Chapter Four: The View From the Summit

SAKURA SETTLED HERSELF ON THE GROUND BESIDE the scorekeeper with her camera ready. It's not an official game or anything, but she still wanted to take some pictures of the boys. Might as well as practice taking some pictures for the team, right? So while the guys set up for their match, she got comfy on the ground next to Suga.

The door opened once again, and the stunning third-year manager walked through the door, "Good morning, everybody."

Ennoshita greeted her like a normal person should, "Hello there."

Yet the resident idiot did not. "You're looking as beautiful as ever my dearest Kiyoko!" Tanaka shouted at her like a mad man, only for her to ignore him like usual. Still, despite the girl not doing anything, he still shivered at even being in the same room as her. "Aw, yeah being ignored."

Sakura looked up at the older girl with a blank expression as the black-haired beauty walked over towards the scoreboard. "Oh, morning Kiyoko-senpai." 

"Hello, Hinata-chan." She said, "I didn't think you would be here."

Sakura shrugged her thin shoulders and pursed her lips, "Well, nii-san had forced me to wake up early for his practices all week. I want to see how those practices have helped him improve."

"Hey, Kiyoko!" Endo suddenly greeted the manager with a charming smile as he bounded over to the two. 

"Hello, Endo," She replied back in aloof voice and then moved away to get ready for the match, effectively ignoring Endo as he approached. Though, unlike Tanaka, her ignorance didn't affect him. He was neither enchanted nor upset that she walked away from him. At least he wasn't as perverted as Tanaka, Sakura thought. The blond looked down at her with a sly smile, "ready to see how well your brother and Kageyama fair in this game, Hinata-chan?"

Sakura's eyebrow twitched at the fact that he called her 'hinata-chan', but she disregarded it for the time being, "I guess."

Endo tilted his head curiously, "aren't you worried about him? He just might lose this match, you know."

She shrugged her shoulders and glanced up at him from the corner of her eyes, "I don't care if he wins or loses. He won't be punished if they do lose, which is all I care about."

Endo eyed the bored girl for a moment and contemplated her reaction. You would think that she would want to see her brother actually win this game. Yet here she was, perfectly content with either outcome. If it were him, Endo would probably be cheering his heart out for his sibling. Then again, he and Sakura didn't really have the same personality, so he wasn't sure what she would do at this match. He could understand her logic about Hinata-kun not being punished if he did lose the game. There wasn't much on the line for the kid besides maybe his pride, and suffering through the humiliation that came with losing a game. Though if she really did care for her brother, wouldn't she want him to win? Isn't that what a sibling is supposed to do? He wouldn't know.

Before he could say anything else to her, his captain grabbed everyone's attention. "Alright, let's get started." Daichi took charge to start the match, "I'll play on Tsukishima's team to make it three-on-three."

Shōyō jumped up with confusion painting his face, "Huh!? Is that fair though?"

The captain chuckled, "Look don't worry, of course, it is. Tanaka has got a lot more attack power than me. I won't go easy on you though."

"Aww, but Daichiiii," Endo whined while leaning against the captain with faux tears running down his face. "I wanted to play against the troublesome duo!"

Hinata and Kageyama bristled and shouted out in annoyance at being called the 'troublesome duo'. Though he wasn't wrong. Daichi sighed loudly and rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration, "Endo, shut it!" You would think that he would be used to the third-years' antics, but Endo could always be a nuisance when he needed to be.

The blond boy gasped dramatically and pretended to cry into his arm. "You're so mean, captain!"

Tsukishima eyed the strange interaction before clearing his throat and pretending to whisper to Daichi, though he made sure the others could hear him. "Well, ahem, the buzzcut or the shorty, who to crush. I mean, challenge first. So hard to choose, but I do know I want to save his highness for last."

"Uh, Tsukki," Yamaguchi walked over and whispered to his best friend with urgent hesitancy. "They can hear you. Be careful."

"I know genius, I want them to hear me." He rolled his eyes at his best friend, he spoke louder for the others to hear once again. "I can't wait to watch the king fall apart out there."

