Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A tall wall loomed over Hinata Shouyou. He had always wanted to be an ace just like his idol the Little Giant. Sure he was small in size but he had a much larger determination than other players, and that was what had lead him here, standing in front of the volleyball clubroom of Aoba Johsai. There were two other first years besides him, who both went to the same junior high. “No hard feelings about last year, okay,” one of them said, “Name’s Kindaichi Yuutaro,”.

”Same here,” the other said, “Nice to meet you, I’m Kunimi Akira,”.

”It’s fine. I just want to beat Kageyama, the setter,” Hinata said, eyes filled with determination, “I’m Hinata Shouyou,”

”Don’t worry, the feelings mutual about the King,” Kindaichi replied. Their first practise went decently but Hinata’s rookie nature was showing. The other first years already had the skills and height, where he only had his speed and stamina; but the others had been nice and taught him how to receive. At the end of the session when they were starting to pack away the team captain, Oikawa Tooru, stopped them and told everyone to go home except for Hinata.

Oh God, what have I done. Am I being kicked off the team? Hinata questioned in his head.

”Hey shortie-pie. What position do you want to play?” Oikawa asked Hinata.

”Spiker!” Hinata replied confidently, “I want to be just like the Little Giant, that’s why I came here,”

”Interesting. Shortie-pie, run as fast as you can and jump as high as you can and I’ll get the ball to you,” 

“Huh? Right now?” 

“Yes silly, now,”

Hinata ran at his top speed and jumped up he closed his eyes and hit the ball. When he hit it he opened his eyes again. “I hit it! I hit it and it went over the net,”

”Once more?”

”One more,” One more tuned into ten more.

”Again?”

”Yes please, Oikawa-senpai!”

”Enough,” someone said as they slapped Oikawa.

”Ow. Iwa-chan,” Oikawa sobbed, “But you saw it! Didn’t you?”

”Yes, I saw that last fifty you did,”

”It was more like twenty,” Iwaizumi stared at Oikawa, “Fine, fine, we’ll pack up!”

After packing up and what was a lot of thank yous from Hinata, he left for the cycle back home.

On Oikawa’s way home he couldn’t help but think about how Hinata was his favourite rookie this year. Hinata had determination, more trust in him than most members of the team, his speed and reflexes were god like and his scruffy, fluffy hair and short height made him look like a mini Oikawa. With a bit of styling and help, Oikawa was sure that he could turn Hinata into a mini version of himself.

About half of the lunchtimes Hinata would practise with Oikawa and Iwaizumi, who had surprisingly taken to him as well, and the other half Hinata would practise with Kindaichi and Kunimi. Over time Hinata got more confident in his abilities, but he still felt like there was a gap between himself and the other players.

”Next week we have a practise game against Karasuno. Make sure to be there,” their coach said in practise the next day. Hinata became more determined to make the starting order and not be placed on the bench. After a week of practising and tedious waiting, the day of the practise game arrived. “Karasuno aren’t much of a good team so we probably won’t need Hinata,”

”Huh?” Hinata said in shock, he was needed? But now he wasn’t?

”Oh I never told you, did I?Oikawa mentioned to me that he thought that you would make a good decoy. An easy way to rack up points. But with a team as weak as Karasuno we don’t need as easy out,” their coach explained.

”Wow, decoy sound kinda cool, I guess,” Kunimi said patting Hinata on the back.

”Using Oikawa’s exact words, he said you would be like a mini ace,” Iwaizumi explained.

”A mini ace!” Hinata exclaimed in excitement.

”Like an ace for the ace. If everyone has their eyes on you, then it makes my job as an ace much easier as we split the blockers,” Iwaizumi continued.

Sure Hinata wasn’t going to get to play this game, but he knew that he was important to the team, and that meant more to him than being a rookie on the starting lineup.

Chapter Text

When Karasuno arrived the tension had increased, where was Oikawa when you needed him to calm the nerves of everyone? He was off with an injured ankle. Hinata was warming up with the other team members when Kageyama entered along with the rest of Karasuno. Now Hinata wanted to be on the court instead of the sidelines.

Kageyama was surprised when he saw the small red head who he vaguely remembered from the tournament in junior high, but he knew that the brat was probably a bench warmer and nothing else.

The first set went well for Aoba Johsai, but things were getting tough for them come the second set. “Dammit. Where did Kageyama get that drop of team work from,” Kindaichi complained. Unfortunately for Aoba Johsai, Karasuno won the second set.

”Oikawa-senpai!” Hinata called out when he noticed Oikawa enter the gymn.

”About time,” both their coach and Iwaizumi muttered under their breaths. Both Karasuno and Aoba Johsai were in the twenties when Oikawa had finished warming up, ready for his service ace. 

Aoba Johsai : Karasuno - 22:21

Oikawa served again. Sawamura received the ball and passed it to Kageyama, who set it to Tanaka. Tanaka spiked the ball. Watari tried to keep it up in the air but he failed. Aoba Johsai called for a time out. “I say we put Hinata in,” Oikawa suggested, “Not as a decoy but for our freakish quick,”.

”We’re counting on you,” Kindaichi said as he swapped with Hinata.

”Don’t worry. Just trust in me to bring the best out of you,” Oikawa said as he pulled a peace sign.

The serve was received and passed to Oikawa who set it perfectly for Hinata who ran at his top speed. The sound of the ball slamming down on the floor echoed through the gym. Karasuno called a time out.

“Just who is that kid!” exclaimed Sugawara, “And why did they wait until now to put him on?”

”Maybe he can only spike like that when Oikawa is setting?” Enoshita suggested.

”Like a pinch spiker,” Mr Takeda said.

”There’s not really such a thing like a pinch spiker, Mr Takeda,” Sawamura said.

Meanwhile Hinata was celebrating his first successful spike. “Calm down, calm down shortie pie. You’ll get plenty more of those to come,” Oikawa said. Hinata looked over to Kindaichi.

”One more Hinata!” Kindaichi called out, Oikawa smirked.

A rally had been going on for a while when Oikawa signalled for Hinata to run. Hinata and Iwaizumi began to run at the same time, with Hinata reaching the net before the latter. Oikawa set the ball for Iwaizumi. Hinata felt the emptiness in his hands and opened his eyes. Had he missed. Hinata quickly saw all of Karasuno rushing to receive the ball from the other side of the court. “Well done Hinata,” Kunimi said supportively, “You were the best player we could have had for a decoy then,” Of course, how could Hinata forget? First and foremost he wast the team’s decoy, clearing the paths so that the ace and spikers could slam the ball down. In that moment, Hinata felt a different kind of happiness to when he had spiked the ball himself. Was this what it was like to play in a team? He only had the tournament from last year to go off of, and that wasn’t a team to compare to a team like Aoba Johsai. 

“That was incredible Iwaizumi!” Hinata said excitedly.

”Why does jerkawa get to be called senpai and I don’t?” Iwaizumi grumbled, “At least we’re at set point now,”

”We can turn it around Karasuno!” Sawamura shouted.

Karasuno did not turn it around. Matsukawa got the final point and Aoba Johsai won the practise game. ”We won… We won! We won!” Hinata said as the realisation hit him. Hinata was ready to thank Oikawa for believing in him, but he had already gone off to his fangirls. Hinata walked up to Kageyama, “Next time I’ll be a starter and I’ll make sure you lose in straight sets,”.

”Wow, look at Hinata go; making decelerations already,” Kindaichi said as he and Kunimi walked up to Hinata.

”Don’t worry Karasuno, it’s just a practise game. Besides, he’s returning,” Sawamura said.

”Next time we’ll block their no.8 and his freakishly fast quick,” Sugawara added.

Chapter Text

A few days had passed since the victory against Karasuno and Hinata was walking home with Kunimi and Kindaichi. “See you tomorrow,” They all said as they split paths. Hinata was getting ready to get on his bike and start cycling when some classmates stopped him.

”Oh look it’s that idiot, Hinata,” One of them jeered.

”Both his mind and height are the size of an elementary schooler, how did he even get in?” another added.

”Hey, knock it off,” Hinata replied.

”What? Did you say something?” The first one asked.

”I heard he’s in the volleyball club. You know, volleyball, the sport for tall guys,” they all laughed.

”He probably just sits on the bench for all the match and helps clean,” yet another one sneered.

”Or maybe he’s just the ball boy,” someone else laughed.

”I said shut up!” Hinata shouted.

”What was that? I can’t hear you up here. Maybe if you grew a little,”

”Oh look, he’s got a pathetic bike too!”

”Well yeah, cause he’s from ages away. He’s like a country bumpkin!”

”Maybe we should teach him a lesson. A lesson that even a first grader like him could understand,” They grabbed the bucket that they had put on the ground and tipped it over Hinata’s head. The bucket was filled with wet mud and cow manure. Then they poured freezing cold water on him.

”Don’t even think of coming back to school loser. Go back to your elementary school, or better yet the farm that the cow gave birth to you in,” all the kids ran away after that leaving Hinata at the side of the road all alone and covered in mud and cow shit. With no-one around Hinata began to cry.

Oikawa was walking home, minding his own business, when he heard crying. He wasn’t that far from the school so it had to be someone from school. Oikawa looked around and found someone covered in mud with the bag and bike sprawled on the ground beside them. The person was small and was wearing the boy’s uniform and there was only one small boy that Oikawa knew, and he knew basically everyone at the school, “Hinata? Is that you?” Oikawa asked, his voice gentle. Hinata looked up his mouth trying to say something but the tears kept falling, “Are you okay? What happened?”

”S-some k-kids came up-p to m-me an-n-nd th-they s-started m-making f-fun of m-me and they p-poured mud and c-cow shit o-on me then c-cold w-water. T-they s-said th-that I w-wasn’t w-welcome at the s-school a-and th-that I should g-go b-back to the f-farm t-that my m-mother gave birth t-to me in. And I’m c-cold,” Hinata cried through tears and shivers.

”And were you born on a farm?” Oikawa asked as a joke, Hinata shook his head, “So come back here and show them who’s wrong. Do you live far away?”

”I need to cycle over that mountain, but I’ll be home in about half an hour,” Hinata said.

”Jesus Christ, I’m not letting you cycle like that, you’ll catch a cold. You’re coming to my house, it’s a ten minute walk away, and you’re gonna get clean and warm, okay?” Oikawa said, slightly paternaly.

”Okay,” Hinata agreed. When they got to Oikawa’s house Oikawa fetched a pair of shorts, a jumper and a hoodie.

”They’ll probably be way to big for you, hence the shorts, but it’ll be warm. Use the shower, there are spare towels in the cupboard,” Oikawa said to Hinata. Whilst the smaller boy was in the shower Oikawa was making some hot cocoa for the two of them as well as collecting every single blanket in the house. 

“You didn’t need to do this for me Oikawa-senpai,” Hinata said as he stepped out the bathroom.

”Well I wouldn’t be a very good senpai then would I,” Oikawa replied, “Here I’ll dry your hair for you,” Using his mother’s hair dryer, Oikawa dried Hinata’s hair and styled it like his own. “There, now you’re a mini me,” Oikawa said, “And nobody can diss you because I have given you the gift of my natural amazingness. I need to take a picture of this,” Oikawa took out his phone and took many photos of the two of them, most of which were mainly focused on Oikawa. Hinata had noticed this habit of Oikawa’s, taking pictures at almost every moment.

”Thank you for the help Oikawa-senpai, what do you want me to do with your clothes?” Hinata asked.

”Just give them to me in practise tomorrow,” Okiawa said, “Stay safe,” 

When he got home, Hinata explained what had happened to his mum.

The next day on his way to practise the same classmates as the day before came up to Hinata, “I thought we told you to stay away from this school,”

”Well clearly you should take your own advise,” someone said in Hinata’s defence.

”Ooh, what’s Tooru doing?” Fangirl#1 commented.

“He’s helping that small first year,” fangirl#2 answered.

”Aww, how sweet! How adorable!” Fangirl#3 squealed.

”If you choose to pick a fight with Hinata, you choose to pick a fight with the volleyball club,” Iwaizumi said firmly.

”Crap, who’d of thought Hinata made friends with the third years,” the ring leader from the previous incident mumbled in fear.

”And the Oikawa no less,” another added quietly.

”Thank you! Thank you! Thank you Oikawa-senpai and Iwaizumi-senpai!” Hinata said, bowing several time.

“I got called senpai!” Iwaizumi cheered in his head, or so he thought, Oikawa flashed him a cheeky smirk.

”But how did Iwaizumi-senpai know about them?” Hinata asked.

”Oh, that’s right, I need to add the first years to the group chat,” Oikawa said, flashing his phone to Hinata who briefly saw the last messages on it.

Dreams_are_made_of_me<^-^>

If you see anyone insulting or hurting Hinata (or any of the other two first years) you are allowed and obliged to fight them.

Iwa-chan<3

Why? What happened? And what happened to no favourites.

Iwa-chan<3

Also why haven’t you changed my name back yet

Dreams_are_made_of_me<^-^>

I have not taken favourites! /ºØº\ How dare you suggest something like that! Also I said to do it for all the first years, it’s just that something happened with Hinata. Got it.

Dreams_are_mdae_of_me<^-^>

And if I have taken favourites, then so have YOU (˚0˚/#@*∆

Iwa-chan<3

Shut it jerk face

Dream_are_made_of_me<^-^>

:(

Hinata felt a nice, warm, fuzzy feeling in his tummy. It was nice knowing that his team is there for him. At the end of the practise Oikawa added the three first years to the group chat.

Dreams_are_made_of_me<^-^> has added three new members

Iwa-chan<3 

So what actually happened with Hinata?

Hinata

Some guys were being jerks to me and threw mud over me

Maddog-chanU*-*U

Give me names and I’ll kick their asses

Dreams_are_made_of_me<^-^>

Mad dog-chan, I thought you said you were going to leave this chat

Maddog-chanU*-*U

I just pressed on it by mistake. I’m gonna leave it

Dreams_are_made_of_me<^-^>

And I saw Hinata and helped him clean up

Dreams_are_made_of_me<^-^>

Speaking of. I need to upload at least a photo

Dreams_are_made_of_me<^-^> uploaded minime.jpeg

Iwa-chan<3

How is this not favouritism

Dreams_are_made_of_me<^-^>

It was taking advantage of a situation. I would have done the same for any other member of the team.

Dreams_are_made_of_me<^-^>

Even you Iwa-chan

Kunimi

What’s up with the names

Dreams_are_made_of_me<^-^>

The names!!!

Hero_of_the_floor[*^*]

You should not have said that Kunimi

Hanaking{^0^>

Oikawa gives everyone on this chat ridiculous names. All of which must end with emoticons

Dreams_are_made_of_me<^-^> changed Hinata’s name to OrangeFloof(~v~)

Dreams_are_made_of_me<^-^> changed Kindaichi’s name to OnionBOI;P

Dream_are_made_of_me<^-^> changed Kunimi’s name to Stoic-chano_o

Dreams_are_made_of_me<^-^>

Also I’m not changing your name Iwa-chan :P

Iwa-chan<3 changed Dreams_are_made_of_me<^-^>’s name to Jerkawa

Jerkawa

Iwa-chan ˚^˚

Jerkawa

At least put an emoticon at the end

Iwa-chan<3 changed Jerkawa’s name to Jerkawa>*-*<

Jerkawa>*-*<

What do I have to do to get my name back >^-^< Tell me and I’ll do it

Iwa-chan<3

Change my name back

Jerkawa>*-*<

Hmph fine :(

Jerkawa>*-*< changed Iwa-chan<3’s name to IwaIwa^=^

IwaIwa^=^

Fine. It’ll do

IwaIwa^=^ changed Jerkwaw>*-*<‘s name to Dreams_are_made_of_me<^-^>

Chapter Text

“I’ve been thinking Iwa-chan,” Oikawa said at lunch.

”This can’t be good. Here I’ll splap it out for you, jerk face Oikawa,” Iwaizumi replied.

”OW! Iwa-chan! Anyway, I’ve been thinking that at the moment Hinata’s only an okay decoy,”

”But he does have the freak quick,”

”Yes, but if he does only that, people will start thinking of counter strategies. Think of it like this, Hinata is like a tiny kid warrior with a super sharp sword. But that sword is all he is, he can’t control it and he’s weak without it. Once you knock the sword out of his hands then you’re left with the inexperienced kid warrior,”

”So your saying that in this case Hinata’s sword is his freak quick and without it he’s just a weak rookie,”

”Exactly, but if we give him more tools to use on the court then he changes from the weak warrior with only the sword to a strong warrior with lots of experience and armour and a shield and the sword, plus another, albeit blunter, sword and some throwing knives and a machine gun and a...”

”I think you’re getting carried away. At the moment Hinata is feared because of his freak quick, his sword, but he’s not feared  as a player, but giving him more tools and improving his playing will turn him into a player that would be feared. Which will make the other teams turn their eyes on him making him a great decoy. Is that what you’re trying to say?”

”Yes. Fear the warrior not the weapon,”

”Is that you trying to be inspirational? Don’t try it again, jerk face Oikawa. So anyway, smart guy, what do you suggest we do then?”

”Well its simple. First we need to improve Hinata’s serving, receiving and blocking so that he is able to be useful in other aspects. Then we give Hinata a regular quick and some other normal sets,”

”But receiving isn’t something you can just become good at overnight,”

”But practising doesn’t do any harm,” 

For the next few weeks of volleyball practise all Hinata practised was basic technique. “Hey Watari, how do you receive the ball?” Hinata asked.

”I dunno. I guess you want to make the least amount of movement so that your position is sturdier,” Watari replied, “It’s all about following where the ball goes,”.

”Kunimi! Kindaichi! Can you spike some balls for me!” Hinata called out to the others.

”Uh sure,” Kunimi replied.

Throughout all of the extra practise Hinata focused on his movement. About half the balls he was meant received ended up in his face or on the floor. “You’ll get it eventually,” Kindaichi sighed, “C’mon let’s pack up before Iwaizumi returns and yells at us,”

”Your little prodigy is coming along fairly well,” Iwaizumi said to Oikawa, both were hiding in the supply closet.

”No. Not prodigy. I hate prodigies. Besides all of this,” Oikawa denied, “Has come from pure effort, practise and determination. Something that no natural can beat,”

”Are you gonna admit that he’s your favourite?”

”Fine. Hinata’s my favourite first year this year. But you can’t deny that he’s yours too,” Oikawa pulled a peace sign.

”Unlike you, jerk face Oikawa, I don’t have favourites,”

”Liar!”

”Kyaa! They were hiding in the supply closet the whole time!” Hinata said in shock as he opened the closet.

”Oh shit! We’re in so much trouble now!” Kindaichi whispered to Kunimi.

”Come on admit it Iwa-chan~!” Oikawa teased, “Oh! Looks like we’ve been found!”

”I have nothing to admit,” Iwaizumi said in his defence.

”Crap! Inter high is next week. We were meant to pick up the brackets tonight. Iwaaaa-chan, how could you forget!” Oikawa complained.

”I didn’t forget, you forgot. Jerk,” Iwaizumi sighed, dealing with Oikawa was too much sometimes.

”I knew you were bound to forget, so I went and picked it up instead,” the head coach said as he entered the gym, “Even though we’re not playing in the first round I want you all there to watch the matches. Specifically this one,” the head coach pointed to the bracket that contained Karasuno and Date Tech, “There’s a high chance that we’ll be playing either Karasuno or Date Tech,”

”Oomisaki high, huh,” Oikawa said, deep in thought.

”Well you should be packing up anyway. Go, go!” The head coach said as the remaining members of the team began to clean the gym.

”Hinata. Tomorrow after school, I’ll teach you how to do some standard shots and quicks,” Oikawa said as he passed Hinata on the way out of the gym.

”With a line shot you hit it straight forwards and with a cross shot you hit it across the court,” Oikawa explained to Hinata with Iwaizumi demonstrating.

”Yeah, but Hinata won’t be able to get over the blockers, especially Date Tech,” Iwaizumi objected.

”But they wouldn’t have even jumped before he hits it,”

”What if Hinata ran around the blockers. He has the speed. If you don’t want to be blocked, then dodge,”

”Hinata, we slowly back away from the imposter,”

”I’m just saying what I think, jerk face,”

”Thinking too much might short circuit your brain. Oh yeah before you go, I have this for you,”

”Thank you... What is it?” Hinata asked.

”A list of all my signals, so you know what to do,” Oikawa replied, “Keep up the good work! Oh and keep working on that, it won't be ready in time for inter high but come the Spring Tournament, and I think you'll be ready to use it, ”

Chapter Text

A week had passed since the announcement of the bracket for inter high and it was the day of the tournament. Hinata felt like he was going to be sick. “I’m gonna go to the bathroom,” Hinata said.

”You okay?” Kunimi asked.

”Yeah. I will be,” Hinata replied.

”Don’t get lost!” Kindaichi joked. Hinata went to the bathroom where some tall players were.

”Hey, let the junior high kid pass,” a player said.

”Dude, that’s totally the Seijoh jacked,” the second one said.

”Seijoh has a player that small!” The first one commented.

”He’s probably some rookie who’s been put on the bench,” the second one replied.

“Don’t let anyone get to you. Just ignore them, they don’t know that you’re our secret weapon,” Hinata remembered what Oikawa had told him when he had arrived, and proceeded the bathroom.

”There you are!” Kindachi said in relief as he saw Hinata again. But Hinata was in a staring match against a member of Date Tech’s team. “Uh, Earth to Hinata. You in there?”

”Oh, sorry Kindaichi. What did you say?” Hinata replied, awakened from his trance.

”Nothing. You know where you’re going, right?”

”Yeah” 

“Cool, Kunimi and I are gonna talk to some old team members whose names don’t start with Kageyama,”

”Okay, I’m gonna look around. This place is massive!”

”Just wait until you see the national courts,”

Hinata was on his way to the stands when he bumped into something small. “He’s shorter than me!”

”Hey, whacha say punk?” The smaller boy said, scrunching up his face.

”It’s just that I’ve never looked down on somebody before,”

”Nishinoya, stop picking fights!” Sawamura lectured.

”Isn’t that...?” Sugawara asked, ”Seijoh’s no.8?” 

“The fast one?” Kageyama asked.

”Make sure you win. So that I can play you and beat you,” Hinata said to Kageyama as he walked off to the stands.

”Do you remember that match which Kageyama played in junior high. That one with the small team in green. I think Seijoh’s no.8 was the captain of that team,” Sugawara said.

”If I recall correctly. Their captain was the really fast one,” Sawamura commented.

”And we barely saw no.8 play. Do you think that he could play that fast for a full game?” 

“Probably. But we need to focus one match at a time,” 

“Where is Oikawa?” The head coach asked.

”Probably talking to his fangirls again,” Iwaizumi replied, “I’ll go get him,”

”What a jerk,” Kunimi sighed.

”Do you think we’ll get fangirls next year? Or the year after?” Kindaichi asked.

”Probably not. Unless you become the next ace. Then maybe you could have one or two,” Kunimi replied, “I mean you also don’t have the gentle attitude that Oikawa does either. If any of us three is going to have fangirls, it’s most likely going to be Hinata,”

”Me?” Hinata said spitting out the water in his mouth.

”Yeah. He has that small, energertic vibe. It’ll remind them of a puppy. Girls like puppies, or least I think they do,” Kunimi replied.

”You didn’t have to be so blunt about it. You killed him man,” Kindaich whispered.

”At least his nerves have calmed down a bit,” Kunimi whispered back.

About an hour had passed when Aoba Johsai were allowed to warm up. Hinata took his jacket off to reveal his jersey. Number 10. Just like the Little Giant. “Okay, here’s the starting line up,” Hinata keenly listened up for his name which was not on the starting line up.

”Hey shortie pie,” Oikawa said, “Make sure to stay warm, just in case,”

Hinata stood on the sidelines keenly watching the game which the team won in straight sets 25-14 and 25-12.

”I wonder why they didn’t play their no.8, or rather no.10 now, for the entire game,” Sugawara questioned.

”They probably didn’t see the need for the freak quick in a game that would be an easy win for them,” Sawamura answered.

”Well it makes my job a lot harder. That means I have no video footage of their freak quick and Mr Takeda says that you only saw it once in your practise game against Aoba Johsai,” Coach Ukai added.

”We’ll see you tomorrow Karasuno,” Oikawa taunted as he passed Karasuno with the rest of the team.

”I heard that Karasuno are quite a strong team this year,” Yamada said.

”Yeah, but they’re up against Seijoh and Oikawa, they don’t stand a chance,” Morikawa replied, sceptical

”Yeah, but in the long run we all know that it will be Shiratorizawa that go to nationals,”

”I have to say, I am curious about Seijoh’s no.10. They didn’t put him on yesterday but he must be special in some way to have made the team,”

”Maybe a spare, unofficial libero?”

”Did you see their warm ups? No way is he a spare libero, or even a defence player. Well, we’ll probably find out today,”

It was the second day of the tournament and there was a tense atmosphere in the crowds. Meanwhile Hinata was in the bathroom again, and of course he ran into trouble. This time in the form of Karasuno’s super tall middle blocker. Neither said anything. He may be taller, but I’m definitely the better no.10, Hinata said to himself.

When Hinata returned he was patted on the back by Hanamaki, “You’re on the starting line today,”

”Waah!” Hinata said, surprised.

”There you are shortie pie. This,” Oikawa stuck his thumb and pinky finger out, “Is our signal for your super fast set,”

”Got it,” Hinata replied. Pinky figer and thumb.

Hinata walked up to the line with the rest of the team, “Thank you for the game!” He chanted with everybody else.

”I’m trusting you guys,” Oikawa said.

A picture that I drew of Hinata in the Aoba Johsai kit, please excuse my bad drawing skills. Sorry that it's sideways

Chapter Text

“I’m trusting you guys,” Oikawa said.

Everyone’s spirits lifted up. Hinata walked onto the court along with the five other starters.

”Wow, they’re starting with their no.10 as a wing spiker!” Yamada shouted.

”Yes Yamada, but everyone else here has eyes and didn’t need you to shout that for them,” Morikawa replied.

”What are Seijoh thinking, putting such a small player in so early,” Coach Ukai said to himself, “What makes their no.10 special, and how fast are these freak quicks?”

”Everyone be ready for the freak quick to come at any time. Karasuno fight!” Sawamura shouted.

”KARASUNO FIGHT!!!” The rest of Karasuno replied.

Everyone was standing waiting for the start. Oikawa looked at Hinata and stuck out his thumb and pinky figner. Hinata nodded in reply. The ball was served a Karasuno received it. They setted it and Tanaka spiked it. Watari received the ball. Hinata began to run at his top speed.

”There it is! The freak quick!” Sawamura called out.

”Holy shit! How can he move that fast!” Yamada shouted

Hinata jumped and swung his arm.

"Next time I’ll do a setter dump as well,” Oikawa said as Hinata landed.

"Wow, that was so cool. I didn't even hit it and it was cool!" Hinata squealed.

Aoba Johsai rotated and Hinata's blocking skills were put to the test, a test which he barely passed. Oikawa kept signalling for Hinata to prepare for a regular quick set, each time the ball was set to someone else. Occasionally Oikawa would throw in a freak quick. 

"I'm not sure how I would feel if I were in no.10's position," Yamada contemplated, "To constantly be told to keep doing quicks and all of them being a decoy,"

"Well that's how Seijoh works, all the hitters have complete faith in their setter, Oikawa," Morikawa replied, "Besides I think their no.10’s position is to be the team's decoy. Each time he goes in for a fake shot, at least one blocker follows and the hitter gets a clearer spike. It's probably tiring for Karasuno as they have to keep up with no.10 in case he does hit it,"

"I don't see why they should. It's pretty obvious that no.10 never hits a regular quick,"

"I guess, but you don't want to leave him unblocked,"

"Why?"

"'Cause, then Seijoh will take advantage of that and Oikawa will set the ball for no.10,"

"I guess so. So what they have to do is keep marking him,"

"Yeah, unless they start read blocking. But I doubt they know how," 

"Tsukishima, don't mark no.10 as tightly when they do the regular quick, he doesn't seem to be hitting those," Sawamura said.

"Crap, I think we've fallen into their trap," Coach Ukai muttered.

"What's wrong Coach Ukai?" Mr Takeda asked.

"It's clear that we have fallen into their trap. Their no.10's most likely a decoy, a good decoy too. You can't tell when they'll next do the freak quick, so we have to keep an eye on no.10 all the time, which takes the pressure off of the other hitters," Coach Ukai explained.

Oikawa noticed the loosening of the marking on Hinata. He signalled for everyone to do what they had been doing, the only difference is that he set the ball for Hinata. "Yes!" Hinata cheered.

"Huh, who's that?" student#1 asked

"I don't know, I think he's a first year," student#2 answered.

"He's too pure!" student#3 said.

"He reminds me of my puppy," student#4 added.

"He does! He's like so bouncy and energetic, it's like he has no limit to his energy," student#5 agreed.

"No.10 hit it?!?" Yamada screamed.

"That's gonna push the momentum to Seijoh and now it's Oikawa's turn to serve," Morikawa replied, "That's not gonna help the point difference,"

Hinata subbed off for Kunimi and Oikawa hit Karasuno with his killer serve. Karasuno called their first time out. 

"Makes sense, they've got to find a way to stop those serves if they want any chance of winning the first set," Morikawa sighed, "You can't help but route for Karasuno. They're clearly the underdogs,”

”If you’re going for underdogs then you can’t forget Seijoh’s no.10. Sure he’s good at spiking, and he can run really fast, but when it comes to the others aspects of volleyball you can tell that he’s a rookie. And then each time you see him go for a spike, which you know is one in which he won’t receive the ball, you get upset for him, but then you have sets just like that one where he gets to spike the ball and you can’t help but feel warm and fuzzy inside,” Yamada replied.

”Yeah, he’s pretty amazing in his own way. How he’ll blindly go for the ball, as if he believes that this time he’ll be the one that the set is for, even though it’s obvious that he’s not being set to. Hell! I don’t think I’d be able to do it. I’d probably get annoyed at the setter by the fifth time,”

”But I have the feeling that he knows that he’s not getting the ball, or at least he caught on to how he’s not getting the ball,”

Oikawa went in for more of his serves. Karasuno called a second time out. “Is it just me, or is Oikawa acting strange?” Kunimi asked.

”He’s making sure that he stays focused and in the zone,” Iwaizumi replied.

”When a pinch server is getting a streak like that, the opposite team might use all their time outs to stop the server’s momentum so that they mess up, hence why Oikawa is making sure that he stays in that zone,” the head coach explained.

”True, a serve like that takes a lot of concentration,” Yahaba added.

Oikawa scored one more point off of his killer serve before the team went back to scoring point the traditional way. In the end Aoba Johsai won the first set.

”Don’t get too excited it’s only the first set. We may have the momentum going into the second set, but Karasuno can turn it around,” the head coach said.

”I say we leave Hinata off for this set,” Iwaizumi said, “If it turns out that we need him then we can sub him back on, but we can’t run the risk of Karasuno adapting to Hinata and potentially winning the second set. Plus, if we go into a third set then we can use him again to quickly get the momentum swinging our way,”

”This does mean that you will be blocked more when you spike,” the head coach warned, “But I can see that it is the better long term solution,”

”Iwa-chan, you’re doing this to trick Shiratorizawa as well,” Oikawa said as he set Iwaizumi aside.

”I don’t get what you mean,” Iwaizumi replied.

”Trick them into thinking that Hinata doesn’t have the stamina to keep his speed for the whole game,”

”Well when you put it that way, we also get that as a benefit,”

”Looks like they’re not playing their no.10 this time. Is Seijoh getting cocky, or did no.10 tire out already?” Sugawara said to Sawamura.

”Looks like we get to play Mr Pleasant after all. Iwa-chan spike the ball higher, okay,” Oikawa said as he noted the swapping of setters. Iwaizumi went in to spike the ball higher than he usually does but was blocked by Tsukishima. 

“Karasuno’s setters are both good at what they do. There’s Kageyama who has incredible accuracy and their other setter doesn't lack experience or brain power. Their setter going against Oikawa is the same as me trying to steal Oikawa's starting spot. Sure I might have a chance, but the chance is so slim that I might as well not try for it," Yahaba said to Hinata as both watched eagerly at the sidelines.

Even thought the momentum was in Aoba Johsai's favour, Karasuno didn't give up and their ace suddenly seemed stronger than before.

"Makes sense. Mr Pleasant has played with him much longer than Tobio-chan has," Oikawa said to himself as he rotated to the server position.

"Is Karasuno gonna win this set?" Yamada asked.

"There's a good chance that they will. That's gonna swing the momentum in Karasuno's favour," Morikawa answered.

"YES!!!" the whole of Karasuno, minus Tsukishima, cheered when Tanaka scored the winning point.

"Should we but him back in?" Iwaizumi asked Oikawa.

"Not yet," Oikawa replied.

"Are you stupid? Do you need me to hit some common sense into you!"

"Let Karasuno think they still have the momentum whilst we know that we have shortie pie, ready to attack at a moments notice," Oikawa turned to face the team, "Don't worry. I trust you guys and I know that we'll win. We'll be subbing shortie pie in at any moment of the set. So if things look grey, remember we still have our mini ace," Iwaizumi started at Oikawa, "And our ace, don't forget that we have our ace too,"

"Wow, Seijoh are just really cocky. They lost the last set but still decided to not sub in their no.10 again," Sugawara commented. It was a tight set and both teams were in their late teens point wise when Hinata was subbed on again. 

"There it is! It's their freak quick!" Yamada shouted.

"Again, people have eyes Yamada," Morikawa said, "But it is impressive. Who'd have thought that no.10 would have been able to do that right after coming on. Seijoh didn't even give him any time to warm up. He did that completely cold,"

It was Oikawa's turn to serve again, but Karasuno had already come up with a counter strategy for his serves in the second set. Even with Hinata there to ease things up for the hitters, Karasuno was scoring just as many points as them. The score reached 24:23 to Aoba Johsai, if they didn't win this point then the score would be a tie and the match would keep going on. "It's time to try that, don't you think Hinata," Oikawa said, sadistically as he pulled an signal that he hadn't used for the whole game. Everyone on Seijoh's hearts froze, surely he didn't mean that ? There were killer moves, but this was something else, if it worked.

Hinata nodded his head. He'd practised it a lot before the tournament, trying to get it ready for the tournament. It wasn't really ready and had a small success rate. But Hinata was sure that he could do it. Oikawa trusted him after all.

"Is it just me, or did Oikawa do something to anger the entire team," Enoshita said.

"The determination in Oikawa's eyes," Nishinoya commented, "It's scary,"

"Look at no.10, there's determination then there's blood lust," Tanaka added.

"What are they planning? How screwed are we?" Sawamura asked.

"He's going in for the freak quick!" Kageyama shouted, the blockers jumped "No, it's a regular quick?" the blockers had landed by the time Hinata had finished hitting the ball which appeared to be a strong hit judging by the hit. But the ball rested in his hands for longer than usual.

"A feint!" Nishinoya cried as he tried desperately to get the ball.

"As expected, Seijoh won," Yamada said, " Tough luck Karasuno,"

"Yeah, but what was that move just now?" Morikawa asked.

"That was amazing!" Hinata said jumping up to the head height of Oikawa, who caught him and lifted him up, "That set was just perfect Oikawa-senpai!" Oikawa let Hinata down, who then proceed to run up to Iwaizumi. "And that really cool spike you did Iwaizumi-senpai, it was awesome!"

"Awww! He's too cute!" student#3 squealed.

"I have to take a photo of this!" student#4 said, "Tooru and the small fry together is too pure for this world,"

"I need to ask what his name is," student#5 added.

"Tooru was amazing in this game," student#6 said to her friend.

"Looks like Hinata's got some fan girls already," Kunimi pointed out, much to Kindachi's fake annoyance, "But they're drowned out by all the Oikawa fan girls,"

"Next year it'll be me they fawn over," Kindaichi said over-confidently.

"Just who is Seijoh’s no.10," Coach Ukai speculated, "And that move at the end,"

"That's the second time we got caught out by their no.10," Sawamura sighed, would they be caught out again in their next match against Aoba Johsai?

The two teams shook hands and Hinata went chasing after the short player from Karasuno. "You're the one who went zoom and swoosh and zip to keep ball up into the in the air! That's totally cool!" Hinata said energetically.

"You're the one who went zap and floosh with the ball and it was really quick!" The short player replied.

"Does anyone understand what they're saying?" Asahi asked.

"I get it," Kageyama replied.

"I'm Hinata Shouyou, nice to meet you," Hinata said offering his hand.

"I'm Nishinoya Yuu," Nishinoya replied.

"The Nishinoya!" Hinata said excited, "Wow, it must be so cool to be such a great libero, Noya-senpai!"

"Yeah it is! It's the best!"

A ball hit Hinata in the back of the head, "Come on Hinata we've got to play Senseki soon. Don't waste all your energy, we need it for the match," Iwaizumi said, collecting the ball and walking back to the court, "You too jerk face," Iwaizumi said grabbing Oikawa's ear and dragging him along.

"Owwww! Iwaaa-chaaaaan! Let go!" Oikawa said trying to get Iwaizumi's hand off of his ear.

"There's definitely a weird dynamic between those three," Sugawara laughed. 

Chapter Text

Aoba Johsai and Shiratorizawa were warming up for their match when one of Shiratorizawa's spikers hit the ball with too much power and it was going into the stands. Ushijima ran after it and was ready to catch the ball when all of a sudden an orange blur blocked his vision. When the blur had gone a small boy with untamed orange hair was crouched on the floor with the ball in his hands, Ushijima stared at the boy, he hadn't seen him when he had started running, so where did he come from. The orange haired boy noticed Ushijima's presence, "Um, h-here's your b-ball. I noticed it was going into the stands and ran to catch it," the boy said as he stood up and handed the ball back. Ushijima stared down at the boy. He was barely over 160cm and the ball was definitely going at a good 2.5m, which Ushijima was confident that he could get, but this small boy shouldn't have been able to catch the ball.

"Thank you," Ushijima said intimidatingly. The orange haired boy backed away cautiously. The boy looked as if he was scared that Ushijima might try to eat him. 

"Why did we even bother showing up Morikawa, we both know that Shiratorizawa are gonna win," Yamada complained,

"Yesterday morning I may have agreed with you, but Seijoh have their no.10. I think they may have a chance," Morikawa said in disagreement.

"Well, we'll see who's right,"

The two teams lined up, "Thank you for the game," everyone shouted before shaking hands.

"You should have come to Shiratorizawa," Ushijima said to Oikawa as they shook hands.

"Uh Hinata? You okay?" Watari asked.

"M-me? Ishve nuevwer beechn bessher," Hinata replied [translation: Me? I've never been better], so full of nerves that he couldn't even talk properly.

"You sure?" Kindaichi asked, "You look like you're gonna puke,"

"Iwem mwoch nuovort. Iwem exshikedt!" Hinata replied [translation: I'm not nervous. I'm excited]

"I can't understand what he's saying," Kunimi said.

"He's shaking like crazy too," Yahaba added.

"This is the first time he's played a match like this though. He's never played a powerhouse school before," Iwaizumi explained, "He probably caught one look at Ushijima and started panicking. This isn't good though, we don't have any time to calm Hinata down plus we have to deal with jerk face Oikawa being angry. We're going to have to bench Hinata until he's calmed down. Yahaba, I'm trusting you to help calm Hinata down,"

"I'm c-completely calm Iwakawa-senpai," Hinata said.

"You're clearly not. You merged my name and jerk face Oikawa's, never do that again," Iwaizumi said as he forced Hinata to sit down, "Coach, we're starting with Kunimi instead of Hinata,"

"Okay?" their assistant coach said, unsure of the decision.

Oikawa walked onto the court with the rest of the team, "I'm trusting you guys... Huh where's shortie pie?"

"On the bench," Iwaizumi said bluntly.

"It's fine, we can play just as well without Hinata," Hanamaki said.

"Yeah, sure he makes playing easier, but he's not essential to victory," Matsukawa added.

"Even when we're up against great team like Shiratorizawa, you don't need to be afraid," Yahaba said to Hinata, "You know why?"

"W-why?" Hinata asked.

"Because you're not alone. It's not you versus Shiratorizawa. When you're on the court there are five other people playing with you, five people who will always have your back. If you make a mistake, it's not the end of the world, someone will keep the ball up so you can try again," 

"But, Shiratorizawa is a powerful team,"

"And you're a powerful player, Hinata. So when you go out there show them that you're a player that they should fear. Go and show Shiratorizawa that this isn't an automatic win for them,"

Hinata watched his team play. Shiratorizawa was a great team, even with their most powerful members playing Hinata doubted that they could beat them, but he wanted to try. He wanted to be on the court and try too.

The head coach watched as Hinata's eyes turned from pure fear to pure determination, "I think it's time that we turned things up a notch,"

Ushijima watched as the orange boy from earlier stood at the side of the court headstrong as one of the players swapped with him. This is going to get interesting, Ushijima thought to himself. 

Now that we have Hinata back in the equation we can try a few new things. Should I surprise them with the super quick yet? Oikawa was deep in thought when Hinata took his place. Their best blocker is currently in the front row now so if I use the super quick often then they could adapt to it. But if I don't use the super quick then the whole point of Hinata's role is undermined.

"Oikawa-senpai. Let's do it," Hinata said.

"Already? But you just got on," Oikawa replied.

"Looks like we had nothing to fear at all. Hinata's back to usual," Iwaizumi sighed in relief.

"No.10 came on!" Yamada said, excited.

"It looks like he already wants to do the freak quick," Morikawa speculated.

It looks like Oikawa's gonna set it to the pipsqueak who's coming up the left... No the right. Tendou thought as he went in for the block.

I know that Oikawa's gonna set it to me. Should I go to the left? Maybe the right? Crap! I'm slowing down, their blocker's gonna totally read it, and I was ready to go down the right too. Now I'm gonna have to cross. Hinata thought as he prepared to spike the ball.

At his top speed Hinata quickly ran across half the court before beginning to jump as he continued to fly to the left. When he saw the ball Hinata regained his balance and hit it. Crap. That wasn't a good hit. If I had stuck to the right then I would've been more balanced and all my energy would have been focused upwards. Hinata thought.

I knew he was fast but that's on a whole different level. And he crossed over to the left. Tendou sighed, "I'll get the next one,"

"I'll get the next one," Hinata said, "And it'll be an amazing spike because I'll make sure that I'm balanced this time. So please set the ball for me again Oikawa-senpai!"

Crap! Tendou thought as he overheard Hinata, he hit it like that and that was what he considered and bad hit 'cause he's "unbalanced".

"Just be wary. They don't call him the guess monster for nothing," Oikawa said to Hinata.

"Guess monster? Well I did get the feeling that he was following me, but I'd hardly call that guess work," Hinata replied in a confused tone.

"Hinata, do you know what guess blocking is?" Kindaichi asked.

"Guess blocking? Is it similar to read blocking?" Hinata asked.

"Not really, in fact they couldn't be more different. In read blocking the blocker reads where the setter sets the ball and blocks off of that. It makes their blocks later than usual so the blocker is usually very tall so that they cover the distance they need to. In guess blocking the blocker..." Kindaichi began to explain.

"Guesses where the ball goes," Tendou finished Kindaichi's explanation.

"Wow! That's so cool!" Hinata gushed.

He's like an excitable puppy, Kindaichi and Tendou thought at the same time.

Shiratorizawa set the ball for Ushijima as the front line of Aoba Johsai went in for a block. The pure power of Ushijima's spike caused the block to collapse upon impact. This was how the most of the points were scored. Aoba Johsai called for a time out. "Sure they may have a super ace. But we have our ace and mini ace. Two aces are better than one. Shiratorizawa has a one size fits all strategy that has worked for them so far. Show them how variety can be strength," their head coach said, "Now get back out there and win,"

"They're still on the first set!" Tanaka exclaimed as he entered the stands with Nishinoya and Enoshita.

Hinata returned to the court along with the rest of the team. "Look they're playing Shouyou!" Nishinoya shouted, "Shouyou!"

Hinata heard someone call his name, he looked up to the stands to see who it was and found Nishinoya and two other members of Karasuno's team, "Noya-senpai" Hinata shouted as he waved back.

"Well as much as Karasuno annoys me, you can't deny that their arrival has boosted Hinata's spirits," Oikawa said to Iwaizumi. Hinata walked up to his position as middle blocker as he faced off against the guess monster.

It looks like Ushijima is going to hit the ball this time, because he's running the fastest, but I can't deny that the setter looks like their setting the ball to the other side of the court. "If you make a mistake, it's not the end of the world" thank you Yahaba. Hinata thought as he began to separate from the other two blockers. I took too long to read that so I need to reach their no.8 as quickly as possible. Hinata thought as he began to run at his top speed and jumped up to block Shiratorizawa's no.8. Hinata relished in the feeling of the ball bouncing off of his hand, "Chance ball!" he called out.

Oikawa signalled for Iwaizumi and Hinata to set up a regular quick which Iwaizumi scored the point off of.

"Well I guess you can read block even if you're short. You just need super human speed," Yamada joked.

The set had progressed and Shiratorizawa was at the set point. Their setter mucked up their set.

The set was clearly for no.8 but the set is going to the right not the left, yet no.8 seems to be carrying on, maybe slightly adjusting, everyone's already started running for him, but it would make most sense for Ushijima to take this set, Hinata thought to himself, I need to make my move now. Hinata ran up to Ushijima and jumped as high as he could and became parallel to Ushijima's hand. He raised his arms and curved his hands inwards. Just as he had thought, Ushijima took the set. The other two blockers tried to run and help the block but it was too late. I may have jumped too high, Hinata thought as the ball made contact with his face. "Chance ball" Hinata shouted as loud as he could. He ran back, trying his best to ignore the pain in his face, "BRING IT TO ME!" Hinata shouted as he ran as fast as he could to the other side of the court and jumped as high as he could.

"BRING IT TO ME!" those four words ran through Oikawa's ear as he set the ball for Hinata, only to be blocked by Tendou. 

Hinata watched in horror as the ball fell to the floor and Watari desperately tried to keep it up. The ball bounced once. Hinata stared at it. The ball bounced twice. The whistle blew. The ball bounce thrice. Tendou laughed as Hinata stood there staring at it, "I was blocked?" Hinata asked himself, "I ran as fast as I could and I jumped as high as I could, but I still was blocked,"

Tendou relished in this feeling. The look on the spiker's face when they were blocked. It was even better this time, he finally got a block on Aoba Johsai's fast midget. "He's like an orange sonic," Tendou joked as he joined the team, his recent block hiding his irritation, "An orange sonic that figured out how to guess block,"

"He's nothing to worry about, he's small and therefore weak," Shiritorizawa coach said. There's nothing weak about their no.10, Tendou thought in protest.

"Hinata, are you okay? Does your head hurt?" Kunimi asked.

"I got blocked," Hinata said sadly.

"Of course that's the part you care about the most. So you got blocked Hinata. So what? We all do. If you wanna be an ace or mini ace you're gonna have to get used to get blocked until you become a Ushijima," Kindaichi said, "And if you don't like being blocked, suck it up, no-one does,"

"I don't think he's listening to you," Kunimi said.

"One more time. I know I can do it," Hinata said to Oikawa.

"Shortie pie, you need to get your head checked out," Oikawa reasened.

"I'm not getting it checked out until I hit one more ball and get it over the net!" Hinata protested.

"Wow. Shouyou took the ball in the face and still carried on!" Nishinoya said, amazed, "How's he still okay?"

"Ushijima's spike's look scary to block with your hands let alone your face," Tanaka added.

"There they are. They skipped practise to watch the game," Sawamura sighed.

"Well now that we're here, we might as well watch it as well," Sugawara replied.

"That was your plan all along wasn't it Suga," Sawamura said.

"Yep" Sugawara said as he took a seat, "So what's happened?"

"Well that's the end of the first set, Shiratorizawa won 25:23," Enoshita said.

"The first set! I thought they'd be near the end of the second set," Sawamura said in surprise.

"Yeah, but you have to look at the block that their no.10 did," Tanaka said, "I filmed it,"

"Their no.10 can guess block! Gah, he's turning into an even more powerful player," Sugawara commented, "And that's some crazy resilience he's got. If we don't get stronger we're gonna lose to Seijoh much faster next time we play them"

Chapter Text

"I'm not getting it checked out until I hit one more ball and get it over the net!" Hinata protested.

"I think it's the best move," Kunimi said, "A head injury, whilst potentially dangerous won't cause too much damage in the long run; not giving Hinata a chance to beat the guess monster could damage his confidence, even if we win. Although it sounds kinda stupid, Hinata needs to get a hit past the guess monster, he won't feel like he's won if he doesn't and he'll always be scared of being blocked,"

"Fine, you get one hit Hinata, make it count," Iwaizumi said sternly.

"Thank you Iwaizumi-senpai," Hinata said, "I won't let you guys down,"

Of to the side of the main gathering Matsukawa and Hanamaki were talking, "As third years, it's our duty to reassure first years, right?" Matsukawa asked Hanamaki.

"Yeah. So we should do something about Hinata," Hanamaki replied.

The teams walked back onto the court.

"Are they really that irresponsible? They haven't even checked no.10!" a player from Shiratorizawa commented.

"Hinata, don't get to bummed down, this is only your fourth proper match, and the practise match doesn't count 'cause you barely played," Hanamaki said to Hinata.

"Yeah, and your first match wasn't even a match seeing as most your team was inexperienced," Matsukawa added.

This is his fourth match and he's this good, and could even guess block, Tendou cursed in his head.

"Thanks Hanamaki and Matsukawa. But even if it's my fourth match, I'm gonna give it my all and win. And I'll keep on winning. I'll keep on winning with you guys! So don't go slacking either. I'm counting on you, and you can count on me!" Hinata replied.

"He's the complete opposite of Kageyama," Kindaichi said to Kunimi.

The set began and the first ball was tossed to Hinata, who went in for a spike, but kept his arm up just in case Tendou went in for a block. Naturally he did.

"A joust!" Yamada exclaimed.

"Yeah, but Seijoh's no.10 looks like he has barely any upper body strength, what's he thinking?" Morikawa said.

I know that my height means that if I'm blocked my success rate goes down and the blocker will slam the ball down in stead of deflecting it, so I just have to stop myself from being blocked, Hinata thought to himself as he pushed himself with the joust. 

Although most of what Hinata had learnt at his time at Aoba Johsai was taught to him by Kindaichi, Kunimi and Oikawa, that didn't mean that Iwaizumi hadn't taught him anything.

"You'll eventually get blocked," Iwaizumi said bluntly, "You can dodge all you want, but someone will block you. And when they do they'll be taller so they'll slam it down, but there's a technique that you might be able to use,"

"Really?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, it's called a joust. It's where two players both put pressure on the ball,"

"But that sounds like it needs lots of upper body strength, which I don't exactly have,"

"Most other players will be larger, and hence heavier than you. If you paid attention in physics then you would know that weight equal gravity times by mass. Simply put a heavier player will have a larger force acting on them. Use this to your advantage,"

"How?"

"You have incredible stamina, but you often concentrate that on jumping. Now this move will take a lot of effort and practise, you may never be able to use it and I don't know if it will even work 'cause I just came up with it. Get on all fours,"

"Is this supposed to be some power trip for you?"

"Lift your legs off the ground... Now put them on the ground again. Well done, you just did a horizontal jump,"

"I don't get how this will help me in a joust,"

"Notice how all the pressure went to your arms, that's what it will be like in a joust. Keep practising that, I'll teach you the next part next week,"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Have you been practising what I told you to Hinata?" Iwaizumi asked Hinata.

"Yeah," Hinata replied.

"Great, we'll be going to the gym today,"

"I get that fitness is an important part of volleyball and I could always improve my upper body strength, but I can do that in my own time,"

"We'll be using the pull up bar,"

"Okay?"

"First try to pull yourself up and just hang there with your legs fully extended," Iwaizumi paused for Hinata to do so, "Now try it but tuck your legs as high as you can,"

"Huh, it's easier to hang,"

"Exactly, put you need to be able to pull your legs up. Your task for this week is to practise pull ups with your, each time making sure you pull your legs up,"

"Okay,"

"Pull up. Legs up. Legs down. Pull down,"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What are we gonna do this week?" Hinata asked.

"We're gonna practise it all together, See I set up a box at the height I need it to. I'll be standing here applying pressure to the ball whilst you attempt to joust me. Don't worry I've set crash mats if we fall. Okay, first do this like you've just jumped up for a spike, your legs are first bent but then you come into the joust, so they naturally have to extend," Iwaizumi explained

Hinata jumped up and applied pressure to the ball, he noticed that his legs naturally extended.

"Good, now try again but remember to raise your legs,"

Hinata jumped up began the joust and raised his legs up.

"Not too high or you'll touch the net!"

Hinata tried again. He saw that he was going to need to get good at controlling his leg height.

"Okay, now this is where the horizontal jump comes in. Just like a vertical jump, the jumping part, raising your legs, gives you the power, channel all that power you have in your arms into the ball,"

"Like this?" Hinata asked trying again, knocking Iwaizumi over.

"Yes, like that. It'll give you more push on the ball and force the blocker to carry some of your weight making them more likely to fall. Let's practise it a few more times,"

After practising it a few more times Hinata asked Iwaizumi a question, "Iwaizumi-senpai, why did you describe it as horizontal jumping?"

"Well I thought it would be easiest for you to get the most power from it. You're great at vertical jumping, so if I called it horizontal jumping I thought that you may get more power from it,"

"Ah, I see,"

"Alright on to the next part. Obviously a game is not the same as a practise drill and you'll be coming into this straight from a spike. Normally you would fully swing your arm and land again and need to jump again for a joust, but you won't have time for this is a game. If you can see multiple blockers, aim for the gaps and be ready to receive the ball, you won't be able to do a joust then. But when it's just you and another blocker, try to aim for the gaps and instead of letting your had carry on and fall again, keep it in midair. If the blocker gets the ball apply pressure on with your hand that swung then quickly move your other hand onto the ball as well. We'll try that whole movement,"

A lot of jumping later, and Hinata finally got the grasp of the whole hand movement.

"Okay, time to put it all together,"

An hour later and Hinata had the beginning of a special move.

"Okay, time to try with a setter. Yahaba, you can stop hiding," Iwaizumi called out.

"Why not Oikawa-senpai?" Hinata asked.

"I want to keep this hidden from jerkawa and you need to get used to setting with Yahaba for next year, when you don't have Oikawa," Iwazumi explained.

After half an hour Iwaizumi told them to stop and pack up.

"Thank you Iwaizumi-senpai!" Hinata said after they finished packing up.

"Don't forget to keep practising everything I've told you," 

Iwaizumi smiled as he saw Hinata go in for the joust, good, he has the confidence for the joust, it might not work but at least he feels confident in using it.

Step one - raise your other arm up Hinata raised his left arm onto the ball, fully committing to the joust. Step two - push your legs up Hinata said to himself as he pushed his legs up. Step three - transfer the pressure in your arms into the ball Hinata pushed onto the ball forcing Tendou to take his weight. Step four - keep applying pressure and hope that your opponent falls first Hinata kept the pressure on the ball and watched as he overpowered Tendou, making the ball fall and giving Aoba Johsai the first point of the set.

"Yes it worked!" Hinata called out, the rest of his team looked at him, "Fine I'll get my head checked out now," Hinata went off the court.

"Iwa-chan, now you have to admit it," Oikawa pouted.

"Admit what?" Iwaizumi asked innocently.

"You taught that move to shortie pie,"

"And what if I did?"

"Then you have to admit that he's your favourite too,"

"I don't, I was just doing what you said, teaching Hinata another move,"

"I don't get why no.10 was lifting his legs," Enoshita said, confused.

"I think it had something do to with adding more pressure to the ball," Sawamura replied, "If he were to joust normally he would be quickly overpowered by Shiratorizawa's blocker,"

Hinata and the assistant coach walked over to the medical office. "You're lucky it's not a concussion, but he should keep some ice on the area of impact to stop any potential swelling," the nurse on duty said to the assistant coach.

"Yes, we will. Thank you for your help," the assistant coach said.

"Thank you for your help," Hinata said meekly, flinching from the coldness of the ice pack.

"Jesus Christ, look at the size of the ice pack," one of Shiratorizawa's substitutes laughed.

"I can see the beginning of a black eye," another one joked.

"You play with fire, you're gonna get burnt. You block Ushijima's spike with your face, you're gonna get hurt," another said, mimicking a prophet.

"Look at Shouyou, that's bound to hurt," Nishinoya said.

"If we ever have to play Shiratorizawa I'm gonna get on the court ready to play, and remember no.10 getting a ball in the face," Tanaka said.

"Well just remember that he kept on playing after getting a ball to the face when you start chickening out," Sawamura said.

"What did I miss?" Hinata asked Yahaba.

"Shiratorizawa is winning 14:12" Yahaba answered.

"How long was I away for?"

"A good twenty minutes, everyone on the side lines started getting worried that it was something serious. Of course we hid this worry, we don't want to ruin our shot of winning by worrying the on court players,"

It wasn't until the score reached 21:18 that Hinata was subbed in again. "Dammit, we have to play the fast midget again," Tendou cursed as he saw Hinata walk onto the court, "Was a ball to the head not enough to stop him,"

"Now that Shiratorizawa knows what shortie pie's capable and he's back, we're gonna continue where we began this set. Pretend that we're back at the beginning of the set. Shortie pie just scored the first point from winning his joust," Oikawa said.

Now that the fast midget is back they'll probably start with a set to him, Tendou thought, so I'll go straight in with a block and signal for the others to join me, I won't be caught out and let him start another joust.

Oikawa set the ball for Hanamaki whilst Shiratorizawa went to block Hinata. Fortunately for Shiratorizawa their libero stopped the ball and kept the rally going. Aoba Johsai lost yet another point, widening the point gap. Things got pretty serious when the score was 23:20.

"We have to give it the final push. It's time for that," Oikawa said, with a smirk.

"Huh, what's this, Aoba Johsai has another trick up their sleeves?" Oohira said.

"I think Oikawa's talking about the killer move," Sawamura said, getting flashbacks to the end of their previous game against Aoba Johsai.

"The feint freak?" Nishinoya asked, already decided on what it's name is.

"Yes," 

This is what Oikawa calls the teams most lethal move. The opposition think it's called that because it "kills" their blockers by making them block a few seconds too early leaving an opening for Hinata. And we know that it's a lethal move because of it's current success rate. Slim to none. If we play it we always play it at a late point in the game as a momentum changer, but it can seriously damage the game for us if either Hinata or Oikawa mess it up, the head coach thought to himself as he saw the team prepare.

Hinata started running at his freak quick speed, slowing down as he approached the jump. He jumped up, swung his arm and missed. "I'm so sorry!" Hinata said.

The third reason we call it the most lethal move, when Hinata misses it a match situation, it completely destroys him and brings back his nerves. Because this happens more often than not, we can only play it at the end to limit the damage that this causes, but that in itself runs its own risks, the head coach continued to think to himself.

"I'm so sorry. I've completely ruined the match. I've given Shiratorizawa the set point and game point. I should quit volleyball. I'm so bad," Hinata cried.

"Iwaizumi, where do you think we hit on the self destruction meter?" Matsukawa asked.

"Full one-hundred," Iwaizumi replied, "But subbing Hinata out so late in the game, isn't an option either,"

"For the sake of the team, please don't toss the ball for me Oikawa-senpai," Hinata cried.

Iwaizumi walked up to Oikawa and slapped him, "Did you stop to consider the risks?" Iwaizumi asked, "Jerk face Oikawa,"

"Ow! Iwa-chan!" Oikawa cried in protest.

"It looks like Seijoh hit a mental wall," Yamada commented.

"Yeah, well it looks like you were right, Shiratorizawa is about to win," Morikawa sighed, "As usual,"

"With Hinata down, we just need to prove how we got on the team in the first place!" Kindaichi said in an effort to boost the team's moral. And so Aoba Johsai gave a final push which resulted in a loss.

There was a mix of emotions in the team.

Oikawa's frustration.

Iwaizumi's regret.

Hanamaki and Matsukawa's sadness to their high school volleyball careers ending like this.

Watari's annoyance to not being able to keep the ball up in the air.

Kindaichi's disappointment.

Kunimi's second thinking.

Hinata's feeling of being a disappointment to the team.

And the substitutes' feeling of helplessness.

The team tried their best to hide these emotions until they were somewhere private but hints of them spilled out.

"It's weird to see a team as good as Aoba Johsai be defeat and display the same emotions that we did when they defeated us," Enoshita said.

"I finally understand why they call that move a lethal move. It's lethal to them!" Tanaka said.

"I suppose, but the way they dealt with it shows that that's the common output. Meaning how they won the third set against us was a fluke," Sugawara said filled with fight.

"They would have won anyway," Sawamura said, "They're definitely the better team out of the two of us," 

"Dammit!" Kindaichi said as he slammed his fist down on the sink, "Next time! I'll spike the ball so hard that we'll win!"

"We were so close. If I had just..." Kunimi cried, "Or if I had... instead,"

"I let the whole team down," Hinata said as he slouched against the wall, down onto the floor.

"Can you shut up!" Kunimi said as he grabbed the collar of Hinata's hoodie and pulled him up, "Why are you blaming yourself? It's us who let you down. You gave us plenty of opportunities! It's us who didn't take them!"

"But if I hadn't been so nervous at the beginning then we could have won the first set. Or if I hadn't messed up the lethal move right at the end of the game," Hinata cried.

"It's our fault that we didn't help you with your block against Ushijima, we should have seen that coming. We shouldn't have pressured you into doing the lethal move or we could at have least been more prepared for you missing it!"

"But it's my fault for missing it!"

"Shut up you two!" Kindaichi shouted as he separated the two, "Enough of your what ifs. We lost! We lost and we can't change that. Accept it and move on, and be grateful you got to play. If you want to think over the game do it later when you have a clear mind and it will actually be useful. There's gonna be a next time, so think about what you can do then. 'Cause we're gonna win next time,"

"Sorry Kindaichi," the other two said as they began to leave the bathroom.

"I'm not finished. We're team mates and more importantly friends, we go through the highs and lows; we go through the wins and losses, but we never fight about them. We suck them up and keep pushing forwards," Kindaichi said, "Friends?"

"Friends," the other two replied.

"Then apologise to each other," Kindaichi ordered.

"I'm sorry Hinata. I didn't mean to angry at you," Kunimi said.

"I'm sorry Kunimi. I shouldn't have shouldered the blame. We're a team for a reason," Hinata said.

"I think we're looking at Aoba Johsai's future captain, Kindaichi," Iwaizumi whispered to Oikawa, "Well they handled their first loss surprisingly better that I thought. And they're dealing with it better than you," Oikawa didn't respond, "So you're still annoyed, there's still one more chance to get to nationals. I have a feeling that we're going to beat Shiratorizawa next time,"

"What makes you think so?" Oikawa said grumpily.

"We have our first years who are only going to get stronger from this, and we have some second years hopefully returning soon," Iwaizumi replied.

After the issue in the bathroom the three first years went their own separate ways. Hinata walked into the group from Karasuno.

"Shouyou!" Nishinoya called out in excitement, jumping up.

"Noya-senpai!" Hinata replied jumping up equally as high.

"Man I can understand the Karasuno guy having the energy but how does the fast midget still have energy! He ran around more than anyone else," Tendou complained to Ushijima as they passed the two.

"It was so cool how you beat that taller blocker in the joust. You were like kapoosh!" Nishinoya said to Hinata.

"Or when you blocked the ball with your face," Tanaka added.

"Yeah, but now you've got a sick black eye," Nishinoya said, "See you around Shouyou!"

"See you Noya-senpai," Hinata replied.

"But running around like that just wastes energy. It's players like him that waste Oikawa's potential," Ushijima replied.

"You're still going on about how 'Oikawa should have come to Shiratorizawa'" Tendou said mimicking Ushijima, "Give it up. You're both third years, he's not suddenly gonna change his mind,"

"I'm going to try again," Ushijima said leaving to find Oikawa.

"When will he give it up?" Tendou sighed.

Hinata turned around to walk out of the gym when he saw the guess monster of Shiratorizawa, "Eek," Hinata let out a quiet scream.

"Next time, I'll throw you to the ground if you try to joust me," the guess monster threatened, "So be prepared, okay?" his voice suddenly turning soft.

Oh no, he noticed me "Please can you teach me how to guess block," Hinata begged as he bowed.

"It's no use Tendou, I can't find Oikawa anywhere," Ushijima said.

"He's probably talking to fan girls or being yelled at by Iwaizumi-senpai," Hinata said under his breath.

"Maybe he's waiting outside," Ushjima said as he left.

"Please can you teach me how to guess block, Tendou-senpai," Hinata said using his special trick, the senpai trick.

"What's your name midget?" Tendou asked.

"Hinata. Hinata Shouyou,"

"Okay Shouyou-kohai. I'll teach ya,"

"Really?"

"Really. And before you ask, I don't care if it makes you better, we'll still beat you next time," Tendou ruffled Hinata's hair, "Man, you're even smaller up close and without all the fierce determination making you seem bigger,"

Chapter Text

A week had passed since losing the match against Shiratorizawa and the team was back to usual; with, as Iwaizumi would put it, Oikawa being kind enough to not show up to practise. Although none of them had mentioned it since, the fight was still fresh in the first years' minds and it would stay in there for years to come. "Well there's good news and bad news," their head coach said to the team, "The good news is that Takumi is returning from his injury. The bad news is that Kyoutani's suspension is done and he could be returning. Of course we don't know for certain if he is or isn't,"

At the mention Kyoutani the mood in the room suddenly changed leaving the first years confused. "He probably isn't," Watari said, "It's not like we need him either,"

"The hell you say Watari!?!" An angry person yelled as they entered the room, getting ready to pounce on Watari, "Good, that bastard Takumi didn't return,"

Yahaba pinned the angry person against the wall, "You think that you can just waltz back in and expect the team to accept you after what you did. Sure Takumi wasn't in the right either but at least he cares for the team. You can either learn to control your temper and stay or you can get the hell out and leave us the hell alone," Yahaba yelled, which seemed to calm down the other person who the first years assumed to be Kyoutani.

"Things were getting too quiet in here," someone said, disappointed, as they entered.

"Inaba, look at you showing up to practise. I thought you said you quit," Matsukawa commented on the other person's presence.

"Well I wasn't planning on coming, but I heard the commotion," Inaba said, "And I decided that I might as well see what was going on, and now I'm here I've decided that I might as well do some practise whilst I'm at it. Though I'm not sure if I've got it in me still,"

And so the slightly calmer atmosphere returned to its previous tense state.

"What would top it off is Takumi entering," Iwaizumi sighed. The door opened again, "Are you kidding me? Do I have the the worst luck?" and in walked Oikawa, "Are you double kidding me, this is even worse,"

"Oh, it looks like Mad dog-chan makes his return," Oikawa said.

"Oikawa stop it," Iwaizumi said in a serious tone, warning the other not the prod the stick at the wild bear. And in what logical world would Oikawa take Iwaizumi's advice? Grabbing the stick, Oikawa prodded the bear at full power. Which resulted in...

Kyoutani running in to attack. “Kyoutani please stop. Even though we would all like to murder Oikawa sometimes, myself included, that does not allow us to do so. So please calm down. I will not allow fighting amongst members,” Iwaizumi said sternly, which surprisingly calmed down Kyoutani, "And you should know better, jerk face Oikawa. You're the captain,"

The practise continued with the tense atmosphere, but nobody started fighting anyone else, until the end of the practise. Kyoutani walked up to Hinata and yelled at him, "What's some midget who can't even receive the ball doing here anyway?"

Kunimi desperately tried to hold Kindaichi back, whilst Iwaizumi and Yahaba tried to hold Kyoutani back.

"Huh? Me?" Hinata asked, his eyes becoming more and more focused on Kyoutain.

"Let go of me!" Kindaichi snapped at Kunimi.

"Oh no. There's Hinata's blood lust. Sometimes I wish he didn't have so much determination," Watari sighed, deciding not to get involved.

Hinata ran at Kyoutani at his god like speed and jumped up to pounce on the other boy, at the same time Kyoutani got free of Iwaizumi and Yahaba's restraints. Oikawa finally did his part and grabbed Hinata before he could land on Kyoutani, which allowed Iwaizumi and Yahaba to get a hold of Kyoutani again.

"Enough is enough," Oikawa said as he slapped Hinata's face.

"Yee-ouch!" Hinata screamed out in reflex, but the slap seemed to knock some sense in him as he calmed down.

"Both of you, get out of the gym," Oikawa ordered and surprisingly both did as they were told.

"Are you sure that that's a good idea. It's just asking for one of them to get hurt," Watari argued.

"Mad dog-chan and shortie pie, have their differences, but they both have their similarities. If they can get past their differences then they'll be a force not to be reckoned on the court," Oikawa explained.

"When are you going to let them in again?" Yahaba asked.

"I'm not letting either in until they can get along," Oikawa said loud enough for the two mentioned to hear.

"Dammit!" Kyoutani shouted as he kicked a bin over.

"They can't expect us to seriously just get along," Hinata complained. The two of them sat in silence outside the gym. Eventually the team came out, naturally the last one out was Oikawa. 

"You can sit and wait all you like, but I'm not changing my mind," Oikawa said, in an insincere tone.

"Then I'll just have to make you change your mind!" Kyoutani said , running up to Oikawa, ready to attack.

"Stop it Kyoutani!" Hinata said, he knew the senpai trick wouldn't work on Kyoutani, "This is only gonna solidify his decision," After saying that Hinata jumped in front of the other two.

"Night night," Oikawa said as he left the two alone.

Hinata noticed a spare volleyball on the ground and he picked it up and starting passing to himself, "Pass it here," Kyoutani demanded, Hinata did as he was told and passed the ball. Kyoutani hit the ball as far as he could out into the distance, "That's what I think of their stupid volleyball club," and he walked off.

Hinata ran and caught the ball, which was about to smash a window. Not hearing the sound of a window smashing, Kyoutani turned around to see Hinata still in midair, but now falling, with the ball in his hands. Damn. I hit that really hard and he still caught it in time. Who is this kid? Kyoutani thought as he stared in shock.

"Looks like you found the ball I left you," Yahaba said as he patted Kyoutani on the back, "What? Did Hinata surprise you that much?"

"How the hell did he get that ball?" Kyoutani said, bewildered.

"That's just Hinata's reflexes for you,"

"But he can't receive,"

"Sure he has reflexes, but he doesn't have the spacial awareness. You should see him in a game though,"

"Why?"

"Not saying, but I'll tell you the best part, he keeps improving,"

"Eh?"

"Sure he's got some holes and weaknesses currently, but come his third year and he'll be an all round player who's potentially better than Oikawa, and if I may say so, potentially better than Ushijima,"

"But that's if he gets back on the team,"

"Even if he doesn't get back on the team this year, we'll let him on it next year," Yahaba leaned against the wall, "Besides, I'm gonna use this opportunity to shape Hinata into a player that I can use easily," By this point Hinata had reached them, "Listen up you two, you didn't technically hear this from me, but both the coaches and Oikawa forgot to lock the gym. It's currently free and it'll be free before school tomorrow. I forgot something and I'm headed back and I'm gonna get some extra practise in tomorrow morning," Yahaba went back inside the gym.

"Crap, I think I left the keys in the gym," Oikawa said to Iwaizumi.

"That means that it's open doesn't it," Iwaizumi sighed, "Lets go back,"

When Oikawa and Iwaizumi returned to the gym they saw the three boys practising. Yahaba would toss to Kyoutani, who would hit the ball as hard as he could for Hinata to recieve, "Yahaba, you sneaky bastard," Oikawa grumbled, "That was a sly move,"

"Don't just focus on the ball! Focus on the area around you! Do I need to put obstacles in again!" Kyoutani yelled at Hinata.

"Should we let them have it?" Iwaizumi asked, "I mean it's fair. You forgot to look the gym,"

"I didn't forget to lock the gym. I forgot to lock the gym," Oikawa said.

"No, you forgot to lock the gym and now you're going to pretend that you deliberately didn't lock the gym,"

"We could lock them in the gym,"

"What and scare their families and get in trouble, jerk face Oikawa,"

"Uh I don't know what to do. On one hand I want to stand by my word but on the other hand, they're making so much progress,"

This could be a good time for me to practise jousting. I might not get the chance to go up against such a strong opponent again until a match, Hinata thought as he prepared himself for another receive. Changing his mind at the last minute, Hinata ran in for the block, and joust.

"What're you doing this for!" Kyoutani shouted, "You know I'll overpower you,"

It was at this point that Yahaba noticed Oikawa and Iwaizumi's presence, "Guys! Knock it off a bit, would you!" Yahaba warned.

"NO!" both shouted back as they continued to joust each other. Oikawa and Iwaizumi both looked at each other and grabbed the two smaller boys. Iwaizumi drew the short straw and had to attempt to carry Kyoutani, which resulted in both falling.

Oikawa started laughing which resulted in the other two running at him and tackling him to the ground, along with Hinata who Oikawa was still carrying. This created a pile of the four of them on the floor, which Yahaba promptly took a picture of.

"Iwa-chan~" Oikawa pouted as best as he could with three people on top of him, one of which had suddenly fallen asleep.

"Guys shh, Hinata's fallen asleep," Yahaba said, which prompted Iwaizumi and Kyoutani to get up and join Yahaba in taking pictures and caused Oikawa to go into his protective mode. Oikawa whispered for the other three to clean the gym, again.

Eventually the five of them left the gym to collect Hinata's bike, which Iwaizumi walked. Yahaba and Kyoutani continued to take pictures of Hinata and Oikawa and were discussing how much they could sell them for.

"Kageyama, how lost are we?" Yamaguchi asked.

"Wait, I think I can see some people," Kageyama replied.

"Yeah, I don't really want to embarrass myself by asking Oikawa where we are. You can do it king," Tsukishima said.

"Quiet down you two," Iwaizumi said to the second years, "You'll wake him up and lose the photo taking opportunity,"

"Why do I have to carry him," Oikawa moaned.

"You chose to, jerkawa," Iwaizumi replied.

"Iwa-chan! Stop merging insults," Oikawa pouted.

"If only you could play as well as you could pout," Iwaizumi said under his breath.

"Well I'm not gonna ask for directions either!" Kageyama yelled at Tsukishima.

"Huh? Where am I?" Hinata asked as he woke up, tightening his grip around Oikawa's neck.

"Shortie pie, could you loosen your grip. You're strangling me!" Oikawa said as Hinata let go, to be promptly caught be Iwaizumi, bridal style, before being put on the floor.

"Well I think that you should ask, 'cause you know him," Tsukishima objected.

"Shouyou, have you been getting sleep?" Iwaizumi asked.

"Wow, that's bold, using shortie pie's first name Iwa-chan. Look some wingless birds and Tobio-chan!" Oikawa said.

"Well I stayed up pretty late last night studying, for finals, although nothing really went in," Hinata explained.

"Get some sleep," Iwaizumi said in a lecturing tone.

"I'm sorry I doubted you," Kyoutani said under his breath, to Hinata.

"I'm sorry I got mad at you," Hinata replied, "But next time I joust you, be prepared,"

"Yeah I'll be prepared to knock you down onto the ground,"

"Welcome back to the volleyball club," Oikawa said as Hinata grabbed his arm and fell asleep again, "Goddammit shorite pie,"

"Thanks, but I'm not returning yet," Kyoutani replied, "I have something that I need to do first,"

"Wow I think Hinata managed to tame the mad dog," Yahaba said under his breath.

"You say something Yahaba?" Kyoutani asked.

"Nope,"

"There he is," someone said.

"Hide me Iwa-chan!" Oikawa whispered.

"Grow up jerk face," Iwaizumi replied.

"Ow! Ow! Stop it Iwa-chan,"

"I'm so sorry for falling asleep on you again Oikawa-senpai!" Hinata said as he got up again.

"Go home, and make sure you rest. Like actually go to sleep," Iwaizumi lecutred. The two second years and Hinata left.

"You should have come to Shiratorizawa," Ushijima said, "I also have an offer to make. I would like you to come and join me in studying this Saturday,"

"Why?" Oikawa asked.

"Normally I would study with Tendou, but he says that he's busy this Saturday," 

"Very busy," Tendou added.

"So I'm inviting you," Ushijima finished.

"Iwa-chan,"Oikawa said, looking at the other as if to ask for him to join.

"I'm also busy this Saturday," Iwaizumi replied, "You're on your own,"

"Traitor," Oikawa whispered to Iwaizumi.

"Oikawa's a brilliant setter that brings out 110 percent out of his team, but their no.10 brings out an extra 100 percent in Oikawa. Be wary of their no.10 in our next practise match against them next week. Sawamura, do you know where the first years went to?" Coach Ukai said to Karasuno's volleyball team.

"They went out for a run, but I told them to come back before now," Sawamura replied, "Don't tell me they got lost,"

Chapter Text

Hinata met with Tendou on Saturday. The third person for the training showed up, “Iwaizumi-senpai, what are you doing here?’

”I’m here to help you guys out. Plus I wanted to let jerkawa deal with Ushijima on his own, but there should be one more person coming,” Iwaizumi replied.

”Oh yeah, I had to do some babysitting at the same time and they play setter for their junior high team. She’s already in the gym. So the first thing about guess blocking is that you can’t just guess randomly. You need to know how the team works. So you’re gonna have to get used to binge watching opposition matches to understand how they work as team. Plus you’ll need to get that brain of yours working,” Tendou explained as they began to walk into Shiratorizawa’s gym, “Don’t worry, no-one’s gonna use it today,”

”How do I get my brain working? I just sorta go with what my body tells me to,” Hinata asked.

”So you go with your gut instinct too, huh?”

”I guess so. Ever since Yahaba told me that it wasn’t just me on the court, I’ve trusted my gut a bit more,”

”So I guess you need to work on intuition then. That’ll come from experience and experience alone,” Tendou said, “This is Naosama, my neighbour, she’ll be setting for us today,”

”Is Shouyou paying you for this too?” Iwaizumi asked.

”No?” Tendou said, confused, “Anyway, we’ll have you go out the room for a bit, and we’ll decide which one of us, Iwaizumi or myself, will spike the ball. Then you’ll come back in and guess which one it’ll go to, and we’ll tell you if your right,” An hour passed of them doing this same drill over and over again, “Okay, time to make thing harder. You’ll do the same thing but when you reenter, we’ll begin the set up, until Naosama tosses the ball. Then you guess which one of us the ball was going to go to by running up and blocking them, and we’ll tell you if you’re right or not,”

The four of them spent two hours on that drill. By the second hour Hinata was successfully guessing the spiker 95% of the time.

”How did you know who was going to spike it?” Naosama asked, “I only knew ‘cause I was there when they decided,”

”Well whenever it was Iwaizumi-senpai’s turn to spike he would always smirk before running, and when it was Tedou-senpai’s turn he always ran faster,” Hinata explained.

”What you did there was guess blocking, minus the blocking. How are you not tired yet? You’ve had to run around the most too,” Tendou said, “Anyway each spiker has a little sign that they are going for the spike. Though you’re gonna need to improve your speed at recognising those signs. I mean it took you an hour today! Alright lunch break!”

After the lunch break the four of them headed back to the gym, “Okay now we’re just gonna do lots of practise of this. And if I don’t see you running for the block before Naosama tosses it then you’re gonna have to do a whole lap of driving drills,” Tendou said as they began the three hour afternoon session, which resulted in Hinata having to do many laps of Shiratorizawa’s very large gym, “Wow, I finally managed to tire out Shouyou-kohai,”.

”And me,” Naosama complained.

”As a thank you for studying with me I’ll let you use our gym for some practise,” Ushijima said as he walked with Oikawa to the gym.

Oikawa suddenly got a text on his phone, “Oh, I need to go help Iwa-chan,”

”I’m sure that he can wait,”

Ushijima and Oikawa walked in on the other four cleaning the gym, “Tendou, I thought you said you were busy,” Ushijima said.

”Iwa-chan, you traitor,” Oikawa pouted.

”One more!” Hinata said, his energy miraculously coming back to him, “Against him,” as he pointed to Ushijima.

”Six hours of running and fifty laps of diving drills, and you’re still not tired!” Tendou complained as both he, Naosama and Iwaizumi were about to collapse on the floor.

”If shortie pie falls asleep you’re carrying him as punishment,” Oikawa said to Iwaizumi as he took his jacket off, “One set won’t hurt,”

”Lets turn it up a notch. Three spikers,” Tendou added. 

Hinata looked at the three oncoming spikers. Tendou wasn’t running faster and Iwaizumi didn’t smirk, so that meant that it had to be Ushijima spiking this ball. Hinata started slowly moving, saving his momentum for the last minute, the moment when the ball was tossed. The one thing that Hinata had forgotten was the power of Ushijima’s spikes. “Ow!” He exclaimed as his block collapsed.

”Dammit, and I was deliberately trying to trick him,” Tendou sighed.

”Why did you waste your day?” Ushijima asked Tendou.

I don’t think that he/I wasted it, Iwaizumi, Oikawa, Naosama and Tendou thought at the same time.

”Thank you for the help,” Hinata said before leaving.

Chapter Text

The next week arrived and it was days before the practise rematch against Karasuno. But first there was a rematch closer to home taking place.

”Wow, Inaba showed up to practise again!” Hanamaki commented as he entered the gym, noticing Inaba and Watari having a receive off.

”What’re they doing?” Kunimi asked as he enetered, “Hinata stop moving your head like a bobblehead. It’s going to fall off,”

”It’s what they call a receive off. The first one to drop the ball is considered the weaker libero,”

”If I’m not mistaken, didn’t Inaba go to Chidoriyama,”

”Yeah,”

”That’s where Noya-senpai went,” Hinata added.

”Exactly. Was Inaba their spare libero?” Kunimi asked.

“No. Quite the opposite. He was their ace. I think he had great trust in Nishinoya and that’s why he acted the way he did when he first came here,” Hanamaki explained.

“Noya-senpai did mention having a best friend who went to a different school. Apparently the were known to have a chinkless defence between Noya-senpai’s receives and his friends blocks,” Hinata said.

