XXIV

February 5th, 2021

Not gonna lie- I forgot that I had to update today. Also my friend wants me to write an alternate angst ending. So... I'm going to write one haha I'm probably just going to send it to her separately but enough people want it then I'll post it on here too LMK

"He's a- how can you tell?!"

"...I don't know. I just can." Kita turned towards Isuma and Suna, who were looking at a sheet of paper together. After a few seconds, Isuma stood up and they walked over to them. Suna said, "His name's Yoshi Takashi and he's a third-year middle blocker."

"He's a setter." Kita and Isuma said together. They looked at each other. "You go first."

"Well..." Isuma looked over at Yoshi, who was still talking with their official setter. "It's just the way he acts. And during warm-ups... the way he moved... it was so precise and calculated. He set more than he spiked or blocked."

"...what she said." Kita looked back at the court. "Akagi's coming. Suna, let them know about the #5."

"Got it. You think he'll set instead of their official setter?" Suna asked. "No... I think BOTH of them are going to be setting." Kita answered grimly. "How will we know which one is setting?" Suna asked."Hold on, I can help," Isuma spoke up. Suna sharply answered, "Isuma, you had a fever less than three hours ago, you need to rest-"

"I can watch him play, just for a few minutes, Rin!" she hastily added, seeing his expression. "I promise I'll be fine! What happened earlier- it wasn't because I was watching the match too intently. I was fine with Yuto before that- tell them, Kosaku!"

All three of them turned to Yuto, who took a step back under their gazes. Suna and Kita seemed to be daring him to suggest that she was okay. "Well... okay, you were fine, but still! Rintaro's right, you need rest right now!"

"I'm not doing anything by just watching the court." Isuma didn't continue. Kita could see that she was fighting back a flood of emotions. "Fine. But if I see that you look even a little sick, you're going to the medical office or something. Okay?"

Isuma immediately nodded. "Fine!"

Suna sighed. "Fine."

He walked over to the bench and picked up the #15 sign; Suna walked to the line and held it up. Akagi ran over to Suna, said a few words to him, and headed towards the others. Isuma hed out a water bottle to him. "No, thanks. I'm good."

"How do you feel?" Isuma asked. Akagi smiled. "Good. More importantly... are you doing okay?"

"Yeah." Kita glanced at her, the concern evident in his eyes. As Isuma turned towards Yuto, Akagi lowered his voice and asked, "Is she really fine?"

"...she wants to watch their #5," Kita answered. "And you're not stopping her?! She might come down with another headache or a fever-"

"It's like you said yesterday- if I don't, and we lose, she'll blame herself."

"Shinsuke, we've been to Nationals every Inter-High for the past several years. Are you really seriously worried we'll lose because of a single setter?" Akagi asked. Kita's eyes flicked over to him. "I know that, but Isuma doesn't. I can't just tell her not to worry, because then she'll think we're overconfident. She needs to see our team's strength for herself- telling her won't suffice."

"Still... what if she gets another headache?" Akagi glanced at Isuma briefly. "She's going to the medical office here; I already told her."

"...fine. Let's hope this works out alright."

As it turned out, everything worked out alright.

The second Atsumu served, Isuma started watching Yoshi's every move. Their setter set the ball for him perfectly... but Yoshi set it too, sending it across the court. Akagi marveled, "Wow. That was a great set."

"No kidding," Yuto murmured. "I didn't even see that coming. The first set was perfect."

"Wow. He's amazing."

Everyone looked at Isuma: her eyes were still on Yoshi. "That was so careful- he knew he couldn't have spiked through the block, so he set it. And he decided that before he even jumped. I knew his team was careful, but he's on a whole other level. He's incredible."

"Way to make us feel better," Yuto mumbled. "So you're saying there's no way we can counter him?"

"Oh, no, of course not. There're plenty of ways." Isuma replied. "His jumps are definite. He's going to do what it looks likes he's going to do. He can't change his form in the middle of a jump like Suna kind of does. He has to be planning ahead."

"...so we watch him. And see what he's going to do," Akagi said. Kita glanced at Isuma, who nodded. "Yeah. He won't be able to improvise. Every step he takes he plans seconds ahead. If you can catch him off-guard... then you've got him."

"Got it." Yuto turned back towards the court. "...Isuma?" Kita asked. "Based on how a person's posed, could you tell what they're going to do next?"

"Maybe; I can-" Akagi and Kita both said at the same time, "Not now!"

"I meant later." Kita corrected. "Not now."