"Well now," Daichi chuckled, "you've got quite a personality there don't you?"

Sakura scoffed from the sidelines and made sure that the beanpole could hear her, "Yeah, a terrible one." Endo snickered into his hand at her comment as he walked towards the others, finished with his dramatic act. Her words had earned her the pleasure of being on the receiving end of the blond's narrow-eyed glare. She didn't mind it though, she just ignored the burning stare as she lazily leaned on her arms.

Tsukishima's glare hadn't let up on the unaffected girl as he continued to speak, "It'll have to be a pretty great show to top watching him get abandoned by all his loyal subjects last year."

Kageyama's fist clenched at the jabs about his past. While they may be true, he didn't like being reminded of it. After all, it was one of his lowest points as a volleyball player.

"Well, well," Tanaka sang as he walked over to the troublesome duo with a sweet smile. "Did you hear that you guys, they're talking trash now. That jerk better step off..." He then turned around with a menacing expression, "OR HE'S DEAD MEAT!"

"Suga-senpai," Sakura raised an eyebrow at him and looked up at the vice-captain who turned to look at her. "Please tell me he isn't always like this."

The upperclassman sighed, "I'm afraid he is." All she did was groan in displeasure. 

---

The game started with Shōyō, Kageyama, and Tanaka against Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and Daichi. Sakura honestly didn't care who won this match, despite saying that Tsukishima was going to lose earlier. Sure it would be nice for her brother to win, but if they did lose nothing would really happen to Shōyō. His pride might end up being wounded, but she knew that he would bounce back eventually. The only one who was really at risk was Kageyama, who would not be allowed to be a setter. So she didn't care. Though it would be nice to see Tsukishima's ass handed to him. That would definitely be entertaining.

A few points had already been scored, and at the moment, Kageyama had just set a spike for Tanaka. The second-year easily broke through Tsukishima's block. "YEEAAAAH!! WHOOOHOO!!" Tanaka shouted at his scored point and pulled off his shirt to spin around like it was a lasso. 

"Put your shirt on!" Suga shouted at him with annoyance lacing his words.

Ennoshita rolled his eyes, "Yeah, calm down." 

"Nobody wants to see that," Kinoshita said.

Endo shook his head, "It wasn't even that impressive!"

Sakura just pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed loudly. God these guys are annoying, she thought. The match continued on with Daichi serving the next ball.

"Front!" Kageyama called.

Tanaka moved to receive the ball confidently, "Got it!"

"Hinata!"

An excited expression blossomed on the short teens face. His first real spike in a high school game! How awesome!!! He couldn't wait to feel the satisfaction of hitting the ball over the net, scoring his first point in a real game. Shōyō jumped up, more than ready to spike the ball, to the surprise of everyone in the room. Seeing a small teen like him able to jump at least a few feet in the air was amazing. Even Kiyoko was stunned by the sight right in front of her. Sakura though was unfazed, as she has seen it a million times before. Though just as Shōyō tried to get it over the net, the extremely tall Tsukishima was there to make a perfect kill.

Shock flooded Shōyō's body as he realized that this was just like middle school. Another wall to block him and keep him from scoring. His twin clicked her tongue. She expected that it would be blocked at some point. After all, you can't really do much against someone as tall as Tsukishima. He's a giant.

"You took me by surprise before," Tsukishima said smugly as his glasses gleamed slightly in the light, "you've got a really nice jump there. Now if only you were about a foot taller you would be a real superstar. Better start taking your vitamins."

On the sidelines, Sakura scowled harshly at the boy. She usually isn't one for showing her emotions, at least externally, but when someone constantly berates her brother, she was definitely going to show her displeasure. What was with this guy and hating on just about everyone? That sadistic bastard certainly got a kick out of it, which Sakura was ashamed to say that she was just about the same. As if knowing what she was thinking, Tsukishima smugly smiled at her as well. Seemingly figuring out that he could get to her by speaking like this to her twin. It almost seemed to amuse him, even more, seeing that he had riled up the other twin, even if it was just a twitch of her brow and a deep frown.