”Well, Inaba is probably our teams strongest blocker, and he would be one of our strongest hitters if he had stayed in his wing spiker position,” Hanamaki speculated, “But when he first arrived he wouldn’t spike the ball and he insisted on playing as a libero. I guess he just didn’t trust Watari the same way as he did with Nishinoya. He must have gotten annoyed at always sitting on the bench because one day he challenged Watari to a receive off and lost, and that was when he left the team. He pops back in now and then, mainly after tournaments,”

”Well if he’s still friends with Nishinoya, then he would probably receive a text that goes something like, ‘Where were you at the tournament?’ And probably feels guilty about it, so he returns only to remember why he left,” Kunimi added.

The three of them watched as Inaba inevitably lost. “Inaba, you’re back. Are you planning on staying?” The assistant coach asked.

”I dunno, probably not. Why do you need to know?” Inaba replied.

”It’s so we know the numbers for our practise game at Karasuno,”

”Karasuno? The school with cute school uniforms for the girls and black gakuran jackets for the boys?”

”Possibly. I only know what their volleyball kit looks like,”

”Sure, count me back in,” Inaba walked up to Watari, “You’ve won fair and square. I’ll let you have the libero position all to yourself. Guess I have to go back to playing middle blocker,”

”You’ll play wing spiker,” Iwaizumi said, handing Inaba his jersey.

”But I’ve not spiked in over a year!”

”You’ll play wing spiker on the starting line up as punishment for ditching the team,”

”But!”

”And I expect you to practise your hitting all this week as I won’t forgive any misses,”

”But!”

”No buts! If you don’t like it, you can do what you do best and leave,”

”Fine,” Inaba grabbed the jersey out of Iwaizumi’s hand and put it on over his top, “Yahaba, you want to practise with me?”

”I’m busy, find someone else,” Yahaba replied.

”Fine. Hey orange hair. You’re coming with me,” Inaba said as he dragged Hinata, “You’re the sub-sub-setter, right?”

”I’m the team’s decoy,” Hinata replied.

”Dammit. But can you set?”

”Well I’ve never set before,” 

“Just toss the ball up and over to me. I’ll do the rest,” After lots of failed attempts from both, the two gave up, “What about you, do you enjoy spiking?”

”I love spiking!”

”But you’re so small. It must be impossible to get it over the net,”

”I love the feeling when the ball hits your hand and you don’t have to worry about the tall wall of blockers because you’re above them,”

”I used to know that feeling... But it’s no use if you can’t be sure that your defence doesn’t have your back,”

”I trust Watari, and I think you should too,”

”It’s not that easy. After playing with a libero like Yuu, it’s hard to trust other liberos,”

“Sure, Noya-senpai’s an amazing libero, and if we had him on our team I’m sure that we could beat Shiratorizawa easily,”

”Exactly, when you have him on your side you don’t need to worry about dropping the ball, or messing stuff up you don’t feel like it’s just you on the court,”

”But there are five other player on the court for a reason,” Hinata said quoting Yahaba, “And each one of them has your back like they know you have theirs. If you muck up, one of them will help sort it out, or if they’re unable to then everyone shouts ‘Next time!’. You’re never alone when you’re on the court, so spike the ball with confidence when it’s tossed to you,”

”But what if I get blocked,?”

”Then we’ll try our hardest to keep the ball up in the air,”

”Volleyball isn’t a game to see who can spike the ball the hardest, it’s a game to see who can keep the ball up in the air the longest,” Inaba said deep in thought,

”You got it. Besides, you’re not gonna get blocked,”

”What makes you think that?”

”You have me!”

At the time when Hinata said that, Inaba was confused as to what he meant, but come to practise match and he understood completely.

“With him back we might stand a chance against Ushijima’s spikes,” Iwaizumi said, “And another hitter for other teams to be watching. Where’s jerkawa gone to?”

“I still can’t believe that you would go behind my back to sabotage me like that Iwa-chan,” Oikawa complained, still holding a grudge from Saturday.

“Knowing now what the training consists of, I think I’ll join you in studying next time,”

“All I’m going to say is that it was your choice to help,”

“Sure the training helped Shouyou with his blocking, but it also gave him stamina training that he didn’t need. Now he’ll probably be able to play a five set game and still not be tired,”

”Iwa-chan, I wouldn’t exaggerate it that much. There’s a difference between a game and a six hour training session,”.

Chapter Text

The day of the rematch had arrived and Aoba Johsai had arrived.

”Daichi, did you ever find where the first years went?” Sugawara asked.

”Apparently the got lost. Did you tell them about the match Suga?” Sawamura asked.

”No, I thought you were gonna tell them,”

”No I told you to tell them,”

”It’s too late now,”

”I’m so excited for the training camp in Tokyo!” Yamaguchi said.

”So am I,” Kageyama agreed.

”That’s if you pass finals,” Tsukishima smirked.

”There they are. We have a practise match against Aoba Johsai today. Go get changed,” Sawamura told the first years.

”Wow, I never knew that Karasuno is closer to my home that Aoba Johsai is,” Hinata commented on their arrival.

”Why did you come to Aoba Johsai Hinata?” Kindaichi asked.

”Because the Little Giant went there too,” 

“So if the Little Giant went to Karasuno or Shiratorizawa you would have gone to those schools?”

”Yeah,”

”Man, I should have come to Karasuno, their girl’s uniform is so cute, and I wouldn’t have been stuck in a blazer for another three years,” Inaba complained.

”Yeah but they’d also never allow you to play libero there either so get going,” Iwaizumi replied.

”Iwa-chan?” Oikawa asked.

”What?”

”Are you ready to crush Tobio-chan again?”

”Of course,”

”Hey orange head! What’re Karasuno’s players like?” Inaba asked.

”Well they have this really tall middle blocker, and two setters. One who’s called the king of the court. Wait... If Kageyama is the king of the court then does that make Oikawa-senpai the great king?” Hinata said before getting lost in thought.

”Kageyama isn’t called the king of the court because of his talent. It’s because he’s a dictator on the court,” Kunimi explained, “Karasuno has an ace that looks like an adult, their captain who can receive really well,”

”And an epic libero!” Hinata added.

”Inaba, are you listening?” Kunimi asked, “Jeez! Why ask if you’re not even going to listen?”

”YUU!” Inaba shouted upon sight of Karasuno’s libero.

”ASUKA!” Nishinoya replied as he jumped onto Inaba’s back.

”Wow! Is that your manager? She’s so beautiful!”

”I know. Kiyoko-senpai is a goddess. The best part is that when you talk to her... She ignores you,”

”That must be wonderful!”

”Nishinoya, go get changed,” Sawamura commanded as he tried to get Karasuno ready for their match.

”See you on the court Yuu!” Inaba replied.

”You’re actually gonna play this time. Unlike the inter high tournament!” Nishinoya replied, excited, as he walked off to get changed.

The two teams started to warm up.

“The most unknown factor of Seijohs team is whether they’ll start with their no.10 or not,” Coach Ukai said to the team as they prepared to play, “If they do start with him be prepared for the freak quick to hit us at any time,”

“This is the starting line up,” Iwaizumi stated.

”Why does Inaba get to start?” Yahaba asked.

”That reminds me. Don’t mess a single spike up. I won’t forgive you,” Iwaizumi said as he grabbed Inaba’s shoulder.

”I am suddenly experiencing some form of empathy that I didn’t know that I had,” Yahaba said, slightly scared, as he patted Inaba on the back.

”I’m trusting you guys,” Oikawa said his infamous line.

”Shouyou. You can learn a lot from watching,” Iwaizumi said as he left for the court.

”I will!” Hinata replied.

”Man, is it just me or is he being extra tough with you?” Kindaichi said, “Don’t let it get to you,”

Although the practise with Hinata hadn’t be that useful all together, it had created some beginnings. Inaba had had some practise with spiking. Not enough, but some.

Tsukishima easily blocked Aoba Johsai’s new spiker when compared to their no.10, this spiker was nothing. Inaba was getting annoyed of being quickly blocked by Karasuno’s no.10, then he remembered what orange head had said, “You’re never alone when you’re on the court, so spike the ball with confidence when it’s tossed to you,”. It was that simple, wasn’t it? If orange head can spike with confidence at his height, then so could Inaba, I should try to learn the first year’s names at some point, shouldn’t I? Inaba thought as he laughed off another block. Block me all you like, but I’m confident that I’ll get the ball over eventually. Inaba ran again, he jumped and hit the ball with all the power that he had and he broke the block. Unfortunately for Inaba, Nishinoya had received the ball before he could get the chance to celebrate and Karasuno won the rally.

”Hey it looks like Chidoriyama’s former ace has finally relearnt how to spike,” Hanamaki joked to Matsukawa.

Iwaizumi looked over to the side lines and made eye contact with Hinata. It’s time, he thought as he nodded to the head coach.

”Looks like their no.10 is coming on,” Sawamura called out.

”What a pain in the ass,” Tsukishima cursed. It was Kageyama’s turn to serve and he aimed the ball at Oikawa.

”So that’s your plan. Sorry to say it’s a stupid one,” Inaba smirked, “Orange head! Over here!” Hinata followed the ball from Oikawa’s hands into his as he tossed the ball up to Inaba. Although the ball was set way to low Inaba was never planning on spiking it. Instead he hit the ball up and over. Karasuno struggled to guess where the ball was going to land which gave Aoba Johsai the point. 

“Did you know that they had that planned?” Iwaizumi asked Oikawa.

”No. You?” Oikawa replied.

”Me neither,” 

Karasuno called for a time out, “By the looks of things, Seijoh didn’t know that that was coming either, so keep pushing along. They may have strong hitters, but so do we. Put their blocking to the test,” Coach Ukai said tot he team, Karasuno went back onto the court. “If you asked me when I first saw Seijoh play who their most dangerous player was, I’d say it would be Oikawa as he brings out 110% out of each member and is a strong player by himself. But having played against them multiple times and seeing them play against Shiratorizawa I know that they hide their most dangerous member. Their no.10, Hinata Shouyou, that’ll be a name you’ll be hearing often, I’m sure of it. He’s so dangerous because he has many killer moves to chose from, and you have no idea which one he’ll use next. Plus he brings out a good 50% in other players and 100% extra in Oikawa which just boosts the rest of the team,”

”I guess you could call him a card master, bringing out the best in all the other players,” Mr Takeda commented.

”I like it, Seijoh’s Card Master,” Sugawara said, overhearing the disscussion.

Inaba still wandered about how orange head was going to help him not be blocked when Oikawa signalled for everyone to run. Inaba knew that he was getting the ball, so why was orange head jumping up? All the blockers ran at orange head whilst Inaba had a clear shot which Nishinoya received but Inaba finally understood what orange head meant.

Look for the signs. Look for the signs. Aha! There it is! Hinata ran and jumped at Tanka before Kageyama even tossed the ball. Iwaizumi, noticing Hinata’ movement followed and joined the block. The two successfully blocked the ball.

”There it is, no.10’s guess blocking!” Sawamura called out, “Next time Tanaka!”

”Shouyou, what are the signs?” Iwaizumi asked.

”I only figured out one. When it’s their no.5’s turn to spike he gets more fired up than usual. I’m still trying to read block for the others but I’m still watching them!” Hinata replied.

”Okay, keep trying. If you need a break let me know,” Iwaizumi said as he patted Hinatas head.

“Thanks Dadzumi!” After hearing Hinata’s new nickname for him, Iwaizumi was lost for words.

“Hahaha, Dadzumi!” Oikawa laughed, “You have to admit it now Iwa-chan~!”

“...” Iwaizumi’s face was still blank. 

“Iwa-chan?” Oikawa asked.

Hinata kept blocking, getting each one right. He went in to block Karasuno’s ace and ended up injuring his hand.

”Shouyou!” Iwaizumi screamed in horror. Oikawa coughed, “Jerkawa, this is not the time for your antics. We need to bandage up Shouyou’s hand,” Iwaizumi took Hinata in to a hug.

”Dadzumi, it hurts,” Hinata cried slightly. Iwaizumi picked Hinata up and carried him off the court. The assistant coach took Hinata to Karasuno’s nurse along with Mr Takeda.

”Hinata, this is the second time in a row you’ve been injured from blocking,” the assistant coach said.

”If you don’t mind me asking, what happened last time?” Mr Takeda asked.

”Hinata took a ball to the face,” the assistant coach replied. When they returned to the gym, Karasuno had won the game.

”You!” Inaba said to Hinata, “What’s your name?”

”Hinata Shouyou,” Hinata replied.

”Hinata, do you know how to block?”

”Well I learnt how to guess block,”

”I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about your arm position,”

”Then no,”

”You need to bend your hands inwards, and make sure you have a slight bend in your arms. Otherwise you’ll just keep getting injured,”

”Are you gonna admit it Iwa-chan~,” Oikawa teased.

”Fine. I’ll admit it. I like Hinata slightly more than the other first years,” Iwaizumi sighed, there really was no winning.

”Not slightly. Massively,”

Chapter Text

Meanwhile at Aoba Johsai:

Kyoutani had to find someone before he would let himself rejoin the volleyball club, he knew roughly where they would be but the harder part was getting himself to do this. Kyoutani walked to one of the older buildings of the school and then climbed three flights of stairs to get to the fourth floor. He went to a very specific window sill to find a certain someone.

This person had light brown hair which fell to their right apart from one cluster which stood out on the left side. The person was tall but had an incredibly frail build and pale skin which showed that they had not been outside often enough. They were lying on the window sill reading a manga and clearly wanted to be left alone. But this was not their lucky day.

"How's your arm?" Kyoutani asked.

"..." they offered no reply, all together ignoring Kyoutani's presence.

"Yeah I know I'm the last person you want to speak to right now,"

"..."

"But..."

"Just go,"

"But you know that we're not wrong. I mean you gotta eat!"

"I know,"

"So why do you let yourself forget,"

"Leave me alone,"

"You worried the whole team,"

"I'm eating right now,"

"You may get too engrossed in something that you forget to look after yourself, but if you don't stop and eat then you'll die, and then you won't ever be able to read manga or watch anime again,"

"Ever again?"

"Nope. Not unless you take good care of yourself,"

"I guess I didn't think of it like that,"

"And part of looking after yourself is getting exercise,"

"I guess I do miss playing with the team,"

"So come on, you still have those keys from Iwaizumi, right,"

"Yeah,"

The two went to the gym and using the spare keys opened it. They began to pass to each other over the net.

"The gym's open. That's strange, I swear that we left it locked," Oikawa said, confused.

"You probably forgot again. Find your keys," Iwaizumi ordered, as he entered, "Oh,"

"I found them. See I had them on me Iwa-chan!"

"Yeah, I know," Iwaizumi caught the set of keys that were thrown at them.

"Manga-chan?" Oikawa shouted in surprise, "So that's what you meant by one more thing mad dog-chan,"

"Don't stay too late. We'll be having a captains meeting over there if you need us,"

"What do you want now Iwa-chan?" Oikawa asked.

"The spring tournament's coming up after the summer break. I know that you're probably going to be returning and I will too but it's ultimately up to Matsukawa and Hanamaki to make their decisions," Iwaizumi addressed the issue that the two of them had been avoiding.

"You're right, I'm not retiring yet. We have the first years, and with some practise, the second years. I don't think there's anything to worry about should the other two retire. But there's no rush for them to make the decision yet,"

"Yeah, we have nothing to worry about, it's just as you say, there's no rush to decide yet,"

The next day had brought more determination to the team as they practised harder than before to make sure that they won next time. Hinata sat by the side watching the practise as he had been told to rest his hand for a few days before returning to practise.

"You have to go. You said you would yesterday," Kyoutani said as he pushed someone into the gym.

"Takumi!" The team, except the first years, shouted as he entered.

"Hinata, you should practise your receiving with Takumi and I!" Kyoutani said as he noticed Hinata sitting at the side.

"Yeah!" Hinata got up to join them but was soon stopped by Iwaizumi.

"No practise for you until your hand has fully recovered," Iwaizumi said, "Inaba, I haven't forgiven you for yesterday," Inaba stood absolutely still, "Let's see. You missed ten balls, and were blocked a total of fifteen times,"

"You were counting!" Inaba shouted out in shock.

"So lets say seventeen and a half laps of diving drills to make up for that," Iwaizumi said sadistically.

"I'm gonna pass out if I do all that!" Inaba protested.

"Be more like Hinata then and be able to do fifty laps of a far bigger gym and still not be that tired," Iwaizumi said.

"I'll do them for you!" Hinata said eargerly.

"No, you're resting," Iwaizumi said before beginning to lecture Hinata again.

At the end of the session Takumi and Kyoutani had made up and gotten closer, Oikawa hadn't shown up, Hinata had been lectured a total of ten times and Inaba had felt the true extent of Iwaizumi's sadism. All in all it was a typical practise for Aoba Johsai's volleyball club.

Chapter Text

"Watari," Yahaba said as the two had lunch together.

"Hm?" Watari replied.

"I've got a great idea,"

"Really? Let's hear it,"

"We should totally profit off of Oikawa,"

"How? I guess it wouldn't be that hard to convince him to take suggestive pictures for his fan girls, but some of them are too young,"

"We should do a volleyball club lemonade stand!"

"I guess that would be fun, but it wouldn't make that much money, would it?"

"I totally would. We just have to say that the lemonade is homemade by Oikawa and is filled with his love and care,"

---

"And so the nine of us have all agreed that we should do a lemonade stand fundraiser for when we go to nationals," Yahaba explained to Oikawa.

The members:

Yahaba - came up with the idea

Watari - was there when Yahaba came up with the idea

Inaba - was paid to agree

Hinata - was convinced after one sentence

Kunimi and Kindaichi - were bored and thought that it would be fun

Takumi - got scarily invested in it after ten minutes of talking about it.

Iwaizumi - agreed so he could "torture jerkawa"

Kyoutani - after an hour of arguing finally decided to join the team

"Uh, fine," Oikawa reluctantly agreed.

"Okay so here's the plan," Takumi explained eagerly, "We split into three teams: marketing, production and salespeople. The marketing team will be Yahaba, Watari and myself, the production team will be Inaba, Kunimi, Kindaichi and Kyoutani and the sales team will be Oikawa, Iwaizumi and Hinata,"

"What are the teams all going to do?" Kunimi asked.

"The marketing team will come up with posters and slogans to advertise the stand. The production team will make the lemonade. And the sales team will sell the lemonade," 

That weekend Takumi spend his free time making posters whilst Yahaba tried to find a table and some jugs and Watari mass bought lemons and lemon squeezers. During the week the three of them spread the posters around the school.

Come Saturday morning the ten of them set up the stall and all except the three on sales duty went to the closest classroom and started making the lemonade.

"Shouyou, what are you doing?" Nishinoya said as he saw Hinata.

"Our teams doing a lemonade stand fundraiser," Hinata explained.

"Is the lemonade actually made by him?" Nishinoya asked.

"Get your ass in here and help make some if you're not gonna sit at the stand," Inaba yelled at Oikawa whilst shoving him into the classroom.

"Iwa-chan!!!" Oikawa pouted.

"Go be useful jerk face Oikawa," Iwaizumi said as he looked at Inaba, who also held a sadistic grin.

"You deal with him. I'll go help Hinata," Inaba said as he ran to the stall, "Yuu!"

"Asuka! Is the lemonade actually made by him?" Nishinoya asked.

"Hell no. He's so lazy, of course he didn't make any of it," Inaba replied.

"Okay, I'll buy a cup," Nishinoya replied handing over some money.

"Um, do you know where Tooru is?" a girl asked.

"I think he's in that classroom making some more lemonade," Hinata said with a big smile on his face.

”Wait a minute, aren’t you our no.10?” another girl asked.

”Yeah!” Hinata answered surprised that someone knew who he was.

”Isn’t he the really fast one who’s like Sako’s puppy?” a third girl asked.

”Tooru!” The first girl squealed as Oikawa returned.

”So what’s your name?” The second girl asked.

”Me?” Hinata asked.

”Yeah, you?” the third girl said.

”I’m Hinata Shouyou,” Hinata said.

”Wow, you’re quite small for a volleyball player,” the second girl pointed out.

”Yeah, but he jumps up really high,” the third girl reminded the second girl.

”It must be so cool showing up all those tall players,” the second girl gushed.

”Yeah it is,” Hinata replied.

”Just like in orchestra when you practise really hard and get the solo,” the third girl added.

Meanwhile the rest of the team where causing chaos in the classroom, “What do you mean we’re out of lemons!” Iwaizumi shouted.

”I’m telling you they all ended up on the floor!” Kyoutani explained.

”Then that means that you can still squeeze them!”

”No they were thrown on the floor!”

”What do you...” Iwaizumi took one look at the floor then one look at the production and marketing teams, “What the hell happened here?”

”It began with an Oi-, and ended with an -kawa,”

What happened:

After being forced by Iwaizumi and Inaba, Oikawa entered the classroom where the lemonade was being made. “You’re back for more already Iwaizumi,” Yahaba called out as he handed Oikawa a jug, “Oh it’s you Oikawa, doesn’t make a difference,”

”Inaba and Iwa-chan forced me to work here instead,” Oikawa complained.

”These lemons are so stupid,” Kyoutani said as he chucked one at Watari, who thought it would be a good idea to try to receive the lemon like a volleyball, which ended up with it landing on the floor. Kunimi picked up the lemon and began squeezing it.

”This is boring!” Oikawa complained, “Can’t we do something else,”

”We could play volleyball with the lemons,” Yahaba suggested as they got into teams.

Team 1 - the second years

Team 2 - Oikawa, Kindaichi and Kunimi.

As it turned out lemons did not make good volleyballs but did pass time, as shown by the hour and a half spent playing. Team 1 was winning when Yahaba went searching for yet another lemon to use as a ball, “We’re out of lemons,”

”What? No. You’re lying so that you guys can win,” Kindaichi said as he began checking all the boxes for lemons, “He’s right, we’ve ran out of lemons,”

At the stall the three others were chatting whilst waiting for more customers, “We’re starting to run low on lemonade,” Iwaizumi pointed out, I’ll go get some more. They probably need someone to check up on them,” Iwaizumi left the two of them alone when Nishinoya came along, and after his arrival Inaba left Hinata alone.

”So that’s all the lemonade that we have left. You see we’ve ran out of lemons,” Yahaba said handing Iwaizumi half a jug of lemonade.

”You ran out of lemons?” Iwaizumi asked, unimpressed.

”I guess we did,” Watari replied.

”So with the seven of you here and who knows how many lemons you only made this much lemonade. I know that you have more lemons, I saw how much Watari bought,” Iwaizumi replied.

”No, we actually ran out of lemons. Like seriously,” Takumi said.

”No you didn’t,”

”Yes we did! We used them all,” the seven in the classroom replied.

“What do you mean we’re out of lemons!” Iwaizumi shouted. He then listened to them explain how they used all the lemons up and why they thought playing volleyballs with the lemons that they were meant to be squeezing was a good idea. Iwaizumi then took a look another look at the floor which was full of semi crushed lemons and covered in lemon juice, “Clean this up, all of you!”

After dealing with the chaos of the classroom, Iwaizumi went back to the stand to find that Inaba had gone off on his own. Iwaizumi sighed and slammed his head down on the table. Why had he trusted them to behave?

Chapter Text

The boys volleyball club had been waiting weeks to go on this camp and both Kiyoko and Yachi had been trying their best to get everything prepared for the camp. After lots of impatient waiting and last minute studying the team were ready to head for Tokyo, except for Kageyama who had to do a catch up exam because of failing one the first time. Yachi had seen the adrenaline in the team after they beat Aoba Johsai in the practise match but this was even more extreme. “Everyone calm down!” Sawamura said trying to control the team.

”It’s no use Daichi, they’re too excited. I mean Tokyo! You’ve got to admit that it’s exciting,” Sugawara said in everybody’s defence.

”It’s exciting,” Sawamura agreed, "But we'll need our energy for the matches,"

The rest of the journey was rather uneventful. When they arrived at Tokyo Nishinoya and Tanaka immediately spotted a tower, "Is that Tokyo tower?" they gasped.

"That's just a regular phone tower," the two of them calmed down pretty quickly.

The first day of matches was uneventful with Karasuno losing every match they played. During personal practise Tsukishima was met with the horrors of Kuroo and Bokuto pairing up. One of them on their own was bad enough, but putting the two together didn't add the annoyance, it didn't even multiply the two together. It took the annoyance of both and put them to the power of the other, and then multiplied that together.

The next day didn't go much better for Karasuno, or Tsukishima.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Bokuto called out to Tsukishima.

"Tsukki!" Kuroo shouted.

"Get off me," Tsukishima grumbled.

"Tsukki! Where are you going?" Bokuto asked.

"To the dorms," Tsukishima replied.

"Aren't you gonna practise?" Kuroo asked.

"Why? It's just a club," Tsukishima shrugged.

"Just a club. That sound like someone's name," Bokuto joked.

"Like Mary club," Kuroo laughed. Tsukishima walked off, "Tsukki wait!"

As much as Tsukishima hated to admit it Bokuto and Kuroo eventually managed to convince him to come practise with them.

In other's practises Kageyama had become even better at setting, Yamaguchi worked on his jump floater serve and Nishinoya worked on his jumping toss.

In one of their matches against Fukuroudani, Karasuno got to witness one of Bokuto's mood swings, "It's just like Seijoh's Card Master after he mucked up the lethal move," Sugawara commented to Sawamura.

"You sure you want to stick with that nickname for him?" Sawamura replied, dissing the nickname.

"Tsukki I'm telling you, there'll be one moment when you get hooked on volleyball," Bokuto explained to Tsukishima, "Like a player that you really want to beat, and when you beat them you'll be hooked. Is there a player that you really want to beat?"

"I guess so," Tsukishima replied.

"Really? What are they like? Are they a really annoying spiker?" 

"It's this middle blocker,"

"What do they look like? What can they do that you can't? Are they like three metres tall?"

"He's this midget who has stupid orange hair,"

"A midget? Playing as a middle blocker? Surely you can beat them Tsukki,"

"He's stupidly fast and near impossible to keep up with. Plus he's often right with his blocks and I can tell that he's not read blocking. Then there are his spikes,"

"So when you beat him you'll be hooked on volleyball,"

"Easy for you to say,"

The end of the camp came sooner than expected. "Make sure you get to nationals Karasuno," Kuroo said, "We want to make sure that the dumpster battle happens again,"

"-And that's why you need to beat Shiratorizawa and Ushijima. 'Cause I beat you so then I'll be a better ace than Ushijima. Got it?" Bokuto said to Tsukishima before he left.

"Just think, the next time we come here could be for nationals," Sugawara said.

"Not could be, will be," Sawamura said with confidence.

Bonus:

"You second years should start deciding who's going to be next year's captain," the head coach said to the second years.

"Well it can't be me because I'm a libero," Watari explained.

"It shouldn't be Takumi, he can barely look after himself, let alone a team," Kyoutani said.

"My vote goes to Yahaba," Inaba said.

"Me? Why?" Yahaba asked.

"Because whenever I'm on the sidelines, I always know that you're there to cheer me up. That's captain material. Plus the only other alternative is Kyoutani and I don't think the coach will let him be captain,"

"All in favour of Yahaba being next year's captain say ay," Takumi said.

"Ay," everyone except Yahaba replied.

Chapter Text

"It's going to be the same as the inter high, so why are we even bothering to watch. The final will be Shiratorizawa versus Aoba Johsai, and Shiratorizawa will win," Yamada complained as both him and Morikawa approached the city gym for the afternoon.

"We already missed the morning matches because of you," Morikawa complained as he decided where to sit in the stands.

"We have to get through this match to play tomorrow, so I expect you to give it your all," the head coach said.

The match had gone fairly well with Aoba Johsai winning 25:20 and 25:23; some members were happier with this result than others.

"We won, although it was by the skin of our teeth in the second set. Lets come back tomorrow and give it our all. We are winning this tournament. We'll be the team representing Miyagi in nationals," Oikawa said at the end of the match.

That evening Oikawa and Hinata were in the club’s room watching the three matches that they would need the most for the next day. Date Tech's match, Karasuno's match and Johzenji's match. Hinata was busy writing notes. He was pretty sure that he had picked up all the signals and for the next ten minutes Oikawa tested him on them.

The next day Hinata was excited, and nervous, for the two matches he had upcoming, although their coach had tried to remind the team that it would only be one match if they didn't focus.

"So what's the plan. Last time I checked, the iron wall uses read blocking. Using Hinata as our decoy is going to be useless," Takumi said.

"Our team isn't just made up of me!" Hinata protested, "You guys are all great players too, show them why Aoba Johsai should be feared, then when they're least expecting it we swap some players. I believe in everybody on this team!"

And from Hinata's words the team's determination and motivation boosted, "I'm trusting you guys," Oikawa said his trademark phrase and the team's motivation increased further. In other words, the team was more than ready to win against Date Tech.

The starting line up was Oikawa as the setter; Matsukawa (back) and Inaba (front) as middle blockers; Iwaizumi (front left), Hanamaki (front right) and Kyoutani (back left) as wing spikers; and Watari as the libero. "Why are we starting with such a defensive set up? We have both our strongest blockers on," Takumi asked.

"From what I saw on the tapes, if you let them Date Tech will start on the offensive. Obviously we're going to stop them before they can gain lots of points," Oikawa explained, "And to make up for our normal decoy being weakened by the read blocking, we have mad dog-chan's unpredictable nature,"

The starters went onto the court. "We sure have a variety of middle blockers this year," Takumi said as he stood with the first years.

"I think that's what makes us stronger, having that variety. If it's not an easy victory for us, then we adapt," Kindaichi said.

"I don't get what you mean," Hinata replied to Takumi.

"Well Matsukawa always starts in the back row. Then we have three different possible starters for our front row middle blocker. We have Inaba for when we need to go on the pure defensive, although he's proven that he can spike if needed; then we have you, Kindaichi, for when we need a balance between offence and defence; and finally we have you, Hinata, when we need an offence overhaul, but I heard that you go in as a wing spiker sometimes as well,"

"What about our team's wing spikers?" Kunimi asked.

"I don' think that we have one completely useless wing spiker. Each one is pretty amazing in their own way. It must make choosing the starting three quite hard," Takumi replied, "So I'm not gonna let you first years steal my spot that easily,"

"It looks like we need a quick offensive boost," the head coach said as he told Takumi to switch for Inaba, who had rotated to one position behind his starting one (front left wing spiker), "And it would help if Kyoutani could warm up soon,"

Inaba joined the first years on the sidelines, "I guess we get to see next year's ace in action after all,"

"Next year's ace?" the all asked him.

"Yeah, Takumi has some serious stamina, not quite Hinata level, but still impressive," Yahaba said, joining the conversation of it.

"But unlike Kyoutani who's slow to get into the game; Takumi can just get into the game, it's like a switch flicks when he enters the court. Unfortunately that switch flips the moment he comes off too. So any pauses in the game completely ruin his play, hence time outs are his worst enemy. That's why unless it’s really necessary, we rarely use a time out when Takumi's playing. It's like shooting ourselves in the foot," Inaba explained.

"Takumi was subbed in because we needed to quickly switch to an offensive front, because of that we don't have a middle blocker, but Date Tech's likely to call a time out," Yahaba said.

"Why?" Kunimi asked.

"Almost every team calls a time out when they first go up against Takumi. Either to discuss a plan or to try and break his momentum," Yahaba explained.

"Yeah, so I suspect after that time out, we'll be swapping middle blocker again," Inaba speculated. The five of them watched as Takumi effortlessly slammed the ball down, his height levering him above the blockers and his power creating dents in the iron wall.

"Wow!" all the first years said in shock. They watched as Takumi scored another two points in a row before the time out was called.

"Shit!" Oikawa cursed under his breath.

"As I suspected, all his momentum's gone," Inaba commented. The determination that filled Takumi's eyes had mysteriously vanished.

"We'll push on for now, it would be worse if they figured out that time outs were Takumi's weakness. Takumi, focus on blocking not spiking," the head coach said as he acknowledged the lack of momentum in the team.

"Takumi. What happened to you not giving up your spot easily? Get back on there and show us why we shouldn't be playing instead," Kindaichi said as he pushed Takumi back on the court.

"You've got balls Kindaichi," Takumi said as a grin returned to his face, "I like that about you,".

"I think you just saved the set for us," Yahaba said as he patted Kindaichi’s back.

"We just need to score one point and we get to serve again," Date Tech's coach said, "They may have subbed in a great spiker, but that very spiker replaced a middle blocker, use that to your advantage"

The two teams reentered the court ready to attack again, with Iwaizumi and Takumi swapping who spikes the ball every so often. Date Tech eventually got a point in and Hinata was waiting to switch with Takumi, after another point was scored by Date Tech Hinata swapped with Takumi.

”There he is! Seijoh’s no.10!” Yamada shouted.

”It’s pretty obvious now that Seijoh has swapped from the defensive to the offensive,” Morikawa said.

Hinata looked at Date Tech’s no.7, woah! He’s huge, Hinata thought as he prepared himself. As Watari received the ball Hinata began running at his top speed, Oikawa tossed the ball to him and Date Tech got their first experience of Hinata’s super quick.

Now it was Aoba Johsai’s turn to serve. Which one is displaying the signs. There it is. The over-exaggerated arms, Hinata thought as he went in for the block and Iwaizumi and Kyoutani quickly followed him. Iwaizumi got the ball and slammed it down, putting Aoba Johsai at the set point. Hanamaki served the ball one more time and ended up getting a service ace.

The starting order was very similar to the previous set, the only difference was that Kindaichi was starting as the front middle blocker. The set went off to a good start for Aoba Johsai and unlike the defensive start of the first set, they had a good balance between their offence and defence which allowed them to score more points without loosing lots of points. 

The set had mainly been a back and forwards until Oikawa got in to serve. That’s where Aoba Johsai got their three point lead. After Date Tech received the ball the two teams went back to a back and forwards point scoring. As expected, Aoba Johsai had won the game.

“Make sure you rest between games, and eat,” the head coach looked at Takumi, “But don’t eat too much,” he looked at the rest of the team.

Everyone went their separate ways.

“It’s just Aoba Johsai left until we play Shiratorizawa,” Sugawara said after they won their match.

”Yeah. I have to say that I’m looking forward to playing Shiratorizawa,” Sawamura replied.

”Oh really?”

”Yeah, the ace of my junior high team got invited there. It’ll be a tough game but I’m sure it’ll be worth it,” 

“That right Takumi. You’ve never played Karasuno right?” Yahaba asked as they walked off for their lunch break.

”Yeah, that’s right. I’m looking forward to it. I get to play my old captain,” Takumi replied.

Sawamura spat out some water, “Daichi! What’s wrong?” Sugawara asked.

”It appears that we have to play him a round earlier than expected,” Sawamura replied.

”I don’t get what you mean,” 

“Karasuno, team meeting,” Coach Ukai called out, “I turns out that we still haven’t played Aoba Johsai at their fullest. We now have their no.5 and no.16 to deal with. I haven’t seen much of them playing but I think that both could be potentially dangerous,”

”We need to watch out for their no.5,” Sawamura said, “He might just be the strongest player on their team. There’s a reason that he was invited to play at Shiratorizawa,”

”Wait a second!” Kageyama shouted, “He got invited to Shiratorizawa and then chose to go to Aoba Johsai!”

Chapter Text

After the break between matches, both teams were ready to face off.

The starting orders:

Karasuno - Setter, Kageyama[9]; middle blockers, Tsukishima[10] (front), Enoshita[6] (back); wing spikers, Sawamura[1] (back left), Tanaka[5] (front left), Asahi[3] (front right); libero - Nishinoya[4]

Aoba Johsai - Setter, Oikawa[1]; middle blockers, Hinata[10] (front), Matsukawa[2] (back); wing spikers, Iwaizumi[4] (back left), Takumi[5] (front left), Hanamaki[3] (front right); libero - Watari[7]

"Karasuno's line up was expected, I mean it's their usual. But what the hell's Seijoh doing, they've never used this line up before," Yamada said in shock.

"I think that they're using their most offensive line up. They have a lot of strong player who range from defensive to offensive, which gives them lots of different possibilities to choose from. They've also played this rotation of Karasuno before, so this is most likely their counter strategy," Morikawa explained.

"When I look at Seijoh I just see a bunch of offence based players, who're these defence geniuses that you speak of?"

"Well their libero, no.7, is clearly the most defensive player of the team. Then there's their no.8 who out of all the middle blockers is the strongest at blocking but weakest at hitting as we saw yesterday. There's the players in the middle ground like no.12 and no.4, their ace. Moving more towards the offensive side are players like their captain, Oikawa, and the majority of their wing spikers. Then there are their players that focus mainly on the offence, such as their no.10 and then there is the offensive extreme, no.5," 

"Oh yeah, he's playing today,"

"Then there are the unknowns like no.16,"

"I believe in everyone on this team. So lets do our best and beat Karasuno this time!" Hinata said, boosting the morale of the team, it was greeted by a chorus of cheers.

"Like shortie pie said, we are beating Karasuno this time, because I'm trusting you guys," Oikawa added.

"KARASUNO FIGHT!" the Karasuno team shouted.

The teams walked onto the court ready to play, Tsukishima thought back to what Bokuto had told him, would beating Aoba Johsai's no.10 really get him hooked on volleyball? Was it even possible to beat their no.10?

Aoba Johsai prepared to receive. Iwaizumi received the pass and passed it to Oikawa. "Toss to me!"/"Bring it to me!" Takumi and Hinata shouted at the same time as the smiled at each other, both wanting to prove to the other why they were on the starting line up. Both began to run for a quick. If I toss to Takumi then we would get the momentum swinging to us and an early break, but it could also risk Karasuno calling an early time out and stopping Takumi's momentum early in the game. If I toss to shortie pie then the momentum will still swing to us, but Karasuno is more likely to block it. What do I risk?  Oikawa thought as he saw the two run for the ball. Oikawa tossed for Takumi, We get an early break and the possibility of making Karasuno waste a time out so early in the game. Takumi slammed the ball down as all the blockers ran to Hinata.

"Nice kill Takumi!" Hinata said, next time I'll show you why I'm here.

"A look off? And so early in the game!" Yamada asked as he watched Oikawa look at Hinata whilst tossing the ball to Takumi.

"It really was a great move though. Karasuno were already more likely to block no.10, then Oikawa deliberately looks at him whilst tossing in the opposite direction," Morikawa replied.

"Excuse me, if you don't mind me asking, what is a look off?" student#3 asked the two.

"It's when the setter looks at one spiker, and tosses the ball to a different spiker," Yamada explained.

"So when the setter looks at a player does that mean that they're not going to set the ball for them?" student#3 asked.

"No, most of the time the setter will look at the player they're setting to. But in some cases the setter performs a look off to trick the other team," Morikawa explained.

"Why would they do that?" student#3 asked.

"Often to either get a break or to swing the momentum their way," Yamada explained.

"A break is when a team gets two points in a row, right?" student#3 asked, "Because normally it goes one point at a time, switching teams. So a break point is very important in a game,"

"Exactly. But a look of doesn't really work if the blockers are guess blocking. Do you know the different styles of blocking?" Morikawa said.

"Yes, commit blocking - where the blockers block the spiker that's running; read blocking - where the blockers read the toss; and guess blocking - where the blockers guess which spiker will hit the ball and block them," student#3 replied, showing off her copy of volleyball for dummies, "But I'm not quite sure how the type of blocking the opposition uses affects the effectiveness of a look off,"

"Well a guess blocker would often ignore the direction that a setter is looking in, but a commit blocker would definitely be tricked and a read blocker would be tricked unless they waited for the toss," Yamada explained.

"Oh okay, thank you," student#3 said as she returned to her seat. 

"Did you get an answer, Kobayashi?" student#4 asked.

"Yes," student#3 replied.

"Don't mind," Sawamura said to his team. Aoba Johsai had made a great start to the game with the score being 7:2 to them, which forced Karasuno to take an early time out.

"Don't be fooled by Oikawa's look offs or no.10's speed and make sure to keep an eye on their no.5, he may not have the same speed, but he makes up for that in power," Coach Ukai said.

"We won't need to worry about their no.5 for a while," Sawamura said, "After a time out, he loses all his focus and drive. Those powerful hits from earlier require a lot of focus,"

"Yeah, talk about scary levels of accuracy," Tanaka said jokingly.

"When their no.5 doesn't have the same focus or momentum as he did earlier, he can't do his killer hits. We don't need to worry about no.5 for a while," Sawamura finished.

"Even though we've now lost Takumi's power, we still have a five point lead. Let's keep it like that," Aoba Johsai's head coach said, "If required we can sub out Takumi,"

"Wow, it's just like the captain said, he's completely different know," Kageyama, bluntly, pointed out. Even though they were down a player Aoba Johsai were still confident that they were going to win. Takumi may be next year's ace, but Iwaizumi was the team's current ace.

"Go on Dadzumi!" Hinata cheered Iwaizumi on as he swapped with Watari. That small, unnoticeable boost from Hinata changed the momentum more than anyone could tell. For the next ten points, Iwaizumi tried his best to keep the point gap. The score reached 11:8 (to Aoba Johsai) when Takumi was subbed out for Kunimi.

For the rest of the set both teams made steady progress but eventually Aoba Johsai won 25:21. Both teams kept the same line ups that they ended the first set on for the second set. 

Hinata ran through all the signs in his head no.1 stretches their neck slightly; no.3 takes a deep breath; no.5 gets more fired up than usual; no.6’s eyes light up slightly; and no.10 seems even more disinterested than usual. Taking a deep breath Hinata tried calm his nerves down, but it did nothing, he couldn’t shake the feeling of dread he had. Get ahold of yourself Shouyou, Hinata thought ti himself, this game is important, you can’t go around getting nervous. Thinking that Hinata became more nervous.

”Hey shortie pie, calm down. What happened to believing in everyone on this team?” Oikawa said, patting Hinata’s head.

”I do trust everyone. I’m just scared that I’ll muck up,” Hinata replied.

”Then you’re not believing in everyone on the team. Believe in yourself shortie pie,” 

Hinata watched Karasuno’s spikers closely, none of them were showing any signs. A setter dump? Hinata thought as he went in to block Kageyama.

Kageyama was sure that this time his setter dump wouldn’t be telegraphed by Oikawa, both Asahi and Tanaka were running which would confuse their blockers.

Follow Shouyou when he goes into blocking. Which spiker is it Shouyou? Iwaizumi told himself as he watched Shouyou run at Kageyama, their setter?

Hinata stretched his arms up before remembering that this was a setter dump. He waited for Kageyama to release the ball and then Hinata slammed the ball down as if he was spiking.

It all happened too fast for Kageyama, he was sure that nobody had suspected his setter dump but then the orange midget had come into block.

”Don’t mind, Kageyama,” Sawamura replied, “Remember their no.10 guess blocks,”

Hinata loved the feeling of successfully blocking the ball almost as much as he loved the feeling of spiking the ball, but he knew that he would need to do some work before nationals. He completely forgot that where the ball is tossed to is determined by the setter. With other setters a setter dump may not be telegraphed like it was with Kageyama, one of their spikers may actually think that they’re getting the ball.

Aoba Johsai didn’t have the same point gap as they did in the previous set. Eventually the score had reached 23:23 and Kyoutani had just been subbed on for Kunimi. Oikawa set the ball for Hanamaki but Kyoutani stole the toss and ended up hitting it off the court. “You idiot! You gave them the set point!” Yahaba shouted from the sidelines.

”That’s what you get for not putting me on earlier,” Kyoutani grumbled.

“I hate to bother you again, but what happens when both teams reach twenty-four points?” Student#3 asked Yamada and Morikawa.

”They enter a deuce,” Yamada replied.

”In volleyball the first team to twenty-five or to get two points ahead wins. Once both teams get to twenty-four they keep playing until a team gets a two point lead,” Morikawa explained.

”And that’s called a deuce. Got it,” student#3 confirmed.

Aoba Johsai scored the next two points giving them the lead [25:24]. Then Karasuno scored the next and switched their current server with their no.12. Yamaguchi used his jump floater serve to score Karasuno a point [25:26]. “Wow. That was a cool serve. Why wait until now to use it?” Hinata asked. 

“He’s probably their pinch server,” Matsukawa explained.

”What’s a pinch server?”

”A server that gets subbed in to help the team when they get into a tight spot. Our pinch server is Yahaba,”

”We need to get the next point to stop a third set,” Oikawa commented, as Inaba switched with Hinata.

”Seijoh’s gone to the full defensive,” Morikawa commented.

”Come on Karasuno! You can get the set,” Yamada cried.

”I thought you said that Shiratorizawa would win again,”

”But you can’t help but route for the underdogs!”

Yamaguchi served again but this time Watari managed to receive the ball. Aoba Johsai made an attack which Karasuno managed to receive and form an attack of their own which Inaba blocked. Both teams didn’t want to lose the set. Karasuno didn’t want to go home and Aoba Johsai didn’t want to extend the match further. Aoba Johsai served. Karasuno attacked and were blocked. Aoba Johsai attacked and Karasuno blocked. This went on and on until Oikawa set the ball to Inaba by mistake. Inaba jumped at the last minute and with no momentum hit the ball gently with a slight upwards curve. The lack of power cause the ball to not spin and become a floater. Nishinoya tried desperately to get the ball but he failed [27:26].

The two teams kept scoring and blocking until it came to Oikawa’s turn to serve, with Nishinoya currently out of the court. In no time at all Oikawa scored the two points that Aoba Johsai needed to win [39:37]. By the end of the match everyone was tired, apart from Hinata, and the spectators were sure that they had never seen as a suspenseful set.

”Dammit!” Tanka shouted as Karasuno lost, “That asshole and his stupid serves!” Tanaka said the one thing that the whole of Karasuno was thinking. The third years took it the worst, this was their final chance to go to nationals.

”Daichi-san. Suga-san. And Asahi-san. Please come and watch us next year, we’ll be the team that makes it to nationals,” Kageyama said.

”You fucking moron!” Yahaba said as he tackled Kyoutani to the floor, “That whole deuce was your fucking fault! At least apologise,”

”Cut it out you two,” Iwaizumi sighed, he was not ready to deal with the team, “We still won in the end,”

”Make sure you rest well tonight. We haven’t quite made it to nationals yet. We still have to beat Shiratorizawa,” the head coach said. Thats right, although the battle had been won, they hadn’t won the war... Yet.

”Hey Takumi. How do you get in the zone?” Kyoutani asked after getting up from Yahaba’s tackle.

”I just imagine this really badass theme when I step onto the court. It came from the final boss battle in this game from a couple of years ago,” Takumi explained as he showed it to Kyoutani.

Chapter Text

"Hayashi," Sawamura called out, "I thought you said that you were invited to Shiratorizawa,"

"I was," Takumi replied, "But I chose to come to Aoba Johsai because they have really nice window sills. Although I was almost going to come to Karasuno,"

"You always do things your way, don't you,"

"Yeah,"

"Win,"

"Huh?"

"Win. Beat Shiratorizawa for us. Keep winning, go to nationals. Win nationals,"

"Yes captain!"

"Remember Hayashi, you have to keep trying,"

"Thanks Daichi. Don't worry. I'm not being stopped that easily,"

The day had almost come to its end and the stands had began to empty.  Hinata was making his way out to the team's bus when he spotted his friends from junior high, "Izumi! Koji! You guys came!" Hinata called out to his friends.

"Shouyou!" They replied.

"You were so cool out on the court today," Izumi said, "The way you hit the ball with no fear was so cool!"

"You have to play the top school in the prefecture tomorrow. Don’t you?" Koji asked.

"Yeah. But we've already played Shiratorizawa before. We lost then, but tomorrow we will win," Hinata said, the third years passed him when he said that.

"Yeah, we are gonna beat them," they said to each other confidently.

"How can you be so sure? They're really strong. And the top school for volleyball here in Miyagi," Izumi said.

"I just know that we will win. Besides they may currently be the strongest team from Miyagi and have a player on the Japan youth team, but we'll face even stronger teams at nationals," Hinata replied.

The next day arrived and everyone was excited for the match. Hinata remembered his first ever volleyball match, and how his team was easily beaten by the opposition team. Hinata looked at how far he had come, he was so much better now, and he was on the same side of the court as players from the team that previously had destroyed him. He had grown, and he was determined to continue growing.

"Seijoh's no.5 is back. I was wondering where he'd gone," Tendou said to Ushijima.

"He was meant to have gone here, and Oikawa should have gone here," Ushijima said. Upon hearing mention of his name, Oikawa began searching for the nearest hiding spot.

After reminding everyone that it was a five set match and not a three set one. The team walked onto the court and warmed up.

Aoba Johsai's starting lineup was the four third years plus Takumi and Inaba, which was probably the strongest team they could play "Inaba," their head coach called, "Don't get freaked out by Ushijima's spikes. I'm sure that if Date Tech were playing instead of us, their iron wall would be able to stop Ushijima's spikes. So go on and show Shiratorizawa Aoba Johsai's iron wall,"

The beginning of the match went well for Aoba Johsai; Iwaizumi, Hanamaki and Takumi scored lots of points and Inaba had managed to deflect Ushijima's spikes, which was impressive for a blocker going up against Shiratorizawa's Ushijima. Luckily Shiratorizawa already knew about Takumi's power so they hadn't called an early time out from that and Oikawa made sure to not give any of the spikers two tosses in a row, at 9:8 (to Aoba Johsai) the first time out was called by Shiratorizawa. "Lets break their momentum before it gets any worse," their coach said.

As soon as Takumi walked off the court Kyoutani shoved some headphones on Takumi's head, "Kyoutani... This is the badass song I was telling you about yesterday," Takumi exclaimed.

"Just listen to it," Kyoutani responded, "They may think that they're clever in trying to break the momentum, but they're wrong. Takumi won't lose his focus today. Not on my watch. So go on and win the set already!"

Shiratorizawa walked back onto the court expecting to see the focus drained from Takumi only to find the opposite effect. With their new found power Aoba Johsai took the first set easily at 25:18

At Karasuno Tanaka and Nishinoya were using every opportunity they could to watch the Aoba Johsai versus Shiratorizawa match. "They actually managed to keep no.5's focus after a time out!!!" Tanaka shouted.

"Can you two be quiet please," a student asked.

"Please behave yourselves, or at least watch it outside," Sawamura lectured, "Wait what?" Sawamura shouted the last part.

"You remember their no.5 who lost their focus after a time out. Not this time," Nishinoya said, Sawamura hurried over to the computer that they were watching the match on, equally shocked as the other two.

"Man I can't actually believe it! Seijoh won the first set!" Yamada shouted.

"It's pretty amazing and twenty-five to eighteen, that's impressive. They actually have a chance this time," Morikawa added.

Aoba Johsai entered the second set ready to play, this time they had Hinata and Kindaichi in instead of Takumi and Inaba. "Time to see how your blocking's come along Shouyou-kohai," Tendou said with a smirk. Like most games, Hinata lead the blocking with him being the only one able to guess block. Kindaichi would often follow him, but when he didn't those were the times when Hinata got the spiker wrong. Unlike Hinata who used guess blocking, Kindaichi preferred to use read blocking. It wasn't that he didn't trust Hinata, but whenever he was unsure of Hinata's judgement Kindaichi wouldn't follow and instead would read block. The reason that the two worked so well together as blockers was due to them both trusting their gut instead of the other's. However, unlike Inaba they didn't have the same strength when it came to physical blocking. If Inaba's blocking made him an iron wall, then the other two were more like tin walls. They seemed strong in their accuaracy, but the physical block was weak. (for those wondering tin is a post-transitional metal which makes it a chemically weak metal - my source for this is Wikipedia) 

Hinata still did many super quicks (Oikawa refused to call them freak quick), and this match he was prepared to be blocked so he had been making his spikes even more powerful and making his jumps even higher. Tendou blocked about two of the freak quicks but for Hinata it was progress. Unfortunately Shiratorizawa took the lead due to Aoba Johsai's weaker blocking. Yahaba was put in as Aoba Johsai's pinch server. His serve may not be a killer serve like Oikawa's, Yahaba either got accuracy or power, not both. But unlike Oikawa he did a jump floater serve instead. Yahaba decided to go for power in his first serve. One point to Aoba Johsai. Another serve. Another point to Aoba Johsai. Another server. A point to Shiratorizawa. Instead of subbing Yahaba out like any other team would, Aoba Johsai continued the game with two setters on the court.

"Hinata, we might not get the chance often, but if we ever get the chance to play on the court together this year then I'd like to do a move with you. Something to reassure everyone that even though Oikawa leaves at the end of this year, they still have me," Yahaba said to Hinata at the end of a practise.

"Yeah! Let's make it something cool. Something like the Miya brothers delayed spike thingy!" Hinata replied.

"You watch other teams? I thought you only idolised the Little Giant,"

"I ended up watching one of Inarizaki's matches in inter high nationals when it was on,"

"But our move... What should it be?"

"Something that really changes the momentum, but also something that we could do either way around,"

"You know how traditionally in volleyball a team makes three touches of a ball. Lets make that two," 

"What are those two doing?" Iwaizumi said sceptically.

"They seem to be feeding off of each other's excitement," Oikawa replied.

"But we'd both need to be in the front for that to happen right," Yahaba said.

"Yeah, but imagine how cool it would be. We just went into block, the first one instead of deflecting or slamming down the ball sets it up really high, the other one lands and jumps up again and spikes it down," Hinata replied. The two tried the move out, it seemed to just click with them. Over the next month of them practising it, both got even better at jumping and setting with them being able to do it flawlessly either way round. Of course they had never tried this against an actual blocker before.

Yahaba looked at Hinata, who was currently in the back left. They just had to get three more rotations before they'd both be on the front row. For the first point to get the three rotations Yahaba set the ball for Oikawa who spiked it.

"Wow! Is there anything Tooru can't do?" Oikawa's fan girls fangirled.

The other two point for the rotation were scored in much more normal ways for the team. Yahaba and Hinata looked at each other with excited looks. They finally got to show the others their move. "Kindaichi, do you mind not blocking the next spike," Hinata asked, Kindaichi agreed out of confusion. 

The ball was spiked by one of Shiratorizawa's spikers who wasn't Ushijima. Yahaba and Hinata went in for the block. Yahaba set the ball upwards and slightly behind, to stop the spiker from spiking it again. Hinata jumped up again and spiked the ball as hard as he could and scoring the point. "Two Touch Bulls-eye!!!" the two of them shouted.

The momentum had shifted to Aoba Johsai, but in the end Shiratorizawa just won the set, 23:25.

Chapter Text

”It’s a battle between the two strongest teams! And I honestly can’t tell who will win!” Yamada shouted.

”I thought you would be sure that Shiratorizawa would win,” Morikawa replied.

”It’s strength from simplicity versus strength from variation,” Yamada shouted, ignoring what Morikawa had said.

”Yahaba that was so cool!” One of the substitutes cheered.

”We’re lucky that Yahaba isn’t a third year,” Kunimi said. Yahaba smiled, he was glad that the move had worked, he was glad that the team wasn’t worried about next year anymore and most importantly, he was glad that he was able to prove himself as being a good setter.

”Okay. For this set we’ll start with Inaba in instead of Kindaichi,” the head coach said, “We can still win the game. This set is yours to take,” Aoba Johsai walked back onto the court with their heads held high. The set went much better than the second set due to having Inaba there to block, and Hinata working more as a decoy. Aoba Johsai had the lead and they were determined not to let it go.

In the third set the momentum did not swing in any clear directions. Both teams were neck to neck to each other. If this was the Karasuno match the spectators would be on the edges of their seat, unsure of who would win. But this was Aoba Johsai Versus Shiratorizawa, and the spectators were surprised to see Aoba Johsai give Shiratorizawa a run for their money. Especially considering the previous match between the two, where Shiratorizawa won in straight sets. There were some highlights in the set so far, with Iwaizumi and Hinata successfully tricking Tendou and Inaba blocking Ushijima's spike instead of deflecting it. Near the end of the set Hinata swapped with Kyoutani who acted as a surprisingly better decoy against Tendou due to his unpredictable nature.

Although the team never knew who was going to spike the ball, neither did Shiratorizawa, which lead to them winning the third set 26:24; with the deuce being rather anti climatic. "One more set to go!" Oikawa said, although everyone on the team wanted to win, the third years wanted to win the most. This was their last chance to ever make it to nationals.

"If we win, then we prove to everyone that we're no longer the final losers," student#3 said to student#7.

"I guess we do have a chance to win this year. Where did the nickname come from?" student #7 asked.

"Well we've always made it to the finals of the prefecture qualifiers but never have won, apart from that one time six years ago. Even though there was a period, about a good decade ago, when Shiratorizawa was quite bad and Karasuno was in it's glory days we still never won. We were always beaten either by Karasuno or Shiratorizawa. If we won it would mean so much to the team and all previous members of it," 

"Wow! Kobayashi you really know our school's history,"

"Even though we're known as the final losers behind our backs, people can't deny that we're a powerhouse school. At least for the prefecture,"

"I guess so,"

"Aoba Johsai performs its best when it tries something new. Variation is its strength," student#3 said, lost in thought.

"Did you just come up with that on the spot? That's so cool,"

"I miss just being able to talk like this,"

"Like what? We get to talk all the time at school,"

"No, I mean like this. With no pressures or social norms to follow. Just being able to say what I think,"

"Isn't that why you joined the debating club?"

"It was, but now I feel like I have to talk in a certain way about certain topics with them. And with your friends, it feels like I never fit in. I just don't feel like there's a group or club in this school where I can truly be myself,"

"I'm sure people would support you if you wanted to express yourself,"

"Aoba Johsai performs its best when it tries something new. Variation is its strength," Aoba Johsai's head coach overheard one of their students say this as he watched the match. We are our strongest when we try new players. We've definitely become stronger since Hinata has joined the team. It's the exact same as when we had the Little Giant on our team.

Aoba Johsai started the fourth set the same way they ended the third set. About a quarter of the set had passed and the team was tiring. Aoba Johsai called a time out. "We've almost won the game. Let's give it the final push so that we don't have to play a fifth set," their head coach said. Soon after playing again the head coached switched Hanamaki for Takumi. Shiratorizawa called a time out to try and break the momentum, but it was all in vain.

With a strong line up in the optimal rotation Aoba Johsai made yet another push. Both teams had reached the twenties and Hinata was put in again. Aoba Johsai was more determined to win than ever. Tendou took one look at Hinata and yelped, his blood lust was pouring out his eyes, all over his face and giving him an ominous aura that even the rest of Aoba Johsai hadn't seen before. "Whoa, check it out, Hinata really wants to win," Kindaichi said, slightly scared, to Kunimi.

Hinata felt different. He felt... Powerful. He called for a spike, he no longer cared if Tendou blocked him or not. He just knew that he would be able to beat him. Hinata began to run. He felt fast. He felt as if he were much faster than before.

Oikawa panicked a bit, Hinata had never ran this fast before. Oikawa quickly tossed the ball trying to maintain his accuracy, he ended up tossing the ball too high. The whole team panicked that Hinata would miss the ball and start freaking out. But luck was on their side. When Hinata jumped he jumped up higher than usual. His current best vertical jump was 329.8 cm but this jump that he did definitely outdid that. Hinata easily hit the ball and he hit it with more power than he had ever done so before. The force of the spike caused Tendou's block to break and the ball to land right in the centre of the court. Everybody stared at him in shock. 

"We are going to win this game in this set!" Hinata said confidently, his blood lust slightly calming down. The spirit of the team doubled.

"What was that just then?" someone from Shiratorizawa asked quietly.

Aoba Johsai had reached the set point first and it was their turn to serve. Matsukawa served the ball. Shiratorizawa had received it and their setter was preparing to go into the toss. Both Tendou and Ushijima are showing their signs. Tendou seems to be running much faster than usual, so it might be him... But he just slowed down. It's Ushijima, Hinata thought as he made the sudden movement to block Ushijima, Dammit! I'm late. Hinata knew that he wouldn't be able to successfully block the ball, but he still could do something. Hinata went into a joust.

What's Shouyou doing? Iwaizumi asked himself as he was confused by the smaller player's delayed reaction, "Shouyou's going in for a joust!" Iwaizumi shouted out to the team, they all gathered near, ready to dive for the ball if Hinata lost.

Ushijima had just released the ball when he felt it being shoved back into his hands, Ushjima looked back into Seijoh's no.10's eyes, putting his other hand on the ball and joining the joust.

Hinata raised his legs, he pushed down on his arms, he focused all the pressure acting on him, begging for him to land and stop hovering in the air. He focused on it and focused moving it to the other side of the net. Hinata could feel himself losing the joust. He was ready to give up. What had felt like hours to him had only been about one second.

"Keep it up shortie pie!" Oikawa shouted.

"You can do it Shouyou!" Iwaizumi shouted.

"Go on Hinata!" Matsukawa shouted.

"Show him who's in charge!" Inaba shouted.

"We believe in you!" Takumi shouted Everyone on the sidelines and in the stands was cheering him on, Hinata knew he could do it, he gave another push, but Ushijima pushed back and Hinata's legs extended again.

"Hinata! Quit being a dumbass! I'm gonna be the first person to beat you in a joust! So don't let him beat you!" Kyoutani shouted. This was the final push that Hinata needed. He lifted his legs again, letting the pressure build up in his arms. He transferred all the pressure into the ball and Ushijima, he made sure that this time Ushijima had to take all his weight.

It worked. After a torturous five seconds, Hinata got his relief in the form of the ball landing on Shiratorizawa's side of the net and not Aoba Johsai's. All of Aoba Johsai, both on the court, sidelines and stands, started cheering. They had won.

Iwaizumi and Oikawa lifted Hinata onto their shoulders. "What are you guys doing that for?" Hinata asked, what had happened still hadn't registered in his brain, "We won?... We won! WE WON!!! GUYS WE WON!!!!!!!" Hinata pumped both his arms into the air, the excitement filling his lungs as he screamed happily, "Okay, can you let me down please,"

Ushijima watched in horror as the ball had landed beside him. That tiny player, Seijoh's no.10, had beaten him in a joust. "Don't mind Ushijima. It was a fluke. Seijoh just got lucky with the timing," one of the players had said.

"No. He's a better player and ace than me," Ushijima said. Hinata stared at him in shock. Ushijima... THE Ushijima had called him the better ace, was he dreaming?

The whole of Karasuno's boys volleyball club were crammed together watching the finals. Everyone was on the edge of their imaginary seats when Hinata went in for the joust. "For real! Does he know who he's jousting?" Tanaka shouted.

"Shouyou knows no fear!" Nishinoya shouted.

"Calm down you two!" Sawamura said.

"Seijoh won?!?" Karasuno shouted out, a mix of confusion, surprise and excitement.

The buzz had slightly worn off by the time that Aoba Johsai had finished packing up and heading to their bus, "We're... We're going to nationals!" Kunimi said, the realisation hitting him. The whole team smiled, they were finally going to nationals. But first they needed sleep.

Chapter Text

Kobayashi took her seat, she didn’t know why she had said all those things to her friend yesterday. At least she could look forward to later, she finished the day on history, her favourite subject, then she could go home afterwards. The truth was that she quit the debating club after two weeks. How was she supposed to know that all they would talk about was politics! 

Hinata had fell asleep in history again, at least the teacher hadn’t noticed this time. Only one other student was left in the classroom. Phew, he still had a few minutes until practise began.

”Hey,” Kobayashi said.

”Hi,” Hinata replied, getting his stuff together.

Wow. He seemed so different on the court. But in person he seemed really cold, Kobayashi thought to herself, she noticed that he kept looking at the clock, “You know that that clock is ten minutes fast,”

”Wait? Really?”

”Yeah,”

”Phew, I’m not going to be late for practise,” Hinata slowed down his packing up.

”You’re Hinata Shouyou, right?”

”Yeah,”

”Aren’t you on the volleyball team?”

”Yeah! It’s really fun. Have you ever spiked a ball before?”

”No. I was just going to say that that move you used on Shiratorizawa’s ace was really cool,” Kobayashi began packing her things up, why did she say that?

”You think that! Thank you!”

”What’s it called?”

”It’s a joust. I have my own technique because I’m shorter and weaker than most other players, but it feels great when I win the joust. Any time I’m on the court feels great. I’m still on the sidelines sometimes, but being on the sidelines isn’t always the worst,” Hinata began to ramble, “I’m sorry. I began to ramble,”

”It’s fine, I do it all the time too,”

“I should get going. We still have to practise for nationals!”

”Good luck!”

Kobayashi had finished packing up and began walking home, on her way she passed the boy’s volleyball club practising. Maybe she should finally do it. No they’d probably tell her to go to the girls team. But it was worth a shot, right? No tomorrow, Kobayashi kept arguing to herslef, You’ve got to do it today. Stop saying tomorrow! Tomorrow will turn into your final day of the third year if you’re not careful.

”Um, is this the boy’s volleyball club?” Kobayashi asked as she entered.

”Yeah,” Iwaizumi replied slightly confused as to why a girl was asking where the boys volleyball club was.

”I... I w-was...” Kobayashi slapped herself and cleared her throat, “I would like to become your manager!” She shouted, she looked at their faces, maybe she had taken it too far, “I thought that since you’re going to nationals, it would be useful to have a helping hand. I may not know much about volleyball, but I’ll learn. I promise,”

”It would be helpful having a manager,” Matsukawa pointed out.

”Most teams have managers. Karasuno have two,” Yahaba added.

”And one of them is a goddess,” Inaba said dramatically.

”It’s settled then. Our new manager will be... We didn’t ask your name, did we?“ Oikawa said before realising that his mistake.

”I’m sorry, I should have told you. I am Kobayashi Rio. Thank you for having me,” Kobayashi said.

Iwaizumi and Oikawa had yet another captain meeting. “They’re having a lot more of those than usual,” Kyoutani pointed out.

”I’m not saying that having a manager is a bad thing, but we have to make sure that she fits with the team,” Iwaizumi protested.

”At least give her a chance,” Oikawa replied.

”I was planning on,”

The second years were doing a 3v3 drill when both Watari and Kyoutani were arguing about who should have gotten the ball that both missed. “You missed it. Move on. Figure out how to decide who gets the next ball,” Kobayashi said as she watched them argue.

”So fierce,” the two commented silently.

”She fits right in. It’s like she was born and raised in the volleyball club,” Oikawa said, Iwaizumi nodded in agreement. Aoba Johsai had a manager. One who may be fierce enough to control the team, but kind enough to encourage them too.

Chapter Text

Hinata had been practising with the team like usual. It had been a normal, chaotic, practise. Kunimi had spiked the ball out of the gym and Hinata was running after it. He found the ball in a bush. When Hinata reached into the bush he felt something warm and fuzzy, he then heard a small bark. Hinata went into the bush to see what was there a small puppy hiding in the bushes. Hinata cradled the puppy in his arms whilst manoeuvring his body to get the ball out of the bush. After getting both the puppy and ball out of the bush Hinata carried the puppy and kicked the ball back to the gym. "Guys look what I found!" Hinata said as he entered, the puppy licking his face.

"I think the dog found the human embodiment of itself," Kunimi joked.

"Or Hinata found the dog version of himself," Kindaichi laughed.

"How many times do I have to tell you two that I'm not a puppy," Hinata said with a fake dejected look in his eyes.

"Yeah, he turns into a cat when he falls asleep," Yahaba said, referring to the time that Hinata fell asleep on Oikawa.

"It's mad dog-chan's cousin!" Oikawa said, getting a slap from Kyoutani.

"Where did you find it?" Iwaizumi said, moving away from the dog jokes that Hanamaki and Matsukawa had been making.

"He was in a bush that the ball had went to. He was whimpering so I took him and now he likes me," Hinata explained.

"Do you know for a fact that it's a he?" Kobayashi asked.

"That's a she," Inaba corrected Hinata.

"Oh. But it doesn't make a difference," Hinata replied, "So what should we do with the dog?"

"It could be a team mascot!" Oikawa suggested.

"Yeah! That's a great idea, Oikawa-senpai!" Hinata said as the two bounced ideas off of each other.

"Are you even sure that the national stadium would even allow us to bring a dog onto the court?" Iwaizumi said.

"I'm sure they would," Oikawa said.

"It was a rhetorical question jerk face Oikawa," Iwaizumi said as Oikawa pouted. The team went silent, for once. But that silence was soon interrupted by Watari sneezing.

"I'm allergic to dogs," he shouted.

"Those who want to deal with the dog, go outside," Iwaizumi ordered.

"It looks like a beagle," Kunimi said.

"Aww, look at it run. It's just like shortie pie," Oikawa said which resulted in a huff from Hinata. 

"So what should we do? We can't just leave it here," Inaba said.

"I would take it home, but I don't think that I could carry it on my bike," Hinata replied.

"It could stay at my place for tonight, my parents are both away on business trips," Kindaichi offered, "But we'd have the same issue tomorrow night,"

"There's a shelter nearby, we could always drop her off there. They actually know how to look after her. Knowing us, we'd use her as a volleyball," Yahaba said.

"We totally would do that," the whole group agreed with Yahaba on both points. They headed to the nearby shelter.

"Why does Seijoh have a dog with them?" Tendou asked.

"It's probably dead," Ushijima answered, Tendou stared at him, "Well, they don't seem like the responsible type,"

The six of them arrived at the shelter and explained the situation. The volunteer told them to wait. Hinata began playing with the puppy, both being equally excited. The other five began taking photos, especially when Hinata began cradling the puppy again. The volunteer eventually returned and took the dog from the boys which left Hinata a bit sad.

It then became a habit of Hinata's to visit the puppy once a week after practise, the staff at the shelter came to know him quite well and offered him a volunteer position. Hinata agreed after realising that it meant that he got to see even more animals. Hinata after a month of volunteering, became best friends with a black Labrador, a golden retriever and a Russian blue. The other staff had also fallen in love with Hinata who they nicknamed "Puppy," much to Hinata's protests.

Time had flown by and Hinata's second term at Aoba Johsai was coming to an end. Of course he still had his final exams for the term, which he should be studying for, but he also had nationals coming up. Hinata just had his priorities in a different order to the other first years on the team. Hinata took a moment to wonder where all his time had gone before realising that it either went into the animal shelter or volleyball club.

"I'm back!" Hinata called out to the owner of the shelter as he returned for his shift on a Saturday afternoon, going to the animal shelter was always a nice break from studying, it was why he had been there more than usual in the past week.

"Nice to see you again Puppy," the owner said, "Shouldn't you be studying?"

"I should,"

"Then go! You've already helped enough this week. You need to make sure you pass those exams of yours," the owner had to shove Hinata out of the shelter in order to get him to go home and study.

Chapter Text

"Hey Hinata," Kindaichi greeted him on the two's way to the gym, "How's your studying going?" Hinata replied with a groan.

"It's just so hard and boring. Everything goes in then out. And I got kicked out of the shelter for going there too much so I could avoid studying," Hinata complained.

"Maybe go there as a reward for studying instead of going there because you don't want to study," Kidaichi suggested.

"Maybeeeeeeee. Maybe not," Hinata began running to the gym.

"Hinata! Wait up!"

The practise session had been fairly usual, with the normal antics going on.

"Before you go I have an important announcement," the head coach said, "Shiratorizawa is holding a training camp for first years during winter break,"

"I remember this," Takumi replied, "It's a week long camp with the best from the prefecture all training together and going against the Shiratorizawa seniors. I probably would have enjoyed it if I wasn't being told every five minutes to transfer to Shiratorizawa,"

"Well it was a camp run by Shiratorizawa, held at Shiratorizawa, and you were invited to play at Shiratorizawa. So what did you expect? Them to congratulate you on attending Aoba Johsai?" Kyoutani pointed out.

"Anyway, Shiratorizawa have invited Kindaichi and Kunimi to this camp," the head coach said.

"What about me?" Hinata asked.

"Hinata, when I say this I mean no offence to you, but you're short. Shiratorizawa is know for having tall players, and that extends to their training camps," Matsukawa said patting his back.

"Then I'll have to find a way to make them change their mind," Hinata said.

"Doesn't the Japan Youth Camp run at the same time," Inaba said, "'Cause we won nationals does that mean that us first and second years have a chance of being selected,"

"Yeah, but if any of us are going to be selected it'll be Takumi or Watari," Yahaba said.

"I'm going to hijack the Japan Youth Camp!" Hinata said.

"Hinata, that's illegal," Kunimi told him.

"Oh, then I'll hijack the Shiratorizawa training camp," Hinata replied.

"Yeah!" the rest of the team cheered him on.

"NO!" Iwaizumi said, "No-one will be hijacking any training camps. Just because you didn't get invited to a camp doesn't mean you won't be practising," everyone looked slightly upset at this, "We have national coming up! If anything these training camps get in the way! So you better make the most of it,"

"We're just playing with you Iwa-chan!" Oikawa said. The team finished packing up.

"Yo shortie pie! You have a sec?" Oikawa asked Hinata, Iwaizumi walked over to them.

"Sure, what's up?" Hinata replied.

"We asked coach not to say this 'cause we wanted to break the news ourselves," Oikawa explained.

"Read this," Iwaizumi said as he handed Hinata a letter.

"I got into the Japan Youth Camp!" Hinata shouted in excitement.

"Yup. Pretty impressive. But the thing is, if you fail any of your exams you won't be able to go," Oikawa warned.

"Why?" Hinata asked.

"The day of the catch up exams, is the same day as the beginning of the camp," Oikawa answered.

"Oh," 

"One more thing. Don't tell anyone else. Iwa-chan and I have a little prank we want to play on the rest of the team,"

After hearing the news of the training camp Hinata became more determined to pass all of his exams. The three first years were walking to the shelter, which Hinata had managed to convince them of going to, "Hinata, you okay? You've been intensely reading that book the whole way here," Kunimi said concered.

"I'm studying," Hinata replied.

"Still it's pretty cool for you two. Both of you get to go to that training camp," Yamaguchi said to Kageyama and Tsukishima as they went to get pork buns, and like always, ended up getting lost.

"You mean..." Kunimi began.

"...We have to play on the same side of the court as the king again," Kindaichi finished.

"Would you look at that. We're lost again. Kageyama heads or tails?" Tsukishima said.

"Heads," Kageyama replied.

"Too bad it's tails. Your turn to ask for directions," Tsukishima said.

"Tsukki. I'm pretty sure that that's a heads," Yamaguchi whispered.

"Think of it like character development or something," Hinata suggested, "At least you got invited to a camp," Hinata lied for Oikawa and Iwaizumi.

"Fair," Kunimi agreed.

"Excuse me. Do you know where we are?" Kageyama asked after being pushed by Tsukishima.

"More people to take to the animal shelter!" Hinata cheered.

"We'll find our own way back," Kageyama said as he ran off, Hinata caught up and grabbed his arm.

"No chance you're escaping that easily," Hinata shouted. The six first years made their way to the animal shelter.

"You're back again Puppy, have you been studying?" the owner asked.

"Yup. And I brought some friends tonight," Hinata replied.

The rest of the evening was spent on Hinata introducing everyone to the animals.

Hinata spend all his free time studying, he had to pass the finals. After the horrible week of exams Hinata could rest again.

Kindaichi

You guys wanna hang out?

Kunimi

Sure. Beats doing nothing

Hinata

Ok. What are we doing?

The three of them met up in a nearby park and just chatted. It helped distract Hinata’s mind from worrying over his results.

Chapter Text

“We need to take some measurements for nationals,” the head coach said, “They need height, vertical reach and arm length. We’ll be take some extra measurements for kits and alternate kits,” the head coach said at the beginning of the week.

”What’s an alternate kit? Is that the kit we played in when we went up against Date Tech?” Hinata asked Oikawa as they waited to measure their vertical reach.

”Technically it was, but that was the old alternate kit. Apparently we have a different alternate kit, although we currently don’t have a set ready and no-one here has even seen it,” Oikawa replied.

”I heard that what we know to be the alternate kit used to be our old kit back in the old days and the true alternate was the alternate kit back then too. But you remember Hinata, the alternate kit really doesn't fit you compared to the regular one and we all know what you look like in the regular kit,” 

“Yeah. I have to say, it’ll be nice to have kits that fit a bit better,” Iwiazumi added. Hinata nodded, although he liked the extreme bagginess of his current kit, it did get in the way when jumping. Next it was Hinata’s turn to jump. He ran up and jumped as high as he could.

”333cm!” Kobayashi called out.

”Can I try again?” Hinata asked.

”Well if you insist. You’re the last one so get going,” the head coach said.

Hinata channeled the feeling he had in the Shiratorizawa match as he went to jump.

”3-4-7cm,” Kobayashi said, impressed and scared by Hinata’s blood lust.

”Put 333cm down. No-one will believe us if we put 347cm,” the head coach said.

”What did you get Hinata?” Kunimi asked after they had their heights measured.

”164.2cm,” Hinata grumbled. He knew that he was the shortest on the team, but this just solidified what he knew, even Watari was over five cm taller than him.

”Embrace your shortness! Show everyone at nationals that a short player can still pack a punch,” Kindaichi said supportively.

”Yeah!” Hinata replied.

Soon the week had ended and Aoba Johsai entered its winter break. Hinata let out a sigh of relief after passing all of his exams he could finally go to the Japan Youth Camp. He was so excited. Hinata spent all of his Saturday morning packing his bag. That afternoon he went down to the shelter as usual, “Hey Puppy. Did you pass?” The owner asked.

”Yup. I still can’t believe that I’m going to the youth camp. They invited me!” Hinata had been so focused on studying so he could go to the camp that he had never celebrated getting into the camp.

”You better enjoy it Puppy, all the animals are gonna miss you,”

”And I’m going to miss them too,”

On Sunday Hinata went to Shiratorizawa with Oikawa. Ushijima had agreed to help the two with training for nationals. The two hadn’t anticipated the training to begin with a detailed presentation on how to transfer to Shiratorizawa and reasons why they should.

”Come on Shouyou-kohai. Do the thing you did in the match,” Tendou said.

”I’m trying,” Hinata replied, he was trying to channel that feeling inside him but it was no use. Hinata reminded himself of the feeling of winning. Hinata wanted to feel it again.

”There it is!” Tendou shouted. For the rest of the session, Hinata and Oikawa played a two on two match against Ushijima and Tendou. It took a while for Oikawa to adjust to the more powerful Hinata, but eventually the two had got there.

”I feel scared for those going to nationals. You walk on and get bitten by Shouyou-kohai’s blood lust,” Tendou commeneted.

Hinata went home to rest. Or at least he tried to, he was just so excited about the training camp.

Chapter Text

Kindaichi and Kunimi made their way to Shiratorizawa for their training camp as Hinata parted ways from them to what they assumed to be training but was actually Hinata leaving for the Japan Youth Camp.

Hinata took the long journey to the gym he was going to, he was so excited. He got to be in with so many players, and he could even get offered a spot on the youth team. Hinata had to remember why he was here. He needed to make the most of this oppurtunity.

Hinata looked at all the other members invited to the camp, he was one of the fewer first years invited, and he was almost certain that he was the shortest member at the camp until he saw another small player. Hinata moved slightly closer to the small player to try and see if he was taller or not. Which lead Hinata to the conclusion of, maybe. 

Hoshiumi looked down at the smaller orange haired boy. The two stared at each other, “What position do you play?” He asked.

”Middle blocker, or wing spiker, it depends on what our team needs more,” the smaller boy replied.

”How tall are you?”

”165 cm,”  it was an exaggeration, but Hinata wasn’t going to admit to being 146cm tall.

“What’s your jumping reach?”

”333 cm...” I win Hoshiumi though as he realised that his jumping reach was much higher, “... Is my average and what I’ve submitted for nationals, but I reached 347 cm once,” 347! Not even some of the best aces could reach that high Hoshiumi continued to stare at the smaller boy. The two finished their conversation there.

The boys were told to warm up before going into practise games. Hinata decided to start with read blocking until he could pick up on the signs.

”Who’s that kid?” One of the coaches asked, pointing at Hinata.

”Hinata Shouyou. Aoba Johsai’s no.10 and ace. He doesn’t seem like he’d be a great player on the surface but from what I’ve seen I can tell that he’s got potential,” another coach replied.

”Aoba Johsai? They beat Shiratorizawa didn’t they?

”Yes. I recall that Hinata scored the winning point by winning a joust agaist Shiratorizawa’s Ushijima,”

”At his height?” The other coach nodded, “With that build?” The other coach nodded again, “Wow,”.

Hinata and Hoshiumi were on the same team for the next game. Hoshiumi used his end line shot. “Wow! That was so cool!” Hinata shouted.

”I know! I know!” Hoshiumi replied. Both jumping up. He may be good, but it’s my turn now, Hinata thought to himself letting his blood lust pour through.

The rally began again and the setter was preparing to set. “Over here!” Hinata called out as he ran faster than he had. He began to jump and the blockers began to follow, but Hinata hadn’t reached his full height yet. Hinata reached the top of his jump and swung his arms to spike the ball with more power than usual. The blockers had already landed by the time Hinata had finished the spike. Although Hinata had confused the blockers he still aimed for the gaps of the court as usual.

Everyone on the court turned to stare at Hinata.

“It says here that Hinata’s jumping reach is 333cm; but this looked much greater than that,” a coach said.

”This isn’t his normal playing. For reasons, I can’t tell what these reasons are, Hinata’s mood drastically changes mid match. He did the same thing near the end of a match against Shiratorizawa. It gives him some kind of boost to keep pushing,” a different coach replied.

”I ran the analytics on the laptop and I can safely say that for that spike Hinata’s jumping reach was 356 cm. Which I still can’t believe myself,” an intern said.

”356 cm! That can’t be possible for a regular player, let alone a short player like Hinata,” the first coach protested.

”His jumping is truly something else. I’m glad that we invited him,” the second coach said.

What was that? Hoshiumi asked himself after witnessing Hinata’s insane quick. After his spike Hinata had returned to normal, although he knew from his practise on Sunday that he could maintain his blood lust for longer, he didn’t feel like unnecessarily using it.

Soon it became lunchtime in which Hoshiumi and Hinata sat together, “So you’re only a first year yet you’re already your team’s ace,” Hoshiumi said.

”I’m not my team’s ace. We have this really strong third year, he’s our vice captain,” Hinata corrected Hoshiumi’s wrong assumption.

”Your team’s ace must be terrifying if he has to compete with you,”

”Well I can’t normally do my quicks that fast or high. I don’t normally feel that way on the court. My team describes it as my blood lust,”

”So it’s fuelled purely by determination,”

”When you put it like that, I guess so,”

”So if your team has lots of strong players, then getting to nationals was a piece of cake for you guys,”

”Not really,”

”How come?”

