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"Freedom for America!" shouted Tanaka from atop a stack of chairs and tables that had somehow been piled a quarter way to the ceiling.
"Freedom for France!" Nishinoya exclaimed, leaping up beside him.
Koushi froze in the doorway of the gym and stared in disbelief.
Hinata shot past, yelling "we won!", Kageyama angrily running after him. Narita hovered uncertainly off to the side. Kinoshita was laughing uncontrollably. No one seemed to hear Ennoshita's insistences from the foot of the precarious pile that it wasn't safe and they could break their necks, damnit Tanaka and Noya get down from there–
Koushi wrenched his incredulous gaze from the scene of chaos for a moment, glimpsing Kageyama's attempts to swat at Hinata while an out-of-tune chorus of "THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE-DOWN" echoed off the gym walls.
Yamaguchi, nearby, looked amused. Tsukishima, next to him, did not.
No one was practising volleyball.
(Although Nishinoya, balanced on top of the pile – and really, that structure was not safe – grinned as he hurled volleyballs from above like bullets.)
Someone jostled Koushi from behind, and he realised he'd been standing transfixed in the doorway for almost three minutes.
"What's–" began Daichi's voice, followed by "what–" followed by horrified silence.
"Suga-san," called Ennoshita in desperate tones, giving up as Tanaka and Nishinoya struck up some discordant rap about being shot. "Please get them off the tables."
"I PROB'LY SHOULDN'T BRAG, BUT DAG, I AMAZE AND ASTONISH," shouted Tanaka tunelessly. Kinoshita mouthed along, grinning.
Asahi, peering around Koushi's shoulder, made a strangled yelping noise and fell as silent as Daichi.
Narita was engaging in a prolonged, full-contact facepalm. Kinoshita prodded his side in time with the beat. Yamaguchi, who seemed to be trying to decide whether or not to laugh, cast sidelong glances as Tsukishima's stony glare at regular intervals. A volleyball sailing through the air hit Hinata in the face as he ran past once more.
(Which was extremely irresponsible, if Koushi was honest, because Nishinoya and Tanaka were second years and should be taking better care of their kouhai.)
"I AM NOT THROWING AWAY MY SHOT," chanted Nishinoya, punctuating each word with a non-stop distribution of high-velocity volleyballs. Kageyama tripped over Hinata's fallen body and was promptly smacked by two at once.
Tanaka had removed his shirt and was waving it like a victory flag.
Koushi met Ennoshita's exasperated eyes, then Nishinoya's manically gleaming ones, as Kinoshita took over the rap in what might have been a French accent. Narita clamped both hands over his face in despair. Yamaguchi appeared to have made his choice and had started to laugh, stifling it ineffectively with his sleeve, ignoring Tsukishima's extreme frowns.
"I'm joining the rebellion!" Hinata squeaked from halfway beneath Kageyama.
Repressing the urge to expel a deep and suffering sigh, Koushi straightened his back and marched forth into the war zone to take a stand.
(He liked to think he was patient, and he was, most of the time, but the situation was already very much out of hand. Koushi resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose.)
The hailstorm of volleyballs faltered, but the two second years' vocal chords did not.
"Suga-san! Daichi-san!" greeted Tanaka, followed immediately by "have another shot!"
"Asahi-san!" Nishinoya added cheerfully, waving a ball in the air.
Daichi strode up to join Koushi in the middle of the gym. Narita raised his head to regard the third years with dead eyes. Kinoshita simply grinned and continued singing along. Yamaguchi offered a weak smile. Tsukishima's expression didn't change at all. Hinata sat up, beaming and clutching a bloody nose. Kageyama, scowling mightily, struggled to his feet. Asahi hung back by the door, still mute with alarm, staring.
Even without looking at Daichi, Koushi sensed his fearsome glare and smiled to himself as it took effect. Yamaguchi blanched. Hinata shuffled rapidly backwards across the floor, one hand still at his nose to stem the blood. Tanaka and Nishinoya, perched atop their makeshift tower, ceased to create general vocal noise.
There was, for a moment, a hesitant quiet. And then, in a voice low enough to be threatening and yet flat enough to express his resigned acceptance of the frustrating antics of his team –
"Geniuses, lower your voices."
Koushi, theorising that Daichi's words must have been lyrics in whatever rap had been taking place, stared at his friend in betrayal.
Nishinoya nearly fell off the pile. Ennoshita, cursing, dashed forwards and held out his arms, ready to catch him.
Hinata, who had reached the wall, lit up, his sudden smile brighter than his hair, glowing like a walking, talking (loudly) lightbulb.
Kageyama choked on air at the sight and turned around so violently he almost fell over again. Koushi tried not to smile.
(Maybe he'd talk with Kageyama later. Kageyama wasn't known for being particularly emotionally aware.)
Energy was building, and the two second years dominating the uneven tower of furniture haphazardly took up the rap again. Koushi braced himself for inevitable despair to strike him down.
The unstable structure rocked dangerously and Ennoshita paled, arms still out and prepared to catch any falling second years. Koushi tensed in alarm and leant forwards almost expectantly, a moment away from leaping into action.
Kiyoko's arrival saved Nishinoya and Tanaka from certain death.
She faltered slightly in the face of the reigning devastation, but her recovery was swift.
(The same could not be said of Yachi, arriving with her, who widened her eyes and remained safely in the doorway near Asahi with a matching expression of alarm.)
Making her way towards Koushi and Daichi centre stage, Kiyoko announced, "if you talk, you're going to get shot."
The silence was immediate and deafening.
So was the sudden clamour exactly four and a half seconds later when Tanaka and Nishinoya leapt from the rickety tower (miraculously not breaking any of their legs) and ran towards her, tripping over each other, gleefully and incoherently firing what sounded like a scattered sprawl of compliments, love confessions, and song lyrics.
"Hard rock like Lancelot!" Hinata chimed in.
"I think your pants look hot," agreed Daichi tonelessly, and Koushi swore he had never looked or sounded so flat in his life.
Being the father of nine unruly children did this to a person, Koushi knew. Utter resignation came with the job.
"–blacker than the kettle calling the pot!" added Kinoshita, draping himself over Narita's shoulder.
Ennoshita blew out the deep and suffering sigh Koushi had been considering. Tsukishima, in the corner, rolled his eyes and made some grumpy comment that set Yamaguchi off laughing again. Asahi tentatively edged his way into the room, eyeing the chaos.
Koushi, in the eye of the hurricane, stared at the mess around him. He should really be more used to this by now.