"Whatever, one more. I got this one for sure." Shōyō said in determination before the game continued. He was set a few more spikes, but each time they were blocked by the same smug beanpole. Things certainly weren't going as Shōyō had hoped.

"Blocked again," Suga said, dejected.

Ennoshita nodded his head, "How many times is that?"

"Tanaka's getting a lot through though," Kinoshita said, trying to lighten up the mood.

Though Sakura, ever the Debby-downer, shrugged her shoulders, "the only way they'd actually win is if nii-san is able to get his spikes through. You can't really win a game with only one spiker breaking through blocks."

"Wow," Endo said and leaned on the top of Sakura's head, to her annoyance, "you're quite the pessimist aren't you, Hinata-chan."

"Don't touch me, baka!" She shouted and pushed the poor third-year away, who ended up falling to the ground on his face.

Back on the courts, Tsukishima taunted Kageyama, who did his best to ignore the blond. "You better snap out of it buddy, or you're going to keep getting blocked." Kageyama made sure to keep is back to the giant, not willing to reveal that he was bothered by the jabs. "Why don't you give them one of your royal sets, the kind that wipes out your opponent and your teammates at the same time."

The dark-haired setter flinched a little at the reminder but made sure not to show any other indications that he was affected by those words. "Shut your mouth."

The boys set up for the next service to be made, which Daich called out, "Your serve, Tadashi."

The meek boy took his spot for the serve and hit it... only to have it fall short and hit the net. "Oops," the freckled boy sheepishly said while tubbing the back of his head. "Sorry Tsukki." Endo snickered at the poor boy's misfortune.

"Shake it off," the captain encouraged while Kageyama got ready to serve the ball this time. His jump serve was quite impressive, just like Suga had seen from a few days ago. Sakura had made sure to get at least one shot of him in mid-air. She may not totally like the guy, but he did make a good subject for photos. 

He aimed his serve for Daichi, thinking that he might be weak at receives, but found out that their captain can easily make it. Caught off guard by that fact, Tsukishima was easily able to set the ball for Tadashi who spiked it over the net. Shōyō wasn't ready to receive it, so it just hit off of him and out of bounds.

Tanaka walked over to Kageyama, "Steady receives like that are Daichi's specialty. They got mad defense."

"Did you think I would be a weak spot?" The captain asked the first-year with a raised eyebrow. "I may not have as much raw talent as you, but I've been training on receives a lot longer than you have. You won't break through that easily."

Okay, even Sakura had to admit, Daichi sounded cool.

"Your grace, shouldn't you be taking this seriously?" Once again, Tsukishima took the time to call out Kageyama.

Endo did his best to hide his small smile. The sight of drama was something that he lived for! Seeing this, gave him such good entertainment. It would be even better if he could interject himself into it. Causing drama and being involved with it was what he thrived on. Though there was no way he'd really get to get in on the action. This was just between the first-years and whatever beef they have with each other.

Shōyō walked up to the net and glared at Tsukishima, "Dude, what's the matter with you? Why do you have to keep picking on the guy? Chill out with the frickin nickname."

"What for?" The blond scoffed, "Don't you know why everybody started calling him the "King of the Court"?"

The ball of sunshine furrowed his eyebrows. "I just thought his enemies called him that because he's a really good player and well everybody so afraid of him."

Tsukishima laughed at his stupidity and naivety, "That's a common misunderstanding but it's just not true. Well, if the rumors are to be believed then his nickname, "King of the Court", was given to him by the other players of Kitagawa First. Yeah, that's right by his own teammates. The truth is they were not paying him a compliment but calling him a tyrant." Endo was eating all of this up, if only he had some popcorn. "I've been hearing about it for a long time, but now that I've seen him play, I'm convinced. He got benched at the finals because he was a domineering, power-tripping, dictator. That's why you won't try a quick attack, you're shaken up by what happened that day."

There was a short moment of silence as everyone took that it. They knew that Kageyama could be full of himself and abrasive to others when they played, but they didn't really think it was that bad. Meanwhile, Kageyama was remembering that faithful game. How he snapped at his team and ended up with a mutiny at match point for their opponents. Being put on the bench was probably the worst feeling for anyone, especially someone as passionate about volleyball like him.