”We don’t really get to nationals. We have to beat Shiratorizawa first,”

“Shiratorizawa!”

”Yeah. I remember in my first match against them I received one of Ushijima’s spikes in my face,”

”Really?”

”I jumped too early,”

”And received the ball in your face?”

”Yeah,”

”Hinata, you’re phone is going off!”

”It was either going to go one way or the other,” a member of the camp commented on Hinata and Hoshiumi’s friendship, “They were either going to be enemies or friends,”

Meanwhile at the Aoba Johsai Oikawa and Iwaizumi carried on with their prank. “Has anyone seen Hinata today?” Yahaba asked, noting the lack of his presence.

”Did he actually go an hijack the Shiratorizawa training camp?” Oikawa asked, knowing where Hinata really was.

”I’ll go check,” Iwaizumi said, when he got out of the gym he called Hinata, “Five minutes until showtime,” Iwaizumi reentered the gym, “He’s not at the camp according to the first years. Don’t tell me he actually tried to hijack the youth camp,” Iwaizumi got his phone out and called Hinata again, making it seem like Hinata called. Iwaizumi put the phone on speakerphone.

”Dadzumi,” Hinata said, trying his best to act, “I need someone to bail me out of prison,”

”You legend Hinata! You actually hijacked the Japan Youth Camp!” Kyoutani shouted.

”Shouyou you idiot! You got yourself arrested!” Iwaizumi shouted.

”Hahaha! You’ve been pranked!” Hinata and Oikawa tried to say it at the same time.

”What?” Inaba asked.

”I got invited to the Japan Youth Camp!” Hinata explained before hanging up the phone. 

“So you mean to tell me that he’s not in jail,” Hanamaki said, “And that this was your idea of fun,” Oikawa and Iwaizumi nodded.

Chapter Text

Kindaichi and Kunimi’s training camp had been going fine, minus the fact that they had to cooperate with Kageyama again. “How was that set? Was it too high? Too low?” Kageyama began to ask Kindaichi after setting for him.

”It was fine,” Kindaichi replied, annoyed that Kageyama had suddenly started asking him about what he thought about the set.

One of the later days of the camp the seniors from Shiratorizawa. “Huh, where’s Shouyou-kohai?” Tendou asked the other two first years of aob Johsai.

”He didn’t get invited,” Kunimi replied.

”I honsetsly thought that Hinata was going to hijack the training camp though, did Iwaizumi talk some sense into him?” Kindaichi said.

It was the second day of the training camp and after a morning of drills Hinata finally got the chance of playing in a practise match again. This time he was on a different team to Hoshiumi. Hinata’s team had a great setter. In a match the setter set the ball for Hinata. Hinata was awestruck by the accuracy or the set that he forgot to hit the ball, “Sorry! I forgot to hit the ball,” Hinata appologised.

”You forgot to hit the ball?” The setter asked before muttering something under their breath, “Man it’s annoying having to play with players who suck,” Unfortunately for the setter Hinata heard what they had said, I don’t suck! Hinata reassured himself, I just gotta prove that I’m a good player Hinata allowed his blood lust to pour through his body. For the most part Hinata focused on blocking, as the ball wasn’t tossed to him. With his higher jump Hinata was able to slam the ball down instead of deflecting it, this time using his guess blocking.

”Man, it’s like every time you go in for a spike, he’s there,” a player complained, referring to Hinata, “And he gets to a taller height than you’d think he would considering that he’s so short,”

Hinata was getting sick of being used as a decoy for this setter. The fact was that he was becoming useless as a decoy. The other team knew that he wasn’t getting the ball and Hinata was getting annoyed at having to run and jump for no reason. If it wasn’t the Japan Youth Camp Hinata would have stopped jumping a long time ago.

”Look at that team’s middle blocker, with all the jumping he’s doing you’d think he’d be getting tired now,” a player commented.

Hinata was fed up. He was going to prove that he could spike the ball. Hinata did his usual run but at the last moment, the same time as the ball was tossed, he crossed over to the other side of the court. Hinata jumped up and spiked the ball which was set high for the really tall player who was meant to spike the ball. The opposition team’s block was broken upon impact with the ball. There’s a reason that Ushijima says I’m a better player and ace than him, Hinata thought to himself, proud of his spike.

”I can’t tell whether Hinata would make a better middle blocker or wing spiker,” a coach said to themself.

”Neither can Aoba Johsai, although Hinata plays decoy there. That team’s setter, Miya Atsumu, isn’t making full use of Hinata’s decoy abilities. Hinata only works as a good decoy if the other team fears him, when they put their eyes on him the rest of his team can shine,” the other coach said.

”But it is hard to suddenly trust a player after just meeting them,” the first coach argued.

”I’m not denying that. Aoba Johsai work well as a team because they are exactly that, a team who know each other and their weaknesses,” the other coach replied, “They have a lot of interesting players, but none as interesting as Hinata”

“So... Do I still suck?” Hinata asked, his eyes filled with a scary determination.

He heard me. Miya thought as he panicked, he had never meant for the small player to hear him because he had seen him the other day and knew that he was good at other aspects, like blocking, The way he plays... It’s like he marches to his own drum, “You got lucky, whatever,” Miya replied, That had to be it, he got lucky.

”Toss to me. One more ball and we’ll see if I’m lucky or not,” Hinata said, challenging the setter. Hinata ran and jumped one more time, this time he got the ball and slammed it down, in the gap between the blockers and libero. 

That was no fluke, and the aim on that. It’s like he saw everything in slow motion. I was sure that he was going to slam it right into their hands until the last moment, Miya thought, in awe of the spiker’s skills, This is almost as good as Samu. Who is this kid? Why haven’t I seen him at nationals before?

The other team stared in shock, how could that player not only block crazily well, but also spike incredibly well. Hinata smirked, time to bring out the feint. “So was that luck too?” Hinata asked, taunting the setter.

”I guess not,” Miya said, backtracking.

”Then take it back! Tell me that I don’t suck!” 

“Fine. You don’t suck at volleyball,”

”Hmph!” Hinata got back into position, at least he could now play decoy for this setter properly. For the rest of the match Hinata mainly hit the tosses he received, occasionally throwing in some feints. Miya tapped Hinata’s shoulder.

”Do the really quick thing again,” Miya said. Hinata decided that he wouldn’t. Hinata ran for the ball, at his super quick speed, but at the last minute he slowed down into a regular quick. he jumped, the ball now at a perfect height for him to perform a feint. Hinata watched as the ball landed on the other side of the net... Did he just successfully pull off the lethal move with a different setter? 

”Well I am surprised,” one of the coaches exclaimed.

”Why?” The other asked.

”That move there is one that Hinata can rarely pull off with his usual setter, Oikawa Tooru, I wasn’t expecting him to try it out with a different setter, let alone for it to succeed with another setter,”

”I’m beginning to see why you fought so hard for Hinata to be put on this camp,”

”He could be Japan’s next ace. Although I have to say, the success of that move also came down to Miya. If those two were ever on the same team... Well that certainly would be a dangerous combination,”

”If I ever play on the same side of the court again, take me seriously and treat me like any other spiker,” Hinata said to the setter he was playing with at the end of the game, “I’m not useful to a setter who won’t use me properly,” Hinata was referring to how he wouldn’t be a good decoy if he wasn’t treated like a usual spiker. Of course that extended to both ways, underuse Hinata and he becomes useless; overuse Hinata and he stop being a decoy.

Although Miya didn’t quite understand what Hinata meant he got the general gist of things, “Sure, tiny warrior,”

”Oh, and one more thing. Aoba Johsai,” Miya gave Hinata a confused look, “That’s the name of the team who’s going to win nationals,”

“What’s wrong Ushiwaka?” Tendou asked.

”I just felt like Hinata made a declaration,” Ushijima answered.

”Man, that is strange, but I thought you hated declarations,” 

“Not with Hinata. When he declares something it doesn’t feel like he’s hoping for it. It’s like he knows it’s going to happen,”

Chapter Text

One day at the training camp they had everyone play different positions than they were used to. Welcome to Hinata Shouyou’s one day as a libero. Also known as, how many times can Hinata fall on the floor and still be able to get up?

When Hinata had heard that he was playing as a libero for the day he immediately felt a sense of impending doom. His receiving still sucked. It took Hinata no time to get used to diving for the ball due to his training with Tendou and the forfits.

The day as a libero had its ups and downs. Hinata was yelled at a lot by other players whilst also being given tips and sympathetic looks by the liberos who were invited to the camp. However it gave Hinata a chance to finally practise receiving and understand what Kyoutani had been shoving down his throat. Spacial awarness.

Hinata know saw the court in a new way. He could follow the ball much easier than before. It was like he finally understood how to receive.

The training camp overall had been a good experience for Hinata. He had found a friend in Hoshiumi. “Shouyou, make sure you get to finals so we can play each other then,” Hoshiumi called out as they went their separate ways.

”You too Kourai!” Hinata replied. Hoshiumi had tried and failed in teaching Hinata how to serve better. He had been able to practise spiking at his top speeds with Miya, who had finally started taking him seriously. And Hinata had finally finished learning how to receive after his one and only day as a libero.

Hinata returned to Miyagi, excited to hear about his friends’ training camp. I wonder how they got on with Kageyama. Did they get to play Shiratorizawa? Hinata thought as he made his way to the gym.

”There he is!” Kyoutani shouted as Hinata entered the gym, “The one who tricked us into thinking he got arrested,”

”What do you mean?” Kunimi asked.

”Those three,” Matsukawa pointed at Iwaizumi, Oikawa and Hinata, “Decided to trick us into believing that Hinata had got arrested for trying to hijack the Japan Youth Camp, instead of telling us that he had actually gotten into the camp!”

”Wait a minute! Hinata went to the Japan Youth Camp?” Kindaichi askedd, Hinata nodded in reply, “As in, best of the best youth camp,”

”And instead of telling us, they decided to prank us,” Inaba said, “So what were your camps like?”

”It was okay. There were a lot of two on two games. But we also got to play the second and third year Shiratorizawa students,” Kunimi said.

”Kageyama actually asked me how his set was!” Kindaichi said, slightly irritated, causing Oikawa to loudly gasp.

”Tobio-chan. Ask about a set... Never!” Oikawa gasped.

”Stop being over dramatic jerkawa,” Iwaizumi said, getting a pout from Oikawa, “What about you Shouyou? How was Japan Youth Camp?”

”They had all these great players. And one day they made me play libero, which didn’t turn out well, but I learnt something... Spacial awareness,” Hinata said.

”So basically, one of the players took over Hinata’s body and we’re dealing with an imposter,” Kyoutani summarised.

”What? No! Anyway I may have said that we are going to win nationals to one of the Miya brothers,” Hinata confessed.

”But we are going to win. You were just stating facts,” Kobayashi said.

”Do you know which brother it was?” Yahaba asked.

”Um. I think it was Atsumu. The setter. His sets are so easy to reach. I was even able to pull of the insane quick and lethal move with him,” Hinata gushed.

Oikawa stared at Hinata, “I have been betrayed!” He cried out.

”Shut it jerk face. It just goes to show what we could be up against. Inarizaki did come second in inter high, and Miya Atsumu didn’t win the best setter award just by showing up,” Iwaizumi said, Oikawa let out a single tear dramatically, “We could be unfortunate enough to have to play them in the first round, or worse the team that beat them,”

”But that would be instant death. We’d be sent home as soon as we'd arrive!” Kindaichi exclaimed.

”If we’re going to win nationals, then we’ll have to deal with Inarizaki,” Watari said.

”I know but we have to know our limits. We can’t go up against a top two powerhouse school and think we stand a chance at beating them,” Kunimi said.

”But you guys did just that with Shiratorizawa!” Kobayashi pointed out.

”True, but they’re a top eight powerhouse. If we assume that because we beat them we have the same standard, then that makes us top eight material. Top eight material is completely different from top two material!” Hanamaki said.

”At nationals we’re going to have to play lots of players like Ushijima, and I’m not just talking about the top three or five aces,” Iwaizumi said, “If we don’t want to be sent home early on, we’re just going to have to be the better team and win,”

”The most you can do is hope that we get lucky with the draw and get easy teams until the quarter finals,” Kobayashi said.

”Who are the top five aces?” Yahaba asked.

”The top three are Ushijima, who we’ve played, Sakusa Kiyoomi and Kiryuu Wakatsu,” Iwaizumi said, “From Shiratorizawa, Itachiyama and Mujinazaka, respectively,”

”I remember Sakusa, he was at the training camp. He was really good,” Hinata said.

”Then there are Bokuto Kotaro from Fukurodani and Ojiro Aran from Inarizaki, who both missed out the top three,” Iwaizumi added.

”And then there’s Dadzumi from Aoba Johsai!” Hinata said smiling, “Oh yeah that reminds me. Everyone at the training camp thought that I was our team’s ace, even the coaches,”

”Then you’ve just become an even better decoy,” Oikawa laughed, “A decoy so good that everyone thought he was the ace,”

”No, but on a serious note, Ushijima thought that Hinata was a better player and ace than him. We technically have a top three player right here on our team,” Inaba said. After their reunion everyone went back to practising.

After practise Hinata went to the animal shelter where he got to play with the cats and dogs which he had missed whilst on the camp.

Chapter Text

After practising for ages it was finally time for nationals, the team were all excited on the journey to Tokyo. “I’ve never been to Tokyo, what’s it like?” Hinata asked.

”I heard it’s big!” Watari said.

”It’s got lots of big buildings that makes it look like a sci-fi city,” Takumi added.

”I bet the gym we’re playing in is massive!”  Kindaichi said.

”There’s going to be cameras everywhere. And commentators,” Yahaba said. The excitement in the bus was larger than the team had ever been before.

”I wonder who we’ll have to play first,” Kunimi said.

”I hope it’s not a powerhouse school. That would be so unfair,” Inaba said hopefully.

”It’s going to be weird,” Kobayashi sighed.

”How come?” Everyone else asked.

”Well we’re going from being well known in our prefecture to complete underdogs who nobody’s even heard of,” Kobayashi explained.

”Kobayashi made a point. We’re the Seijoh in Miyagi. One of the top four schools for volleyball, a powerhouse school and this year, ‘The team that beat Shiratorizawa’, the point is in Miyagi people know about us. When we reach Tokyo we’ll be greeted with ‘Who are they?’ Instead of any form of acknowledgement. It’s going to be tough,” Iwaizumi explained.

”I guess so, Hinata may know a couple of people from his training camp, but the majority of people in the lobby aren’t going to know us and vice versa,” Matsukawa said.

”It’s going to be different. Especially for those two,” Hanamaki pointed to Oikawa, who was asleep, and Hinata, “Oikawa’s used to having fangirls and being well known. Nobody’s going to know him now. And, well I think Hinata knows what he’s got in store,”

”Everyone’s gonna think I’m some elementary student again. They’re gonna think I’m a player’s younger brother,” Hinata cried.

Eventually they reached Tokyo and the inn that they were staying at, the money made from the lemonade stand mainly went to covering the costs of lemons and hadn’t really helped in paying for the inn. Eventually the coaches had got the team to calm down. “So who’re the favourites this year?” the innkeeper asked the boys.

”Itachiyama,” Iwaizumi replied.

”Us,” the rest of the team replied.

”Did you guys not listen to Kobayashi on the bus. We’re now officially nobodies in the volleyball scene,” Iwaizumi said to the team, giving them a look of disappointment. 

The next day had come and the teams were all gathered in the lobby. “We finally did it Iwa-chan, we made it to nationals,” Oikawa said to Iwaizumi.

”Yeah, finally,” Iwaizumi replied.

”But nobody knows who we are,”

”Shouyou!” A white haired player called out, startling Oikawa and Iwaizumi.

”Kourai!” Hinata replied as the two started running towards each other.

”Hey would you look who it is, it’s the tiny warrior,” Miya Atsumu said as he caught a glimpse of Hoshiumi and Hinata jumping at each other.

”Hoshiumi, let’s go,” a player from Hoshiumi said to the smaller player

”Make sure you get to the finals,” Hoshiumi said to Hinata.

”Hoshiumi,” the player said again.

”Yep. We will!” Hinata replied, heading back to his own team.

”I’m struggling to work out which one he meant as the tiny warrior, both of them are small,” a player from Inarizaki said.

Chapter Text

Aoba Johsai walked onto the court, this was their first match of nationals and if they didn’t play their best, their last match of nationals as well. Hinata had watched Tsubakihara's match from inter high the night before and had a rough idea of the signs, he still chose to start on the bench.

”Seijoh chose to not play their no.10, why?” Yamada asked.

”He’s probably trying to figure out Tsubakihara’s signs,” Morikawa reasoned. Aoba Johsai started with Oikawa as their setter, Iwaizumi, Hanamaki and Kunimi as their wing spikers (front left, front right, back right), Matsukawa and Inaba as their middle blockers (back, front) and Watari as their libero.

”Of course you didn’t sleep on the one night we needed you to Takumi!” Kyoutani complained at Takumi who had eye bags so big that he looked like a panda.

”I’ll go get some coffee,” Kobayashi said as she began to run to the nearest coffee shop. Takumi slumped down onto Kyoutani and fell asleep, which was uncomfortable for both due to their ten cm height difference.

”Well this match could have gone to a better start,” Oikawa laughed, “But, I’m still trusting you guys,”

”Don’t worry. We may be off to a rocky start, but I still believe in everyone, we’re going to win this match,” Hinata said.

”Yeah!” the rest of Aoba Johsai shouted in reply.

The starters walked onto the court, uneasy due to starting with weaker line up than they would have wanted. “Inaba, no pressure, but we’re counting on you to help us push through until we get to our full force again,” Iwaizumi said, hoping it would help.

”Hey, don’t start relying on me when you get in a tight spot. You should always be relying on me,” Inaba replied in response, getting even more fired up. 

Out of everyone on the court Inaba and Kunimi were the most fired up. Unlike the third years, who were at their final tournament of high school, they had everything to play for. They still had to play for their starting positions for the next year. I’ll show them that I’m a blocker they can rely on no matter what, Inaba thought to himself; I’m often overlooked as a first year rookie, but I’ll show everyone that I can compete with Kindaichi and Hinata and the second and third years, Kunimi thought.

I’ll prove to everyone why I’m on this team! The two thought as they prepared for the start of the match.

”I feel bad for the team. None of them have been to nationals before and they have to start with a weak line up,” Yamada said.

”It doesn’t help that they’re not used to the height of the gym,” Morikawa added.

”So who do you think’ll win?” 

“I’m not sure. If this was in a regular gym I’d say Seijoh, but Tsubakihara played here at inter high so they have that advantage,” 

Hinata was on the sidelines watching, looking for the signs. He was thinking about what he’d been told by Miya at the camp, “What makes you so special on the court? What can you do that others can’t? Once you know that, then you can play with your team properly,” What made Hinata stand out? Was it his height? But that only brought him more troubles than abilities. His speed? But there were other players at nationals that could run at similar speeds to him. His blocking? No, it couldn’t be that, he learnt that from Tendou. Hinata didn’t know what made him different from everyone else at this tournament apart from his height, which was a disadvantage.

”Wow, look at the kid on that team’s bench,” a player said, making fun of Hinata.

”They put him on the bench? But he’s like this god at blocking. I’m telling you, you should have seen him at the training camp. He’s scarily accurate,” a different player replied.

No-one suspects that I chose to start on the bench, Hinata thought to himself, A couple more rallies and I think I’ve got it.

Aoba Johsai didn’t have a good start to the game, they had mucked up their first receive and ended up letting Tsubakihara get a three point lead. Kobayashi returned with some coffeee at 2:5 (to Tsubakihara). “Great, you’re back Kobayashi,” the head coach said.

”Takumi, wake up,” Kyoutani said as he sighed, “Takumi get offa me you piece of shit!” Kyoutani then shoved Takumi off him.

”Wha!” Takumi yelped in surprise as he was suddenly jerked awake.

”Coffee,” Kyoutani said as Kobayashi handed Takumi the cup of coffee. Hinata smiled at his team mates, he wished he could be as calm as them.

”Cheer up Hinata. It’s not the end of the world if we lose the first set,” Kobayashi said to Hinata noticing his nerves.

”I’m ready!” Hinata replied.

”Oh, um... Okay! Do your best!” Kobayashi said as she gave a thumbs up to the coaches. After the next rally Hinata was subbed in for Kunimi.

”Make them think you're the ace, mini ace,” Kunimi said as he went off the court. It was bittersweet for him, as much as he wanted to keep on playing, he knew that Hinata was needed on the court. 

“Let’s do this!” Hinata said with a big smile as he entered the court. I don’t know what makes me special, but I know that if people are looking at me then others can do their best. So I’ll do my best so that the team can do its best, Hinata thoguth as he prepared himself.

”And Aoba Johsai swap their no.13, Kunimi Akira, for their no.10, Hinata Shouyou,” one of the commentators said. Of course we don’t get cool announcements like other teams, Kunimi thought to himself as he joined the others on the sidelines.

Hinata lead the blocking for the team, with his guess being accurate every time apart from one. Tsubakihara called a time out.

”It’s pretty obvious that their blocking has improved since their no.10 came on,” the coach for Tsubakihara said, “Out of their no.8 and no.10, no.10 clearly has the brains. I’m not sure what you can really do than just keep pushing forwards. He’s probably doing a hybrid of commit and read blocking so he’ll make more mistakes like that one earlier,”

”Isn’t there the chance that he’s guess blocking?” a player suggested.

”I suppose, but it would take him much longer than that to pick up on the signs,” the coach dismissed the idea.

”I think it’s time we took the set,” Aoba Johsai’s head coach said, “It’s time for the super quick,”

Both teams walked back onto the court ready to win the set. Aoba Johsai served. Tsubakihara received and set up an attack. Aoba Johsai deflected the ball and set up their attack. Hinata ran for the ball and jumped, Oikawa setting it for him. Aoba Johsai won the point. 

“What the hell was that?” A player from Inarizaki exclaimed as they passed the match on their way to their court.

”That’s their ace. Although he can run much faster than that,” Miya Atsumu explained.

”Did you hear that Dadzumi, they think I’m the ace,” Hinata said, “It’s your time to shine... Ace,”

”Hinata, how is your hearing so good?” Iwaizumi asked.

Miya Atsumu had stayed a bit longer than the rest of his team, long enough to hear Hinata laughing about his mistake. So he’s not their ace. Atsumu decide to watch the next part of Aoba Johsai’s match.

Hinata went in to block again, once again the spiker aimed the ball at the gaps closer to Hinata. Hinata deflected the ball. Unable to aim where it went Oikawa ended up receiving the ball. Hinata ran for the ball and tossed it for Inaba who realised what was about to happen. Inaba jumped up and dug the ball over the net. Tsubakihara hadn't expected the ball to travel upwards and got lost in the perception of space. Hinata smiled, he knew that unlike a regular setter he wouldn't be put off by the much higher ceiling, and that his set to Inaba wouldn't be changed. The point scored off of the move put Aoba Johsai in the lead and made it so that it was Oikawa's turn to serve.

Atsumu looked at Hinata and the middle blocker, they couldn't have had that planned before the block, so in the limited time they had they both got in position to pull of such a risky move. Aoba Johsai seemed a lot more threatening after seeing them play.

"'Tsumu, let's go," Osamu called out, noticing that his brother had stayed to watch the match.

"Yeah yeah. I'm coming 'Samu," Atsumu replied, leaving the match.

"Aoba Johsai's no.8 and 10 are showing that there's more to them than blocking," the commentator said. 

Tsubakihara eventually won a point again and subbed in their pinch server. Their pinch server got so nervous that they botched their serve, which was meant to be an underarm serve. A few points later and Aoba Johsai won the set 25:21. Aoba Johsai started the second set with Takumi and Kindaichi in instead of Hinata and Inaba, which slightly annoyed the latter.

"Inaba, calm down," Kobayashi said, trying to calm down Inaba, "There must be a good reason that you aren't playing,"

"Just shut up! I know why I got put off. It's my own damn fault," Inaba snapped back. Dammit, why'd I let myself become weak. If I never started playing libero I wouldn't have stopped practising my blocking.

"What's wrong with Inaba?" Kunimi asked, "Why did he suddenly get put off?"

"You know what happens when you come back to practising really hard after doing basically nothing all holiday," Yahaba began to explain.

"Yes," Kunimi replied.

"No," Hinata replied.

"You'll quickly find that you won't be able to play at the same level for the same amount of time. Inaba took over a year off of blocking and volleyball, we haven't had to play a match that's so reliant on him yet, so we thought he might have been fine for today. Although Inaba used to be really good a blocking, he's not blocked in ages, his body won't be able to keep up," Yahaba explained.

"I did see his jumps get lower as the set progressed," Kunimi said.

"Exactly, Inaba isn't used to having to jump that much in a game. If this was him last year playing as a middle blocker, he'd be fine, but it's not. But him tiring wasn't the reason he got benched. We have Takumi this set, Inaba wouldn't be doing as much. The coaches are worried that he'll injure his hands or sprain his wrists or possibly his knees. If we win this game then we'll be going up against a stronger team, and each round they'll keep getting stronger, meaning we'll be needing Inaba later on, if he gets injured early on, we're screwed come third round or quarter finals," Yahaba finished explaining.

"So that's why he's mad that he got benched. He's mad at himself because it's his fault that he's weaker," Kyoutani said.

"Inaba, rest for this set and you'll be fine for the end of tomorrow's game if we win," the assistant coach said.

"If we lose today, I'd say that Inaba will probably take it the worst. He's gonna shoulder all the blame due to being weaker," Yahaba said, "Although it's also our fault for not realising his trust issues. That's the problem with playing with the best, you get too used to them," Hinata picked up that Yahaba was also referring to the fact that he wasn't as good as Oikawa and that the next year would be harder, whilst Kunimi took him at face value.

The second set went a lot better than the first set, with Iwaizumi and Takumi proving their titles of ace and next year's ace, respectively. Tsubakihara put their pinch server in again, this time being successful. The defence were confused by where the ball was going, allowing Tsubakihara to score a couple of points. Aoba Johsai won the set [25:22] and game.

”We have some time before lunch, so go explore. Don’t get lost,” Iwaizumi said.

Hinata went to the second gym that matches were taking place at, he heard that there was a stand selling tops. Hinata bought his top when he saw a familiar face, “Kourai! Have you played your match yet?” Hinata asked.

”Not yet. How did yours go Shouyou? You won, right?” Hoshiumi answered.

”We won. But one of our middle blockers is at risk of spraining his wrists!” 

“No way!” 

“Hoshiumi, we need to warm up,” one of Hoshiumi’s team members said.

”See you,” Hoshiumi said.

”See you,” Hinata replied, he went to watch the game going on in the gym.

”I thought we would be fine this year seeing as we’re playing midday instead of right at the end of the day,” Akaaashi sighed, dealing with Bokuto was hard, “Bokuto. In this gym everybody is looking at you, whereas in the main gym you only have a quarter of the people watching you,” Which works out to be the same amount, Akaashi thought to himself, knowing that Bokuto wouldn’t realise that it’s the same number.

”Really?” Bokuto replied.

”Really,”

”Wow! I love this gym!”

Hinata watched the match in awe, Fukurodani’s ace was so cool. He’s just as good as Ushijima! Hinata thought as the match ended. “Wow you were so cool on the court. The way you spiked the ball like flwamn!” Hinata said as he approached Fukurodani’s ace.

”Yeah! I was really cool!” The ace replied.

”I mean, I’ve blocked Ushijima’s spike with my face before, but I wouldn’t want to face yours,”

”Exactly, I’m definitely a better ace than him. I need to find out where Tsukki is!”

”I can help! Two people are better than one. What does Tsukki look like?”

”He’s really tall. He has blonde hair, glasses and headphones. And he looks bored of life,”

”Hmm. I’m not seeing anyone around us like that. Maybe he’s hiding in the stands!”

”Yeah. I’ll lift you up on my shoulders then we’ll see if we can find him,” Hinata looked around.

”Nope, I’m not seeing anyone who looks like Tsukki. Maybe he’s still playing his match?”

”Maybe! To the other gym,” the ace carried Hinata all the way to the other gym where they began looking for him.

”This place is so crowded. Are you sure we’re gonna be able to find Tsukki?”

”We have to try!”

”Um... Hinata, what are you doing on Fukurodani’s ace’s shoulders?” Kunimi asked, wondering how Hinata always managed to get himself in the weirdest situation.

”We’re looking for Tsukki!” the ace and Hinata said at the same time.

”Who’s Tsukki?” Kindaichi asked.

”He’s a first year, but he’s really tall,” the ace began.

”An he’s blonde and has glasses and headphones and looks like he’s bored,” Hinata finished. Oh god. This duo is chaos in human form, the other two thought.

”What school does he go to? If we knew what school he went to then you would know what court to go to,” Kunimi asked.

”Karasuno,” the ace replied, the three first years stared at him.

”Then he’s in Miyagi,” Kindaichi replied, “Because we beat Karasuno in our prefecture semi-finals so he’s not here,”

”Wait what? Tsukki goes to Karasuno? Wait is he the really tall no.10. Hmph he’s so annoying. He doesn’t even have to jump high to block me. But I’m definitely the better no.10,” Hinata pouted.

Bokuto thought back to his conversation with Tsukki at the training camp.

"Tsukki I'm telling you, there'll be one moment when you get hooked on volleyball," Bokuto explained to Tsukishima, "Like a player that you really want to beat, and when you beat them you'll be hooked. Is there a player that you really want to beat?"

"I guess so," Tsukishima replied.

"Really? What are they like? Are they a really annoying spiker?" 

"It's this middle blocker,"

"What do they look like? What can they do that you can't? Are they like three metres tall?"

"He's this midget who has stupid orange hair,"

"A midget? Playing as a middle blocker. Surely you can beat them Tsukki,"

"He's stupidly fast and near impossible to keep up with. Plus he's almost always right with his blocks and I can tell that he's not read blocking. Then there are his spikes,"

"So when you beat him you'll be hooked on volleyball,"

"Easy for you to say,"

Is the player on top of me the orange midget that Tsukki was talking about? Bokuto gasped, If these guys come from the same area as Karasuno, then they also come from the same area as Shiratorizawa, who they had to beat to get here. So if I beat them, then I’m a better ace that Ushijima!

”I’m gonna beat ya!” Bokuto said to the player on him.

”Yeah right, we’re gonna win nationals,” the player replied, leaning on Bokuto’s head, This child is too precious, I must protect him, Bokuto thought as he tightened his grip on the player’s legs.

”I’m gonna beat you. ‘Cause then that means that I’m a better ace than Ushijima!”

”But you already are a better ace. The people who decided the rankings are wrong!” 

”Really?”

”Yeah! Totally!” 

“Yeah! I am a better ace than Ushijima, the ranking are wack!” And thus the chaotic duo of Bokuto Kotaro and Hinata Shouyou was created.

Chapter Text

After their first day Aoba Johsai returned to their inn to find out who their next opponents were. “Well played today. Hopefully you’ve gotten used to the gym and courts. Now as you know the next round is going to be harder. And it seems we pulled the short straw with our opponents,” the head coach said.

”Who’re we playing?” Oikawa asked.

”Inarazaki,” the head coach said, everyone sat still in shock, “I know that it sounds like it’s going to be tough, but we just have to...”

”We just have to win right?” Hinata asked, his blood lust pouring through, “We just have to win and then we continue playing,”

”On paper yes, but in practise that is much harder,” the head coach replied, explaining all their players. Hinata spent the rest of the evening watching matches, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to start on the bench tomorrow. He had to find the signs before the match even began.

”So who’re we playing tomorrow?” Kita asked.

”Aoba Johsai. The last time they were at nationals was a good four or five years ago, so their team seems to be pretty weak,” their coach said, “They won their match today but they were against a weak team so we don’t know their true potential,”

”Aoba Johsai huh,” Miya Atsumu chuckled, “Let’s see if the Tiny Warrior was right,”

”Do you know who Aoba Johsai are?” Ginjima asked.

”Not really. I just know that they have an impressive rookie who declared that they would win nationals,” Atsumu replied.

”Was that why you hung back at the match?” Osamu asked.

”Yeah. Turns out he’s not their ace like I thought,” Atsumu replied.

”They do have some impressive players, but that’s expected of a team that beat Shiratorizawa to get here,” the coach said, “Of course that could have been a fluke,”

”Isn’t Shiratorizawa a Top 8 powerhouse?” Ojiro asked.

”Yeah, and they have the top three ace Ushijima Wakatoshi,” Omimi replied.

”They seem impressive title wise, but Aoba Johsai only have a few players to watch out for. From what I’ve heard, they work like knights protecting their king, setter Oikawa Tooru, who does seem to be a strong setter. They then have their no.5 Takumi Hayashi, who I’m guessing is their ace. He doesn’t seem to be flawed in any obvious aspect of volleyball, though I have a suspicion that he loses focus quickly,” the coach said.

”No, I’m pretty sure their ace is their no.4. Or at least that’s what it looked like,” Atsumu said.

”Their no.4, Iwaizumi Hajime, whilst a good player, he doesn’t have the strongest hits of the team. But he does have the best relationship with the setter. I could see him being the ace too,” the coach said, “Finally the player you’ll have to watch out the most for: no.10, Hinata Shouyou,”

”The Tiny Warrior,” Atsumu commented.

”I suppose that is one thing you could call him. He’s fast and doesn’t tire easily. He uses guess blocking which makes his blocks even more powerful and definitely leads the blocking when he’s in the front row. Aside from that he has an incredibly quick attack. He seems to have lots of techniques too. I believe he got invited to the Japan Youth Camp,” the coach explained.

”Yeah,” Atsumu replied, “His blocking is scarily accurate but the form itself is weak. He seems to be an enigma when it comes to his attacks. He always does what he wants and what he thinks is best. So read blocking wouldn’t work on him. He also has incredible hearing. I don’t doubt that he could hear the difference between a spike and a feint. He probably has a strong relationship with the setter as well, which makes him even more powerful. He can put all his faith in a setter he just met,” 

“Are you sure? That sounds kinda crazy,” Suna asked.

”Yeah. Even on the youth camp he completely trusted me into setting the ball right where he wanted, even though he knew I hadn’t be setting to him or trusting him. I was wrong for thinking that he sucked,” Atsumu replied.

”If I hadn’t seen him yesterday then I would assume we’re talking about some guy who’s over two metres and is really strong,” Osamu said, “But it’s surprising that he’s so small,”

”He’s definitely the smallest player at nationals,” the coach said.

Aoba Johsai were playing the second match so they headed to the B court. Miya Atsumu and Hinata passed each other on the way to the court. “The rest of your team better not suck,” Miya said.

”Oh don’t worry, we don’t suck,” Hinata replied.

”Good, ‘cause you know how I feel about playing with or against players who suck,” Miya said.

”Shouyou, we need to get going,” Iwaizumi said, grabbing Hinata by the collar of his jersey and dragging him to the court. The two teams began warming up, and Aoba Johsai where intimidated by Inarazaki’s spikes.

”Okay, there’s a high chance that they already know about Hinata, so just give it all you’ve got,” the head coach said, “We’ll be using both Oikawa and Yahaba in this match. Inarizaki have an unconventional style, so lets play them at their own game. Don’t fit into a rhythm or pattern. Keep evolving,”

”It’s okay, we can do this! I believe in everyone here and Oikawa is...” Hinata began.

”...Trusting you guys!” Oikawa finished, both making peace signs. Aoba Johsai started with Oikawa as their setter, Iwaizumi, Hanamaki and Kyoutani as their wing spikers (front left, back left, back right), Matsukawa and Hinata as their middle blockers (back, front) and Watari as their libero. Aoba Johsai were first to receive.

”I don’t think I’ll ever understand how the coach chooses the starting line up. It just seems to me that he randomly selects the team,” Yamada said.

”No, this is probably the best line up against Inarizaki. Aoba Johsai are going to play Inarizaki at their own game. An uncoventional play style,” Morikawa explained, “Plus, I doubt Inarizaki understand the power of no.16,”

”They have a marching band! Let me guess their top high school level too!” Inaba complained.

”Holy shit! Their support is massive!” Kindaichi exclaimed.

”This puts Shiratorizawa’s cheering squad to shame,” Watari added.

”This is nationals for you,” Yahaba joked.

”No this is a Top 2 team,” Kunimi replied. Watari and Matsukawa swapped and the game began. Suddenly the marching band turned silent. It was Miya Atsumu’s turn to serve. 0:1 (to Inarizaki).

”Holy shit! What was that!” Watari exclaimed, everyone on Aoba Johsai gulped, if their libero was scared, then that wasn’t a good sign.

”Kyaah! I knew he was good at serving, but not this good!” Hinata cried in surprise, Oikawa and Iwaizumi looked at Hinata, If we lose the moral of both our libero and mini ace then we’re screwed, they thought. Miya went into serve again, this time it went out. 1:1. Oikawa rotated into serving, when suddenly the cheering squad from Inarizaki started booing.

”So that’s how Inarizaki play. Complete silence when their serving, and booing when it’s the other team’s turn,” the assistant coach speculated.

Oikawa mucked up his serve, giving Inarizaki an easy receive. They set up an attack. Damn! That sign was easy to read, Hinata thought to himself as he went in for the block, Iwaizumi and Hanamaki quickly joined the block. Wait, that was a fake sign. The other side! Hinata quickly ran to the other side of the court and went into the block and slammed it down.

”I’m not sure whether to be happy we tricked no.10, or annoyed that he realised we tricked him,” Ojiro said.

”It doesn’t matter, he’ll be wary of us tricking him and he’ll take longer. He’ll be mucking up his blocking in no time,” Kita said.

”Who’d have thought they’d try to trick Hinata!” Hanamaki said.

”No that sounds like something they would do. Just like we watched their matches, they’ve probably watched ours. They must have worked out that Hinata leads the blocking and found a way to trick him. It’s probably best if we split up our blocking. One person with Hinata the other on the other side of the court,” Iwaizumi explained his plan to Hanamaki, “Hinata, go for the blocker you think it is, ignore the fact their tricking you. Trust your gut,”

”Yup Dadzumi! Oikawa-senpai, one more!” Hinata called out, with a big, reassuring smile, “And if they get it, then I’ll block it again!”

”But they’re booing me!” Oikawa cried out.

”They’re booing you because they recognise your talent. They’re scared of you!” Hinata explained. I’m pretty sure that’s not it, the rest of the team thought.

”Hmph, of course their scared of me!” Oikawa said, regaining his confidence, It worked? At the cost of boosting his ego, the rest of the team thought. Oikawa went in for the serve again, this time scoring the service ace.

”It seems to be a battle between setters Miya Atsumu and Oikawa Tooru, of Inarizaki and Aoba Johsai, respectively,” the commentator said, not realising how it fired up Aoba Johsai’s spikers.

”Like hell am I gonna let them call this a setter battle!” Kyoutani shouted.

”Mad dog-chan, you’re at the verge of the language barrier,” Oikawa warned, the whole team knew that it wouldn’t be long until Kyoutani started swearing on national TV.

”We can’t let Oikawa get his ego boosted too much, lets knock him down a peg,” Hanamaki and Iwaizumi said.

”It won’t be a setter battle if the ball keeps falling on the floor,” Watari joked, “Um Hinata, you okay?”

”In volleyball there are six players on the court at a time. You can’t call it a setter battle when it’s not just the setter playing,” Hinata said, angrily as he prepared for the next rally. A weaker form of Hinata’s blood lust came through.

Oikawa served the ball again, this time Inarizaki received it and set up an attack. I think it’s that player this time, and Dadzumi said to trust my gut. So I’ll go for them, Hinata thought to himself as he made the block, Iwaizumi followed Hinata whilst Hanamaki went to the other side of the court. “Chance ball!” Hanamaki called out. Tricked again? Hinata thought, getting more nervous. 

“Shortie pie! It’s yours!” Oikawa called out.

”No! No! They’re gonna block me!” Hinata called out, his nerves getting the better of him. 

“I was planning on stealing your toss anyway!” Kyoutani said as he jumped to take the toss. Inarizaki blocked and won the point. Aoba Johsai called a time out.

”Dammit! Shouyou’s already gotten nervous!” Iwaizumi shouted as he kicked over a bottle, “Their tricking must have gotten the better of him,”

”Hinata, you ass!” Kindachi said as he kicked Hinata in the back, “Why are you letting them get to you? I thought you said that we were going to win, what happened to that, huh?”

”N-nothing!” Hinata replied.

”If they think that you’re guess blocking, which they’re correct in thinking, then switch it up. Remember you dual wield in blocking. Start read blocking,” Kindaichi said.

”Of course, how could I forget, thanks Kindaichi!” Hinata said, his nerves disappearing. Everyone let out a sigh, Hinata was okay again.

Aoba Johsai walked back on the court again, ready to take the set back. The score may be 3:2 to them, but they were back playing as if the score was 0:0. Inarizaki served, Watari received the ball and passed it to Oikawa. Oikawa set the ball for Iwaizumi who spiked it. Inarizaki deflected the ball and their libero received it passing it to Atsumu. Hinata watched carefully as Atsumu tossed the ball, masking his reading with movement. “It looks like their blocker’s become hesitant,” a member of the marching band commented. As soon as Hinata read where the ball was going he accelerated and went into the block, knowing that he could only deflect the ball. Hinata smiled as the ball touched his hands, “Chance ball!” He shouted. Watari received the ball and passed it to Oikawa again. “Over here!” Hinata shouted, as he began running for the super quick.

Oikawa tossed the ball for Hinata, who started seeing the game in slow motion, scanning for the gaps. At the last minute, Hinata readjusted his hand position and spiked the ball, making Inarizaki’s libero dive for the ball and miss. “Yeah!” Aoba Johsai shouted in glee.

”Aoba Johsai scores a break point. Something must have happened to them in their time out, they seem like a completely different team,” the commentator exclaimed.

"It looked like Hinata was still guess blocking," Kobayashi commented.

"Hinata makes sure to mask his read blocking, he keeps moving whilst being totally fixated on the setter. I'd say there's a fair chance that Hinata has swapped to read blocking for a rally or two in a match and even we haven't noticed," the assistant coach explained.

"Oh, that makes sense. And he would be trying even harder to mask it now to make Inarizaki think that they're being successful at tricking him,"

"I don't think Hinata thought about that part. Besides it'll become clear that Hinata's read blocking soon. His masking works well for a few rallies before it doesn't do it's job,"

"At least it makes it harder to pinpoint when he swapped, although it'll probably be obvious that it was after the time out,"

"I don't think the tricking is working anymore," Ojiro commented.

"It looks like he swapped to read blocking, probably after the time out as well," Kita replied, "Keep it up, he might swap back at any moment,"

Bokuto had decided to go and watch the beginning of the Aoba Johsai versus Inarizaki match, immediately he noticed the player from yesterday who he had officially adopted, and learnt the name of, “Bokuto, just because you turned eighteen over a month ago, it does not allow you to adopt a child that already has a parent,” Akaashi had said, but Bokuto had ignored him. After seeing his super quick, Bokuto had understood what Tsukki meant about Hinata being fast, Wow, you really gave yourself a challenge Tsukki! Bokuto thought as he continued to watch the match.

After scoring the point, Hinata rotated into the server position, when doing so he saw Bokuto watching him, “Bokkun!” Hinata shouted out in surprise.

”Shou-Shou!” Bokuto shouted back.

”Ow!” Hinata exclaimed as Oikawa hit him, “Sorry. I’ll get ready!” Hinata started preparing for an overarm serve before changing his mind. He had liked the look of the serve that Tsubakihara’s pinch server had done and decided to copy him. Hinata hit the ball up and watched it travel. It went high, but he worried that it might not make it past the net. The ball didn’t really loop and ended up barely on Inarizaki’s side of the court. At least it scored the point. “Wow! It actually worked!” Hinata said in surprise. Hinata tried again, and failed. 

"Don't mind," Watari said as he swapped with Hinata.

"Finally their no.10 is off," Ginjima sighed in relief.

"I got it!" Hinata shouted.

"Got what?" Kunimi asked.

"I figured out the difference between their fake and real signs," 

"Wait really?"

"Yeah, being on the bench can be really useful sometimes. It gives you a new perspective,"

When the score reached 9:12 (to Inarizaki) it was Hinata's turn to come on again. With Hinata back and using guess blocking, the blockers were able to score some points off of their blocks as well as scoring points from Hinata's decoy abilities. Osamu and Atsumu looked at each other, it was time to give Aoba Johsai a taste of their own medicine.

Hinata watched all the spikers, none of them are showing signs, perhaps a setter dump? Wait, down the left, I'm not going to make it. Hinata ran at his top speed to try and catch up with Osamu who had went in for a god speed quick, like Hinata could. Almost reaching the spiker Hinata jumped and hoped for the best. If this goes to my face it's going to be worse than the time with Ushijima, I have no balance right now. 

Oikawa and Kyoutani watched as Osamu ran at them, both knowing that they wouldn't be able to make it. It was the same speed as Hinata's super quick, something they never thought they would have to face.

Hinata could see that the ball had headed for his face and at the last moment lowered his arms so they were in front of his face, I can't get a head injury so I'll just deal with the inevitable fall I'm about to have, "Chance ball!" Hinata cried as he blocked the ball and began falling. Oikawa set the ball on the first touch and Iwaizumi ended with a spike on the second touch. Meanwhile, Hinata softened his fall with a roll and got up again. Inarizaki's blockers slammed the ball down. Hinata noticed that Watari wasn't close enough to dive for the ball and dived for it himself. Watari saw that the ball wasn't close enough to Oikawa and used his special move. Watari set the ball for Hanamaki, jumping over the back line whilst setting. Hanamaki spiked the ball and which was deflected.

I've never tried a setter dump so late in the rally. All their blockers are probably tired out apart from Hinata who's on the other side of the court, I could get away with it, Atsumu thought as he prepared for a setter dump.

There it is, the smirk, Miya's going in for a setter dump. It's well disguised too, Hinata thought as he ran across the court and went into block the dump. 

What fun is a game if I can't take risks in the middle of it, the two thought at the same time as they went into a joust.

"Inarizaki's setter, Miya Atsumu, who was going for a setter dump, is blocked and jousted by Aoba Johsai's middle blocker, Hinata Shouyou, who thinks he has a chance at his height. We'll see if he does," the commentator commentated.

"He can't be worse that Ushijima can he," Iwaizumi said, noticing that Hinata hadn't raised his legs. Hinata let Atsumu overpower him as he leaned back. Everyone watched as the two fell, thinking that Atsumu had won the joust. Hinata felt the ball was still in his hands, good, he thought as he chucked the ball over the net.

"And Hinata Shouyou scores the point even after losing the joust," the commentator said.

Hoshiumi wanted to watch some of Hinata's match as he hadn't done so the previous day. When he had saw that Aoba Johsai were up against Inarizaki he felt bad for Hinata. It was a horrible match up for the former team and what could be an easy win for the latter team. Making his way to court B, Hoshiumi sighed, knowing that there was nothing to worry about, he was going to get to play against Hinata at the finals. 

Hoshiumi looked at the score when he arrived, 13:15 (to Inarizaki), he watched as the Miya brothers performed a god speed quick, which was a similar speed to Hinata's super quick. Hoshiumi winced as he saw Hinata fall to the floor and get up then down again then up again. The libero set was pretty cool too, Hoshiumi thought until he saw Miya Atsumu go in for a setter dump and Hinata jump up to joust him. He noticed that Hinata wasn't scared when going in for the joust, like he already had a plan. Wow, Shouyou can be so cool at times.

"I could have won that if I wanted to," Hinata said to Atsumu, "I just chose to try this out instead, and it works,"

Osamu looked at his brother and Aoba Johsai's no.10, noticing that the two were similar in lots of aspects. They both took risks in the middle of a game, they both strove to be the best that they could be and they both stove to bring out the best in their team mates. Although coach said that no.10 and his setter probably have a strong relationship and trust, if their setter was Atsumu then that would be an ever worse combination to go up against. 

"When did you come up with that?" Iwaizumi asked.

"Well I thought about it at the training camp. I saw the masses of strong players I could come up against and realised that I wouldn't be able to win a joust against each one. So I thought, what if there was a way to guarantee that the ball would be in my hands even if I fall," Hinata explained, "I found it! What makes me special on the court!" 

Atsumu looked over to Hinata after hearing him shout that he had found out what had made him special, Atsumu had never expected Hinata to take his advice, so it had surprised him to hear what he heard.

"I can adapt! Everyone else has their standard tactics that work because their so tall but I have to adapt, which makes me stronger!" Hinata said in realisation. After the long rally, Takumi was subbed in for Kyoutani, putting Aoba Johsai in their most offensive line up. 

"So now we have to deal with no.5 as well," Omimi complained. Aoba Johsai took the lead for the first time since the beginning of the match, with Takumi offering them break from being blocked, as Inarizaki struggled to find a way to block him.

"His spikes are so powerful," Suna said. Both teams fought hard but in the end Inarizaki won the first set [19:25], with the help of their marching band, disrupting the rhythm of Aoba Johsai.

"Dammit!" Kyoutani shouted.

"Can we just give up already. We've basically lost already," Matsukawa complained, a chorus of agreement echoed.

"Looks like their giving up. So annoying to play against teams that suck," Atsumu said.

"We're not going to win, let's not waste energy in the next set," Kunimi added, Oikawa sighed as he sat down on the bench.

"We've not lost yet," Hinata said, letting his blood lust take over him, "WE'VE NOT LOST YET!" Hinata shouted as he went around and slapped each member, "In volleyball you don't lose until the other team get the ball on your side of the floor at least fifty times. It's not over for us yet. We're going to keep playing and win. We're not going home yet. Because we have each other. We're a team, not just the six of us on the court. Not just the sixteen of us on the team. Not just the nineteen of us in the club. Every person in this gym that has come to support us is part of the team. And if we lose we're letting the whole team down, including all the people that have come to support us. They don't want us to give up, so let's keep playing until we win!"

"Yeah!" the team replied.

"Everyone expects us to lose, let's show them how wrong they are," Kobayashi said, "Everyone on this team is amazing:

Oikawa, the way you can set the ball just where someone wants it

Matsukawa, you can block and spike and are a reliable third year

Hanamaki, your spikes are really powerful

Iwaizumi, you're our ace we rely on you whenever things look back and we can trust you to save us

Kyoutani, your unpredictable nature confuses everyone on the court, even us

Watari, you keep the ball up so that we can keep playing; we'd be pretty screwed without you

Takumi, you give us a quick boost that we need in moments when we've lost the momentum

Inaba, you are Aoba Johsai's iron wall making sure that the opposite team can't score the same number of points as us

Hinata, you are our decoy we can hit the ball without the worry of being blocked

Kindaichi, you are our teams balance between offence and defence; with you on we know that we're prepared for anything

Kunimi, you can hit really well when we need you

and Yuda, Sawauchi, Shido, Yahaba and Sugiyama, you may not get to play much but we know that you're there if anything were to happen to the starters and that's pretty cool too.

What I'm saying is that you're all amazing players who make something special when you play together. So don't stop now. Practically no-one knows who we are, lets change that. Make Aoba Johsai a name to be feared. What's our name?"

"AOBA JOHSAI!" the rest of the on court team shouted.

"That's what I thought, now I'm going to do my part to help," Kobayashi said as she ran to the stands.

"Looks like we didn't need to worry about the moral," the head coach said to the assistant coach, before telling the team the starting order for the second set.

Chapter Text

After the gap between matches, Aoba Johsai's starting line up walked onto the court again, led by Hinata who was covered in his blood lust, ready to win the next set. Their starting line up was Oikawa as their setter, Matsukawa and Hinata as their middle blockers (back, front), Iwaizumi, Hanamaki and Takumi as their wing spikers (front left, front right, back left) and Watari as their libero.

Even though she wasn't that fast, Kobayashi ran to the stand where the rest of the students and supporters were as quickly as she could. The rest of the team are doing their best on the court, so I need to do my best to support them. It's time to unleash the full team. She thought as she made it to the stand and the head of Aoba Johsai's cheering squad, "Kimi! I have a plan that I need your help in. When it's our turn to serve I need you and the rest of the squad to start cheering as loudly as you can, and then when it's Inarizaki's turn to serve just make as much noise as you can, especially when it's Miya Atsumu's turn to serve,"

"Do you care what noise we make during Inarizaki's serves?" Kimi, the head of the cheering squad, asked.

"Anything. Cheering on us or booing Inarizaki, I don't mind. Thank you so much!" Kobayashi said as she began to run to the rest of Aoba Johsai's supporters, "Everybody listen up!" she shouted, "We're gonna win this match, but we need your help!" everybody started listening to her, "When I do this," Kobayashi raised both her arms up, "Then I need you to cheer for Seijoh as loudly as you can! Then when I do this," Kobayashi extended her two arms out horizontally, making a plus sign with her body, "Then I need you to boo at Inarizaki! Let's practise this!" Kobayashi raised her arms above her head, the crowds began cheering. She then extended her arms out, and the crowd started booing, "Yes! Yes! You got it!"

It was Aoba Johsai's serve to start with, and Inarizaki started booing again, putting pressure on Oikawa, who was the starting server. However this time Aoba Johsai's cheering squad started cheering Oikawa on, "Go! Go! Tooru go! Go! Go! Tooru go!" the cheered. Kobayashi raised her arms, which started the cheering from the rest of the stand.

"Go go Seijoh!" Yamada and Morikawa joined in, remembering their days in the school.

"WOOOOOOOH!" Bokuto screamed.

Oikawa smiled, suddenly all the booing was blocked out and he could focus on his serve and he was able to get three service aces in a row, before the ball ended up going out.

The cheer squad split in half, with half continuing to cheer on Aoba Johsai and the other half booing Inarizaki. Kobayashi extended her arms outwards and the crowd started booing Inarizaki.

All this noise! All this goddamn noise! I can't fucking focus on my serve! Miya Atsumu was getting more and more annoyed by all the noise, he hated having noise when he was trying to serve. I can't even do a fucking thing about the noise, because it's the other fucking team creating this fucking racket! "SHUT UP!" Atsumu shouted at the noise, as he went in for his serve which went out.

Konayashi smirked, just like I thought, he hates noise when he serves. "Nice work everybody, let's keep it up!" said to the crowd as she raised her arms upwards again and everyone started cheering.

Hanamaki smiled as he heard everyone cheering for him. It was a nice feeling. He went in for his serve which was a standard overarm serve.

"Kobayashi," student#7 called out, "I'll take over from here. You get back to the team!" Kobayashi began to run back to the court as student#7 took out a megaphone, "Let's keep it up Seijoh! Go go Seijoh! Go go Seijoh!" 

Kobayashi made her way back to the court, happy that she was able to help the team out, "Kobayashi, you fucking legend!" Kyoutani said, upon seeing Kobayashi return.

"Yeah, that was really cool getting everyone involved. Even people who don't go to Aoba Johsai were calling our name, it was amazing," Kindaichi said.

"It was nothing. If you guys are giving your all, then I'm going to give me all too!" Kobayashi said as she smiled, happy that she could be useful to the team, "Inaba, did you do the exercises I showed you?"

"Yeah," Inaba replied.

"What exercises?" Yahaba asked.

"Last night I found some wrist exercises for Inaba so he doesn't injure his wrists," Kobayashi replied.

"We have been blessed with an amazing manager!" Kunimi said. Kobayashi sat down and watched the match, knowing that the on court team could focus on their game.

It was Inarizaki’s turn to serve. Watari received the ball and passed it to Oikawa who set it as fast and as high as he could for Hinata who was doing the insane quick. A point was easily scored. “What was that?” Akagi asked, after he had desperately tried to dive for the ball.

”The Tiny Warrior’s top speed,” Miya Atsumu replied.

”But he barely began to start running and he was already there spiking the ball!” Suna said.

”It’s going to be hard to block those, so lets focus on trying to receive those spikes instead,” Ojiro said. The set continued to go in Aoba Johsai favour.

”They’re getting in a rhythm, the marching band is going to catch them off guard again,” the head coach said, “Yahaba, you’re up,”

”What?” Yahaba asked in surprise. 

“We’re swapping you in as our setter,” the head coach said, “Go on and change our rhythm,” Yahaba stood by the side of the court holding the number one sign, waiting for the referee to allow the change.

”They’re swapping setter?” Miya Osamu said in surprise.

”Go get ‘em Yahaba!” The substitutes cheered Yahaba on.

”Aoba Johsai swap their setter, Oikawa Tooru, with their no.6, Yahaba Shigeru,” the commentator said.

Matsukawa served the ball which Inarizaki barely managed to receive due to being too focused on Yahaba. Hinata and Yahaba looked at each other as they went into the block. Hinata set the ball up high as Yahaba jumped up and hit it straight down. “Two touch bullseye!” The two shouted as they jumped into a double high five.

Oikawa smiled on the sidelines, he had never got to see the move from a purely speculative position to see how much the other two had trusted each other. Inarizaki called a time out.

”We don’t know much about their current setter, because he is overshadowed by their captain, but it looks like no.10 has the same level of trust in him so he must be a good setter,” the coach said, “Their no.6 may not be in for long,”

”Keep it up, we’ve got a four point lead, so don’t lose it,” the head coach said.

”What’s our name?” Oikawa asked, quoting Kobayashi who smiled after seeing her cheer be used.

”AOBA JOHSAI!” The team shouted.

The teams walked back on. Matsukawa served again. Inarizaki set up an attack, Hinata deflected it, Watari received the ball and passed it to Yahaba, who set the ball for Iwaizumi. “Nice kill Dadzumi!” Hinata shouted out, as the lead was increased to five points. Six more points until we reach the set point. Hinata smiled as he saw how close they were getting to winning the set. Yahaba used the same signs as Oikawa, so the team knew what was the next planned attack. Iwaizumi, Takumi and Hinata ran at the same time. Hinata started with a hit but swapped to a feint at the last second.

”It seems that Aoba Johsai is dominating Inarizaki in this set. Do they stand a chance?” The commentator said.

Hinata began running for his super quick, all the players on Inarizaki looked at the setter, surely this setter can’t do the god like quick as well. Hinata slowed down and jumped, only recently had he and Yahaba managed to be able to do the lethal move, so they were risking a lot.

Hinata missed. Crap! The rest of the team thought as the ball fell to the floor. “Don’t mind Hinata!” Everyone called out. They were lucky that the score wasn’t in the twenties yet at 19:14 (to Aoba Johsai).

”I’m so sorry. I mucked it up again,” Hinata cried, Atsumu looked shocked, the two were able to pull off the move having just met each other at the youth camp.

”Where did we hit this time?” Hanamaki and Matsukawa asked Iwaizumi.

”I’d say around the thirty, forty mark,” Iwaizumi replied, “Don’t mind Shouyou, we were expecting you to miss anyway,”

”I should have just tried to hit it, instead of adding the feint on instead,” Hinata cried out, Yahaba tapped his shoulder to show him that he was to swap with Kindaichi.

”Hinata. Don’t worry about, we still have a five point lead. And think of all those points we scored because of you. Take some time to relax,” Kobayashi said as she handed Hinata a drink.

”Thanks Kobayashi,” Hinata said.

”Hinata, you were great out there!” Kunimi said, supporting his friend.

”I honestly didn’t expect you to be able to pull off the lethal move with Yahaba,” Oikawa said, “Looks like we have nothing to worry about for next year. You guys will be returning to nationals,”

Everyone on Inarizaki let out a sigh, two of the strongest players of Aoba Johsai were off. Inarizaki made their come back. 19:17

“Yahaba, lets show them the power of the second years,” Takumi said to Yahaba. With the momentum in their favour, Takumi scored four points in a row, before being blocked. Luckily, they were back on a five point lead again. Yahaba wanted to prove that he was just as good a setter as Oikawa, he had always been overlooked due to being the rookie to the prefecture’s best setter and he didn’t mind it, in fact he liked it. But now, now Yahaba had his chance to prove himself, he knew all his friends from junior high would be watching him, he wanted to show them that he could be a cool setter too. Besides he wouldn’t be a good captain next year if he didn’t give his all to the team. Yahaba was looking directly at Iwaizumi, who both knew he was going to set to. Yahaba began releasing the ball from his hands as he jumped, and dumped the ball over the net.

”I thought that you were going to set the ball for me, change your mind at the last minute,” Iwaizumi said.

”Yeah,” Yahaba said as he smiled at scoring the set point.

”One more point! You can do it!” Hinata shouted, “I believe in you guys!”. The team’s spirits lifted up, they could do this.

It was Yahaba’s turn to serve. He served, focusing on the accuracy, going between the seams of two players. Unfortunately Kita received the ball easily and Inarizaki set up an attack. Kindaichi read Atsumu’s serve and went in for the block and slammed it down. Aoba Johsai won the set. “YES!” Aoba Johsai shouted.

”Go! Go! Seijoh go! Go! Go! Seijoh go!” The stands cheered.

”Surprisingly Aoba Johsai win the second set with an impressive score of 25:17,” the commentator said, shocked.

In Miyagi Yahaba’s friends from junior were gathered around a TV. They were watching the match between Aoba Johsai and Inarizaki, after Yahaba had asked them To. “Wait a minute! Isn’t that Yahaba?” One of them shouted.

”Yahaba made it onto the court!” Another shouted. The friends continued to watch the match.

”Wow Yahaba’s so cool,” Matsumoto said.

”Well done, we still have a chance in winning the match. So lets go and take the next set as well,” Aoba Johsai’s head coach said, “This is our starting order,” The starting line up was Oikawa as their setter, Matsukawa and Hinata as their middle blockers (back, front), Iwaizumi, Takumi and Inaba as their wing spikers (back left, front left, back right) and Watari as their libero. Inaba stared at the coach, confused, why am I playing wing spiker?

”Isn’t Inaba our middle blocker?” Hanamaki asked.

”We’re starting with receiving. Even with the distractions we’ll need our strongest defence line up in the back row, after Watari, Inaba is our next defensive player” the head coach said. Inaba gulped as he got onto to court, he had seen those serves and he knew that he really didn’t want to face them. If he’d even be able to get them in the first place.

”Inaba,” Watari said, as the two prepared to face Miya Atsumu's killer serves again, “You played as a libero for a while. Don’t waste those skills that you gained,”

Miya Atsumu looked at the back row of Aoba Johsai, he saw a new player who hadn’t been on the court yet and knew where he was going to aim. All he had to do was try to ignore all the noise.

Inaba watched as the jump floater was aimed for him, desperately trying to pinpoint it’s location. Crap, I’m going to miss it, Inaba thought as he stuck his foot out like Nishinoya. “It’s up!” he shouted, although barely. Watari dived for the ball as he saw that it wasn’t at a setting height. Oikawa dug the ball over the net which Inarizaki’s libero received and passed to Atsumu. Ojiro spiked the ball which Watari tried to receive but ended up deflecting off the court. “Next time!” Inaba called out, feeling the libero’s pains.

Inaba saw that the ball was aimed at him again, and was once again a jump floater This time Inaba successfully received the ball with his hands instead of his foot, but it ended up deflecting off of him.

”One more!” Watari said in support. Inaba was sure that the next serve he could get. Inaba prepared himself for the jump floater when suddenly an extremely powerful jump serve came at him. Inaba received the ball with difficulty as he passed it to Oikawa. Hinata spiked the ball scoring the team their first point. Everyone looked at Inaba, surprised that he managed to receive those three serves, “Did you guys forget that I played libero for a year!” Inaba gave then a wide smile. Oikawa rotated into serving.

"The player they just put on, Inaba Asuka, their no.8, is a confusing player. Just like their no.16 there's limited footage of him playing. From what I saw in Aoba Johsai's match against Shiratorizawa, their no.8 is a defensive player being able to deflect Ushijima's spikes from the beginning and eventually being able to fully block them. Which in itself is an impressive strength and in Aoba Johsai's match yesterday I heard that he even made their starting line up as a middle blocker," the coach of Inarizaki said.

"But if he normally plays middle blocker, then why make him play wing spiker. Surely having no.10, Hinata Shouyou, playing as a wing spiker would be the better plan," the other coach replied.

"I would have thought that too, but as you know I'm not content with surface level information for my team, so I did some digging on all of Aoba Johsai's players,"

"How much?"

"Oh you know, previous two years of tournaments, finding out what junior highs they all attended, all that jazz,"

"So what did you find?"

"I found that their no.8 played as the team's sub libero last year,"

"So that would explain why they've started on this rotation. They want to strongest receivers to attempt to receive Atsumu's serves,"

"But what's even more interesting is no.8's junior high volleyball career. He was the ace at Chidoriyama. That name won't mean much to you but in Miyagi it's seen as being a strong school for the junior high volleyball leagues there. What's even more interesting is that at the same time he was their ace, they had the strongest libero in the prefecture on their team, Nishinoya Yuu,"

"So why would he play libero for a year?"

"I don't know, but I know that he will be weaker at spiking and blocking compared to his time in junior high,"

"It's scary how much information you can get on players,"

"If you want to win nationals then you need all the help you can get, it seems their manager understood this too,"

"You're referring to the cheering from Aoba Johsai, right?"

"Yes. That was a clever move to pull,"

"What about the other players, are there any other young prodigies to be watching out for?"

"The rest are obvious, no.5 and their captain who were considered strong players in their junior high days. The only thorn in the rose bush of information was their no.10. I couldn't find his name on any of the strong teams or even weaker teams... At first,"

"So, you had to dig harder,"

"Yes, it turns out that he went to a school that didn't have a boys volleyball team until his third year. And when they went to a tournament they were immediately defeated by the favourites of the tournament. There's no footage of the match, but I'm sure that it's as disappointing as it sounds,"

"So, are you saying that their no.10 is a natural,"

"No far from it. I expect that even without a boys volleyball team he was still practising with the girls volleyball team. And through watching some of Aoba Johsai's matches from both the inter high and spring tournament qualifiers I can tell that he's the most inexperienced player on the team, starting the year as a total rookie. Their no.10 has just been improving at a ridiculous speed,"

Oikawa's serve didn't have the same effect as it had in the previous sets, but it did allow Aoba Johsai to get a point ahead at 3:2 (to Aoba Johsai). Now that I've got the chance again, I might as well try spiking again, Inaba thought as he watched the game, acting as a second libero on the court. Oikawa was getting ready to toss again, most likely to Hinata who was already being blocked, none of the other spikers had run since this was Hinata's super quick. "Give it to me!" Inaba shouted as he jumped up. At the last second Oikawa changed who he tossed to, switching from Hinata to Inaba. Inaba hit the ball as hard as he could, knowing that Hinata had all the blockers. 

"Nice kill Inaba!" the team shouted. For the most part of the beginning of the match, Aoba Johsai's defence allowed them to keep making attacks. Both Watari and Inaba were able to receive the ball or dive for it most of the time, and when Inaba was in the front row the blocking was strong, allowing them to score off of their blocking. Before it was Inaba's turn to serve he swapped with Hanamaki. Kobayashi offered him some ice for his wrists.

"It's so close, I can't tell who's going to win," Yamada said as he joined in the cheering.

"I know, I'd hate for it to go into a deuce," Morikawa said, on the edge of his seat. 

The spikers on Aoba Johsai's team were doing their best not to get in a rhythm or let Takumi get a break, but eventually they had to rely on Takumi. Inarizaki called a time out.

"There's not much we can do about their no.5 apart from breaking his momentum. I'm sure he'll be weaker after this, so keep giving it everything that you've got," their coach said.

After the time out ended, Takumi had lost his focus, "Push on!" Aoba Johsai's coach shouted to the team. The rest of the team did their best, but without Takumi their hitting became weaker. Any advantage Aoba Johsai had was lost, the best they could do was to try and keep the lead they had. Kyoutani began screaming the badass song that Takumi imagined in a desperate last push to get Takumi's focus back. Which didn't sound very good, and gave him a lot of strange looks, but it did work.

"Thanks Kyoutani!" Takumi said as he got his head back in the game. With their team back to its full strength, Aoba Johsai made the final push to winning. Finally all their hard work paid off, winning the game [2:1/ 19:25, 25:17, 25:22]

"We did it! We beat Inarizaki!" Kunimi said, exhausted from watching the match. 

"Yeah, I still can't believe it," Inaba said.

"So, does that make us a Top 2 school now?" Yahaba asked. The players who were on the court approached the side lines.

"We won we won we won!" Takumi screamed, the group surprised that he was so happy about something that wasn't manga or anime.

"Of course we won. We're gonna win nationals," Hinata said.

"We may have won the match, but we can still learn something from it. We need to be more prepared," Kobayashi said, "Their coaches, even though they knew we were the weaker team, still did their research on us. Finding out things like Takumi's weakness and Hinata's guess blocking, and then coming up with strategies against that. We need to do everything we can to give us the advantage before the match even begins. Although I think tomorrow's match will be easier than going up against Inarizaki,"

"Make sure you rest well. Now go and enjoy the rest of the matches, be aware that some interviewers may want to talk to you. Make sure to be at the bus stop by two thirty," the head coach said. Hinata made his way out of the court with the rest of the first years, naturally Oikawa had gotten an interview, but no-one else on the team had.

Hinata found to court that Hoshiumi was playing on and watched. Hinata was awestruck by how good Hoshiumi was. Even though there was only a five cm difference in their heights, when Hinata didn't use his blood lust his jumping height was nine cm shorter than Hoshiumi's. "Shouyou you came! How did your match go? You better have not lost," Hoshiumi greeted Hinata.

"We won! Even though we had to go up against Inarizaki. So I have no doubts that our team will make it to finals. What about your match?" Hinata replied.

"As you saw, we won. I can't believe your team got so unlucky in the second round,"

"I think we got lucky though. The next team we play isn't going to be as hard,"

"True, and you got to shove it in Miya Atsum's face again,"

"Yeah, that was the best part," The two grabbed Hoshiumi's stuff as he avoided interviewers, again, and ran away from the gym. The two eventually reached a park where they sat down and ate lunch together. Hinata began talking about the animal shelter he volunteered at when both realised that they had met a fellow animal lover.

"Did I tell you about my pet cat?" Hoshiumi asked.

"Nope. What breed is it?" Hinata asked.

"He's a Japanese bobtail. He's called Mami, here" Hoshiumi showed Hinata a picture.

"He's so cute. And he looks healthy, so many people overfeed their pets, which just gives them health risks and it's really sad," 

"I know. They're just shortening their pet's life span. I know, I'll try to convince my team's coach to offer a practise match to you guys so you can come to Nagano and I can introduce you to Mami,"

"Yes please. And then I'll try to convince my team's coaches to offer you guys a practise match so that you can come to Miyagi and I can show you the animal shelter. I'm sure you'll fall in love with all the animals too,"

"I can't wait," 

After another hour together the two went their separate ways. Hinata ended up getting lost on his way back to the bus station He saw a boy of a similar age to him sitting on a bench playing on a handheld device. Maybe a PlayStation Portable? Hinata thought to himself as he approached the boy, "Are you from around here?" Hinata asked.

"Um, me?" the boy asked.

"Yes you,"

"Well I'm from Tokyo, but not this part of it,"

"Oh,"

"You're lost, aren't you?"

"Yeah,"

"There's a tourist stand nearby which has free maps, I could show you where it is,"

"Thanks," the two boys got off the bench and began walking to the tourist stand, "So, what's your name? I'm Hinata Shouyou,"

"Kozume Kenma," the boy replied.

"So what do you like?"

"I like gaming, and I guess I like volleyball, my friend kinda forced me into it,"

"Really? I like volleyball too! My team's currently playing at the national tournament, that's why I'm in Tokyo. We're gonna win! What about your team? Did you make it to nationals or are you here to watch?"

"We made it to nationals. There's this team that we really want to play there. It was an old tradition, it's called something like the Dumpster Battle,"

"Wow, that sounds really impressive. I hope you get to play that team Kozume!" the two boys reached the tourist stand and Hinata picked up a map.

"See you around Hinata," Kozume said as he left Hinata to study the map.

"Thank you!" Soon Hinata found where he was going and made it to the bus stop.

Chapter Text

Like I said back in chapter 28, we’re were approaching spoiler territory.

WE ARE NOW IN SPOILER TERRITORY!!! 

Everything from now on will be spoiling the anime and manga (if you haven’t reached this point in the manga yet).

The next match is the third match that Karasuno play in cannon. If you continue to read on be prepared for spoilers. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. 

I totally understand if you don’t want to be spoiled, please stop reading the fic for now and enjoy the anime, I hope you come back after finishing season 4.

If you’ve been spoiled/you’re a manga reader (both anime and manga or manga only) then you don’t need to worry as you already know what’s going to happen.

For those wondering what sort of spoilers these are:

• Character spoilers - certain characters that have not appeared in the anime yet will be in this fic
• Minor-Major plot spoilers - Events that have not happened yet in the anime will be happening, for example the teams that Aoba Johsai (Karasuno in cannon) will be going up against. I’m only going to write about the teams and their players, the cannon outcomes of the matches will not be mentioned. For some people this may be minor enough and they won’t mind but for others it will be major and they may not want to be spoiled. You know which category you are

Only you know whether you will be affected by these spoilers or not, and if you are unsure, I urge you to err on the side of caution and wait for season 4 to finish first, or read the manga. Like I’ve said these spoilers may not be major to you and you may decide to continue and I really appreciate your love and support. Or you may decide that you don’t want to be spoiled and I support your decision and I hope that you come back after catching up!

For those leaving (temporarily or permanently) thank you for your support so far, it means so much to me. I hope you enjoy the rest of season 4! But for those staying, buckle up it’s nationals time!

If you decide to continue reading, thank you, please do not post spoilers in the comments. That’s just wrong and it prevents people from getting to enjoy such a good series like Haikyuu!! If I see a spoiler comment I will delete it.

What consists as a spoiler comment:

• Posting the cannon result of the match e.g. “In cannon Karasuno win blah to blah against [insert team]”
• Describing a moment of the cannon game e.g. “I loved it in cannon when Hinata did [insert thing] against [insert team]”
• Basically anything about Karasuno at nationals e.g “Remeber when Karasuno bet [insert team]”

What does NOT consist as a spoiler comment:

• Cheering on Aoba Johsai or the opposition team e.g. “Yes! I’m so happy that Aoba Johsai won!”
• Saying that you’re pumped for the next match and/or mentioning the next team to play (if you read the comments and didn’t know the next team, you would have been spoilt by the next chapter anyway) e.g. “Aaah! I can’t wait for the next match!”/ “Aaah! I can’t wait for Aoba Johsai to play [insert team]”
• Talking about players from opposite teams e.g. “Moment of appreciation for [insert player]”
• Comparing teams (including Karasuno) e.g. “Even though Seioh beat Karasuno, I think Karasuno could have won that game too” -note the lack of mentioning cannon events

If you follow these guidelines then I’m sure that we can all enjoy Haikyuu!! And this fic with limited spoilers.

Thank you for taking your time to read this notice and supporting me and the fic, regardless of whether you’re continuing or not! 

Chapter Text

That night in the inn all the boys gathered around the coaches, eager to find out who they would be playing next. "Again well done in your match today, nobody expected you to win so you've really shifted the momentum in the stands. Tomorrow we're playing Nekoma. They're a school from Tokyo and got the third and final place from Tokyo. They don't really stand out and they don't have any impressive players. Just do your best and I'm sure we will win," the head coach said.

"The three teams from Tokyo are Itachiyama, the favourites to win, Fukurodani and Nekoma, right?" Iwaizumi asked.

"Yes," the head coach confirmed, “Tokyo were allowed to bring a third team due to them hosting the tournament this year,”

"Tomorrow we are playing Aoba Johsai," Nekoma's head coach said, "I suppose it's a blessing in disguise, we could have played Inarizaki. I'm sure that we'll be able to beat Aoba Johsai. They have a strong setter and some strong hitters but the one that will create the most issues for you is their no.10. He can run really fast and has a god like quick, and then an even faster one," Nekoma's coach said, "I wasn't able to get any footage but I'm sure that we'll be fine,"

Hinata watched the matches with Oikawa as usual. Hinata was slightly surprised to see Kozume, it saddened him a bit. He didn't want to stop Nekoma from having their Dumpster Battle, but he also didn't want to go home. He had to make it the finals so he could play Hoshiumi.

The next day Aoba Johsai went to the gym. They were the first match of the day so they got to the gym early. Most spectators weren’t allowed in yet so the lobby wasn’t crowded yet. Hinata needed to go to the bathroom, but not because he was feeling sick. “I think Shouyou’s finally gotten over his nerves,” Iwaizumi commented, noticing how the young boy wasn’t clutching his stomach whilst walking to the bathroom.

Hinata entered the bathroom, prepared for whoever he may find. Some team’s ace, some delinquents, some famous player... Or someone tall... Make that two tall people. Hinata, as it turned out, was not prepared as he snuck into the nearest cubicle, not wanting to face the other two by using the urinal. 

“Kenma, are you done yet?” One of them asked, knocking on the stall that Hinata was in, so they’re from Nekoma. I’d probably recognise them if I’d actually looked at them.

”Yeah,” Kozume replied, exiting the stall that he was in.

”Whose stall did I knock on then?” The player asked.

”I dunno,” Kozume replied. The three players left. Hinata crept out the stall and exited the bathroom.

”I’m wondering what this Aoba Johsai team is like,” a tall player with messy black hair said, “They must be fairly good right,”

”They probably have an unconventional style of playing like Inarizaki,” Kozume replied, “I wonder when we get to play Karasuno,”

”You’re back shortie pie,” Oikawa said as he noticed that Hinata had returned. Aoba Johsai walked into the gym, tallest players at the front, so most of them, shorter and shortest players at the back.

”They’re all tall!” Yaku said.

”I think they’re all over 180!” Kai said, “Wait, they have some small players,” noticing the three at the back.

”Hey, I’m basically 180!” Kyoutani shouted. Iwaizumi smiled, knowing that he got away with being 179 cm and being assumed to be 180cm.

”I don’t think they were referring to you Mad dog-chan,” Oikawa said.

”Hinata?” Kozume asked.

”Kozume,” Hinata said, already knowing that he would have to play the setter, “I don’t want to stop you from having the Dumpster Battle, but we’re not going home today either,”

”We just have to deal with their no.10 right?” Inuoka asked, “I thought that it might be fine, but if he’s going to be tall and fast,”

”That wouldn’t end well for us would it,” Teshiro replied.

”Takumi, pretend that you are our no.10,” Kyoutani whispered to the other.

”Why?” Takumi replied.

”Just to scare them,” Takumi sighed and agreed, “So, you ready to run today, ace,” The rest of Aoba Johsai stared at Takumi and Kyoutani.

”Sure. I think that I’ll be pretty fast today. I am the fastest on the team after all,” Takumi said with uncertainty.

”Is he their no.10?” Inuoka  asked.

”Just make sure you jump higher than yesterday. Did you even put any effort in. Jeez, I don’t know why teams’ are scared of you... Ten,” Kyoutani said, causing Hinata to stare at him intensly.

”He’s their no.10!” Teshiro gulped.

Hinata jumped up and hit Takumi and Kyoutani, “I don’t sound like that!” He pouted.

”Calm down you three, save it for the match,” Iwaizumi said as he separated the three.

The two teams went to the gym to warm up. The team watched as Nekoma’s spikers practised their spikes, “Quit staring it’s our turn,” the head coach said, “Takumi, Hinata, tracksuits off,”

Iwaizumi, Hanamaki and Matsukawa spiked first. “I’d say that those three spike on the same ability level as us,” one of Nekoma’s coaches said. Next to spike were Kyoutani, Kunimi and Kindachi. “Their no.16 sure is powerful,” Yudo, Shido and Sugiyama went to spike next. Finally Takumi and Hinata came to spike. Takumi went first.

”What was that?” Yamamoto asked, seeing the power of Takumi’s spikes. But before they could speculate further the next ball was already tossed, “But he hasn’t even started running yet and that’s way too high for him,”

Hinata ran at his top speed and jumped for the ball, spiking it at his usual power, “And that is Aoba Johsai’s no.10’s speed in action,” one of Nekoma’s coaches said to the team.

Miya Atsumu had decided to go watch a different match to the rest of his team. They had half a day left until they left to return to Hyogo. Most of his team were going to watch the end of the Fukurodani Vs. Matusyama Nishi Shougyou match and the beginning of the Mujinazaka Vs. Chiseki Shougyou match so they could see multiple teams play. But Atsumu decided to go watch the first match of the day, Aoba Johsai Vs. Nekoma. Not many people were in the stands for the match as both schools weren’t well known. Those who did come were mostly students or alumni of the school, or were watching the first match until the second match began. Due to not having a ticket, Atsumu was forced to watch from the side, which wasn’t bad view wise, but it did mean he could be easily spotted by either team.

Atsumu chuckled at Nekoma’s reaction to Hinata’s quick when they were warming up, knowing that he could go even faster.

”They’ll be expecting us to start with Hinata on, so we’ll start with him off,” the head coach said before explaining the starting order of: Oikawa as their setter, Matsukawa and Kindaichi as their middle blockers (back, front), Iwaizumi, Hanamaki and Takumi as their middle blockers, (front left, front right, back left) and Watari as their libero.

”I think that we should have some signals for all the spikers,” Kobayashi said, “We saw yesterday how a team can form a plan to trick Hinata. I think that we should try to hide who the leader of the blocks are,” In the brief time before the match began they came up with signals for each of the spikers. The two teams lined up and soon the match began.

“We are the body's blood–flow smoothly and circulate oxygen so the brain functions normally” Nekoma said.

”What’s our name?” Oikawa asked.

”AOBA JOHSAI!” The team replied.

”Good, remember shortie pie,” Oikawa began.

”Believes in you!” Hinata finished, “And Oikawa-senapi is,”

”Trusting you guys,” Oikawa finished.

Aoba Johsai were serving first, and Nekoma had to face Oikawa’s killer serves. After three serves, Nekoma had finally managed to successfully receive the ball. Kozume tossed the ball and their spiker hit the ball. With his height, Kindaichi was able to read block with no travelling problems and successfully blocked the ball.

”Tsum Tsum!” Bokuto called out, after seeing that Atsumu had come to watch the game, “You came too!”

“I guess so,” Atsumu replied, “Who do you think will win?”

”Hmmm. Dunno. Aoba Johsai have Shoushou, but I want Nekoma to win,”

”Shoushou?”

