Hello again! I think there were some problems with the mail-system for last chapter, so if you haven't read Chapter 11, I suggest you do that first.
If there are any Volleyball experts out there, then I apologize in advance as I the only knowledge I have about Volleyball is what Haikyuu! has taught me, so basically everything else is made up, but that's okay, right? :3
Disclaimer: I do not own Haikyuu!
~Serve & Block~
Tsukishima Kei. A first-year at Karasuno High School and a member of the Volleyball Club. He had joined the club with his childhood friend Yamaguchi Tadashi and it seemed that though he had both experience and physical advantages in the sport, he had little interest in the club and viewed it as mare time killing. He was full of pride, annoying and way too smart for anyone's liking, except for Yamaguchi who saw no flaws in him for whatever reason and followed him wherever he went. He had earned a spot as a regular based solely on height, but at the rapid pace the team was growing, height would no longer make up for the lack of ability and strength that others on team possessed. Of course, it was likely that he didn't care and that he'd actually be relieved to be switched as a regular.
This was how Kageyama had thought of Tsukishima up until now and the Tsukishima in his head would never, in a million years, do what this Tsukishima had just done. If Kageyama had indeed hear correctly, that is.
A few minutes earlier Yachi had left the gymnasium to help Shimizu attend to some late night business and Kageyama, unable to practise the new toss on his own, began to clear up in the gym. There was only two days left of the week-long training camp and Kageyama was almost certain that it would still take some time until the toss was stable enough to use for a match. Kageyama had just begun to pick up all the plastic bottles he used for practise, when the door slid open. He had expected Yachi or Hinata step in, but to his great surprise, it had been Tsukishima. At first Kageyama didn't think much of it. He could just had been sent to deliver a message about food or a late night meeting, but it turned out to be nothing of the sort.
For a long, long time Tsukishima didn't actually say anything and, under normal circumstances, Kageyama would have said something, because Tsukishima's presence itself tended to annoy the ever living shit out of him, but this Tsukishima was different. He seemed reserved, almost shy. He was looking down, not in the way that a child would after they had done something they shouldn't, but more like he was just avoiding eye-contact. He had was hands folded in front of him and for a person who was almost 190 centimetres tall, he seemed rather small at the moment.
"Can you teach me the Jump Serve?" Tsukishima voice was low and the question was asked slowly, almost as if he was asking for the impossible. Kageyama, who was very intensely staring at Tsukishima, caught him lifting his gaze, if only for a second, after the question had been asked. After some more awkward silence, which would most definitely kill someone like Hinata, who didn't know what silence was, Kageyama just said the first thing that had come to mind, when he'd finally gotten over the shock that was Tsukishima asking for help from none other than Kageyama.
"Why?"
"... To become stronger," His voice was louder and more determined this time. It almost sounded like the Tsukishima who, when helping Hinata and Kageyama with their studies, would answer a question as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. But only almost.
However, the answer didn't sit right with Kageyama, "Why the Jump Serve? You're a Middle Blocker. Should you not be focusing on your blocking?" Kageyama's voice came out harsh, but this was Tsukishima, it wouldn't face him.
"As it stands now," Tsukishima started and lifted his head ever so slightly to look Kageyama directly in the eyes, "Hinata and I are the weakest in both receives and serves. Our weapons, which are the blocks and the spikes, are only just enough to get us by as regulars, and in both our cases, this is not due to our own ability. Hinata can only stand on the court as long as you do and I have nothing than my height and a just above average block-read.
"Until now there has been no one to take our places, but after this training camp, that'll change. Karasuno is growing stronger, everyone knows that and I want to continue to stand on the court. Practising my blocks alone won't be enough, if there is someone who can top me in spikes, receives and serves."
"...No," Kageyama said firmly, "No. There is another reason. You are going out of your way to ask me to help you. If that was your only reason you would go to Nishinoya-san to practise you receives or Daichi-san to improve your spike, but you came to me for the Jump Serve. Why does it have to be the serve?"
Tsukishima was silent for a while. His head gaze was once again at ground, he was biting his lip and it looked like he was contemplating whether or not he should tell Kageyama the reason. In the end he did.
"I want to stand on the court with Yamaguchi."
That confused Kageyama even more. "... But... Yamaguchi's weapon is the Jump Floater Serve... How does you having a strong serve help you obtain that goal?"
"I already told you. The weakest servers on the team are me and Hinata. Yamaguchi's only weapon at the moment is his serve, which means that his role will be a Pinch Server. Yamaguchi will take the spot of whoever has the weakest serve and I do not intend to lose to Hinata."
In that moment, Kageyama saw something he had never seen before. A Tsukishima with a willpower strong enough to rival Hinata's. How could he refuse?
It was the time for individual practice. Kageyama and Yachi had left to practise his new serve and Tsukishima had probably been kidnapped by Bokuto and Kuroo again, but apart from those three, all the members of Karasuno Volleyball Club was gathered in the first gymnasium. They were practising the synchronised attack (Suga version) and however wasn't currently on court was getting advise by Coach Ukai. Both Hinata and Yamaguchi were off court at the moment and it occurred to Hinata that he had yet to ask Yamaguchi about Tsukishima, since the day Yamaguchi had asked him for advise.