"Wow," Sakura spoke up and couldn't help the humorless chuckle pass her lips. Tsukishima glanced at her from the corner of his eye, with his smug smirk still on his lips. She must be surprised by the truth, which is understandable. The orange-haired girl didn't seem smart enough to realize the truth. Though she just flashed him a fake smile with annoyance shining in her eyes. "I didn't think anyone could be a bigger jerk than Kageyama. Congrats." Tsukishima glared heatedly before he scoffed at her. Of course, she didn't see the point of what he was saying. She really was just as idiotic as her brother.

"You know what," Tanaka said approaching the net to glare at the bully, "I've had enough of your smarmy ass-"

"Tanaka." Daichi reprimanded him, which only made the second-year pout slightly.

"Well, why bother setting if there's no one there to spike it?"

"You're right," Kageyama started solemnly, "The thought of no one being there to back me up, it terrifies me, alright?"

Admitting that must be a big step for Kageyama, Sakura realized. Talking about your flaws was not usually an easy task. So for him to say that, he was certainly improving himself. Perhaps Kageyama wasn't going to try to be "The King of the Court" anymore, thank god. High school is the time for reinventing yourself, after all.

"Yeah, but that was back in middle school," Shōyō said innocently, surprising Kageyama. "Your sets are going to reach me. No question about it. After that, the only problem is how to get passed this jerk hole." He said pointing to Tsukishima and earning a snicker from Daichi, Tanaka, and Endo. Though a shake of the head from Sakura, she would have thought he would come up with a better insult, had she taught him nothing? "You need to kick Tsukishima's ass, join the volleyball club, and become the setter, just like we planned. Then you have to send the ball to me, it's not that complicated."

As uplifting as Shōyō's words might have been, they didn't impress Tsukishima. "Oh, shut up. That over-the-top, annoying little attitude of yours is disgusting." He took the ball and got ready to serve it. His words were starting to rub just about everyone the wrong way. Nobody knew why he was being so... mean to his opponents. "And enthusiasm won't make you any taller. If you think trying hard is all it takes to succeed you're sorry mistaken."

The ball was served, and Tanaka received the ball. As it flew through the air, heading straight for Kageyama, Tanaka and Shōyō both called for it. Who would he set it to? Tanaka may be able to get it through even if he is blocked, thanks to his power. Hinata would most likely not get it through, seeing as he hasn't gotten one during this entire game. Who was the better choice in this situation?

"Kageyama!" Shōyō's voice broke through his contemplation. He turned his eyes up to see the small teen already in mid-air ready to hit a spike, "I'm here!"

Making up his mind he easily tossed the ball to Shōyō to hit it, which he did. It wasn't a powerful hit, but it still got over the net, to the surprise of everyone. He landed back on the ground happy with himself but still dejected, "That was close, almost jumped at nothing... but it's out."

"What the hell was that for?!" Kageyama shouted at him.

"The ball came right towards me!" Shōyō shouted, surprising Kageyama into silence, "I don't care what happened in middle school, I'm grateful for any set that comes my way, I just want the ball. I'll jump anywhere. I'll hit any ball. Believe me, give me set and I'll hit it."

Tanaka rushed up to them with wide eyes. "You guys can do quick attacks and didn't tell me!"

"What's that?" Shōyō tilted his head in confusion.

"That crazy fast attack you just did!"

"Uh-uh," he shook his head, "no, the only attacks I've hit were way up in the air."

Tanaka groaned, "You literally just did it. Look remember in middle school when that rookie setter mess up that set but you hit it anyway? Like that!"

"Huh? But I don't remember how I did it. Whatever, I'll still hit whatever set comes at me. You just wait and see!"

On the sidelines, Endo leaned down to Sakura. He made sure this time that he didn't touch her, as he didn't want to end up bruised. "That brother of yours is sure something huh, Hinata-chan."

Sakura huffed at him, "Stop calling me 'Hinata-chan', you nuisance."

"You've never done combos before, so that's impossible for you."