”Surely you know Shoushou,”

”I’m not going to question the nickname Bokkun. It sounds like something you’d call someone,”

”Welp, I better go soon. I’ve got to warm up for my game. Looks like you’re on your own Tsum Tsum,” Bokuto left for his own game.

Oikawa served again, and Nekoma received it. Kozume looked at Kai as he tossed the ball. Kindaichi saw this look as the direction of where the ball was going. No, their captain is definitely going for the spike. It’s a look off, Hinata thought as he discreetly showed Iwaizumi and Hanamaki the signal. The two went into block Kuroo. Kindaichi got annoyed that he was fooled by the look off and was surprised that both Iwaizumi and Hanamaki had went to block a different player.

Atsumu looked at Hinata, even on the bench he was still focused on the game. Like he had said, he adapted. Hinata had clearly seen through the look off and sent a signal, probably the hand gesture which, although subtle to most, Atsumu had picked up on, and the other two blockers went into block the correct spiker. The first blocker was probably read blocking.

”And Aoba Johsai see through Nekoma’s setter, Kozume Kenma’s, look off,” the commentator said. Nekoma called a time out.

”We’ve already let them score five points, their no.12 seems to be read blocking so try to weaken his block,” one of Nekoma’s coaches called out.

”I could steal your spot at any moment, you hear me,” Kyoutani said to Takumi, trying to bring the other’s focus back.

”Like I’d let you,” Takumi laughed. Oikawa sat on the bench trying to keep his focus for the serve.

”If Nekoma take a second time out this set we’ll swap Hinata in then,” the head coach said.

”What’s our name?” Iwaizumi said on behalf of Oikawa who was trying to stay in the zone.

”AOBA JOHSAI!” The team responded.

After the time out Nekoma finally scored a point letting them serve. Nekoma served, Watari received the ball and passed it to Oikawa, who tossed the ball for Takumi, who hit the ball with his killer hit. Volleyball is a game about who can keep the ball up in the air for longer, Kozume thought as he dived for the ball. Kuroo passed the ball and Haiba messily dug it over the net. Iwaizumi received the ball and Oikawa tossed it up for Hanamaki. Hanamaki hit the ball which was blocked. Nekoma scored their second point of the game.

”Should I get some more water?” Kobayashi asked the coaches.

”Yes please Kobayashi,” the assistant coach said. Kobayashi left to get some water, she had used it as an excuse to watch Nekoma from different angles. She believed that if she saw them playing in a different light she could understand their playing style. After refilling the water bottles and watching Nekoma, Kobayashi began to return, with the beginning of an idea of how Nekoma play. On her way back to the court she bumped into Atsumu.

”You’re the setter for Inarizaki, aren’t you?” she asked.

”Yeah,” Atsumu replied.

”I’ve got a question,”

”Okay, fire away,”

”Why do you think the setter is an important role?”

”Well, they’re the reason why the spikers can spike the ball. It’s the setter’s job to bring out the best in the other players,”

”I got it! Thank you!” Kobayashi ran back to the court, “I figured out Nekoma,” Kobayashi announced to the coaches as she sorted out all the water bottles.

”Really?” The head coach asked.

”They’re the exact same as us. Their players do their best so that their setter can shine. Just like all our players are knights serving our king, Oikawa,” Kobayashi explained.

”So you’re saying the key player for Nekoma is their setter,” the head coach asked.

”Yes, their players do their best so their setter can do the best,” Kobayashi said.

”Hinata,” the head coach called out.

”Ooh, looks like their no.10 might be coming on,” Kuroo pointed out.

”Instead of aiming for the gaps, aim for their setter. Put as much pressure on their setter as possible,” the head coach said, as he let Hinata go again.

”Or not,” Kozume said.

Even thought Aoba Johsai had tried to prevent Takumi from getting a break they eventually fell into that trap. Nekoma called their second time out at 12:6 (to Aoba Johsai)

”We’ll be swapping Hinata in soon,” the head coach said, “Keep pushing on until we do so,” the team did their chant. Two rallies after the time out and Takumi and Hinata swapped. 

“Aoba Johsai swap their no.5, Takumi Hayashi, for their no.10, Hinata Shouyou,” the commentator said.

”Let’s see how Nekoma deal with the Tiny Warrior,” Atsumu smirked.

Nekoma served, Aoba Johsai received it. Oikawa tossed it to Hinata, who was doing a regular quick. Hinata aimed the ball at Kozume. Atsumu stared at Hinata, confused, normally the boy would aim for the gaps, so that aim was deliberate. Why would he aim for the...setter. It made sense, he was making sure that their setter couldn’t set. Nekoma used their three touches to pass the ball and pass it over the net. Even though it wasn’t a spike Hinata still went in to block the final touch. Giving Aoba Johsai another point.

”That was a clever move from Aoba Johsai’s no.10, deliberately aiming the ball at Nekoma’s setter, no.5,” the commentator said.

And Hinata’s in his best position, front and in the middle, Atsumu thought as he saw the rotation. It was Kindaichi’s turn to serve, Nekoma set up their attack. Their ace, Hinata thought as he flashed the signal at Iwaizumi and Matsukawa. The three went into block. Yamamoto aimed the ball at Hinata who deflected it, “Chance ball!” Hinata shouted. Aoba Johsai set up their attack. Hinata went in for his super quick only to be blocked by Nekoma’s captain, Kuroo Tetsuro.

“Let’s see how you handle a joust,” Kuroo said, fully aware that he wouldn’t be able to block Hinata’s spike.

”Challenge accepted,” Hinata said as he placed his other hand on the ball, raising his legs and pushing down faster than usual. Hinata quickly overpowered Kuroo.

”It happened so quickly but Nekoma’s captain, Kuroo Tetsuro, went into joust Aoba Johsai’s no.10, Hinata Shouyou, who quickly, and almost effortlessly overpowered the much larger blocker,” the commentator said in shock.

If I raise my legs and push down quicker, I get more strength, Hinata thought to himself.

”Can we swap Inuoka for Lev,” Kozume asked the coach.

”Nekoma swap their no.11, Haiba Lev, for their no.7, Inuoka So,” the commentator said.

”Inuoka, you’re our fastest player and you probably have the best chance of keeping up with Hinata,” Kozume said to Inuoka as he came onto the court.

Hinata felt the pressure of Nekoma’s no.7 on him. Each hit he got closer to blocking Hinata. Eventually Inuoka managed to block Hinata.

Oikawa had tossed the ball to Hinata, who was doing the super quick. At the last moment, just when Hinata had hit the ball, Inuoka came up and blocked Hinata. The ball was falling to the floor. Hinata extended out his leg and saved the ball from falling. Iwaizumi quickly moved to give the ball more height then Oikawa saw the ball, which had just saved and dumped it over the net.

”Wow those are some amazing reflexes that Aoba Johsai’s no.10 has there,” the commentator said. 

Hinata didn’t like being blocked. He didn’t like the fact that Nekoma’s no.7 could keep up with him. It annoyed him, “It’s not fair,” Hinata laughed, his blood lust taking over him, “How some people get to be fast and tall,” Oikawa noticed Hinata’s blood lust and took a deep breath, Guess I have to push my limits again, Oikawa thought to himself.

”Don’t push yourself,” Iwaizumi said, “Shouyou can adapt to your toss,”

It was Hinata’s turn to serve, he did his underarm serve, it had a lot more power than his attempt in the match against Inarizaki. Nekoma struggled to receive the ball, with it landing right in front of the end line.

”Although it’s the simplest of the serves, when used well the underarm serve is dangerous,” the commentator said.

Hinata served again, this time Nekoma managed to receive the ball and set up an attack. Hinata figured out the spiker and signalled it to the others as he ran into the block, jumping higher than usual. Fukunaga was intimidated by the new strength of Hinata and ended up getting his hit blocked.

Hinata served for a third time, again Nekoma received it, unfortunately Hinata had aimed his serve at Kozume and Nekoma used their three pass tactic. Watari received the ball, and Oikawa tossed it as high and as quickly as he could. Hinata sprinted for the ball, getting there like a flash and jumping for the ball. The ball still hadn’t reached the top of its curve when Hinata started swinging his arms. Hinata let his arms slow and made contact with the ball the moment it started moving downwards.

”It’s like he’s a little giant,” the commentator said, noting the power that Hinata used in the hit, that Nekoma was unable to receive or dive for. Hinata smiled at being called his idol’s name. After a few more point Aoba Johsai won the first set 25:14.

In the Fukurodani match Bokuto had just done an impressive hit which the opposition’s libero had surprisingly saved, and in the Kamomedai match, Hoshiumi had scored yet another point off of his end line shot. 

Karasuno were watching the Nekoma versus Aoba Johsai match, supporting the cats. “They got totally dominated in that set,” Yamaguchi cried.

”Since when could Shouyou move that fast!” Nishinoya called out.

”This player, we need him on our team,” someone said as they watched multiple of the morning matches, causing someone else to smile, “We have found Japan’s next ace,”

In the time between matches Hinata noticed Atsumu watching the match. “I’ll be quick!” Hinata said as he ran off to Atsumu, “I thought this would be the last place you’d want to be,”

”It is and it isn’t,” Atsumu replied, “Have you ever tried doing the speed change move at your top speeds. Going from slow to fast?”

”No,” Hinata replied, “I need to go. Thanks for watching Atsu-chan!” Hinata returned to his team, ready for the second set.

”Um, what?” Atsumu stuttered over the nickname, “Did he forget the mu at the end?”

”What’s our name?” Oikawa asked.

”AOBA JOHSAI!” The team shouted back, Hinata having only just made it back in time.

Aoba Johsai started with a similar line up to the beginning of the previous set, this time with Hinata on instead of Kindaichi. Hinata saw that Nekoma’s no.7 was still in which fuelled his blood lust. Although Aoba Johsai were in the lead at the beginning of the set, Nekoma took the momentum come the middle of the set, swinging the score to 8:11 (to Nekoma). “Oikawa-senpai, I want to try something. Wait a second after I begin running then set the ball as high as you can to the opposite side of the court that I’m running to,” Hinata said to Oikawa.

Watari received the serve and passed the ball to Oikawa who did just as Hinata had asked. Hinata began running at his regular quick speed, once he saw the ball being released he accelerated to his blood lust speed and changed direction to the other side of the court. Then he jumped. He began hitting the ball hard before curling his hands around the ball and slowing his hit into a feint.

The lethal move - reverse mode.

Chapter Text

Hinata began running at his regular quick speed, once he saw the ball being released he accelerated to his blood lust speed and changed direction to the other side of the court. Then he jumped. He began hitting the ball hard before curling his hands around the ball and slowing his hit into a feint.

The blockers followed Hinata as he ran to one side of the court, before realising that he had been a decoy and the ball was going the other way. Inuoka watched as Hinata suddenly changed direction and jumped for the ball. Yaku prepared for a strong hit until the whole team realised that the ball was a feint. The six of them all dived for the ball, trying to keep it up in the air. All of them missing because whilst the feint wasn’t as powerful as a regular hit, it was fast.

Hinata looked over to Atsumu, who gave him a thumbs up. Hinata smiled as he saw the momentum swing back to his team. The team looked at him, “Shouyou has another special move,” Iwaizumi said

Both teams fought hard to win the set. Eventually something went wrong. Hinata went into block Nekoma’s ace, Yamamoto, and ended up taking a ball in the face, again. Hinata was subbed out for Inaba as Kobayashi and the assistant coach tried to initially treat Hinata. Kobayashi found a spare towel and emptied her water bottle onto it before putting the towel on the area the ball hit. Luckily for Hinata the ball hit his cheek instead of his eye. The three made their way to the medical station.

The medical station gave him some ice and made him stay there for a bit so that they could check on him. There was a silver lining to all of this, Hinata got to watch some of Hoshiumi’s match due to the medical station being near court C. Soon Hinata was allowed to go back to his match and playing. By the time the three had returned, Nekoma were at the set point. Hinata watched in horror as Nekoma won the second set, 23:25.

”Do we have Hinata back for this set?” the head coach asked.

”Yes, we’re lucky he took it to the cheek instead of any other part of the face,” the assistant coach said.

”Alright we have no choice but to take this set. Go out there and win,” the head coach said.

”Yeah!” The team cheered.

”What’s our name?” Oikawa asked.

”AOBA JOHSAI!” The team answered.

The two teams reentered the court for the final time. One of them were going home, that was the cruel truth. Neither team wanted it to be them going home. Nekoma wanted to play Karasuno in the Dumpster Battle. Aoba Johsai wanted to make it to the finals. Kozume wanted to play the crows again, despite not growing that attached to any of them. Hinata had to make it to the finals so he could play Hoshiumi, and so his declaration  to Miya wasn't wrong.  

Aoba Johsai started off serving, with Oikawa, allowing them to get an easy lead. After the fourth serve Nekoma figured out how to receive the serve. Next Nekoma went on the offensive, forcing Aoba Johsai to go back on the defensive again. After ten rallies, Inaba and Hinata swapped back. With Hinata back on the court, the efficiency of the blocking increased, with the signals being clearer as they were being shown on the court.

"I think," Kozume said, his team mates looking at him, "That Hinata leads the blocking, both on and off the court. It's just a guess, and I may be wrong, but I think that Hinata is guess blocking. If multiple people thought that they were going to get the ball, then we would throw him off his game,"

Nekoma tried one more tactic as a momentum push, a synchronised attack. The four attackers ran at the same time, each thinking that they were receiving the ball. They all think that they're the spiker! I can't tell which one it is, Hinata thought, the pressure getting him.

"Shouyou! You okay?" Iwaizumi asked.

"I can't tell who it is!" Hinata replied, panicked.

"That's fine, we can deal with it," Iwaizumi replied, "Let's focus on receiving the ball instead of blocking it!" The team watched as Kozume tossed the ball to Kuroo and they prepared to receive the ball. Luckily Hanamaki received the ball and Aoba Johsai were hoping to set up an attack of their own. Hanamaki was off balance when he received the ball and ended up passing the ball to Hinata. How do Oikawa-senpai, Yahaba and Atsu-chan look when they set? What's going through their head? Probably who their gonna set to, and what sort of set they like. But I can't really do that, both Takumi and Dadzumi are running. Takumi prefers a more solid set, so it would be safer to set for Dadzumi, plus he's in front of me, Hinata was lost in thought.

Hinata doesn't play setter, so he'll probably go for the easier toss or even dig the ball. Either way, it'll be easier for him to go to their no.4, Kozume said as he went into block Aoba Johsai's no.4.

Hinata closed his eyes, Oikawa-senpai and Yahaba would probably set for Dadzumi, but Atsu-chan would set for Takumi. I'm just going to trust the ball and the spikers, Hinata tossed the ball in a way that felt natural to him, even he had expected it to go to Iwaizumi, so he was just as surprised as everyone else when the ball went to Takumi.

It's low, Takumi thought, I'm not going to be able to get it with my right arm. I might have been able to last year, but I need to remember that my arm's still recovering from being broken. I do have two arms though, Takumi decided used the opposite side of his left hand to hit the ball, concentrate. Be like that protagonist from last week's Shounen Jump. They had great control over their body just like you do. Where do you want the ball to go Takumi Hayashi?  There, got it. Let's put everything into this shot. Takumi flicked his left wrist upwards, as the back of his left hand touched the ball, good it's on my wrist. Takumi then raised his left arm upwards before flicking his wrist again, releasing the ball exactly where he wanted it to go.

Sawamura watched as Aoba Johsai were fooled by Nekoma's synchronised attack. If he were to guess, all the spikers thought that they were going to be tossed to, confusing Aoba Johsai's no.10. He continued to watch as Aoba Johsai set up their own attack.

"No way he hit that with the back of his left fucking hand!" Tanaka shouted, "Is he ambidextrous or something?" Commenting on Takumi's spike.

"No, Hayashi just has that sort of control over his body. He was a strong setter, but he's an even stronger spiker," Sawamura said.

"He played as a setter?" Kageyama asked.

"Well he used to. When he first joined the team he wanted to play as a setter, but after seeing his power the captain at the time wanted him to play as a spiker. I eventually convinced him to play as a wing spiker. He could get on any powerhouse team as a setter or a spiker. He definitely was a prodigy, but he also practised a lot," Sawamura explained.

"What were his sets like?" Sugawara asked.

"Well, they weren't accurate like Kageyama's and he hadn't gotten to know the team well enough to know where everyone liked the ball to be tossed to. If he stuck at being a setter he would have gained those skills. His sets were, well average, but he could do one handed sets with his right hand, a backhand set and just before he swapped he was working on a diving set. Where he set the ball instead of just keeping it up. I don't think he ever mastered that one," Sawamura said, remembering his junior high days, "He never stopped practising, he always wanted to be a cool player just like the characters he would read about in Shounen Jump or whatever other manga he had on him, I think he wanted a collection of special moves just because they would look cool,"

"He sounds just like Shiratorizawa material," Tsukishima muttered.

"Yeah, he did get invited there, he made sure to tell me. I wonder what made him change his mind,"

Even though Aoba Johsai were probably stronger, Nekoma kept fighting and ended up getting the lead and forced Hinata to start read blocking. Nekoma reached the set point first, 23:24 (to Nekoma).

Bokuto had finished his match, surprised that Hinata hadn't come to watch. Bokuto passed court A on his way back, seeing the match still in progress. "They're still not finished?" Bokuto asked Atsumu.

"Yeah, they're on the third set, Nekoma just reached the set point. They might have a chance of winning," Atsumu replied. The two watched intensely.

Aoba Johsai were getting panicked, Nekoma were at set point and game point, if they scored one more point then they lost. They couldn't call a time out, since they had Takumi on and if they wanted to win, they would need him. "Let's relax!" Hinata said, "I know that we'll win. We're the team that's gonna win nationals," somehow it had managed to calm down the team, who hadn't noticed the incredible amount of blood lust pouring through Hinata.

"How can Shoushou be so calm at a time like this?" Bokuto asked, "He's about to go home!"

Kuroo served, it was incredibly powerful and deliberately aimed at Oikawa, who badly received the ball. Watari was about to dive in and get the ball, "I'll get it!" Takumi shouted.

"But you won't be able to spike!" Watari protested.

"I know," Takumi replied as he dived for the ball, Phew, I have just enough time to make it work, instead of extending an arm, Takumi raise his two arms into a set. He tossed the ball as high as he could. Iwaizumi spiked the ball, getting the two teams into a deuce.

"Shouyou's right. We've not lost yet. So that means that we still can and will win," Iwaizumi said.

"He set the ball from the floor!" Yamada shouted, "He set the ball from the floor!"

"Yes, everyone who was watching the match saw, and the commentator doesn't need your assistance," Morikawa replied.

"Aoba Johsai's no.5, Takumi Hayashi, surprises everyone by setting the ball... From the floor," the commentator said, "Is that even humanly possible?"

"I finally got to use it!" Takumi squealed, fist pumping the air, "It was so cool! The diving set! We're gonna win! Because we're always adapting and evolving, no matter how powerful and strong the fight is. And we don't give up in a boss battle. Sure we may lose lots of times, but each time we're learning, and in the end we will win!"

"Kunimi, you're up," the head coach said, noticing the first year's unrest and deciding to switch him with Hanamaki, who was about to serve.

Kunimi smiled, he was particularly proud of his serve. Kunimi decided his aim and held the ball, covering its air hole. Kunimi couldn't do a full jump floater serve, but he could still do a floater serve. Yaku struggled to receive the ball, but managed to keep it up. Nekoma set up their attack. Iwaizumi received the ball and passed it to Oikawa, Oikawa set the ball for Takumi, who easily scored the point. 25:24 (to Aoba Johsai)

"I'm trusting you guys, and you guys trust me. So I'm sure between the six of us we can win," Oikawa said, making a peace sign, "Even though we look like we're struggling at the moment,"

Kunimi went in for another serve. This time Yaku easily received it and set up their attack. Watari ended up diving for the ball but kept it up. Oikawa quickly set to Hinata, who jumped his highest and hit the ball with more power that his super quick. Kuroo blocked the ball slamming it down. 25:25 “I’ll keep the ball up so that you can keep attacking,” Watari said, “We don’t lose until the ball falls,”

"Next time. I'll get it next time. Kunimi, lighten up, volleyball is supposed to be fun!" Hinata said. 

Kunimi knew that he was the laziest member of team. He sometimes skipped practise, when he was in matches he didn't give it his all. He didn't really see the point in wasting all that energy, it just felt like a waste. Winning. Losing. There wasn't much difference to Kunimi. It was just a match. Sure losing sucked initially, but eventually it didn't matter. Don't take things the wrong way, Kunimi enjoyed volleyball, he just didn't make it his whole life like Hinata did. But right now, Kunimi felt something strange inside him. He wanted to enjoy volleyball, had he been going about this the wrong way all along? Volleyball was supposed to be fun, not a chore. Kunimi wanted to give it his all, he wanted to play on the team, he wanted to win. He didn't want to lose. Kunimi Akira actually wanted to put effort into volleyball for the first time in his life.

Kozume served the ball. Watari received it. Oikawa was preparing to set the ball, Hmm. Yep I'll toss to Iwa-chan, Oikawa thought, "It's my turn to spike!" Kunimi shouted as he ran. Oikawa tossed to Kunimi who slammed the ball down with a new found power. 26:25 (to Aoba Johsai) "I'm gonna give it my all from now on. So we better not get stopped yet!" Kunimi said.

Oikawa let a couple of tears fall down his face; his underclassman, who he knew to never put any effort into volleyball since meeting him, had said that he was going to give it his all.

Kunimi finally understood. Volleyball wasn't fun if he didn't give it his all. It was Hinata's turn to serve again. Hinata used his underarm serve, which Nekoma received and set up an attack. The team's ace, Yamamoto, went into hit the ball. Kunimi desperately tried to receive the ball but it deflected off of him, 26:26.

The back and forth went on until the score reached 29:28 (to Aoba Johsai). Takumi went into serve. Nekoma set up their attack with Kai spiking. Kunimi had always thought that Hinata's joust was cool ever since he'd first seen it used against Shiratorizawa's guess monster, but Kunimi knew that he would never be able to pull off such a move, I'll never know if I don't try! Kunimi told himself as he went in for a joust.

"It appears that Aoba Johsai's no.13, Kunimi Akira, went into a joust against Nekoma's no.2, Kai Nobuyuki," the commentator said.

That's it! Kunimi thought, It's just like all the others have said. If I can't do something then I just need to find my own way of doing it. I've always been lazy, so I should use that to my advantage.

"Looks like their no.13 just realised what makes them different," Atsumu said.

Kunimi leaned to his right, which cause Kai to become unbalanced. He pushed his left arm back as much as he could without losing control of the ball before pushing forward with all his strength. With Kai already unbalanced the ball fell out of his grasp and onto Nekoma's side of the court.

"We won," Kunimi smiled.

"Is that all you're gonna say. You scored the winning point Kunimi!" Hinata said as he tried to raise Kunimi. Emphasis on tried.

"And Aoba Johsai's no.13 wins the joust and the match in his own unique way," the commentator said. The end score was [AJ:N - 2:1 / 25:14, 23:25, 30:28]

Nekoma were disappointed, they had wanted to play the Dumpster Battle. They just hoped that Karasuno wouldn't be too disappointed. "Don't mind. Don't mind," Bokuto said as he went to cheer up Nekoma, "The Dumpster Battle wasn't going to happen anyway. These guys bet Karasuno in the prefecture qualifiers. Inuoka made a decision, he was going to learn how to guess block just like Aoba Johsai’s no.10. If and when the two teams played again, he’d be able to compete with no.10’s blocking.

”Well done today. Make sure you rest, that was a tough final set. We’ll meet at the bus station at two. Make sure you have lunch, especially you Takumi. Enjoy yourselves now, because tomorrow is the quarter-finals. Things will be harder and we’ll be pushed to our limits. Oh and be aware of interviewers on your way out,” the head coach said.

”Your cheek looks better Hinata,” Kobayashi said, “Do you want to have lunch with Kindaichi, Kunimi and I?”

”Sure. Can I go find someone first,” Hinata replied.

”Sure,” Kobayashi watched as Oikawa was interviewed again and how Takumi was failing miserably at being interviewed, having to be saved by Kyoutani.

Hinata was making his way out of the court, hoping to see the end of Hoshiumi’s match, “Excuse me, can I talk to you for a second?” An interviewer asked. I’m actually being interviewed! Hinata thought to himself.

”Sure,” Hinata replied.

”What’s it like being such a short player?” 

Hinata was expecting this question, Hoshiumi had warned him about the short comments and question, “I don’t let it bother me. My team knows my skills make up for my height,”

”What inspired you to play voleyball?” 

”Four years ago a volleyball match was playing on a television at an electronics store. I went and watched the match. It was the quater-finals, Aoba Johsai versus Sarukawa Tech, and then I saw the Little Giant. He was smaller player from Aoba Johsai who defeated all of his blockers, and it made me realise that I could become a volleyball player too, even though I’m short,”

”And was the Little Giant also why you came to Aoba Johsai?”

”Yes,”

”One last question, then I’ll let you get going. What do you think of the other player challenging you for the title of Little Giant, Hoshiumi Kourai, from Kamomedai?”

”He’s really cool! He’s a great player who can just beat blockers like flwam and swoosh and kapow! We actually met at a training camp,”

”Oh, so you know him,”

”Yeah,”

”Do you think that you’re better than him?”

”Nope. I don’t think you can compare us. He’s definitely stronger in different areas to me, and have you seen his end line shot. It’s amazing!”

”Well, I guess it’ll be interesting if you get to play each other,”

”No, we will get to play each other, in the finals,”

Hoshiumi finished his match and was coming to Hinata’s court, he had heard that their match was going on for a while. When he saw that Hinata was being interviewed he got annoyed for his friend, it was probably all the “you’re so short” bullshit. It was an easy interview for the interviewer. Hoshiumi was suprised when the interviewer asked for Hinata’s opinions on him. I guess he’s trying to create tension between the two of us and creat a build up in the atmosphere, Hoshiumi thought. Hoshiumi decided to save Hinata from the interview, knowing that his friend was too naive to understand what the interviewer was trying to do.

”Shouyou! How’d your match go?” Hoshiumi shouted.

“Kourai? No, I missed the end of your match! At least I got to see some of your match when I was at the medical station,” Hinata said.

”Why were you at the medical station?”

“I blocked the ball with my face,”

”Again? Like the time you blocked Ushijima with your face,”

”Sorta. This time I used my cheek,”

”Hoshiumi, what do you think about playing Hinata?” The interviewer asked, taking advantage of the situation.

”Well, we’re gonna play each other at the finals,” Hoshiumi answered.

”So do you two have a rivalry? What’s your relationship like?” The interviewer asked.

”We’re friends, duh!” The two replied at the same time.

”Okay. Well I’ll let you two get on with your day,” the interviewer said as he left the two alone.

”It’s so annoying. They always like to talk about the height,” Hoshiumi complained, “I know I’m short for a volleyball player. Move on, acknowledge my skills as my skills like any other player,”

”Why did he have to make height the first question?” Hinata sighed, “Interviews suck,” Hinata suddenly understood Hoshiumi’s hatred of titles such as the Little Giant.

”He didn’t pry too much, right? None of the, so what made you choose being a wing spiker over a libero bullshit,”

”No,”

”Good, those are the worst,”

”Hey do you want to join me and my friends for lunch?” Hinata offered noticing the first years waiting for him.

”Okay, sounds great,”

”Is it okay if Kourai comes too?” Hinata asked Kobayashi.

”It’s fine, the more the merrier, right” Kobayashi replied.

”So they just went straight in with the height, or lack of it. Nothing about your speed?” Kindaichi said after hearing the interview, “I’m gonna get the total opposite,”

”Oh your so tall!” Kunimi said in a weird voice, mocking the interviewers, “Is that why you became a volleyball player?”

The five had lunch together, forgetting about the interviews.

Chapter Text

"Well, we've made it to the quater-finals," the head coach said, "Things are really going to begin cranking up. At the moment we're at the same level as Shiratorizawa, and there is a high chance that it could be the same level that we are on. If we win tomorrow’s match we go from being Top 8 to Top 4. I have to say, with the way things aligned we got lucky for our quarter-final pairing. We could have gotten Mujinazaka or Fukurodani, both with top five aces, with Mujinazaka even having a top three ace,"

"So who'd we get?" Matsukawa asked.

"Kamomedai," the head coach replied.

"NO!" Hinata shouted, surprising everyone in the room, "We're meant to play them in the finals! There's no point if it's only the quarter-finals,"

"What do you mean Hinata?" Kunimi asked, as Hinata began running out the inn.

"Shortie pie! Wait up!" Oikawa called as he began chasing Hinata.

"I don't know how I feel about tomorrow's match up," Kamomedai's coach began, "On the one hand, compared to the others, it should be easier, but on the other hand, these guys have had to go up against Inarizaki and won," Hoshiumi spat his water out, "Anyway, tomorrow we're playing Aoba Johsai. They have a variety of strong attackers and..."

"Aoba Johsai?" Hoshiumi asked, angered, "No, we're playing them in the finals! It doesn't count if we play them in the quarter-finals!" Hoshiumi stormed out of the inn they were staying at.

Both Hinata and Hoshiumi had made their way to a nearby convenience store, and saw the other, equally annoyed about the match up. "If we ignore the quarter part, it's technically the finals," Hinata joked, between tears. The two began to cry, nobody else understood the importance of them playing the match up in the finals.

"It's not going to be as cool as the finals and I don't want to make you guys go home early!" Hoshiumi cried.

"Nor do I! It's not fair!" Hinata cried, the two edging closer together, neither realising how cold it was when they stormed out their inns.

"We could refuse to play," Hoshiumi suggested.

"Or force them to change the match ups," Hinata.

"Knowing my team, they'd still play without me,"

"Same,"

Oikawa had been looking everywhere for Hinata, he didn't understand why the match being the finals or not mattered. Maybe it had something to do with more people watching? Oikawa eventually found Hinata and two other players by a convenience store.

Bokuto was walking back to the inn he was staying at when he passed his favourite convenience store in the area, he couldn't just not go, so he ended up going to the shop, for the third day in a row. When he got there he heard two people crying, perhaps a break up? It's a strange place to have one though? Maybe a rejected confession? Again, it's a weird place and why would the rejector be crying too? So it probably is a break up and it's a member of staff. Wow, that's harsh, breaking up with someone whilst they're working. Unless one of the people in the couple came to surprise the person working at the store and then got broken up with. Man that's also harsh! Or maybe someone got fired? But why would two people be crying? Two people got fired! That's it!  Bokuto continued to walk to the store only to find out the truth, it was two high school students crying, and one of them was... "Shou shou?" Bokuto asked.

"B-bokkun!" Hinata said through tears, trying to wipe them away.

"What's wrong? I though someone was fired from the store," Bokuto asked, he had adopted this child, even though Akaashi said it wasn't legal and that a court would not grant him ownership rights.

"We have to play each other in the quarter-finals instead of the finals," Hoshiumi explained.

"So then we have to send the other one home," Hinata finished explaining.

"And we don't wanna do that," both said. Oikawa, who had been watching the conversation from the shadows, finally understood why Hinata got so angry when the match up was revealed.

"There you are shortie pie. Did you really have to make me run this far!" Oikawa said as he revealed himself.

Bokuto ignored the setter's entrance, "Well that really is a problem," Bokuto said crouching down, the two glared at him for doing so, "And you can't do anything about it. Well then, I guess you'll both just have to do your best, so that you know the best team got to continue,"

"Yeah!" the two lightened up and Bokuto's suggestion.

"See you on the court tomorrow Shouyou!" Hoshiumi said as he started walking back to his inn.

"Be prepared Kourai!" Hinata called out as he approached Oikawa, wiping the tears away, "I wasn't crying," Hinata said to Oikawa. Bokuto went into the shop and bought every volleyball magazine they had available, in hopes that he was in at least one of them.

"Back again Bokuto," the shop attendant said as she scanned the magazines, "That'll be ¥4,500, again,"

"Thank you. Maybe I'll be in one of them this time," Bokuto replied.

"You could just flick through them instead of buying them,"

"But that wouldn't be right," the shop attendant laughed, it didn't matter to much to her, this boy was contributing to her wage everyday for a week, twice a year.

The next day the two teams made their way to the B court, Aoba Johsai in their alternate kit. "When we were told we had a different alternate kit, I was not expecting this," Hanamaki said.

"Lilac is not my colour," Oikawa complained, unlike the regular kit and what they thought was the alternate kit, this kit took inspiration from the school's uniform. The jersey's were lilac with white trims (in the same way to the turquoise trims in the regular kit), with lilac shorts that were white at the sides. Watari's libero kit was a white jersey with lilac trims, with white shorts that were lilac at the sides.

One of the commentators was close to tears, "What's wrong?" the other asked.

"It's just, when I went to Seijoh, back when I was young, that was the kit we wore, and it's bringing back memories and I'm so proud of the team for making it this far," the commentator said as he wiped his eyes.

"No bias in the commentating," 

"I know,"

"Yeah, I decided to get tickets when I knew I'd be in Tokyo," someone said.

"I got my ticket to the first match when I heard that we'd made it to nationals again. And then everyday I've been buying the ticket to the next day," someone else said.

"I still can't believe they've made it to the quarter-finals," someone else said.

"The real challenge is if they'll beat our previous attempt and get to the semis," someone else added.

"Good, you came Udai," someone said.

"I heard that Aoba Johsai made the quarter-finals and decided to come," Udai replied.

"Hey, come with me. My younger brother says that someone wants to meet you," the person who greeted Udai said as they went to the court.

"Toshiaki, you came!" Oikawa said with a smile.

"Of course I came Tooru," the person said.

"He's Oikawa's older brother. If we get to the finals, or maybe the semi-finals then I predict that Oikawa's sister might come as well," Iwaizumi said to the rest of the team, "I guess this makes it that both brothers made it to nationals," However Hinata was more interested in the person next to Oikawa's brother.

"You're the Little Giant!" Hinata shouted in surprise, "You're my idol! Seeing you beat all those blockers made me take up volleyball! I can't believe I get to meet you!"

"I wasn't that great," Udai denied the compliments.

"What team do you play on? Are you in a college team? Did you get invited to play in proper grown up leagues?" Hinata asked.

"I stopped playing after high school, I found something else that I enjoyed. And I wasn't invited to play on any college teams," Udai admitted.

"Oh," Hinata replied, surprised.

"We'll be supporting you in the stands," Toshiaki said as the two left.

"Wow it was so cool getting to see the Little Giant in person," Hinata gushed.

 IT'S QUARTER-FINALS TIME (sorry for my bad drawing skills)

The two teams made their way onto the court to warm up. Hinata and Hoshiumi tried not to look at the other.

”Welcome to the quarter-finals!” The first commentator said, full of energy, as the crowd cheered, “It’s the second match of the day here at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. And here on court B we have Aoba Johsai High School, from the Miygai prefecture, versus Kamomedai High School, from the Nagano prefecture. Let’s make some noise for the two teams,” the crowd cheered again, with chants for the two schools.

”Due to the kits being similar, Aoba Johsai are playing in their alternate kit,” the second commentator said, “Which I’m sure alumni of the school will remember fondly from their school days,” The two commentators then went through all the players and their numbers as the teams lined up.

”The atmosphere is so different today,” Kunimi pointed out, “It kinda gets your heart pumping faster,”

”If this is the quarter-finals, what are the semis and finals going to be like?” Kindaichi asked.

”So Satou, what players do you think we should be keeping an eye on today?” The first commentator asked.

”Definitely Kamomedai’s ace. Their no.5, Hoshiumi Kourai. A Little Giant if you will,” the second commentator, Satou, said, receiving a scowl from Hoshiumi, “Then there is their Imovable Hirugami. No.6, Hirugami Sachiro. From Aoba Johsai there’s their setter and captain their no.1, Oikawa Tooru. Their strongest hitter, who’s also their no.5, Takumi Hayashi,”

”So are you saying that it will be a battle between the two fives?” The first commentator asked.

”No Mochizuki. The final player to look out for is the second Little Giant here. Aoba Johsai’s no.10, Hinata Shouyou,” Satou replied, this time both Hinata and Hoshiumi scowled at him.

”I guess that makes today’s match a battle of the little giants,” the first commentator, Mochizuki, summarised, “Both have shown their abilities in the first three rounds. It’s unclear what way this match will go, but I’m sure it’ll be a close one,”

”Kamomedai’s formidable blocking, against Aoba Johsai’s impressive hitters, who will win?” Satou said.

”Thank you for the game,” both sides said as they bowed before going to shake hands.

”May the best team win,” Hoshiumi said to Hinata.

”Yep,” Hinata replied. The two teams went off to discuss tactics and strategies just before the game.

“Remember Kamamedai play similarly to Date Tech. They focus on serving and blocking. You are going to be blocked lots in this game, you’ll just have to deal with it,” the head coach said, “Instead of getting caught up with being blocked lets focus on our receiving, both of their ace, Hoshiumi Kourai, and of their blocks. Just keep on adapting to their play. Be one step ahead of them, not behind them,”

”Make sure to keep your blocking strong, especially for their no.10, who I have a suspicion that he’s their ace,” Kamomedai coach said.

“Shouyou’s not their ace, he told me himself,” Hoshiumi stated.

”And so we’ll being using a completely different order that usual. I’m pretty sure that we’ve never played it yet, but I’m sure that you’ll get used to it. Iwaizumi, you’re fine playing middle blocker, right?” the head coach said.

”Yes, we need Inaba there to receive more than we need me to hit,” Iwaizumi replied.

”I’m trusting you guys,” Oikawa said, “What’s our name?”

”AOBA JOHSAI!” The team shouted back.

”We’ve already got this far and I believe in everybody on the team, I’m sure that we will win,” Hinata said, full of confidence.

”And the starting orders are: in the front row for Kamomedai, Hakuba Gao [no.10] as the left wing spiker, Hirugami Sachiro [no.6] as the middle blocker, and Hoshiumi Kourai [no.5] as the right wing spiker. In the back row is, Nozawa Izuru [no.4] as the wing spiker, Bessho Kazuyoshi [no.8] as the middle blocker, with Kanbayashi Keiichiro [no.13] as their libero, and captain Suwa Aikichi [no.1] as their server and setter,” Mochizuki said.

”For Aoba Johsai, their front row is, Kyoutani Kentaro [no.16] as the left wing spiker, Hinata Shouyou [no.10] as their middle blocker, and their captain Oikawa Tooru [no.1] as their setter. In the back row is Takumi Hayashi [no.5] as the left wing spiker, Iwaizumi Hajime [no.4] as their middle blocker, with Watari Shinji [no.7], as their libero, and Inaba Atsuka [no.8] as their right wing spiker. And interesting line up indeed. Completely different from their game against Nekoma yesterday,” Satou said.

”And so the match begins with Kamomedai starting off serving,” Mochizuki said.

Suwa went into serve the ball, it was a strong serve aimed at the seams between Watari and Inaba. Both went in for the ball ignoring the other, which lead to them crashing into each other. “It’s up!” They both called. Oikawa tossed the ball for Hinata who was quickly blocked by Hakuba, who was over two metres tall. Inaba tried to receive the block, but it was deflected off of him.

”He’s massive!” Hinata said.

”Don’t mind!” Oikawa said to Hinata.

”I wasn’t planning on,” Hinata replied.

”Whoever’s in the middle of the back row is going to get the ball when it’s going to the seams,” Watari said to the team, “That way we won’t stand there like idiots or crash into each other,”

Suwa aimed his serve for the seam between Watari and Inaba again. This time only Watari went for the ball, successfully receiving it.

”Nice receive!” Inaba said to Watari. This time Oikawa tossed to Takumi. The three blockers on the front row went into block him, I definitely can’t hit it at the two metres guy. But the other two both look strong too. They’ve surrounded me so I can’t hit it around them, and if I tried hitting it upwards, two metres guy is going to get it. Unless I hit it above their ace, I’ve got the best chance there, Takumi thought as he decided where he would hit the ball. Takumi leaned his right arm back and hit the ball so it would go over the blockers. Unfortunately it ended up falling outside the court.

“Aoba Johsai just can’t seem to find a way around Kamomedai’s blocks,” Satou said.

Suwa served again. Oikawa tossed the ball to Kyoutani, who didn’t care about the blockers and just hit it as hard as he could. Of course it hadn’t worked and Inaba dived for the ball. I’ll just have to dodge the blockers, they don’t seem to be read blocking like the iron wall so I can still dodge, Hinata thought as he began running in one direction. Oikawa was getting ready to toss to Hinata as the blockers came in. Hinata swapped to his super quick speed as Oikawa released the ball to the other side of the court to the blockers. Hinata ran to the ball and jumped for it. His view was clear as he easily spiked the ball which Kamomedai’s back row were unable to receive.

”Yes!” Hinata shouted in success jumping up.

”It looks like Aoba Johsai finally got around Kamomedai’s blocks,” Mochizuki said.

Oikawa rotated into the server position. He managed to score a service ace on his first serve, but it was received on the second serve. Kamomedai set up an attack ending with Hoshiumi hitting the ball. Hinata and Takumi went in for the block, but Hoshiumi’s jumping reach was much higher than Hinata’s and he was able to get the ball over Hinata. Watari and Inaba dived for the ball but were unable to get it.

It was Hoshiumi’s turn to serve and Hinata gulped. This wasn’t going to end well, he knew that Hoshiumi was a powerful server and that the backrow were going to struggle. “Watari, be ready to do your jumping set,” Hinata said to Watari, as he felt that Hoshiumi may try and aim the serve at Oikawa. Hinata’s gut was right as the powerful serve was aimed directly at Oikawa, who just about managed to receive it. Watari went in to do his jumping set for Inaba, who began running. Inaba was going fast, the blockers jumped up for the block, expecting Inaba to jump up too. Crap! I ran too fast. I’m going to have to wait to jump, Inaba thought as he unknowingly performed a delayed spike.

”Inaba, did you know that you were going to use a delayed spike,” Watari asked as the two prepared to receive Kamomedai’s attack.

”No. I just realised I ran too fast to spike the ball and waited until it came a bit lower,” Inaba replied.

Kanbayashi received the ball and Aoba Johsai faced Hoshiumi’s end line attack. Which they failed to receive.

”Oikawa. Don’t worry about receiving the ball. Watari and I can set,” Takumi said, he was excited to get to play as a setter again.

”Okay, Manga-chan,” Oikawa replied. Hoshiumi directed his serve at Oikawa again, who passed it to Takumi. Takumi with his right hand out reaching the ball, looked like he was about to do a setter dump.

It’s clearly a setter dump. Even a rookie could telegraph that, Hirugami thought as he went into block Takumi. Takumi set the ball for Kyoutani who he knew was behind him. Kyoutani, with no blocker blocking him, easily scored the point. That wasn’t a setter dump? But how could he so easily set the ball, accurately to the player with only one hand. Hirugami thought.

Sawamura, Sugawara and Enoshita were watching the Aoba Johsai versus Kamomedai match whilst everyone else watched the Fukurodani versus Mujinazaka match. “Kamomedai are just like Date Tech,” Sugawara pointed out.

”That’s why I decided to watch this match. To see how Aoba Johsai adapt so we have a strategy for Date Tech next year,” Enoshita admitted.

”Wow, I can see what you mean that no.5 used to play as a setter,” Sugawara said to Sawamura.

”I’m surprised that he can still do all those moves, he must have been practising as playing as a setter, even though he didn’t play as one.

Takumi had never given up on playing as a setter. It was always his favourite position. Even though Sawamura had told him that the way a spiker controlled the ball was cooler as it was like the finishing move, Takumi had always thought the setter’s control of the ball was even cooler. The setter made sure that the ball went exactly where the spiker wanted, effortless control went into each toss so that the spiker could seem cool. The setter was able to control the spiker’s potential and that was why the position had always been Takumi’s favourite. It was why he kept practising all his sets, making notes of where players like the ball to go to. Where they were the strongest, what he could do to make them stronger. When he had first joined the volleyball club he was going to go for the setter position until he saw the team’s starting setter. The setter always brings out the best in the rest of the players, so I should bring out the best in players too. Even Oikawa, I’ll be a great spiker that he can always turn to, and a second setter on the court, Takumi had vowed to himself after seeing Oikawa play for the first time. Now he finally got to bring out the best in the team as their second setter, even if it was only for one rally.

Hinata took the ball and prepared to serve. He could now show Hoshiumi that he had been working on his serves. Hinata aimed the ball near Hoshiumi, hoping that it would fall slightly in front of him. Hinata hit the ball up and watched where it went.

Hoshiumi hadn’t expected Hinata to go back to the underarm serve. It was the first serve that a player learnt due to it being the easiest and least risky, but it came at the cost of reducing the accuracy. Hoshiumi just received the ball and passed it to Suwa.

Hinata was proud of his serve, he was finally gaining some accuracy and control over it, he reckoned that he would soon be able to aim the ball at the seams.

The set continued on with Hinata being blocked by Kamomedai’s blockers whenever he didn’t dodge and Watari and Inaba receiving the blocks. Eventually Aoba Johsai’s head coach called a time out. “Just keep pushing, ignore the commentators and do your best. You’re stronger than their blockers,” the head coach said.

”How does their no.10 keep attacking? He’s not even showing a sign of tiring or being demoralised,” Suwa said.

"What's our name?" Kobayashi asked noticing that Oikawa had forgotten to do so.

"AOBA JOHSAI!" the team replied.

The time out ended and the teams headed back to the court. “Sh-... -Oot,” Kyoutani cursed, changing his choice of words at the end, “Takumi’s gone brain dead,”

”Good save, we’ll have to deal with it,” Oikawa said, “I’m sure we’ll be fine. A few more blocks and I’d say that shortie pie’s blood lust will be appearing,”

The rally hadn’t gone well. Inaba had just managed to keep the ball up. “Takumi! Behind you!” Inaba shouted. Takumi looked behind himself and saw that the ball was headed for him. He set the ball using the backs of his hand and Iwaizumi hit the ball down. Takumi smiled, he got to be the second setter again. That’s right, if I get subbed off I won’t be able to spike or set the ball. So I’ll show that I deserve my spot on the team, Takumi thought as he regained his focus.

Hinata served the balll. Kamomedai set up their attack. Iwaizumi deflected the ball. Inaba received it and passed the ball to Oikawa. Oikawa tossed the ball for Hinata. Hinata went into spike the ball only to be blocked by Hoshiumi. I’m not losing the ball so easily, Hinata thought as he tried to aim for the gaps. Hoshiumi followed where the ball went, forcing Hinata into the joust if he didn’t want to lose the point.

”The two little giants go in to joust each other!” Mochizuki said. Hinata raised his legs and Hoshiumi did the same. 

“I have to thank you for the technique Shouyou!” Hoshiumi said as he copied the same technique that Hinata used, winning the joust.

”And Kamomedai’s ace, Hoshiumi Kourai, wins the joust,” Satou said.

”Don’t mind!” The team shouted as Hinata and Watari swapped. Being on the bench gave Hinata some time to think. Kourai copied my move. He was really cool. He really wants to win... Wow, I’ve been really stupid, Hinata was lost in thought, I need to play at my best so that if Kourai wins he doesn’t feel bad about it. He’s been doing it for me, so I need to do it for him. If he’s going to use my moves, then I’ll try his too! I’ll play my best so that the best team will win fairly and neither team can deny that they were meant to win. Hinata didn’t notice his blood lust pouring through, taking over his body, but the rest of his team did.

”We’ll be at full force soon!” Oikawa said to the team pointing to Hinata.

Hoshiumi looked over to Hinata, he’d seen his blood lust before and knew what it meant, Good, he’s gonna give it his all too. Let’s both finish this set in style, Hoshiumi thought, waiting for Hinata to be subbed on again.

Soon Hinata was back on the court again, ready to play and knowing what he wanted to do. “Oikawa-senpai, can you set the ball to the back of the court, please,” Hinata asked.

”Sure. You’re trying something out again,” Oikawa replied.

”Yup!” Hinata prepared. Iwaizumi served and Kamomedai set up an attack. Hinata jumped up and blocked, reaching much higher than before. He slammed the ball down much to the surprise of the spiker.

”Aoba Johsai’s no.10 blocks the ball, after jumping higher than he has in the match,” Mochizuki said.

Iwaizumi served again. This time Hinata was delayed in his guessing so he jumped diagonally, only able to deflect the ball, “Chance ball!” He called out. Iwaizumi passed the ball to Oikawa who set the ball backwards for Hinata. Hinata ran in a curve so that he would be able to get behind the ball and get a higher jump. He had learnt from Hoshiumi that how you ran affected the height of your jump, and Hinata decided to watch how high jumpers ran for inspiration. Hinata hit the ball as hard as he could from the end line of the court.

Hoshiumi smiled as he dived and missed the ball, Shouyou used my move! Hoshiumi squealed in his head.

”The speed on that run... It’s like he’s a speed demon,” Satou said.

With Hinata’s blocks being just as effective as Kamomedai’s Aoba Johsai caught up and eventually got in the lead.

”With Hinata’s abilities being made stronger by his blood lust Kamomedai’s blocking doesn’t seem as scary now,” Kobayashi said, “Our blocking is just as good as theirs but they haven’t gotten used to receiving it yet. I think we might win this set,”.

Aoba Johsai were one point away from getting the set point first when Hoshiumi went into serve again. Hoshiumi once again aimed the serve at Oikawa who was in the front row this time. Hinata, who was to the left of Oikawa, gave a thumbs up to Inaba as he went into toss the ball. The toss was low, but that was the point. Inaba ran up and tapped the ball over the net, giving Aoba Johsai the set point, with Oikawa going into the serve. After one serve Aoba Johsai won the first set 25:22.

”Sure Kamomedai have super strong blockers, but their team focuses on blocking not attacking. Sure they have the ace, but he’s the only attacker you need to worry about. Keep blocking them and keep attacking,” Kobayashi said.

”Shouyou, make sure to take a break from your blood lust. It’s draining,” Iwaizumi said to Hinata. And so the two teams walked onto the court again for the second set.

Chapter Text

Aoba Johsai kept their line the same, "Both teams keep the same line ups as we go into the second set," Mochizuki said, "With Aoba Johsai starting in their second rotation, presumably because of their captain's serving ability,"

"Yes Mochizuki. Out of all the players on Aoba Johsai, Oikawa Tooru definitely has the strongest serve," Satou replied.

"Let's make some noise for both our teams," Mochizuki said as he let the crowd cheer, "They got the quarter-finals at the summer inter-high tournament, will they get to the semi-finals this time? Make some noise for Kamomedai!" A loud cheer was heard for Kamomedai, "They're the true underdogs for this tournament, the last time they were here was four years ago where they got knocked out in the quarter-finals, will they continue to surprise us and surpass their previous efforts? Make some noise for Aoba Johsai!" A slightly quieter cheer was heard for Aoba Johsai.

Bokuto overheard the commentating for court B, "It's not fair, they got Mochizuki," Bokuto sulked. Akaashi sighed, he knew that Bokuto had a favourite commentator, Mochizuki Makoto, better known as The Hype Animal. The only reason that Bokuto liked this commentator was that he would hype Bokuto up, boosting Bokuto's already large pride and ego. Fukurodani knew better than any other team at nationals the importance of commentators.

There were the generic ones, who whilst didn't make anything worse (unless you had Bokuto on your team), they also didn't make anything better. There were the biased ones, which were always the worst for the team they weren't supporting. There were the technical ones which loved to dissect every play that took place. They can be distracting especially in a serve. Then there were the supportive ones, which were almost always the best ones. There were the ones that like to create tension between the teams, which were definitely the worst. Finally there were the ones that hyped up the teams and got the audience excited, they were a hit or a miss. Either they helped or hindered.

"I bet Mochizuki really wanted to commentate your match but ended up being put on court B instead," Akaashi lied.

"Yeah? Yeah!" Bokuto got fired up again.

Meanwhile on court B the second set began. Oikawa went into serve, scoring a service ace. Oikawa scored another two points before Kamomedai figured out how to receive the serve again. They set up an attack which the front row struggled to receive due to being overwhelmed by Hoshiumi's power. Watari went to receive the ball and passed it to Oikawa. Before the rally had began Oikawa had signalled to Hinata to do the lethal move, in it's normal mode, Hinata began running down at his regular top speed.

It's going to be the god like quick, Hirugami thought, No the ball's set higher than usual, it's the speed change move meaning that he'll end it with a feint, Hirugami was glad that he'd watched their previous matches, prefecture tournament included, "It's going to be a feint," Hirugami said.

He's figured me out already, Hinata thought, panicking a bit. Kyoutani was annoyed. It was just like the Inarizaki match, the team was being overlooked due to a battle between two of the payers on the court. So he decided to go in a steal Hinata's spike. Kyoutani jumped in front of Hinata and hit the ball with all his power.

"Yeah! Look at me now, why don't cha! Suck my di-mgphhhh" Kyoutani shouted, Takumi covering his mouth before Kyoutani could swear on national TV.

"Why do you have to be so unfiltered, Kyoutani," Takumi sighed.

"You can go and lick my unfiltered..." Kyoutani began to insult Takumi. He was about to swear again when Takumi kicked his friend in the balls, "OW! What the f-OW!" Kyoutani shouted in pain as he grabbed onto his balls. Takumi slapped him when he was about to swear again. The referee gave the two a warning, both hid their laughter. "Assholes," Kyoutani muttered under his breath.

Oikawa served again. Kamomedai received and attacked, this time scoring a point. 4:1 (to Aoba Johsai). Hoshiumi went to serve. Instead of aiming at seams and the area where Oikawa would be running in front of Inaba at. Inaba and Oikawa got caught off guard by Hoshiumi's new aiming spot, letting the ball fall. "Don't mind!" Watari said.

"Next time!" Inaba replied. Hoshiumi served again. Inaba chucked his body onto the floor, extending out his right arm so that he could keep the ball up, "It's up!" Oikawa dug the ball which Takumi passed over the net. Kanbayashi received the ball and passed it to Suwa, Suwa set the ball for Hakuba. Hinata decided to deliberately jump later. Hinata was reaching the peak of his jump when Hakuba had finished hitting the ball. Even then the ball was still higher than him. Hinata just managed to hit the ball back over the net, scoring the point.

Hinata was next to serve, once again he used his underarm serve aiming it between Hoshiumi and Suwa. Suwa received the ball and Hoshiumi tossed it for Nozawa, who scored the point. 5:3 (to Aoba Johsai)

"Kamomedai's ace goes to show the full extent of his abilities, being able to set too," Satou said. The set continued, Kyoutani was swapped with Hanamaki . The set, for the most part, didn't seem to have a dominant side with scores often being tied. Near the later end of the set Kamomedai began to take the lead.

"This match looks boring," someone said, "Come on let's watch the Itachiyama match,"

"Look at the size of those players, they're tiny" someone else said, talking about Hoshiumi and Hinata, "Go back to elementary school! Stop messing around with high school students!" Hoshiumi and Hinata stared at the person who insulted them. Hoshiumi felt a bit of Hinata's blood lust for the first time, whilst the latter just shrugged.

"Dude, chill out," 

"Let's at least see why they got picked for their teams,"

Hoshiumi used his end line shot again. Hinata saw the shot and started running to the end line. Hinata jumped up and hit the ball back over the net, "What was that just then?" Mochizuki asked, "It seems like Kamomedai's Hoshiumi went in for his end line shot which Aoba Johsai's Hinata just hit back over the net, like: nope, not today!"

The two people who had previously insulted the two small players watched in amazement as the two showed off their skills.

Later on in the set Hoshiumi went in for a hit which would have been a clear shot if Hinata didn't go in for a joust. "And the two little giants go in for a rematch of the joust," Satou said.

I know that Kourai will overpower me if I try to tackle this joust normally. So I'll do the move I did with Atsu-chan, Hinata thought as he leaned back, taking the ball with him, Kourai's gonna be able to get the ball though, Hinata thought as he set the ball for Hanamaki. Hanamaki scored the point.

"It seems that no.10 deliberately fell with the ball in order to set it. What can't these two do?!?" Mochizuki shouted.

Udai watched the match, he felt no strong urge to support either team, instead he just watched the match as a match. These two were definitely better players than I was back when I was the Little Giant.

This set was definitely harder for Aoba Johsai, Kamomedai started using their bunch shift tactics which dictated where the spikers spiked the ball withouth them knowing, it was at that point when the team wished that Kyoutani had stayed on for a bit longer as he wouldn't be affected by the shifts.

Eventually the two teams went into a deuce, with Kamomedai being the first team to reach the set point. Hinata sighed, I have to go all out. If we win in this set then it has to be in such a way that we undoubtedly won, otherwise it doesn't count. Hinata let his blood lust posses him.

It looks like Shouyou's giving it his all, so I'm gonna give it my all too! Hoshiumi thought as he prepared for the rest of the set. "Reverse mode," Hinata said to Oikawa who looked like he was about to object, "I know that I'll get it,"

Inaba served, Hoshiumi spiked, Watari received the ball. Oikawa stood in the front centre of the court. Hinata began running to the left side. Oikawa quickly set the ball with his absolute maximum power speed and height, even then it might not be enough. The two were dealing with Hinata's top level of blood lust. Hinata ran to the other side of the court, curving around Oikawa, at an insane speed. Nobody on Kamomedai could keep up with Hinata as he jumped up and hit the ball. Just as he was going to release the ball he curved his hands around it and changed it into an unnecessary feint. The feint was so fast that it wasn't until the second and third bounces that anybody had realised the ball had fallen. "..." Satou said. 25:24 (to Aoba Johsai)

"It seems like my fellow commentator is lost for words. What was that right now? How fast was that? How high did he jump?" Mochizuki said, "Well we can only give you the answer for one of those. Our friends from the analytics department have just told me that the full jumping reach right there of Hinata Shouyou was 356 cm... Is that even possible?" the crowd went silent for the first time in the whole match, "Well, Kamomedai need to get the next point if they don't want to go home,"

Have we lost? Hoshiumi asked himself, NO! he slapped himself in the face, It's like what Shouyou would say. We haven't lost yet. We can still get that point. It's one point to keep in the game, then I'm next to serve, so I'll be able to score the next two points and win us the set. Yeah! We're not going home! We're not going home without a fight!  "IT'S NOT OVER YET!" Hoshiumi shouted at his team mates, "WE'RE GONNA WIN THIS SET! AND THEN WE'RE GONNA WIN THE GAME! YOU HAVE ME! RELY ON ME! I'M OUR ACE FOR A REASON!"

"It looks like Kamomedai haven't given up yet, they're going to keep fighting right until the very end," Satou said. Hoshiumi felt a strange feeling in his body. He felt powerful. More powerful than usual. Inaba served again. Kanbayashi passed the ball to Suwa who tossed the ball to Hoshiumi. Hoshiumi ran and jumped, he felt like he had gone faster than usual.

"YES KOURAI!" Hinata shouted, "Channel the determination. Embrace the blood lust," as he noticed the very same blood lust that he had in his friend.

"In a strange turn of events Aoba Johsai's Hinata seems to be cheering on Kamomedai's Hoshiumi," Satou said.

"The epic bond between two friends, forced to play on opposite sides of the court, but only one can win. Which one will win?" Mochizuki cried, wiping away the tears from his eyes. Hoshiumi's powerful hit was given even more power causing Hinata and Oikawa's block to break easily, "Kamomedai get the point and are back in the game!" 25:25.

Hoshiumi went in to serve. His serve knocking Watari back as he kept the ball back in the air. Takumi dived for the ball, using hit floor set. Hinata took the final hit. Dunking the ball over the net. 26:25 (to Aoba Johsai)

I'm not giving up. I'm not letting you win easily. We won't know who's the strongest that way, and I don't want to send you home without giving it my all Shouyou/Kourai, the two friends thought as they reached the same point again, Aoba Johsai only needing to score one more point to win the game.

Oikawa went in to serve, he knew that a lot was counting on this serve. If it went well, they would win the match, if he mucked it up he risked losing the set. Oikawa aimed the ball between Hoshiumi and Suwa. "I'll get it!" Hoshiumi thought as he received the ball and passed it to Suwa. Suwa set the ball for Hoshiumi who hit it powerfully from the end line.

Inaba dived for the ball keeping it up in the air. Watari set the ball and Hinata went in for the spike. The Immovable Hirugami proved his title as he towered over Hinata in his block. Hinata aimed the ball to the left hand side of Hirugami. Hirugami reached out and blocked the ball. Not so fast, Hinata thought as he went into a joust against Hirugami.

Suddenly everything else disappeared, the rest of his team, the rest of Kamomedai. All of their voices and bodies, gone. There was just darkness, Hirugami, Hinata and the ball. Hinata closed his eyes and focused on his body's movements as he raised his legs, making sure they didn't crash into the net. He pushed down on the ball, hoping it was enough. Hirugami pushed back and Hinata felt his legs extend again. Hinata raised his legs and pushed down on the ball, this time faster. Hirugami pushed back again and Hinata's legs extended again. Hinata raised his legs and pressed down on the ball, this time all as one movement, one thought. Hirugami tried to push back but both felt their grasp on the ball loosen as the ball slipped from their hands and fell. The ball had fallen and Hinata could feel his body falling too, urging him to land on the floor.

Hinata hadn't opened his eyes yet so he didn't know what side of the court the ball fell on, his sense of sound gradually returned to him.

"-wins the joust!" Mochizuki shouted standing up. Who? Hinata thought as he landed on the floor, rolling to ease the fall. Hinata opened his eyes to see where the ball was. It had landed directly under the net. He watched as everyone stood in shock.

"Which means that..." Mochizuki continued, Which means what? Hinata thought, getting impatient for the result of the joust, "AOBA JOHSAI HAVE WON THE QUARTER-FINALS AND ARE GOING TO THE SEMI-FINALS!!!" [AJ:K - 2:0/ 25:22, 27:25] We won! Hinata thought, We won, so that means that I won the joust!

"It is very impressive, winning in straight sets so late on in the tournament. I'm sure the team is over the moon about the result," Satou said. But if we won... 

"I have to say I was on the edge of my seat for that deuce and then the joust at the end had me falling off of my seat," Mochizuki said ...Then Kamomedai and Kourai...

"I know, we all saw," Satou replied ...lost.

"Well Aoba Johsai's no.10 didn't, he had his eyes closed," Mochizuki joked, So they have to go home, Hinata realised the fate of Kamomedai. Hinata looked over to Hoshiumi who was both happy and sad at the same time. He was smiling, and it looked like he was genuinely happy about the result, but there was a touch of sadness in his eyes. Hinata got up off the floor and joined his team in lining up, "Thank you for the game!" the two teams said then the players went to shake each other's hands. 

"We can cry once we leave the court," Hinata said, reassuring Hoshiumi, "But until then let's be strong,"

"Y-yeah," Hoshiumi replied, just about holding back his tears,

"Well, I was expecting that you would win, but not in straight sets. Well done today, go and enjoy some matches, some well earned rest and some lunch. Kyoutani make sure Takumi eats," the head coach said, "I expect all of you who were on the court at some point during the match will be interviewed so make sure you don't make yourselves look like utter fools,"

"Tomorrow you two better behave," Oikawa said as he began to lecture Kyoutani and Takumi.

"You can go suck on my massive cock for all I care Oikawa," Kyoutani replied, Iwaizumi covered Hinata's ears.

"It's probably small like the rest of you," Takumi said.

"Shut up! It's not!" Kyoutani barked defensively.

"Four inches? Maybe three..." Takumi joked using his hands to estimate sizes, receiving a punch to the face from Kyoutani.

"It's probably bigger than yours anyway. You'd be choking on it Takumi," Kyoutani replied.

"You two cut it out," Iwaizumi said, separating the two, "Jerkawa makes a point. You can't go swearing or fighting on national TV. And you definitely can't be comparing dick sizes either," the two laughed, "It's not funny, especially when there are interviewers around,"

"Iwaizumi has quite large feet. You know what they say about large feet..." Takumi joked.

"Stop it you two," Iwaizumi said, his face turning pale at the joke.

"Well he does have a lot of B-D-E," Kyoutani added.

"B-D-E?" Hinata asked.

"It's nothing," Kunimi replied, hiding his embarrassment for Hinata, How does he not know what BDE is?

"Should we go and help Hinata get over the fact that this isn't the finals?" Kunimi asked Kobayashi and Kindaichi.

"No. I think he and Hoshiumi need some time alone. You guys heard them say yesterday that they were looking forwards to playing each other in the finals, both are going to be upset that Kamomedai are going home," Kobayashi said.

Hinata and Hoshiumi went over to each other after the match, ready to leave, "We're going to be interviewed, aren't we," Hinata said.

"Probably," Hoshiumi replied, even less in the mood to be interviewed than usual. Soon enough they were flocked with cameras, microphones and interviewers.

"There they are! The two Little Giants," an interviewer said, "Were you excited to see a fellow short player when you saw the other team?" the two sighed, of course the short comments were the first thing.

"We already knew that we would be playing the other," Hoshiumi said.

"Oh, like a rivalry," the interviewer said, "So were you excited when you found out you got to play the other?"

"No," Hinata replied.

"No? Why?" the interviewer asked.

"Because we were meant to play each other in the finals," Hinata explained.

"Ah, so you were annoyed at the match ups," the interviewer said, "So when did the two of you first meet? Was it on the first day of nationals? Before that?"

"We met at the Japan Youth Camp," Hoshiumi said.

"That makes sense, you're both strong players so getting into the camp must have been a given," the interviewers said, "Hoshiumi, what were your first thoughts on Hinata, at the Japan Youth Camp?"

"I was annoyed at first when he said that he played as middle blocker, but then after seeing him play I realised that he was pretty cool. I was surprised when Shouyou said that he wasn't his team's ace,"

"You're not Aoba Johsai's ace, Hinata?" the interviewer asked, she seemed surprised.

"No. It's our team's vice captain. Dadzu... Iwaizumi Hajime. He doesn't normally play as middle blocker but we needed our best receivers on the court," Hinata replied.

"I guess we'll have to see him in action tomorrow. And you Hinata, what were your first thoughts on Hoshiumi when you first met?" the interviewer asked.

"Well when I first saw him I tried to get closer to see if I was taller or not," Hinata began.

"Well it seems you found the answer out," the interviewer joked, Hoshiumi smiled, apart from the short comments at the start, which weren't even that bad, this interviewer had been better than most. If it wasn't for the fact that he wanted to be anywhere else but on court B, Hoshiumi might have actually enjoyed the interview.

"Yeah. And then I saw Kourai's end line shot for the first time, and it was awesome. He was really cool, and I was determined to not let him overshine me," Hinata reply.

"I've noticed that the two of you are on first name basis. Is it some sort of rivalry thing, mocking the other? Or is it because you're close?" the interviewer asked.

"We became friends on the youth camp," Hinata said.

"Wow, good for you. So I've noticed that you both have a variety of special moves. A couple of those seemed similar, did you two learn them at the same time, or did one of you copy the other?" the interviewer asked.

"When I first saw Shouyou's joust technique I was impressed. I'd always thought that jousting was the one no go area of volleyball for me. So after seeing Shouyou defeat much larger blockers with a joust I decided to copy his technique, and I guess it worked," Hoshiumi answered.

"When I saw that Kourai used my jousting technique I decided that I wanted to try one of his moves, so I decided to try and use the end line shot in the middle of the game. My setter was quite confused when I asked for the ball to be set backwards," Hinata replied.

"Hoshiumi, are you planning on retiring after Summer Inter High next year, or are you planning on staying on the team and going to next year's Spring Tournament?" the interviewer asked.

"I'm probably going to stay on the team," Hoshiumi replied.

"Hinata, what's it like being the only first year on the starting line up?" the interviewer asked.

"We don't really have a regular starting order," Hinata said, "So sometimes the others are on, and sometimes I'm on,"

"Oh really," the interviewer said, "Tell me more,"

"Well we change our starting order to fit the team that we're playing, like today we had Inaba on so that we could receive Kamomedai's blocks," Hinata explained.

"Interseting. Okay a question for both of you. Why volleyball?" the interviewer asked.

"What?" Hinata asked.

"Why did you choose to play volleyball, you both seem very athletic so what made you pick volleyball over every other sport? And why should other players, who may think that they're too short to play volleyball, play volleyball?" the interviewer explained her question, Hoshiumi was surprised, it wasn't why did you choose to play volleyball, surely because you're so short other sports would be better. The interviewer actually acknowledged their abilities.

"I saw the Little Giant playing four years ago when Aoba Johsai first made it to nationals. It was the quarter-finals back then too. Up until then volleyball had been just another sport for me, but after seeing the Little Giant beat all the blockers I wanted to be just like him, so I started playing volleyball. And eventually I made it to Aoba Johsai, and now we're here playing at nationals," Hinata explained.

"So this is your fourth year of playing, wow you must have practised hard. And you, Hoshiumi?" the interviewers said.

"I wanted to play basketball first, but I eventually swapped to volleyball so I could be free of my brother," Hoshiumi said.

"Why did you want to be free of your brother?" the interviewer asked.

"He was much taller than me and enjoyed reminding me of that all the time," Hoshiumi explained.

"So you started playing volleyball to avoid him. When was this?" the interviewer said.

"Second grade of elementary school," Hoshiumi answered, "I didn't really enjoy the sport until I saw some official matches on TV. One day my elementary school's volleyball and basketball club had to share a court for practise and my brother wanted to try spiking. I told him that volleyball was hard, but he could spike the ball easily because he was tall and the rest of my team adored him for that. That's when I started trying to find ways to be better even though I couldn't grow taller,"

"I guess you're the one who's laughing now seeing as you're the ace for a Top Eight team," the interviewer said, "You've seen it and now you've heard it right here. Height doesn't restrict players from becoming the best volleyball players out there. Any last things you'd like to say?" Hinata shook his head.

"Being short in volleyball may very well be a disadvantage, but it does not automatically imply incompetence or ineptitude," Hoshiumi said.

"Alright. I'll let you two boys enjoy the rest of your day, and Hinata. Good luck in the semi-finals," the interviewer said, letting the two boys go.

"Who'd have thought there was one decent interviewer among all the crappy ones," Hoshiumi said.

"Yeah. Hey I have a map on me, we can try and find a place that might be empty," Hinata said getting the map out from his bag, ever since he'd gotten lost two days ago he made sure to keep it on him.

The two eventually found a secluded cat cafe. Once they got seated and made their orders they began to cry. "I don't want you to go home Kourai!" Hinata cried, "It's not fair, we were meant to play in the finals,"

"Now everyone doesn't get to see us play and less people will have their jaws drop," Hoshiumi cried. The two curled in the corner, hugging each other and crying.

"Are you two okay?" the waitress asked, the two boys looked up at her as she brought them their drinks and cat, "We have all the tournament matches on. I have to say your match was the most exciting. So are you two sad that one of you had to go home," the waitress took a seat, ready to listen to they boys.

"We were meant to play each other in the finals," Hinata said through tears.

"So everyone could see us play and be amazed, and so we didn't have to send each other home," Hoshiumi sobbed.

"But then you ended up having to play each other in the quarter finals instead," the waitress said, "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened," the two boys looked at her, "It's one of these inspiring quotes, my sister's crazy about them. Having a quote of the day and everything. I never thought I'd actually be saying one of them out loud,"

"Thanks, it really helped," Hoshiumi said as he wiped his tears away.

"Don't let my sister hear you," the waitress joked.

"At least I'll get to see Mami sooner," Hoshiumi said.

"See, there's the silver lining. So who's Mami?" the waitress asked.

"He's my cat. Well not mine, my family's," Hoshiumi said.

"Well it's a good thing you came to a cat cafe," the waitress said, "My nephew enjoyed your match, he said to me 'Auntie look! These two are just like me! They can jump! Do you think I could be a player like them?' and I told him yes, but I don't quite think he believed me. Do you mind if I bring him over?"

The two boys nodded and the waitress brought her nephew over to the table, "Here's my nephew," the waitress said.

"Why are you sad?" the young boy asked, "Everybody was looking at both of you. I know that I thought you were cool," 

"Really?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah. My auntie says that I can ask you my question," the young boy said, "Can I become a really cool player like you two?"

"Of course!" Hinata and Hoshiumi said, "You'll need to practise but I'm sure you'll make it to nationals too," Soon the waitress and her nephew left the two boys alone to have lunch.

Bokuto and Akaashi were waiting in a cat cafe, Kuroo's suggestion, for Kuroo and Kozume to come. They were about to head back to their inn and were going to say goodbye, more Kuroo than Kenma. "Oya?" Akaashi said.

"Oya oya," Bokuto replied.

"Oya oya oya," Kuroo finished, as the two joined the other two, "So how did your match go airhead?"

"We won. But a different match got Mochizuki!" Bokuto said.

"Mochizuki?" Kenma asked.

"His favourite commentator," Akaashi explained. The four had their lunch and were about to leave, "I'll catch up with you," Bokuto said as he stayed behind.

Bokuto approached Hinata and Hoshiumi, "So did the best team win?" Bokuto asked.

"I think so," Hinata replied.

"Yeah, we both gave it our all, but eventually Aoba Johsai won," Hoshiumi said.

"Well at least you know that the best team is carrying on, though it still sucks," Bokuto said.

The seven third years left the gym together, "Semi-finals, huh?" Matsukawa said, chuffed with the team.

"Who'd have thought that we'd get this far?" Hanamaki replied.

"I'm just happy we got to play at nationals. When we first got here I didn't really care if we got eliminated in the first few rounds, I was just happy I got to play at nationals on the same side of the court as Iwa-chan," the other five third years stared at Oikawa, "-And the rest of the team. But now that we've got this far, I want to win,"

"We came this far, we might as well win the whole tournament as well whilst we're at it," Iwaizumi joked, "I'm just glad that none of us retired," The seven returned to the inn earlier than the rest of the team so they could study. The coaches had allowed them to not meet at the bus stop since they were third years and they did need to study. Something about important final exams coming up.

Chapter Text

After the emotional afternoon Hinata and Hoshiumi said their final goodbyes, “I’ll call you at least once a week!” Hinata said.

”Make it two!” Hoshiumi replied, “And make sure you win,”

”I don’t want you to go home Kourai!”

”I don’t want to go home either Shouyou,”

”We have to stay in touch though. And make sure you get you coaches to arrange the matches,”

”Same to you,”

”See you next year, at the finals,” the two said to each other as they parted ways.

”Like I said earlier, well done on winning in straight sets, especially in the quarter-finals,” the head coach said, “It’s the semi-finals tomorrow, and first of all well done for beating our previous record at nationals, second of all we now know the match ups for tomorrow, we haven’t been officially told yet, but you can tell who it is,”

”We’re going up against the winners of Fukurodani versus Mujinazaka,” Oikawa said.

”Both have top five aces. Either we’re going up against Bokuto Kotaro or Kiryuu Wakatsu,” Iwaizumi said.

”Has anyone got the score?” Yahaba asked.

”I can find out if you want,” Hinata offered.

”There’s no need. I already know, Fukurodani won 2:1 / 23-25, 25-22, 25-22,” the head coach announced, “They seem to have a thing with the number four. From inter-high they lost in the semi-finals, making them a Top Four team. Their ace, if you were to rank the top five aces, would be the fourth and his jersey number is number four. I know it’s all a coincidence but I thought that that constant pressure of the number may actually affect some of you, so I thought I’d tell you now,”

”So what’s the rest of Fukurodani like?” Matsukawa asked.

”Well, like I’ve said they’ve got their ace, who, if it wasn’t for the fact that he’s a third year would definitely be a top three ace next year. And he is the core of the team. They have a strong setter Akaashi Keiji, not quite Miya Atsumu standard but close,” the head coach began.

”So we have to watch out for those two,” Hanamaki said.

”Not quite. You see their ace gets quite emotional on the court and is rather unpredictable, their team have gotten used to it and can play just as well without their ace. What I’m saying is that every player on the team is outstanding. They are all strong and you’ll have to watch out for all of them. That’s the nature of a true powerhouse school,” the head coach said.

The assistant coach found an article on Fukurodani’s boys volleyball team and showed it to the team,” They’ve made it to nationals seven times in a row, this being their seventh. Six out of those seven have had Bokuto Kotaro playing in them so that should tell you something about the ace’s abilities,” the assistant coach said.

”Yeah! He’s a better ace than Ushijima!” Hinata said.

”I just felt like someone hyped me up,” Bokuto said.

”No-one hyped you up,” Akaashi sighed, “Can you at least pay attention to the briefing, we’re about to be told who we’re up against next. Do you want to make it to Top Two or not?” Bokuto nodded his head as he silenced himself.

”Although you could have found this out from the results of all of today’s matches, we now know who we’re playing tomorrow,” Fukurodani’s coach said, “We’re playing Aoba Johsai. They beat Kamomedai today in straight sets so this may be a hard match. Not to mention they beat Inarizaki in the second round. I’d say that they are a Top Two team in ability,”

”Why not an actual Top Two team?” Komi asked.

”This is their second time ever coming to nationals,” the coach replied.

”Only their second time? Even though they’ve come this far?” Washio asked.

”They don’t often make it to nationals but when they do they get far, they got knocked out in the quarter-finals four years ago,” the coach said, “There’s one key reason why they don’t get to nationals. They have to beat Shiratorizawa to get here,”

”Bokuto, aren’t you happy about that? I thought you’d be jumping around the room now,” Akaashi said.

”I already knew they beat Shiratorizawa,” Bokuto said, “Which is why I’m gonna beat them so that I become a better ace than Ushijima,”

”Of course,” Akaashi sighed.

”But if they beat Shiratorizawa, then they must be scarily good. Like Shiratorizawa is scary, so the team that beat them...” Konoha said, trailing off.

”They have a range of impressive players and they’re considered a powerhouse school in Miyagi, their prefecture. They definitely focus on the offensive but they have a strong defence when needed. They don’t have a regular starting line up so you could be facing any six of their many strong players,” the coach said, “There are a good seven players you need to watch out for:

The team’s ace, Iwaizumi Hajime - no.4 - whilst nowhere near the top five, or even ten aces, is still a strong hitter and seems to be the closest with their setter.

Then there’s their captain and setter, Oikawa Tooru - no.1 - if they win this match and go onto the finals, then I’d say that he’d get the best setter award. His only rivals in setting are Miya Atsumu, his underclassman in junior high Kageyama Tobio and potentially Nekoma’s setter Kozume Kenma, but maybe I’m taking a stretch there. What I’m saying is that Aoba Johsai are known to work in a very specific way, they are like knights serving their king, Oikawa Tooru, making him work at his best.

They have some strong third year hitters, but the hitters that stick out the most are both second years. First there’s Kyoutani Kentaro - no.16 - he’s unpredictable and uncooperative. He’ll steal teams members tosses whenever he feels like it. And the power he gets on his spikes is impressive.

And then there’s the team’s strongest hitter, Takumi Hayashi - no.5 - he has god like control over his body and seems to be able to manipulate the ball to go wherever he wants it to with the more power than anyone else on the team. He can also set with the same control. If he played as a setter instead of a wing spiker he would be a superior setter to Oikawa Tooru and Miya Atsumu,” the head coach paused, “But that’s only their offence. Onto their defence,

The pinnacle of their defence is their libero, Watari Shinji - no.7 - he’s not an exceptional libero. Not for nationals, not even for Miyagi, that title would go to...”

”Karasuno’s libero, Nishinoya Yuu,” Akaashi said, remembering the libero from the training camp, “If anyone says that Karasuno is an offence only team they would be wrong,”

”Exactly, Watari Shinji is capable but not impressive, but as seen in their match yesterday, they have two liberos on the court and team. Their second libero, whilst not officially a libero, he can receive exceptionally well, Inaba Atsuka - no.8 - he can block well and receive well, limiting the number of points we score whilst increasing the number of attempts Aoba Johsai get.

Finally, the ringleader of the blocking, Hinata Shouyou - no.10 - he guess blocks exceptionally well, just as well as Shiratorizawa’s Guess Monster, Tendou Satori, who I expect taught him how to guess block,” the coach said

”So he’ll be tracking us and stopping us from getting a clean shot,” Sarukui interrupted.

”No, he won’t stop you from getting a clean shot unless the other blockers follow him,” the coach said.

”Why?” Sarukui asked.

”He’s the shortest player at nationals, at 164 cm tall. Although his jumping reach is 333 cm on average. But in some circumstances he’ll tower over you. His maximum jumping reach is 356 cm,” the coach said, the team stared at him in disbelief, “Before you doubt me, the analytics department calculated the jumping reach. But those are rare occurrences when he reaches those heights. The next part of Hinata Shouyou will be the more annoying part, he may be the shortest player at nationals, but he’s also the fastest player. You remember at inter high this year how we were beaten by Inarizaki. The two Miya brothers had their god like quick,” Fukurodani quickly remembered the match, “Hinata Shouyou and Oikawa Tooru can pull off that move too. At any point in the game, multiple times and then they have a set even faster than that,”

All of Fukurodani just sat in silence.

”Inarizaki beat us at inter high, we thought that we’d have to play them again this time, but instead we have to play the team that beat them, in the second round,” Akaashi said.

”I’m gonna win and show that I’m a better ace than Ushijima!” Bokuto shouted, getting fired up.

The two teams went to court in the morning the next day. Instead of the regular thirty minute warm-up the teams were allowed forty-five minutes and each were given their own court to warm-up on, “Okay listen up because I’m only going to say this once. We get fifteen minutes to warm-up in private before people start entering the stands,” Aoba Johsai’s head coach said. Unlike the quarter-finals which had slight overlaps with the starting timings of the matches the two semi-final matches were at completely different times. With Fukurodani versus Aoba Johsai taking the morning slot and Inubushi East versus Minamiyama taking the afternoon slots.

Quarter-finals timings:

Fukurodani Academy Vs. Mujinazaka High - 09:30 - warm-up | 10:00 - match start

Aoba Johsai High School Vs. Kamomedai High - 10:30 - warm-up | 11:00 - match start

Itachiyama Academy Vs. Inubushi East High - 11:30 - warm-up | 12:00 - match start

Shiritsu Sakae High Vs. Minamiyama High - 13:45 - warm-up | 14:15 - match start

Semi-finals timings:

Fukurodani Academy Vs. Aoba Johsai - 09:45 - warm-up | 10:30 - match start

Inubushi East High Vs. Minamiyama High - 13:15 - warm-up | 14:00 - match start

Fifteen minutes later and people started coming into the stands. The commentators began to set up. Bokuto and Akaashi looked over to the commentators, both happy that Mochizuki was one for different reasons.