"So, what did you tell Tsukishima?" Hinata asked curiously, sitting down besides Yamaguchi.
"Eh?"
"Tsukishima seems a lot different after you talked to him, so I figured you said something pretty cool?"
"I- I don't know. I just said what was on my mind..."
"Well, whatever you said made him do free practise of his own will. I bet Karasuno will become even stronger now!" Hinata shouted enthusiastically.
"Yes... I bet Tsukki will get really strong," Yamaguchi said fondly and then turned to look Hinata straight in the eye, "Say, Hinata, would you like to practise with me?"
"Sure!"
Hinata and Yamaguchi entered the fourth gym, where a couple of Fukurodani and Shinzen members were either practising or simply chatting after a hard day of training.
"Do you want me to help with serve practise?" Hinata asked Yamaguchi, knowing that he spent all of his individual practise on the Jump Floater Serve.
"Actually, I was thinking that I could practise my spikes and you could try to block or receive.. Depending on what you want to practise."
"Why your spike," Hinata asked, tilting his head slightly.
"While aiming to be a Pinch Server is good and all, I would someday like the strength to stand on court with Tsukki for a full match and to do that I need more than just my serve. Right?" Yamaguchi smiled warmly at Hinata, who couldn't help but smile back at him...
"But don't we need a Setter?" Hinata pointed out and it became quite clear that Yamaguchi hadn't really thought of that, but before he could say anything, another conversation started.
"Okay, that'll be it for today," someone from Shinzen told a little group that had been practising and they all started packing their stuff, except for one.
"Um, I think I'll stay for a little while to practise my toss." The person was a first-year (going by height) and not a regular of the Shinzen team, which meant that neither Hinata nor Yamaguchi knew his name, but did this not seem like the perfect scenario for a duo missing a Setter?
Hinata was fast on his feet and had already asked the unknown Shinzen member if they could practise together before Yamaguchi had made his way to them. The guy seemed very flattered that one of Karasuno's regulars wanted to practise with him and accepted immediately, whilst showering Hinata with compliments that were clearly making Hinata very light headed.
Yamaguchi and the first-year (he was indeed a first-year) quickly exchanged names and their practise began. In the beginning Yamaguchi had been hesitant with criticism, but after awhile he'd found his voice and courage, and were able to give both Hinata and the Shinzen Setter advise. Practising with Hinata proved to not only be fun, but also extremely useful. Where Yamaguchi could help Hinata with the timing of his block, as well as the right stance for receives, Hinata could help Yamaguchi with his cross spike, which he'd always had problems with.
The three of them ended their practise session with ten Jump Floater Serves from Yamaguchi and even with two receivers, they only managed to actually receive two of the Serves. Although Yamaguchi refrained from being too proud of himself as they were neither Daichi nor Nishinoya.
Kageyama helping Tsukishima with his Jump Serve seemed to not be time wasted. Tsukishima had been prepared to help Kageyama with his blocks and as much as Kageyama didn't think that he had a weak block (he gathered that only Asahi and Tsukishima could actually say that they were better than him), he soon found that he could learn a lot from Tsukishima, who had absorbed an awful lot from the little time he'd spent blocking with Nekoma's Kuroo. They also discussed various blocking tactics as there is much more to blocking than simply jumping up with your hands above your head. Kageyama much preferred this Tsukishima over the annoying prick, who had originally joined the club and he had even caught himself thinking that talking to Tsukishima was pleasant, though he had quickly dismissed that as him being caught up in the moment.
Kageyama had originally assumed that when it came to Tsukishima doing a Jump Serve, his strength would be the force behind it. Tsukishima had long arms, which meant that his hand would reach a higher speed than someone shorter than him. This would in turn mean that the ball would move faster and be harder to receive unless it came straight on. This turned out not to be the case and Kageyama started thinking that he should just stop trying to predict anything that regarded Tsukishima, because he seemed to never be right. Kageyama had quickly noticed that while Tsukishima's serve wasn't as strong as Kageyama or Asahi's serve, it was precise. Tsukishima had always claimed that aiming was something out of his ability range, but that seemed to be just as true as the fact that Hinata was two metres tall. With all the practise Tsukishima had done blocking, he had somehow gained some insane control over the movements and positioning of his hands, which allowed him to pin point which direction the ball should go in. After getting the hang of the form, Kageyama had started trying to receive the serves, which in the beginning hadn't proved more difficult than receiving Hinata's (and that was saying something). That was until Tsukishima discovered that he could control the direction of the ball ever so slightly by cupping his hand a little bit. This made it harder for Kageyama to receive as the serve now looked the same as before, but had a completely different angle, which Kageyama found hard to receive.
After Tsukishima had bypassed Kageyama's defence a solid five times in a row, Kageyama only had one thought: If Hinata doesn't up his game, Tsukishima will surpass him within a month.
Thank you for reading, if you liked the chapter please favorite or leave a little review :3 Also please let me know if you like the focus on the other characters?