Kageyama's Queen of the School [Kageyama Tobio]

[29] The Many Shifts On and Off the Court!

I didn't dare make a sound, I didn't dare react. My eyes could only stare at Tobio on the ground, his own teeth now bared at our Senpai. If he didn't already have a reason to lay his hands on that cocky, full-of-shit grin, I would say he maybe had one now. Of course, I was never one to condone violence... off the court. Given that sports are a great way to let out inner aggression, I learned to never really have them hold back, even at practice. In this case, I wanted— no, I needed— Tobio to give it his all until he broke Toto down to the cold, gym floor too.

Or just at least until Toorū had that irritating, anything-but-innocent smile wiped away. That would be the only legal way.

"Y'know... Kageyama doesn't seem like himself," a quiet voice mumbled in front of me. I glanced away from the game and looked at Yamaguchi, who was watching Tobio intently. "Look—"

Suga, Hinata, and I watched with Yamaguchi as Tobio received the ball from Aoba Johsai, attempting to set it for Tsukushima but not being able to sync with that damn Big Bird. Thankfully, Asahi-San saved the mistake and sent it over the net with a short grunt. The relief was brief, though, because the other teams spiked it right back towards us so fast that Asahi was still on the floor; not even Tsukishima could block it quickly enough. It flew through his hands, burying us at 20-11 in only the first set.

"You see?" he said again, his point having proved itself, "he's starting to—"

TWEET!

My head spun, hair whipping Hinata in the face as I watched Coach Ukai slap the number nine placard in Suga's hand.

Nine. Oh no.

I forced myself to check Tobio's reaction on the court, even if Hinata wouldn't. Just a few feet away, I could tell he was grinding his teeth as he made his way over towards us. For Coach to make the call for our Senpai to switch in, without running it by me... it made me sick to my stomach. I wasn't by any means saying that I had the final word, or that my opinion affected the momentum, but I couldn't help feeling a twinge of shame, as though I had been left out of another important conversation, one where I was affected but not considered. I was familiar with the sensation of being unneeded, and this stung just the same.

I scolded myself for believing that the decision Coach Ukai made bore any relevance to my self-worth. I kept berating myself as I realized I was also taking the focus away from the real situation at hand— the game. How could I let Toorū back in my head again, with his toxic sense of friendship and infectious way of always making me feel like the problem... a learned trait from my mom, enforced those few, awful months.

I couldn't even imagine what Tobio was feeling as he stepped off the court to switch out. Suga placed a hand on his shoulder and said something to him before jogging to his new spot, something I couldn't hear but could guess was an attempt to ease the pain that was clearly written over his face.

Tobio bit down hard on his lip, only nodding in response. I thought I heard him mumble a 'sorry', but that wasn't before Hinata zoomed past both Yamaguchi and I, directly towards Tobio without much regard for his own safety. Yamaguchi hissed at him to slow down but it was too late. Hinata was already yelling right in Tobio's face.

"GWAAAAARRRR!!"

I jumped in my spot. Yamaguchi shoved his face in his hand, hiding his grimace. The referee glanced over towards where Hinata was shouting for a quick moment, only to make sure no one was getting physical.

"I told you!! I'm going to be the one to beat you!!" he shouted at Tobio, fists closed as he shook them up and down. Yamaguchi gasped and tried to hiss a warning but there was no point. "So don't you dare lose to anybody else first!!"