Kamomedai had left early in the morning to catch their train. It was going to be a two and a half hour train journey back so they had to leave early in the morning. Hoshiumi just hoped that he’d be able to see some of Hinata’s match.

Soon the two teams were ready to start the match.

”LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! BOYS AND GIRLS! AND EVERYONE ELSE! WELCOME TO THE SPECTACULAR SEMI-FINALS OF 2013’S SPRING INTER HIGH TOURNAMENT! BETTER KNOWN AS THE SPRING TOURNAMENT!” Mochizuki shouted, “It’s the first of two matches, both teams have fought hard to get here, both raring to go! But only one can continue on to the finals. Who will it be? They’re here for the seventh time in a row, back at the semi-finals, will they make it to the finals this time? LET’S HEAR IT FOR FUKURODANI ACADEMY!” The crowd went wild, “It’s their second time ever at nationals, surprising everyone as they made it to the semi-finals, will they continue to surprise us and make it to the finals? LET’S HEAR IT FOR AOBA JOHSAI HIGH SCHOOL!” The crowd cheered again, much louder than the quarter-finals, “The captains, Bokuto Kotaro for Fukurodani and Oikawa Tooru for Aoba Johsai, go in to shake hands and decide who will be serving first and who will be receiving first,”

 IT'S SEMI-FINALS TIME!!! (I can't draw side on, I know)

Oikawa and Bokuto started walking to the other. Oikawa extended his arm but Bokuto kept walking towards Hinata, “Bokuto, you need to shake their captain’s hand,” Akaashi said, pulling Bokuto back.

”But I want to talk to Shoushou!” Bokuto pouted.

”We have to play the match first,” Akaashi sighed, knowing that Bokuto would start mentioning adoption soon.

”But he’s my son!”

”You aren’t legally his father!”

”Yes I am!”

”No you’re not,”

”Well then I’m his biological father,”

“Sure, you were a father at the age of two,”

”Actually I was one and a half,”

”So are you saying that Hinata’s mother is a pedophile,”

”No!”

”But in order for,”

”Just shut up Akaashi! I am the father! I have adopted him!”

”But you haven’t adopted him,”

”Because you haven’t found me the adoption papers yet!”

”And I’m not going to,”

”Yes you are,”

”Find them yourself,”

”Akaashi!”

”No. Puppy eyes won’t work on me, Bokuto. It just makes you look weird,”

”Please,”

”No,”

”Pretty please,”

”A court wouldn’t even accept it,”

”Pretty please with a cherry on top,”

”Just shake the captain’s hand,”

”If I shake it will you get me the adoption papers after the match,”

“No,”

”Then I’m not shaking his hand,”

”Bokuto,”

”I’m not shaking his hand until you promise me that you’ll get me the adoption papers,”

”Fine,” Akaashi sighed, Bokuto would probably forget to fill them in and even if he didn’t Akaashi could conveniently loose the papers on his way to some office that Bokuto would inevitably make him go to, “I promise to try and find the adoption papers after the match,”

”Hmph!”

”Now shake the captain’s hand,” Akaashi sighed, “And remember you can’t use sun, Godzilla or whatever other ridiculous move you’ve come up with in rock paper scissors,”

Bokuto went to shake Oikawa’s hand after the argument with Akaashi. The two captains then played rock paper scissors to decide who would serve first.

”Rock. Paper. Scissors. Shoot!” The two said, Oikawa went for scissors and Bokuto went in for a fist bump? Akaashi walked into the nearest wall.

”Can’t you tell that it’s a pencil case!” Bokuto said as he opened his fist, “And in my pencil case I have a rock, some paper, some scissors and... GODZILLA!” Akaashi decided to walk into the wall again, “So I win!”

”What the...” Oikawa said under his breath.

”’Cause Godzilla beats everything,” Bokuto said.

”Because it looks most like a rock, we’ll say that Fukurodani’s captain played rock. Which luckily for him, beats scissors. Bokuto, do you want to serve or receive first,”

”Receive,” Bokuto replied.

Oikawa walked back over to his team, utterly confused by Fukurodani’s ace, “We’re serving first. Hinata I would recommend getting a restraining order put in place from their ace. He’s trying to gain parental custody,” Oikawa said.

”Bokkun? But I already have Dadzumi,” Hinata said.

”No, I’m not talking about nicknames. He wants to get adoption papers,” Oikawa said, showing concern.

”You probably shouldn’t have told Hinata that,” Kunimi said preparing for the chaos about to happen.

”Papa!” Hinata shouted to Bokuto.

”See, I told you I’m his father,” Bokuto said to Akaashi, “So after I adopt him should I move to Miyagi or should Shoushou move to Tokyo? I think it would be better if Shoushou came to Tokyo,”

”Bokuto,” Akaashi said in a serious tone, “Drop the prank,”

”I’m dead serious,” Bokuto replied in an equally serious tone.

”Bokuto, we are not kidnapping a child,” Akaashi warned.

”I know, I’m going to get my parental custody over him,” Bokuto said.

”Can we just play the match,” Akaashi said as he forced Bokuto to line up.

”Thank you for the match,” the two teams said as they went to shake hands.

Hinata was very excited, he's too excited, Iwaizumi thought to himself, he needs to calm down, Iwaizumi but his hand on Hinata's shoulder, "Deep breaths Shouyou, focus on the game. Go through the signs once more," Iwaizumi said. Hinata went through all the signs in his head again. Aoba Johsai's starting line up was fairly simple: Oikawa was their setter; Matsukawa and Hinata were their middle blockers (back, front); Iwaizumi, Hanamaki and Kunimi were their wing spikers (front left, back left, front right); and Watari was their libero.

Kunimi smiled to himself, this was the second time that we was starting instead of Takumi, and this time he'd got on because of his abilities. I think I understand how Yahaba felt when he got put on during the Inarizaki match. Sure I don't mind being on the bench, it's not as bad as people say, but because of that I know that my time on the court is limited. I have to make the most of it. I'm going to hate myself if I only get five rallies which I didn't put any effort in. Anyway, I told the team in the third round that I would give it my all from then on. I'll show them that I kept my word, "Oikawa! Don't forget to toss to me!" Kunimi said, "I want to spike the ball too!"

"Yeah! Toss to Kunimi. There's a reason he's playing wing spiker and I'm playing middle blocker," Hinata said.

"Hinata the reason you play middle blocker is because you can guess block," Kunimi whispered to Hinata, "But thanks anyway,"

Hinata saw Kunimi smile for the first time since they'd met. It was a nice genuine smile and it made the younger boy look less dead inside, "See! You can smile Kunimi!" Hinata said, everyone on the team turned to Kunimi to see his smile.

"Whoa! What's this? Kunimi is actually smiling whilst playing volleyball? Is he actually enjoying himself?" Hanamaki joked, causing Kunimi to laugh.

"I thought he only knew how to eye roll," Matsukawa added.

"His first laugh!" Watari said, "Possibly his first laugh ever," Kunimi sent Watari a stare before laughing again, It feels nice being on the team, everyone's supportive. I never thought that expressing how I felt could be that easy, Kunimi thought as he faced Fukuroudani.

"Can I even call him Stoic-chan anymore?" Oikawa asked.

"Kunimi, keep on expressing how you feel. It's natural, there's nothing to be ashamed of. Cry when you feel like crying, smile when you feel like smiling, shout when you feel like shouting. Let it all out, we don't mind. We all do it, you don't need to hide how you feel," Hinata said to Kunimi, "So grab my collar and shove me up against the wall like you did after our first match against Shiratorizawa and yell at me, I don't care. Because your emotions are important Kunimi Akira! They matter so stop hiding them!"

"Yeah," Kunimi smiled, he had always thought of Hinata as the volleyball loser and the two never really hung out besides practise. Kunimi had never thought that they would get along. Friends have always just been a word for me, sure there are people I enjoy being around, like Kindaichi, but I don't think that I'd use the word friend. But now I understand. A friend is someone who's always there, and it's annoying and nice at the same time. You can knock them down but they'll keep coming back. But they're always there, there to listen, there to talk, there to annoy. They're always there right when you didn't realise you needed them. I guess I would consider Hinata to be my friend.

"And if you ever get overwhelmed by your emotions then we'll be here to help because we're your team mates," Iwaizumi said, "But try not to be a second Shouyou, we can't deal with two of you,"

"Thanks everyone," Kunimi said with a big smile, "Let's win this game! What's our name?"

"AOBA JOHSAI!" everyone shouted back both on court and off court.

"I believe in all of you. I believe that we can overcome our issues and barriers, so let's make it to the finals and win," Hinata said.

"I'm trusting you guys," Oikawa said as he began to prepare for his serve.

Oikawa scored three service aces before Fukurodani successfully received the ball. Akaashi tossed the ball. It's definitely Bokkun, and by the looks of things a straight shot too, Hinata thought as he signalled to Kunimi and Iwaizumi. Three went to block Bokuto, however Bokuto managed to get the spike over them as his jumping reach was much higher (339cm Vs. 327cm - Iwaizumii, 333cm - Hinata and 320cm - Kunimi). Watari received the ball and Oikawa tossed the ball which Hanamaki spiked. Fukurodani's blockers blocked it but Hinata noticed the ball falling. Hinata jumped for the ball, extending his left arm as it made contact with the ball. Iwaizumi noticed Hinata's save and dumped the ball over the net. Oikawa went in for his fifth serve.

"Don't mind Shouyou," Kunimi said, "We just have to jump higher right,"

"Yeah!" Hinata's eyes widened, "We just have to jump higher, Akira," Kunimi wasn't sure how, but he wanted to jump higher. Hinata may not have noticed it when he was on the court yesterday, but Kunimi was standing at the side of the court during the match so he noticed small details. The way Hoshiumi ran was different to others. He twisted his legs inwards, it might have something to do with gaining jumping height, it might not. Kunimi thought, I can try it out, it's better than trying to over jump and fall into the net. The next time Kunimi went into block he tried twisting his legs inwards a bit. It felt different but he noticed that his arms were reaching a higher part of Hinata's arm, It worked!

The set progressed and Fukurodani quickly caught up. The rest of the set continued with neither team gaining a lead. Kunimi knew that he'd only have a maximum of a set to show off his abilities, "Shouyou! Let me get this one!" Kunimi shouted as he went into joust Bokuto, I may not be able to win the joust, but I'll make sure that his spike is mucked up.

"And in a turn of events Aoba Johsai's no.13, Kunimi Akira, goes into joust Fukurodani's ace no.4, Bokuto Kotaro. He does know that he has to use two hands for any chance of success,” Mochizuki said. Kunimi leaned to his left, either he was going to win this joust or Bokuto was going to mess up his spike. Bokuto became unbalanced and Kunimi was granted full control over both players. Bokuto, with two hands on the ball instead of Kunimi's one, began pushing on the ball Kunimi took his left hand and applied more pressure to the ball, forcing it out of Bokuto's hands.

"Wow that is one jousting technique Aoba Johsai's Kunimi has there. It's like he put no effort into knocking that ball out of Bokuto's hands," Mochizuki said, "But it looks like he's being subbed off for Aoba Johsai's no.5, Takumi Hayashi,"

Kunimi smiled as he swapped with Takumi, he had done his best which was all he could do. He had done his best and now Takumi was going to do his best. After the swap Aoba Johsai were at their most offensive again. For the most part Hinata was in charge of the blocking. The team's blocks were quite strong but couldn't stand against Bokuto's spikes. Bokuto also varied his type of hits using wipes, feints, straights and crosses. It was hard for Hinata trying to keep up with the constant changes in Bokuto's attacks. "Their no.10 may be fast and analytical when it comes to blocking, but when it comes to Bokuto he's a guess blocker's nightmare. There's so many different possibilities of hits that they won't be able to know what type of hit it is until the last minute. A commit blocker is definitely the best blocker to have if you're going up against Bokuto. A read blocker is too slow and a guess blocker will over work themself," Akaashi said to a team mate.

Tendou could testify Akaashi's statement as he watched the match, also struggling to keep up with Bokuto's variety of hits.

"But I'm surprised with how well their no.10 is keeping up. This just proves that he was taught by the Guess Monster," Akaashi sighed.

The set was still just as tight even with Takumi on. The set ended with a deuce.

"Both teams have made it to the set point. That means that it's..." Mochizuki began.

"DEUCE TIME!" Bokuto and Mochizuki shouted.

Fukurodani served, having just won the point to entered the deuce. Watari received the ball. Oikawa tossed to Takumi. Bokuto went into block but Takumi's jumping reach was four cm greater than Bokuto's and he tipped the ball upwards. Komi dived for the ball keeping it up. Akaashi tossed the ball for Bokuto who went in for a feint. The sound of him hitting the ball is different to that of a regular hit, Hinata thought, It's softer... It's a feint, Hinata moved his body in realisation, dropping his arms down and digging the ball as he landed. Unfortunately, no-one managed to receive Hinata's dig and Fukurodani scored the point.

"Aoba Johsai really need to score the next point if they don't want to give Fukurodani the set," Mochizuki said. We know! Aoba Johsai thought. Sarukui served the ball. He probably had the most powerful serve of the team. Watari ran to receive the ball, rolling over his ankle and falling. Taking the ball with him, "And Fukurodani win the set in style,"

Chapter Text

Watari barely managed to stand up. After getting up he limped over to the rest of the team. Unable to put any pressure on his right ankle. "It looks like we've lost our libero," the assistant coach said, "I'll take him to the medical station. Kobayashi can you help me,"

"Yes," Kobayashi replied.

"What are we gonna do?" Yahaba asked, "Without Watari we won't be able to win, unless we go for a pure defensive line up,"

"I could always go in as libero. But I'd need a contrasting kit," Inaba said.

"Well it's a good thing I brought one," the head coach said, handing Inaba his libero kit, "Get changed Inaba, we'll tell the referees of the change,"

"The no.8 libero kit!" Inaba said excitedly as he rushed to the bathroom to change.

"Why did you have a spare libero kit on you?" Oikawa asked.

"I came prepared. I knew that if Watari got injured, Inaba would be able to take over as a libero. We may have to play with Inaba as our libero tomorrow as well, so be prepared. We're still going to have to up the defence," the head coach said, "Hinata, you go in as a wing spiker instead of Hanamaki and Kindaichi you'll fill in as middle blocker," The new starting order: Oikawa as their setter; Matsukawa and Kindaichi as their middle blockers (back, front); Iwaizumi, Hinata and Takumi as their wing spikers (front left, front right, back right); and Inaba as their libero.

Inaba returned in his turquoise kit. Inaba and the head coach went over to the referee, "Please can we re-designate our libero to Inaba Atsuka, no.8," the head coach said, "We're currently getting our designated libero, Watari Shinji, no.7, checked out but we think that he may have sprained his ankle.

"I see you already have a contrasting kit. Very well, I'll allow it," the referee said.

"Due to injury Aoba Johsai re-designate their libero from their no.7, Watari Shinji, to their no.8, Inaba Atsuka," Mochizuki said.

Nishinoya stared at the computer he was watching the match on, confused, Why are they making Atsuka play as a libero? I get that they need a new libero, but surely they have other receivers who were going to be off for the whole match, Nishinoya thought.

"Of course their main libero getting injured isn't a big deal for Aoba Johsai," Inarizaki's head coach thought, "They still have another libero on their team,"

"My receiving may not be as great as Watari's but I'll show everyone that I'm just as cool a libero!" Inaba shouted to his team mates.

"Inaba, you've more than proved that you can play as a libero this year," Oikawa said, "You managed to receive Miya Atsumu's serves, and yesterday you helped us win the match as our second libero. I'm trusting you to keep the ball up so I can keep setting it," Inaba's spirits lifted up, he'd always wanted to hear those very words said to him instead of Watari and now it was his chance. Inaba got to show off his skills as a libero in front of thousands of people in the semi-finals of the Spring Tournament.

"Wow Sarukui, your serve actually injured their libero," Washio joked. This set Aoba Johsai started off receiving. Inaba dug the ball to Oikawa who set it for Iwaizumi. Aoba Johsai scored the first point of the set. Hinata rotated into the server position. 

Hinata served, Akaashi set up an attack, Bokuto hit the ball. It's going too high, it might go out. I think it's going to curve down at the end. Either I'll have to dive backwards or jump for it, Inaba thought as he jumped for the ball, he passed it overhead to Oikawa. Inaba rolled to the ground as he shouted, "ROLLING LIGHTNING!"

Nishinoya and Inaba were practising outside of Inaba's house when a thunderstorm suddenly began. The two hurried inside and watched the storm, "I love thunderstorms, they're so cool! Like two opposites coming together to make something epic," Nishinoya said.

"Yeah. Like us," Inaba replied, "I've got a brilliant idea!"

"What?"

"My sister has some spare hair dyes, a blonde and a black I think. We should dye the fronts of our hairs. You could have a blonde tuft because of your lightning fast reflexes,"

"And you should use the black because your blocks are like the thundercloud. Certain doom. Sounds like a plan!" the two went to Inaba's sister's bathroom and dyed the fronts of their hair. Soon the storm passed and the two went outside again.

"What the hell did you do to my bathroom Atsuka?" Inaba's sister yelled, "You think this is some sort of joke. I spend my hard earned money to buy all that hair dye and ages cleaning up my hair dye so that mum can't find any evidence and then you do that! You are cleaning that mess up right now Inaba Atsuka and then you are paying for replacements for dumping all of the hair dye down the sink. Get going," Inaba's sister noticed Nishinoya, "Hi, Yuu!"

"Hi nee-san!"

"Well Atsuka. Get going. My bathroom isn't going to clean itself," Inaba's sister said.

"Fine," Inaba rolled his eyes as he went back into the house.

"Inaba Atsuka, you are going to be in so much trouble when mum sees what you've done with your hair," Inaba's sister said in delight, "Shoo! Get cleaning. Not you too, Yuu," Inaba's sister saw Nishinoya's hair. Nishinoya decided to go help Inaba in the bathroom.

"It's not fair. We didn't make that much of a mess," Inaba complained, "I'm getting revenge. Let's swap the two dyes," Inaba grabbed a container and poured all the blonde hair dye into it. Inaba rinsed the hair dye bottle before pouring all of the black hair dye into the blonde bottle. Inaba then rinsed the black hair dye bottle before pouring the blonde hair dye into it and then he washed the container.

Later that night Inaba's mum saw what Inaba had done to his hair and was not pleased, "Atsuka, no hats a the table. You can't hide what you've done from me that easily. I know from your sister that a hat at the table means that someone's tried to dye their hair. Take it off," his mum said, Inaba took the hat off, "Atsuka, go to your room. Now!" Suffice to say, Inaba was grounded for a week.

A few weeks later Inaba's sister went to dye her hair. After seeing the unexpected results she knew who the culprit of switching the dyes was, "Inaba Atsuka get your ass into my bathroom right now!" she yelled. Inaba went into her bathroom.

"Nice hair. Good to see you changed it up. Mum might be a bit annoyed though," Inaba smirked.

"You did this! You swapped my dyes!" 

"I think you must have gotten the bottle confused,"

"You switched them. Admit it and I might change my mind about killing you,"

"MUM!" 

"Oh no you don't!"

"NEE-SAN DYED HER HAIR!" Inaba left the bathroom, content with the chaos he'd caused. He went to Nishinoya's house.

"Oh, Inaba you're here. Yuu's in his room," Nishinoya's mum told Inaba.

"Atsuka! I was thinking about what high school to go to, and then I saw something amazing. Have you seen Karasuno's girls uniform?" Nishinoya shouted.

"No," Inaba replied.

"It's amazing. And the boys wear black gakuran jackets. I have to get into it!"

"That's great. I'm still not sure which one I'll go to. I doubt I'll get into Shiratorizawa either through volleyball or academics. And I'm the smartest out of the two of us. I mean there's Date Tech or even Aoba Johsai, if I got a scholarship,"

"But for all of those you'd get stuck in a blazer for another three years,"

"I know, but there's more to a school than it's uniform Yuu,"

"Black gakuran jackets!"

"But their volleyball team isn't as good as the others,"

"Cute girls in cute uniforms!"

"Yuu! I'm being serious here,"

"Hmm. Well getting into Shiratorizawa is basically impossible. Date Tech have teal blazers so that's a no go. Try and get the scholarship for Aoba Johsai, and if you don't get it come to Karasuno with me, and the black gakuran jackets,"

"I guess, I can't believe we lost our final junior high tournament,"

"Zip it! I don't want to hear another word about it. Anyway I was thinking, you know what makes special moves even cooler,"

"What?"

"Adding a roll! Regular spike, meh. Regular spike with a roll at the end, yes! As the Thunderstorm Duo we should both have a rolling move which we name after the other part of the duo, so we know that the other has our back!"

"Yeah!"

Nishinoya watched as Inaba shouted "Rolling Lightning!" It brought a tear to his face, knowing his friend hadn't forgotten about the Thunderstorm Duo either.

Oikawa received the overhead pass and tossed the ball which Hinata spiked and scored a point off of, "Inaba, was the roll really necessary?" Iwaizumi asked.

"Yes," Inaba replied.

The set continued with Aoba Johsai occasionally getting leads which were quickly cut short by Fukurodani. Fukurodani reached the set point first, with Aoba Johsai closely behind on 23 points. "Aoba Johsai have to score the next point if they want to be able to continue to the finals, will we be going into yet another deuce?"

Konoha served the ball which was aimed right at the right side line. Inaba knew that he couldn't let Oikawa get the first touch, so he ran across the back section of the court. Lowering the right side of his body as he got close. Soon he got close enough to dive for the ball, landing on his side, "It's up!" Inaba said as he continued to slide, getting up and running back to the other side of the court where he was meant to be. Oikawa tossed the ball for Takumi.

"Once again it's..."Mochizuki said.

"DEUCE TIME!" Bokuto and Mochizui shouted.

Iwaizumi went into serve. Fukurodani set up an attack. Kindaichi and Hinata went to different players to block. Kindaichi went to the right spiker, "Nice block Kindaichi!" Hinata said.

Iwaizumi served again, this time the pressure got to him and it went out. "Don't mind Dazumi!" Hinata said. The two teams kept going back and forwards.

"When will this deuce end? I'm on the edge of my seat!" Mochizuki said, "If I edge any further I'll fall off of it! We're already at 29:29, with Fukurodani taking the serve"

Akaashi served. Takumi received the ball and passed it to Oikawa.

"I am literally about to fall off of my seat! Mochizuki said, "We are at 32:32 and neither team show signs of giving up!" Fukurodani served again.

Inaba received the ball. Oikawa tossed it to Hinata who used a feint, scoring the point and rotating into the serve postion. Hinata scored a service ace.

"One more point is Aoba Johsai need to win the set. One more point to save themselves and me from falling off of my seat!" Mochizuki said.

Hinata served again. This time Fukurodani received it, they set up their attack. Bokuto's straight spike down Fukurodani's left side of the court (Aoba Johsai's right side) Hinata channelled all his energy into this jump. Jumping up, Hinata hit the ball as hard as he could, using Hoshiumi's end line shot from a stand still. Everyone watched as the ball went over the net and left Fukurodani all stood still as the ball landed.

"And I still fell off my seat!" Mochizuki said, getting up, "But Aoba Johsai win the second set 32:34 and grasp onto their chance of making it to the finals,"

Hoshiumi had turned the TV on the minute he got back to his house, ignoring his mother's begs for him to greet his father and brother, I need to see how Shouyou's doing, Hoshiumi looked at the score on the screen which showed how Fukurodani won the first set, 26:24. Hoshiumi watched as the two teams entered their second deuce which reached the thirties, Shouyou used my end line shot as a block again! And from a stand still! He's definitely the stronger player, "Honey, you just got back and you're watching more volleyball. I'd thought you'd want to see Mami," Hoshiumi's mum said to him.

"Yeah, I have two minutes," Hoshiumi said as he went to find Mami.

"Oh, is this the friend you were talking about Kourai?"

"Which team and number?" 

"Aoba Johsai, their no.10,"

"Yeah that's Shouyou,"

"So you wanted to see his match then,"

"Yes. There you are Mami, I've missed you so much," Hoshiumi grabbed Mami and took him downstairs.

"Just don't let Mami ruin the sofa. I'll prepare lunch,"

"Thanks, Mum!"

Chapter Text

After only just winning the second set, Aoba Johsai walked off the court and over to their coaches, “Just don’t go thinking you can replace me that easily Inaba,” Watari said noting the re-designated libero.

”I wasn’t planning on,” Inaba replied.

”It’s a close match, I’m not sure if we’ll be able to win this in our weaker form. If we want to win and make it to the finals we’re going to have to give it our all and suffer,” the head coach said, “I predict that we’ll have yet another deuce. Make sure you save your energy for it,” Aoba Johsai started the third set with the same players but Takumi and Oikawa had switched their places.

”I believe that we can do it!” Hinata said.

”What’s our name?” Oikawa asked.

”AOBA JOHSAI!” The team shouted.

They started with Oikawa serving again. Fukurodani had forgotten how scary the serve was. 0:3 (to Aoba Johsai). Soon Fukurodani received the serve and began scoring points.

”Even after a bad start to the set, Fukurodani appear to be dominating the third set too, but Aoba Johsai is also fighting too. The winners of this set go on to the finals where they have a chance of winning this year’s tournament, whilst the losers have to go home. There’s everything to play for,” Mochizuki said. Yes, there is everything to play for, Hinata thought, But almost everything I wanted to play for is already gone. The only thing left for me to play for is my declaration I made to Atsu-chan, but even then that barely counts because we already beat Inarizaki, so after that he probably discounted my declaration. But I’m not going to give up. There’s one final thing that I have to play for. If we lose today then we won’t get to continue playing and I want to play on the court for as long as possible, so I can’t lose today. 

Kindaichi sighed, it was a hard match, Fukurodani’s ace was just like Ushijima. All their blocks were breaking, and we don’t have Inaba, the strongest blocker - our iron wall, because he has to play as a libero, Kindaichi thought, I just have to keep pushing on.

The pressure of the match was starting to get to Iwaizumi. Fukurodani were putting the most pressure on him because he was their ace, the other players were still getting pressure but nowhere near the same levels as Iwaizumi was getting. It feels like a battle of the aces when I’m up against Bokuto, Iwaizumi said, No matter how many times I remind myself that there are six of us on the court, it always feels like it’s just me. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to win this battle between me and Bokuto. As aces he’s one hundred times better than I could ever be. I just have to hope that he loses his morale first. 

“Iwaizumi, if you’re going to give up now then you’re letting down all the teams that we’ve previously beaten in this tournament to get this far, both back in Miyagi and here in nationals. You’re disrespecting their losses,” Inaba said, “Dewaichi, Date Tech, Karasuno, Shiratorizawa, Tsubakihara, Inarizaki, Nekoma and Kamomedai, they all want you to win for them. Each member of the eight teams have lost to us and they are trusting us to win for them. So if you’re going to give up for yourself, at least continue for them,”

“Yeah Iwa-chan,” Oikawa added, “Each ace you’ve beaten along the way is giving you their power for you to continue on. Combine the power of the nine aces and add another one to the collection. Besides, you’ve beaten a top three ace before, so why not a top five,”

“Okay,” Iwaizumi said, preparing himself. Both teams pushed on, wanting to win the set as quickly as possible, neither could afford to lose this set. 

Hoshiumi watched the third set as his mother prepared lunch, he knew that the third set was probably the most important set if a match got to that point, neither team knew who could win, just like the beginning of the match. Shouyou, you have to win! Kourai thought, You need to show everyone there in the stands that height doesn’t matter as you score the winning point in your game in the finals! The match didn’t seem to go in either direction, both teams were close, which made it even worse.

The weaker members of both teams were beginning to tire, neither team wanted this to go into yet another deuce as they both raced to reach the set and game point first. This urge to win the set point first fuelled Hinata’s blood lust and allowed Aoba Johsai to make a push. 21:23 (to Aoba Johsai)

”It looks like Aoba Johsai may actually win the set!” Mochizuki said. Oikawa and Hinata went in for the lethal move - normal mode. Unfortunately Hinata ran too fast and missed the ball.

“I’m so sorry! Please swap me off for Kyoutani!” Hinata cried, the team gulped, Hinata’s blood lust had vanished at such a crucial time and now the team had to deal with the self destruction the move caused.

Bokuto went in for a serve, it crashed into the net, “Bokuto’s gone into emo mode,” Akaashi commented as he saw Bokuto’s hair deflate.

”Akaashi,” Bokuto said dramatically, “Don’t toss to me,”

”And from a failed serve, Aoba Johsai get the set point,”

”Shouyou, we need you on the court,” Iwaizumi said, pushing Hinata into the server position, “No-one else here can do an underarm serve with the same accuracy as you,”

”But what if I muck it up Dadzumi?” Hinata asked.

”We got the set point first and they still need two more points. If you muck up your serve we’ll deal with it,” Iwaizumi replied.

Hinata served. Komi received the ball. Saraukui spiked the ball. Hinata received it. Iwaizumi spiked the ball. Komi received the ball. Sarukui spiked the ball. Hinata received it. Iwaizumi spiked the ball. The rally went on and on until Iwaizumi made the first mistake and let Fukurodani get the point, “It’s all my fault! I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have mucked up my serve,” Hinata said.

”It’s fine, your serve was good,” Iwaizumi said, “And if you really think that it’s all your fault, then you need to do something about it. You said that you can adapt, but you don’t seem to be doing that right now,”

”Yeah, you’re right,” Hinata said, his blood lust returning at full force, he tilted his head, showing off his fiercely determined  eyes, “I’m gonna adapt so much that even I won’t know what move I’m gonna do next,”

With Aoba Johsai at full force again, they made their next attack. Unfortunately Fukurodani also reached the set point, “This match is definitely one of the closest that I’ve seen. It’s reached it’s third, and final, DEUCE TIME” Mochizuki said, this time Bokuto didn’t join in.

Neither team were giving up the set and eventually Bokuto came out of his emo mode again, putting the pressure on Iwaizumi again, becoming too much for him. He was constantly being blocked.

“Dadzumi!” Hinata watched as Iwaizumi’s confidence left him, Aoba Johsai had lost their ace. In the battle between the two aces Iwaizumi lost his confidence and couldn’t continue spiking.

”Iwa-chan!” Oikawa called out, “Don’t give up yet! I’m trusting in you!”

”It’s no use. I just can’t seem to get past their blocks,” Iwaizumi sighed.

”But you can’t give up, Dadzumi!” Hinata said.

”I’m not giving up. I’m still on the court, and I’ll still receive the ball. But I’m not the team’s ace anymore. If I can’t push through this then I can’t call myself the ace. I’m handing the title over to someone else,” Iwaizumi said, the team looked at Takumi.

”So, what do you say next year’s ace?” Inaba said to Takumi, “Want to become this year’s ace,” Everyone waited for Takumi’s response.

”I think Hinata should be our next ace,” Takumi said, “Whenever we feel like giving up, or that we’ve already lost Hinata is there for us. He’s what keeps us going when it seems like we can’t go on. He’s got the true spirit of the ace, I think we should let him take over,” Hinata stared at Takumi.

”But I’d thought that you’d want the ace position Takumi,” Hinata said, “You have a stronger hit than me. If anyone can get past blockers easily, it’s you,”

”I do. I still want to be the ace, but I don’t think that I should be the ace. Sure, I have stronger hits, but you never give up and you bring out the best in us, especially Oikawa. Which brings out even more in us. You’re what makes us stronger, and that’s exactly what an ace does,” Takumi explained.

“I’m fine with it,” Iwaizumi said, “I think both of you would make a good ace,”

”Go get ‘em shortie pie!” Oikawa said, “Go get ‘em ace!” Hinata smiled at his team, he was their ace now and he was going to make sure that they won.

“And when all seemed to being going downhill for Aoba Johsai they manage to pick themselves up. And what you saw here today, people, is the changing of the ace. The beacon of hope for the team, being passed from the current ace, to the next one. Whilst the ace isn’t an official position, it is an important title. And in a turn of events Aoba Johsai’s former ace, Iwaizumi Hajime their no.4, gives the title to their speed demon rookie, Hinata Shouyou their no.10. Which makes him the shortest and fastest player at nationals and the only first year ace here as well,” Mochizuki said.

Hinata stared at Bokuto, whilst he knew the ace was probably stronger than him, but Hinata knew that giving up wasn’t an option either, Bokkun my have made Dadzumi give up being the ace, but he also made it so that I’m know our team’s ace. Hinata thought as he prepared, even more blood lust pouring through.

Hinata scored points off of his blocks and spikes, I’m not reaching my true potential yet, Hinata thought as he ran for the spike again. He had seen that Oikawa had already tossed the ball and knew that it was coming for him. Hinata had ran, jumped and hit the ball before anyone on Fukurodani had even realised it.

”And there it is, Aoba Johsai’s new ace, Hinata’s full jumping reach of 356 cm!” Mochizuki said.

”That speed,” Washio said.

”That height, it was like he was going to jump over the net,”  Onaga said.

”Bokkun!” Hinata shouted, “I know that you want to beat us to prove that you’re a better ace than Ushijima, but you’re gonna have to beat me to do that. And Ushijima called me a better ace, so don’t think that’ll it’ll be easy beating me!”

Shoushou never told me that Ushijima called him the better ace. Then I’m just gonna have to beat him to show that I’m better than both, Bokuto thought.

Fukurodani called a time out, “We’re not going to be able to beat their no.10, and new ace, in his current state. Let’s focus on putting pressure on all the other players. Force it back into a battle of the aces and then crush their no.10’s morale. Their no.10 may be jumping higher, so aim around him,” their coach said.

”We’re going to win!” Hinata said confidently, “We’re making it to the finals, I can tell,”

”Yeah!” everyone else cheered.

”What’s our name?” Oikawa said.

”AOBA JOHSAI!” The team shouted.

Both teams returned, it was 28:28 and both teams wanted to make it 30:28 to them. Fukurodani first focused on pressuring Iwaizumi and Inaba in their receiving. Aiming at seams and using more power. When Hinata went into the back row, he noticed that the two best receivers were being targeted, “Inaba, do you want me to go for them instead?” Hinata asked, “You look like you might injure yourself if you keep diving,”

”Thanks Hinata,” Inaba said, relying on the ace. Hinata hadn’t realised that he had fallen into Fukurodani’s trap. However Fukurodani also hadn’t realised that they had fallen into Aoba Johsai’s trap too. Hinata started acting as a decoy again, Takumi, Kindaichi and Matsukawa got clearer shots. It was just a matter of whose trap was more effective, Hinata’s decoy trap or Fukurodani’s pressure tactics.

”Jerk face Oikawa, pay attention to your teammates,” Iwaizumi said to Oikawa, “Hinata’s both drained emotionally and physically, not to mention the rest of us. We need to end this set as soon as possible. As much as I would like to lay off of Hinata, we need him to be doing all this so we stand a chance,”

”I don’t plan on letting this set take longer than it needs either Iwa-chan,” Oikawa replied.

”Once again Fukurodani need just one more point to win, but Aoba Johsai might just stop them again,” Mochizuki said, “This match is tiring me, and I’m not even playing in it,”

”My fellow commentator makes a point,” the other commentator said, “The winners of this set and game will be the team with more stamina,”

Bokuto went into spike the ball but Hinata went to joust him.

”A JOUST!” Mochizuki shouted.

Hinata put his all into the joust, if he lost it, then he would lose the game for the team. It was just like the joust with Ushijima, it seemed to be going on forever. Hinata could tell that he was going to lose the joust and leaned back, taking the ball with him.

”And Aoba Johsai’s Hinata decides to leave the joust!” Mochizuki said. Hinata had the ball in his hands and he hit it up as he started falling. Bokuto hit it back over, “Fukurodani’s ace, Bokuto Kotaro, slams the ball down and scores the winning point! FUKURODANI WIN THE GAME AND PROCEED TO THE FINALS!” [F:AJ - 2:1 / 26:24, 32:34, 35:33]

No! We lost! Hinata thought as he fell, he hadn’t realised how tired he was. Iwaizumi caught Hinata and hugged the small boy, “Don’t mind,” Iwaizumi said.

”But!” Hinata was about to say that they lost.

”We were going to be beaten some point in this tournament. We’re not gods Shouyou. Even though we may have lost, we still got further than Shiratorizawa have,”

”I guess,”

“So let’s just accept the loss. There’s nothing we can do about it now. It was a close game, it could have gone either way. I think that we’ve more than showed that we could win the tournament. We just got unlucky with injuries,”

”I guess,”

”And hey, you’re our ace now. You’re meant to be cheering us all up,”

”Dammit! We relied on shortie pie too much!” Oikawa cursed as he walked off the court, “First we rely on him to lead the blocking which was already going badly. Then we tell him to take over from Iwaizumi, and then we let him cover our receiving and act as a decoy,”

”We forgot that Hinata has limits too,” Hanamaki said, “He’s so impressive that you forget that he has limits,”

Kunimi watched as his team lost, I guess we lost. Fukurodani were the better team and ended up winning. Nothing we can do about that, Kunimi thought, leaning back into his old habit of indifference, But we were close, and we were going to go to finals. I could have played in the finals. Dammit! Why do we have to go home now. I want to win! I want to win the tournament! Kunimi lined up with the rest of his team, "Thank you for the match," everyone said. Nobody want to be the first to cry. But none of us wanted to go. But I guess we don't have a choice, Kunimi mentally shrugged, But I'm allowed to be upset by it. I'm allowed to cry. I'm allowed to want to stay on the court. I'm allowed to want to win. I'm allowed to be annoyed. I'm allowed to smile, shout and cheer when we win and I'm allowed to cry, yell and punch walls when we loose. I wanted to win, and we lost and we were so close, and everybody else who's put in so much more effort than me this year, has to go home knowing they wasted their time. So I should be the last one to cry, but the team said that I'm allowed to cry. It hurts, it hurts so much. Kunimi noticed the tears falling down his face, he tried to stop them but they kept falling faster and faster.

Hinata squeezed Kunimi's hand, "Cry," he said, "Let it all out. Keep crying Kunimi,"

"I wanted us to win," Kunimi cried, no longer caring that he was the first on the team to cry, "I know I have a next time, but the third years won't"

"We don't mind," Hanamaki said.

"Yeah, we never expected to make it to nationals, let alone make it this far," Matsukawa said.

"We're just happy that we got to play in nationals. Sure it sucks to lose, but we're happy we got to play," Oikawa said, a mixture of happy and sad tears falling down his face.

"We'll win next year! We'll get back here and win the semi-finals then we'll win the finals," Kunimi said, Hinata took his friend into a hug, Kunimi rested his head on Hinata's shoulders. Hinata tackled Kunimi to the floor.

"This is for not caring about volleyball until the third round," Hinata said with a smile, Kunimi laughed, Hinata was always there to annoy him, but he was also always there when he needed a shoulder to cry on, or a body to slam into the wall.

“Enjoy your final day in Tokyo, we leave first thing tomorrow morning. And well done on the match, you may not have won, but you did prove that both teams today should have gone to the finals,” the head coach said.

”Akaaaaaaashiiiiiii,” Bokuto said as he ran over to Akaashi.

”What?” Akaashi sighed.

”You need to keep your side of the promise up,” 

”What promise?”

”We’re getting the adoption papers!” Akaashi began walking away from Bokuto, “Now!”

”No,”

”You promised!”

”I had my fingers crossed,”

”Hmph, so you lied and now the promise doesn’t count. You tricked me Akaashi!”

”Papa Bokkun! Mama Akkashi!” Hinata said as he ran to the two of them.

”Look what you’ve done Bokuto,” Akaashi complained.

”Are Papa and Mama getting a divorce?” Hinata asked.

”No,” Bokuto replied.

“Yes,” Akaashi said.

”Darling! Why would you say that!” Bokuto acted in shock.

”Don’t call me that,” Akaashi said.

”But what about all we have Keiji? What about our child! Did you stop to think about Shoushou?”

”We do not have a child and we are not married. And I’m not getting the adoption papers for you,”

”Akaashi!”

”No,”

”Shoshou wants to live with his papa!”

”But what about Natsu?” Hinata asked.

”Who’s Natsu?” Bokuto asked.

”My younger sister,”

”Well I’d have to adopt both of them, but I’m not sure if I’m ready for a second child yet,”

”They already have parents Bokuto,” Akaashi said.

”No! I’m going to have to stop fighting for parental custody!” Bokuto cried.

”Finally,” Akaashi said under his breath.

”I’m not ready for two kids. I’m sorry Shoushou!” Bokuto cried.

”You weren’t ready for a kid full stop. You can’t even look after a cactus!” Akaashi said.

”It hurt me! I had every right to yeet it into the fire!” 

”Please never say yeet again Bokuto,”

"How did it hurt you?" Hinata asked.

"It hurt me emotionally and physically. I wanted to stroke it to show my love, but then it pricked me. That hurt, but what hurt more way the betrayal of trust," Bokuto replied.

"It's your fault for stroking a cactus," Akaashi sighed. The three went out for lunch together, Akaashi only coming to stop Bokuto from kidnapping Hinata. Soon the three needed to go their different ways.

"Good luck in your match tomorrow Bokkun and Mumkaashi!" Hinata said, "You better make sure you win,"

"Please don't call me Mumkaashi again, Hinata," Akaashi said.

"No can do, Mumkaashi!" Hinata ran off, "Make sure that you get into a division one team, Bokkun! I'll see you next year, Mumkaashi!" 

That night the team relaxed, they didn't have to worry about the next match they would play. They decided to stay at the inn and enjoy an evening in each others company. The team had spent a while playing charades. It was Iwaizumi's turn, he pointed to the bin.

"A bin?" Kindaichi asked, Iwaizumi shook his head.

"Trash?" Yahaba asked, Iwaizumi shook his other hand as if to say, almost.

"Oikawa!" Matsukawa and Hanamaki shouted at the same time, Iwaizumi nodded.

"Iwa-chan!" Oikawa pouted, Iwaizumi just ruffled Oikawa's hair and sat down.

"Who won? They both answered at the same time," Watari said.

"Matsukawa, heads or tails?" Iwaizumi asked.

"Uh, heads," Matsukawa replied with a shrug.

"Yep. Your turn," Iwaizumi said. Eventually they got bored of charades and started playing telephone, sitting in a circle in the order: Shido, Yuda, Sawauchi, Hanamaki, Matsukawa, Iwaizumi, Oikawa, Hinata, Kunimi, Kindaichi, Kobayashi, Inaba, Watari, Sugiyama, Yahaba, Kyoutani and Takumi.

"I'll start first since I'm the captain," Oikawa said, turning to whisper to Hinata, "Iwa-chan is a tsundere," Hinata giggled as he turned to Kunimi.

"Iwa-chan is a tsundere," Hinata whispered.

"Iwa-chan is a tsun beret," Kunimi whispered to Kindaichi.

"Iwa jam is a sum beret," Kindaichi whispered, confused.

"What? That doesn't even make sense," Kobayashi said before turning to whisper, "Peanut jam is some beret,"

"Peanut jam is some ferrets," Inaba whisered.

"Dee nut bam is some ferrets," Watari whispered.

"Dee nut bam is some forest," Sugiyama whispered.

"Dee nuk bam is some forket," Yahaba whispered.

"Most of that was gibberish Yahaba!" Kyoutani complained, "Dee nuk bam us some forket," he whispered.

"Dee puk wham us some forks yeah," Takumi whispered.

"Dee puk wham us some forks yeah," Shido whispered.

"We puk wham us some forks yeah," Yuda whispered.

"We put wham us some forks yeah," Sawauchi whispered.

"We put wham us some forts yeah," Hanamaki whispered.

"He pout wham us some first yeah," Matsukawa whispered, Iwaizumi just stared at him.

"He pout wham us some first kyeh?" Iwaizumi announced, very confused, "What was it jerkawa?"

"Iwa-chan is a tsundere," Oikawa said, everyone laughed.

"Wait, we weren't talking about jam?" Kobayashi asked.

"I swear you said jam Kunimi!" Kindaichi said.

"I said chan. You're just deaf," Kunimi said, "Though tsundere makes more sense than tsun beret,"

"How did we get to forks then?" Shido asked.

"Okay, it's shortie pie's turn," Oikawa said. Hinata thought about what he was going to say.

"Dadzumi has B-D-E," Hinata whispered, still confused from yesterday after Kyoutani said that Iwaizumi had it.

"Shouyou!" Kunimi squealed, "Do you even know what that means?" Kunimi tried to stop laughing, "Dadzumi had B-D-E," Kindaichi began laughing.

"Dadzumi has B-D-E," Kindaichi whispered.

"Dadzumi has B-D-E," Kobayashi whispered.

"Dadzumi as bee," Inaba whispered.

"Dadzumi as bee," Watari whispered.

"Dadzumi as bee," Sugiyama whispered, Yahaba stared at him in confusion.

"Are you sure?" Yahab asked before whispering, "Dadzumi ass beat,"

"Damn! Mad respect Hinata!" Kyoutani shouted before whispering, "Dadzumi likes his ass beaten,"

"Kyoutani, you definitely added something there," Yahaba said. Whilst Takumi just stared at Kyoutani.

"I don't think we should say that," Takumi said, "But by who? That is the real question," Takumi whispered, "Dadzumi likes his ass beaten,"

"Dadzumi hikes his lass eaten," Shido whispered, "Yeah, I definitely didn't get that,"

"Dadzumi likes his lass eaten," Yuda whispered.

"Dadzumi licks his basses eaten," Sawauchi whispered.

"Well this has gone south, in more ways than one," Hanamaki said, he then whispered, "Dadzumi licks his ass as eaten out," adding a word. Matsukawa just started laughing, before whispering to Hanamaki.

"I have to say that to him you know," Matsukawa whispered to Hanamaki.

"Then change it," Hanamaki whispered back.

"You should have come to Shiratorizawa," Matsukawa whispered.

"You should have come to Shiratorizawa," Iwaizumi whispered.

"No I should not have!" Oikawa objected loudly, "You should have come to Shiratorizawa,"

"Someone definitely changed it!" Kyoutani said, "It was epic and now it's not,"

"What was it then?" Kobayashi asked.

"Dadzumi has B-D-E," Hinata said.

"Oh, so I did hear it right," Kobayashi said.

"I do not," Iwaizumi said.

"Better than you were getting over here!" Takumi said, "We had 'Dadzumi likes his ass beaten',"

"Why do I feel like Kyoutani is responsible for that," Iwaizumi said.

"I changed it," Matsukawa said, "Because I was not saying that to Iwaizumi," 

"Oh come on. I'll do it," Hanamaki said, "I heard 'Dadzumi licks his ass as eaten out'"

Iwaizumi paled, "Thank you for changing that Matsukawa," he said.

"Can I start?" Kyoutani asked.

"No," Iwaizumi said, "It's Kunimi next," 

"Mmmm. Harder. Faster," Kyoutani said being punched by Yahaba, "So who does it?"

"Does what?" Hinata asked.

"No!" Kunimi said to Kyoutani, "We have children in the room," he then turned to whisper to Kindaichi, "When can I go to bed,"

"Are you asking me that seriously or is that your whisper?" Kindaichi asked.

"Both," Kunimi replied as he yawned, leaning on Hinata, who began stroking Kunimi's head, which caused the latter to fall asleep.

"When can I go to bed," Kindaichi whispered.

"When can I go to head," Kobayashi whispered.

"Where can I go to head," Inaba whispered.

"Where can I go to head," Watari whispered.

"Where ban I go to head," Sugiyama whispered.

"Where ban I no to led," Yahaba whispered.

"Where bang I mow to bed," Kyoutani whispered.

"Were bang I low to get," Takumi whispered.

"Were gang I low to get," Shido whispered.

"Were hang I know to get," Yuda whispered.

"Were hangar know to let," Sawauchi whispered.

"We're hang gar know to bet," Hanamaki whispered.

"We're hang gar row to bet," Matsukawa whispered.

"We're lang shar row to bet," Iwaizumi whispered.

"We're lang sharks row to bess," Oikawa whispered.

"We're bank sharks row to best," Hinata said, "Are we close? Kunimi? Huh? He's asleep!"

"It was 'When can I go to bed'" Kindaichi said.

"I remember the time when the two of them fell asleep in class and then at the end went to the other to ask for notes, only to find the other had also fallen asleep," Kobayashi said. The game of telephone was soon stopped as the team looked at the clock, knowing that they had to get up early the next day.

On the long train journey back to Miyagi, Kunimi thought about the match. Bokuto did what he wanted, he didn't seem to care about his team. He would suddenly abandon them in the middle of a match, but that was what he thought was the best thing to do at the time. Maybe doing what you thought was best, was actually a good thing. Bokuto still wanted to win the match, he never wanted to stop the team from losing. Sure his tantrums annoyed the team and hindered their performance, but in the end they won and Bokuto recovered and continued to do what he thought was best. What he thought was best for the team, I think that I got something wrong. And I think I jeopardised someone's volleyball career because of something stupid I did. I need to apologise to them, Kunimi took out his phone and called a number he barely remembered, "I need to talk to you when I return to Miyagi. I got some stuff wrong. Meet me by the store your team always goes to,"

After returning to Sendai, Kunimi didn't go straight home, he texted the person he called and told them that he had just returned. Kunimi made his way to the store.

Kageyama was confused when Kunimi had called him, maybe it was to boast about making it to nationals, he hadn't expected Kunimi wanting to talk to him. He went to the store that Coach Ukai worked at and waited for Kunimi. When Kunimi said that he had gotten back, Kageyama had expected that to mean that Kunimi had been home, not that he just got off the train and came here as soon as he could.

"Kageyama, I'm sorry," Kunimi said, "I'm sorry for getting you sent off the court during our final tournament in junior high. I'm sorry for calling you the King of the Court. I'm sorry that I got annoyed at you for trying to make us do your freak quick. You were just doing what you thought was best for the team and I was wrong for getting annoyed. You wanted to win more than everyone else yet we just got annoyed at you. I was pretty stupid and ignorant back then. And my actions prevent you from possibly getting into Shiratorizawa and stopped you from being able to accept Aoba Johsai's invite. Please forgive me," Kunimi bowed to Kageyama.

Kageyama hadn't expected this, "No, it's partially my fault for not realising that there are six people on the court at a time in volleyball. I think that coming to Karasuno finally taught me that,"

"I'm sorry for calling you out here on short notice, do you want me to buy you a meat bun or something?" Kunimi offered.

"Thanks," Kageyama replied, Kunimi and Kageyama went into the store where Kunimi bought the buns, "Next year, if we don't beat your asses in the qualifiers, you better win the tournament,"

"I'll be counting on you to do the same," Kunimi replied.

"Coach," Kageyama called out.

"What do you want Kageyama?" Coach Ukai said.

"Who won?" Kageyama asked.

"Fukurodani," Coach Ukai replied.

Chapter Text

Back in Miyagi, the team were in their gym even though the coaches said they didn't have practise, still upset about losing to Fukurodani. "Alright, quit lying around. Either get practising or lets talk through our matches," Kobayashi said, pulling out a whiteboard, "Alright, class in session! Listen up! Let's see, we learnt one key lesson from the five matches we played, and I'm not talking technical volleyball crap. Let's got through those first. Our match against Tsubakihara, what do you think the key lesson is?"

"I dunno, something about teamwork or some shit," Kyoutani said, not in the mood for being lectured.

"Not quite, you can learn the importance of trusting everyone from that match. It was our first match, yet everyone trusted everyone, hence we won. Okay that one was easy. Our next match against Inarizaki, what are we going to learn from it?" Kobayashi explained.

"They were the ones with the marching band, right? So probably something about the full team being everyone in the stands included," Kunimi said.

"Wrong! We can learn the importance of being prepared for a match. Inarizaki were more prepared going into the match than us, we need to do more analysing before playing a match," Kobayashi explained, "Onto the third match, against Nekoma. What are we going to learn from that?"

"To definitely never underestimate our opponents again," Takumi said.

"Correct, we seriously underestimated Nekoma, and almost lost the match because of that," Kobayashi said, "Our quarter-finals match against Kamomedai, what about that one?"

"That it should have been the finals! And how we need to support each other after constantly getting blocked," Hinata said.

"And that Date Tech's gonna be a pain in the ass next year," Inaba added.

"Kinda. We learnt that we need to understand our opponents' defence and its impacts on us as well as how to deal with it," Kobayashi explained, "Finally, our match against Fukurodani, the semi-finals. What are we gonna learn from that?" 

"That Hinata is a mini version of Bokuto Kotaro," Kindaichi joked.

"That we rely on Hinata too much?" Yahaba asked.

"It's gotta be that we need to use the power of the ace better, right?" Watari said.

"You're all pretty much there. We learnt that if we want to use Hinata well, we need to use him better than we did in that match. We are a team, it's unfair to rely on one player too much. Okay, now there's lots of smaller things and volleyball stuff that I don't understand that you'll need to discus with the coaches when you're ready, but I wanted to make sure you learnt the main flaws we have and lessons that we need to learn first," Kobayashi finished, "And they're here just in time,"

Everyone looked at the door, in confusion, only to see Karasuno's boys volleyball team walk through it. "Kobayashi, no offence, but they're the last people we want to face right now," Oikawa said. Hinata ran up to Sawamura.

"We're sorry from stopping you have your Dumpster Battle against Nekoma," Hinata apologised, "But Yahaba and I have had an idea,"

"Yeah, I take it Kobayashi told you the basics," Yahaba said. 

"Yes, you want to do a sort of training camp thing, right?" Sawamura said.

"Basically, and if you want you can invite Nekoma," Yahaba replied.

"So that you can have the dumpster battle. We'll decorate the gym and everything!" Hinata finished.

"Really? For us?" Sugawara asked.

"Yep! It's our fault you never got to have the Dumpster Battle at nationals, so it's the least we can do," Hinata said.

"We'll get in touch with Nekoma and see if they can come, you have dates for this right?" Sawamura asked.

"Yes, we were thinking the first week of spring break, if that's fine with you," Yahaba said, "It'll be our third year's final camp of high school so it would be great if you could come,"

"We'll try our best. Well done in nationals," Sawamura said.

"Thanks," the team said.

"We'll be going instead next year!" Tanaka shouted, getting riled up.

"Yeah right!" Kyoutani shouted back, also getting riled up.

"Enough you two," Enoshita said, separating the two.

"They're gonna be a handful next year, aren't they," Yahaba laughed.

The team had ended up doing some basic practise in order to keep up their strength for the training camp. After a couple of hours most the team headed out. Yahaba, Hinata and Kobayashi stayed behind, planning the training camp, "So the coaches have given us the go ahead. Due to none of the other teams being in as it's the holidays we've got full access to the school's main gym," Kobayashi said.

"Isn't that where school wide assemblies are held?" Hinata asked.

"Yes it is. It has space for three volleyball courts," Yahaba answered, "So we'll have Karasuno and potentially Nekoma, as well as ourselves. I doubt Shiratorizawa will accept the invitation, and that would just be painful anyway. We could invite Date Tech and Johzenji,"

"Yep. But if Nekoma do get to come, I think it would be nice if we could let them have the gym all to themselves, with us watching. The other teams could come and watch too," Kobayashi suggested.

"We won't be allowed to decorate the main gym though," Hinata pointed out, "I was planning on decorating the gym and making it look like an alley with banners and lighting and stuff. And then we were going to have a table for the commentators, who will be wearing a crow mask and a cat mask. I don't think we could set that up in the main gym either,"

"So for the first day we don't invite Date Tech or Johzenji and just have a small gathering with the three teams in our gym, which will be redesigned courtesy of Hinata," Kobayashi said.

"I think that's mainly it for planning. I'll tell the coaches later. Hinata do you want to start planning the decorations?" Yahaba said.

"Yes!" Hinata said as he ran off.

"Good, there's one more thing I would like to discus whilst Hinata is gone," Yahaba said.

"Sure, what is it?" Kobayashi asked.

"I'd like to invite one more team. They're for someone, I'd like to keep it a surprise from everyone else. Do you think I should try and get the coaches to arrange it?" 

"Totally! The more the merrier,"

"Okay, we'll have one more team there on the Monday,"

Yahaba and Kobayashi went to the coaches and explained their plans. I'll need to make some decorations of my own for this, Yahaba thought to himself.

"Hey, it's Kuroo, what's up Karasuno?" Kuroo said as he picked up his phone.

"Aoba Johsai are hosting a training camp and they wanted to know if you wanted to come, third years included, so that we can have the Dumpster Battle," Sawamura said.

"Are you kidding? Of course we'd love to come!" 

"Great, we'll get Mr Takeda to ask your coaches,"

"One more thing, can Fukurodani come too?" 

"I can ask," Sawamura hung up the phone and told Enoshita to return to Aoba Johsai and ask if they could invite another team.

"Hey Enoshita, what are you doing here?" Yahaba asked.

"Daichi wants to know if we can invite one more team," Enoshita said.

"Sure, the more the merrier, right?"

"Yahaba, you're still here. I thought the volleyball club would be finished for this year since you guys had nationals and everything. By the way, congrats on making it that far," Matsumoto said, "We all watched you in your game against Inarizaki, you were so cool back then!"

"Really, you think so," Yahaba said, "I guess it is quite late, I'll lock up the gym and get going,"

"You have keys now?" 

"Well yeah, I've taken over as captain as the third years are busy with exams, we were lucky that they were free today,"

"Wait, you got captain. Well done,"

"Thanks," Yahaba locked up the gym and went home, planning his banner for the special guests.

Hinata spent his free time designing banners, props and masks and finding where all the trash cans and dumpsters were in the school. Hinata found two old table cloths, one black and one red, he sewed them together and wrote on in gold and silver "The cats versus the crows, in the DUMPSTER BATTLE"

The coaches had finally managed to organise all the teams and when they were coming and it was the day before the camp, Yahaba, Kobayashi and Hinata had come with everything that they needed to prepare the gym. Yahaba set up the sound system whilst Hinata and Kobayashi began decorating the gym with all of Hinata's banners and props. In the end there were lost of crows and cats around the room and hanging from the ceiling (which were just waiting to be knocked down). Hinata had taken the school's dumpster, which had fortunately been emptied, and wheeled it to the gym, whilst Kobayashi took regular, empty, trash cans and placed them around the gym.

"Testing testing. One two three," Yahaba tested the two mics and after he was sure that they worked he unplugged the sound system and let Hinata set up the table.

Hinata revealed the table cloth he had made, which impressed Yahaba and Kobayashi. The three locked the gym, which was ready for the next day.

Chapter Text

It was the beginning of the "training" camp and Aoba Johsai were the first to arrive, making sure that nobody else got in the gym apart from the three who set it up. "I just hope whoever Nekoma chose to be the cat's commentator is wary of the mic," Yahaba said, "Oh there you are Oikawa and Iwaizumi. Do you mind running a favour for me?"

Karasuno were the next to arrive, who were all in their kits and were excited (apart from Tsukishima) for the Dumpster Battle, "Oh yeah, who did you guys invite as you second guests?" Kobayashi asked.

"Fukurodani," Sugawara said.

"Fukurodani?" Hinata asked, "Oh no, I need to go get something!" Hinata ran off.

Soon Nekoma and Fukurodani arrived, "Dammit, where'd Hinata go? I know he wouldn’t want me showing the gym off without him here," Yahaba muttered.

"Where's Shoushou?" Bokuto asked.

"He ran off to get something," Kindaichi replied.

"Tsukki!" Bokuto and Kuroo shouted, jumping on Tsukishima. The four teams chatted until Hinata arrived... In a bus?

"Introducing Shiratorizawa!" Hinata shouted after jumping off the bus.

"Hinata, why did you invite Shiratorizawa?" Kobayashi asked.

"Because Bokkun is a better ace than Ushijima, but the people in charge of the rankings don't realise that, so if there was a match between the two it would be made clear," Hinata explained.

"Shoushou, you're gonna make me cry," Bokuto said, tears running down his face.

"What are we waiting for? Into the gym!" Hinata shouted.

"Wow!" everyone except Yahaba, Hinata and Kobayashi exclaimed. Hinata ran to the table and grabbed his crow mask before grabbing a mic. "Welcome to the Dumpster Battle between the crows and the cats!" Hinata shouted into the mic.

"Please tell me you chose someone sensible to commentate," Yahaba said to Kuroo.

"Nope," Kuroo said.

"Oh god," Yahaba sighed.

"So who did you chose to commentate?" Kenma asked.

"The owl," Kuroo replied, pointing to Bokuto who had already put the mask on.

"Hey hey hey!" Bokuto shouted into the mic.

Kindaichi and Kunimi shared a glance, This isn't going to go well, is it? The two thought.

"I hope you're excited because it's time to make some noise! Aah! Something's attacking me! Oh wait it's just a bird decoration,"  Bokuto shouted.

"And the starting line ups are, Sawamura Daichi, Tsukishima Kei / Nishinoya Yuu, Tanaka Ryunosuke, Azumane Asahi, Enoshita Chikara and Kageyama Tobio, for the crows!" Hinata shouted.

"And Kai Nobuyuki, Inuoka So / Yaku Morisuke, Kozume Kenma, Kuroo Testuro, Haiba Lev and Yamamoto Taketora, for the cats!" Bokuto shouted. Aoba Johsai, Fukurodani and Shiratorizawa went to the stands to watch the game.

It was fun for all the teams involved with Hinata and Bokuto being surprisingly good commentators, "If careers in volleyball don't work out well for them, then they can always become commentators," Inaba joked. The match was interesting to watch, with Nekoma eventually winning.

"I think this might have been better than having the Dumpster Battle at nationals," Sawamura said, smiling.

"Okay people! The next game is Fukurodani versus Shiratorizawa," Hinata said, "Make your way to the main gym, which Yahaba has the keys for. Feel free to take a decoration if you want,"

Yahaba

We're currently in the school's gym, if they arrive before lunch head straight there.

Yahaba

If they arrive at lunch, which should be when they arrive, then we'll be outside the regular gym

Yahaba

So try and sneak into the gym. I'll try and distract everyone

Yahaba

But make sure they've had a chance to eat something first

Iwaizumi

Okay.

Iwaizumi

The coaches are with us as well.

Oikawa >*@*<

Yup. Who're we picking up again?

Iwaizumi

Idiot.

Players from Karasuno and Nekoma took some of the decorations before heading to the main gym. Fukurodani and Shiratorizawa got changed into their kits. Hinata and Kobayashi began to clear up the gym. Soon Yahaba returned, "Hinata, you should go and support Bokuto," Yahaba said, Hinata left. Kobayashi continued to clear the gym whilst Yahaba put up his two banners, and setting up the lights for the third match of the day.

"Finally, it's finished," Kobayashi sighed in relief, "I think they're both gonna love it,"

"Yeah, we should start preparing lunch," Yahaba said as the two made their way to the kitchen.

Fukurodani and Shiratorizawa agreed to play one set seeing as it was so close to lunch. Fukurodani ended up winning. Bokuto had a massive smile on his face. "Yahaba and Kobayashi have prepared lunch and we're going to eat it outside," Watari said as everyone left the gym.

Tsukishima was leaving the gym when three figures pounced on him, "Tsukki!" they all shouted.

"Did you get hooked on volleyball yet?" Bokuto asked.

"No," Tsukishima replied, trying to escape the two tall boys and the much shorter one.

Hinata spent his lunchtime catching up with everyone, when the coaches pulled him aside.

"Hinata, we have some important news for you," the head coach said.

"We're going to tell the team later, but we'd thought that we'd tell you first," the assistant coach said.

"Okay, what is it?" Hinata asked.

"You've been selected to play on the Japan under nineteen team," the head coach said.

"What?!?" Hinata shouted out in surprise.

"We were just as surprised as you. It seems that you impressed them in your training camp and at nationals," the head coach said.

"They chose me?" Hinata asked.

"Yes, and you have a training camp in two weeks with the team," the assistant coach said, "Unlike the Japan Youth Camp, this is two weeks long, so you'll be missing the beginning of school. Of course the school has allowed the leave,"

"Of course you are allowed to refuse, if you don't want to play on the under nineteen squad they understand. It's a large commitment and the school will still expect you to keep up with your work to some extent. But you do get to play in international competitions," the head coach said, "We'll need an answer by the end of the week, and you should talk to your parents about it. We've already told them but you will want to discuss it,"

"What are your initial thoughts?" the assistant coach asked.

"I want to join the team," Hinata said, "But I also want to play with out team and get to nationals again. Will I be able to do that?"

"Of course you can," the head coach said, "Remember to talk to your parents about it. Now go out and enjoy the camp. I think you'll especially enjoy your first match,"

"I still can't believe it," Hinata said to himself as he approached the gym.

"There he is," Kindaichi said, "So what did the coaches want to talk to you about?"

"We should wait," Iwaizumi said, both him and Oikawa already knowing what the news was.

"Dadzumi! You're back," Hinata said.

"So what gym are we using now?" Tanaka asked.

"The regular gym. Shouyou, do you want to open it," Iwaizumi said, throwing the keys at Hinata. 

Hinata unlocked the gym and took in the new decorations, it was set up to look like the court of the finals. There were three large banners, one saying "Spring Tournament 2013 Finals" one was Aoba Johsai's banner and one was Kamomedai's banner.

"But..." Hinata wondered why they had the Kamomedai banner up, until he saw the team, "Kourai!" Hinata shouted as he ran to his friend.

"Shouyou!" Hoshiumi ran at Hinata.

"You two never got to play each other in the finals so we thought we'd give you a chance," Yahaba said, "Think of it as a thank you for all the work you've put into this training camp Hinata,"

"I found them!" Oikawa said as he started giving everyone their alternative kits.

"The lilac kits!" everyone cheered.

Chapter Text

The match was intense, both teams gave it their all. The four other teams watched as the match played out, “These guys went up against each other in the quarter-finals, right?” Tanaka asked.

”Oh yeah, most of you watched the Fukurodani match instead. You really missed out on a killer match,” Enoshita said, “Watching Aoba Johsai defeat Kamomedai’s blocking has given me some ideas on how to beat the iron wall,”

”So what was the outcome of the match?” Yamaguchi asked.

”Aoba Johsai won in straight sets,” Sawamura replied.

”Both teams are impressive,” Sugawara said.

In the end Kamomedai won the match, “Wow, you were even more impressive in the rematch, Hoshiumi,” Nozawa said.

”It looks like we’ll make it to nationals next year,” Bessho said.

”Still, you’re going to surprise all the new first years when you return,” Hirugami said.

”They probably saw him in the quarter-finals,” Hakuba said, “But still getting on the under nineteens is something else,”

Hinata overheard Hakuba saying that Hoshiumi got into the under nineteen team as well.

”Shouyou!” Hoshiumi said running over to Hinata.

”Congrats on getting into under nineteens,” Hinata said, “We finally get to play on the same side of the court,”

”Did you get in too?”

”Yes!” Nishinoya went over to greet Hinata, “Noya-senpai!”

”Shouyou!” Nishinoya replied, he looked at Hoshiumi, “Who’s he?”

”I’m Hoshiumi Kourai!” Hoshiumi replied, equally as loud as Nishinoya.

”The third musketeer!” Nishinoya said, as the three small, but loud boys jumped around each other.

"Bad luck in the match. Next time we’ll get them. Anyway we have a a couple of big announcements to make," the head coach said, looking at Hinata, "One of our players has had some exciting news,"

"One of us is on trial for a felony!" Kyoutani said.

"No! Why would that be exciting news? There's probably another training camp," Watari said.

"Firstly there is another training camp for the first and second years, although you're now technically the second and third years. It's only over the weekend and isn't to the full extent of the previous camp. There are two different parts of the camp, and offensive and defensive side. On the offensive side, we have Takumi invited. And on the defensive side, we have Watari invited," the head coach said, the team started clapping the two members, "Unlike the previous one this is not for the Japan youth teams but is instead a camp for those who got far in nationals. Details have already been sent home and I think it'll be a good experience. Now onto the exciting news,"

"I got invited onto the Japan Under Nineteen team," Hinata said.

"No way!" Inaba gasped.

"Wow, you must have impressed them in the camp," Kunimi said.

"It means that Hinata won't be here for the first two weeks of next year as he'll be training with the team," the head coach said.

"Do you know how good that makes us look, having a Japan player on our team," Kindaichi said.

"Yeah, and how pathetic it'll look if we don't make it to nationals," Yahaba said, "Just because Hinata will be away for two weeks, it doesn't mean that we can start slacking off. We need to set a good example to all the new first years,"

"Kourai! I said I'd show you the animal shelter didn't I," Hinata said running over to Hoshiumi. All of the first years from Aoba Johsai and Karasuno froze remembering the time Hinata forced them to all go to the shelter.

"Yeah. I can't wait to meet all the animals!" Hoshiumi replied. Phew, he's an animal lover, the first years sighed.

"Oh, Puppy it's you. I wasn't expecting you today, you don't normally come in on Mondays," the shelter owner said surprised, "But I guess it is holidays,"

"I brought a friend with me. We're okay to go in right?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, be careful," the owner replied.

"Do you want to meet the cats or dogs first?" Hinata asked.

"The cats!" Hoshiumi replied, the two walked into the cat section of the shelter where Hinata introduced Hoshiumi to all the cats, "How could people treat these angels like that! They're adorable!"

"I know," Hinata replied. The two spent two hours in the cat section and the owner eventually had to kick the two out of the shelter, "We'll come back tomorrow and see the dogs,"

The next day of the camp came and Date Tech and Johzenji arrived whilst Shiratorizawa left. The highlight of the first day of the match was Date Tech and Kamomedai both trying shift the other team’s spikers and both failing due to the other team doing the same thing.

After the day of matches Date Tech and Johzenji left whilst the rest of the teams did some personal practise. Nishinoya and Watari went to practise their back line sets together whilst Inaba watched, claiming he that he was watching for injuries. Meanwhile in the regular gym Bokuto, Akaashi, Kuroo, Tsukishima, Hinata and Hoshiumi were having a three on three match. The aces verses the two middle blockers and setter.

”You’re Kageyama aren’t you,” Takumi said approaching the setter, “I’ve hear that your sets could rival Oikawa’s and Miya Atsumu’s,”

”Yeah. And you?” Kageyama replied.

”Takumi, or as the commentators refer to me, no.5,” 

“Did you play on the same team as Daichi?”

”Yeah,”

”So you’re the one who got invited to play at Shiratorizawa. Why did you change your mind about going there?”

”Well, I realised that I wouldn’t be able to read as much manga if I went there and it would be all strict and structured. Aoba Johsai’s much more relaxed and they have nice window sills,”

”But you got invited to Shiratorizawa,”

”Shiratorizawa’s just a name. We proved this year that Aoba Johsai could get further than them in nationals,”

”But you were getting a fully paid education at the prefecture’s top school for volleyball. You would have a guaranteed career after graduation. Perhaps even making it to the Japan Under Nineteen team,”

”Perhaps. But my skills would speak for myself anywhere I go. And Oikawa is a stronger setter than Shiratorizawa’s. I don’t think that you’ll understand my reasoning,”

”Why not?”

”You seem like the sort to only care about volleyball. Truth be told, I don’t think I’ll ever play volleyball professionally. It’s something fun for me, but there are other things I also like to do more,”

”And that’s why Shiratorizawa wasn’t the school for you?”

”Yes, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t care about volleyball. I still enjoy it, and I want to do my best at it but I could never imagine it being my career. My body just isn’t made for something like that. Anyways, I was going to ask you about how you get your accuracy in your sets,”

”Well. I just know the best place to set the ball,”

”Ah. A prodigy. Well I’ll let you get on with your practise in peace,”

Chapter Text

The training camp came to an end and everybody was saying their goodbyes. 

"I'll come and see you when you get to nationals Shoushou. Unless Tsukki beats you. Then I'll go and watch Tsukki instead," Bokuto said hugging Hinata.

"Thank you Bokkun! I'm gonna miss you," Hinata replied.

"I'm gonna miss you too. Make sure you kick the world's asses when you go international," Bokuto replied.

"Shouyou, next time you need to come over to Nagano, so you can see Mami!" Hoshiumi said as he got ready to head to the train station. The two hugged each other.

"Yeah! See you in two weeks Kourai!" Hinata said as Kamomedai walked off to the train station.

"See you next year," Tanaka said to Yamamoto.

"I can't believe that your manager is leaving," Yamamoto replied.

"I know," Tanaka replied.

"I'll see you around Noya-senpai!" Hinata said as Karasuno left.

"Yup, we'll give you a run for your money next year Shouyou," Nishinoya replied.

"Okay, everyone have an hour off, but make sure that you're back here in an hour," the head coach said.

"We finally have to leave the team, huh," Tendou said to Ushijima.

"I guess so," Ushijima replied.

"Must be harder for you, you have to leave Shiratorizawa and the under nineteens,"

"I'm sure some talent players will take over,"

"Tendou-senpai, Ushijima. Thank you for all of your training and time," Hinata said to the two third years, "Good luck in your futures,"

"Don't think that getting to nationals will be guaranteed, Shouyou-kohai. We might not be there but Shiratorizawa will still beat you," Tendou said, half serious, half joking.

"I wouldn't be so confident know. Shiratorizawa just lost a Japan under nineteen player, and Aoba Johsai... Well, we just gained one," Hinata said with a smirk.

"Did you get selected?" Ushijima asked.

"Yep!" Hinata said, "I owe it to you guys helping me!"

All of Aoba Johsai were back in their gym, saying their final farewells to the third years and the year as a whole.

"Thank you for being a great team," everyone said as they bowed at each other.

"A speech from last year's captain, Oikawa Tooru," the head coach said, as Oikawa tapped his finger against his water bottle mimicking tapping a glass with spoon.

"Thank you for being great team mates and getting us to nationals this year. I'm gonna miss you," Oikawa said.

"And next a speech from last year's vice captain, Iwaizumi Hajime," the head coach as Iwaizumi stood up.

"Keep winning. Aim for the top. You won't win nationals if you don't aim to win it," Iwaizumi said. Oikawa took the captain crown which he had been wearing for the whole party in the gym and put it on Yahaba's head.

"I bestow the captain's crown onto you, Yahaba Shigeru, as I declare you the next captain of Aoba Johsai's boys' volleyball club. Lead the team to victory," Oikawa said, fully giving up the title of captain.

Iwaizumi took the tiara off of his head and walked over to Kyoutani, "I bestow the vice captain's tiara onto you, Kyoutani Kentaro, as I declare you the next vice captain of Aoba Johsai's boys' volleyball club. Keep the captain in check, although I think it's going to be the other way round," Iwaizumi said as he put the tiara on Kyoutani's head, he whispered the next part, "I know you don't want to wear the tiara but you have to, it's tradition,"

"And finally a speech from next year's captain, Yahaba Shigeru," the head coach said.

"We're going to win. So let's do our best!" Yahaba said, "And let's try to keep the chaos to a controllable level, please"

"You're asking for the impossible Yahaba," Inaba said as he laughed. The team enjoyed their party and soon it came to an end, but not yet. Oikawa went to the supply closet and brought out nineteen books, with the help of Iwaizumi.

"Here's a little something to remember this year by," Oikawa said as he and Iwaizumi started handing out scrapbooks, filled with photos of the team and specific events to each player. Most of the photos being taken by Oikawa. The scrapbooks had pages left in all bar the third years. Soon everybody was in tears.

Hinata looked at his scrapbook. There were photos of the team in their first practise match against Karasuno. When they were at the inter high qualifiers. Before their match against Shiratorizawa. Of funny moments in practise. The spring tournament qualifiers. After beating Shiratorizawa. When the team were first at nationals. Pictures after their first match. Pictures of the team after beating Inarizaki, even a picture with Inarizaki. The team before their match against Nekoma. The team looking rather awkward after seeing the alternative kits for the first time. Them and Kamomedai lining up before their match. Them after winning the quarter-finals. Them and Fukurodani before and after the semi-finals. The Dumpster Battle. Fukurodani versus Shiratorizawa. The rematch with Kamomedai. The training camp, even pictures from the party today.

Hinata turned to the next section, photos of events that happened with him. There was him and Oikawa after they pulled off the super quick for the first time. Hinata when Oikawa had dried his hair into his style. Lots of pictures of the three first years. Hinata and Nishinoya jumping at each other. The time when Hinata fell asleep on Oikawa. Hinata after winning the joust against Ushijima. Hinata after Oikawa and Iwaizumi had handed him the letter saying he got into the youth camp. Hinata with the puppy. Hinata on Bokuto's shoulders. The four first years. Lots of pictures of Hinata playing games in nationals. Hinata preparing the gym. Hinata arriving with Shiratorizawa. Hinata and Bokuto commentating. Hinata's reaction to Yahaba's surprise. Hinata telling everyone he got into the under nineteen team. Hinata and Hoshiumi at the animal shelter. Hinata and Hoshiumi in each other's kits.

Oikawa and Kobayashi began taking pictures of everyone's reactions to the scrapbooks, and it was clear that they would still be getting pictures. "Thank you Oikawa-senpai!" Hinata said as he went into hug Oikawa.

Soon the party ended. The three first years began walking home when they noticed Kobayashi by herself, "Hey Kobayashi! Come join us!" Kindaichi said. Kobayashi ran over to the boys.

"I can't believe that we already completed our first year," Kunimi said.

"I can't believe I passed," Hinata joked.

"I'm so glad I joined the volleyball club," Kobayashi said smiling.

"Yeah," they echoed. 

"I'm going to say goodbye to Dadzumi and Oikawa-senpai," Hinata said.

"But you already did," Kindaichi pointed out.

"Dadzumi!" Hinata said jumping onto Iwaizumi, "Thank you for being there for me. I'm gonna miss you lecturing me. I hope the future brings you success,"

"I hope you become Japan's best ace Shouyou," Iwaizumi said as he ruffled Hinata's hair, "And if you ever write an autobiography, please don't refer to me as Dadzumi. I want my full name written there at least once, and I'm sure jerkawa will too. But don't give him the satisfaction,"

"Okay. Iwaizumi Hajime," Hinata said in an overly serious voice, causing the two to laugh.

"Oikawa-senpai!" Hinata called out as he ran to Oikawa, "Thank you for believing in me. In showing me that I can be useful on the court. For showing me the super quick. You better not let that ego get too big,"

"Awwww! Shortie pie. You're too kind," Oikawa said, "So anyway, when they interview you when you play in the Olympics I want you to mention me and if you ever write a book I want you to dedicate it to me," Hinata just stared at Oikawa, "Just kidding!"

"We'll get to nationals next year," 

"I don't doubt that. To be honest, I don't care if you go to nationals again or not, I'm just happy that I got to play on the same side of the court as Iwa-chan at nationals," 

"Are you and Dadzumi going to different colleges?"

"Yes. It's the first time I'll be going to a different school than Iwa-chan, well ever,"

"I'm gonna miss you,"

"I'm gonna miss you too," the two went in to hug each other. Oikawa walked back to his home, his time at Aoba Johsai had been all over the place, but in the end everything just worked out.

Hinata cycled back home. His first year had been great, he had made friends, made it to nationals, and now he was on Japan's own youth team. Hinata was more than ready for his next year at Aoba Johsai. He wandered what things would be coming up.

Chapter Text

List of characters and their chapter of first appearance:

• Yamada - Chapter 5
• Morikawa - Chapter 5
• Inaba - Chapter 9
• Takumi - first mentioned in Chapter 9; first appearance Chapter 13
• Naosama - Chapter 10
• Kobayashi - first mentioned in Chapter 17; first appearance Chapter 21
• Sugiyama - Chapter 30
• Kimi - Chapter 31
• Matsumoto - Chapter 31
• Oikawa - Chapter 35
• Satou - Chapter 35
• Mochizuki - Chapter 35

Yamada (first name Unknown) - "Shouting Yamada" by Morikawa

A spectator of volleyball matches, who always routes for the underdogs but knows that Shiratorizawa will always win the tournament. A friend of Morikawa's since their first year of high school. Alumni of Aoba Johsai

Gender: male

Age: 25

Occupation: IT technician; student at Aoba Johsai (former)

Volleyball experience: limited - he was a bench warmer on his high school team

Position: Wing spiker (former)

Stats:

• Speed - 2
• Power - 3
• Technique - 2 
• Accuracy - 2
• Stamina - 2
• Game sense/intelligence - 3
• Jumping - 1
• Reflexes - 2
• Enjoyment - 2 (playing) 5 (watching)

Jumping reach: 279 cm

Likes: Underdogs; watching volleyball

He has unruly dark brown hair and brown eyes.

Morikawa (first name unkown) - "Ice-cold Mori," by Yamada

A spectator of volleyball matches, enjoys watching rookie players with potential. A bit sceptical of whether or not Shiratorizawa will win, but is often proven wrong. A friend of Yamada's since their first year of high school. Alumni of Aoba Johsai

Gender: male

Age: 25

Occupation: Office worker (for some business); student at Aoba Johsai (former)

Volleyball experience: limited - he was almost always on the bench for his high school team apart from his one game in his third year

Position: Pinch server (former); middle blocker (former)

Stats:

• Speed - 2
• Power - 2
• Technique - 3
• Accuracy - 4
• Stamina - 1
• Game sense/intelligence - 5
• Jumping - 2
• Reflexes - 3
• Enjoyment - 3 (playing) 5 (watching)

Jumping reach: 296 cm

Likes: getting good seats; watching volleyball

He has and average appearance that cause him to be mistaken for a lot of people, who also have short brown hair and brown eyes.

Inaba Asuka - "Asuka" by Nishinoya; "Aoba Johsai's iron wall" by Aoba Johsai's head coach

Inaba previously went to Chidoriyama where he was the team's ace in his third year. At Chidoriyama he became close friends with Nishinoya Yuu but the two lost contact a bit as they went to seperate highschools. When first joining Aoba Johsai's volleyball club Inaba tried to go for the libero position due to his lack of trust in Watari Shinji, the teams current libero, but ended up being the spare libero. At the end of his first tournament of his first year Inaba quit the volleyball club, only returning briefly after tournaments due to Nishinoya asking him where he was at the tournament.

After the inter high tournament Inaba briefly returns to the volleyball club until he hears that they have a practise match against Karasuno, which convinces him to play. Iwaizumi tells him that he is allowed to play, but only as the team’s starting wing spiker. After playing, and losing, the practise match Inaba agreed to rejoin the volleyball club, now understanding that the rest of his team has his back. Iwaizumi agreed to let him play middle blocker from then on. Now Inaba is the team's most defensive middle blocker.