Lightning struck behind Shōyō in shock. How could he just say something like that?! "Don't be ridiculous, you don't get to act like a wimp just stop it!"

Kageyama just glanced at him, indifferent, before walking off. Tsukishima chuckled and called after him, "Not very regal of you, sire."

Shōyō blanched and glared at Tsukishima, "You're going to pay for that, I promise you."

"Look at that, getting all bent out of shape again." He looked down at the short player with a small smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. It seemed like all he ever did was smirk, and it infuriated a few people. "You can't just bulldoze your way through everything, you know that right? Not everyone is a good fit for every job you know. I mean, you're clearly not cut out to be a spiker."

Sakura grounded her teeth together while clenching her fist. Oh, if only she had a volleyball to throw at this jerkwad. Seeing her anger start to boil over, Suga bent down slightly and placed a soft hand on the top of her head, to hopefully calm her down. Though all it did was cause her to stiffen up at the sudden touch. Did he not hear her with Endo a few minutes ago?! She didn't lash out at him though, as she figured he wasn't doing for the same reason as Endo. Still, she didn't totally appreciate it. The sentiment of calming her down was nice and all, but she'd rather go without the touching part.

"You're right, in middle school, even now, no matter how much I jump I always get blocked." Shōyō admitted, "Height is important for volleyball you can't always just jump real high to make up for being short like me, but still that never stopped me from wanting to be a spiker." He remembered the awe that came from watching the Tiny Giant, the way that he amazed his twin with his jumps when he first tried to play. He liked that feeling, the satisfaction that came with surprising people, especially his sister. You could argue that she was one of the main reasons he wanted to succeed so well, along with becoming the next Tiny Giant. "I don't care whether I'm cut out for it or not, I'll do the best I can with what I got and I'll win. I'm on this court and I'm not going anywhere."

Tsukishima let out a breath in frustration, "Have you even listened to a word I've said. It doesn't really work that way, shorty. You can't substitute spirit with height unless you want to be a libero that is."

"I open up the wall and block the spiker," Kageyama, who had been quiet since this little spat between Shōyō and Tsukishima started, walked over to stand side-by-side with Shōyō. He spoke firmly to them, he was obviously passionate about this. "That's the setter's job."

Everyone else in the gym watched as Kageyama pushed Shōyō's head down and started to talk with him. Most likely discussing their plan of action for the rest of the game. Eventually, Tanaka was dragged into it as well, so he would know what exactly it was that his team was thinking. Surprisingly, even Sakura was interested in what they were talking about, though obviously couldn't hear them.

Once the boys finished their huddle, Tsukishima set up to serve the next ball which was easily received by Shōyō. He was ready to spike the ball like last time, though this time around it wasn't going to be as weak or out of bounds as the first. Yet he wasn't ready for how fast Kageyama had set the ball. He completely missed hitting the quick set. Shōyō landed on the ground with the volleyball falling lifelessly to the ground a few feet from him.

"How'd you miss that! You have to-" Kageyama started to shout but cut himself off from probably insulting Shōyō and bit his lip. He seemed to have learned from the past and didn't wanna risk repeating it. Shouting at Shōyō would only result in a mutiny, once again. Kageyama certainly didn't want that to happen again.

Tsukishima chuckled at his opponents' misfortune, "Nice ball, your highness."

"Nothing ever works out on the first try!" The setter exclaimed in frustration.

"Hey, that's what losers say."

The troublesome duo still kept trying to get their hit right. Though each and every time, Kageyama's sets were a bit too fast for Shōyō to hit. On one try, Shōyō had even ended up tangled in the net because he jumped too far. It wasn't working out at all. Though Endo found it quite funny how they easily got frustrated with each other. Still, it probably would be better if he saw this happening to another team. After all, he was going to end up having to work with these two idiots eventually. Endo certainly didn't want to have to deal with this in the middle of a game, that could totally cost them a win. And Endo is all about winning!

"I can't guess your timing at all," Shōyō miserably said.

"You have lightning-fast reflexes," Kageyama shouted, "you just need to give it more pow, more oomph!"

Shōyō grew frustrated, "Is it oomph or pow, make up your mind!"

