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It's set point.
If they can just beat the other team stamina wise in this rally, then Seijoh will have the upper hand going on the rest of the match. All the team needs to do is last just that few minutes more; Hajime can already see the other team's attacks getting slower, their exhaustion for this rally very obvious.
The other team barely manage to get the ball over the net and Watari, their ever faithful libero is quick to pick it up and send it Oikawa's way. With a quick glance, Hajime is running towards the far left, where only one blocker remains after the rest had attempted to block Mattsun, which resulted in the botched receive.
Pushing off his feet as best as he can, Hajime jumps, his hand connecting with the ball set his way. He aims it towards the edge, hoping to get it just inside but around the blocker. It feels as if time slows when the ball leaves his hand; some of the other players dive for it hoping to at least flick it up for a sloppy return. The blocker Hajime bypassed turns his head mid air, his mouth open to shout at his teammates to receive.
The ball hits the line just as Hajime lands, and the roar of the Aoba Johsai supporters and his team drown out the gasp he lets out when his right lands on the linoleum. Hajime feels as if the air has been punched out of him, the pain that shoots up his spine unbearable. He grits his teeth, so as to not make a noise of pain.
Suddenly, the weight of his teammates on his back forces him to put pressure on his foot, so as to not fall and Hajime has to really bite his tongue to not scream. The iron taste in his mouth is unmistakable, but Hajime swallows it down, not wanting to draw attention to himself.
"Nice kill Iwa-chan!" Oikawa exclaims, arm wrapping around his neck, pulling him into his side and taking the pressure off his foot.
Hajime just smiles, hoping that it looks somewhat like his usual smile and without any pain lacing his features. It must have worked seeing as his best friend says nothing, instead leading him to the bench where they can sit down to plan for the next — and hopefully last — set.
Hajime kneels down next to the others who are squatted, and subtly, reaches a hand down to his ankle, ensuring not to raise any suspicions. It's warm, warmer than the rest of his body, slightly swollen and sore to touch, but doesn't have any bumps or irregularities that Hajime can feel.
He must've just sprained it then, no breaks. He lets out a small sigh of relief; he can still play, he'll just have to be mindful and make sure he lands on his left as much as possible, avoiding his injured foot. Hajime and the team can't be afford to be on the bench, their usual ace at home with the flu. Normally, Hajime wouldn't be playing the whole match, seeing as he's only a 2nd year, but without Kuruzawa, Hajime is their strongest attack.
Coach turns to him and so do the rest of the team.
"Iwaizumi-kun, are you okay to keep playing? That was a long rally." Coach says
Hajime knows he should say something about his ankle, it's the responsible thing to do, the correct thing to do health wise. However, this is the last tournament for the year, the last chance for the third years to go to nationals. Hajime is their one shot, their chance to get there, especially with Kuruzawa out until next weak at the latest.
So Hajime says yes, even if the words barely make it out of his mouth.
In his periphary, Hajime notices Oikawa watching him, that creepy look on his face, the one he gets when he's scrutinising something, or in this case, someone. Hajime ignores him, knowing that he'll give everything away if he does look at him, and Oikawa won't hesitate to rat him out.
Satisfied, coach nods and the team stands, warming themselves up to go back on court. Oikawa approaches him and Hajime internally groans when he does, wishing to take no part in the upcoming conversation.
"You sounded weird just then." Oikawa states
Hajime scoffs and grits out, "Your ears aren't working right then, Shittykawa."
His eyes narrow at Hajime, "You did it again."
Hajime forces himself not to sound pained, taking on an airier tone of voice, "You're delusional."
Neither of them say anything for a moment before Oikawa walks away. Hajime is unnerved, unsure what just happened and scared that Oikawa will say something, but he doesn't. Instead, Oikawa goes over to Watari, making conversation with him.
Hajime shakes his head and brings his attention to the other team, whom he finds are looking at him, the captain staring at him, or rather, at his leg; it makes a chill run down Hajime's spine. They must've seen him check it earlier, clearly not very subtle, and the blocker would've been close enough to hear him gasp when he landed.
Ignoring them, Hajime makes his way to his position when the game starts back up again, the whistle blowing for set 2.
Hajime tentatively places his foot down, playing around with the positioning to find one that doesn't aggravate his foot; his heel slightly raised, leaving him on his tip toes. Not the most optimal stance for doing anything in volleyball, however, Hajime doesn't want to take anything to chance.
The whistle blows again and the opposing server lets out a breath, running up for his jump serve. The Seijoh team readies themselves to receive, but expect the ball to go towards either Watari or Oikawa.
Nobody expects the ball to sail towards Hajime, seeing as the other team have avoided serving to him, until now that is.
Hajime puts his hands in front, not phased by the clear targeting from the other team. Unfortunately for him, the ball is aimed towards his right side and he's forced to place his foot down for a proper receive. He grits his teeth in pain, which could easily be mistaken for concentration in this case.
To his surprise, and gratefulness, the ball gets up and the team rearranges themselves to send it over the net, Hajime moving slower than the rest by a small unnoticeable margin.
The point is won by Seijoh and the team quickly celebrates. The other team however, don't look miffed, they stare at Hajime, eyes calculating; worse, Oikawa notices, his own face twisted in contemplation and Hajime wants to die inside at the sudden attention.