Inaba whilst still being a strong blocker, has noticed that he’s weakened since starting at Aoba Johsai and is determined to make up for slacking off. He gets annoyed at himself for being weak and stupid, especially when he had to be subbed off for the second set of Aoba Johsai’s match against Tsubakihara. Later that day he opens up to Kobayashi Rio about his weakness, who then finds some wrist exercises for Inaba to practise. In between the second and third sets of Aoba Johsai’s game against Inarizaki Watari tells Inaba not to waste the skills that he gained when playing as a libero. Which leads to Inaba showing off his receiving skills when he is forced to face Miya Atsumu serves, which were aimed at him.

Gender: male

Age: 16 (birthday 26/9)

Occupation: student at Aoba Johsai High School - second year; student at Chidoriyama Junior High (former)

Volleyball experience: above average - he played in a good junior high team, but he now lacks high school volleyball experience

Position: wing spiker - ace (former); libero (former); middle blocker

Jersey number: 8

Stats:

• Speed - 3
• Power - 4
• Technique - 3
• Accuracy - 3
• Stamina - 3
• Game sense/intelligence - 3
• Jumping - 4
• Reflexes - 5
• Enjoyment - 1 (former) 4 (current)

Jumping reach: 335 cm

Likes: torturing Oikawa

He has slightly curly, light blonde hair with dyed black streaks at the front. He has light blue eyes and is 181 cm tall (5' 11" - according to the converter I used).  

Takumi Hayashi - "Manga-chan" by Oikawa; "Next year's ace" by Inaba

Takumi previously went to Izumitate, which although it was a weak team he still was able to gain his spiking skills from. When he had first joined he had wanted to play as a setter because he thought the control was cool and just like his favourite shounen protagonist, although his team wanted him to play wing spiker because he had power in his shots. It wasn’t until a second year (at the time), Sawamura Daichi, said that he could control the way he spiked the ball too, that Takumi even considered being a hitter. Sawamura explained that being able to completely control where the ball was going and how much power it had could also be applied to spiking, and that it was more noticable. This inspired Takumi into becoming a spiker and led to him developing his impressive control over the ball and his body. Even being able to hit the ball with the back of his left, and nondominant, hand, as shown in Aoba Johsai’s match against Nekoma.

He was initially overlooked as a player due to the weak setter the team had. By his second year he was the team's ace but they still couldn't get past the first few rounds. Takumi was actually invited to Shiratorizawa to play volleyball with a full scholarship and as their coach said, he would become the next Ushijima there. Takumi was originally planning on attending Shiratorizawa but then changed his mind after realising that he would have less time to read manga. Takumi was then planning on going to Karasuno because his captain, Sawamura Daichi, went there but when he heard that Karasuno didn't have a strong volleyball team he was hesitant but he still applied. Takumi also looked at Date Tech, but was scared off by a fellow potential student, Aone Takanobu. The final school that Takumi looked at was Aoba Johsai which he fell in love with after discovering the old building's secluded window sills.

Takumi immediately joined the volleyball team when he started Aoba Johsai and quickly became the only first year on the starting order. He became friends with Kyoutani Kentarou and was the only one who fully believed that Kyoutani should return to the team and was the only one who tried to stop him from leaving. Near the end of their first year Takumi managed to convince Kyoutani to give the team a second chance which had gone surprisingly well until the team had gotten worried about Takumi's lack of self care at that point Kyoutani and Takumi had their first fight, slightly damaging their friendship.

At the beginning of their second year the two had a fight (outside of the club as Kyoutani had left again) "Well it was more like a beat up," most of the second years would say, which ended with Kyoutani breaking Takumi's arm and their friendship resulting in the former being suspended and the latter not being able to play volleyball for three months. Takumi used this break from volleyball to read more manga and eventually when he was able to play again he chose not to due to him being too engrossed in his manga. After Kyoutani apologised and gave Takumi his passion for volleyball back, repairing their friendship, Takumi decided to continue playing volleyball.

After making up and both rejoining the volleyball team, the two have become even closer with Takumi offering Kyoutani advice and Kyoutani making sure Takumi doesn’t lose his focus by playing the badass song he imagines for him. The duo’s relationship is best described as brotherly love. Takumi says to the first years in their match against Date Tech that he wouldn’t let them steal his starting spot easily and seems to keep his word as he ends up starting more often than Kunimi and Kindaichi.

Although he is an impressive player, which many teams fear, Takumi never made it to the Japan Youth Camp due to the fact that he has a weak body and is still recovering from injury and one of the coaches fighting for Hinata Shouyou to go instead.

Gender: male

Age: 17 (birthday 04/05)

Occupation: student at Aoba Johsai High School - second year; student at Izumitate Junior High (former)

Volleyball experience: excellent - due to getting incredibly invested in volleyball Takumi has more experience than most other players of his age

Position: setter (former); wing spiker

Jersey number: 5

Stats:

• Speed - 3
• Power - 5
• Technique - 5
• Accuracy - 5
• Stamina - 4
• Game sense/intelligence - 3
• Jumping - 4
• Reflexes - 4
• Enjoyment - 5 

Jumping reach: 343 cm

Likes: manga; anime; video games; volleyball

He has light brown hair which he parts to the right and hazel eyes. Although he is very tall, at 188 cm (6' 2" - according to the converter I used), he doesn't appear that height due to his slouch and frail build. He is too thin due to getting too engrossed in manga, anime and games that he forgets to eat or sleep, or do anything else.

Naosama (first name unknown)

Tendou’s neighbour who he babysits occasionally. Helped out with Hinata’s guess blocking training.

Gender: female

Age: between 12 - 15 (inclusive)

Occupation: student at an unknown junior high

Volleyball experience: average - she plays the average amount on an average team

Position: setter

Stats:

• Speed - 2
• Power - 3
• Technique - 3
• Accuracy - 4
• Stamina - 2
• Game sense/intelligence - 3
• Jumping - 1
• Reflexes - 2
• Enjoyment - 3

Jumping reach: 274 cm

Likes: teen magazines

She has long, purplish brown hair that she wears in a ponytail. She has dark brown eyes.

Kobayashi Rio

A student at Aoba Johsai who came to watch them play against Aoba Johsai and Shiratorizawa in the Spring tournament. After watching their matches Kobayashi decides to ask to become the team’s manager. The team accepts and she is welcomed to the world of chaos known as Aoba Johsai’s boys volleyball club.

Kobayashi strives to help the team the best she can so that they can focus on the game, whether that be cheering them on, preparing drinks, calming down players both angry and nervous or leading a whole cheer to annoy the opposite team and support her own. The team treats her like one of the boys and she has adapted well to the team, showing both her fierce and caring sides. Kobayashi is ultimately happy that she joined the volleyball team as she has finally found a place to be able to speak her mind.

Kobayashi is quite perceptive and uses her unique position of watching the game to her advantage, being the first person on the team to realise Miya Atsumu’s weakness to noise or the first to understand how Nekoma work in a similar way to Aoba Johsai, keeping the ball in action so their setter, Kenma Kozume, can work better.

Gender: female

Age: between 15 (birthday - 02/12)

Occupation: student at Aoba Johsai High School

Volleyball experience: practically none - all she knows is from asking others or was in "Volleyball for dummies"

Position: manager

Stats:

• Speed - 2
• Power - 1
• Technique - 1
• Accuracy - 2
• Stamina - 2
• Game sense/intelligence - 1
• Jumping - 1
• Reflexes - 1
• Enjoyment - 3

Jumping reach: 280 cm

Likes: history; being able to speak her mind

She has brownish blonde hair which she wears in a side ponytail to the left. She has hazel eyes and freckles on her nose. She is above average height for a girl at 168 cm (5’ 6” - according to the converter) so entering the world of volleyball has changed her perspective on height (for the worse).

Sugiyama Daisuke

A student at Aoba Johsai and a member of the boy’s volleyball club. He hasn’t really made an impression on the team and just stands at the side, supporting the team, but that’s good enough for him. Due to being on the bench for every game Sugiyama and Yahaba Shigeru have a close bond and a mutual feeling of knowing what it’s like to be an average player among talented players.

Gender: male

Age: 17 (birthday - 26/04)

Occupation: student at Aoba Johsai High School

Volleyball experience: average - he played on a fairly good team in junior high and is a capable player who is overlooked due to the rest of the second years being stronger players than him

Position: wing spiker

Jersey number: 15

Stats:

• Speed - 2
• Power - 3
• Technique - 2
• Accuracy - 2
• Stamina - 2
• Game sense/intelligence - 3
• Jumping - 2
• Reflexes - 2
• Enjoyment - 3

Jumping reach: 295 cm

Likes: watching others play; being noticed as a player

He has black hair that is messily styled to some degree. His hair reaches the middle of his neck and for matches, when he plays, he tucks all the loose strands behind his ears. He has black eyes and has a tall but sturdy build at 186 cm (6’ 1” - according to the converter)

Kimi (first name unknown)

The head of Aoba Johsai’s cheerleading squad. “Every epic moment is made epicer when someone’s cheering you on!” Is her life motto and why she has a passion for cheerleading. In Aoba Johsai’s match against Inarizaki Kobayashi Rio Turns to Kimi for help in the second set and tells Kimi to lead the cheer squad in cheering on Seijoh when they serve, and booing Inarizaki when they serve. Although Kimi doesn’t fully understand why, she is more than willing to agree and help her school’s team win a match, even at the cost of making a potential enemy of Miya Atsumu who hates noise whilst serving. 

Gender: female

Age: 17 - 18 (a third year student)

Occupation - student at Aoba Johsai High School

Volleyball experience - none, she just comes to support the team, she may know the terms but not what they mean

Stats:

• Speed - 4
• Power - 1
• Technique - 1
• Accuracy - 1
• Stamina - 4
• Game sense/intelligence - 1
• Jumping - 4
• Reflexes - 3
• Enjoyment - 5

Jumping reach: 321 cm

Likes: cheer leading, watching sports matches, boss battles in video games

She has long, auburn hair which she wears in pigtails tied with white ribbons, in the matches she supports she adds turquoise and white pom poms to her hair as well as turquoise, white and silver glitter. She has sharp green eyes, and a round face. Even though she is a third year, most of the other members of the cheer squad are taller than her due to her only being 159 cm tall (5’ 2” - according to the converter).

Matsumoto (first name unknown)

A friend of Yahaba Shigeru since junior high, where they both played in their school’s volleyball club. Matsumoto and Yahaba were the only two boys from their junior high to make it to Aoba Johsai with three girls also making it. Matsumoto decided to not join the volleyball club and eventually his friendship with Yahaba weakened. When Yahaba tells Matsumoto that he’s made it to nationals, Matsumoto says that he’ll make sure to watch Yahaba’s matches.

Gender: male

Age: 17 (21/06)

Occupation: student at Aoba Johsai High School

Volleyball experience - below average, he played on his school’s team in junior high but stopped playing come high school

Stats:

• Speed - 2
• Power - 2
• Technique - 2
• Accuracy - 2
• Stamina - 2
• Game sense/intelligence - 1
• Jumping - 2
• Reflexes - 2
• Enjoyment - 2

Jumping reach: 299 cm

Likes: curry, P.E

He has dark brown hair which he lets fall in front of his dark brown eyes.

Oikawa Toshiaki - "Toshiaki" by Oikawa

Oikawa Tooru’s older brother who was on Aoba Johsai’s team when they went to nationals the first time. Toshiaki was the team’s libero and was known to have impressive reflexes. At his time at Aoba Johsai he became friends with Udai Tenma, also known as the Little Giant. When Aoba Johsai went to nationals for the first time, they got to the quarter-finals. When he hears that his younger brother, Tooru, made it to nationals he is excited and watches it in his college dorm until he can get tickets. Toshiaki manages to get tickets for the quarter-finals and semi-finals, both times he invites Udai to come with him, with Udai being unable to make the semi-finals.

Gender: male

Age: 21

Occupation: college student (unknown degree); student at Aoba Johsai (former)

Volleyball experience: good, - he was a strong player on Aoba Johsai’s team and played in nationals. Now he plays on his college team

Position: libero

Jersey number: 7 (former); 18 (current)

Stats:

• Speed - 3
• Power - 3
• Technique - 3
• Accuracy - 3
• Stamina - 4
• Game sense/intelligence - 4
• Jumping - 2
• Reflexes - 5
• Enjoyment - 4

Jumping reach: 312 cm

Likes: onesies; volleyball

Like his younger brother, he was dark brown hair which he styles to the right, and eyes to match his hair. He is slightly shorter than his brother at 179 cm (5’ 10” - according to the converter).

Satou (first name unknown)

A commentator who used to go to Aoba Johsai

Occupation: Volleyball commentator; student at Aoba Johsai High School (former)

Volleyball experience: average, he used to play volleyball and has to know how it works to commentate

Stats:

• Speed - 2
• Power - 1
• Technique - 2
• Accuracy - 2
• Stamina - 1
• Game sense/intelligence - 4
• Jumping - 2
• Reflexes - 1
• Enjoyment - 4

Jumping reach: 287 cm

Likes: homemade meals

Mochizuki Makoto - “The Hype Animal” - Akaashi, and many others

He is a commentator that specialises in getting crowds excited and hyping up players, hence his nickname and status of Bokuto Kotaro’s favourite commentator.

Gender: male

Occupation: Sports commentator, mainly volleyball

Volleyball experience: average, he knows a fair amount about volleyball so he can commentate

Stats:

• Speed - 3
• Power - 2
• Technique - 1
• Accuracy - 2
• Stamina - 4
• Game sense/intelligence - 4
• Jumping - 2
• Reflexes - 4
• Enjoyment - 5

Jumping reach: 294 cm

Likes: happy crowds, discos

He has dirty blonde hair spiked all over the place with honey eyes.

Chapter Text

Hinata had one and a half weeks left of his holidays before school would start again. That was if he was a normal student. Instead of starting school, Hinata was going on a training camp to train with his new team, and he was excited for it. He had barely stayed still for the entire holiday. Almost always at the animal shelter or practising. Eventually his mum had convinced him to do some school work so he would have slightly less to do later.

Takumi and Watari made their way to their training camps. Watari made his way to the libero and middle blocker camp, better known as the defence camp. He had never expected to be invited, there were plenty of impressive liberos in Japan. The best high school libero, Komori Motoya, was known for being able to keep the ball up no matter what. There was Amano Marcus, who had recently transferred from the U.S., known as one of the top liberos in the US. Then there was Sasaki Atsushi, whilst he wasn’t well known as a player, was highly regarded among liberos due to his insane reflexes and unrivalled passing skills. The second most famous of Japan’s high school liberos and the fourth best in the country was Koizumi Hideki. From a more personal side their was Karasuno’s libero, Nishinoya Yuu, who if he ever made it to nationals, could easily rival Koizumi for his spot. Watari knew that he was nothing compared to all those names. He wasn’t an overly strong libero. He was highly capable, but not exceptional, yet he had made it to the training camp, so he had to hold his head high.

Takumi wasn’t that excited for the training camp. He had to miss the next episode of this new anime that he’d gotten into over the holidays, “When do you think they’ll announce the initial orders for all the top fives? Next volume?” Someone said.

”I hope it’s soon. Sakusa’s the only one returning, the rest were third years. That means there’s four spots to be filled,” a second person said.

”I bet Inubushi East’s ace will get one. They made it to the finals and he did make it onto the under nineteens last year,” the first person said.

”What about the little giants? Either of them?”

”Hoshiumi Kourai is a definite yes. Have you seen him play? But the shorter one I’m not sure. Was he even their ace? He is a first year,”

”You guys are talking about Hinata, right. To answer your question he’s our ace,” Takumi said, “And I think he’ll make the top five easily,”

”That’s three. Who’s the fourth going to be?” The second person said.

”Dunno. Maybe Miya Osamu. Not sure,” the first person said.

”That reminds me, setters. Miya Atsumu’s definitely going to be the number one by far,” Takumi left the two to discuss rankings that he didn’t care about.

”What about Fukurodani’s setter, Akaashi Keiji?”

”He’ll probably make it. If it wasn’t for the fact that he was a third year last year, Aoba Johsai’s captain would be a definite,”

”I think number two will be Yoshino Juuro’s younger brother, he’s from Minamiyama. They got to the semis and he’s truly something else. A complete natural who’s not wasted his talent one bit,”

”Yeah, he’s just like his older brother. Onto servers,”

”Miya Atsumu, Yoshino Juuro’s younger brother and Hoshiumi Kourai, in that order,”

”Best all around players,”

”I don’t really know, there’s this really good one for the girls but for boy’s volleyball...”

”Yeah, the only boy close to rivalling her, and even then she’s better, I haven't seen his receiving so who knows. You know who I'm talking about,"

"Yeah. That guy. Once again from Aoba Johsai, their no.5. Okay the final category, top five liberos,"

"I forgot they had a ranking. Well number one will stay as Komori Motoya,"

"Amano Marcus will get top three too,"

"Koizumi Hideki, if he's lucky will get third, but he'll probably stay as fourth. I don't really know the rest,"

When Watari reached the camp he saw a definite split in heights. It was easy to tell who were the liberos and who were the middle blockers, unless there were some Hinata's thrown in there. "Komori Motoya didn't make the under nineteens?!?" Someone shouted, as they noticed Komori.

"And no-one's commenting on how I didn't make it either," Koizumi rolled his eyes.

"Koizumi, no offence, but we're talking about the best libero versus the fourth best libero, go figure who would get more attention," someone said.

"You don't seem too upset over it," Watari said to Komori who was awkwardly standing at the side.

"Well, what can I do about it," Komori said, "The Japan Under Nineteen team isn't the sixteen strongest players of Japan, it's some of the best players in Japan that they think will work the best together and fit the image that they have. I just wasn't what they wanted in a libero, but I can't exactly change who I am,"

"So whoever got it, isn't the strongest libero, but rather the libero that works well for almost all teams," Watari said.

"Exactly. Because it's constantly changing and they don't have ages like a school team, under nineteens is often a cookie cutter team, with one or two exceptions. They choose players who have generic play styles or skills that a complete stranger would also be able to work with. But school teams can take longer and adapt to each other better," Komori explained, "Still, the under nineteens are strong. You take all the remaining best high school players and put them against the under nineteens and the latter would crush them,"

Meanwhile at Takumi's camp he stood at the side and waited for the camp to begin. The weekend was more beneficial to Watari than Takumi. Takumi left with a slight skill increase, where Watari left with the beginning of some improvements and a friendship with Komori.

Eventually the week had arrived. Whilst most high school students were enjoying their final days of the holidays Hinata was saying his goodbyes before heading to the Japan Youth teams’ gym. When Hinata got close to the gym he could see fifteen other boys and sixteen girls, the rest of the team and the girls team, Hinata thought to himself. Soon he spotted Hoshiumi and caught up with him.

At the front of all the players was a group of four boys and five girls, all talking to each other. “You know how they know each other?” Hoshiumi asked Hinata.

”Beats me. They were probably on the team last year,” Hinata replied.

”So, who do you thinks gonna get captain for the girls?” One of boys asked.

”Oh, I’m not sure. Probably our ace. She can do everything,” one of the girls replied.

”I’m not that good,” the mentioned ace blushed.

”What about you boys?” A different girl asked.

”Not sure either. I’m excited to see who our new setter is. I’ve heard rumours that it’s Miya Atsumu. But I have no proof,” another one of the boys said.

”I just hope we have that super fast player from what was that team’s name again? Bluecastle? Seijoh?” A different boy said.

”Aoba Johsai,” the girls’ ace said, “They’re from the same prefecture as me,”

”Yeah, that’s the school. Did anyone else see their no.10? I really wanted to play them,”

”Three deuces against Fukurodani. Damn they were close to playing you,” the fourth boy said.

”And we still lost to Fukurodani,”

”Don’t mind Fukui,” one of the girls said, “Fukurodani don’t have their ace this year, I’m sure Inubushi East will win next year,”

”But I still didn’t make the top five or three aces!” Fukui replied, “By the way, if we do get the fast kid, I call dibs on him,”

”Fine by me Fukui, I’m calling dibs on Miya if we get him,” the first boy said.

”Hurry up you eight! We have to get there earlier than the newbies,” one of the girls said.

”There they are,” One of the coaches said, “Get your stuff put away and onto the courts. Girls you’re in gym A, boys you’re in gym B,” the nine of them went to their lockers.

”I barely remember my code,” one of the boys said.

Eventually all the new members reach the gym. Hinata saw that there were eleven girls and twelve boys, including himself, “Welcome to Japan Under Nineteen team. This is our gym and lodgings for both our under nineteens and under twenty ones,” one of the coaches said, “I’m sure you’re all excited so I’ll keep this brief. As you know we have selected each one of you to be on this team due to your performance in our training camps and national tournaments. We have these next two weeks to get to know each other and see how you play together. Some people you may already know, some my be strangers. Some people you’ll get along with, others you’ll grow to love. So for those wondering what we’re doing on this camp. It will mainly be match play and small group work, catered to your abilities and designed to find out which players work well together. From all that we’ll be deciding the starting line ups for our two teams. Now I can tell that some of your competitive natures are kicking in. Remember we’re all a team now, save the competition for tournaments, although I’m not saying that a bit of rivalry is a bad thing,”

”Now later on we’ll have the existing players give you a tour of the centre, but for now we’ll keep cracking on,” the second coach said, “Think of this as your home away from home. For now all you need to know is that the centre is split into two main parts. The gym and the accommodation. We’re currently in the gym part. In the gym you will have two lockers. A belongings locker, where you can store your bags and equipment, and your changing locker, where your kits will live and where you can store clothes in. Both lockers are code based. In addition to your lockers you will receive an ID card which lets you get around the site. As you all made it on the team, you are free to use the facilities whenever you like regardless of whether we’re on a camp or not. We’ll give you your ID cards now as well as a sheet which has your locker codes on it. We’ll be going to the shared locker room where your belonging lockers are,” the teams moved to the shared locker rooms where they all put their belongings away in, with most playings putting on their knee supports and taking off their tracksuits.

”Okay, now here’s where the fun begins. There are four main gymnasiums here, named A, B, C and D. Each gymnasium has two courts on it. For the training camp we’ll be using gyms A and B. Girls in A and boys in B,” another coach said, “Shortly we’ll be going into the gyms and talking more about the individual teams as well as doing some ice breakers and such,” the girls and boys separated as they went to meet the rest of their teams.

”Here they come,” one of the boys said, “Three. Two. One...”

”WELCOME TO THE TEAM!” The four boys shouted.

”And look who our new setter is,” one of them said, “So glad I called dibs,”

”I got my dibs too,” Fukui said.

”These are the four previous members of the team who are carrying on. I’m sure they’ll tell you all about themselves soon,” one of the coaches said.

”As you know, we play international tournaments. This year our first is during your summer break and it will be held in Norway,” another coach said, letting the boys have a moment to freak out, “I’ll quickly explain our practise schedule. We start the year off with this two week course and that’s us for April. The third weekend of every month we have a team practise here. At the end of May, early June, we have a one week camp for the starting seven, meaning they get to take their mid terms either a week early or a week late. Then come summer break, we really begin preparing for our tournament. We let you have a week to practise with your teams, as I expect you all will want to make it to the Spring Tournament. Then we have another two week training course before we leave for Norway. The tournament lasts about two weeks and then you get one week back with your school teams. We then go back to the third weekend of the month. During December the starting seven will have another week long camp. Things are going to start getting busy for you in your final term. Those who are third years are going to be facing extra pressure from school and we have another big tournament coming up. This year we’re lucky enough to host it, so at least there’s that. To start off January you have the Spring Tournament, and to end it we have a week and a half long training course. Then near end of March we have our tournament,”

”Being on the team is a big commitment that we need you to have. Being on the team and keeping up good grades can be hard, these four can testify. But I’m sure none of you were determined to be the leaders of tomorrow,” the first coach said, “Now onto some ice breakers. We’ll go around in a circle and introduce ourselves. Names, schools, positions and what school year you’re in. One of you four start, oh and make sure to say if you play a different position on this team to your school one and tell the rest that you played here last year,”

”Yo! Name’s Fukui Ryoichi. I’m a third year from Inubushi East High and I play as a wing spiker and I’m our team’s ace. And I played here last year” Fukui started off the ice breakers.

”Hi. I’m Nishikawa Kooki. I’m a third year student at Furukata High School. I play as a middle blocker, and I also played here last year as our pinch server” Nishikawa said.

”Let’s have someone new go next. We’ll go for the expected next. Miya,” the coach said.

”I’m Miya Atsumu. I’m a third year at Inarizaki High where I play setter,” Miya said.

”Let’s continue in the circle for now,”

”Um. Hi. I’m Sasaki Atsushi. I go to, um, Eiwa High, and I’m uh a second year. And I... I play lib...” Sasaki mumbled before taking a deep breath, “I play libero, but I’m not that great” I don’t know whether he’s good or not but the best high school libero is from Itachiyama, Komori Motoya, Hinata thought, Still the coaches think he’s better than Komori so he’s got that going fo him.

”Heya! My names Hoshiumi Kourai and I’m in Kamomedai High as a third year. I’m our ace and a wing spiker,” Hoshiumi said.

“I’m Miyashita Kaito, a third year at Mujinazaka where I play middle blocker. I was on the team last year”

”Hello, I’m Sakusa Kiyoomi. I’m a third year student at Itachiyama Academy and I’m our school’s ace and wing spiker,” Sakusa said.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Yoshino Akihiko. And before you ask, yes my older brother is Yoshino Juurou. I’m a second year student at Minamiyama High, where I’m their setter. I was on the team last year and although I’m only a sub setter, I can block really well too!” Yoshino said

”Hi! I’m Hinata Shouyou. I’m a second year at Aoba Johsai High School. I’m our team’s ace and I can play middle blocker or wing spiker, depending on what I’m needed for,” Hinata said.

”Can I ask a question?” Miyashita asked.

”Sure,” Hinata said.

”Is it true that your jumping reach is 356 cm?” Miyashita asked.

”Yep. Although my average is 333 cm,” Hinata replied.

”I can tell why he’s their ace,” Fukui said, “I’m kinda thankful it was Fukurodani in the finals instead now,”

”You just didn’t want a total take down, did you Fukui,” Nishikawa joked.

”Is it that obvious?” Fukui awkwardly laughed. After the ice breakers the team went into some four v fours. The current match was: Hinata, Miya, Sasaki and Fukui versus, Sakusa, Yoshino, Hoshiumi and another person.

"Well we got lucky," Fukui said, "We got the only libero and a setter. Plus a middle blocker and wing spiker,"

"I'm not that good," Sasaki mumbled.

"People used to say that I wasn't good but then I proved them wrong," Hinata said, "Maybe you just need to prove yourself wrong,"

"What?" Sasaki mumbled, "So you want me to go out. Onto the court and shout 'I am epic' or something?"

"No," Hinata said, "Nothing like that. But maybe if you did an awesome save then you could convince yourself,"

"I don't think it's that easy Hinata," Sasaki muttered, "Only idiots think stuff is that simple,"

"Well, I think you're the idiot for doubting yourself," Hinata said.

"You weren't meant to hear that," Sasaki mumbled.

"You're going to get used to Hinata's hearing I can tell," Miya said.

"Stop dawdling you three. Onto the court," Fukui said, "Sasaki, you're not technically playing libero so feel free to come into the front half and block or spike,"

"I'll just stay in the back row," Sasaki mumbled.

"Suit yourself," Fukui said, "Hinata, you don't mind starting as our main blocker," The four walked onto the court, and began playing. After the first rally Sasaki approached Hinata.

"Hinata," Sasaki said, "Have your arms more outwards and point your hands inwards. You'll cover more space that way,"

"Really? Thanks Sasaki, I didn't even know that. See you are cool!" Hinata said.

"Well blocking and receiving are both parts of defence, so I want to make sure the whole of the defence section is doing their best and covering the most space. That way the setter can have an easy toss and the spikers can focus on running," Sasaki replied. The match continued on, Hoshiumi went in for his end line shot, before Hinata noticed that Hoshiumi was about to do it Sasaki was already giving orders, "Miya. Hinata. Start running for a quick set. I'll get it," Sasaki was already in position for where he expected the ball to go. Right a bit. Too far. It's curving. Found it, Sasaki thought as he followed the ball. Sasaki passed the ball to Miya, keeping the ball's speed. Miya tossed the ball for Hinata who went in for his super quick, "Do you need the ball to be faster?" Sasaki asked, noting the speed of the quick.

"Nah, that speed was good," Miya replied.

"By all means Komori Motoya is a better libero," one of the coaches said, "Especially when it comes to unbalanced plays with dives and such. But Sasaki Atsushi is the better libero when it comes to passing the ball where the setter wants it,"

"And his reflexes are unparalleled. I'd say that he can do unbalanced plays fairly well, but he specialises in ball tracking and making all his receives in the most balanced position so he gets a firmer receive. Which is nicer for the setter, and when you're choosing a team you don't go for the seven strongest players in the country. You go for seven strong players, who work well together and bring out the best in each other," the other coach replied.

"I barely caught up with the ball and yet you were already there," Fukui said, "If it wasn't for the fact that you're a libero I would have called dibs on you,"

"Fukui, you already called dibs remember," Yoshino said, "I'm calling dibs on Sakusa,"

"Dammit I was going to pick him!" Miyashita said.

"What are you guys picking dibs for?" Hinata asked.

"We each pick a player that we'll think will get on the starting line up. If they do, the rest whose guesses were wrong have to buy you something. We get two guess each, but for the first one we can call dibs on a player," Fukui explained.

"Nishikawa went for the easy option of you Miya," Yoshino said, "I'm a sub setter so whoever was the new setter is basically guaranteed a starting spot. Nishikawa got his dibs in as soon as he could,"

"And it's a good tactic," Nishikawa said, sticking his tongue out, "Well Miyashita, you have free choice on who your dibs is. Choose wisely,"

"Fine. You say I have free choice, right?" Miyashita said.

"Yeah," Nishikawa replied.

"Then I call dibs on Miya," Miyashita said.

"I already called dibs on him dumbass!" Nishikawa said.

"You said I had a free choice. Anyone I wanted," Miyashita argued.

"I meant anyone you wanted out of who was left," Nishikawa said.

"I think we should give it to Miyashita, purely down to quick thinking," Yoshino said.

"Miyashita. You have a free choice over the remaining eight members of the team," Fukui said, "Now let's get back to playing!"

"Atsu-chan," Hinata said, "Let's do your move,"

"My move?" Miya asked.

"The slow then quick. Top speeds too," 

"That move. The Nekoma one," 

"Exactly," The rally began again. Hinata began running for a regular quick. Miya set the ball much faster. Hoshiumi and Sakusa went into block Fukui, assuming that he was getting the ball and was going to cross. Hinata suddenly accelerated and jumped for the ball, on the other side of the court, reaching his full 356 cm maximum jumping reach. Hinata curled his hands around the ball and changed it into a very fast feint. Hinata went in to high five Miya. Miya raised his arms forcing Hinata to jump for the high five.

"Rude," Hinata commented.

Later that afternoon, the returning team members gave a tour of the facilities ending in the dorms. "There are five dorms in total. Four dorms of four and one dorm of eight. All the beds are bunk beds, keep the fighting about who get's the top bunk minimal," Nishikawa said.

"We'll mainly be using the four dorms of four, but we have the fifth dorm as a spare if more people want the top bunk," Fukui said.

"The dorm of eight is the one which we use for the starting seven camps," Yoshino said.

"We'll let you choose who you sleep with. But do bare in mind, it's not our fault if you don't sleep tonight and can't make it through practise tomorrow," Miyashita said. Hinata and Hoshiumi immediately ran to each other, knowing they wanted to share a dorm.

"Atsu-chan, you wanna share?" Hinata asked.

"Sure, on one condition. I get a bottom bunk," Miya replied.

"We were both going for top bunks, so I guess that's fine," Hoshiumi said, "Why a bottom bunk?"

"I had a bad experience with the top bunk," Miya said, laughing.

(Osamu and Atsumu are between five and eight years old)

Osamu and Atsumu had been arguing all day over who got the top bunk, eventually Atsumu had won. The next day Osamu had woke up first. He noticed that the ladder could be folded and tucked away. He decided to do just that. When Atsumu woke up he climbed to the edge of the bed ready to climb down, only to notice that the ladder had gone, "'Samu," Atsumu said.

"Yeah 'Tsumu. You're coming down right. Don't worry I'm out of the way," Osamu replied.

"'Samu, the ladder vanished,"

"What do you mean? I can see the ladder,"

"No you can't, it's gone! Poof! Vanished,"

"No I can see it. See," Osamu grabbed onto some invisible rung, "I'm holding onto it right now,"

"Really?" 

"Yeah. Just trust me," Atsumu began to lower his right leg.

"'Samu, I can't find the rung,"

"No, you're on it,"

"But I can't feel it,"

"That's because it's really warm. Usually ladders are cold in the morning and the change in temperature causes you to feel it, but the ladder is warm so you can't feel it,"

"Oh, okay, that makes sense. Is my foot on it?"

"Yeah, lower your other leg," Atsumu lowered his other leg, "Yep, you got it. Lower an arm," Atsumu lowered his right arm, becoming slightly unbalanced.

"'Samu are you sure that I've got it?"

"Yeah, you've got it. Trust me 'Tsumu, see you're holding the side bar already," Atsumu took a deep breath, "Now lower your left arm,"

Atsumu let go of the bed and fell onto the hard wood floor. "Ow!" Atsumu cried, "You lied 'Samu!" Osamu began laughing, "It really hurts 'Samu!" Osamu showed Atsumu where the ladder was.

Eventually Atsumu ended up in the hospital with a broken ankle.

"Oh, I guess that's a reason to avoid top bunks" Hinata said after hearing Atsumu's story. The three put their stuff on their beds before joining the rest of the team for dinner.

Chapter Text

For the next week the team practised together. Hinata and Miya had been getting used to each other and by the end of the first week they could do the three different stages of Hinata's quicks (regular quick; super quick; blood lust quick), the lethal move and the lethal move-reverse mode. Hoshiumi had been trying to teach Hinata how to do his end line shot. The three of them had become closer than ever, with Hoshiumi and Hinata practically being inseparable.

Meanwhile Kindaichi, Kunimi and Kobayashi had just started their second year at Aoba Johsai. Later that day they went to the gym to meet up with the previous second years, now third years of the team. "The gym feels so empty with all of last year's third years and Hinata not there," Kobayashi said.

"Yeah, it's like there's no-one here," Kindaichi said.

"Don't worry Kyoutani will be here soon," Kunimi said, "Then we'll feel at home again,"

"I wonder how many new members we'll get," Kobayashi said.

"Probably more than last year seeing as we got to semi-finals. But what really matters is how good they are," Watari said. Watari wasn't entirely incorrect, four first years joined which was more than the three which had joined the previous year. The four introduced themselves.

"So yeah, I'm sure that I'll be able to make it as the first first year ace," the fourth one said.

"Oh really?" Inaba asked with a smirk, "That's funny, our ace has already done that,"

"Kyaah! He's so sadistic!" one of the first years said.

"Inaba! Quit intimidating the first years!" Yahaba said, "Although he does make a point. In two weeks time our ace will be back,"

"Where is he? Was he suspended?" another first year asked.

"It would be cool if he was, but unfortunately no," Kyoutani said, "It'll be better if he tells you himself,"

"Are we not going to refer to him by name?" Kobayashi asked.

"We're letting him enter in style Kobayashi," Takumi said, "Like a boss in a video game!"

"Oh that's right, I need to drop the kits off at the dry cleaners and I need to get some new tracksuits," Kobayashi said.

"Next week we find out the starting seven," Nishikawa said, "I'm wondering what I'm going to get,"

"But most of us won't know until we make it to Norway," Yoshino said.

"Baby has a point," Fukui said.

"Come on, there are other second years here. It's not like last year when I was the only first year," Yoshino complained.

"Ignoring Baby's pouting, he does make a point. Like every year, the starting seven will keep it a secret so only those included will know," Fukui said, "And we need to tell the newbies about this rule," The four returning members made their way to the rest of the team.

"At the end of next week everyone's going to get their jerseys and some will get a sign of whether they are on the starting line up or not. No matter what you get you don't tell anyone what you got. We like to keep it as a surprise, to the point that everyone enters the locker room individually," Miyashita said.

"What happens is that your two kits and tracksuits will get put in your locker as well as some sort of token that indicates whether you made the starting line up or not. You keep that and your jersey number to yourself before changing into your tracksuits. Then come the one week camp for the starting seven it's a surprise for them and then a bigger surprise for those who aren't when we reach Norway," Fukui explained.

"Only one person on the team knows who made it. The captain," Nishikawa said, "They add a little something to the gift,"

"It's one of us four and they already know. I have to say, they're doing a good job of hiding it," Yoshino said, Nishikawa looked at him. The rest of the week was more match play focused.

The end of the week had come and there was only one thing left to do before everyone could leave, "Well boys, well done. You've finished your first camp of the year. I have to say I'm impressed with the standard this year and you seem to be mixing well. The only thing left for us to do before saying goodbye is to reveal the team. Of course you like to keep it from each other so we'll be doing it one by one as usual. I'm just going to go ahead as say it. Sasaki is our libero and is not swapping to play any other position," one of the coaches said

"Coach!" Miyashita said, "Now it's not secret!" everyone laughed at the joke.

"This year you will have a green ribbon if you made the starting seven, and a blue ribbon if you did not," the other coach said, showing the two ribbons, "You'll find your jersey number, positions and some notes on that position. You'll also have a role assigned to you by the captain which he hopefully explained but knowing him they're probably confusing and stupid," the other coach said, "When we're done I'll announce who the captain is. Only because I have to,"

"Coach, you basically just revealed that it's Miyashita!" Fukui said.

"Hey! Are you saying I'm stupid Fukui?" Miyashita said, "At least I wasn't mop head last year?"

"Mop head?" the rest of the team asked.

"It's about my hair. We did actually use my hair to clean the court once," Fukui explained, "Alright, I'll go first, remember to hide your ribbons," Fukui went into the changing room and came out in his tracksuits, his face did not indicate whether he had made it or not.

Hinata anxiously waited for his turn to come, he didn't expect to make the team. There were so many better players on the team than him, "Hinata, you're up next," someone said. Hinata walked into the changing room, reaching his locker he used the code to open it. He immediately saw the black alternative kit hanging up. Hinata then saw the red jersey. He immediately grabbed the jersey letting the ribbon, note and second jersey fall. Hinata flipped it to the back to see his name and number before taking a photo of it.

Each member had been given their kits and a spare for each as well as a jersey with their name in kanji instead of romanji that they had to have for international tournaments.

"Number three?" Hinata shouted, "I got such a high number!" Hinata turned his attention to the ribbon and note, "IT'S GREEN! I'm on the starting order! I'm on the starting order!" Hinata picked up the note and reach it

Hinata Shouyou - The Brains

Hey Hinata! What's it like being a starter? I bet you're excited! As you can see your new role on the team is our brain. Just like the brain has two parts (left and right) you have two jobs to do. Just like the left brain you need to be all analytical. Hence you're gonna be our team's analyser watching other team's matches for signs and weaknesses. But then there's the right brain which is all about emotions. And so you're also gonna be the key for keeping our morale in check and making sure we're doing our best on the court, spirit wise.

I look forwards to playing with you!

Your captain

Hinata then reached for the book with his position in, he opened it and saw his position written in capital letters:

ACE (WS)

"AAAAAAH!" Hinata screamed, he was so thrilled, "I'm one of Japan's aces! I'm the team's ace! I'm the best high school ace then!" He put his jerseys away and hid his ribbon in the bottom of his bag. He then got into his new tracksuits before composing himself, I can't let my excitement show just yet, Hinata thought as he left the changing room. A few more people later and everyone had seen their jerseys.

"And this year's captain in..." one of the coaches said, the team started a drum roll, "Fukui Ryoichi!" the team cheered, "So that's who to blame for the notes, I wonder who you chose to be your vice captain,"

"Not saying! We'll just find out soon I guess," Fukui said

"I'll explain the numbering so you know how it works, but I'm guessing that you won't tell each other your numbers," another coach said, "Number one is the captain, number two is our starting setter, number three is our ace, number four is our starting front row middle blocker, number five is our libero, number six and seven are the remainders of the outside hitter, opposite hitter and middle blocker for the starting order. Number nine is our next best hitter, number ten is our pinch server and numbers eight and eleven to sixteen are for any position, with number twelve being ready to be our re-designated libero," 

Hinata pinched himself. "You okay Shouyou?" Hoshiumi asked.

"It's not a dream!" Hinata said, "Getting on the team felt like a dream, but wearing the tracksuit and having my own jersey with my name on it feels like it isn't real,"

"Yeah, it's almost surreal," Hoshiumi said.

"What were your jersey numbers last year?" Miya asked.

"Thirteen," Yoshido said.

"I was eleven," Fukui said.

"Ten," Nishikawa said.

"Fifteen," Miyashita said, "But don't expect us to say what we got, apart from Fukui. He's gonna boast about his,"

"What? Are you salty that I got number one and you didn't Miyashita?" Fukui said, rubbing it in.

"My point exactly," Miyashita sighed.

"If you're the captain does that mean that you know everyone's numbers and positions?" Yoshido asked.

"Nope. I only know who the other six are, not what positions they got. So I know who's gonna have to pay and who's not," Fukui smirked.

"Like I said. I'm confident that my tactics will work," Nishikawa said proudly. The team took a picture together before getting out of their tracksuits and grabbing all their stuff.

"Remember that your jerseys with kanji on are yours to take home and show to your teams, but hide the numbers," Fukui said, "See you in May!"

"See you in May!" everyone replied. Hinata took off his tracksuits and neatly put them away. He grabbed one of his hoodies and put it on. Hinata decided to keep one of his T-shirts in his changing locker before exchanging it with his jersey. Hinata gathered all his clothes that he'd left in his locker and shoved them into the small bag he had in that locker. Hinata then went to his belongings locker to grab the rest of his stuff. He then walked with Hoshiumi and Miya to the train station, where they said their goodbyes.

It was late in the evening when Hinata returned home, on the train he used his time to complete some work as best as he could. When he arrived home he told his mum and little sister, Natsu, all about the training camp. "Shouyou I'm so happy for you, you made the actual starting team," his mum said, "Make sure you rest well tonight, school's going to come as a shock tomorrow,"

The next day Hinata woke up and got ready for school. He grabbed his books, his new jersey, his shorts and knee pads I need to remember not to lose these because my spare pair is all the way back at the Youth facilities, Hinata thought. He then grabbed his tracksuit and shoved everything into a bag, however he made sure not to crease his jersey.

"Hinata! You're back!" Kobayashi said as she saw him take his seat, "How was the under nineteens?"

"It was so surreal, and everyone was so good," Hinata said, "I'll tell you all about it at practise this lunch,"

"Hinata, Yahaba thinks that you should rest,"

"What?"

"He's just looking out for you, he knows that you'd be able to keep up, but your body will need some rest after two weeks of intense training. Even if it's just one day,"

"But!"

"No buts Hinata Shouyou!" Yahaba said as he entered the second year classroom, "I figured you'd want to come. We're not stopping you from coming and meeting the first years, but no training today,"

"It wasn't that intense,"

"I'm doing it because I don't want you getting injured, anyway you probably have work to be doing,"

"That reminds me," Kobayashi said, "The guidance counsellor wants to see you this lunch," Hinata went to the guidance counsellors office and knocked.

"Come in," the guidance counsellor said, "Hinata, nice to see you,"

"Nice to see you to Ms Fukawa," Hinata said.

"Take a seat," Hinata did as he was told, he had heard all rumours from the previous third years, "Welcome back to school. I would ask how your second year has been but the circumstances are something else here,"

"I still feel like a first year,"

"That's understandable, you juts got back and missed out on the opening ceremony. First of all how was your training camp?"

"It was great! Everyone there was really skilled and it was super fun to get to play with so many different players,"

"That's great. Now we need to discuss what your schedule will be like. The coaches of the team have already send me documents with all the detail but I'd like to hear what you know to be your responsibilities,"

"Well I have training on the third weekend of every month. Then when midterms are I have a week long training camp. Then most of my holiday is given up to training and the tournament in Norway. After the tournament we go back to training on the third weekend of every month until December where I have another week long camp. Then at the end of January we have a week and a half long camp. Then at the end of march I have another tournament, this time in Tokyo. Then I'll probably have the two week training camp again if I stay on the team. Plus there's the school tournaments,"

"Do you realise how busy you will be, especially come January,"

"I know that it's going to be hard. But I really want to do this,"

"I understand that. Unlike every other student you will not have mid terms this year,"

"Wait really?"

"You'll be missing the first ones and it's too much pressure for one student. The school wants you to be on the team too. It really helps our image,"

"But remember that you are not excused from finals and you still need to keep up with the slightly less work that you will be getting,"

"Thank you Ms Fukawa,"

"It's not a problem. Remember you and your parent or guardian need to sign all these permission slips. The principal has already given you permission to miss school,"

"Okay. Bye Ms Fukawa, thank you for your time," Hinata exited the office, before using his lunch break to complete some more work.

After school, Hinata changed into his jersey and tracksuits and waited outside the gym. After he was sure that nobody else was left he entered.

"I told Hinata to rest but knowing him he'll still come," Yahaba said.

"Who's Hinata?" one of the first years asked.

"I'm Hinata Shouyou!" Hinata shouted as he entered the gym.

"Hinata!" the second and third years shouted.

"Did you miss me?" Hinata asked.

"Yep. You should have seen the look on Karasuno's faces when they came for a practise match to see you not there," Kunimi said, "It was priceless. I think I have a picture Shouyou!" Kunimi showed Hinata a picture of a very confused Kageyama.

"No way! He can do more than just scowl!" Hinata joked.

"So if you weren't suspended, where were you?" one of the first years asked.

"First years!?!" Hinata said in surpirse, "Wait! I'm a second year?"

"He finally realised," Kindaichi said.

"Oh yeah. I was training," Hinata said as he took off his tracksuit, revealing his jersey, "For the Japan Under Nineteen team,"

"Wow!" the four first years said.

"Is that your own jersey?" Takumi asked.

"Yep. My own number, number three, with my name," Hinata said, "We're allowed to keep these ones for practise as we're only allowed romanji on our jerseys,"

"That's so cool!" Kunimi said.

"And, I don't need to take mid terms this year," Hinata boasted.

"Not fair!" Kindaichi and Kyoutani complained.

"And I get to play in Norway during the summer break," Hinata said.

"Lucky!" Inaba said.

"So that's our ace, Hinata Shouyou," Yahaba said, "Well, come on. Introduce yourselves,"

"I'm Takahashi Yoshi. And I'm still going to challenge you for the role of ace!" the first one said.

"Try beating Takumi first, then we'll talk," Hinata said, "He should be our ace but he gave the role to me,"

"My name is Iwata Rin and I play setter, I hope we can get along," the next one said.

”Nice to meet you Iwata,” Hinata replied.

”Hey, I’m Kurosawa Masaru and I play wing spiker,” the third one said.

”Cool, cool,” Hinata replied.

”Hi! Name’s Maeda Kohaku,” the final one said, “I saw you play in nationals, you were so cool! It inspired me to keep playing volleyball”

”I inspired someone?” Hinata said out loud.

”Hinata?” Kindaichi said.

”Shouyou get used to it,” Kunimi said, “If you get to play on the under nineteens then you’ll have even more players idolising you,”

”Really?” Hinata asked, “So, who’s got the tallest jumping reach?”

”We haven’t check yet,” Yahaba said, “I’ll let you test yours to see if it has changed because we all did that,”

”Yes!” Hinata said, “I’m gonna get the best on the team. Well first years first,” Hinata began channelling his blood lust.

Iwata went first, then Takahashi, then Kurosawa and finally Maeda went at the end.

”308 cm; 326 cm; 323 cm; and 331 cm,” Kobayashi said.

”Wow, they’re all impressive,” Watari said.

”Okay, my turn,” Hinata said as he tilted his head slightly. He ran up and jumped.

”3-5-8 cm,” Kobayashi said, surprised, “That’s a two cm increase Hinata!”

”I know! I did notice that I was jumping higher for Atsu-chan’s sets,” Hinata said.

”How did he get that high?” Takahashi asked.

”Hinata has the highest jumping reach in the whole prefecture and country when he uses his blood lust. No other ace has gotten close to it. Although his regular average is 333 cm,” Kindaichi said.

”I need to look at my physicals results,” Hinata said, everyone looked at him, “We had our physicals at the training camp which were then given to our schools. They also need them for internationals and so they can edit our diets and training to fit our body,”

”Takumi, tell Hinata what you were told,” Kyoutani said.

”You need to keep eating. Although this is progress,” Takumi said, “To which Kyoutani replied, ‘Be more like Hinata and have seconds and thirds,’”

”I don’t get how you guys don’t get hungry!” Hinata said.

”We don’t run off of pure determination,” Inaba pointed out, “I thought you were gonna look at your results,”

”Height: 164.8 cm,” Hinata said, “I can officially round it up to 165!”

”Hinata, you already did that,” Yahaba said.

”Lots of boring stuff about weight and arm reach and muscle mass,” Hinata continued to scan through the letter.

”You only care about height don’t you,” Kindaichi said.

”Maybe,” Hinata replied.

”So what were the top facilities like?” Kyoutani asked.

”They had so many different gyms and each gym was massive. We have this changing room which has pictures of all the previous teams,” Hinata said.

”But the more important part is players. Who was there?” Watari asked, “Who was the libero if it wasn’t Komori?”

”Our libero, hmm, Sasaki Atsushi,” Hinata replied.

”Is it true? Are his reflexes god-like?” Takahashi asked.

”Yeah! He’s incredible. It’s like I’m starting to block the ball and he’s already predicted where it probably will go,” Hinata gushed.

”What aces were there?” Yahaba asked, “And who was the setter? Miya Atsumu or Yoshino Akihiko?”

”Both were there,” Hinata replied, “Yoshino was on the team last year as their sub setter. As for the aces there was Sakusa, Kourai and Fukui,”

”You and Hoshiumi get to play on the same side of the court this year,” Kobayashi said, “That must be nice,”

”It is. We shared a dorm with Atsu-chan. And I know one of Atsu-chan’s fears,” Hinata said.

”What?” Kyoutani asked.

”He’s scared of the top bunk!” Hinata said.

”No way?” Kyoutani gasped, “What happened?” Hinata began explaining Miya’s story.

”What school does Fukui go to?” Takumi asked, “I feel like I’ve heard his name from somewhere,”

”Inubushi East High,” Hinata replied.

”Didn’t they lose to Fukurodani in the finals?” Kurosawa asked, “And beat the favourites Itachiyama,”

”Yeah,” Hinata replied, “You may have heard of him, but he’s never made top five,”

”Fukui Ryoichi,” Iwata said as he pulled up an online copy of the major volleyball magazine from Inubushi East’s prefecture, “It says here that he’s the team’s self proclaimed ace, but is definitely the strongest of all their strong hitters, then there’s just speculation over whether he’ll be the captain or not,”

”Lemme see!” Maeda said, “It also says that it’s his second year returning to the under nineteens. He must be crazily good,”

”He is pretty amazing,” Hinata replied, “And he’s our captain,”

”What?” The rest of the team shouted, “This guys the under nineteen’s captain!”

”Isn’t that like, the best high school level captain in the whole country,” Kobayashi said.

”Any other good players?” Inaba asked.

”Did anyone watch any of their matches last year?” Hinata asked.

”I happened to catch the end of the second round in the India tournament,” Kindaichi said, “Why?”

”Did you see their no.10 at the time play, their pinch server?” Hinata asked.

”I think so. Dirty blonde hair, tall,” Kindaichi said, describing the player.

”Yep. Nishikawa Kooki from Furukata High,” Hinata said, “The only reason he’s not a top server is because Furukata isn’t a strong team so barely anyone watches him play. His serves are super powerful though,”

”Yikes. Under nineteens pinch server, this guy must specialise in serving,” Kunimi said, “He probably dual wields too,”

”You know Karasuno’s no.11’s jump floater serve,” Hinata said, the second and third years nodded, “Imagine that but with ten times the power and speed,”

”Crap,” Kyoutani said, “I guess we got lucky with Tsubakihara in the first round. In our seed the other match was Inarizaki versus Furukata,”

”They lost 0:2 12:25, 16:25,” Kobayashi said, “Basically they were completely destroyed by Inarizaki,”

Chapter Text

April quickly finished and the end of May was approaching. Unlike every other high school student, Hinata was not studying for mid terms but instead was preparing for his training camp. He had just been at practise the weekend prior where everyone talked about the rest of their team’s reactions to all the other players on the team, “I’m kidding you not someone said, isn’t that the small midget who can run faster than ‘Samu,” Miya said to Hinata, “And I just looked at them like, yeah,”

”Everyone on my team was already expecting you to be on the team. The looks on their face when I told them about Nishikawa’s serves. That was pure dread,” Hinata replied.

”My teammates just asked me to write a list of all the players,” Hoshiumi said, “Aargh!” Hoshiumi chucked the book he was reading to the ground, “I’m never gonna understand this in time for mid terms!”

”What topic is it?” Fukui asked, “I’m doing my mid terms next week so I need all the revision that I can get,”

”It’s classical literature,” Hoshiumi replied.

”I could get Yahaba and Mumkaashi to send you their notes. Both of them are really good at modern and classical Japanese,” Hinata offered, “I actually stole Yahaba’s second year notes, I don’t think he noticed,” 

“Thank you!” Hoshiumi replied.

”Can you send them to me too!” Fukui said.

”Me three,” Miya replied.

”Sure. Should I just send it to the whole team,” Hinata said.

”Yeah,” the other three replied, Hinata began to text Akaashi.

Hinata

Mumkaashi.........

Akaashi

What?

Hinata

Could you send me a copy of all your classical and modern Japanese notes - third year stuff

Akaashi

Why?

Hinata

My teammates on the U19 need all the help they can get to pass mid terms

Akaashi

No

Hinata

I’m telling Papa Bokkun!

Akaashi

And what’s he going to do?

Hinata added Bokuto to the chat

Bokuto

Shoushou! Akaashi!

Hinata

Papa!

Hinata

Mumkaashi won’t send me pictures of his notes for mid terms on Japanese (both classical and modern) for my teammates on the U19 squad.

Bokuto

Akaashi. Give Shoushou the pictures

Hinata

Thank you Papa!

Bokuto

No worries son

Akaashi

No

Bokuto

Pleeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaseeee!!!!!!!!!!

Hinata

Pretty please with sugar on top!

Akaashi

Fine

Akaashi has uploaded twenty files

Hinata

Thank you so much Mumkaashi!

”Gottem!” Hinata said, showing everyone the literature notes.

”That’s the passage I need to learn! You’re the best Shouyou!” Hoshiumi said before grabbing Hinata’s phone and typing something.

Hinata

Thank you so much whoever you are!

Hinata

(BTW this isn’t Shouyou - it’s Kourai)

Hinata

You literally saved my life!

Akaashi

This explains everything

Bokuto

It does‽

Akaashi

Bokuto. What is that?

Bokuto

This ‽

Akaashi

Yes that

Bokuto

It’s the interrobang

Akaashi

I’m not going to ask

Akaashi

(how do you get it)

Bokuto

It should be available somewhere on your keyboard.

Akaashi

Found it‽

Akaashi

‽‽‽

Akaashi

Why does this exist‽ And why do I love it‽

Soon the practise ended and the third years were equipped with Akaashi’s notes for Japanese and the second years with Yahaba’s.

After a week of impatient waiting, Hinata got to go on his training camp, “Enjoy mid terms!” Hinata said at his final practise.

”Enjoy training,” Kunimi replied.

”Hinata. One last thing,” Yahaba said, “When am I getting my second year notes back?” Crap, Yahaba noticed that I took them.

”Soon,” Hinata replied.

“It better be after your training camp,” Yahaba said, “Good luck,”

Hinata got on the bullet train and began doing some work as best as he could. He was too excited. I wonder who will be on the starting order? Hinata though as he tried to do some maths.

”Fukui!” Nishikawa called out, “Guess who?”

“It’s you Nishikawa,” Fukui replied.

”Yep!” Nishikawa replied, “So you excited?”

”Yeah. I can’t wait to see who got what numbers,” Fukui replied, “You know Yoshino could have gotten the setter spot instead of Miya,”

”Don’t say that Fukui!”

”ATSU-CHAN!” Hinata yelled as he jumped onto Miya.

”Phew. It looks like our dibs got in,” Nishikawa commented.

”Shoukkun!” Miya replied.

”Two more left,” Fukui said, “Excluding Sasaki,” 

“Look who got in!” Miyashita said, “Sucks that Yoshino still got his dibs,”

”It looks like you’ll have to buy the three of us something,” Nishikawa said.

”Nu-uh,” Miyashita replied, “My second guess was Fukui. Who got captain, so,”

”Damn,” Nishikawa cursed. The seven of them went to the belongings lockers.

”Okay, for today’s practise we’ll be in our regular kits, just so we know our numbers,” Fukui said, “We’ll be training in gym D. Try not to be intimidated by the under twenty-ones,” Nishikawa immediately did the opposite.

”Hey Ushiwaka. I got a higher number than you ever did!” Nishikawa shouted, in his number four jersey.

Nishikawa Koomi - Number Four (MB)

starting front row middle blocker

”Nishikawa behave yourself! It’s the first day and I don’t want to make this a long week,” Fukui sighed.

Fukui Ryoichi - Number One (WS) - captain

starting front left wing spiker

”Hinata,” Ushijima said.

Ushijima Wakatoshi - Number Seven (WS) - U21

starting front right wing spiker

”Ushijima,” Hinata replied.

”Huh? You know Ushiwaka?” Miya asked.

Miya Atsumu - Number Two (S)

starting setter

”Duh! We had to beat Shiratorizawa to make it to nationals,” Hinata replied.

”I’ve heard that Karasuno have a formidable libero too and a school similar to Kamomedai. It sounds like Miyagi is full of powerhouses,” Sasaki said.

Sasaki Atsushi - Number Five (L)

libero

”You mean Noya-senpai and Date Tech, right?” Hinata asked.

”Probably,” Sasaki replied, “Fukui, do I wear the black or red?”

”Red for today. It’s not a full team photo,” Fukui replied, “Is everyone ready?”

”Yeah,” Sakusa replied.

Sakusa Kiyoomi - Number Seven (WS)

starting front right wing spiker

“You betcha!” Miyashita said.

Miyashita Kaito - Number Six (MB)

starting back row middle blocker

”What about you, ace?” Fukui asked Hinata.

”Yeah I’m ready!” Hinata replied.

Hinata Shouyou - Number Three (WS) - ace

starting back right wing spiker

”Alright, lets go!” Fukui said. The seven walked to gym D.

”As you’ve gathered, you seven are our starting order for this year. Fukui who is your vice captain?” one of the coaches said.

”I’m between two. And I thought that the other four could vote for the vice captain,” Fukui said, “Firstly there is Nishikawa. Although he doesn’t seem it I know he cares about the team and is supportive, which could be something beneficial for the team. Secondly there is Miya, who’s our setter and from that probably knows best how well each player is doing. Plus he will be on all the time, where Nishikawa will sometimes be subbed off,” the four remaining members voted.

”So it’s decided that Miya will be our vice captain,” Fukui said, “No hard feelings Nishikawa,”

”Yeah, yeah,” Nishikawa said, brushing it off.

”Okay, now we have our vice captain as well I’ll start explaining the Norway tournament,” the other coach said.

”Shouldn’t we wait for everyone else?” Sasaki asked.

”We’ll be going in much more detail here,” the first coach said, “Plus there’s more stuff that you need to know,”

”First of all as you all know, this year the Summer International Youth Volleyball Tournament (SIYVT for short) is going to be held in Norway. All of you have already been given permission to go to Norway so you’ll all be going. The tournament lasts about two weeks and there are five rounds in total. There are three different stages: the initial block, the qualifiers and the top four. We’ll be put in a block of four and have to play the other three teams, only the winner of the block gets to continue to the qualifiers. The qualifiers last two rounds and we’ll be up against the winners of the block next to us if we get that far. If we win that then we go into the the next round of qualifiers. They randomise the order of the blocks and we go up against another team. After that it goes into the top four, if we make it that far we’re guaranteed a spot in the qualifiers next tournament, which would be useful if we weren’t hosting it. There are the semi finals and finals,” the other coach said.

”How do the blocks work?” Miya asked.

”There are eleven blocks of four teams, all randomly selected. The winners of each block get to proceed and join the top four and hosting country’s teams. The first week of the tournament is the block matches, the second week is the qualifiers, semi-finals and finals,” the first coach explained, “We won’t find out our block letter until our June practise and we won’t know the other teams in it until July” the first coach explained.

”We will have two translators with us. One who can translate Norwegian to Japanese and vice versa, and one who can translate Japanese to English and vice versa, but it would be useful for you to be able to speak a bit of both,” the other coach said. Soon the team began warming up and then they did some drills.

The first drill was a serving and receiving drill. They practised receiving in every rotation with the four who wouldn’t be in the back row serving three times each before going into the next rotation.

The second drill was a spiking and blocking drill. Nishikawa and Miyashita went into block whilst Sasaki was there in case they missed the spike. Miya would set the ball for Hinata, Sakusa and Fukui.

On the second day the under nineteen team played against the under twenty-one team. Naturally they lost, but they had made some good plays. For the next three days they went back to drills and practises with two on two and three on three matches. On the final day of the camp three more team members joined them. “Today we will be joined by our number nine, ten and twelve,” one coach said, “There’s a high chance that we’ll be switching you guys with them in matches so get used to them,”

Hoshiumi Kourai - Number Nine (WS)

sub wing spiker; next strongest hitter

Yoshino Akihiko - Number Ten (S)

pinch server and sub setter

Hideyoshi Jun - Number Twelve (MB)

the re-designated libero when needed

”Like I said when I explained all the numbers. Number nine is our next strongest hitter, and who we will sub in as a wing spiker; number ten is our pinch server; and number twelve is our next best receiver and can be re-designated as a libero,” the other coach said. The ten practised together before going into another match against the under twenty-ones, which they lost again.

"Shouyou, I can't believe that you got the ace role!" Hoshiumi said at the end of the match.

"I still can't believe it either," Hinata replied, "So how were midterms?"

"Ugh. Don't remind me. They were horrible, but I think I passed all of them," Hoshiumi said, "When have you got Inter High qualifiers?"

"In two weeks time," 

"Lucky, ours is next week,"

"Good luck,"

"I won't need luck. We're both making it to the finals this year,"

"Yeah! And it's gonna be epic!"

"Exactly. So we just have to keep wining until then,"

Chapter Text

The rest of the team had made good use of their time without Hinata, learning from their loss against Fukurodani. Now everybody on the team (excluding Watari) could hit both Yahaba and Takumi's sets easily. Kindaichi had become more confident with his read blocking, whilst Inaba had started to learn how to read block. Kunimi worked on his serve, as well as his quick. With him actually putting in some effort Kunimi could do a much faster quick than he had expected, he was still nowhere near Hinata's super quick but it was still something. Takumi had been working on his control and setting. Watari had been working on his receiving and passing as well as taking lessons from someone on a laptop, the rest of the team assumed that it was a video call or something. Kyoutani, well Kyoutani had been working on getting even more power. Yahaba had been working on his sets, trying to get a balance between where the spiker wanted the ball and where would the spiker hit the ball the best. The four first years had been working on their all around skills trying to be noticed for the chance that they may be put on the court. Kobayashi had arguably been doing the most. She had been trying her best to learn more about volleyball so she could help with training. She had made fact files about teams they could be facing in the qualifiers, as well as creating videos of the team's best moments. She had began making fact files on the top eight teams from the previous year's Spring Tournament (excluding Aoba Johsai). Finally she found a forum for managers and captains that gave tips on how to boost morale and how to best use time outs, Kobayashi had found it very useful when trying to learn more about the sport.

Chipi010: so @Daffodils u captain or manager

Daffodils: Manager

Chipi010: so you're trying to learn how to game works so you can help them

Chipi010: whoa kl

Chipi010: when r ur qualifiers

Daffodils: They’re in two weeks time. I can't tell if the team's nervous or excited.

Chipi010: both

Daffodils: Yeah. Still it's such a strong prefecture. I know that we're good, but I don't know if we'll make it

Chipi010: what prefecture is your team from?

Daffodils: Miyagi

Chipi010: unlucky! that's such a hard prefecture. although it does mean that we're neighbours (prefecture wise)

Chipi010: and u get to play in Sendai

Daffodils: Sendai is pretty cool, and has a great court. But the national finals court is even better

Chipi010: True, not that my team would ever get to play on it

Daffodils: I'm sure you could if you put your minds to it

Daffodils: So are you from Iwate, Akita, Yamagata or Fukushima?

Chipi010: Fukushima

Chipi010: but we're also right at the north of it (so really close to Miyagi actually!) so practise matches are hard to arrange. We often just have to settle with tournaments as our only form of match play

Daffodils: Wow, we seem to be even closer than I thought

Daffodils: We live about an hour's drive south of Sendai

Chipi010: wow! We really are close to each other

Daffodils: We could have a practise match in the summer break (if our coaches agree)

Chipi010: that would be great! I've never had a practise match before!

Daffodils: NEVER?

Chipi010: never, well I know my team sometimes has a few, but I couldn't make those

Daffodils: I probably shouldn't be asking you, but does the final week of summer break sound good to you?

Chipi010: yh

Daffodils: Great, I'm about to tell my coaches

Chipi010: ur in practise? and on your phone?

Daffodils: I'm the manager, they don't care

Chipi010: I really shouldn't be on my phone right now. I'm meant to be training

Chipi010: Oops

Daffodils: What school do you go to?

Chipi010: Furukata High School

Daffodils: Thanks! I'll go tell my coaches, and hopefully they'll be in touch!

Chipi010 is typing

Daffodils went offline

Chipi010: wbu?

"Guys! I got us a practise match!" Kobayashi shouted as she waved her phone around

"Really? When?" Yahaba asked

"Summer break," Kobayashi replied.

"But what about Hinata?" Inaba asked, "He'll be in Norway,"

"It's the last week of the summer break, so he'll be back in time," Kobayashi replied.

"Won't he be tired?" Kunimi asked.

"It's more a practise match for fun than practise, so I'm sure we can go easy if we want to," Kobayashi said.

"So what school is it?" Kurosawa asked.

"Furukata," Kobayashi replied.

"Furukata... I feel like Hinata mentioned them at some point," Takumi said.

"They make it to nationals but get knocked out early on don't they,” Kyoutani replied.

"Furukata... Furukata..? Furukata..! Furukata! The school of last year's under nineteen pinch serve, Nishikawa Kooki!" Takumi thought aloud.

"As in, the one who has a killer jump floater?" Watari asked.

"Yeah," Yahaba said, "I remember Hinata talking about it. Worse than Yamaguchi's," the team all shuddered.

"And he was the country's youth pinch server," Inaba pointed out, "He must be seriously good at keeping calm,"

"Even if it is him, he does claim that his team isn't that great," Kobayashi said, "It could be that Furukata only has one good player on their team,"

"Kobayashi, it looks like he sent you a message after you went offline," Kunimi pointed out.

"Oh!" Kobayashi logged back on.

Daffodils: Sorry! I should have waited, I got too excited and ran to tell my team

Daffodils: We're known in Miyagi as Seijoh

Daffodils: But the school's real name is Aoba Johsai High School

"Ew! That's disgusting Nishikawa!" Yoshino said, "You just spat water out your nose!"

"Well I'm sorry that I just had the shock of my life," Nishikawa said, as he cleaned his phone screen, causing him to keyboard smash.

Chipi010: sdghkjijhugyuihyguihyg

Chipi010: k thx

Chipi010: ignore that - was cleaning my screen

Daffodils: Okay

Daffodils: Enjoy your practise

"What's so important on your phone anyway," Yoshino asked Nishikawa.

"I was arranging a practise match," Nishikawa replied.

"And you thought that right now, in the middle of practise, was the best time?"

"Well it's the only time this person is on," 

"So, what caused this 'shock of your life'?"

"Well I was arranging the practise match, thinking that they were some bog standard team from Miyagi,"

"Okay, Miyagi does make sense, you're close to it. It's the same as me arranging a practise match with a team in Aichi or Yamanashi,"

"Turns out I was arranging a practise match with Aoba Johsai. You know the team that beat Shiratorizawa, and Spring Tournament semi finalists that barely lost against Fukurodani, all three sets going into deuces with the second and third reaching the thirties,"

"And probably most importantly, Hinata's team,"

"Exactly. So excuse me for spitting some water,"

"It still came out your nose though,"

"Shuddup!"

"Whatever, looks like you're on again"

"Hinata," Fukui called out as Hinata had started leaving.

"Yeah Fukui?" Hinata asked, did I forget something?

"I've got a couple of questions to ask you,"

"Okay,"

"You were taught by Shiratorizawa's guess monster, weren't you?"

"Yes,"

"Have you ever considered figuring out other players' weaknesses and using that to your advantage?"

"No,"

"It's my speciality actually. I can read players well. Weaknesses, favourite spots, best position, where they like their tosses, who they get on with, who they don't, their strengths, how they work with a team, you get where I'm going"

"Yeah,"

"Thought as much. It's how I play. Sure I'm a strong player, but I'm more brains than brawn. If I stand any chance of winning I need to use both. It's why I aim at weaknesses instead of gaps like you,"

"Well I aim at the gaps so I'm guaranteed the point,"

"Maybe in nationals, but not in internationals. Finding the gaps takes focus, players will be putting pressure on you. More pressure than you've ever experienced, you won't always be able to get the gaps,"

"So, what are you saying?"

"It's time you got on the next level. You have analytical abilities that, if honed by someone like me, could and would surpass your teacher, the guess monster,"

"Really?"

"Really. What do you do when you block?"

"I read the signs and the spike is basically telegraphed to me. For some players like Bokkun I can even read what type of hit they're gonna do. I then signal to my team which spiker it is and we go in for the block,"

"You're the brains of the block whilst the others are the wall. Hmm, here's how I would block if I were you. I'd do the same up to the signalling, then I'd let the two outside blockers close the gaps before blocking the spiker’s strongest points either forcing them to aim in a weak spot or be blocked,"

"That does seem like the better plan,"

"Because it is. I didn't call you our brains for no reason. The brain controls things, if you take my help you'll be able to control how the other team plays,"

"I would really be able to do that?"

"I think you would. Reading a spiker’s signs is good and all, but being able to read players is better. You'd be just like your previous captain,"

"Oikawa-senpai?"

"Yeah. He doesn't look it, but he's observant. He can read players, probably better than I can,"

"Better how?"

"There you are, asking the right questions. I'd say that we're equal on analytical ability, I'm probably faster, but he's better at hiding it. You can't tell when he's aiming for a weakness, but you can when I'm doing it,"

"Try me. What have you learnt about me?

"Well, your name is Hinata Shouyou, you're a second year at Aoba Johsai High School which is from the Miyagi prefecture. That means that in order for you to get to nationals, like you did last year where you reached the semi-finals, you have to beat the powerhouse school Shiratorizawa. You're the team's ace due to your insane speed and jumping abilities, and you can easily bring out the best in other players. Which when paired with a setter such as Oikawa Tooru or Kozume Kenma brings out absurd amounts of power in both of you and the rest of the team. You have immense amounts of determination which fuels you into going beyond your limits. However, due to your reassuring presence and abilities your team tends to rely on you more than everyone else on the team which puts an unnoticeable pressure on you, that even you don't realise until it's too late. When you get to this point you often get demoralised easily and get nervous, or you tire and miss. Good examples of this are when you mess up the speed change move so you get too nervous and demand to not be set to, and your match against Fukurodani where you took over as the team's ace and everyone relied on you too much to the point where you tired and lost the final joust against Bokuto Kotaro, you quickly realised this and tried to save it, but he was less tired than you due to Fukurodani not putting as much pressure on him.

Clear weaknesses of yours are you height, which you do make up for in abilities; your below average receiving skills; emotional nature; and the drain from your blood lust, as your team describes it. None of these weaknesses are really that bad, but if someone deliberately aimed for a drawn out match that forced you to play in your blood lust and use lots of risky moves and risky times, then you would crack and be unable to play due to tiredness - both emotional and physical.

Unlike most players you don't seem to have a favourite spot as you prefer to aim for the gaps where nobody can get the ball. This is a good tactic until you come up against blockers with quick reactions that can move, blockers who can put pressure on, blockers who have greater jumping reaches, or outstanding liberos like Sasaki or Komori. As for your best position you work best as both a middle blocker or wing spiker with you being more useful on the front row than the back.

You work really well with any setter as you can bring out more in them which means that they can bring out more in you. You completely trust every setter you play with even if you just met them although you do prefer the ball to be set a bit higher and slightly to the right so that you have more time to decide where to play it.

You work well with most teams as you can boost the moral and you seem to get along with every member on your team. I'd probably say that players who don't like taking orders like you the least due to you often being put in leader positions, but you cover up for them and prove to them why they should follow you. And at first it seemed like you would be annoyed by tall players or those who mock you because of your height, but that just seems to fuel your blood lust further.

And that's me," Hinata stared at Fukui for a moment, mouth hanging open.

"We've only known each other for a short while, and even if you watched some of my matches I'd still say that's it's near impossible to know that much about me. I mean I didn't know some of that,"

"Well I've had more than enough time to read you. I don't watch players until I see them warming up for their match against me,"

"Really, but surely that doesn't give you enough time?"

"I think you misunderstood me. I still watch the matches, but I don't watch specific players until they're warming up against me. I find their weaknesses which they think that they have adapted to avoid me at my full power,"

"You're that feared?"

"Uh-huh. Just like signs are now easy for you to see, soon you'll be spotting weaknesses like it's nothing. It can be used as a offensive tactic, or to make your own team stronger. A skill that only good setters usually hone,"

"Good setters?"

"There are strong setters and good setters. Strong setters are setters that can set well with accuracy. Good setters are those who bring out the best in their teammates and adapt to them whilst also making them adapt too. I'm talking about your Oikawa Toorus and Miya Atsumus. Only the best setters are combinations of the two,"

"So this is a skill that only the best setters really use, and that if I use it I'll be even more dangerous on the court,"

"Exactly. If you start doing this and hone the rest of your abilities, whilst also shaping your team. Well, you'd become the undeniable number one ace,"

"You think so?"

"Oh, I know so. I study the rankings,"

"Do you study them to try to find a way on them yourself?"

"Shuddup!"

"So how do I learn to read people?"

"The same way you learnt to read signs. Practise. Don't worry, I'll help you. Every week I'll send you a video montage of a player and you need to tell me their weakness. I'll correct you and give you pointers along the way, but eventually you'll be able to do it on your own. Hopefully in time for Norway,"

"Thank you,"

"No worries. I'm just making sure that our brain works at its best. See you soon Hinata,"

"See you Fukui!" Hinata and Fukui walked to different train stations. Akaashi Keiji and Hinata Shouyou - it would be strong. Kageyama Tobio and Hinata Shouyou - it would be an unrivalled force and I'm sure that Hinata's hits would only get more powerful than with his other setters. Miya Atsumu and Hinata Shouyou - well, it's terrifying to see how far they've come together, they definitely compliment each other well. Oikawa Tooru and Hinata Shouyou - the sole reason Aoba Johsai could beat Inarizaki and make it to semi-finals; it's a force not to be reckoned with and they don't just make each other stronger like Miya and Hinata do, they make the team even stronger, it's truly is a terrifying pair. Kozume Kenma and Hinata Shouyou - I think that this is the strongest pairing out of all of them; both already are the brains of their team which is the arguably most important part of team, putting them together would expose all the other team's flaws whilst making the rest of the players stronger (although not as strong as when Oikawa is setting) by giving them more openings than any other pairing could. Finally there the great unkown: Yahaba Shigeru and Hinata Shouyou - only time will tell how dangerous these two would be together. Fukui was deep in thought as made his way to the train station, he barely noticed that he had reached it so quickly.

"Fukui!" someone shouted, "Fukui! FUKUI!"

"Huh? Oh, it's just you," Fukui replied.

"You had that stupid scowl on your face again. What were you think about?"

"Just one of my teammates,"

"Uh-huh. So which one? Your setter? One of the short ones? Nishikawa or Miyashita? Perhaps even Baby?"

"Does it matter?"

"Uh, yeah,"

"It was a rhetorical question,"

"Well I decided to give you an answer anyway,"

"Because you're a dick,"

"Nope. Because I can, so I will,"

"Your logic is flawed,"

"How so?"

"I can murder this innocent man; so I will murder him,"

"I have morals, Fukui!"

"I'm just saying take your logic to the extreme and it wouldn't hold up very well in a court,"

"Well it's a good thing that I wouldn't hire you as my lawyer,"

"So, how are things on your team?"

"So-so. No stand out players, no competition, most are from the previous teams. But all in all, it's pretty shit. It's just me, Abe and Ushiwaka carrying the team,"

"I don't get it. Why would the under nineteens be able to play as a better team together?"

"That's just how it is. You don't need to think about it. No scratch that, you're not allowed to think about it,"

"I really wasn't planning on,"

"But I had an idea,"

"Oh god, here we go again,"

"You have so little faith in me, Fukui,"

"For a good reason,"

"Yeah right," the person paused, "Under twenty-ones implies anyone under the age of twenty-one can play on it, if I'm not mistaken,"

"You're not, a two year old is allowed to play on the team, who knows why a two year old would play on the team though. Most players are between the age of nineteen to twenty-one though because everyone's roughly at the same level, plus you have different tournament times and everything,"

"True, on both regards, as usual Fukui. So my idea, as you've probably gathered, is that if the under nineteens seem to be able to play better, why not give us some of your best players?"

"Because we have school during your tournaments, plus they may only play better due to our line up. And even if they're best for high school level, that doesn't compete with college level. It's that simple,"

"But some of them are good, like your ace for example. I can't wait for him to play with us next year,"

"He's a second year,"

"Really? Damn, he could already beat my college team easily,"

"Watanabe, you don't go to college,"

"Yeah, but the nearby team allows me to play," 

"Obviously,"

"I mean technically your ace could still play,"

"They wouldn't let him,"

"I'm sure the coaches would-"

"- His school wouldn't let him miss that much term time, on top of that he'll have the Spring Tournament,"

"Bold of you to assume that we'd get far enough to play the second week,"

"He'd be jet lagged!"

"The Spring Tournament doesn't matter, compared to our tournaments, and the possibility of being picked for the Olympics,"

"Whilst that's true, it'll also be his final high school tournament ever,"

"True,"

"Oh, it looks like our train has arrived. Try not to talk to me, I have work to do,"

"You don't need to worry so much about grades Fukui. You'll easily make it into under twenty-ones. This is your second year on the under nineteens and you're the captain, they'll want you to keep playing, and there's the chance of making the team for the Olympics,"

"I know that Watanabe, it's just. I just want to have a back up, in case volleyball doesn't work out, and I need grades for that,"

After returning from his training camp Hinata had two weeks to train with his team before they inevitably faced Shiratorizawa in the finals. "How was it?" Kunimi asked Hinata at lunch as the two made their way to the club room.

"It was great. I'm still shocked that I made the starting order," Hinata replied.

"Wait, what Shouyou? You never told us that!" 

"I didn't? Oops! Well, this was a training camp for just the starting order, and get this. I'm their ace,"

"What? No way! You're kidding!" Hinata shook his head, "You mean to tell me that you did not bother to tell us that you were chosen to be the Japan fucking Under Nineteen's ace,"

"I mean I didn't believe it when I first found out,"

"Holy shit dude! This is like so big for you. Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I actually don't know. Do you want to know the funniest thing that happened on the camp?"

"Sure,"

"So we're not meant to use our phones during practise, in fact they shouldn't even be in the gym, but Nishikawa ignored this,"

"Quick question. Nishikawa, the server right?"

"Yeah, that's Nishikawa. So this was on Saturday, what did you do on Saturday?"

"We had a day long practise, now back to your story Shouyou!"

"Okay Akira! So we were playing the under twenty-ones, and losing. Ushijima's on their team! Anyway, Nishikawa's playing middle blocker this year so he can serve more, so he's swapped with our libero, Sasaki, and he's on the bench and more importantly he's on his phone. Then suddenly he just spits water out his nose! Out of his nose! And Yoshino, who's our pinch server this year, just stared at him in disgust,"

"This was Saturday afternoon right,"

"Yeah. And anyway, Fukui had been off the whole match to film it, so he caught the whole thing on camera, here," Hinata showed the video to Kunimi.

"His nose must have stung after that!" 

"Exactly,"

"Wait. This confirms it then! Kobayashi!"

"Yes Kunimi," Kobayashi said as she entered the club room

"You were talking to Nishikawa when you arranged the match," Kunimi said.

"What match?" Hinata asked.

"We have a practise match against Furukata on the final week of summer break," Kobayashi explained.

"Cool!" Hinata replied.

"But how do you know that it was him?" Kobayashi asked.

"Well Hinata said that he saw Nishikawa spit water out of his nose on Saturday afternoon, which is when you arranged the match, because of something on his phone," Kunimi explained.

Time had flown by quickly and soon it was the beginning of the inter high qualifiers. Aoba Johsai got to miss the first round as they had made their prefecture's top four in the spring tournament, well actually they made the national top four but that didn't make a difference. They prepared for their first match (the second round) of the day.

"So Komaki, who're we up against next?" Asamushi asked.

Komaki gulped, "Seijoh,"

"Crap, instant death," Minamida shuddered.

"They don't have Oikawa on their team anymore," Makado said.

"But they still have the fast midget," Inagaki said.

"But we have Hyakuzawa. Even if the fast midget can jump, he won't be able to beat two metres," Nurukawa said.

"He beat three of the the top five aces last year!" Minamida said, "Ushijima, Bokuto and Ojiro. He probably would have beaten Sasuka or Kiryuu if he played them too,"

"Didn't Aoba Johsai lose to Fukurodani?" Asamushi asked.

"Yeah, but he was still the better ace, he just tired first," Inagaki said.

"True, if he hadn't lost the joust I think Aoba Johsai would have won," Makado said, "But still, they lost a lot of third years, they’re definitely weaker,"

"From the volleyball weekly rankings he made the top three aces this year," Komaki said, "I think out of the three of them, Sakusa is number one with Hoshiumi and Hinata tied at second,"

"Just a guess, but I think all of them probably made the under nineteens too," Nurukawa thought aloud.