"Don't get caught up in the terminology!" Tanaka jumped in between the two.

On the other side of the court, Suga picked up the discarded volleyball and walked over to the fellow setter. "Kageyama, you need to make sure you don't let history repeat itself." He gained all of their attention, "Uh, what I mean is uh-"

Kageyama pointed at Shōyō, "He's got super fast reflexes, and he can jump, he can learn how to quick attack."

"That's not really what I'm getting at though." The third-year shook his head, "I think I know how you guys can be more effective. Hinata doesn't really know what he's doing out there."

At those words, Shōyō deflated slightly, "That's kind of harsh."

Suga continued on, "He doesn't have technique or experience like a lot of the people you competed against in middle school. But he's a rare asset."

The orange-haired boy's mood spiked happily at being called a "rare asset". His ego certainly got a bit of a boost at that. Who wouldn't be empowered after having their senpai call them an asset like that? "Ah, really? Aw come on, I'm not like a genius or anything."

Tanaka turned to him with a bland expression, "Who said that?"

"If I had your skill..." Suga continued on in a strained voice, "I mean think about it maybe you should try adapting to more of Hinata-kun's characteristics instead of the other way around. Don't you see what I'm saying? Then, maybe-"

"Take it easy Suga," Tanaka tried to calm his friend down.

"It's up to you to use his talents more effectively!" The silver-haired teen exclaimed, "I'm a setter like you, so I was honestly a little freaked out when I saw you play last year. You've got incredible talent and control over the ball. But most of all you're good at analyzing the opponents blocking moves and you make decisions on the fly. I've got... none of those things."

"Don't you say crap like that!" Tanaka exclaimed, not putting up with how Suga was putting himself down.

Daichi stopped him, already seeing how Suga was trying to help, "Hold on, just let him talk, okay?"

Suga continued on with his pep talk for the younger boy, "You're good at what you do and almost have too much determination. But your ability to assess your surroundings is your most important skill. So pay closer attention to your allies!"

Suga then walked back off of the court to let the boys discuss their plan. Hopefully, his words had sunk into Kageyama. This could help them significantly if they figured it out correctly. Endo patted him on the shoulder with a large smile, "Good job, vice-captain! Such wisdom!"

Sakura tilted her head as she watched her brother and Kageyama talk with each other. While she couldn't hear them that well, she figured that they were going to work together to the best of their ability. If there was one thing for certain, she knew that when posed with a challenge, both Kageyama and Shōyō would rise to it. The two of them were extremely competitive, to an annoying degree.

So the service was set by Daichi and easily received by Tanaka. In the zone, Kageyama assessed his surroundings and was ready to make the most precise toss to Shōyō as he could. He calculated everything perfectly and set the ball at an amazing speed. It only took a split second, but the ball was suddenly hitting the ground on the other side of the court. Everyone stared in awe at the turn of events. It actually worked?

The small spiker stared at his hand as it became a slight pink and stung a bit. "I... touched the ball!" Shōyō exclaimed and started to laugh hysterically and turned to Sakura, "Did you see that imouto!!"

"It wasn't that great," Tsukishima said lamely. Honestly, what was so amazing about just hitting the ball over the net. These simpletons were awed by anything.

"Guys," Daichi walked over with wide eyes and an expression of terrified awe, "he just did that with his eyes closed." Everyone jumped in surprise at that fact. Closed!? His eyes were closed? How in the name of kami had those two been able to do that?! What kind of madness was this! Daich went on to explain further, "From the moment his feet left the floor to the second he swung his arm, Hinata-kun's eyes were closed. Kageyama just made a pin-point toss into his hand, but Hinata-kun wasn't even looking at the ball! I don't know how he did it, but his timing was perfect."

During his explanation, Shōyō just continued to laugh in amazement. That feeling in his hand brought him such joy and accomplishment! "That's awesome! You guys, I don't know what happened but I just hit something! Did you see that? Huh!"

Kageyama spun to him and pointed at his with wide eyes, "Hey, what did you do? Your eyes weren't really shut, were they!?"

