Chapter Text
“Are ya ready?” A blond voice peered from behind the lockers.
“Yeah, give me a minute.” A man seated on one of the benches, Sakusa Kiyoomi, replied as he taped his right ring finger.
“Why are ya tapin’ the right ones?” The man now leaning on the lockers, Miya Atsumu, asked as he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets.
“It’s suspicious if I only tape my left fingers.” He ripped the edge of the tape with his fingers, sealing it into place. “We’re not playing against idiots like you, they’ll notice somethings up if they see tape only on my non-dominant hand.” With that he stood and placed the white tape back in his locker before grabbing a clean face mask and shutting it.
“Whatever.” Atsumu pouted, internally smacking himself for not noticing.
Sakusa stepped back from the locker and pulled the straps of the mask behind his ears, settling the thin metal piece on the bridge of his nose. “Let’s go.” He brushed past the blond, grabbing his attention as he followed suit.
They turned out of the locker room, making a left down the hall towards the steps. Everyone else had gone up to the gym and had begun practicing, evident from the sounds of squeaking shoes and volleyballs smacking the ground at an ungodly pace.
“Are ya excited for the game?” Atsumu asked, peeking around Sakusa shoulder. “I am, but m’ also nervous, but mainly excited.” He answered his own question, mostly talking to himself as Sakusa just rolled his eyes.
“Let’s hurry to the gym, we’re already late.” Sakusa sped up as he reached the stairs.
“Yer no fun.” Atsumu groaned.
Sakusa ignored him. They reached the top of the steps, turning off towards the gym. They continued down a short hall, now walking side by side as they listened to the growing commotion from the gymnasium.
Just before they reached the door Atsumu stopped in place. He reached out and grasped the sleeve of Sakusa’s black and gold jacket; immediately releasing his hand when the spiker whipped his head around, glaring heavily.
“M’sorry.” Atsumu mumbled.
He knew Sakusa didn’t like to be touched, not even by teammates. He’d known since back in high school just how fastidious and careful Sakusa was when it came to germs that could potentially get him sick. Yet even now, sometimes it slipped his mind.
Atsumu straightened his posture, removing his other hand from his pocket before speaking again. “What’s the code?” He asked, a serious tone lacing his voice, grabbing Sakusa’s attention.
“Are you asking because you don’t know?” A small wave of anxiety washed through Sakusa’s mind at the thought Atsumu had forgotten the signal for the new technique they’d been working on for the past two months.
It had been hell at first.
After learning at a team dinner one night that Sakusa was ambidextrous, their coach Samson Foster had the rather brilliant idea to put it to use. Not even a week later he had Atsumu and Sakusa learning to coordinate a left handed spike.
They had to completely recalibrate everything from Atsumu’s setting angle to even how high Sakusa should jump. They had worked tirelessly, staying after practice almost every night to relay set after set after set.
It was exhausting.
Not only that but it was painful. After a week Sakusa began taping the fingers on his left hand in hopes it would stabilize the fingers and lessen the impact of the ball. Atsumu began wearing elbow bands to help ease the tension from the constant change in angles to set the ball properly.
But surely enough in due time their timing became more and more accurate. Sakusa’s spikes grew stronger with each night of overstay in the gym. Atsumu learned the easiest ways to shift positions to switch from Sakusa’s right to left, then left to right.
All that was left was to create a code, a code Sakusa was so worried Atsumu would forget so he let the blond make it.
“I didn’t forget!” Atsumu held his hand to his chest in an over dramatic disbeleif. “Do ya really think that low of me Omi?” Sakusa rolled his eyes.
“So then why ask?” He was getting antsy, at this rate he wasn’t going to get a chance to warm up before the game.
“Because once we get in there we’re not allowed to practice it.” Fuck, he was right.
Samson and their team captain, Meian Shugo, had pulled the two aside earlier in the week, telling them that they weren’t going to be able to warm up with the left handed spikes before the match. Something about the ‘element of suprise’ as Samson had put it.
“Pointer finger, middle finger,” He stuck the two out on his right hand. “pinky finger.” He stuck the fingers out to complete the gesture.
Atsumu smirked at his hand. “Right, okay.” He held back a laugh.
“What?” Sakusa asked, an edge to his voice.
“Nothing!” Atsumu’s smile grew as he tried, and failed, to walk past Sakusa.
“Miya,” He started, un-wanting to say the words about to come out of his mouth. “Is- Is it a sex thing?”
