, broke her heart. From what Kenma has told her, Yaku has not once been seriously injured, nor sick all year. She could only imagine the amount of frustration he must be feeling at the moment.
"Yaku-san, are you going to be alright?"
She tore her eyes away from the third year, as the game resumed, looking down anxiously at Shibayama's form. When Nekomata-sensei called for a time-out, she narrowed her eyes to study the rest of the members. They weren't looking too good. It was clear that they were all greatly affected by the loss of one of their core members. But if they want to win, they have to get through this.
"Hn?" Kanna hummed curiously, feeling a shift in the team's mood as Kenma joined the circle. "He must've said something."
And seeing as they chose to bench Shibayama right after the whistle blew, Kenma clearly wasn't playing around. She continued to observe for a few seconds, when a light-bulb occurred.
"Ahaha….He's planning to work Kuroo-san to the bone, isn't he?" She looked down at the said male sympathetically, offering her condolences. "May Ken-kun have mercy on you."
Coming to the conclusion that Nekoma would be doing alright for the time being, she changed her focus back to the Fukuroudani/Itachiyama match. Although the stakes weren't as high as Nekoma's game, it didn't change the fact that watching them play still made her nervous.
She had all the confidence in their skills, but what worried her most, would be Koutarou's reaction should they lose. And just when the thought crossed her mind, Fukuroudani was now at set point, with a 2-point lead.
"What the—?! When did that happen?! I was only looking away for a second!" Her eyes widened in shock.
Then she was jumping excitedly, and cheering along with the band when Koutarou landed the final point, ending the set. Her legs almost gave out in her relief, managing to grip the railing and somewhat catch herself. She leaned her forehead against it, to try and regain her composure. After a moment, she finally rose. Looking down, to see that the second set has begun for the Fukuroudani/Itachiyama match.
Kanna turned to the other side, just in time, to witness Kenma perform a flawless setter dump, causing her to cheer in surprise. Then immediately covering her mouth and ducking down, feeling a little self-conscious, hoping it wasn't too loud. Which was wishful thinking, as she clearly yelled before the crowd did.
Meanwhile, down below, Kenma was trying his hardest not to burst into laughter at hearing her voice be suddenly cut off. And Kenma wasn't the only one who took notice.
"Wasn't that Kanna-san's voice? Something must've happened at the other side." thought Akaashi, as he jumped to block the ball heading his way.
Thankfully, nobody seemed to pay it much mind, which greatly relieved her. Eyeing the score board and seeing Nekoma in their set point, had her anxiously chewing on her lips.
"Come on. Come on. Come on—" Kept on going through her head like a mantra.
She then watched the Nohebi setter fail in his attempt to do his own setter dump, when Lev's hand got in the way. As the spikers ran up to the net, Kanna couldn't help but take notice.
"Aah~ So that's what he was aiming for."
Lev jumped, just as Kenma tossed the ball. Only for Nohebi's blocker's to notice—a second too late—that they were lured in by the two in front. Thus, allowing Kuroo—who was camouflaged behind Lev— to score.
"What a wonderful back attack."
*Phwwwhhhhttt!—*
"YEAH!" Kanna cheered, this time, along with the crowd.
Nekoma had won their first set, but they couldn't relax just yet, as the next set is bound to be trickier than the first. They have to be much more vigilant, who knows what ploys Nohebi might pull.
As the Nekoma/Nohebi side were currently in a little break before the next set, Kanna switched her attention back to the Fukuroudani/Itachiyama game. And it wasn't looking good.
Itachiyama had a huge point lead. Even from her position, she could feel the frustration radiating from Fukuroudani's side of the court, from a certain loud individual to be exact. Who, is currently yelling about some things she wishes she could have been far enough not to hear.
"God, he's so embarrassing~" She groaned, using her hair as a shield to hide her face.
Kanna lifted her head when she heard the whistle blew, "and there goes another point for Itachiyama."
She continued to watch as the boys tried to closen the gap, only to be stopped short, by a particularly difficult spike by none other than, Sakusa.
"Damn, Sakusa-san sure is cool." She gushed, admiring the way his hits curved off of the receiver's arms.
"I wonder if I can replicate that. The possibility is low, but I think I can get close, probably. Hm~ Now that's a thought. I should ask Keiji if he's willing to try it out with me sometime."
Kanna shifted her attention to the other side of the court, and winced at Kuroo and Kenma's attack that barely made it in.
"I hope he holds on for a little longer." She thought, looking concerned for Kuroo and the amount of weight he's currently holding for the team, with Yaku out of the game.
"But Lev seems to be all fired up." Seeing him be so active, surprised and greatly amused her.
Though the amusement was short-lived, as she caught onto what Nohebi was trying to do.
"Yamamoto-san…." She narrowed her eyes, anxiously drumming her fists on the railing as she gazed at his hunched form.
But it seems like her worries were all for naught. As he was able to save what would've been a block out, and went straight in for the attack, landing the point perfectly.
She giggled in relief at his antics of antagonizing Lev. "Good to know he's holding on well. That's the Ace for you."
*Phwwwhhhhttt!—*
A time-out was called, she used this chance to tune back into the opposite side. A glance at the score board showed that Itachiyama had reached the 20 point mark first, and their lead doesn't seem to be shrinking.