"Um, well you're the one who told me not to look at the ball," Shōyō explained sheepishly. "If I kept my eyes open I knew I would look at it."

"I wasn't telling you to-"

"But... but it worked, right? What's the big deal?"

"I know it worked but-" Kageyama started off in frustration, "what kind of person acts totally on trust?"

"I can't help it! Trust is the only way I know how to do it!"

Sakura shook her head at the question. It may seem impossible, but that's just what Shōyō is like. She may have not been as surprised by that, but that may just be because she grew up with him. Sakura has never known her brother to be any other way. A scense of trust that she could never have. He was different from her, in every way.

So the game continued on, with more failed attempts by Kageyama and Shōyō. It almost seemed like their magical quick attack was a one-time thing. Kageyama set the ball for him once again, though this time it was too far from the net and ended up hitting Shōyō in the face. "Sorry," he apologized to the fallen teen who now had a red cheek.

On the sidelines, Ennoshita shook his head as he added a point to Tsukishima's team, bring the score to 22-15. "Hmm, I guess that first time was a fluke."

"Yeah," Suga said with a hand on his chin in thought, "but I can tell their precision is already starting to improve."

"You really think so?" Ennoshia asked his upperclassmen shakily like he couldn't believe that. Sure the attack was pretty cool, but it certainly isn't consistent. They have yet to hit it even more than once.

"Doing good, Hinata-kun!" Endo cheered for the shorter teen and aimed a cheeky smile down at him, "just hit the ball with her hand, not your face."

"Yeah, I know." Shōyō said sarcastically and started to clean the floor while holding his bruised face, "That hurt."

The manager walked over to the boy in slight concern and bent down to him, "Are you okay?" 

"Ah, y-yes ma'am!" Shōyō exclaimed at her appearance and worry over him. Slowly but surely his face was starting to turn a bit red in embarrassment. He abruptly looked over to Kageyama who had a slight smile. Though he wasn't smiling at Shōyō's misfortune, he was contemplating how doing this, keeping up with Hinata and the game was actually... Fun. "What are you smiling about this is the second time I've been smack in the face. I'm starting to think you're doing this on purpose. You do know we still have to win right?"

"Of course I do!" He roared and spun around to get ready for the rest of the game.

"Aw man, it's not working," Shōyō whined rubbing his cheek before looking down at his stinging hand.

Sakura walked up to her twin and placed a hand on his shoulder in encouragement. Her camera swayed around her, almost being completely unused. She had taken a few pictures, at least one shot for each of the players, but that was all. After all, she has been pretty invested in the game, whether she wants to say it out loud or not. The outcome didn't matter, but with this developing quick attack, there was no way that Sakura could really look away. "You'll get it nii-san." She squeezed his shoulder before bonking him on the head with her fist, "now kick that beanpole's ass. If you don't, you know I'll make fun of you for it."

Shōyō nodded his head, knowing that she would mercilessly make fun of him for losing this game. She wouldn't usually do that, but this isn't a real game, so she's a tad bit more relaxed with her support for him and how she teases him when he loses. There was a strong spark of determination in his eyes, one that Sakura had seen plenty of times. She knew that he would do it, even if she didn't say anything to him. He was motivated to get this done!

The game continued on with Daichi serving the ball again with it being received by Tanaka. Like lightning, Shōyō ran up towards the net which drew the attention of the two other first-years who were ready to block him if he did try to spike it. There would be no way that he would be able to get through them, so he did what Kageyama had told him to. Go around!

He ran around to the other side of the net, throwing off Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. He may be shorter, but he could get through this. He could get that extra inch, that extra second to get around that gigantic wall. So he closed his eyes and swung his arm back. His hand came in contact with the ball. For a moment, he was able to open up his eyes and look to the other side of the net, just beyond Tsukishima's extended arm. Then he saw it, the view from the summit! It was even more amazing than he would have thought. 

It almost felt like it went in slow-motion, for Shōyō at least. Seeing his own hit going over the wall before Tsukishima could block it, Daichi missing it, and the ball hitting the floor, left an amazing feeling in his gut. So it seemed like that new spike wasn't just a fluke. 

"Yes!"