#I was wracking my brain tryna figure out what no one else on karasuno is super good at

[hoperenae]

Turning Heads (a Haikyuu fanfic by hoperenae)

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PART 23- New Move

The evening before the last day of our Tokyo summer training camp stretched before me. The sun was creeping beneath the horizon, and the fireflies were in full swing. Even with the sun mostly gone, it was still hot and sticky outside, and the gyms provided little respite.

Earlier in the day, after Nekoma kicked our asses for the umpteenth time, Kuroo came over to me and invited me to extra practice tonight with the same crew as the other night. I, of course, said I’d be there. This was my last chance to learn something new, and after today’s matches, I knew just who to turn to.

When I walked into Gymnasium 2, I went straight over to Fukurodani’s setter.

“Hey, Akaashi,” I began, “I need your help.”

“What can I do for you, Arya?” Akaashi asked, tucking a volleyball under his right arm.

“Do you think Bokuto would help me learn a new move?”

“I don’t see why not,” he shrugged. “But if you want him to be really excited about it, be sure to hype him up and tell him how awesome he is. That usually works.”

I laughed. “Roger that.”

Fukurodani’s ace was animatedly talking with Hinata across the room, so I made my way over to them.

“Bokuto-san,” I said with a wave as I came to a stop in front of them. “I was wondering if you could help me with a new move.”

Bokuto raised his eyebrows. “Oh? What kind of move?”

“I wanna learn how to do a cross-shot, and since I saw your wicked one earlier today, I figured who better to ask than the master himself?” I smiled and glanced over at Akaashi who gave me a small smile and a nod.

Bokuto’s eyes lit up, and he puffed out his chest. “Of course! After all, I am the best.” He grinned. “Akaashi! Toss for us?”

I figured that while Bokuto, Akaashi, and I worked on cross shots, Hinata, Tsukki, and Kuroo would work on something on their own. Instead, they were all standing on the sidelines. I had an audience: lovely. My new mentor was next to me, volleyball in hand.

“Okay,” Bokuto began, “all you have to do is open your body up like boom, then curve your arm around like whoosh, then you smash it like pow!”

My face scrunched up, and I tilted my head. “Uhhh…” I stammered.

“HA!” Kuroo cackled from the sidelines. Akaashi had his head in his hands, Tsukki was holding back a chuckle, and Hinata was wide-eyed and nodding madly. Of course that little tangerine would understand; they both spoke simpleton.

Bokuto looked discouraged at the laughter, but I quickly jumped in and put a hand on his arm. “Um, Bokuto, maybe it would be easier if you just showed me first.”

He lit up again. “Yeah, let’s try that!” He tossed the ball to me and got into position. I threw the ball toward Akaashi who turned it into a beautiful set. Bokuto jumped and did…exactly what he described. Now that I saw it in action, it was much easier to comprehend. When he did it in the practice match, I was so taken aback that I didn’t have time to watch his movements closely. But now, I marked everything: the precise height of his jump; the way his body opened up for a straight; the way his arm curved around at an impossible angle. All of it melded together to create the perfect cross shot.

I tried the motion with my arm, and it felt a little awkward, but I knew the only way to get better was to practice, so I took my place to get a running start. Bokuto tossed to Akaashi, Akaashi set to me, and I hit it right into the net. The second attempt, I made it over the net but outside the lines. By my eighth attempt, I hit it over perfectly but my hand hit the net.

“One more,” I panted, hands on my knees. “This is the one; I can feel it.”

The toss went up, I jumped, and…I did it! It wasn’t quite as sharp as Bokuto’s, but judging by the fact that everyone’s jaws were on the floor (even Tsukki looked impressed), I knew it was going to grow into a weapon I could use on the court. After a long and sweaty week of camp, after all of the losses and penalties and extra practices, I had finally found it: my special move.

TAGLIST: @bokuroibi @lemurzsquad