Haikyuu!
Higher
Chapter 14: Kings

Oikawa knew that he wasn't the most perfect person in the world, like some seemed to think.

He knew he was a petty person when it came to his relationships and a prideful person when it came to his own image. He knew that he could be mean, that his words could be hurtful, even if he knew that the person on the receiving end of them didn't really deserve it.

And he knew that he wasn't the volleyball genius everyone claimed him to be.

If he was to be completely honest, if he had worked even slightly less on any part of what people adored him for, he wouldn't be able to stand up to anyone on the court. In fact, his setting and jump serves weren't something that he was just able to do. He'd dedicated months, if not years, to perfecting his technique. He had to work so, so hard just to prove himself to the world.

He was no prodigy.

Not like Tobio Kageyama, his ambitious junior who was sure to outclass him in every possible way in the near future.

Angrily, although with an outward calmness that was the complete opposite of his internal feelings, Oikawa turned his gaze from where the ball he'd just tossed for one of his teammates had landed. He turned towards where Karasuno had just entered the gymnasium.

Among the black and orange clad team stood Tobio, who was quietly talking with Aika Yamada at the bench. The two of them were looking at the notebook in Aika's hands as she pointed something out to him, the younger setter nodding in understanding. She even gestured to the blonde beanpole that seemed to be disinterested in what was going on around him, and, despite his scowl, Tobio nodded at her, agreeing with whatever it was that she'd said.

The one thing that never changed about Tobio was his ambition. He'd always been diligent in practice. He'd always absorbed information freakishly fast, and he'd always done well with whatever he learned.

Oikawa bit his lip as he prepared to toss once more.

He hated that the setter who lacked any ability to mesh with his team was the one who was a prodigy. Tobio could just toss and it'd be good enough. But Oikawa had to work hard to get his team to trust him, to understand what they wanted.

It wasn't fair.

The whistle blew, signaling for the match to begin, and Kageyama stood among the rest of his team, staring down Aoba Josai. Narita stood on his right and Hinata stood on his left. He was surrounded by his teammates, surrounded by people that he knew wouldn't let him down when it mattered most. They were all people who would be on the other side of his tosses, prepared to spike them onto the opponent's side of the court.

He subtly looked towards Oikawa, who seemed unbothered by everything that was about to happen.

Kageyama remembered the day that he first saw Oikawa in a match, the day that he began to admire the older boy as a fellow setter.

Oikawa had won the "best setter" award when Kageyama was just coming in as a rookie. He'd shown off powerful jump serves and accurate tosses in his third year, and had led Kitagawa Daiichi to victory at more than one point in time. He'd been known as the pillar of the team, and had proven it over and over again. He was someone that every incoming setter looked up to.

He was someone that, at the time, Kageyama had wanted to be like.

Kageyama had wanted to be loved and admired the way Oikawa was. He'd wanted to be respected by his teammates and feared by his opponents. He'd wanted to be appreciated by the rest of his classmates, and maybe even loved by a few of them.

He wasn't quite sure when that dream had died.

Maybe it was the day he became "King of the Court."

Maybe it was the day that people began to resent him.

Or maybe it was the day he realized that his idol hated him.

But none of that mattered anymore, especially not now that they were facing each other in a match. A true match, not a practice match, as opponents and rivals. It was Kageyama's chance to surpass the "best setter" he'd wanted to be like for years.

Moving his gaze only slightly, he saw Aika, who was standing, gazing at the line of Aoba Josai players with the same determination he felt in his gut. He couldn't help but feel his hands curl into fists as he remembered that it wasn't just about him anymore. It wasn't just about his rivalry with Oikawa. It wasn't just about his need to prove his worth to both the world and to himself.

It was about bringing Karasuno to the finals, bringing them past the top 16.

It was about letting the third years know what it was like to be successful, about proving that they weren't the "clipped crows" anymore. It was about showing how brightly Hinata could shine when he was on the court, about allowing him the chance to fight for victory on a national stage.

And it was about Aika. About the dream she'd never get to experience first-hand. About seeing a team she loved so much, dedicated so much to, get to a place she'd never get to be on her own.

He took a deep breath, resolving himself as he bowed deeply to the opponents.

It was about their team.

Aika tried to ignore the tension in her shoulders, but failed miserably. She could feel herself curling inwards a little at how nervous she was as Tsukishima served the first serve of the game.

She knew how important this game was to everyone.

It wasn't just a grudge match against one of the best schools in the prefecture. It wasn't about Oikawa or Kageyama, either. It was to prove to themselves that they could stand among the best and put up a fight, maybe even take home the victory. They had to show that they were worth the time and effort that they'd dedicated to making their once small team grow.

Her thoughts were interrupted rudely by the knowledge that the Aoba Josai player wearing the jersey labeled "1" had just spiked past three blockers and earned the first point of the game. Her eyes widened as she realized that it'd been Oikawa who'd spiked.

"W-what…" she managed to choke out.

There was no doubt about it at this point.

She'd thought it the moment that she saw the stark contrast between the cream puff setter and Oikawa during their practice match against Aoba Josai, but the way that the air around the team shifted and the way that they trusted him, even without knowing what he was going to do, cemented what she already known.

Oikawa was the pillar of Aoba Josai.

They functioned fine on their own, without him as their setter, but with him, there was even more to fear. He was strong and talented and smart, and he knew it. And he knew exactly how to play to the strengths of everyone on his team, even his own.

He also knew how to prey on the weaknesses of his opponents.

There was nothing else but tension in her body as she came to realize exactly who and what they were up against.

The whistle rang again as the second point went in favor of Aoba Josai.

He's terrifying.