The game continues like this for several more points, each team scoring points until they are evenly tied at 19 points each. That's when coach calls for a timeout, calling for the boys to gather around.
Hajime places his foot down a few times, testing it out, and it hurts much more now than it previously did, but he can still move it; still run and jump, so not all hope is lost.
"Iwaizumi-kun, the other team is targeting you. We can use that to our advantage. If you keep their attention, we can have some of the other boys attack whilst they're distracted. I don't know why they keep going after you, but we need to take advantage whilst we can."
The team is nodding along in agreement and Hajime finds himself nodding too. It's a good plan, the other team have been so focused on him that they've failed to make easy points they should have made. Hajime just doesn't know if he can last that long, purposefully drawing their attention.
He's only managed to not put his full weight onto his foot because Oikawa hadn't been passing to him as much; the bastard knew something was wrong with Hajime.
However, with this new plan, being used as the decoy, Hajime will have to run around even more, with accuracy. He won't be able to tiptoe his way around court like he's been doing.
When the whistle blows for the players to go back on court, Hajime vehemently avoids Oikawa, not wanting a lecture or any words of disapproval. Luck is on his side considering the current rotation has Oikawa at the back and Hajime at the front. Unfortunately, this means that he's in the perfect position to get blocked by the other team.
The whistle blows and Oikawa's powerful jump serve is just barely received, but the team recovers quickly. As Seijoh's decoy for the remainder of this match, or until the other team stops targeting him, Hajime needs to be as annoying as possible, so he runs to the spiker preparing to hit the ball and jumps.
His jump is weaker than usual, seeing as he's jumping with most of his weight on his left foot, but he gets there and lightly grazes the ball.
"One touch!"
As he lands, he feels himself wince just the slightest amount, but ignores it in favour of running to the other side of the court, shouting for the ball and drawing in the other team, who clearly haven't thought about the fact that they're getting baited.
They must assume that Hajime is stubborn enough to do something like a slide hit even with an injured foot, which he is, but they don't have that confirmation.
He pushes off the ground with his left foot, preparing himself, as if he'll get the ball. Their blockers follow, opening a path up for one of the 3rd year spikers, Nara, to do the finishing hit.
Hajime lands, allowing himself to stumble a bit, as if he's catching his balance, but really, he doesn't want anyone to see him struggle to stand.
He's exhausted much faster than he would normally be if his leg wasn't injured, and he knows Oikawa can tell, if the eyes burning a hole into the back of his head are anything to go by.
But they're so close now.
20-19.
A few more points and it's done, then he can get his foot wrapped and iced. It's burning now and the pain is causing him to sweat profusely, more than he normally does whilst playing.
He ignores it and gears up for the next point. Putting himself in position, he drowns out everyone else; the other team, Oikawa and his teammates who've started looking at him funny.
The whistle blows.
The other team serves.
Watari picks up the serve.
Hajime jumps.
Nara hits the ball.
They score.
Hajime lands.
CRACK
The sound of breaking bone fills the court. The Seijoh team look over towards Hajime, who is now on the floor, cradling his broken leg — but not touching it — with various looks of horror and shock.
The coaches for both teams are standing, making their way over to him, and the other team looks guilty, clearly not having intended to push him to this point.
And Oikawa.
He stands there, his face blank, watching as Hajime sheds silent tears.
As soon as Coach Irihata's hand grazes Hajime's leg, he lets out a cry, a raw, blood curdling thing that has every person in the stands quietening, even spectators for other matches.
It's the worst pain Hajime has ever felt and he dreads looking down, knowing that it's a mess, if the heat he feels radiating off it is any indication.
Coach is saying something to him but he can't make it out, he can't make anything out. His vision blurs and he promptly passes out.
✦•······················•✦•······················•✦
He wakes up to the sound of beeping machines.
Ah, he's in the hospital.
Placing his hands below him, he tries to sit up but is stopped by a hand on his chest. To the left is Oikawa, who doesn't smile but his eyes are warmer than they had been when they were on court.
"That was stupid of you." Is the first thing Oikawa says.
Doesn't Hajime know it, he feels pretty stupid. Now their chances of going to nationals have most definitely disappeared.
Oikawa fills him in on everything that's happened since then.
The other team admitted to targeting him for his injury and were disqualified for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Coach Irihata was upset that Hajime didn't say anything and felt as if he still had to play, but mostly he was worried. The rest of the boys were worried and itching to come visit but Oikawa and Irihata had convinced them to wait a while, so as to not overwhelm Hajime. The team won't be able to move forward in the tournament and instead a rematch will be held between the two teams that Seijoh and the other team had beaten.
Oikawa sighs, "Why did you do that Hajime? That was so dumb of you."
Hajime looks at his hands, feeling cowed at the use of his first name from Oikawa.
"It's the 3rd years last chance to get to national, Tooru, I couldn't let them down."
Oikawa flicks his forehead and Hajime glares at him, "The hell was that for Shittykawa?"
"You're a dumbass. They wouldn't think you let them down, they'd be thankful you tried your best. And now you've worried your seniors for no reason."
Hajime glowers at his leg, propped up in the bed, "I'm sorry-"
Oikawa shushes him, "Save it for the 3rd years. You need to rest idiot, that way we can get back to training sooner."
Hajime stares at him and the gleam in Oikawa's eyes is fiery, promising.
"We'll get to nationals next year."