#i love shimada with all my heart but oikawa is yams' number one senpai now sorry i don't make the rules

[pridewon]

@onehope​ said:  ( text to : yama-chan ) watched your latest game. that serve of yours was quite an eye sight! woah woah woah, i wonder who helped you learn that huhuhu (.❛ ᴗ ❛.)

Tiredness doesn’t bear down on him the way it does (most of) his teammates. Tadashi may have found his place on the team, proudly bearing the torch of pinch server, but it is a short-lived glory still. A handful of rallies, as long as he can score off service aces or the blockers can ward off the opponent’s counter attack - he still only gets to stand on the court for a few minutes at best. Even against the Miya twins and Inarizaki, even against the team that boasts of one of the best servers in the country, while getting the chance to shine... there is room for improvement. A lot of it.

On the bus back to their accomodation, the boy snaps out of his reverie, and fishes his phone from his pocket, wondering who might be texting him (maybe his mom asking for news?). A surprised blink follows as he deciphers the message; and an amused smile blooms beneath freckled cheeks. 

[to: oikawa-senpai - 18:38] you did?? haha, thanks! all these efforts and practice are paying off, but i still have a long way to go. next step will be to practice my receives so i can fight back when they try to take the serve away from us!

Yamaguchi has no trouble picturing it: Oikawa’s amused grin, claiming his part of the triumph - and quite rightfully so. He has long stopped questioning why Seijoh’s captain had taken an interest in him in the first place to focus on the unthinkable chance that it was (even Kageyama hadn’t been so lucky, although personal history might have been to blame here). All he’ll remember, for years to come (especially in a few years time, when Oikawa’s name would blaze through sports news and volleyball headlines), would be the Great King’s patient, but strict and meticulous guidance. Still... Tadashi chuckles to himself; there is no harm in a little teasing, is there? 

[to: oikawa-senpai - 18:39] if i ever get interviewed, i’ll be sure to mention shimada-san. he has been such a good mentor!

Hehe.

[to: oikawa-senpai - 18:39] oh, and of course this one captain from another team who happens to be probably the best server in the prefecture and mysteriously decided to help me with my jump serve, and without who my serves would probably never have made it over the net... and who i hope to see play again once he makes it in the pro world!