"Hinata," Yahaba grabbed Hinata before he ran off, "Our first match should be easy enough, but they have a player who's over two metres tall,"

"Over two metres?" Hinata asked in shock, "Like there's a two instead of a one,"

"Yeah, that's what's meant by two metres,"

"But!"

"Don't worry about it,"

"It's not fair!" Hinata pouted as his blood lust started to come through, "Why does he get to be over two metres and I'm stuck at 1.65 metres?"

"If you'd let me finish Hinata! He may be tall, but he's inexperienced,"

"Well so was I until I joined the team, doesn't really matter if you've got skills, or height. You'll still be strong, you just won't reach you full potential and still be put on,"

"I'm sure you'll be able to manage anyway,"

"Is he clumsy? Easily fooled?"

"Probably,"

"Great, use me as your decoy Yahaba. If you use me well then I'm sure we'll win easily," 

"But you're not really our decoy anymore. You're our ace!"

"An ace adapts to play the best they can. We'll play the best if I'm playing decoy, at least I think so. Well, I trust you Yahaba. I know you'll make the best decision for the team. I'll still jump for the toss no matter what,"

"I thought you were so adamant on being decoy just then,"

"But you're the captain and setter. It's ultimately up to you. I've told you what I think will be best, but it's up to you to decide what you think is best. I may be smart on the court. But I'm not always right. Our team's biggest weakness is that we rely on me too much. It's why we didn't win nationals. My plan is my plan, and not the best plan," Hinata walked off leaving Yahaba to stand there, I didn't realise how much Hinata's changed and matured as a player. There's definitely someone on the under nineteens that's changed him for the better. He is right though. If we're constantly relying on Hinata to always be there and always use his plans we'll burn him out too quickly. Dammit! Being the captain is hard. I don't know what to do. 

"Not sure what to do, Yahaba?" someone asked.

"Oikawa?" Yahaba gasped, "Aren't you meant to be in uni or something?"

"I took the weekend off to watch," Oikawa explained, "Shortie pie's right. Him playing as decoy would be the best solution for this match,"

"But I don't want to make the same mistakes again. We can't rely on Hinata to always cover for us,"

"If shorite pie didn't want what was best for the team then he would have said that he wants to play as the ace,"

"But-"

"-He's changed, his game sense has definitely improved. It's like he's reading players like their a kids book,"

"Really?"

"Not quite, but soon I think that'll be who he is,"

"How do you think Hinata's changed?"

"He's become stronger, more of an independent player. Which actually makes the team stronger,"

"But wouldn't it make us weaker?"

"Hinata was the spirit of the team last year, and in that sense he both boosted us and dragged us down. When he was successful then we were successful, when he messed up and got nervous then we got nervous too and made more mistakes. I don't think that he realised this but he's matured and adapted. He's still going to bring out the best in you, but he's not going to bring out the worst in you any more,"

"Thanks Oikawa, but I still don't know what to do,"

"Well, I have a question. Shortie pie's been away, right. So what have you been doing?"

"Well, we've been trying to improve. Everyone can spike Takumi's and my tosses. Inaba's started to read block. Kindaichi's confidence has grown. Watari seems to be a new player. The first year rookies have proven themselves. Kyoutani's honing his power. And Kunimi. Well you'll just have to see that,"

"So you're all strong as well. Well if I were you, I'd take Hinata's advise. It's better to trick their tall rookie. But I'd also put in my own plan. Most importantly, I'd trust the team, especially Hinata's judgement,"

"Thanks. Can I ask you something else?"

"Sure,"

"Where, or probably the better word, who do you think Hinata is learning from?"

"Hmm. If I was still on the team, I'd say that I would be teaching him, but I'm not. It's definitely someone on the under nineteens. Who're the setters?"

"Miya Atsumu is their starting setter and Yoshino Akihiko is their sub setter," 

"He's definitely not learning from Yoshino. Yoshino's a pretty crap setter,"

"But he's on the team,"

"He can toss the ball. Great, he just doesn't bring out the best in the spiker. He's the definition of a textbook setter. He does well, but he doesn't want to do well so he feels no motivation to bring out more. It's not like I blame him,"

"Why?"

"When you have the country's top setter as your older brother, you're expected to be just the same. A prodigy," Oikawa spat, "And Yoshino Akihiko is not that. He's being forced to be a player that he doesn't want to be. I don't think he even likes volleyball anymore,"

"Really?"

"Yep, and the only other person who would be able to tell this and is in the better position to do something, is being ignorant of this fact. I think Yoshino only liked volleyball as it gave him a chance to see his brother; and now with everyone calling him the younger brother of Yoshino Juuro and constantly being compared and having these massive expectations put on him he doesn't have the same passion for the sport," Oikawa paused, "It's really a shame, because he once was a hard working player and really had potential but he chose to not chase after it,"

"So if it's not him, then maybe Miya?"

"Maybe, but unlikely. Miya brings out the best in players by forcing them to do so. He doesn't read them the same way I do. In that sense he's more like Tobio-chan," Oikawa thought for a bit, "Did Hinata ever mention a Fukui Ryoichi?"

"Yeah. He mentioned him after the initial camp, apparently he's the team's captain,"

"I would have thought Nishikawa Kooki would have got captain. He's definitely the better of the two at supporting the team,"

"Apart from that Hinata didn't really mention Fukui. But I don't really know much, the best person to ask's Kunimi,"

"What number is Hinata's jersey?"

"He kept the number ten,"

"No, I'm talking about under nineteens,"

"Number three,"

"As in the number three?"

"What's so special about three?"

"The youth team have a very specific numbering system. Number three is always the team's ace,"

"Then, wait. Hinata never told us he was the country's ace for our age group,"

"Apparently. Knowing shortie pie, he doesn't believe it. He probably thinks that it's all a dream, but that does mean that my theory could be right,"

"What is it?"

"Do you know why Fukui Ryoichi is feared as a player and ace?"

"Not really?"

"He's observant. But he doesn't do a good job at hiding it,"

"Oh, I guess we've never had a need to watch Inubushi East play though,"

"He approached me after our match against Fukurodani,"

"You're Oikawa Tooru, aren't you?" someone asked Oikawa.

"Yup! And you are?" Oikawa replied.

"Fukui Ryoichi,"

"As in the Master Analyst?"

"If that's what they call me, then yes,"

"So what do you want?"

"Curious. Well, it's a shame we won't get to play each other. I'm sure it would be an interesting match. Your number ten. He's a good thinker, but how far could he get?"

"Well, it depends on how much he works on his skills,"

"I don't think so. He won't get any further by doing the same old thing. Faster, yes, but not better. Not if he doesn't see things in a new light,"

"I can tell what you're thinking, you don't hide it well,"

"Hah. Yeah, I've never been good at hiding it, not like you,"

"What?"

"It appears that your no.10 is the brains of the team, I'm not so sure. Well, I guess I missed my chance to play the most interesting match ever,"

"You're strange, Fukui,"

"Thanks. I have to ask, can you turn it off?"

Oikawa paused before answering, "Yes,"

"Oh, I thought you were always reading people, it would explain how nobody notices. But if you can turn it off, then I really didn't copy you well,"

"What are you saying?"

"Your matches against Shiratorizawa really are interesting. I could barely tell that you were reading everyone until I did. Since then I've been trying to figure out how you read people so I can do it. I learnt the basics from you, and the guess monster, but I've done my own work. It just sucks that I can't hide it,"

"You watch matches from a different region?"

"I want to be the best ace, so I'll need to be able to beat Ushijima and the likes. Although now it looks like I'll need to beat your no.10 too. One more thing before you leave, you may want to teach no.10 how to hide better. It was obvious to dumb players and it was telegraphed to me the moment I first saw him play," Fukui turned to Oikawa one more time before he left, "Or maybe I'll get to put my mark on him first. Who knows?"

"Oh, what did he say," Yahaba asked.

"Nothing much. He mainly said that he had wanted to play us in the finals," Oikawa remembered the intimidating conversation, "He did have an intimidating aura,"

"He wanted to play us?"

"We're talking about the Master Analyst, Fukui Ryoichi, he's almost unreadable personality wise. You said he was the under nineteen's captain. Then it's most definitely him teaching shortie pie. But I'm not gonna let him teach everything,"

"You're becoming just like Hinata in his blood lust," Oikawa stuck his tongue out, "I take that back,"

"Yahaba, we're meant to be warming up. Don't turn into an Oikawa and skip warm ups," Kyoutani shouted.

"Mad dog-chan!" Oikawa smiled.

"Speak of the devil," Kyoutani grumbled.

"I should get going, thank you for the help Oikawa," Yahaba said as he followed Kyoutani.

"I'm trusting you guys to do your best. Don't disappoint me," Oikawa said as he went to the stands, Fukui Ryoichi, you really are an interesting bastard. But I'm not going to let you win. Oikawa watched the match, Yahaba had taken his advise and used Hinata as a decoy, hmph, he used shortie pie as a better decoy than I ever did. Well, he does have the fact that shortie pie's already feared and I didn't. Yahaba started the game by only making Hinata go in for fake regular quicks, luring the team into a false sense of security that Yahaba and Hinata couldn't pull off the super quick together. Yahaba would then suddenly throw in the super quick to further confuse Kakugawa.

Oikawa wasn't paying great attention to the match. He had only come to support the team for their first match, he didn't particularly care if they won or lost, it didn't affect him; yet Oikawa couldn't help but smile when he saw how his previous underclassmen showed off how much they had improved, I guess it's because I put so much investment into the team last year that it makes me happy to see them continue to grow.

"I'd figure that you'd be here too," someone said as they sat next to Oikawa, it's probably Iwa-chan, Oikawa thought as he heard the person, "But what's interesting is that you're not in the team's stands," No, that definitely doesn't sound like Iwa-chan, Oikawa turned around to see who it was.

"Isn't this a bit far? Tottori is ages away. Don't you have school?" Oikawa said to the person.

"Perhaps, but I have a friend from Osaka who has a match in Sendai. He wanted me to come and support him but it's not until this evening and I have time to pass,"

"So you thought that you'd come to watch high school volleyball instead of, I dunno, sightseeing or doing some work,"

"I guess. I have a reason to,"

"Shortie pie,"

"I always wondered why you called him that until I met him. Makes sense," they sighed, "It's pretty boring. They're using last year's strategy with this year's team. It'll work for now, but,"

"Wow, that's absolute bullshit!"

"Do you even have eyes?"

"You're talking out your ass,"

"Yeah, right," the two watched in silence, "Yeah I was talking out my ass," Oikawa smiled as Aoba Johsai won in straight sets.

"Just use him right," Oikawa said, "Or he'll become a double edged sword,"

"I know! I know!" the other person said, "I plan to shape him into the best player ever,"

"So you are teaching him,"

"Figured out that fast, damn I forget how good you are,"

"Just don't get cocky," Oikawa left the other person to continue watching the matches, he had to report back to Yahaba.

"I tried to ask Hinata directly but all the players were sworn to secrecy about the others," Yahaba said, "He said it was something about traditions,"

"Well I got my confirmation. Fukui Ryoichi is teaching shortie pie how to read people. Not a bad thing, just a bit annoying," Oikawa replied, "Well, good luck or something," Oikawa then left, knowing what he wanted to do, but unsure as to when.

Chapter Text

"So jerkawa didn't come after all," Iwaizumi said as he met with the team.

"No he did," Yahaba said, "We actually talked for a bit,"

"I didn't see him in the stands," Iwaizumi said, "Maybe he was hiding,"

"Really? It’s Oikawa we’re talking about," Kindaichi replied.

"Where's Shouyou?" Iwaizumi asked.

"Bathroom, as usual," Kobayashi replied.

"Hey Kageyama," Kunimi said as he passed Kageyama on his way out, "How was your match?"

"Fine. Yours?" Kageyama replied.

"Good. It looks like we don't need to play each other in the third round this year,"

"Yeah," the two went their separate ways.

"Oikawa-senpai?" Hinata asked as he noticed Oikawa leave the gym. He was headed to the bathroom, but that was always a war zone so any distraction was welcome.

"Shortie pie," Oikawa smiled, it was bittersweet.

"I didn't know you were here today,"

"I didn't want to make a big deal out of it,"

"Well that's a first," someone laughed on their way out of the gym, Oikawa looked in the direction as his blood began to boil, "I'm glad you came,"

"So what's the under nineteens like?"

"It's so cool, we're going to Norway! The captain's really smart, he's offering to teach me. Then our pinch server's teaching me and one other player this really cool serve they came up with. I can't pull it off yet... But soon I will," Oikawa noticed the very deliberate absence of names.

"Well I think your captain's a shady bitch, but opinions are opinions,"

"Shady? I don't think so,"

"He's hard to understand, maybe that's the best way to describe him,"

"I'd say arrogant," Oikawa smiled at this, "He claims to never make mistakes which is an obvious lie,"

"Well still, well done on making the team,"

"Thanks... Wait how do you know who our captain is?"

"They're an acquaintance. So shortie pie, you want to know how to bring out the best of your team?"

"Yes!"

"I thought you would. It's all about understanding them,"

"So I just need to get to know everyone and learn how to best work with them,"

"It's not that simple,"

"Oh,"

"You need to be able to understand how they think, why they act the way they do. It'll be hard but if I taught you, you would be able to do it,"

"But you're busy with college and stuff, I couldn't ask you to do all that for me,"

"It's fine, shortie pie,"

"Thanks Oikawa-senpai!"

"I'll send you some details later on," Oikawa continued to leave the gym and Hinata went to the bathroom, avoiding eye contact with any other players in there.

The next day they returned to the gym for the second day of the tournament, their first match of the day was against Date Tech, "I think that we should go for our regular line up and just give it our best. We just have to defeat the iron wall, and a simple strategy might be the best," Yahaba said, "I think we just have to do what our banner says - rule the court,"

"Yeah!" the team all replied.

"I forgot to do this yesterday, but I remembered today," Yahaba said, just spit it out, stop being so nervous, these guys trust you, "What's our name?"

"AOBA JOHSAI!" the team shouted with large grins, all happy that their chant wasn't forgotten. The starters went onto the court, their staring order was: Yahaba as their setter; Inaba and Kindaichi as their middle blockers (front, back); Hinata, Takumi and Kyoutani as their wing spikers (front right, front left, back right); and Watari as their libero. 

The match had been fairly easy for them even with the iron wall up against them. They had played Kamomedai who were far better than Date Tech, and their players, mainly Hinata, were too strong for the iron wall. In the end Aoba Johsai won in straight sets.

"Onto the next match," Kyoutani said, "Johzenji, the party team,"

"Don't mind Nakomura!" someone said, "We still have one more chance,"

"I know. If we could actually get the team to practise together. We're all good but we don't compliment each other well," Nakomura replied, "And it doesn't help that we're overshadowed by the boys. I thought that this year it would be fine. Oikawa's gone so there'll be equal attention, but of course they’re a top four school for nationals so they're going to hog all the attention. Come on Naomi, let's go,"

"Nakomura!"

"Team talk now!" Nakomura shouted, "We may have lost today, but that's nothing new. Do you want to win?" there was a chorus of yeses, "Then act like it! Show up to practise, if we can't put the effort in then why should we expect to be rewarded,"

"Wow, you're such a badass, Nakomura,"

"I, Nakomura Ran, will get us to nationals. But I won't be able to do it alone. I need you to step up and take some responsibility,"

"Why's Yahaba cowering?" Kunimi asked.

"That's Nakomura Ran, the girl's volleyball team captain. She's headstrong and terrifying. Last year she was known for publicly hating Oikawa because he hogged all of the students' attention. Yahaba's trying to stop her from realising that he's the new captain," Inaba explained. Nakomura approached the boy's team.

"Next time all eyes will be on us. Just because you're stronger and taller, doesn't mean your matches are more interesting," Nakomura said.

"Oh and it's worth mentioning that she's an all around player who's claimed the title of the under nineteen's girls' ace last year and probably kept it this year," Inaba continued, "I.e. you don't want to mess with her,"

"Not to mention she has some of the best grades in our year and is extremely competitive," Watari added, "She once beat up Inaba for getting a better grade in English,"

"No she did not," Inaba protested.

"Yes I did," Nakomura said.

"Nakomura, let's go. We've got practise, right?" someone else said.

"Yeah. Let's go Naomi," Nakumra said.

"And that's her sidekick, Tsunoda Naomi, who would the vice captain if she wasn’t their libero," Watari said.

"Hinata, stop hiding behind me," Kindaichi said, pushing Hinata forward.

"Why's she not confused by Hinata?" Kyoutani whispered, "He's not tall,"

"So this is the orange midget Fukui wanted dibs on. Well I don't care, he probably didn't get it," Nakomura said.

"Maybe you should ask Fukui yourself then," Hinata said.

"I really couldn't care less," Nakomura said before leaving, "Oh and Hinata, I wouldn't trust Fukui as far as I could throw him," That's two people now that have had doubts about Fukui. Could he really be that bad? Hinata thought.

"I don't get what you mean, Nakomura, " Tsunoda said, "Is it because he's a boy?"

"He rubs me the wrong way. I don't like how he gets into your brain like it's nothing," Nakomura explained, "Well it's not like I care. The girls' team is stronger, and I'm just like Fukui in a sense. Neither of us make mistakes. There's nothing I could have done to have improved my play in that match,"

"You let their spikers have clear shots," Hinata said, "You took over the receiving which allowed the spikers to have a much easier area to aim at due to the blocking easing up. They could easily aim for it to miss you unless you invaded other's territory. Which you did, disturbing the balance in the team,"

"So their pressure overwhelmed me. That's not a mistake," Nakomura argued back.

"But you knew that letting the others receive the ball was the better tactic, yet you still chose to do it yourself," Hinata said, "I'm not wrong. And if I'm not mistaken, that was a mistake,"

"Whatever. Let's go Naomi," Nakomura said, storming away from the team, he's right, I did make a mistake.

Chapter Text

Nakomura was annoyed, she had never made a mistake before and she prided herself on that. Yet Hinata was able to easily pick her apart and point out her mistake. And if he found that, then how many mistakes has she made? Ten? Twenty? One hundred? One thousand? So I made one mistake, and that's annoying, but I need to learn from it so that I'll never make it again, Nakomura thought, I tried to do too much because I don't trust my team. Then I just need to reassure myself that the team can play well without me. Then I won't feel pressured to cover for everyone. First of all I can trust Naomi. I've known her since our first days at Yukigaoka and I've seen her grow. She can receive and that's why she's our libero. I should learn to let her receive the ball more. Why am I listening to an idiot! I’ve never made a mistake before, so why would I now! There’s nothing wrong with my tactic!

"Anyway Nakomura, I suddenly found the connection," Tsunoda said.

"Naomi, I call you by your first name so you can do the same," Nakomura said.

"Okay Nak- Ran. Anyway I suddenly understand where I knew Hinata from. He also went to Yukigaoka,"

"I don't remember him,"

"He was like the only boy on the boy's volleyball team. He was always just practising alone at the side of the court,"

"Oh. It doesn't matter anyway,"

Hinata relaxed before his second match of the day, he already knew Johzenji’s signs from their spring training camp. He got his phone out for the first time that week. I should have checked it earlier, Fukui’s going to be mad at me for not picking up. Hinata turned his phone on to see lots of missed messages. He had a good luck message from Iwaizumi, Hoshiumi had told him that Kamomedai had made it to nationals, Kunimi had asked him for Yahaba’s Japanese notes again and then there were various things from various group chats. Fukui had sent his weekly task and feedback which Hinata made a mental note to look and Oikawa had told Hinata to meet him the week after. Hinata looked at the time, he still had some time before his next match, he decided to call the one person who he knew would be able to give him a clear unbiased answer.

”Hmm? Yeah, I’ll be back ‘Samu,” the person said as they picked up the phone, “Yo. What’s up Shoukkun? Don’t you have a match or something?”

”I have some time. Can I ask you something? It might seem out of the blue,” Hinata said.

”Sure,”

”What do you think of Fukui?”

”Fukui. Well he’s pretty cool. He’s a good spiker and captain, plus he’s smart,”

”No, I mean as a person not as a player,”

”Well I don’t know him that well, it’s probably best to ask one of the other three who knew him from last year. I guess he seems cold and calculating, but I don’t think that that’s his fault. He can be arrogant and prideful but he’s also really hard on himself. Like he’s his most supportive fan and his harshest critic at the same time. He seems like he gets along well with people, but I also feel like he’s one of those guys who get under you skin when they’re annoyed at you. But I think he’s a decent guy, why? Did something happen?”

”Well Oikawa said that he’s shady,”

”I can see that. He does seem to be lost in thought a lot and if you don’t know him well it looks like he’s plotting. So to an outsider he probably looks shady, but he’s cool once you get to know him,”

”Yeah I was thinking that too until Nakomura, you know the under nineteen’s girls’ ace, said to me that she wouldn’t trust Fukui as far as she could throw him,”

”Nakomura Ran... Yeah I wouldn’t listen to her. She’s known to hate the boys teams. She probably hates Fukui because he plays boys’ volleyball but she has to acknowledge that he’s a good player,”

”I guess that makes sense. With someone like Oikawa, she can hate him and look down on him because she knows that she’s on the country’s team and he isn’t but with Fukui she doesn’t get that high ground. Thanks Atsu-chan,” Hinata hung up and joined his team.

Soon the match began and Aoba Johsai immediately took the lead. They were the stronger team by far. Johzenji never stood a chance. During the first time out Yahaba decided to change the team’s tactics. They were currently just going all out, as much as Kunimi hated to admit, and asserting their dominance, “I think there’s a reason why Inarizaki get where they get to,” Yahaba said with some confidence.

”’Cause they’ve always been a powerhouse, strong team, good coaches,” Inaba began listing all of Inarizaki’s strengths, “Famous twin duo, literal fucking top high school level marching band,”

”Those are all valid points Inaba, but Yahaba’s trying to get at is when they’re up against other powerhouses, how do they win those matches. How do they make top two?” Watari said.

”But we beat them,” Hinata said.

”We may have beat them but it could have been luck. They still got to top two in summer inter high last year and took a set from the winner Itachiyama. We only got to top four, although it was close,” Kunimi said, “Basically, they still are the better team,”

”We don’t have much time so I’ll say it,” Yahaba said, “Their unconventional play style,”

”Damn! You’re smart Yahaba,” Kyoutani said.

”I’d never think of it like that,” Kindaichi said. Yahaba smiled, he didn’t have to be the nervous wreck he was in class when he got the answer wrong, or when he had a test. This was where he belonged, he was the captain of the volleyball team for a reason. The others chose him.

”They take risks and treat each match like it’s their first and last. Rematches don’t mean anything to them. They don’t fit into a pattern of rhythm. We need to treat this match as if we’re going to lose, but play like we’re going to win,” Yahaba said.

”I don’t get what you mean,” Hinata said.

”We have to grab onto every point we get as if it’s what’s preventing us from losing but play our best as if if we were the stronger team who would win,” Kunimi explained.

”So it’s like: Win like you’re going to lose,” Hinata said.

”Yeah!” everyone cheered, “We should make that our new banner!” Iwata said. Kobayashi smiled as she began planning the banner.

”I think that we were strongest in our second and third sets against Inarizaki,” Yahaba said, “We were playing then so that we wouldn’t lose, so that we could win. As Hinata put it, we were playing to win because we were going to lose. And because of that we took on an unconventional play style. We didn’t fit into a rhythm or pattern, we should play like that. Taking risks to get points, trying things out and doing our darned best to keep the ball up. And we should always be adapting!”

”Yeah!” The team echoed.

”Whats our name?” Yahaba shouted confidently.

”AOBA JOHSAI!” the team shouted back.

”Don’t ever forget where that chant came from, “Yahaba said.

”Yeah, it was the one Kobayashi gave us when we were about to give up. It’s what pushed us through the Inarizaki match,” Takumi said, “And since then we’ve always used it,” The team went back onto the court.

Kobayashi smiled, the team had finally evolved from the previous year. They were no longer a continuation of the 2012-2013 team. They were a new team, they were the 2013-2014 team. A team that didn’t have a set formation or play style. A team that didn’t stay still and get into a rhythm. A team that was constantly evolving. “Our rhythm is no rhythm,” Kobayashi said as she wrote the thought down.

”I don’t get it Kobayashi,” Kurosawa said, “What do you mean?”

”Well teams often fit into a rhythm when in a lead. Falling into a habit. They do the same when they need a break too. It often falls on the ace. It’s actually quite obvious to spot if you’re watching in a position like myself. Rhythms are also often the best plays that a team do, most teams are strong when they start playing in a rhythm. But the rhythm that we play in is having no rhythm, we work better together when we don’t rely on one single player and instead we work together to bring out the best in each other. Oikawa did it when he was on the team, and now Hinata and Yahaba are starting to do it. I think this might be our strongest team so far,” Kobayashi explained.

“But didn’t Oikawa make the team better?”

”I guess he did. But he shaped the play into being knights serving our king. Which works well, really well. Keeping with the chess analogy, we previously were a team with Oikawa as the king, and everyone else a knights, replacing all the other positions. For example, even though Kindaichi was more suited as a rook, he still played as a knight. I think this year we’re starting to change our chess rotation. Everyone here is the king, you have to defeat all of us to win, not just Oikawa. But everyone also take a part of the other roles. Hinata’s our queen, raising our spirits and being the strongest player on the team. Kindiachi, Inaba and Watari are our rooks, they have a fairly simple but incredibly strong defence. Kyoutani and Kunimi are our knights, with complicated play styles and strong hits, both don’t work as well with a traditional team, but when playing with us they are the strongest knights that we could have. Then Yahaba and Takumi are our bishops, Yahaba can set and bring out more of us and Takumi gets overlooked but is by far a dangerous player to stop looking at, he can easily change the momentum of the game just like a bishop can if you let them get a clear diagonal to your king our queen. The rest of us are pawns,”

”What, so we’re just used like we’re nothing,”

”The pawn is a powerful piece. There are eight of them for a reason. They protect all the other pieces and work well together and they can morph into the more powerful pieces later on. A team and a chess board are nothing without the pawns. You need them to stand a chance,”

”Wow! That makes us sound so cool!”

”Hinata may be our queen this year, but he wasn’t a knight last year. He was a pawn. And he was the best decoy that we had,”

”Wow. When you think of it like that, our team is really strong,”

”Not necessarily strong, but balanced. We don’t favour the offensive or the defensive, but rather whatever will grant us the victory. There was one match where we played better than the rest and properly evolved for the first time. Coincidentally, I think it was the hardest that we played too,” 

“Last year’s Inarizaki versus Seijoh, right?”

”Exactly, I’ve never seen the team cover for each other like that before or since. I think Yahaba’s done the right thing. Chanel that play style, get us to play our best all the time,”

”A barbaric, strategic, unconventional play style,” 

“Yep. I think you’ve got it Kurosawa,”

If Aoba Johsai were dominating Johzenji before the first time out, then they were destroying them after the first time out. Aoba Johsai, who already worked well as a team, were working as if they were one but not in a clockwork way, the players on the court: Yahaba, Watari, Hinata, Takumi, Kindaichi and Kyoutani, (with Inaba swapping with Watari); covered for each other and let each member have their own space on the court. Kyoutani would do a mixture of stealing and not stealing spikes, which only further confused Johzenji. In the end they won the first set easily. Yahaba smiled, he finally knew what direction he wanted to take the team and he felt that he could actually do it. They started with this starting order in the second set: Yahaba as their setter; Inaba and Hinata as their middle blockers (back, front); Takumi, Kyoutani and Kunimi as their wing spikers (front right, back left, back right); and Watari as their libero.

”Um Yahaba. Are you sure that you want to start in the front row, don’t setters usually start in the back left,”Kobayashi said, surprised that she knew that herself.

”Well that works well when you’re playing with an ace but Hinata’s playing as a middle blocker and I want to be on the front row with Hinata for as long as possible. Besides, Takumi and Kyoutani are playing opposite each other, which is useful as they’re in the optimal spot for Takumi to set to Kyoutani,” Yahaba replied. Yahaba took a deep breath as he returned to the court, he needed to be confident in his abilities. He needed to be a bit more like Hinata, and be willing to take risks.

Aoba Johsai started off with serving, with Kunimi using his floater serve. Johzenji set up an attack which Yahaba and Hinata blocked. Yahaba setting upwards and Hinata finishing, pulling off their Two Touch Bullseye. Kunimi served again, Johzenji attacked again, this time Hinata only managed to deflect the ball. Watari kept it up and passed it to Yahaba who set it up slowly. Hinata knew that he was meant to be going in for a super quick as Yahaba had already signalled for him to do so, so Hinata was quite confused when Yahaba tossed the ball slowly. Hinata had to suddenly stop and wait until he jumped so that he could get the ball. Due to the confusion Hinata missed and Johzenji got the point.

”Don’t mind Yahaba!” Hinata smiled, “If you’re gonna change things up whenever, then so am I,” Yahaba felt his confidence return, Hinata didn’t care that I changed my mind. He’s encouraging it.

”Yeah! You were the one who said that we should play any move that could get the point. So march to your own drum. We’ve got your back,” Takumi said.

”Yeah, I’m going to be keeping it up so you don’t need to worry about that,” Watari said, “In fact muck up! I want to show off my skills,”

”Okay. But you better do the same,” Yahaba replied.

Hinata smiled, it was something he just came up with, but it might work. He had been buying his time in the last set but with Fukui’s help Hinata figured that he was ready. He just needed to wait for the right moment. There it is, Terushima’s going in for the spike, Hinata thought as he signalled to his teammates. Kunimi and Yahaba had already gone in for the block, blocking the sides. Hinata smiled, sure his team couldn’t bunch shift, or anything else like that that Date Tech and Kamomedai could do, but he could tell Watari where exactly to go.

”I was thinking,” Hinata said to Watari after practise.

”What?” Watari asked.

”Sure my jumping reach is good and all. But when I’m not using my blood lust then there are still lots of aces that can get higher than me,” 

“I guess,”

”You’ve gotten better at moving and diving. Hmm, I wonder,”

”What is it Hinata?”

”When I go in for a block, could you shadow me?”

”I guess I could. But why?”

”Even if I get the block or deflect it, the first time a player sees me blocking them, they’re going to try and aim it over me, purely because I am shorter,”

”Even though the others have smaller jumping reaches,”

”My blocking reach isn’t the same as my spiking reach. I seem to be able to jump higher when I’m spiking,”

”Well I can shadow you, so that’s all you need right?”

”Yeah,”

Watari followed where Hinata went, even though he was sure that he didn’t need to. Hinata relaxed, knowing that if this didn’t work out he had Watari there to save the ball. Tersushima smirked, it was obvious that he was going to hit the ball straight down. At the last minute Yahaba and Kunimi tried to close the gap as Hinata began to run and jump. Tersushima had hit the ball straight down and Hinata was right there to hit it up and over him. I think I get what Fukui was saying about controlling where the ball goes. I don’t think that he meant like this and I don’t think I’d be able to pull it off yet, but I get it, Hinata thought as he scored the point.

After seeing Hinata’s new risky move, the team were suddenly inspired to take risks too. Watari began shadowing other players than Hinata. Inaba had called for a couple of spikes when he was in the front row. Yahaba continued to switch up his sets, pushing the spikers to their limits.

”I hate that I have to work harder to hit the ball,” Kunimi said, “But I love that I’m getting so many more points than usual,”

”I never knew that I could jump that high,” Kyoutani said, “It’s higher than I’ve gotten to before,”

”I never thought about using my left arm instead of my right arm,” Takumi said, “I’ve only ever used it as a last resort, but I guess that it does confuse the blockers,”

”I didn’t know that you could set the balls in so many different ways Yahaba. It was great when you set a soft ball for me to do a feint with, and then I hit it with full power causing their libero to struggle to receive it,” Hinata said. Kobayashi smiled at the seeds of development being planted.

Takumi was the next to take a risk. He set the ball for Yahaba, “I never knew that I could kind of spike!” Yahaba shouted, “I guess I’ve just never tried before,” Kyoutani went in for a serve, he suddenly decided to try a jump serve for the first time. It didn’t work, but he tried.

”I’ll get it next time! And it’s gonna be worse than Oikawa’s” Kyoutani challenged himself.

Kunimi could see that taking risks was doing the team good. They weren’t fitting into a rhythm and they seemed to be playing better as individuals and as a team. And like Johzenji, the team seemed to be enjoying the match more. Kunimi wasn’t sure though, Is taking a risk really going to make me more excited. If it goes wrong, won’t it backfire. I probably won’t like it. Kunimi shook his head, I didn’t think volleyball was fun until I gave it my all. I completely misunderstood Kageyama until I saw things in a new light. So what’s to say that this won’t be the case. I’ll take a risk by taking risks. And I’ll find out if I enjoy it or not. Kunimi had been working hard the past few months, he wasn't going to let all that work go to waste. Sure he had a good cross shot, and an even meaner straight shot and his line shot was okay, but Kunimi didn’t want to stop there. Where the shot went depended on what angle you hit it at, and angles was something that Kunimi was good at, and so was manipulating his body and balance in midair.

Kunimi ran for his spike leaning as he jumped up. He was going down the right side and he deliberately made sure that he was leaning to his right as much as possible. It came to the point where he had basically rotated to be side on to the net. He stretched his right arm up and hit the ball. 

Johzenji watched as the ball traveled almost horizontally. Kunimi smiled, yeah, taking risks is great. But I think I could actually make that one of my moves. I need to work on my diagonal jumping, especially if I want to be able to pull it off at the last second. I saw that I barely got the ball there. I should also work at getting it a different angles and making sure that the shot is not too powerful to go out.

Iwaizumi was watching in the stands again, it surprised him how much the team had improved. Yahaba had taken over as their setter and captain. Bringing the best out of the team in different ways to Oikawa. The rest of the third years hadn’t slacked off either all of them had mastered their skills slightly more than last year. As for the second years, Kindaichi was just getting even better at blocking, maybe he’ll over take Miyashita Kaito as most feared middle blocker, Iwaziumi laughed to himself. Kunimi had his new found motivation for volleyball pushing him to improve. He was putting in more effort and getting more out of the sport. But that narrow shot he just did, it was something else. And Hinata. Where to begin, he had matured a lot from the previous year, he definitely wasn’t as nervous and he brought out more in the team, but he had become, more independent too, it’s probably down to playing for the under nineteens. I think Hinata’s come to the realisation that he won’t be playing on the same team forever. But I think Oikawa leaving also must have done something too. Hinata seems to be honing both his skills as an individual and as a team player. He’s scarily good. I can’t believe that this time last year he was about to vomit after seeing how good Ushijima was. He seems like a different player. Smarter - I can’t believe that I’m saying that about Shouyou, someone who can barely pass his exams. I think if anyone doubts his place on the youth squad, they should watch his progress and then I’d tell them that that was all in just over a year. Then they wouldn’t doubt him. Iwaizumi didn’t know what to think of the new first years as he hadn’t seen them play yet. 

Iwaizumi also saw that the team had completely changed. They weren’t working together to make Yahaba a better player, they were working together to make the team a better team.

”Yahoo Iwa-chan!” Oikawa called out, “Long time no see!”

”Not long enough,” Iwaizumi teased.

”Iwa-chan!” Oikawa pouted, “They didn’t play like this yesterday, or even this morning,”

”Yeah. I think they found how they work best though. Where were you yesterday?”

”In the general stands. It was actually interesting though, I met a strange acquaintance and I remembered why I hated him,”

”You? Hate someone? Was it Ushijima?”

”Nope. I don’t think you know him. Unless you know your high school volleyball extremely well,”

”Try me,”

”Ever heard of Inubushi East High?”

”They made it to finals last year only to be beaten by Fukurodani,”

”Good good. This is fun! I’m gonna play with you first before getting to the point!” Oikawa smirked, “Let’s see, Itachiyama High - what are they known for?”

”Well last tournament they were the favourites to win but were beaten by Inubushi East in the quarter-finals. They’re probably known for having a top three ace, Sakusa, and the best high school level libero, Komori,”

”Bingo! Let’s see, Mujinazaka? Who’s the most feared member of their team... Last year,”

”Pfft. Easy, their ace Kiryuu,”

”Nopio!” Oikawa smiled, “Try again... Unless you want to forfeit?”

”You wish. Well if it isn’t Kiryuu, then it’s got to be Miyashita. One of the most feared middle blockers,”

”Yep! You really are impressing me Iwa-chan. Let’s see... Who’s the best server, according to the rankings? And according to ability?”

”Both are Miya Atsumu. He can dual wield in serving. Unless the rankings are Yoshino? But I doubt that,”

”What’s your final answer Iwa-chan?”

”Both are Miya Atsumu,”

”Well you got the rankings right. But not the ability one. Think about who Inaba and Watari wouldn’t be able to receive the serve of,”

”No clue,”

”Well. That just shows that you didn’t bother watching the first match Inarizaki played in the spring tournament last year. If you bothered to watch it with shortie pie and myself, then you would know who I’m talking about,”

”The first match was Inarizaki versus Furukata, a complete knock down,” Iwaizumi asked, “I don’t see how the best server would be there,”

”Well they are. I’ll give you a couple of hints,”

”Fine,”

”It’ll cost you, but I suppose it may be better than the forfeit,”

”What do you want jerk face Oikawa?”

”Call me Oikawa-senpai like shortie pie does, of course I’ll be filming it,”

”How can the forfeit be worse than this?”

”You don’t want to know,” Oikawa put a finger to his mouth.

”Fine. Please can you give me a hint... Oikawa-senpai,”

”Hey! I wasn’t filming it!” Oikawa got his phone out, “Okay, say it again,”

”You’re such a jerk, Oikawa-senpai,” Iwaizumi said his face turning red, Oikawa began laughing, “Shut it jerkawa!”

”Fine! Fine! Like I promised here are your hints. He doesn’t spike when tossed to, he serves. And he was last year’s under nineteens’ pinch server,”

”I suppose he would be better than Miya Atsumu. Hmmm. Who could it be? I never watched the international tournament,”

”Giving up, Hajime?” Oikawa whispered.

“Wha?” Iwaizumi jumped hearing Oikawa use his first name, “Of course not,” he grumbled, “I’m not giving you that satisfaction jerkawa,”

”Not even my full family name. Even after I gave you the honour of hearing your personal name said by me,”

”It’s not an honour. I guess you could say that Nishikawa Kooki is the best server then,”

”D’aww! I was hoping that you’d forfeit. Next question. What makes Ushijima different to the other previous top five aces?”

”He’s a lefty,”

”Yup! Ooh! I doubt that you’ll know this one since I had to ask personally. How many weaknesses does Fukurodani’s previous ace, Bokuto, have?”

”Thirty-nine,”

”Wrong! It’s thirty-seven, according to Akaashi,”

”It would be, but then there’s weakness number thirty-eight and thirty-nine. If Shouyou says to do something, Bokuto will almost always do it. If Shouyou is upset or hurt, Bokuto will go into parental mode and comfort Shouyou,”

”Dammit! You’re right,” Oikawa pouted again, “Okay! Okay! What does Kamomedai’s ace, Hoshiumi, hate more than anything else?”

”Being called a little giant,”

”Yup. You do know your stuff. What team is the second most famous libero on?”

”I honestly don’t even know who that it,”

”So you’re forfeiting,”

”I guess so. What’re you doing jerkawa?”

“So Hajime. If you get the next question right, I’ll get off of you,”

”I hope you do jerkawa!”

”If you don’t get it, you’re buying me dinner tonight,”

”Fine. What’s your next question,”

”Still on liberos,” Iwaizumi grumbled after hearing that, “What school does the libero known for his god-like reflexes go to?”

”Sasaki Atsushi?”

”I’m surprise you knew who it was,”

”I remember seeing him before our first match at nationals. He was getting nervous about playing Fukurodani. So who played Fukurodani in the first round... It went Inubushi East, us, Mujinazaka, no clue who the third round team was, I want to say Mori something and then the first round, yep, it was them. I remember being confused by the court name. Sasaki Atsushi goes to Eiwa High,”

”Aww. Now I have to get off,” Oikawa pouted, “Okay getting back on track. Is the name “master analyst” used in nationals?”

”Not by the commentators,”

”I’ll give you it. It’s not an official name, and commentators don’t even know of it. In fact not many people know of it. Only those who truly fear this player know the title. Do you have any idea of who the master analyst is?”

”Not really. I’m guessing they’re like Shiratorizawa’s guess monster,”

”Not really. More like me. But like ten times worse in personality,”

”So they’re just really observant,”

”I guess if you put it bluntly then yes. Anyway, since you didn’t know then you’re forfeiting,”

”No I’m not!”

”Okay then. Give me the name of who the master analyst is,”

”Fuck!” 

“Iwa-chan! You shouldn’t swear! Just for that I’m forcing you to forfeit!” Oikawa whacked Iwaizumi.

”Hey! Only I’m allowed to hit you!” Oikawa raised an eyebrow, “Not the other way round!”

”So only you’re allowed to hit me?” Oikawa smirked, “Isn’t that quite possessive Hajime?”

”I didn’t mean it like that jerkawa!”

”Did you now? Well the heart wants what it wants,”

”You know what I meant!”

”Do I?”

”Yes you do jerkawa!”

”New phone. Who dis?”

”Shut it jerkawa!”

”So where do you want to hit me Hajime?”

”Just call me Iwaizumi, or if you have to Iwa-chan!”

”So rude,”

”No it’s not,”

”Yes it is Iwa-chan! So where do you want to hit me?”

”In the head to get that brain of yours working,” Iwaizumi did just that. 

“Ow Iwa-chan! That hurt!”

”Good,”

”Hmm. I’ll just have to get you back with your forfeit,”

”I though I just had to buy you dinner,”

”That was for a different question. Hmm. What to do? What to do? I have complete control over Iwa-chan, what to do?” Oikawa thought for a good thirty seconds, “Iwa-chan! Your forfeit is to...”

”Is to what?”

”Patience is a virtue. Drumroll please,” Oikawa was the only person participating in the drum roll, “To stay the night at my place!”

”You’re weird jerkawa,” Iwaizumi then took a moment to realise the undertones of the forfeit, “I’m not sharing a bed with you either!”

”Well then. I hope you enjoy the couch. I’ll give you my favourite blanket if you want,”

”Why are you like this jerkawa?”

”You love it really Iwa-chan!”

”No I don’t!”

”Iwa-chan!” Oikawa whimpered, “What are you doing?”

”I’m getting back at you. I’’m going to hurt you for the rest of the match, and then we’ll see who’s laughing,”

”It really hurts Iwa-chan!”

”Tough shit jerkawa!”

”Language!”

”Fuck you,”

”Well, you know when it’s more appropriate,” Oikawa smirked, “OW OW OW! Not the hair Iwa-chan! Not the hair!” Neither realised that the match had already finished, with Aoba Johsai winning.

Chapter Text

"Ushiwaka! It's been ages. How are you?" Tendou asked over the phone.

"I'm fine, the under twenty-ones has been fine. What about you, how are you doing?" Ushijima replied.

"I've been fine. My college team easily accepted me. I'm just watching the inter high qualifiers. It's quite funny actually,"

"How so?"

"Well Shiratorizawa and Seijoh have to play each other in the semi-finals for the first time,"

"Well Seijoh will just have to settle for top four this year,"

"But they have Shouyou-kohai,"

"I guess, but they don't have Oikawa,"

"True. So did you get to play Shouyou-kohai on the training week? You are on the starting order, right?"

"Yes, I'm still number seven. Hinata is the under nineteens' ace,"

"Their ace!"

"I wasn't surprised. He has all the qualities of an ace. And he gave Bokuto a run for his money in the national semi-finals. Of course the latter went onto win the tournament but,"

"I still can't believe that Seijoh got further than we have. But are you saying that Bokuto was a better ace than you too?"

"Not quite. With Hinata, he was not gaining all of that power from Oikawa, although it did boost his abilities. With Bokuto, his setter really helps him. I would say that with his setter he may have been the better ace, but if we had Oikawa then he would have had no chance,"

"So who's he spiking with now? Are they bringing out the same in him as Oikawa?"

"Miya Atsumu. I have to say it is a deadly combination,"

"And Shouyou-kohai and Oikawa wasn't?"

"They were powerful and better at complimenting each others' abilities. But Miya and Hinata are both the same when it comes to playing and in a sense they just get each other better,"

"I think either pair will be powerful,"

"Yes. I'm not sure if Fukui noticed that Hinata is your tutee but if he did that could be an issue,"

"Fukui? I've heard you mention him before, but why would he be an issue?"

"He may be the Master Analyst, but his style on works for him. He will undoubtedly notice Hinata's potential and try to teach him. It could work, but it most likely won't and Fukui will always put himself first. He won't teach Hinata everything,"

"Sounds douchey but understandable. If and when they play each other he wouldn't want his protegee beating him, I still remember Shouyou-kohai beating me,"

"I've got to go. I'll call you at some point again Tendou,"

"Come on jerkawa, let's go support the team," Iwaizumi said as he dragged Oikawa, by the hair, to the team.

"Fine! Just let go of my hair!" Oikawa protested.

"Not going to happen,"

"I'm glad that those two are the same," Inaba said, "Hey cut it out you two!"

"Who're they?" Takahashi asked.

"Last year's captain and vice captain," Yahaba replied.

"DADZUMI!" Hinata shouted as he jumped onto Iwaizumi.

"I see you're still the same Shouyou," Iwaizumi said as he lifted Hinata up.

"He's allowed to call a Japan youth player by his first name?" Maeda asked.

"I mean we all knew Hinata before he got invited to play," Kindaichi said.

"You guys are up against Shiratorizawa next. Good luck," Oikawa chucked.

"Unfortunately," Takumi and Hinata mumbled.

"Ah, they feeling of not being asked to transfer to Shiratorizawa, it really is a nice one," Oikawa bragged.

"I still remember Shouyou's first match against Shiratorizawa," Iwaizumi said.

"Yeah, I for sure thought that you were going to vomit," Kindaichi said.

"And he wasn't speaking in coherent sentences," Yahaba said.

"I missed all of this whilst I was off with a broken arm!" Takumi said as he stared at Kyoutani.

"Well I had to miss it too. I was off on suspension," Kyoutani replied.

"I don't get why you're all upset about missing it," Inaba shrugged, "I don't care that I missed it,"

"Akira," Hinata said to Kunimi, "If we lose then feel free to shove me against a wall or anything,"

"That's great Shouyou, but we're going to win," Kunimi said.

"It's like he's a different person!" Oikawa said, "I still remember when I was able to call him Stoic-chan,"

"You and you're fucking stupid nicknames," Kyoutani grumbled.

"Well at least you haven't changed Mad dog-chan," Oikawa smiled, "Oh and Yahaba, good plan yesterday. Better than what I could have come up with,"

"It wasn't that good," Yahaba replied bashfully.

"So, what inspired the play style change?" Iwaizumi asked.

"What play style change Iwa-chan?" Oikawa asked.

"Were you even paying attention to the match?" Iwaizumi shouted.

"Perhaps I wan't," Oikawa replied.

"I guess I decided that this wasn't Oikawa's team any more. It's my team now," Yahaba said, "They chose me to be their captain so I'll do my best,"

"Even Yahaba's changed!" Oikawa pointed out, "Where was this confidence last year,"

"Oikawa. Iwaizumi. I'm glad you could come," Kobayashi said as she joined the team.

"There she is. The girl. The myth. The legend. Our fabulous manager, Kobayashi Rio," Oikawa said over dramatically, "Are you still taking photos for me,"

"Of course," Kobayashi replied, "Listen up! I'm here to help you guys. I'm on the team so that you can focus purely on the game, and I feel like I'm not doing that at the moment. If you're returning to the Inarizaki match play style, then I'm going back to that too. Is there anything you need me to do?"

"I suppose it would be cool if we had some better support in the stands. With Oikawa gone then we don't have as much support. All the fangirls are gone," Watari said.

"Got it. I'll get a cheer going," Kobayashi said, "Good luck on the court,"

"I don't see why shortie pie has no fangirls," Oikawa said, "We're talking about the under nineteens ace here,"

"WHAT?" the rest of the team, minus Hinata, Yahaba and Kunimi.

"He's the chief of not telling us important stuff. Remember when he tricked us into thinking he got arrested," Kyoutani said, "Of course Hinata didn't tell us that he's basically the top high school ace,"

”The team agreed to not reveal their positions,” Hinata argued.

”That’s for other members on the team not your own team Hinata,” Kindaichi explained.

”Oh, well then that does make sense,” Hinata smiled, “Yup! I’m the under nineteens’ ace,”

”Finally you told them Shouyou,” Kunimi said.

”You knew?” Kindaichi asked.

”I guess. But I figured that Shouyou would tell you guys when he felt it was best,” Kunimi replied.

”I only found out yesterday from Oikawa,” Yahaba said, “And that was only because Oikawa wanted to know what number you were playing,”

”Number three has always been the ace. Just like number two has always been the setter and number five has always been the libero,” Oikawa said, “Shortie pie, if it is Yoshihiko setting then tell him to at least put some effort in,”

”Yoshihiko?” Hinata asked, “Oh, Yoshino. Nope it’s Miya,”

”Well then. I’m sure Japan will win internationals then,” Oikawa smiled, “Just don’t forget that I’m a better setter,”

”I won’t Oikawa-senpai!”

”Well good luck in your match. We’ll be watching,” Iwaizumi said as he left dragging Oikawa by the hair again.

”Ow! Ow! Ow! Iwaaaaaa-chaaaaaan!” Oikawa screamed as he followed.

”Let’s meet in the finals,” Kageyama said to Kunimi as the two teams passed each other.

”Yeah,” Kunimi smiled, “We’ll still kick your ass,”

”I’d like to see you try,” Kageyama replied as he continued to walk with his team. Kindaichi stared at Kunimi.

”He’s not that bad Kindaichi!” Kunimi said, “Give him a chance,”

”I already did,” Kindaichi said.

”Nobody calls Bokuto the King of the Court yet he will just abandon his team in the middle of the match to have a tantrum,” Kunimi explained.

”He dictated our playing. He ruined the team,”

”He was just doing what he thought was best. What he thought was essential to winning. It might have not been the right method, but he wanted to win more than anyone else on the court. Can you really critique him on that?”

”Guys! Stop it! You’re giving me a fucking headache,” Kyoutani said as he separated the two.

”If you look at it from Kunimi’s view, then yes Kageyama was just doing what he needed to to win, and in that sense is no different to Bokuto,” Yahaba explained, “But Kindaichi’s point is that Bokuto knows that there are five other people on the court and Kageyama doesn’t. In a sense Kageyama is more like Nakomura than Bokuto,”

”If this was last year, I would agree with you, but Kageyama’s changed,” Kunimi said, “He’s learnt where he went wrong,”

”Then there’s hope for Nakomura too I guess,” Inaba joked.

”No, she’s strange. She plays well and properly with a team like the under nineteens, but she doesn’t play well with the girls’ team here,” Watari said.

”I think that she views them as too weak to be able to play on their own,” Hinata said.

The team warmed up for their final match of the day. “Remember we haven’t won this match yet. Let’s play as if we are always about to lose,” Yahaba said, “What’s our name?”

”AOBA JOHSAI!” The team replied.

”I know that it doesn’t fit our current image, but just thinking about. Isn’t Shiratorizawa our biggest threat to not making it to nationals. Whoever we go up against in the finals, they probably aren’t as good as Shiratorizawa, right?” Hinata said.

”I guess Shiratorizawa are our biggest threats then,” Takumi said.

”So this could be the hardest match that we play,” Iwata said.

”We just have to win. Our only option is to win,” Hinata said, “If we want to win nationals this year, then we’ll have to beat Shiratorizawa,”

”But we beat them last lear physically and rankings wise,” Kyoutani pointed out, “And they don’t have Ushijima,”

”That was last year’s team. If we were playing with our previous team against Shiratorizawa’s current team, I would say that we would win. But that’s not the case. Each year we start as a blank slate. Last year’s team may have beat Shiratorizawa, but we haven’t beat them yet. Let’s go out and win,” Hinata explained.

Kobayashi stared at Hinata, it’s like he’s a different player. You can tell that Miya’s rubbed off on him. Hinata basically just rephrased Inarizaki’s banner - We don’t need (things like) memories - each match is it’s own challenge, past successes and failures mean nothing to the outcome. Just because we lost to Shiratorizawa so many times didn’t mean that we couldn’t beat them, and just because we beat them once, it doesn’t mean that we can beat them again. Inarizaki truly are a formidable school when it comes to volleyball. Hinata came so far here, how far would he have come there?

Miya Osamu watched as his brother played, The orange haired kid from Aoba Johsai has changed ‘Tsumu a lot. He never changed the mood of the game before. He’s still pushing us to our limits like usual, but it’s also like he’s bringing out more from us himself. 

Kobayashi watched the beginning of the match deep in thought, If Miya’s rubbed off on Hinata, then has Hinata rubbed off on Miya too? If that’s the case then they’ll be stronger than Oikawa and Hinata ever were. The two brought out more in the other, but they both had the same way of doing things, they couldn’t grow. But Miya and Hinata are different and the same, they’ll bring out more in each other, and give each other different skills. I honestly don’t think that there will be a worse duo in Japan, perhaps the world.

Hinata took a deep breath as he took the first step onto the court, everyone’s saying that I’ve changed as a player. At least I think they are, but have I really? I feel like I’ve gotten worse. I haven’t clicked with the team as much this year, neither the under nineteens or Seijoh. Last year I could bring out more in the team, I hate to admit it because I know that Yahaba is good, but I miss playing with Oikawa and Miya. I can trust all three, but there’s something different when I’m playing with Oikawa or Miya, it’s like it’s more exciting when I play with them. I think I just got lucky with the team last year. I’m not always going to click with my team, so I’ll have to adapt to that. I need to be able to play on my own and still bring out the best in the team. Hinata took another breath and tried to clear his mind, I need to focus on the game in front of me. If I’m not playing my best, then I’m going to let everyone down. We need to win. No that’s not it. That’s going back into old habits. I need to become more independent. I want to win. I want to win with this team beside me and I want to play Kourai in the finals of nationals. Hinata didn’t notice his blood lust pouring through.

Yahaba gulped, he wasn’t prepared to play with Hinata’s blood lust yet, I’m not a great setter like Oikawa or Miya, I’m not able to use Hinata at his blood lust abilities. But I’m going to try. Takumi tapped Yahaba on the shoulder, “If you need me to I can toss for Hinata,” Takumi said, “I doubt that I’ll be able to keep up with him either, but it could ease the workload,”

”Thanks Takumi,” Yahaba said as he walked onto the court, “But I want to try,”

”Okay,” Takumi replied getting into his position. The starters readied themselves.

Takumi [2] - front left, WS; Kindaichi [5] - front centre, MB; Hinata [10] - front right, WS; Kunimi [6] - back right, WS; Inaba [8]/Watari [7] - back centre, MB/L; Yahaba [1] - back left, S

Kunimi prepared himself for his floater serve, he wasn’t expecting to get a service ace on his first serve.

”One more Akira!” Hinata shouted. Kunimi went in for the serve, this time aiming for a seam. Another service ace. On the third serve Shiratorizawa managed to receive the ball and set up an attack which Hinata and Kindaichi easily blocked. Kunimi scored yet another service ace on his fourth serve before messing up his fifth serve.

”Don’t mind!” Kindaichi shouted. Hinata would have too if he wasn’t busy talking to Yahaba.

”I think that I can do that,” Yahaba said as the two got back into their spots. Shiratorizawa served. Watari received the ball and passed it to Yahaba who set it behind him. Hinata upon seeing Yahaba’s set almost start falling down began his run to the end line. He jumped up and hit it. The ball landed just inside the court. Everyone was surprised by the move.

”What was that right now?” Takahashi asked.

”Hinata’s blood lust,” Kyoutani and Inaba replied proudly.

”One of the commentators at nationals last year called Hinata a speed demon, and that just proves to you why,”

”That was amazing!” Maeda exclaimed.

”Hinata has many more moves with his blood lust, that was just the tip of the ice berg,” Sugiyama said, “I’ve seen them all when watching him play last year,”

”This just goes to show why he’s Japan’s youth ace,” Inaba said.

Chapter Text

The four first years stared at Hinata in shock, did he really just pull off the move at that speed, "Next year," Iwata said, "Next year, I'll be able to set to Hinata at those speeds,"

"I think Hinata's blood lust won't be as useful this year," Maeda said, "If Yahaba can't keep up, then it's useless,"

"I don't think that's the case," Kyoutani said, "Hinata is the essence of our new play style. There's this really good but annoying setter from Hyogo, and at some point, dunno when, said setter told Hinata that he would be a better player if he found what made him different from other players and to hone that ability. In our match against that setter Hinata realised what made him special, in his words: I can adapt. Basically Hinata doesn't have favourite moves and favourite spots, he plays only to win, whether that be as an individual or as a part of the team. That's why we're not worried about him being more independent, it'll serve us well in the end. If Yahaba can't keep up with Hinata's blood lust speed, then Hinata will just adapt to that and run later,"

"Hinata's play style, and to an extend our new play style. It's like we're surviving," Takahashi said.

"Barbaric," Kurosawa added.

"I guess you could call it that. The commentator who called Hinata a speed demon wasn't wrong in either sense. You could say that Hinata's play style is demonic," Kyoutani said.

The first set was rocky for Aoba Johsai. Unlike matches where Hinata played at his regular speeds, Yahaba and Hinata weren't in sync. They were getting there but it was taking a while. Because there was more errors in the spiking Inaba and Watari (when on) had to work harder than usual to keep the ball up. "It's practise for nationals," Inaba joked as the two swapped.

"Yeah," Watari replied. In the end Aoba Johsai lost the first set.

"Dammit!" Kyoutani complained.

"I just wish that we'd practised more before Yahaba," Hinata said.

"We can't do anything about that set," Yahaba said, "We lost it. That just means that winning this next set is even more important than ever,"

"Yeah!" the team echoed.

"Hinata, if you don't mind could you sit the next set out," the head coach said.

"It's fine," Hinata replied. Kobayashi noticed the hesitance in the other boys.

"Hinata, could you help me get some more water. We've almost ran out," Kobayashi said as Hinata nodded and followed.

"Thank the stars we have Kobayashi," Takumi sighed in relief, "We're all thinking it. We don't need Hinata to win this set," everyone nodded.

"I don't know how he'll take it. If we lost, he'd blame it on himself," Kindaichi said.

"Hinata being away has not only helped him, but it's helped us. We're a strong team without Hinata," Inaba said, "I think that maybe we should think about using Hinata differently now,"

"I kind of get where you're going. Last year we used Hinata as a decoy, and eventually an ace. This year we should use him as an ace," Yahaba said.

"Last year this year! I'm fed up with this bullshit!" Takahashi shouted, "Why can't we just combine the best elements of both?" Everyone turned to stare at him.

"Yeah!" the team realised that they were wrong.

"We'll talk about this more after the match, which we're winning. Let's just play our best and rule the court! I'll let the coaches explain the next lineup," Yahaba said.

The two coaches smiled, they liked this new team. They were independent, they shaped the team into what they wanted, not what the coaches thought was best. "Okay. So as I said earlier, we'll have Hinata off for this set. Kyoutani, you'll go in instead. Kindaichi and Inaba. Your read blocking is fine and you are both tall enough for the delay to not matter. You don't need to watch for Hinata's signals," the head coach said, "We'll still have him do them, for those who want it and to try and trick the other team,"

"What's our name?" Yahaba asked as they were about to start the second game.

"AOBA JOHSAI!" the team shouted back.

Watari kept looking over to Hinata and Shiratorizawa couldn't tell why, even Aoba Johsai were confused as to why Watari wanted to know the signs. Watari smiled and hoped that he would watch the match at some point.

Watari was quite secretive as to what happened on the defence based camp. He had told the team some of what happened, but not most of it. He also never explained who he was always on video call to, or what they were doing. All the team knew was that Watari was better than last year, but he hadn't been able to prove that in a match.

"You're not too bad yourself, you know," Komori said to Watari, "I mean you have to be pretty good to help get your team to semi-finals,"

"I got injured in semis. I've basically recovered, but I now understand why Takumi wasn't as good when he returned from his injury," Watari said.

"What sort of injury?"

"Sprained ankle,"

"Ooh. That sounds bad. I see that you've still got an ankle support on,"

"Better safe than sorry,"

"Yeah. Wait, what school did you say that you're from?"

"Aoba Johsai,"

"You're the libero with the setting technique,"

"Yeah. I used to play setter, so I kinda just merged the two together,"

"Wow. That's really cool though,"

"I guess. But the best libero in my prefecture also like the move and copied it, which I don't mind. But it makes him better,"

"I would ask who it is, but I probably don't know them,"

"Komori, how did you become the best high school libero?"

"I was wondering when you'd ask. You want to get better and I want to see some good competition for once," 

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"None of the other top five rival me enough to have a decent match, that or their teams aren't that good,"

"Oh,"

"And the only other one who could rival me, Sasaki Atsushi, doesn't play like me, and Eiwa aren't that great a team,"

"How do you and Sasaki differ?"

"I focus on saves, he focuses on passes. It's too different for a decent competition. That's why I'll teach you all I know Watari. Because you're team is good and I reckon that it'd be a fun match to play,"

Every Wednesday practise Komori would teach Watari a bit more about how to become better. Soon Watari felt that he had made progress. He still wasn't as good as Komori or Nishinoya, but he was better. And that was enough for him.

Watari was glad that Hinata was still signalling, one of the keys things that he'd learned from Komori is that the higher level you play, the less time you'll have to react to the ball. If Watari knew who was going to hit the ball earlier, he'd be more prepared, and he could watch how they were going to hit the ball and roughly know where the ball was going. Then all he had to do when needed was to keep the ball up. Watari knew that he didn't have the reflexes and speed of Sasaki, just like Komori, so he knew that he'd have to settle for saves.

Finally in this match, Watari got to show off his progress. After Goshiki hit a quick that went in a difficult direction. Watari ran for the ball and dived for the ball. Keeping his hands up and letting them fall last. Hoping that he'd get the ball before he fully fell. It was Komori's technique, but it worked really well. Komori designed it so that he would get more chances to keep the ball up, and so he could get the ball up higher if he got it. Watari grinned stupidly as he saw the ball go up before remembering that he needed to get up.

Karasuno were happy with how the blocks had worked out. Both Aoba Johsai and Shiratorizawa were put in the same block, which meant that they had an easier path to the finals. Plus some of the other strong teams had been eliminated by the two powerhouses early on in the tournament. Karasuno finished their match quickly, they really got lucky with the blocks. They decided to watch some of the Aoba Johsai versus Shiratorizawa match. By the time they had arrived both teams had a set to their name. “Wow, it really is close!” Nishinoya shouted.

Kageyama watched the match intensely, he was surprised about how much Kunimi had improved, has he always been able to move that fast? Or has he just improved that much? Kageyama then turned to their number five, now number two, thinking back to their conversation at the spring training camp. Volleyball is just fun for him? A way to pass time? But how? I thought that we were the same, prodigies since junior high. He doesn’t look serious when playing, but he’s focused. I don’t get it.

”Wow, Takumi really has improved since junior high,” Sawamura said, “Well done on making it to finals,”

”Thanks,” the team echoed.

”I don’t understand him,” Kageyama said to Sawamura.

”I always thought that Takumi was easy to understand. He does what he likes and only that. He was, and probably still is good at maths but he never enjoyed it and so he left his homework to the last minute. However you give him a copy of shounen jump and he’ll be reading it for hours, forgetting to do anything else. When he’s on the court, you can’t stop him. He’s enjoying it too much, he doesn’t want to come off, the moment you take him off though he’s back to square one. It’s his strength and weakness, his binary nature. It’s either focused and interested or bored and disinterested. I don’t think he’ll continue volleyball much further. The further you go the less it becomes a hobby and the more that it becomes a career and serious time investment,” Sawamura explained, “That and his body isn’t one of a professional athlete, for any sport,”

”I don’t get it. He can put the same focus in as me on volleyball, but then he’ll take it away,”

”When either of you like something you’ll both get really invested in it. The thing is, Takumi has other things that he enjoys more and you only have volleyball. It’s where you become the player that will get further. But it’s not like it’s a competition and even if it was he’d let you win,”

”So he’s like a mixture of me and Kozume,”

”On a literal sense, yes. He likes volleyball and video games and the such. But he has a strong passion for both, I doubt he’d be able to chose between both if he was suddenly forced to. Play at nationals, or speed run a new game that he’s been waiting for for months. He wouldn’t know what to do when presented with that choice,”

”I guess he is simple,”

”Well I still don’t understand his decision to suddenly refuse Shiratorizawa. He was really excited to go,”

”I asked him. He said that he’d realised that he wouldn’t have time to watch anime or read manga,”

”Well, at least you know his priorities. I doubt he’ll continue to college volleyball. Although wherever he goes will want him to play on their team,”

”There’s two things that he said, that I agree with,”

”What was that?”

”Shiratorizawa’s just a name and that his skills would speak for himself anywhere he went,”

”He’s right about both. Takumi doesn’t need to be at a top school to play well and get what he wants. If he wanted to play internationally, he would put the effort in regardless of his school. He could have gone to the worst school in the prefecture and still be noticed, in fact he would be even more noticed there. And even if he went to Shiratorizawa or if you got into it, at the end of the day it is just a name. It may have strong players and good coaches, and it is a powerhouse, but like all powerhouses that eventually becomes a name,”

”Is being a powerhouse really a good thing?”

”Being a true powerhouse is,”

”What’s a true powerhouse,”

”A school that has countlessly shown that it will remain strong. Basically it doesn’t rely on an ace or anything. It will stay as a powerhouse through generations of teams. Shiratorizawa and Fukurodani are good examples of these. They had and have strong players, but they also are all around good, and that’s why they’re true powerhouses. Seijoh, whilst are strong, get lucky breaks with good players. Like Hinata and Oikawa. Once those good players go, they go back from being an exceptional team to a good team,”

”Who would you say are the best true powerhouses?”

”Inarizaki,”

”Inarizaki - Hyogo, school of the Miya twins. Last year’s summer inter high runner ups but lost to Seijoh in the second round of the spring tournament. They’ve been to nationals thirty-one times and counting,”

”Yes. They’ve always been a strong team and they don’t have lucky breaks,”

“So, being a powerhouse can be dangerous. But doesn’t it have benefits?”

”I guess so, stronger players are more likely to go to you, and then you can have higher standards, but you risk loosing out on all the players with potential. For example, the little giants,”

”I’m sure if he was from Miyagi, Kamomedai’s Hoshiumi could have made it to Shiratorizawa,”

”Seijoh, yes. Date Tech, yes. Karasuno, well he’d have met Nishinoya there so yes we would have easily accepted him. Shiratorizawa, no. All though his abilities easily make up for his height and more, Shiratorizawa have always had a simple tactic. Simplicity is strength. Strong hits, great jumping technique - those are complicated. Being tall, that is simple,”

”But they would have noticed the potential,”

”Powerhouses are allowed to be picky, if they want tall players, they’ll only accept tall players,”

”I get Hinata, he wasn’t good in junior high. But surely they would have noticed Hoshiumi’s potential,”

”They may have, but they can choose to ignore it. There’s one thing that surprises me still to this day. How did Hinata initially get onto Seijoh’s team,”

”He probably showed off his speed or something,”

”I doubt that. Hinata’s made incredible progress over one year. If you feel like you were training a lot, then I can guarantee you that Hinata was working ten times harder than that,”

”Really?”

”He was unskilled and messy, not to mention short. Why would the team accept him? He’s had to work harder than any other player in the prefecture to get where he was. He’s come from being an absolute rookie, to a top three ace in a year. Let that sink in,”

”Wow,”

”Kageyama I’ll leave you on this note. The top five aces, they aren’t naturally the best, all of them have worked their hardest and then pushed themselves further than that to get where they’ve gotten. Who’s known what Sakusa’s had to do to get top three two years in a row. Hianata’s worked harder than anyone else in the prefecture to keep improving and find his own ways to do things. Hoshiumi has come up with his own jumping technique to compete in the air. Ushijima overcame his left handedness. Bokuto worked incredibly hard to develop his straight shot. They seem unbeatable now, but they were weak before. They aren’t the best because they’re good, they’re the best because they’ve worked the most, the hardest. And to that extend, that’s exactly what the Japan youth squads are,”

”It’s not just the aces though. The amount of work setters like Oikawa have put in. Nishinoya’s put in lots of work to get where he is. I’ve put in lots of work in too,”

”I’m not denying that. It’s right. Listen Kageyama, my dad is a coach for the under nineteen boys’ team. All sixteen of them aren’t the strongest players from the start. They aren’t even the strongest sixteen players now, and contrary to popular belief, they’re not the best at working together. They aren’t a cookie cutter, generic line up. They are the sixteen most adapting, hard working, determined players that have found their own ways of playing. You take one look at their team practise, and then one look at their individual practise and then look at yourself. You feel like you’ve been slacking compared to them. Kageyama, have you been working hard?”

”Yes,”

”Do you think that you’ve worked harder than Hinata this year?”

”Probably not,”

”Correct. You give your all to volleyball, you’re dedicated to it. But your efforts don’t compare to that of Japan’s next ace,”

”What do you mean? I give all my time and effort. How can I give more?”

”Less is more. Hinata may look like he’s physically doing less that you, but by doing less for himself and more for the team, he’s not only making himself stronger, he’s making his team stronger. That’s what an ace does, that’s what Hinata does, but what do you do?”

”I’m trying to make my sets better,”

”It’s all you can do. I’m sure you’ll get there. But remember, in the end Hinata’s done more than you and that will show tomorrow if Seijoh win today. And by the looks of thing, it’s not just Hinata who’s been working his ass off,”

”Thank you Daichi,”

”It’s fine Kageyama,”

The momentum was back in Aoba Johsai’s favour come the third set and with Hinata on the blocking picked up it’s pace. Yahaba and Hinata could work with each other because the latter's blood lust had vanished. With the line up being:

Takumi [2] - front left, WS; Kindaichi [5] - front centre, MB; Hinata [10] - front right, WS; Kyoutani [4] - back right, WS; Inaba [8]/Watari [7] - back centre, MB/L; Yahaba [1] - back left, S

Kunimi enjoyed having some time off, the match was tiring especially since he was playing at such a high intensity. He went over to Sugiyama and began talking. The two had got close during nationals with both being on the bench for the majority of it, "You know Sugiyama, it's nice having you on the bench," Kunimi said.

"Thanks Kunimi," Sugiyama replied, "It's nice to have you too,"

"Thanks, but I'm not sure if I'll be there for most of it," Kunimi replied, "It's nice knowing that you have someone to return to on the sidelines, someone supportive who you're able to talk to,"

"Well I'm glad that I can help the team in some way," 

On the court Hinata and Yahaba were dominating Shiratorizawa. There weren't that many more complicated or interesting plays, Aoba Johsai were just better than Shiratorizawa and that lead to them winning the match. The team stayed together in the gym.

"Over the course of the day we have begun to find a play style," Yahaba said, "Now we need to decide it and make it ours,"

"Basically we're not leaving here until we have an action plan," Kyoutani said, "Grumble all you like, but you'll have to get past me,"

"Let's just get this over with. I have things I want to do," Takumi sighed.

"Okay, first things first. Do we want to have a starting order, or should we just mix it up all the time going for what's best?" Yahaba asked.

"Let's keep mixing it up," Watari said, "It's our best chance of playing the best team, and we'll naturally fall into a regular starting order anyway," everyone agreed.

"Okay, next issue, I'm going to address it first, instead of leaving it to last. How are we going to use Hinata?" Yahaba asked.

"Me? Well I'm not the decoy anymore. People know I'm fast. They're expecting it, they expect me to be the ace. We have to move away from me being an ace or decoy. It's like what Takahashi said. Why can't we just combine the two? I'll be our ace, who uses decoying as a tactic," Hinata said.

"Great. We've sorted Hinata out," Kindaichi said, "Next part,"

"I'm not sure what's next. Ummm, how do we want to work as a team? How do we want to play?" Yahaba asked. The team sat in silence, everyone thinking.

"I don't think we should focus on being offensive or defensive," Sugiyama said.

"I think we should play as a group of individuals," Kobayashi said, "Your problem is that you focus too hard on working as a team. We don't need to be in sync with each other. You work better when you stop thinking about how you're working compared to your teammates. You should each be playing your best, whilst not lacking communication. You should be covering for each other and bringing out the best in others, but you shouldn't try to play like them or sync with them. Each one of you is good at something that nobody else on the team is. Play so that you're using that the best of your abilities whilst helping others reach theirs'. Some matches are more catered to your abilities than others are,"

"I think we take some of that and mix it with some of this. Know what you can do best, find out what matches you play well in and what ones you don't play as well in. With all of us here I'm sure that at least one of us can play well in different types of matches. When you're playing one of your good matches then it's your time to shine. Play your best and take the lead. But when it's one of your weaker matches the it's time to lay off and let someone else take the glory. Play to make them the best," Kyoutani explained.

"That sounds like a plan," Takumi said, "We play to our individual strengths when we can, and when we can't then we play to others' strengths,"

"And if those whose strengths shine in similar matches all put in extra effort in those matches, then their abilities should naturally compliment each other," Kunimi said.

"Great. This is good progress guys," Yahaba smiled, "It's like what Kobayashi said, we don't work in clockwork with each other, so why should we? If we can't do something the regular way then let's do it our way. Rule the court,"

"If we are all going to be more independent then we need to trust each other more," Kindaichi said, "We have to trust everyone's plans. We need to have faith in our teammates abilities,"

"Win like we're going to lose," Yahaba said, "Is that going to be our new major strategy?"

"Yeah!" the team agreed, "It captures our new vibes,"

"I think it merges the two years nicely," Takahashi said, "Last year you won because you had no choice but to. If you just gave up then everybody would forget you and it would all be for nothing. Now we can't let our past successes cloud our view, we still have to win to get any further. Nothings changes because we made it to semis before. We still have to get there again,"

"And we can't get too focused on all the possible games and rematches. The powerhouses are good, but if we focus on them then we give the underdogs the chance to trip us over. We have to treat the underdogs and weak teams the same as the powerhouses. All of them are blocking our way to winning nationals, separating them does nothing, we still have to beat them," Iwata said.

"It's inevitable that we'll have to go up against powerhouses, if we make it to nationals but we'll also be going up against weaker teams compared to those powerhouses. If we don't take the weaker teams seriously then it'll be our downfall," Yahaba said, "We have to treat those matches as if we're going up against a stronger team we have to win as if we were going to lose,"

"Of course we're making it to nationals," Hinata said, "It's a when not an if,"

"It will be an if with that attitude," Yahaba said, "We haven't made it to nationals yet. We still have to beat Karasuno,"

"But we beat Shiratorizawa today," Kurosawa pointed out.

"We may have beat Shiratorizawa, it may have been our hardest match. But if we lose to Karasuno, then they go to nationals instead. Beating Shiratorizawa, all the work we've put in these past two months, it'll all be for nothing. That's why we have to treat tomorrow's match seriously," Yahaba said.

"I don't want to remind you, but I have to," Kunimi said, "Remember how you felt after losing to Shiratorizawa the first time, for you third years (that played those matches) the second and third times as well. It felt awful, but realistic. You don't want to feel that feeling again, do you?" everyone shook their heads, "But at the time, it was a reasonable loss. Okay, now remember how you felt after losing to Fukurodani in the semi-finals. It was soul crushing seeing all the work you and everyone else had put in to get that far only to suddenly not get to continue on anymore. Think about how last year's third years felt. They had put all that effort into their final high school tournament and they didn't even get the satisfaction of winning. Sure they all said that they were content with making it that far, but even then a small part of them felt sad. It wasn't like the past Shiratorizawa matches where we never stood a chance in the first place, we were just putting ourselves up for defeat. We actually stood a chance against Fukurodani, we could have won. And that was the worst part, we could have won," Kunimi paused, "But we didn't. We can't change that now but we can stop ourselves from ever having to feel like that again. If we don't take tomorrow's match seriously then it will be just like Fukurodani all over again,"

"Akira's right," Hinata said, "We haven't put all this work in for us to lose. If we don't win then what was it all for. I hate to say it but, one team isn't getting the result they want tomorrow. Someone has to lose. Do you want it to be us?"

"No!" everyone shouted.

"I didn't think so, and even if this match is a given, would you really be content with winning halfheartedly?" Hinata continued.

"No!"

"Then let's give it our all tomorrow! We will rule the court!" Hinata said, "I've got a new idea! Pressure tactics! I need to learn more about them, but after I understand them I can explain them to you guys, and then we can use them. So that's something to look forwards to even if we don't win,"

"Cool," Takumi said.

"I know that some of you, cough cough Hinata, are already buzzing with all the opportunities of matches and people you could play at nationals. And some of us, myself included, are more worried about the sorts of teams that we could face there. There are some real threatening teams that we could come up against, but right now our main concern and only threat is Karasuno. Let's focus purely on them," Yahaba said.

"Yeah!" the team said.

"Can I ask you guys a question?" Kobayashi said, the team looked at her expectantly, "Why are you still using my chant? People know our name now,"

"It's no longer for that purpose. It's mental," Kyotani said, "It shows that we have support, it's our war cry,"

"Just thinking out loud here, so ignore me if you want. But I think that after Norway that chant will return to its original purpose. At the moment we're Aoba Johsai, or Seijoh. After Hinata goes international we'll be demoted to "Hinata's team" which I'm sure he's going to argue against, and rightfully so. We'll just have to prove why all eyes should be on all of us come the spring tournament. Right from the very first match we play in the qualifiers," Inaba said.

"Let's treat every team like their better than us and then show them why we're better than them. LET'S WIN LIKE WE'RE GOING TO LOSE!" Kobayashi shouted as everyone cheered.

"I'm glad you found your team boys," the head coach said, "We're still here if you need us, but we're thinking of letting you have a bit more control during matches. It's your team after all,"

"Now get home and get some rest," the assistant coach said. The team began to file out the gym.

"Is it okay if I'm late to tomorrow's match?" Kobayashi asked, "I know it might be hard for the team, but there's something I really need to do for them,"

"It's fine Kobayashi, they'll live - just," the head coach said.

"Thank you!" Kobayashi bowed before running home via the local haberdashery, which was open late.

Komori had returned from his first day of play offs. He decided to check out all of Aoba Johsai's matches, just to see if he was going to get an interesting match. He was surprised at first when he saw that they played Shiratorizawa in the semi-finals, but was comforted when he saw that they won. He then watched Watari play happy to see his friend improve and he was excited for their match in nationals.

Chapter Text

The next day arrived and the two teams arrived at the gym, "Where's Kobayashi?" Watari asked.

"She said that she's going to be late," the head coach said.

"Oh," the team's spirit dropped a bit.

"But she has good reason to, you'll just have to wait for it," the assistant coach chimed in, "Come on! Let's warm up!"

"If this were last year I'd say that we really chanced out, but Seijoh are probably better than Shiratorizawa," Enoshita said.

"Wow! It's like the whole school's come to support us!" Yamaguchi said.

"Enoshita, let's both play our best today," Yahaba said as he approached Karasuno, "And may the best team win,"

"May the best team win," Enoshita replied.

"What's this? Their captain isn't a jerk!" Tanaka said.

"Yes but anything is better after his majesty Oikawa," Nishinoya said.

"Ignore them, they're just salty about all the attention he gets from girls," Kinoshita said.

"Hide me Noya-senpai!" Hinata said having run away, "I don't know what Kobayashi did, but she managed to convince all of Oikawa-senpai's fangirls that I'm a mini version of him, and now they won't leave me alone!"

"Shouyou, duck!" Nishinoya warned. Yahaba turned around to see almost all of the third year girls approaching them.

"Kobayashi you are a fucking madwoman and we love you for that," Yahaba said under his breath.

"You still have the pictures of Oikawa and Hinata, right Yahaba," Kyoutani said.

"I, uh, yeah," Yahaba replied, unsure of what to do about the crowd.

"Jeez relax Yahaba! They're not going to attack you," Kyoutani said patting Yahaba extra hard, "Are you all bark and no bite? What happened to the Yahaba that shouted at me and slammed me up against the wall for waltzing back into the volleyball club?"

"He's always like this in lessons. He gets one answer wrong in front of everyone and he turns red. But the smile he gives when he's called on and gets the answer right is precious," Inaba said, "That's why he's known as the Prince of the Volleyball club,"

"I'm not known as that Inaba," Yahaba said.

"Yeah right. Yuu!" Inaba had started jumping on Hinata and Nishinoya.

"As I was saying. Just think about how much we could make off of those pictures," Kyoutani said, "We could even have a black market for locker room photos,"

"NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! WE ARE NOT STARTING A BLACK MARKET OF US GETTING CHANGED YOU ABSOLUTE MORON!" Yahaba slammed Kyoutani into a wall and walked away.

"I would buy those though," on of the third year girls mumbled but neither of the boys heard.

"Aren't things meant to be the other way around?" one of the third year girls asked.

"Welcome to the boys' volleyball club where Kyoutani's actually a softy and Yahaba's actually a badass biker gang leader," Takumi said, "Sounds like it's straight off of some shoujo, reverse-harem, love polygon manga,"

"Why are you like this Takumi?" Kyoutani asked.

"I'm not saying that I read said shoujo mangas, I just know that they exist," Takumi explained, "Come on, let's go. We've got a court to rule,"

"Who's he?" fangirl#1 asked.

"He goes to our school?" fangirl#2 asked.

"He's so tall yet so tiny!" fangirl#3 squeaked.

"I've never seen him before at school!" fangirl#4 said.

"You know that some of the second and third year girls actually started a fan club," Watari said to Kunimi and Kindaichi, "I walked into their classroom by mistake and I saw some of what they were doing. Let's just say I don't want to repeat what was said about our relationships,"

"Did they see you?" Kindaichi asked.

"Fortunately they didn't," Watari said, "But some of them are taking it too far. That's not to say that the majority are bad, it's just the few,"

”But it’s always the few that ruin these sorts of things,” Kunimi said.

”Yeah, I heard that Oikawa had a stalker,” Kindaichi said.

