Yukigaoka rushed about, getting into their rotations. Starting in Row 4, he was front row for now. Izumi was starting the serve. In the few days of practice they had gotten, Hayato had drilled the standing float into all of their brains.
*Wom!*
His slim pale hand reaching out, he whacked the ball, causing it to spiral over the net.
Immediately, he switched places with Koji, the spiky-haired boy running back to receive. It was a strange rotation, with almost all of the players back to receive, but it somewhat worked. The first serve had gotten over. Good.
"I got it!" Shouting out, one of the opposing players bumped the ball easily, causing it to arc over to the setter. Basically a free ball, for people with this experience. Kageyama took a step forward, his hands pressing into the ball. It ascended to the sky in an arc.
Wing Spiker.
*Wam!*
In a flash, Hayato made his move, bolting forwards before shooting into the air. His hands stretched back somewhat, and the hitter spiked the ball, only for it to be deflected off the top of his fingertips.
It swirled through the air, and most of its power was lost. Suzuki ran forwards, expression grimacing a little as it bounced off his forearm. As he swung, the ball bounced into the sky awkwardly.
Hayato watched as it went high. He planted his legs into the ground, looking about as the Yukigaoka players scrambled for the offense. To the side, Koji stood a little too in, and Kawashima was still back.
Out of the corner of his eye, Hayato could see the three front-row players of Kitagawa Daiichi watching his every move. Their read blocking was quite reputable among the schools in the area, so he couldn't underestimate them.
But still, they were nothing compared to him.
He jumped into the air, his body turned directly towards Koji as he raised his hands. Immediately, they darted into action, Kageyama leading the charge as a stone wall arrived before the spiky-haired boy.
But… nothing came. Hayato suddenly twisted his body, jerking it forwards as his left arm threw the ball down the side, landing between Kageyama's feet.
*Twmp!*
The ball bounced across the ground as the three front-row players widened their eyes. They'd just been dumped in the first two minutes of the game…. This cocky bastard!
"Yeah! First point!"
The excited kids gathered about, high-fiving each other. While they weren't really sure what had happened exactly, it was cool, and to the kids just out of elementary school, that was really all that mattered.
*Slap!*
Hinata and Hayato high-fived excitedly, gasps and murmurs arising in the air.
To the side, atop a higher balcony was a group of tall teens. They were different from the rest of the bleachers, which usually consisted of children or elderly people. High schoolers, from the look of it. To the rightmost of them was a tall delinquent-esque guy.
He was tall and muscular, with a sharp jaw and an expression of amazement on his face. Head a shaved head with a prominent widow's peak. He had a shining forehead with pale yet rough skin. His eyes were sharp, somewhat like that of an owl, the pupils a blue-grey.
The second teen was about the same height as the first guy. He had short black hair and dark-brown eyes, coupled with a smiling jutting chin. He possessed a somewhat muscular build, with calloused hands and muscular thighs. A casual smile hung upon his face that gave one an air of maturity.
The last of the trio was of average height, seemingly the most cheerful and pleasant of the bunch. He had a warm smile on his face as he watched. This guy had a slender build and long fingers, with a slim face. His nose was long and pointy, and he was quite pale. He had semi-thick eyebrows and light grey hair, combed back across his forehead. A small dot-like birthmark rested on his left cheek and large hazel-brown eyes.
A similarity between the three of them was the black jackets they wore on their back. Emblazoned on their back, were a few words.
"Karasuno Highschool Volleyball Club"
They, of course, were some of the main characters of the series, Ryunosuke Tanaka, Daichi Sawamura, and Koshi Sugawara.
The group had come to watch Kitagawa Daiichi play, or more specifically, the King Of The Court. Kageyama was indeed quite the buzz even among the High School Volleyball scene. A prodigy said to have even more potential than the likes of the Great King, Tohru Oikawa.
"Wow! Is that guy really a middle-schooler? A setter dump in the first rally! Suga-san, you think you could do it?" Tanaka, the teen with the shaved head, laughed as he pointed toward the court.
"Probably not. It seems another Dark Horse has appeared." Sugawara smiled as he watched Yukigaoka step back in celebration. There was something just special about watching the underdog team scoring a point.
Daichi looked on in interest, watching as the two teams grouped back into position.
Izumi returned to serve, his arm shaking as he hit the ball. Through luck, the ball managed to go in, but it was once again easily passed. Back to Kageyama it went, and Hayato watched closely. The rest of the team shuffled back as they watched in fear.
*Tp.*
His fingers dancing, the ball floated out of Kageyama's hands in a fluid motion.
The Middle Blocker.
*Wam!*
Shuffling to the left, Hayato bolted up as the tall boy before him swung. The ball lasered forth into the block, smashing back down before the middle's feet.
It bounced across the floorboards as the middle blocker looked down in shock. He'd been read so easily...
"Stuffed!" Hayato ran over to the rest of his teammates as they celebrated. "Don't worry guys, I'll set up some stuff. Just don't get cocky and focus on the game!"
"Yes, Senpai!"
"Yeah!"
"Let's do this!"
The score was now [2-0]. It was quite unheard of for a random team to simply come out of nowhere and get an early lead over such a powerhouse. How strange.
But, the excitement was short-lived as Izumi hit the ball, landing it in the net. Sighing a little, Hayato went up to him with the rest of the team, patting the basketball player on the back.
"Nice try, it's fine!"
"Don't worry about it!"