Kageyama pursed his lips in thought. He knew that Oikawa was watching, waiting for everyone on Karasuno's side of the net to move. He knew that Oikawa would see every motion and be prepared for every last person to move.

Well, maybe not all of us.

At the last possible moment, he swiped sideways at the ball, dumping it over the net and past the blockers, a vicious grin on his face as it landed. He could see the shock on everyone's faces, including his own spikers, but he didn't care. A point was a point.

You're not the only one who can perform a dump.

His eyes sharpened into a glare as they met Oikawa's, whose gaze was threatening as the two passed by each other, both of them preparing to take the next play.

He chanced a look to Aika, who looked tense and stressed, her shoulders nearly up to her ears as she watched the game. Her eyes turned to him as he moved, and she offered him a small, reassuring smile, even though she looked like she needed one, too.

So, he offered one back.

It was small, so no one else would see it, but he wanted to give her something in return.

The look on her face, the one of shock, something he rarely saw on her, was worth it.

Aika couldn't help but giggle at the sheer overconfidence that all of the boys seemed to share. No one was willing to lose to the other, even if they were teammates. Every single boy wanted to show their own success and prove that they were the best player on the court.

If they surpassed their teammates, that was great. If they surpassed the other team, that was even better.

It was their competitive natures that drove each and every one of them to continue to try harder and harder. Each of them had their own way of proving that they were the best, and each of them held themselves to different standards of improvement. Some were higher than others, like comparing someone like Tsukishima to someone like Hinata.

But the most interesting two were the two setters, who were so similar but so different at the same time.

Kageyama was a prodigy. Oikawa was not.

Yet that was the only real difference between them.

Both of them had to work extremely hard to get to the level that they were currently at. Both of them had practiced their techniques extensively as they tried to become the best that they could possibly be. Both of them were stubborn and believed that there was always room to improve. And both of them very clearly placed their sport before themselves at any and every turn.

They were more similar than they were different, and it showed in the ways that their jump serves practically mirrored each other.

It was just that Oikawa had more experience in being able to reach his potential and tap into what made him so threatening, while at the same time realizing where his true skills were. Kageyama still had more to learn, even though his technique was on par with Oikawa's.

Perhaps that was why Hinata's nickname of "Great King" fit so well with Oikawa, while Kageyama was still just a "King."

There's something fundamentally different about Tobio.

Oikawa couldn't help that thought that permeated his brain. He couldn't help but notice the small nuances in the way that his junior carried himself, the way he behaved himself.

"It's unnerving," he muttered to himself as he glanced at the scoreboards.

There had only been five plays in the entire game, but it'd felt like forever. It'd felt like they'd been playing for hours for all the tension that was filling the gymnasium, and Oikawa was definitely feeling how much was on the line in this match.

But Oikawa had noticed something in just those four plays.

Kageyama was still incredibly competitive, refusing to lose to anyone at his own game. He fought fire with fire, using a setter dump to gain Karasuno's first point. He used a blatant fake-out to trick poor Kindaichi into running in the opposite direction of a toss. There was no telling what other kinds of tricks he'd picked up over the course of a few months.

On the outside, it seemed like everything was the same with Kageyama.

But Oikawa knew differently.

As Kindaichi spiked, his jump towering over the small orange-haired boy, Oikawa looked to Kageyama, who was frowning.

It was like Kageyama was upset that the smallest middle blocker had gone up against Aoba Josai's best jumper. Not only was there a stupid height difference, but there was also a ridiculous difference between experience of both players.

Perhaps Kageyama was feeling it.

Or perhaps it was because he knew Oikawa was smarter.

His smirk only grew wider as he heard the small number 10 yell once more, confirming what he'd figured out the night before.

I've got you figured out, Tobio.

"I think it's time that we change things up," Aika remarked, referring to the timeout that Aoba Josai had just asked for. "It's clear that you two," she sent a look at the first year duo, "were too obvious in your signals. I'm not quite sure what you were thinking, but you're going to have to come up with something else, and fast."

She sighed, closing her notebook. Her shoulders were feeling like they were under a hundred pounds of weights, and she rolled them in order to loosen them up.

Kageyama glanced at her, realizing how much stress this game was putting on her. She'd taken on the job of figuring out their opponents, and this opponent just so happened to be one of the harder ones to really pin down and figure out.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

She nodded and looked back up at him. "As for what I've learned… since the timeout is really early, I haven't gotten a lot. But one thing I do know is that they're a much different team than the one we faced earlier this year. We are, too, of course, but something's happened with their new players. Each of them seem to have one skill they've been practicing over and over again, and it's showing."

She gestured to Kindaichi as an example, and Kageyama frowned.

It was clear that Oikawa's influence had been such an important part of what helped Kindaichi grow as a player. In the time Kageyama had played with him, Kindaichi had never once shown the same amount of trust in his setter and had never once tried as hard as he did for Oikawa.

Aika took one look at him, then sighed. "I know how this probably feels. It's not easy, facing people you once knew. But look at it like this: you're a different person, too. Even if it feels like they're miles away now, and you've taken only a few steps forward, they probably feel that way about you, too," she assured him, taking a quick look at the Aoba Josai team.

He glanced at her, then back at Oikawa, who was speaking to Aoba Josai with a confident smile on his face.

"I admire him, you know," he admitted. "He's why I wanted to become the best."

"Which is what lead to you becoming known as the King of the Court, right?" He wouldn't deny that her words hurt a little, but he nodded. "Well, then forget that you admire him. You can admire him all you want when the game's over. Right now, we need you to be better than he is." Her sharp eyes caught his. "Just like Oikawa's their pillar, you are ours. We need you in the game."

Kageyama could only stare at her for a moment, but then he nodded.

"Right."