Atsumu bit the inside of his lower lip trying not to laugh. “What? No, Omi why would I do that!” He raised his voice, overly defensive in a playful way. “It is in no way a sex joke.” Atsumu shifted his weight onto his left hip. “Now can we go?”
Sakusa eyes him carefully, disbelieving everything he just said. “Fine.” He turned around to enter the gym.
It was totally a sex thing.
——
A loud beep from the over sound followed by the shrieking of a whistle signaled the end of warm-ups.
“Everybody gather up!” Foster shouted from the sidelines.
Everyone including the opposing team, The Schweiden Adlers, exited the court to their respective sides. The crowds began to cease their commotion out of respect for the teams while the prepared for their match.
“Meian, coin toss report?” Their coach turned to the brunet standing beside him, a smile decorating his face.
“We’re serving first.” A small cheer erupted from the players.
“Alright,” Foster cleared his throat. “Now I know we don’t have home court advantage.” He scanned the group, eyes settling on the numbers 13 and 15 standing next to each other. “But we do have the element of surprise.” The team turned their heads. “Miya, Sakusa, are you two prepared?”
“Yes, Coach.” They responded almost in unison.
“Good, that’s what I like to hear.” Foster continued his pep-talk, eventually getting cut off by the referees cuing the line up for the game.
——
The crowd roared in anticipation for the first serve. The starting line up had Atsumu in the back line serving first. He walked back towards the end line receiving a ball from a referee.
Then, almost as if it were his religion, Atsumu let out a deep breath. He opened his eyes, staring straight at the net as he reached a hand up above his head, immediately closing it in a fist.
The crowd went silent, rows and rows of people paused mid sentence, cheerleaders nearly froze halfway through a jump. Atsumu felt a chill run down his spine, the pure control he had over the gym in that moment, it was un parallel. It was a feeling he would never get old of.
The whistle blew and he reached his arm out to toss the ball into the air. He ran up and slammed it across the court mid air; the impact nearly causing whiplash on his own body as he watched the ball beam across the court and smack straight into the back right corner of the Adlers sideline.
Atsumu landed on the ground only to be greeted with the loudest of cheers from the stands, his teammates pumping their fists in the air.
“Number thirteen Miya Atsumu scores the first point with a deadly service ace!” One of the announcers broadcasted into the microphone.
He soaked it in.
The first point, a service ace, from the palm of his own hand. The overly satisfying furrowed brows and hidden annoyance of the opposing team. The lit up faces of his teammates who were nearly jumping with excitement and soaring with confidence as he, Miya Atsumu, started the game in their favor.
If only it could have stayed that way.
——
The MSBY took the first set without entering match point, it was a major boost in team morale. However the Adlers took the second and third set, about to take the fourth.
Atsumu took a glance at his teammates status’ in between serves. Their newest player, Hinata Shoyo, he could see a tremble attempting to take over his legs. One of their most powerful players, Bokuto Kotaro, had gone into his “dejected mode” once already and was teetering on a second episode. Their libero, Inunaki Shion, had court burns on his forearms and the side of his right thigh was near bleeding.
Atsumu noticed the states of every one of his teammates, it was his job as a setter to do so. He looked beside him to Sakusa, the sweat dripping down his forehead as he desperately tried to control his heaving breaths. Atsumu glanced at his body, looking for signs of wear and exhaustion only to find his hand discretely hidden behind his back, pointer, middle and pinky fingers sticking out.
It was the code.
They hadn’t done the left handed spike yet, they had been waiting for the right time. If they attempted it during a team high and it failed it could easily cost them their rhythm and even the set. If they attempted it during a toss-up and it failed, it could also cost them the set. But now, down three points with the Adlers already at 20. What more could they loose?
The whistle blew and it was the Adlers turn to serve. Their setter, Kageyama Tobio, tossed the ball in the air.
‘God, why’d it have to be him?’ Atsumu whined to himself as he widened his stance, preparing for whatever chaos was about to follow that ball.
The moment Kageyama’s hand hit the ball it was like he single-handedly sucked all the air out of the room, forcing the hairs on their neck and arms to sick out as the sound of a cracking whip filled the gym. The ball nearly teleported across the net giving all but one of the Jackals time to react.
The team whipped their bodies around to where the ball was going to land, only to find their libero penguin diving for the ball. Inunaki just barely caught the ball, bouncing straight up into the air off his knuckles. They all shifted, adjusting to receive the soaring ball only to watch it fall over the net onto the Adlers side.