"Speaking of which, go sit on the bench, Isuma-chan. You need rest!" Akagi added. "Okay, okay!" She shook her head and went back to the bench. Kurosu Sensei said something to her, and she nodded. Kita turned towards Akagi, satisfied she was okay. "Next time you go in, let them know."

"Alright." Akagi glanced at the court: to everyone watching's surprise, Inarizaki was having trouble countering the #5. It was never completely clear who would set... Isuma had seen a solution, but the players didn't know it yet. As Kamino High scored another point, Atsumu ran up to his brother briefly. "How're we supposed to know where an attack's coming from? This is crazy. I've never seen a team play with two setters right off the bat."

"I don't know," Osamu replied. At the same time, they both looked back at Kita and swallowed; Kita's eyes were practically screaming a clear message: 'You've been to Nationals. I dare you to tell me you don't know what to do.'

"...let's watch the guy." Osamu quickly said. Atsumu nodded. "Yep, let's do that."

Isuma smiled slightly at Kita's effect on her brothers. She remembered how Yuto had said they terrified even him at times. Now, watching them, she understood what he'd been saying. On the court, the two of them were deadly. "Isuma?"

She looked over at the coaches, who were looking through some papers. "If you're feeling well, could you go turn these into the front desk after the match, just before we leave?"

"Sure." She nodded. "I'm fine, Sensei."

"That's good." He nodded just as Ginjima spiked into the left corner. Isuma glanced at him, and her eyes narrowed. She stood up so fast the coaches and the players on the sidelines looked at her, startled. "No, not now-"

"What's wrong?" Kurosu Sensei asked her, concerned. "Hitoshi's foot... he's straining it too much. He'll injure himself if he keeps on using it like that!"

"Can he last this game?" The coach asked. "Yes."

"Then let's keep him. We'll switch him out for a bit soon so Yuto can serve." Isuma kept her eyes on Ginjima, worried for him. 'Hitoshi...' she thought. 'Please be careful!'

Kita looked away from her and glanced at Ginjima. He couldn't see anything wrong, but Isuma had definitely been watching him earlier. But now that he knew, Kita could see the way his left foot was twisting ever so slightly. "Gin..."

He wanted to pull Ginjima out, but it wasn't a major injury. Ginjima didn't even seem to notice, but he could tell something was off. Kita murmured, "This isn't good. Gin is one of our starters. If he's injured THIS early..."

"Shinsuke, you're worrying too much." Akagi placed his hand on Kita's shoulder. "He's not injured. Coach wouldn't have let him continue if he was- neither would Isuma-chan. She would know if he's bad enough to be taken out."

Kita didn't look reassured. Akagi added, "And Gin's been completely fine up 'til now, right? Even Isuma didn't notice. He was fine in our first game- there's no way he could have grown worse in the past few hours."

"...you're right." Akagi flashed a smile. "He'll be fine. Gin's got it."

They glanced over at Ginjima at the same time. He was playing at his best, and nothing seemed off. Isuma still seemed anxious about his condition and was still watching him intently. They were still leading the first set, but the gap had shortened. They were only three points ahead- but they'd hit the 20-point mark. Isuma's eyes landed on Yoshi again. 'Why would they put in such a crucial player so early? What's their strategy?'

Her mind was racing as she rotated through all their possible play options. She knew Kita had told her not to concentrate so hard, but she couldn't help herself. Something had seemed off when she'd watched Yoshi. Sure, he was insanely talented at planning ahead- and a decent setter- but so was the rest of their team. They had been thrown off by Kamino's double setters, but it wasn't impossible to adjust to. As she watched, Osamu and Omimi perfectly blocked a spike, which had been suddenly set by Yoshi. No... there was something else. What was it? 

Isuma picked up her notebook; she had written everything down from Yuto's phone right after their first match. She began looking through her notes, occasionally glancing at the Kamino players. No one stood out- come to think of it, the only reason YOSHI had caught their attention was that he was on the bench. What if...

Isuma started looking at the other five players on the court. She was missing something- 'Think, Isuma!! What use is your ability if you can't use it?'

And then her eyes landed on the libero.

So that was their strategy.

"Oh my God."

Her voice was loud enough that Kita and the others heard her. "Their libero."

It's short. Sorry!

TYSM for 34K :D and 1K votes :D And I promise that we'll see Kita and Isuma talk again soon. The first two matches have so much going on- the whole Kita/Isuma thing, Kita doubting himself, then Isuma getting a fever, Gin's injury... and I have other stuff from earlier too, like Isuma's abilities- her sight and her touch with the ball. So I have to wrap up all that before anything else. So we might have to wait a while for their second talk. Gomen🙏🏻