She flinched at a particularly hard hit by their captain, that Komi wasn't able to keep afloat. The guys were able to score in a few points, but it wasn't enough. And just like that, a couple of rallies later, Itachiyama had won the second set.
Set Count 1 : 1
Kanna observed as the team converged to strategize on their approach for the last set. As serious as the atmosphere surrounding the team might've been, her eye twitched in annoyance as she took note of Koutarou's body language. "He's so close to throwing a tantrum."
She closed her eyes for a second, choosing to ignore whatever it is that might be happening down there, and turned to the other side of the court.
Nohebi had just subbed in a pinch server, who's serve almost didn't make it in—but it did— along with Kuroo barely managing to save it. Fukunaga was on the attack, and it looked like the trajectory of the ball was spot on. But alas, the snakes had other plans.
Kanna clicked her tongue as she scrutinized the Nohebi team. "I never did like how Nohebi did things. But then I guess, there are people, who would do whatever it takes to create opportunities for themselves. Doesn't matter how, just that when it comes down to it, the outcome would be favorable to them."
Shifting her gaze to the Nekoma bench, her eyes gleamed. "Good thing Nekoma's smart, and more than skilled enough to find a way around their tricks."
And right after that thought process, Nohebi's No. 4 delivers a service ace, landing near the edge of the backline.
"O~kay~ I might have jinxed it. Ugh…"
Good thing Fukunaga managed to save the day again, with his incredible ball control.
"His courses are so satisfying, what the heck?!"
Nekoma managed to stop Nohebi from scoring more service aces. Along with that momentum, Kuroo pulled off an unexpected one-man time delay attack.
Kanna could barely breathe from all the tension in the air, and she wasn't even the one playing. The amount of pressure the guys down there are currently under, oh how she knows. She can only hope that they can hang on just a little bit more.
As they got closer and closer to the end of the set, Kanna solely focused on the Nekoma/Nohebi game. She just couldn't handle having to switch her attention away, not when they're so close. So close.
"Please let them win this set. Please let them win this set. Please—" She chanted desperately.
And her restlessness only seemed to amplify, as Kuroo switched out with Shibayama when his finger got busted.
"Oh goodness, I can't take much more of this! Please!"
Her death grip on the railing lightened a little bit when Lev scored their match point. But her relief didn't last long, when Nohebi's No. 12 managed to counter back.
A deuce. This is it. The last stand. A race to score the two points that will lead them to victory.
Kanna cheered along with the stands when Yamamoto scored Nekoma's match point. But she couldn't relax just yet, as these moments are normally where anything could happen.
She was proven right the next second, with how unbelievably ridiculous the rally was going. Despite the current situation, she couldn't help but respect the unyielding determination of both teams, as well as their absurdly quick reflexes.
"To be able to respond to mere seconds of movement, 'instinctively', Oh~ you've got to admire the amount of work they put in to be able to achieve such a feat."
"Oh?" Kanna voiced, noticing Lev's position.
"Well, would you look at that~ He's evolved quite nicely. Well done, Lev. And you too, Shibayama-kun." She thought, smiling down at them proudly.
And thanks to their combined efforts, Yamamoto was able to deliver a wonderful block-out, earning them the last point needed, ending the match.
*Phwwwhhhhttt!—*
Set Count 2 : 0 — Winner: Nekoma High School —the last representative spot for the Spring High Volleyball Tournament, secured—
When it finally registered that Nekoma had won, Kanna collapsed behind the railing once more. All the tension in her veins seeped out, and weakened her legs to jelly.
"Oh, thank goodness." She whispers, letting out an airy laugh in her relief. "I'm gonna need more than a few minutes to recover from all…that…"
True to her words, she sat there with her eyes closed, drowning out the world. And for some inexplicable reason, she felt this sudden surge of emotion welling up in her chest. She tried to take a deep breath to somewhat get a hold of herself, but failed when it resulted in tears building up in her eyes.
She gathered herself up—clumsily—to sit in one of the chairs, so as to not attract attention. Settling down, she shuddered a breath as the tears flowed. Her hands latched onto the arm rests in a bruising hold, biting her lip trying to keep herself from making a sound.
She knew why she was feeling this way. She was well aware. But what she couldn't comprehend was, why now?
After a while, she was able to calm herself down enough. Wiping her eyes as she sniffled, slumping into the chair with her eyes closed. She tuned back into the world when she heard cheering.
"Looks like I missed the whole set." She sighed, wondering who might've won, when she was answered with her cousin making a proclamation and being cut short, making her laugh.
She took a deep breath and stood on shaky legs. Grabbing the railing once more and looking down at the court— for a minute or two—with a wistful smile, before turning and making her way down to meet with the guys.
Notes:
*I would like to extend my thanks to Jazzper'sGirl, Keelan1210, KirikaAndo and Mika-chan20 for favoriting and following; SolarKelsey, stxphh and salports779 for favoriting, and Ash1276, Janelle C Dapitan and themorgue21 for following after my last post.
*Dear Foxyning and Tora3, thank you for the comments! Just a heads up! Better get ready 'cause the upcoming chapters are bound to drown you in Kenna interactions! Please look forward to it!
Thank You!