“Fuck.” Atsumu hissed through his teeth.
They watched as their white haired spiker, Hoshiumi Korai, received the ball, sending it to their setter Kageyama.
Atsumu glanced over to Sakusa who looked back and gave him a nod, sending words near telepathically.
‘We’re doing this.’
They watched as Kageyama set the ball up to Ushijima Wakatoshi, their own left handed spiker. Atsumu watched as three of his teammates formed a wall to block his path, counting to 3 before jumping.
It was in that second Atsumu realized that his spike wasn’t going to be successfully blocked. No, Ushijima stance was staring Atsumu down.
‘Oh shit.’ Atsumu cursed to himself. ‘I can’t touch this ball.’ If he received the ball then the MSBY’s best chance at changing the tides would be demolished.
That was unless Atsumu set it there and now.
Ushijima spiked the ball right in between Hinata and Bokuto’s forearms, beelining straight for Atsumu who had no choice but to turn it into a set.
“Miya!” He heard from across the court, he glanced to see Sakusa in position.
He saw the blockers line up on the other side of the net. However, it was no use since this wasn’t going to be a normal right handed spike like they were used to. Even if it were, Sakusa’s power he put forth into every slam had the potential to break through concrete.
It was extremely difficult to stop a left handed spike unless you were prepared for it. Which in the Adlers case, Sakusa had never done a left handed spike in any official match, so they would have no reason to believe this spike would be any different. Hence Samson’s ‘element of surprise’.
So in that instance blockers didn’t matter. The only thing that counted was Atsumu getting the ball to Sakusa’s hand just the way they practiced.
Atsumu bent his knees and began to turn his body, much further than he would have normally.
He couldn’t help but feel a wave of anxiety was over him, the positioning was inconvenient to say the least. It was all wrong, this wasn’t supposed to be a rally, he wasn’t supposed to set a serve from fucking Ushijima Wakatoshi.
He considered changing it into a regular set but there was no time. They would surely loose if he switched it up now. Not to mention the verbal beat down he’d get from Sakusa later.
Atsumu had no choice.
He traced the ball as it reached the tips of his fingers, his entire body moving in sync as the violent force of the ball was redirected up and towards Sakusa. His arms began to push just as his legs quickly pivoted in Sakusa’s direction and extended, forcing him off of the ground.
And that was when he heard it.
No, that was when he felt it.
The feeling of something in his body tearing apart.
The ball shot from his hands and straight towards a jumping Sakusa. He raised a right hand just as the blockers began to jump, only to immediately switch it with his left hand just as they practiced day after day.
He watched as the ball aligned with his palm, only for it to continue right past and fall out of bounds.
When Sakusa reached the ground he turned to Atsumu, his blood boiling to the point he felt like he would explode at any moment. They had spent weeks on this, perfecting every millisecond of their timing. So why now, why-
His body froze at what he saw.
Atsumu was lying on the court, back against the tan surface. His hand was clasped against his mouth, fingers pressing into the flesh of his cheeks. Tears began steaming down his face, dripping over his ears as his eyes were blown wide.
“Somebody get a medic!” Meian yelled from across the court, bending down to Atsumu’s side. “Atsumu, hey, talk to me.” Sakusa listened, unable to move from his spot. “What hurts?”
Atsumu didn’t reply, he only lied there, trembling in a way that made Sakusa’s throat close up.
“Atsumu-san!” Hinata kneeled next to him, followed by the rest of the team, on the court and off of the bleachers.
“Atsumu talk to us, please.” He still refused to reply.
Every fiber of his being was overridden with a pain he had never felt before in his life. Unable to control the tears steaming down his face or the small sobs that dared choke out of his throat. He felt like he was going to puke, his body incessantly shaking from the pain and stress.
“Coming through!” The medic alongside Foster arrived.
The medic attempted to talk to Atsumu before realizing the extent of his injury and opting for just getting him on the gurney as soon as possible. He alongside Meian and Bokuto lifted Atsumu only to be met with a gut wrenching scream. A noise no one on that team ever wished to hear from their setter.
They quickly placed him onto the gurney as his chest was heaving, his teeth biting into his lip to keep from screaming again. The medic was greeted by two others who helped quickly roll the gurney out of the gym.
Sakusa stood there, unable to process what had just happened.
They lost the game.