”I honestly wouldn’t put that past his fangirls,” Watari said, “Oikawa has a fan site, and it’s something else,”

”A fan site? Is he that known outside of the school?” Kunimi asked.

”Well he was big in the prefecture and he gained popularity from his appearance in nationals,” Watari said, “The same people are probably starting one for Hinata as we speak. And Hinata has the disadvantage of having more chances to make it to nationals and the fact that he’s going international this year,” The three boys filled up with worry, “You guys will get lumped in by default, especially if they catch onto friendships and the like. But I’m most worried for Kobayashi - the fangirls will get jealous with how close she is with the team, they can be savages when they want,”

”Why would you want fangirls?” Kindaichi asked, “They sound horrible,”

”The negatives are serious, but the positives are overwhelming. You get actual support and attention and the chance of being a household name. It’s free publicity,” Watari explained, “Some players become famous due to their abilities whilst some just have a really supportive fanbase. Fangirls can be crazy, but most are just supportive, the good ones are great and useful. The bad ones though, they can be the bane of your life,”

“If you’re talking supportive fanbases, then there’s only one that can go unrivalled. Koizume Hideki’s fan base,” Kunimi said, “I’ve heard that they’re the model fanbase and they pride themselves on that and the abilities of their libero idol. They’re the kindest fans out there and there’s actually quite a lot of boys mixed in there too. They pride themselves on helping trolls and other problems overcome their issues and be loyal, caring fans. Not to mention Koizume actively interacts with his fans making him seem human to them,”

”They are the best fans out there, and I don’t get how. Their main fan club leader, Okamoto Hotaru, actively and openly supports other teams and they are never mean to other teams. How did one libero get so lucky with his fans?” Watari said.

The two teams made their way to the court where they warmed up. Hinata took a look at the stands, they were practically full. Most of Aoba Johsai had come to support with the alumni that were still in Miyagi also coming. There were families there as well, well not much of the families as most siblings had school and parents had work. The assistant coach had found the seven third years from the previous year and asked them to hang the banner up. Aoba Johsai's "Rule the court" faced off against Karasuno's "Fly"

"Yet another year has come and I think that Seijoh will win again," Yamada said, "But I'm still routing for Karasuno,"

"It's basically a given. Aoba Johsai already beat Shiratorizawa this year, they're going to nationals again," Morikawa said, "They honestly don't need to put any effort into this match,"

"They'll give it their all though," Yamada said, "They're not going to make the same mistake twice in a row," Morikawa stared at him in confusion, "You know, Nekoma. They underestimated those guys and almost lost because of that. They're not going to underestimate Karasuno,"

"I mean it was the easy thing to do though," Morikawa said in the team's defence.

"I guess so,"

"They just beat the Top Two team Inarizaki, apart from Itachiyama, anything was going to be an easier match,"

"The real question is have they decided to grow?"

"Hmm,"

"We saw yesterday that they were planning on changing, but have they committed to that?"

"Thank you for the game," the two team shouted as they bowed.

"Okay, who are you starting with?" the head coach asked. The team stared at him for a moment, "It's your team, who do you want to start with?"

"Serving wise we could be dealing with Kageyama or Yamaguchi at any point of the game," Yahaba said, "Neither is nice to receive. We'll want our best receivers on. Blocking wise we have to deal with the really tall guy. So we need players with strong spikes or dodging abilities. We can probably slack off with blocking if necessary for players," 

"So Inaba needs to play as wing spiker then," Kyoutani said, "Which means that we should put Kindaichi and Hinata in for blocking, but having Hinata off for half the game isn't ideal either,"

"I could block," Maeda suggested, "I can't read block or guess block like the other three, but I can do my best!"

"Yeah! We have our rookies to help us!" Kindaichi said, "So we don't need to worry about numbers,"

"Okay so Watari is going to be our libero. Inaba and Hinata are going in as wing spikers. Kindaichi and Maeda are playing middle blocker. Which leaves the setter position and a third wing spiker,"

"I'm nowhere near as good at setting as Yahaba and I can't set Hinata's quicks yet. So I say that we put Yahaba in as our setter," Iwata said.

"And that leaves the wing spiker," Takumi said.

"I think we start with Takumi, and if we get a break so what. We sub him with Kyoutani," Watari said. They began deciding their rotation.

Inaba [8] - front left, WS; Kindaichi [5] - front centre, MB; Hinata [10] - front right, WS; Takumi [2] - back right, WS; Maeda [11]/Watari [7] - back centre, MB/L; Yahaba [1] - back left, S

"What's our name?" Yahaba asked.

"AOBA JOHSAI!" the team shouted.

"KARASUNO FIGHT!" Karasuno shouted.

Karasuno went onto the court with their starting line up and prepared to receive the first serve.

Yamaguchi [8] - front left, WS; Tsukishima [7] - front centre, MB; Tanaka [2] - front right, WS; Enoshita [1] - back right, WS; Akiyama [9]/Nishinoya [4] - back centre, MB/L; Kageyama [6] - back left, S

"Their first year rookie seems interesting," the head coach said, "Let's see how Hinata deals with a taller version of himself,"

"I expect his blood lust will show," Kunimi said to the coach, "It was the same with Nekoma's no.7. Once Shouyou finds a player that can keep up with him and is tall he gets jealous,"

"I guess it's not a battle of who's the better no.10 now," Hinata said to Tsukishima noting the latter's number change, "Why are all the annoying players no.7s? Anyhoo Tsukki-poo, I'm gonna give you the match of your life so you get hooked on volleyball!"

"Tch," Tsukishima grunted as he passed Hinata, "And it's Tsukishima to you,"

"Wow! So cold Tsukki!" Hinata faked a scowl, he knew exactly what Bokuto would do. ["Okay Tsukibluuuhblahblah," ]

"Hinata who else plays no.7?" Kindaichi asked.

"Well there was that fast guy from Nekoma. Last year Atsu-chan was no.7 for Inarizaki. Ushijima played as the under nineteen's no.7 last year and retained his number on the under twenty-ones. And then there's Tsukki," Hinata explains.

"I though you and Miya were friends," Inaba said.

"He's still annoying to play against, but he gives me free piggy backs all the time so he's really cool," Hinata smiled.

"So the way to gain your trust is free piggy backs?" Takumi asked, "It's that easy,"

"That and fluffy hair. His hair is surprisingly fluffy! And he says that Osa-chan's is fluffier!" Hinata began gushing about hair fluffiness.

"Guys! The match is about to start! Takumi you need to serve!" Yahaba said as he separated all of them, "You can talk about hair later. Why were you talking about hair?"

"Issho flooooofy!" Hinata said puffing his cheeks.

"Is nobody going to mention Hinata's hair," Watari said, "It's the definition of fluffiness,"

"You five are the worst," Yahaba said, "How have we already lost Takumi's focus? We've not even begun the game," The team settled down and waited for the beginning of the match.

"Yahaba," Inaba said, "Is this a three set or a five set?"

"Five," Yahaba replied. Soon the buzzer sounded and the match began. The atmosphere of Aoba Johsai suddenly changed from goofy and laid back to serious and predatory. Takumi served and Nishinoya easily received it. Kageyama set the ball for Tanaka who Hinata and Kindaichi had already blocked. Watari passed the ball to Yahaba who set the ball for Inaba. Inaba hit the ball and Nishinoya received it. "Don't mind!" Yahaba called as he watched where the ball went. Karasuno set up an attack and Hinata deflected it. Yahba set the ball for Kindaichi who was blocked by Tsukishima. Karasuno scored the first point.

"Don't mind!" Hinata shouted, "Let them have it, we'll get the next one," Tanaka was next to serve.

Kobayashi had been up late at night painting the new banner, she was happy how it had turned out. She had gotten a lilac base fabric and then she had added white and turquoise tassels before painting on the motto in white paint. She let the pain dry over night waking up at five in the morning to give it a second coat. She then went back to sleep again until half eight where she then outlined the writing and let that dry as she got ready. An hour later and the paint had dried and Kobayashi was on her way to the match. She was in the lobby trying to figure out where the team would best see the banner when someone greeted her.

"Little manager girl," Bokuto said, "When does the match start?"

"It already started, I had to finish our new banner," Kobayashi explained.

"Another one! Wow what's it with your team and banners," Bokuto joked, "Need help putting it up," 

"Yes please," Kobayashi said as the two went into the stands. As it turned out they had entered Karasuno's side of the stands, "Well that was smooth,"

"It let's us see where the other banner is," Bokuto pointed out, "Hmm so we want to go to where the cheer squad is I think," The two made their way through all of Karasuno and to the other side of the stands. Kobayashi and Bokuto unfolded the banner and draped it over the front of the stands. The two smiled after it was finished, awkwardly standing to the side of the cheer squad who glared at them at first until one of them noticed Kobayashi.

"Oh, that's the boys' team's manager. That's what they were doing," one of the cheerleaders said.

"Guys! Guys! Look over there!" Kyoutani shouted, "Our manager's done it again!" the team turned to look at Kobayashi and Bokuto and the banner that read "Win like we're going to lose"

"IT HAS TASSELS!" both Kunimi and Hinata shouted in glee.

"Win like we're going to lose?" Kageyama said confused, "I don't get what it means," all of Karasuno agreed with him.

The seven years looked over to the second banner, "Win like we're going to lose, huh?" Matsukawa said, "Must be their new strategy,"

"They said something about the Inarizaki play style," Iwaizumi commented.

"The second and third sets. We won those because we were going to lose. They're going to play like they did in those two sets. Desperately hopeful, the feeling of being the weaker team, where in reality we are the stronger team," Oikawa said, "To win like you're going to lose, is the same as to say that you have no choice but to win. And we're not going to even acknowledge who we're playing. They're just an enemy, it's a match we have to win. Did we just become like Inarizaki?"

"I think so. Our greatest enemy, is also our greatest ally," Hanamaki said, "We hated playing them, but by playing them we've become better,"

With their new morale the team quickly finished the first set taking it (25:20). Kobayashi said bye to Bokuto and went to join the team.

"You absolute fucking legend of a manager," Kyoutani said with a large grin, "Did you spend all night making that?"

"Yeah, I had to be late so that the paint would dry," Kobayashi explained, "But it was worth it," the team nodded their heads.

"The tassels I just," Kunimi smiled, unaware of all the fangirls screaming in the stand.

"Aaaaaah! He smiled! He smiled!" fangirl#1 screamed. Oikawa took a glance over to the fangirls, realising that they weren't his anymore.

"Iwa-chan!" Oikawa pouted, "Everyone's forgotten about me!"

"Good! They finally took out the trash," Iwaizumi said.

"Iwa-chan!" Oikawa pouted again.

"Oh yeah, the collection was this April wasn't it," Matsukawa said joining in the teasing.

"It was a special collection too. Outdated trash," Hanamaki said, "And those who should have gone to Shiratorizawa," 

"Wow, I guess they got a two for one on Oikawa then," Matsukawa joked.

"If I had gone to Shiratorizawa you would have never made it to nationals," Oikawa pointed out.

"True," Hanamaki said.

"Everyone! Tooru's here!" fangirl#2 shouted. Suddenly there was a crowd around the third years.

"I see it! Kobayashi was right! Shouyou is a min Tooru!" Fangirl#3 shouted. How dare they taint Shouyou like that, Iwaizumi thought to himself. Iwaizumi stretched his neck it was still stiff from the previous nigh. When Oikawa said he had a couch Iwaizumi wasn't expecting it to be a love seat. There was barely any space for two people to sit, let alone for someone to sleep on it. Yet the two of them had managed to arrange it that both slept on the tiny sofa and now Iwaizumi was feeling the cramping in his body. I still need to get jerkawa back for that. And all the small things he did last night too. That sly bastard.

"You okay Iwaizumi?" Matsukawa said, "You look like you want to murder Oikawa,"

"That's because I do," Iwaizumi said, deciding that if Oikawa wasn't going to play fair then he wouldn't either, "Hey jerkawa!" Iwaizumi slapped Oikawa on the back of the head, "Someone looks lonely over there. Let's join them," 

"Sure," Oikawa replied. Iwaizumi smirked. Oikawa had no idea who he was joining, and then Iwaizumi saw someone else join the person, this has just gotten even better.

"Bokuto," Ushijima said, he was surprised that he had managed to make it to the finals.

"Ushiwaka!" Bokuto replied, "Did you come to watch Shoushou too? I still can't believe that he made it as the under nineteens' ace, and I beat him - and you. That means that I should be the under nineteens' ace!"

"Would you even be able to work with their setter?"

"Tsumtsum? Of course! We go way back but not like way back. Or way way back. Or way way way back. Or way way way wa-"

"- I see what they mean about you,"

"Iwa-chan! You knew! You tricked me!" Oikawa pouted, "Why did you bring me to them !"

"Revenge," Iwaizumi replied.

"Hmm. Oh it's I should wear my glasses but they don't make me look cool and his sidekick," Bokuto said. Oikawa scowled before giving Iwaizumi puppy eyes.

"Suck it up jerkawa," Iwaizumi said with a sadistic smirk, "And be glad that Inaba hasn't joined in... Yet,"

"So Oikawa, what have you been doing?" Ushijima asked.

"College stuff. Our teams is pretty good," Oikawa said.

"We would be playing together on the under twenty-ones if you went to Shiratorizawa," Ushijima said.

"Well it's a good thing that I didn't go there, isn't it," Oikawa said.

"TSUKKI! TSUKKI! TSUKKI! GO GET 'EM!" Bokuto shouted. Tsukishima groaned, there were now two of them here. Suddenly everyone from Aoba Johsai glared at Bokuto.

"This is the Seijoh side of the stands you know," Kuroo said, "Such an airhead," 

"Yup! I was helping put the banner up!" Bokuto replied, "Well see you later Ushiwaka, I should wear my glasses but they don't make me look cool and his sidekick,"

"It is a neat banner," Kuroo said, the two walked over to Karasuno's side of the stands.

The second set had gotten off to an average start. Both teams stopping the other from getting a break point. The set had progressed and Hinata got to see Akiyama in action. Maeda had just served. Nishinoya had received the ball and passed it to Kageyama. Kageyama set the ball quickly for Akiyama who ran and jumped just like Hinata and slammed the ball down. Hinata just stared in shock, "Don't mind Hinata!" Kindaichi said, "It could have been luck,"

"That wasn't luck," Hinata said, "Everyone thought my quick was luck. Everyone probably thought that the Miya's quick was luck. Everyone will think that that was luck, but I can tell that it wasn't. They can pull that off easily, and his height,"

"Wait for it," Kunimi said to Watari and Kyoutani.

"It's not fair," Hinata said as his blood lust came pouring in.

"There it is," Kunimi said.

"I can do it," Yahaba said, "You're right Hinata it isn't fair! But let's show them what's really not fair!" Yahaba understood Hinata's blood lust and he was sure that Hoshiumi did too. It was the feeling that you were more powerful than ever, like you could win. It was pure determination. It was scary, but Yahaba loved it. He loved seeing Hinata use it. He loved seeing the other team's reaction. He didn't love not being able to keep with it. But now he felt like he could.

Kageyama served. Watari received the ball and passed it to Takumi who set it for Inaba. Inaba spiked the ball but Enoshita received it. Kageyama set the ball again for Akiyama, this time Akiyama showed off his power. Hinata barely managed to deflect it and he noticed that it was going off. They would lose the point if he didn't get it. Hinata began to run for the ball, the only time you're allowed to touch the ball twice in a row is if you blocked it, Hinata thought as he dived for the ball, passing it to Yahaba. The team wasn't quick enough to get out of the way and Hinata ended up crashing into the subs. 

"Go finish it off Shouyou," Kunimi said as Hinata quickly got up.

"Was already planning on Akira," Hinata said as he began running for the ball. Yahaba had received the ball and was preparing to set for Takumi.

"I'll get it!" Hinata signed, pointing a finger gun at Yahaba, as he ran back onto the court. Yahaba quickly set the ball noticing that he had more power and speed in the set than before. Hinata ran at his top top speed and jumped up. It wasn't his full jumping reach but it was in the late 340s.

Tsukishima watched as Hinata ran for the spike, I'm not going to get it, but the king will yell at me if I just let him have a free hit. Tsukishima sighed as he jumped up in front of Hinata trying to tower over him.

It all happened so fast that nobody had registered the result.

Tsukishima froze, he felt the ball against his hand. Did he? He just? I blocked it! Tsukishima thought, I blocked Hinata at his top speed and almost top jumping reach. Something that nobody has done before. But damn does my hand hurt. My finger doesn't look great either.

"He... Blocked... Me..?" Hinata was shocked. No-one had blocked his blood lust shots before.

Tsukishima smiled, "I blocked him! I defeated the orange midget!"

"Uh Tsukki-poo! You look scary when you smile," Hinata said, already over the block, "But I guess it's fine. THAT WAS AWESOME! I NEVER KNEW THAT BEING BLOCKED WAS THIS COOL!"

"Tsukishima. Your hand," Enoshita said, "You should get it looked at,"

"Yeah," Tsukishima said as he subbed off.

"..." for once Bokuto was silent.

"LET'S GO TSUKKI!" Bokuto and Kuroo shouted.

"It looks like he's going to get his hand sorted out," Kuroo said as the two went to find him.

"Tsukki!" Bokuto said, "You did it! You defeated Shoushou!"

"Yeah," Tsukishima laughed.

"He laughs?" Kuroo asked.

"He blocks. He rubs salt in the wound. And he laughs. This is Tsukki," Bokuto joked.

"I guess you were right though, Owl," Tsukishima said, "Beating the orange midget... Felt great,"

BONUS: The OFFICIAL Aoba Johsai's boys' volleyball team fan club.

"Okay! Okay! Welcome to the first official meeting of the official Seijoh boys' volleyball team's fan club," the leader of the club said, "Now in today's session we are going to sort the boys and start small mini groups for the different members. Let's start it off easy. Japan's youth ace Hinata Shouyou,"

"HE IS BABY!"

"I would die for him"

"He's a mini Tooru!"

"Shouyou is too pure!"

"I know I know! We need to protecc him. Obviously we don't have the King, Tooru any more. But we do have Seijoh's most bashful, pure, boyish boy and the Prince of the Volleyball Club, Yahaba," the leader said, "He's taken over as captain and he's gaining more confidence, and I thought that it wouldn't but it's totally fuelling his boyishness even more!"

"Why was he called the Prince?"

"Good question. Well partially due to him being the sub setter, but also down to his youthful and boyish appearance," the leader explained.

"Wow!"

"Okay. Next the dumpster fire that we all love, and also love to hate, Kyoutani," the leader said.

"I totally ship him and Yahaba," 

"Thank you for your opinion but we will tackle ships later," the leader said, "There's Watari and Inaba, who both don't stand out that much but I'm sure some of you prefer the more defensive players. There's the really tall guy that we didn't know even went to this school and then there's Sugiyama - nothing to say bout him,"

"Is that all the third years?"

"Unfortunately yes," the leader sighed, "But we still have the two other second years,"

"What about the first years?"

"They have not made their debuts yet, but I'm sure that they will be awesome!" the leader said, "For the other two second years we have the tallest player on the team, Kindaichi. Not much to say but if that's his height, lemme see the rest of that build,"

"Puh-reach sister!" someone else wolf whistled.

"Y'all are sleeping on Shouyou's bod. He's short, but the amount of workouts that he must have to do to make it as the country's youth ace. He has pecks is all I'm gonna say,"

"But he's baby!"

"He can go from baby, to badass, to baby again in a minute,"

"If I ever saw that in action I would die happy,"

"Then there's the other second year," the leader said, "And my god have you heard his laugh, it's adorable! And he should smile more! Yes I'm talking about Kunimi,"

"Aaaaaah! His smile! I just! I can't! I just!"

"Okay! Ladies and nope no gentlemen here, although they are totally welcome. Well then, ladies and ladies, let the shipping wars begin!" the leader said as she watched the chaos unravel.

Chapter Text

Tsukishima walked back onto the court after getting his hand sorted out, he doubted that he’d be able to block the quick again - it was probably just luck - but he had finally got hooked on volleyball because of that. It was near the end of the second set and it looked like Aoba Johsai were going to win the second set as well.

Hinata was staring at Karasuno. It was hard trying to read them in a new way. He could easily tell what their signs where and he could tell who Kageyama decided to set to, but he couldn’t find their weaknesses that easily. He wasn’t like Fukui, he didn’t have a strong brain when it came to people - or school but that wasn’t important - he didn’t naturally read them.

Fukui was watching the match on his phone as he waited for his team to finish getting ready, “Fukui, are you not going to play?” His vice captain asked noting Fukui’s lack of kit.

”Don’t feel like it,” Fukui replied continuing to watch the match.

”You sure? We could really use your help,”

”You guys are fine on your own,”

”Come on Fukui, you’ll enjoy it once you start playing,”

”I know. Just not in the zone,”

”Asshole,”

”Aim to their liberos left and block the centre - both of the court and the players,”

”So you’re not going to play in any of the match?”

”I guess,” Fukui began packing his stuff up.

”What did you tell the coaches? You’ve not been a practise recently. What’s bothering you Fukui?”

”Told them I’m injured from the nineteens. Coaches bought it,” Fukui said, “Faked wanting to play earlier on in the tournament, the games were okay, told them that I had worked too hard and that I wouldn’t be able to play today. Lies, all of it, but they bought it,”

”Of course. But why?”

”Dunno,”

”You do. You can easily read others, but you can read yourself the best. What’s going on Fukui?”

”Not in the mood,”

”When will you be in the mood,”

”When I see how my student is doing. If he gets to nationals or not,”

”And he’s playing his finals today, isn’t he,”

”Yeah,” Fukui put his headphones on and walked away leaving the opposition team confused as to why Inubushi East’s captain was ditching his team.

”You better practise so hard for nationals that you become a surprise player Fukui,”

”I know,”

”A player that makes people go: why did they wait until now to play him?”

Fukui returned to his home, which was empty as usual, and began watching the match in peace, teachers think I’m at the match; coaches think I’m at school; this couldn’t be more perfect. Fukui thought as he slumped onto the couch, their setter can do blood lust too? Not to Hinata’s extent but it’s still impressive. If we could get Miya to use blood lust then how much higher and faster would Hinata get? Is Hinata’s blood lust limited to his body? Or is it in his brain too? Is his blood lust worse than mine? Hmm. Fukui could feel his thoughts racing around in his head as he stared at Hinata, soon all the thoughts came together to paint the picture, It’s obvious that he's not analysing, pretty stupid move on his side, I could maybe give him some advice.

”Um Kunimi, who would call Hinata in the middle of a match?” Kobayashi said as she noticed Hinata’s phone ringing.

”Not sure but this would be a good chance to bring him off,” Kunimi said, “He’s starting to drain,”

”Yeah, get him to swap with Kyoutani or yourself,” Kobayashi said.

”Speed or power? We should go for power as they have that first year,” Kunimi said, “Coach we’re swapping Hinata for Kyoutani,” the coaches nodded as Kyoutani grabbed the number ten sign and the swap was authorised.

”Hinata, phone,” Kobayashi said as she handed it.

”’Sup Fukui,” Hinata replied.

”Are you in a time out or are you off?” Fukui asked.

”I’m subbed off. So what is it? Don’t you have a match or something?” Hinata said.

”Should do. Couldn’t be bothered to play,” Fukui said, “I’m going to get straight to the point,” Fukui began to yell "What’s the point of me teaching you if you’re not even going to use it in a match!”

”Huh?”

”Hinata. You could rival me easily come the spring tournament, maybe even the summer inter high,” 

“Shouyou you’re on speakerphone,” Kunimi said.

”Sorry Akira,” Hinata said as he turned the speaker off, “I’m not that good Fukui,”

”You are, and that’s coming from the master analyst,”

”You’re the master analyst? Tendou-senpai said that whoever they were was this scary force to be reckoned with, who would have you sussed out upon meeting you. I would never be able to outsmart someone like that,”

”But I think that you could. Hinata, do you think that your blood lust is something that only you can pull off?”

”No. Hoshiumi and Yahaba can both do weaker forms of it,”

”What does it feel like? What do you do about it?”

”Well it feels like I’m more powerful so I just let it make my body stronger,”

”So you’ve never trained it then,” Fukui began muttering to himself, he could see Watanabe saying something about his scowl, “So that would explain why it’s obvious,”

”I’ve trained with it before,”

”I know, but you’ve never trained it,” 

“How do I do that?”

”Good question. You have to accept it as yours and shape it to fit you. Blood lust is a technique that few can use, it’s where you channel your determination into some aspect of playing. For me I channel it into my brain and I just stick with it. For Oikawa he channels it into his sets and their accuracy,”

”Oikawa-senpai used blood lust?”

”Without a doubt. Why else wasn’t he panicking when he first saw you use it. His is weak and mine is only strong because I pair it up with my brains. Out of everyone I’ve seen use it yours is definitely the strongest form. It’s why you get an over twenty cm jump increase,”

”So you’re saying that I need to get used to using it?”

”No, that’s what you’ve already been doing. You need to use it how you want to. Focus it on in your speed and jumping and make sure that it doesn’t use you. Hinata you say that you can adapt. Adapt your blood lust into your brain, make it your second nature. Hone your instincts. You can be fast or jump high, or be tall or powerful. But that’s nothing compared to a smart player. Use your head and you won’t waste precious time. Think of it like Sasaki, he doesn’t waste one second finding where the ball is. You just don’t have time in volleyball,”

”Okay,”

”Hinata. If you don’t improve or adapt, you’ll be slaughtered come internationals, that’s just how it is,” Fukui hung up. Hinata stared at the wall, he would be slaughtered at internationals? Hinata quickly looked up something on his phone.

Best volleyball ace in the world

Results showing for: best volleyball ace in the world

Hinata clicked on the first link and read the article.

It is hard to put a name on who would get the best ace spot in international and world wide competition. There is a large variety of aces all who show an abundance of talent and skill. In this article we will try and put a name on the best ace title as well as shed some light on some potential new competition from the youth squads.

Osvaldo Hernández from Spain's 2012 Olympic line up is the ace that most people consider to be the best ace in the world. First of all he has his impressive build and height not to mention his jumping reach of 346 cm easily towering over spikers when he goes into block. His speed and power are impressive and many liberos and blockers have admitted to being scared of going up against Osvaldo Hernández.

Edgaras Kazlauskas from Lithuania's 2012 Olympic line up is considered to be good competition to Hernández. Kazlauskas is known for his all around abilities being a superb receiver, impressive setter, excellent blocker and outstanding hitter. There seems to be only one thing he can't achieve, and that's becoming the undeniable best ace of the word. Although it seems that he's currently off due to a knee injury. 

Vân Huỳnh from Vietnam is also a likely candidate. Although he did not play in the 2012 London Olympics, he has debuted in a recent international competition showing off his incredible abilities that could grant him the title.

Now by this point most people must be screaming at me to mention the US ace, Alvin Bryson, the only reason that I have not mentioned him yet is because the US team are all top players, most of their hitters could stand a chance in the competition for best ace. The reason why Bryson is their ace is due to his inability to lose faith in his team and their abilities, which is arguably the most important trait for an ace to have.

So it seems to be a four way competition between those four, although Japan's setter, Juuro Yoshino, has shown potential to be just as good an all round player as Kazlaukas. Only time will tell who is the better all round player.

As for who to watch out for, well we will get around to make that article pretty soon so we will only be focusing on the aces and hitters of the youth squads.

From those who have just entered their young adulthood there is Teodor Kovac from Czech Republic who has shown his feints are not to be looked down upon. Then there is India's Vipin Mishra who has shown his fortitude and determination to win. Of course there are many other names that we could list but those two seem to be the ones to look out for.

And there are some potential best aces in the high school age too. The Canadian under nineteens ace, Camden Ellington, is probably one of the best aces in his age category. He has multiple killer serves which many liberos have failed to receive, his blocking is to be feared and his hits are not to be underestimated. When he first plays a game they may seem soft but as he warms up they soon become much more powerful and harder to track. The icing on the cake is definitely his height, whilst most players on the Canadian line up are tall, he is one of the taller ones there. On the other side of the spectrum however is South Korea's ace, Yeong-S u Choi. He is the smallest player from last year's Spring International Youth Volleyball Tournament. However his jumping reach beats that of most players much older than him, being able to reach 350 cm. However he's best known not by his name or height but his title, "The Winged Monster" you'll just have to see him action to understand that name. Both could easily claim the best ace title in a few years when they play in the 2016 Olympics.

Hinata finished the article surprisingly quickly and smiled wistfully, "I want to beat all of them," he said before bookmarking the article so he could read it again and watch the players in action.

"Is there someone you don't want to play against and win though Shouyou," Kunimi said.

"Akira, do you think I could beat Osvaldo Hernández?" Hinata asked.

"Who?" Kunimi asked.

"The ace who's closest to claiming the best ace of the world title,"

"Then you stand no chance Shouyou. He's been practising for way longer than you,"

"But I could try,"

"You could try and you wouldn't last a minute. He didn't just become the best ace of the world by standing on the court and hitting the ball a couple of times,"

"Yeah I know," Hinata looked at his phone again, "Still, I want to make one of those articles. One of the articles that they have to translate into Japanese because it's so big,"

"Well then, looks like you better win when you play in Norway then,"

"Yeah!" Hinata's stomach twisted, would he be able to face off against players like Ellington and Choi? Would he be shorter than Choi? Hinata slapped himself. He was getting carried away. He wasn't playing with the under nineteens at the moment, he was playing with Aoba Johsai and they needed to win this match. Hinata began to analyse Kageyama and Akiyama. That's interesting. Whenever no.9 receives the ball he never does the quick set. Kageyama seems to favour tossing to no.9 as well, but I can't forget about the other three spikers and Tsukki-poo either. Blocking Tanaka seems to be a useless strategy so there's no point on focusing on blocking him. There's also no point in aiming for Kageyama to get the first touch as Noya-senpai can do Watari's back line set. It seems like most of our spikes are getting picked up by Noya-senpai. If only we focused more on aiming. No that's it. I'm good at aiming so I need to cover for those who aren't as good. I remember this time two years ago I was playing basketball with Izumi. SHOUYOU FOCUS! Wait basketball... That's the one with the really tall hoop, right? So you have to aim upwards to score. Height! The ball gets much harder to receive when it goes up higher, it's why I use an underarm serve. I should aim upwards and to their no.9, that way Noya-senpai won't understand what I'm doing as quickly. I use decoy tactics to get people to look at me instead of the true spiker, so I should use my other skills to lure people into thinking that I'm always going to go a certain place, and then suddenly swap. Like shifting, but I'm spiking instead of blocking. "Coach! Can we call a time out!" Hinata asked.

"Sure," the head coach said as Aoba Johsai used their first time out of the second set.

"Why are they calling a time out?" Enoshita asked.

"Dunno," Akiyama shrugged, "Let's keep it up Kageyama,"

"Okay, keep blocking Yamaguchi, Enoshita, Tsukki-poo and no.9, if you can, we can try and break their morale. I doubt we'll break Tanaka's so don't waste your energy on him," Hinata said, "If you can aim away from Nishinoya and it would be even better if you could aim for their no.9,"

"I guess we should also focus on Kageyama," Takumi said, "He's a pain to deal with,"

"Let's put pressure on him. Focus serves at him aim at him, when you're not aiming at their no.9. Put all the pressure on him because they don't have Sugawara this year, they only have Kageyama," Hinata said.

"Yeah, and they don't have a second setter either," Yahaba said, "What's our name?"

"AOBA JOHSAI!" the team shouted.

"KARASUNO FIGHT!" Karasuno shouted at equal volume. The two teams continued the second set and soon Hinata returned to the court. Fukui is right, I'll be eaten alive in the pit of talent that is internationals. It's the best of the best up against the best of the best, and I'm just not that. People call me a speed demon not an aim master. People recognise my natural abilities not my skills that I've developed. I'm known for my athletic ability where as Kourai is known for his jumping technique and skills. In that sense he's better than me and he should be our ace, but for some reason that's not the case. So I have to show that I deserve to be called Japan's ace. I have to prove from this moment onward that I can compete with the top aces. I have to prove to everyone that they can believe in me and that their support hasn't gone to waste. That's why I have to win, losing isn't an option anymore.

Kageyama was determined not to loose. He wanted to win. Unfortunately all of Aoba Johsai's pressure was getting to him and he hadn't noticed. Soon it was his turn to serve again and he mucked it up, letting Aoba Johsai win the second set as well.

Entering the third set and it was obvious that Aoba Johsai were the stronger team. They had the stamina from their more drawn out matches from nationals and their Top Four nature was showing. Kageyama took a breath, what am I compared to Hinata? Am I just a stone for him to step on? A player for him to defeat? I know that he's worked harder, but not all of that came from himself did it? He's had people help him along the way and I didn't. So in theory yes, less is more. Having to learn less on your own is easier. I expect most of what he knows is from Oikawa. 

I need to take the finals step, Hinata thought to himself, everyone's helped me. Come up with moves for me, supported me, believed in me. But now on this court it's just me and my team. Most of the people who have taught me aren't playing with me. I need to make this finals push. I have to put everything that I've learnt together. I need to change all my abilities from being others to mine. Sure others may have taught me them, but I'll make them my own. I'll become a player to be feared. I will be the best ace, but I won't be there alone. Everyone who's helped me along the way will also be the best ace because you can't win volleyball on your own. It will always be a team sport, and so multiple people will always be the top ace.

Kageyama's perfect setting was cracking as well as the morale of Karasuno. It was never going to be an easy win but now it just felt like a beat down for them. There felt like there was no point in continuing. "If we win this set," Enoshita began, "Then we stand a chance of winning. After winning this set, we just have to win the next two and then we're the ones going to nationals,"

"Yeah! KARASUNO FIGHT!" the team shouted, giving their finals push.

The two teams went all out, neither wanted to lose the third set, however Aoba Johsai ended up getting a lead and Karasuno called a time out. After the time out Takumi and Kyoutani switched and Karasuno couldn't deal with Kyoutani's power and soon Aoba Johsai had almost made it to the set point.

Hinata went in for a super quick and Tsukishima blocked him deciding to give jousting a go, "Oh Tsukki-poo. I wouldn't recommend jousting me. It's my speciality after all," Hinata said as he raised his legs and pushed down onto the ball almost as if it were one movement. Tsukishima fell with the ball and Aoba Johsai had reached the set point.

Hinata served and Nishinoya received the ball. Kageyama set up a quick and Watari received it and passed it to Yahaba who set a regular quick for Hinata. Tsukishima went in for another joust, "Again Tsukki-poo?" Hinata teased, "You must really want to beat me, I should WARN you that only two peoPLE have ever beaten me IN a joust," Hinata and Tsukishima kept pushing against each other. Eventually the ball fell to Hinata's right and he dived for the ball. Kyoutani dug the ball up and Inaba finished it off with his upwards spike, scoring the winning point.

"WE WON!" the team shouted, [AJ:L - 3:0 / 25:20, 25:21, 25:15]

"Tsukki-poo... YOU JOIN THE RANKS OF KOURAI AND BOKKUN IN PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEATEN ME IN A JOUST!" Hinata said offering Tsukishima his hand.

"It was just luck," Tsukishima protested.

"Luck is still a viable way of winning," Hinata said, "Just shake my hand already Tsukki-poo,"

"Fine Shou," Tsukishima grumbled.

"He accepted me as his friend," Hinata squealed. Bokuto and Kuroo had also seen the joust and handshake and started chanting in the stands.

"ONE OF US! ONE OF US! ONE OF US!" the two shouted which caused Tsukishima to roll his eyes. How did he end up with such ridiculous friends? And why did he love them for that?

Chapter Text

"Oikawa-senpai!" Hinata said as the apartment door he knocked on opened.

"Shortie pie!" Oikawa replied, "Make yourself at home,"

"Wow! You're apartment is so tidy,"

"Thanks. I don't spend much time here. I'm either in classes, training or working,"

"You have a job?"

"It's part time,"

"Watcha do?"

"It's not much but I help out at this cafe most weekends. I took last weekend off. I usually have Saturday mornings off and come in for the afternoon until late evening and then I work for most of Sunday,"

"Wow! You gave up your free time to teach me,"

"Of course shortie pie. It's my duty to make the country's ace the best that he can be," Oikawa ruffled Hinata's hair, "Ignore my roommate if he comes in. He's usually at his family's during the weekends but occasionally he comes here with his band mates,"

"Do you two get along well?"

"We don't get along in the sense that we barely talk. The time we see each other the most is when rent is due. We keep to our parts of the apartment and our classes and jobs are at different times. Speak of the devil and he arrives,"

"Mm," the roommate nodded at Oikawa as he entered the apartment.

"I still can't believe that we're going to nationals again!" Hinata said.

"Oh did your team win Oikawa," the roommate asked, "Well played. I'm off again, don't wreck the place,"

"Yeah. Remember rent's due next week Semi," Oikawa said.

"I know," the roommate, Semi replied.

"Didn't he play for Shiratorizawa?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah I did. Wasn't a starter. I don't play any more though. Wouldn't even make it on the starters on this team either. I play as a setter," Semi replied as he left, "I'll leave it open,"

"Okay," Oikawa turned his focus back to Hinata, "Ready to learn,"

"Yup!" Hinata replied.

"Okay, they key part is that you have to understand your team's weaknesses," Oikawa began to explain, "If you know what you have to cover then your team becomes stronger. Ideally you could all overcome your flaws but that's a dream,"

"Find my teammates' weaknesses," Hinata repeated.

"Then you have to control how the other team plays. However Fukui's teaching you to do that works for him but it won't work generally. His tactic isn't to be frowned on though, and you should try and incorporate it. Finding the opponents' weakness is useful. But controlling when they score and when they don't is even better. I was never able to do it, but maybe you will,"

"Controlling when they score? Like choosing when to block them and stuff,"

"Yeah. Lure them into your strong points. Like shifting, but harder to read. Let's say Watari is best at receiving when the ball is coming down our right. We let them score points on the right but not the centre or the left. We make them think that the right side is our weakest side, maybe even let them get a lead or something. Then suddenly, you tell Watari to start receiving. Your blocking still being weaker on the right. Now Watari is getting the ball exactly where he wants it, and going down the centre and left isn't an option for the opposition because the rest of you are still blocking there. Suddenly you get a lead and win the game,"

"Wow!"

"Start the game exaggerating your weaknesses and hiding your strengths, then when you've trapped the other team come back to bite them. They won't be able to do anything,"

"Okay. I think I can work on that," 

"Great, now you need to know how to hide that you're doing this,"

"Hide it?"

"Make it less obvious that your brain is working at top speeds too. I'm sure Fukui's already told you to but I'm going to tell you too. Hinata you can use your blood lust in your brain. You have to trust your gut, trust your instincts, trust your brain. When you first guess blocked before you had learnt how to properly do it, you were using blood lust in your brain and you didn't even notice it,"

"Really?"

"It wasn't quite the same, but I know that you can do it. Hiding it is going to be hard, it's all about subtlety. Not suddenly attacking their weaknesses, but gradually building up yourself and your team to attacking their weakness, nobody can tell and if they do it's too late by the time they realise,"

Oikawa then spent the rest of the morning making Hinata practise finding weaknesses and strengths of his teammates and other teams, forcing him to come up with counter strategies for each of them as well as how he would play with them. By the end of the morning Hinata could feel his brain tiring. Oikawa smiled when Hinata left. He had managed to leave his mark on Hinata, he hadn't let Fukui win and hopefully Aoba Johsai were only going to get more stronger now.

Hinata spent his afternoon in the animal shelter whilst on a video call to Hoshiumi, the two showing off their beloved animals. Needless to say the animal shelter staff had also fallen in love with Hoshiumi, even though he wasn't there in person.

Chapter Text

"Hey let's meet at the park this Saturday," Inaba said, “It’d be nice to have a break from practise for once. I get that we’re going to nationals but we can’t overwork ourselves,”

”True, if we overwork ourselves and get injured then we’re screwed,” Kindaichi said.

”So it’s agreed that we’re all going to the park this Saturday,” Inaba said, “Great, be there at 2pm sharp,”

”I can’t go,” Hinata said, “I have under nineteens this weekend,”

”They’re still making you practise even though nationals is just over a week away?” Kyoutani asked, “Jeez that’s ruthless,”

”Whilst we all have nationals, we have internationals in a month or so,” Hinata replied, “We can’t slack off because of nationals,”

”That’s fair,” Yahaba said.

The weekend came and whilst Hinata was on a train the rest of his team were resting and getting ready to go to the park later that day. Hinata enjoyed training, but he wanted to know what he was missing out on. The two hour train journey had passed quickly and soon Hinata was at the train station again where he met up with Hoshiumi, “So you’re still down for staying at mine for a few days after Norway?” Hoshiumi asked.

”Yeah! I can’t wait to meet Mami!” Hinata replied.

”He can’t wait to meet you either!” Hoshiumi replied as the two walked to the gym. The two spotted Miya when they reached the shared locker room.

”Atsu-chan!” Hinata shouted as he jumped onto Miya.

”Atsumu!” Hoshiumi shouted as he jumped onto the other two. The three quickly caught up as they warmed up.

”So how did your matches go?” Hinata asked.

”It was easy,” Hoshiumi replied, “We won before they even had a chance,”

”Same here. Easy victory, unlike Miyagi, Hyogo only has one good powerhouse,” Miya said.

”There’s a third person to put on the they won a joust against me list!” Hinata announced.

”Hey! I thought I beat you! There should be a fourth addition not a third,” Miya complained.

”I didn’t go in for that joust, I tried to control where the ball was and won that,” Hinata said, “As we know Kourai was the first,” Hoshiumi smiled, “Bokkun was second. And Tsukki-poo is the third,”

”Tsukki-poo?” The other two asked.

”He’s over 190 cm tall,” Hinata explained, “And from Karasuno,”

”Never heard of them,” Miya confessed.

”They had a streak, ages ago, of making it to nationals, but now they’re known as the clipped winged crows,” Hinata explained.

"Oh, I vaguely remember hearing about a team called the crows. There used to be this big rivalry between the cats and the crows but both team stopped being good and eventually became unheard of," Hoshiumi said.

"Nekoma and Karasuno. The cats and the crows. Fated to play each other in the Dumpster Battle," Hinata said over dramatically.

"Weren't Nekoma and Karasuno at your training camp?" Hoshiumi asked.

"They were. We planned for them to have the Dumpster Battle because it's our fault that they couldn't have it," Hinata said, "You should have seen the decorations. I have to show you what we did to the gym. And I got to commentate with Bokkun!"

"Was this on the Monday morning?" Hoshiumi asked.

"Yep!"

"So you set up the gym, played a match, cleared the gym and reset it all before lunch?"

"Well Yahaba, Kobayashi and myself were the ones in charge and we set most of it up on Sunday. We were also the ones to pack it up whilst Fukurodani and Shiratorizawa were playing each other but Yahaba told me to go support Bokkun. That must have been when the reset the gym,"

"Who wasn't at this training camp?" Miya asked.

"Inarizaki," Hoshiumi and Hinata said at the same time.

"I know that!" Miya said as he ruffled the other two's hair, "And you call my hair fluffy Shoukkun," Miya mumbled as he felt how soft and fluffy Hinata's hair was.

"What did you say?" Hinata asked.

"You didn't hear?" Miya asked.

"Nope,"

"You? Well then I'm not telling you. If you can hear Sasaki's mumbling and the difference between a hit and a feint then you could have heard that,"

"Fine,"

"Shouyou, are you having the training camp again this year?" Hoshiumi asked.

"Maybe. We'll be in Tokyo at the time it happens," Hinata said.

"You could ask for it to be a week later," 

"Yeah!" 

"So who was on this training camp? How was it?" Miya asked.

"If you want to be invited you could've just asked," Hinata said, "Well it's more for fun. It was originally meant to be my team, Karasuno, Johzenji and Date Tech but then I suggested that we invite Nekoma so that we could make up for the Dumpster Battle. Karasuno got in touch with Nekoma and they asked if they could bring Fukurodani as well. When I saw that they had invited Fukurodani I ran and got Shiratorizawa for the one day. Then come the Monday afternoon Oikawa-senpai, Dadzumi and Yahaba revealed that they invited Kamomedai too. Apparently it was because I had put so much effort into the camp and they knew how much Kourai and I wanted to play together,"

"Let's just say. A nationals Top Two team, Top Four team and Top Eight team playing with much weaker teams didn't go that well," Hoshiumi said.

"So let's invite another national powerhouse this year!" Hinata said.

"Yeah!" Hoshiumi cheered.

"We might be inviting Furukata too. We have a practise match with them in the final week of summer break," Hinata added, "When both me and Nishikawa are going to be jet lagged,"

"Are you guys close to each other?" Miya asked.

"Well they're at the top of Fukushima and we're on the south side of Miyagi," Hinata explained, "Kourai, do you think we should invited Shiratorizawa for the full thing?"

"Shouyou! We have to give the other teams a chance!" Hoshiumi protested, "We already have who knows how many powerhouses coming. We don't need more!"

"What are you three talking about?" Sasaki asked, "You've been radiating excess energy,"

"More than usual," Yoshino added.

"We've just been catching up," the three said.

"And catching up means jumping on each other?" Yoshino asked.

"Yeah!" Hoshiumi and Hinata shouted.

"You know it's been less than a month," Sasaki said, "And don't you call each other lots too,"

"Twice a week," Hoshiumi and Hinata said proudly.

"You barely call me once a fortnight Shoukkun and you never call me Hoshi," Miya sulked.

"That's because you are not one of the three musketeers," Hoshiumi said as he mimicked a sword fight.

"So who's this third musketeer then?" Miya asked.

"Noya-senpai!" Hinata shouted.

"Who? 

"He's also from Karasuno,"

"You know a lot of people from Karasuno. I'm beginning to think you spend more time there than at your own school,"

"Nope. Only Tsukki-poo and Noya-senpai,"

"Well I can't wait for this training camp,"

"You're gonna have to Atsumu," Hoshiumi said, "Because it's not until March,"

"Training camp?" Yoshino asked, "And in spring? Only you three could think of that,"

"Well Minamiyama won't be joining us there," Hinata joked.

"How long is it for?" Sasaki asked.

"A week," Hinata replied.

"Oh. Ummm. If you don't mind. But if you do mind that's fine. In fact it's great. You can mind all you want. But if you didn't mind then umm... Could Eiwa come too?" Sasaki mumbled.

"Sure! How many teams is that now?" Hinata asked.

"Four from Miyagi, mine, Atsumu's, Nishikawa's, Sasaki's and two from Tokyo. So that would make ten," Hoshiumi said.

"Shoukkun. Remember you aren't allowed to invite international teams," Miya said.

"I know," Hinata said.

Meanwhile at the park the rest of Aoba Johsai had shown up looking for Inaba. Inaba who was hiding in a tree watched the whole team. He aimed and fired his water gun at them, spraying everyone. He climbed down the tree and then shouted, "WATER FIGHT!" as he pointed to all the spare water guns, buckets of water - which were meant for refilling not pouring over somebody - and water balloons. Everyone scrambled to get the best weapons before splitting into teams. The teams were.

Team Chaos (but not quite in human form) - Inaba, Kyoutani and Takahashi

Team two - Kobayashi, Kindaichi, Watari, Maeda and Sugiyama

Team three - Iwata and Kurosawa

Team Abstain (they're not participating - yet) - Yahaba, Kunimi and Takumi

The ten that were playing began running around the park each using different strategies. Team Chaos's strategy was surprise attacks and to split up. Team two were working together to ambush others and Team three were just mucking around. Team Abstain were living up to their name by sitting by the team and doing their own thing Yahaba was reading a book, Kunimi was listening to music and Takumi was reading a manga. Kyoutani sneaked up on Takumi and poured one of the water buckets over him.

"Kyaah!" Takumi screamed as he felt the cold water on him, "Oh I'm getting you back for that Kyoutani!" Takumi put his manga down, got one of the water guns and filled it up. He then began running at Kyoutani whilst spraying water at him. Inaba was back in a tree watching team two regroup. He grabbed two of his four water balloons and threw them at the other team.

"SURPRISE ATTACK!" he yelled after throwing the water balloons. Team two began shooting upwards at Inaba. 

Half an hour later and the team had run out of water. Everyone except Yahaba and Kunimi were soaking wet but they had large grins on their faces. Inaba handed out some towels and everyone slightly dried themselves off before saying their goodbyes so they could get out of their wet clothes.

"So how was the park Akira?" Hinata asked over the phone.

"The others had a water fight," Kunimi replied.

"They had a water fight without me!" Hinata cried, "Betrayal!"

"I don't see the appeal in getting pointlessly wet," Kunimi sighed.

"Because it's fun! Duh!" Hinata said.

"Yo Shoukkun! It's your turn in the shower!" Miya called out as he returned to the room.

"Okay Atsu-chan!" Hinata replied to Miya before talking into his phone, "Got to go Akira. See you on Monday!"

"See you on Monday,"

On Monday Hinata made sure that he was first to practise he stood right by the door as he watched everyone else enter the gym. Once everyone had arrived he began to lecture them, "So you decided to have a water fight whilst I was gone," Hinata said, it should have been intimidating but due to Hinata's height it came off as more comedic, "This is a betrayal that will not be forgotten!"

"Hinata, you're overreacting," Takumi said, "We wanted you to be there too,"

Chapter Text

“You could have postponed it to next week!” Hinata began, “You could have asked me or told me what you were doing! But instead you went ahead with the water fight and I missed out on a fun afternoon!”

”Is anyone going to tell him about the other time?” Watari whispered.

”What other time?” Hinata asked.

”Do you remember the lemonade stand?” Watari said.

”Yeah. We ran out of lemons really quickly,” Hinata replied.

”We may have played volleyball with lemons,” Watari explained.

”You did that without me!” Hinata shouted in betrayal, “This team is full of traitors!”

”Hinata!” The team shouted apologetically.

”So anyway, this won’t happen again,” Hinata continued, the team nodded, “Moving on. Can we push our spring training camp a week later,”

”I wasn’t aware that we were going to host it again,” Yahaba said, “But I guess we can have it a week later,”

”So there are some more teams that I think we should invite,” Hinata began explaining his plans.

”Hinata, how about we talk about this later,” Kobayashi said, “We should focus on nationals first,”

”Fine,” Hinata stopped, “One week left. One week to get ready for the finals,”

”Yeah” the team shouted in agreement.

Soon the week had passed and the team were making their way to the inn they stayed at the previous year, “Who do you think the favourites are going to be this year?” Yahaba asked Sugiyama and Watari.

”It could be Fukurodani because they won last year, but they did lose Bokuto so they might not,” Watari said.

”I would say Itachiyama again but they only made it to the quarter finals stage so it probably won’t be them,” Sugiyama said.

”I guess we’re looking for a team that got far, probably finals or semi finals, that has retained their best player or players from the previous year,” Yahaba said

”We can probably remove Minamiyama because although they were joint third with us, their match wasn’t that close,” Watari said, “So it’s either us-”

”-Or Inubushi East,” Sugiyama said.

”It’ll probably been Inubushi then because they got Top Two,” Watari said.

”But their match against Fukurodani wasn’t as close as ours,” Yahaba said.

”Even so, people are going to think that we got weaker as Oikawa can’t play with us anymore. The favourites are probably Inubushi East,” Sugiyama explained. The team got off the train and began walking to the inn.

”Guys! I found this amazing article! It’ll be really useful for us to read!” Kobayashi said as she pulled out a volleyball magazine that she had gotten at some point during the team’s short while in Tokyo, “It talks about all the top players and teams to look out for in nationals,”

”Let me guess, mainly the under nineteens,” Kindaichi said.

”I don’t think it’s directly that. Nobody knows the line up unless you know where to look, and even then the top people at that haven’t found any information yet. We only know the people on the team because we have a member ourselves,” Kobayashi explained, “Okay the article says that Inubushi East are the favourites to win because of their powerhouse abilities and ace, Fukui Ryoichi. The team has an abundance of strong hitters, a good libero and setter and uses shifting tactics in their blocking. Forcing opponent teams to aim in their weak points,”

”Fukui’s weakness,” Hinata said in realisation, “Is his inability to see his own strengths,”

”What? That makes no sense,” Kunimi exclaimed.

”I don’t think so Hinata. It says here that Fukui’s winning strategy is to deliberately aim at the opposition team’s weak points, forcing them to play a weaker game whilst Inubushi overwhelm them with their strong hits,” Kobayashi said, “It sounds like he’s confident in his skills,”

”If he can tell what people’s weaknesses are and where they like the ball then surely he would force the opposition to hit the ball right where his team is strongest at receiving to make setting up an attack easier. Then stick with his usual technique for hitting where he aims at the weak spots. That would be the better tactic and if Fukui knew that then he would immediately switch to it. Hence I’ve deducted that he doesn’t know where his true strengths in analysis lie,” Hinata explained.

”Maybe that’s the case but we won’t know right in this moment,” Kobayashi smiled as she continued to read the article out loud, “They go on to say that if Inarizaki make it to the finals that Miya Atsumu will receive the best setter award again. If Inarizaki don’t get unlucky with their seed then they could easily do that,”

”Basically if they don’t play a top powerhouse team like Itachiyama, Inubushi East, Fukurodani or Mujinazaka until the finals then Miya will get the award. Or even worse for them, if they get seeded with us again. If they come up against any of us five teams early on then it won’t be an easy ride to finals again,” Takumi simplified the article.

”Speaking of Mujinazaka. According to the article, which I’m assuming is correct, Eiwa beat them in their prefecture finals, but because Oita gets two representatives both teams are going to be at nationals again,” Kobayashi read.

”Eiwa? Are they a powerhouse or something?” Kyoutani asked.

”Not really. They are considered to be one in Oita recently, but not come nationals. They’ve never made it to the quarter finals before and have only been to nationals a total of eight times. With this being their second time in a row,” Sugiyama read off of his phone.

”However we are one of the few teams that know the reason why they’ve probably made a reappearance at nationals,” Yahaba said, “Their libero, Sasaki Atsushi,”

”Could compete with the top libero, Komori Motoya, and more importantly, he’s the under nineteen’s libero,” Watari said, “He’s well known in the libero community for his speed and reflexes,”

”Yeah, the article says that his reflexes are unrivalled and that he easily picked up all of Mujinazaka’s spikes. The only reason why the match was close was due to Miyashita Kaito’s blocking,” Kobayashi continued, “Other teams that could make a comeback this year are Nohebi, Higashira and Furukata,”

”Why?” Maeda asked.

”Nohebi beat Nekoma this time and are the third Tokyo representatives, they seem to have improved from the previous year. Higashira have to five libero, Koizume Hideki, and top ten ace, Maki Daiki, and their team seems to be getting more committed to the sport. And finally Furukata were noted to have a better team than last year in their prefecture qualifiers with the change in captain seeming to help the team play better,” Kobayashi explained.

”So the big underdogs are Eiwa, Nohebi, Higashira and Furukata,” Inaba said, “Obviously we were last year’s underdogs but I doubt that we’ll be able to pass off as underdogs this year,”

”The article also talks about Itachiyama. Once again they made the first Tokyo representative spot because they still have Sakusa and Komori. It seems that if they get lucky and don’t have to play Inubushi East until the finals then they could possibly win,” Kobayashi said.

”Why? If they lost to them before then why would they beat them this time? And how did they lose to Inubushi East?” Takahashi asked.

”Whilst Komori is a great libero, he still has weaknesses. It’s Inubushi East we’re talking about, they aimed for the weak spots and limited the number of times Sakusa or the rest of the spikers got to hit the ball,” Kyoutani replied, “But I guess it is noticeable to most. Inubushi East’s setter, Kimura Takara, hates playing in finals so he either plays crap or not at all. They have a sub setter but he’s really trash,”

”That was the main reason that they lost to Fukurodani, that and Fukui appeared to be having a bad day. It was like he was distracted, or perhaps unhappy with the match up,” Takumi said, “It’s like he wanted to play us,”

”Maybe he did,” Hinata said, “But nobody really understands how the master analyst’s brain works. Sure you can tell when he’s reading you, but you can never tell what’s going on in his head,”

”Master analyst?” Kunimi asked.

”He’s the smartest and fastest thinker in Japan for high school volleyball. He only needs five minutes and he’s sussed a whole team out. Only those who use their brains in games, so guess blockers and players who read others, know the name. But if you know it, then you fear it,” Hinata explained, “Going up against him is something that most powerhouses will try to avoid. It’s one thing playing against a strong team that uses guess blocking, us or Shiratorizawa when they had Tendou-senpai, but a team that has a player that knows how you work better than you do. That’s terrifying,”

”So we want to avoid playing Inubushi East if we can,” Yahaba summarised. Hinata nodded in reply.

”Okay the final team they say to look out for is... IT’S US!” Kobayashi said, everyone crowded around the magazine.

”Holy shit! We went from nobody knowing us last year to being a team to watch out for!” Kyoutani shouted.

”What’s it say! What’s it say! I can’t see over all of you!” Watari whined.

”Aoba Johsai are the last team that you should be watching. They made it to semi-finals last year where they only just lost. Although they aren’t recognised as a national powerhouse because last year was their second time ever making it to nationals, they do boast a top three ace, Hinata Shouyou, as well as many other strong spikers. Only time will tell if the team becomes recognised as a power house because they have lost their previous setter,” Kobayashi read.

”My name is in it!” Hinata gasped.

”What did you expect?” Kyoutani said, “If Takumi took over as the ace it would be his instead,”

”Really? I doubt that I’d make top three,” Takumi replied.

”You’d make top five though,” Inaba said, “Basically either of you would be recognised,”

"So then they go onto players, and rankings and stuff," Kobayashi said, "Anything you really want to know?"

"Top three aces," Kunimi said, "Who are the other two?"

"Sakusa, Hoshiumi and Hinata," Kobayashi read, "Anything else?"

"Top setters?" Yahaba asked.

"No surprises here but the top two is Miya Atsumu and Yoshino Akihiko," Kobayashi read out, "There are no real surprises in any of the rankings, at least for us,"

"Well rereading the article isn't going to give us any more information than we already have," Iwata said, "So let's enjoy ourselves. We're not going to get a night of peace until we win,"

"True. Even if some of us are relaxing, others will be tense about the match," Sugiyama said, "A word of warning to you first years. Don't disrupt Hinata after we find out who we're playing against,"

"Why? Does he get angry or something?" Kurosawa asked.

"No, it's just that he's doing his best for the team so it's rude to stop him from doing that," Sugiyama explained. The team spent the night doing different things. Some went out on a walk to calm down. Others chatted among themselves. Hinata was huddled around a screen.

"Hinata, what's up? Don't you want to be outside like the others," Kobayashi asked.

"Hmm? Oh it's you Kobayashi?" Hinata replied, "Oh me? I'm just watching some of last spring's international tournament," 

"Cool. Any reason why?"

"Well the match I'm watching is one of the semi finals. Canada versus South Korea. Ellington and Choi are considered to be the best high school level aces. If I want to be the best ace int he world then I need to be able to beat them,"

"So what was the outcome of that tournament?"

"Well in this match Canada win, and because this is the spring tournament South Korea don't get a third and fourth place play off, but if it was the summer tournament they would have gotten to play the United States of America,"

"So who beat the US?"

"Italy. They went onto win the whole tournament," 

"Wow!"

"Well Italy is one of the top countries in the world for volleyball,"

"Wow, so why not watch one of their matches?"

"I was getting there. I'm watching all the semi-finals and finals,"

"So you can see what you're up against,"

"Yeah. I never expected South Korea's ace to be this small,"

"But he can really jump. What are they saying?"

"They're calling him a winged monster,"

"That's an impressive title, it doesn't even refer to his height,"

"Choi isn't known for his height or lack of it. He's known for his incredible midair balance,"

"The best of the best. That's what you're going to be up against. Good luck," Kobayashi untied her hair letting it run loose, "But for now we need to focus on nationals. We won't win those if you're focusing on internationals. Besides. If you want to be the best ace in the world, then you should first become the best ace is Japan," 

"I guess so," 

Hinata got up and stretched before deciding to go to bed early, soon the rest of the team followed suit and the team were all asleep. The next day the team got up and ate breakfast (read: everyone except Takumi ate breakfast before Kyoutani took away his manga and shoved some food into his mouth) before getting dressed at getting on the train to the main gym. Once they arrived there they were greeted by the large gathering of all the teams. Everyone turned to look at the new addition to the room.

"Is that them?" someone asked.

"Top Four team: Aoba Johsai," someone said.

"Yeah! Fuck right that's us!" Kyoutani yelled.

"SHUT UP MORON!" Yahaba smacked Kyoutani before lecturing him.

"Which one's the speed demon? You know top three ace?" someone asked.

"Their no.10. Or at least he was last year," someone answered.

"KOURAI!" Hinata shouted upon seeing his best friend.

"SHOUYOU!" the other replied.

"Of course two of the top three aces know each other," someone commented.

"I'm gonna go ahead and calm down Sakusa," Hinata said, "We all know how much he hates crowds,"

"I'll help then," Hoshiumi replied as the two went to join Sakusa as it turned out Miya Atsumu had the same idea. 

"Sakusa! You wanna join us in the bathroom!" Hinata said before remembering that that would be the last place Sakusa would want to go, "Or maybe we should go look at the trophies, nobody else seems to be doing that,"

"Sure," Sakusa replied as the four walked over to the trophy cabinet. 

"This one's shinier than the rest," Hoshiumi said as he studied the trophies.

"Anyway, I should go and check on Sakusa," Komori said, "See you later Watari," 

"Hinata? What are you doing here?" Watari asked.

"It's emptier around here," Hinata replied.

"Well it's better than a corner," Komori replied, "You guys know each other from the under nineteens, right?"

"Yup! We're just keeping Omiomi company," Miya replied.

"Uh-huh!" Hoshiumi added.

"So how do you two know each other?" Hinata asked Watari and Komori.

"We met each other all the way back at the defence training camp," Komori said.

Soon the opening ceremony began and Aoba Johsai once again stood in the Miyagi representative spot. This time they were going to make it to the finals and win.

Chapter Text

”Another bus?” Inaba complained, “We have to get on another bus! But that means that we’ll miss out on most of the matches!”

”We’re in a different gym because we’re the fifth match of the day and they don’t have enough courts in the main gym but they need to keep the pace up. There are 128 teams here in total both girls and boys. They have to get through sixty four matches today and because volleyball matches don’t have a set time limit you have no idea how long things will be they need to use a separate gym. You’ll just have to deal with missing some of the matches,” the head coach explained.

”The map says that courts A through E are in the metropolitan gym. Courts F through I are in the gym that we’re going to. And that the finals are held on the main court of the metropolitan gym. The first match get court B today and so on so forth. Matches are at a fifteen minute intervals and are only best of three,” Yahaba said, “So we’re the first match in the second gym,”

”Where’s court E? I never saw it last year,” Kunimi asked.

”It’s a side building of the metropolitan gym. You have to leave the main building to get there,” Hinata replied, “It was where Fukurodani played Eiwa on the first day,”

”Oh yeah you went to watch that match after getting a “way of the ace” top. It was where you met Bokuto,” Kindaichi said as Kunimi and himself shuddered upon mention of the chaotic duo.

”I wonder if papa Bokkun is going to watch? He came to watch us play Shiratorizawa,” Hinata said.

”He did?” the rest of the team asked.

”Yeah, did you not notice him next to me when I put the banner up,” Kobayashi rolled her eyes the team boarded the bus for the short journey to the second gym. Soon they arrived at the gym and were waiting to warm up.

”It doesn’t matter what court we’re playing on, what matters is who we’re playing,” Takumi said, “Anyone know?”

”Sarukawa Tech,” Hinata replied, “If you looked at the map you would have seen that it told you all of the first day’s matches,”

”Sarukawa Tech? Nope, never heard of them,” Watari shrugged.

”They lost to Nekoma in the second round last year,” Hinata replied, “I already know most of their signs because of that and the rest I’ll figure out quickly enough,”

”Is the first match always Hinata’s weakest?” Kurosawa asked Kobayashi.

”I guess so, purely because he doesn’t get a chance to watch them the night before,” Kobayashi replied. The team was allowed to warm up and soon the match was about to begin.

”They seem to have average, but good, plays. Which are consistent. I’ll leave it up to you to decide how you deal with that,” the head coach.

”Their coach lets them choose their starting line up! That’s crazy!” Someone in the stands commented,

“That’s Aoba Johsai for you. They don’t do normal or orthodox,” someone else told them.

”Let’s go for a more balanced line up. No extraordinarily good or bad attacks, serves, blocks or receives,” Yahaba said, “Watari will obviously be our libero. Inaba and Kindaichi will be our middle blockers. So that leaves wing spikers and the setter,”

”Yahaba’s our setter,” Kyoutani said, “I’ll start off,”

”What? You want to start off!” The rest of the team shouted in surprise.

”We need a consistent play. I provide an unpredictable play,” Kyoutani replied, “Someone like Kunimi is the more reliable option,”

”Okay. How about Takumi, Hinata and Kunimi? We still have a decoy on but we also have more reliable hitters,” Yahaba said, the team nodded in agreement, “Great. What’s our name?”

”AOBA JOHSAI!” The team shouted as those starting off walked over to the sidelines and the starters walked over to the coach who helped them decided the rotation:

Takumi [2] - front left, WS; Kindaichi [5] - front centre, MB; Hinata [10] - front right, WS; Kunimi [6] - back right, WS; Inaba [8]/Watari [7] - back centre, MB/L; Yahaba [1] - back left, S

The starters entered the court and soon they were waiting for the match to begin.

”Akira, what do you call a can opener that doesn’t work?” Hinata asked.

”What?” Kunimi replied very confused.

”A can’t opener!” Hinata finished the joke.

”Shouyou. That was bad,” Kunimi sighed.

”Anyone else want to hear another one?” Hinata asked.

”NO!” The rest of his team answered quickly.

”Well at least you’re all calm now,” Hinata pouted, “But I do have more,” It’s just like the beginning of the Karasuno match, we have a much more laid back feel. Is Hinata trying to do that again? Yahaba asked himself.

”Yahaba! Chin up! You’re gonna be off your game if you’re worrying,” Hinata said, “I know. There are three types of people in the world. Those who can count and those who can’t,” Yahaba let out a laugh.

”That was bad Hinata,” Yahaba said as he held back his laughter, Hinata is right, well be off our game if we’re anxious. He’s trying to calm us all down before we start playing. The moment the whistle blows we’ll be back in the zone.

The whistle blew and Aoba Johsai suddenly became much more intimidating. In this moment, Sarukawa Tech are the better team. We have to beat them to continue on. So let’s treat them like this is a match against a powerhouse. We will win like we’re going to lose! The team thought as they prepared to receive the first serve.

”What happened to the laid back attitude from a minute ago?” Wajima asked. Sarukawa Tech served and Watari picked it up and passed it to Yahaba who set it for Kunimi who did a regular quick. Aoba Johsai scored the first point.

”Who’s their no.6? I don’t remember him from last year,” Usuri said as Mujinazaka watched the match on court F, waiting for theirs to begin.

”He was their no.13 last year. He played a couple of matches. Nothing that impressive. Although I heard that scored the winning point in one of their matches,” Hondo said.

”Looks easy enough to block,” Miyashita commented.

”Come on, let’s go. We need to show everyone that Eiwa winning was just a fluke,” Bishin said as the four third years of Mujinazaka made their way to court I.

Aoba Johsai and Sarukawa Tech were close with Aoba Johsai having a close lead of 16:13. Aoba Johsai had the stronger plays but Sarukawa Tech were persistent and consistent. Whilst Aoba Johsai were making lots of blocks and attack so was Sarukawa Tech. Although Aoba Johsai could be considered to be a powerhouse, that was because of their spikers and not their setter. Which played right into Sarukawa Tech’s favour. Kobayashi could tell that her team was starting to struggle and decide to watch the match from Sarukawa Tech’s view.

She watched from behind seeing how Sarukawa Tech played. Nothing, all I can see is that they make consistent average plays. They do seem to benefit them in the long run, but that’s all I can tell. Kobayashi thought.

”Shame you don’t have Oikawa this year,” someone said as they joined Kobayashi.

”Kyaah!” Kobayashi screamed, “Sorry! I didn’t see you there,”

”No I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have tried to distract you,”

”No no no! It’s fine. I’m not getting much from watching this. So what did you say?”

”Oh just that it’s a shame that you don’t have Oikawa this year. I don’t think your new setter will manage this match. Although you do have a second setter on the court, but it seems like you’re already using him a lot,”

”I believe in Yahaba,”

”Believe in him all you like but if you understood how Sarukawa Tech played, would you really be believing in him?”

”Leave her alone Fukui!” Someone else called out, “You look like you’re scaring her,”

”So this is infamous Fukui Ryoichi,” Kobayashi said.

”You know who I am?” Fukui asked in surprise, “I understand Hinata, because I play with him. And Oikawa, well he hates me. But you? Well that is interesting,”

”Hinata’s mentioned you a lot. Says that you’re a good player,” Kobayashi said, “But then again he says that for most of the under nineteens. Wait a minute! How do you know Oikawa?”

”We’re acquaintances,” Fukui said, “Well good luck in your match, oh and tell Hinata that he’s still not improved,”

”Wait! How do Sarukawa Tech play?” Kobayashi called out.

”Think of the best way to control the way a team plays,” Fukui said.

”Shifting?” 

”Well I might as well tell you if that’s your best guess,”

”Pressure tactics?”

”Bingo. Put pressure on their setter and he’s not going to be able to toss as well. The other team will be making weaker attacks and then you have the advantage,”

”But I can barely tell that they’re doing that,”

”They do it slowly so you won’t notice until it’s too late. If you had Oikawa he would have already noticed and dealt with it,” Fukui smirked, “Remember to pass the message onto Hinata,” Fukui and his teammate left Kobayashi alone. Kobayashi quickly returned to her team who had still kept their lead, but now that Kobayashi knew what she was looking for she could see that Yahaba’s tosses had worsen. He had worsened enough to let Takumi get a break and make Sarukawa Tech call a time out.

”Hinata,” Kobayashi said, “Fukui told me to tell you that you’ve still not imrpoved,”

”Well maybe he should open his eyes,” Hinata replied, “Because he clearly wasn’t watching hard enough. He may think that I’m not analysing, but I am. I can just hide it,” 

“Takumi, are you going to be okay?” Inaba asked, “Or are we going to have to sub you off,”

”I’ll get back into the game,” Takumi said. The time out ended and the teams continued the match.

”Coach,” Kobayashi said, “I didn’t figure it out myself, Fukui ended up telling me, but Sarukawa Tech put pressure on the setter and you can tell that Yahaba’s composure is cracking. We don’t have long left until our offence breaks,”

”Our offence is crumbling. We either have to go defensive or do something even more extreme,” the head coach said.

”What about Iwata?” Kindaichi asked just before he swapped with Watari.

”Iwata... Yeah, he won’t fall into a pressure trap,” the head coach said. “Iwata,”

”Yeah,” Iwata said as he approached the coaches.

”You’ll be taking over as setter for possibly the rest of the match,” the head coach said, as he began the substitution. 

“Aoba Johsai swap their captain and setter no.1, Yahaba Shigeru, for their no.9, Iwata Rin,” the commentator said.

”I forgot how boring most the commentators are,” Kyoutani said.

”Yeah, we were spoilt with Mochizuki for our final two matches,” Sugiyama said.

Iwata smiled as he stepped onto the court. He’d been working hard to learn where everyone liked the ball and now he finally got to show off his work. Aoba Johsai easily reclaimed their control over the court as they began to take the lead again. Iwata didn’t even seem to falter at the pressure being put on him, not even when the set entered a deuce. Hinata can adapt. I can use that to my strength, Iwata thought as he ran for the ball that Watari had passed for him. He tossed the ball in such a way that it gained lots of spin whilst also gaining a horizontal curve. 

Hinata noticed where the ball was going and focused on going in for a diagonal jump. His lower jump made up for the lack of speed and height that the ball had and allowed Hinata to sweep the ball. Aiming right for the back left corner of the court (Sarukawa Tech’s back right).

Iwata smiled as he saw Hinata get his set watching how all of Sarukawa Tech failed to understand where the ball was going before noticing that the ball had landed, scoring the winning point of the first set. 

”Who is that setter? And what was that curve?” Wajima asked.

”Iwata Rin,” the head coach said to himself, “It’s not a name you’d expect to hear in a volleyball inter high tournament,”

”How come?” The assistant coach asked.

”I was surprised when Iwata asked to join the volleyball club. He’s known for playing baseball, not volleyball. He’s one of the top inter junior high pitchers, he probably would be one of the top ones for inter high too but he chose volleyball instead,” the head coach explained.

”Why go to Aoba Johsai? Everyone knows that Johzenji is the top school for baseball in Miyagi,” 

“He clearly doesn’t want to play baseball. Midway through his second year of junior high he started playing volleyball. In his third year he was part of his school’s volleyball and baseball clubs,”

”I’m not denying that he’s a good setter though. He has an indestructible morale, something that we need in this match,”

Iwata smiled after winning the first set, he was glad that he chose to join the volleyball club instead of the baseball club.

Iwata was in his first homeroom of the year, he was expecting the stares that he got. He was well known in Japan so it was expected, “If you need copies of notes or anything then that’s fine. We don’t want you injuring your wrist,” someone said.

”I’m fine,” Iwata replied, of course everyone had recognised him. There was still some red hair dye in the tips of his hair from last year’s nationals tournament. His junior high team had all dyed half of their hair red as an extension of their kit. Although they only went onto lose the tournament in the finals, so there really was no point. Once again Iwata had received the best pitcher award and many scholarship offers - even ones from schools in different prefectures. However none from Aoba Johsai, the school that he was attending now.

”Good morning class. I’m sure you’re all excited for your first year. We’ll quickly introduce ourselves before going to the opening ceremony,” their homeroom teacher said. Everyone took turns going up to the front of the class and saying their name. Iwata tried to remember them all.

”Hey. I’m Iwata Rin. I hope we can all get along,” Iwata said before taking his seat. Unlike every other student in his class he wasn’t greeted to silence as he sat down. Instead he was greeted to whispers. Probably theories and speculation as to why he chose Aoba Johsai.

”Hey dude!” A classmate called out to Iwata, “You wanna join me on meeting the baseball club?”

”I’m busy. I promised my teammates from last year that we’d meet up after school,” Iwata said, in his defence it was the truth, there was just something else he wanted to do first.

”Okay. Maybe tomorrow,”

”Yeah, maybe tomorrow,” Iwata looked at his phone before sending a text saying that he’d be later than expected. He made his way to the gym that he’d heard about from his sister. It was near the old building of the school and it was rarely visited unless you were searching for it or there was a practise match going on. Iwata laughed, at least he had his sister. If people started asking him why he chose to go to Aoba Johsai he could always lie and say that he goes here because his sister went here. Only Iwata’s former teammates knew why he chose Aoba Johsai over Johzenji or Shiratorizawa and they all promised to keep it a secret.

Iwata knocked on the gym door. “It’s open!” Someone called out from inside the gym. Iwata opened the door and saw a couple of people inside the gym, packing up.

”Am I late?” Iwata asked.

”Oh, don’t mind us. We’re packing up from spring break as well as making some preparations for the clubs festival. Our key selling point isn’t here for a while,” the person replied, “Can I help you?”

”I’d like to join the volleyball club,” Iwata said, “Would it be possible to get a membership form earlier than the clubs’ festival,”

”Sure. We could use some extra members. We lost seven players,”

”You almost finished or what Yahaba?” Someone asked, “I ain’t got all day,”

”Give me a second Kyoutani!” The first person replied as they continued to gather some flyers, “If you hadn’t knocked the box over then they flyers wouldn’t be everywhere! Kobayashi there you are! Could you bring me a membership form please?”

”Yep,” a girl said as she handed the first person a form.

”Here you go,” the first person said, “Just fill it in and bring it to our first practise which should be written there,”

”Thanks. Can I ask a question?” Iwata said as he scanned through the form.

”Go ahead,”

”Did you guys really make it to the semi finals?”

”You bet we did!” The second person said.

”Great. I didn’t chose this school for nothing,” Iwata smiled, “See you after the festival,” Iwata left the gym and went to join his former teammates.

The first week had passed and Iwata had managed to avoid multiple advertisements from the baseball club. He knew that it was expected but he wanted to play volleyball. He only continued baseball for as long as he did because his team wanted him to stay. Iwata was one of the few first years to skip the clubs’ festival.

Come Monday after school Iwata returned to the gym with his membership form, “Sorry about the mess. My pen exploded on me when I wrote it,” Iwata apologised as he handed the form over.

”Okay no problem Iwata Ri-splodge,” the captain of the team said, “So you want to play setter. Cool. And you played on your junior high team, Miguri Junior High, for two years. I wasn’t aware that Miguri even had a volleyball team,”

”Dude I remember them. They beat Kitawa Daiichi last May,” the vice captain said.

”No way! Is this the barbaric setter of Miguri!” One of the other third years exclaimed. Iwata smiled, nobody knew him from baseball here. Nobody needed to know about his overly competitive nature when it came to scoring points on his own. Nobody knew that he was the ruthless pitcher who would deliberately pitch the ball in the most awkward spots for the batter at top speeds. They didn’t need to know that he got too invested in baseball to the point where losing became too hard to deal with. They only knew him as the barbaric setter from Miguri. The one who not one team could beat the morale of, and that was just how Iwata liked things.

Firstly and fore mostly, Iwata only started playing volleyball because he found it fun and challenging. Secondly he only chose to come to Aoba Johsai because they got to the semi-finals of the national tournament and he knew that playing those top end matches would be challenging and therefore fun. He didn’t come to take the sport seriously, he wanted to win so he could play more challenging matches, not because he wanted to win. Iwata didn’t care if they won or lost in the finals, it wasn’t like there would be another match to play after the finals. So he had to win this match to play the next challenge. He only got six matches and he wanted to play in each of them, but that wasn’t going to be the case. So he had to treat this match like it would be his only match. He had to win this so he could lose. Not like he was going to lose, so he could lose. He had to give it his all so Yahaba could play again and show why he was the starting setter. It would always be like that until Iwata had the skills to challenge Yahaba.

Iwata approached the court for the second, and if things went to plan final, set of the game. The second set started off with Aoba Johsai serving. Iwata watched as Kunimi scored a service ace, his third of the tournament and match. Iwata looked away, he had deliberately stayed away from serving, it was too similar to pitching and he wasn’t going to make the same mistake again.

Out of all the setters he’d played with, Iwata was the most different. Oikawa, Miya, Yahaba and Yoshino were all strong setters who would set to the spiker’s preferred spot. Iwata set where he could. It was probably down to inexperience and lack of training, but Hinata could tell that nobody had taught Iwata how to set and instead the setter just learned the technique and ran with that. Not that that wasn’t a valid strategy, the top high school level setter in the world had an unusual style of setting yet he had claimed that title and Hinata wasn’t worried. He could easily adapt to Iwata’s spikes.

Hinata thought back to what Kobayashi had told him. Even though he had brushed it off at the time it had still annoyed him. Hinata wasn’t like Fukui, he didn’t aim at weaknesses unless forced to. He knew every member of Sarukawa Tech’s weakness, he was just waiting to use it. He had to do what Oikawa said, control the gameplay. He didn’t have enough time to learn all his team’s weaknesses and help them overcome and incorporate them, so instead he had to come up with a different strategy. Hinata had to turn Sarukawa Tech’s average, consistent, better in the long run plays against them. And that was why ever so often he would aim one at the weak spots or force a player to play their weakness. All Hinata could do was lure them into sticking with their tactic as he eventually turned it against them.

It was working. Sarukawa Tech had stuck with their tactic and Hinata turned it against them. Scoring points off of Aoba Johsai’s strength and Sarukawa Tech mucking up. And with Iwata not being off putted by Sarukawa Tech’s pressure tactics, the second set was an easy win for the team. [AJ:ST / 2:0 - 26:24, 25:14]

”One down five to go!” Kyoutani shouted.

”Yeah. Guys! Guys! Calm down!” Yahaba shouted over everyone’s screams, “SHUT UP!”

”Sorry,” the team mumbled some apologies.

”Thank you. The match isn’t over yet, we still have to shake their hands again, and please don’t insult them,” Yahaba said as he looked at Kyoutani and Inaba, who both avoided eye contact.

”Thank you for the game,” the two teams said before shaking hands and going their separate ways. Aoba Johsai to celebrate; Sarukawa Tech to commiserate. 

“Okay. Well done guys! I’m sorry I wasn’t that useful today,” Yahaba said.

”We still won,” Iwata shrugged, “It doesn’t matter who we play or what we do. As long as we win then we get to keep playing,”

”Yeah. We could have kept Yahaba on and played the worst match of our lives but as long as we won it still would count,” Takumi said, “So don’t get hung up on the fact that you weren’t playing your best. We all have bad days, and looking back they were targeting you,”

”So, any last words before we go captain,” Inaba asked.

”Tomorrow. We’re still going to win, but it’s going to be harder,” Yahaba said, “Be prepared for the worst and hope for the best,”

”Wow! Way to be a downer!” Hinata complained, “I believe in everyone on this team, managers and coaches included. I know that we can win nationals. But like Yahaba said, it’s going to take some work. When we get to the quarter-finals and onwards we’ll be send home if we just rock up and expect to win. No scrap that, if we rock up and expect to win any match then we’ve already lost,” The second and third years on the team lit up. None of them had realised how much they had missed Hinata and Oikawa’s words that were always there at the beginning of the match. Hearing Hinata say that he still believed in them made them feel like they could do it. They could make it to the semi-finals again, they could win this time. They could go on to win the whole tournament.

”Well done boys! That was your first match at nationals where you took control over the team, how was it?” The head coach asked.

”I think it works well,” Inaba said, “We know how we work, so we know what would be a good line up and what wouldn’t. And Kyoutani showed something that we all should have. Some awareness of when we aren’t appropriate for a match,”

”That’s great. Now you’re free to explore this gym for half an hour or so before we’re meeting at the bus stop at half one. I suggest that you eat but there probably will still be some food available in the inn if you ask politely,” the head coach said, “Remember there’s the off chance that some of you may be interviewed. Don’t embarrass yourselves,”

Hinata was interviewed and it was a textbook interview, one that focused on his height. The only thing Hinata had to worry about was spilling information on the under nineteens.

”Obviously there seems to be a friendship-rivalry going on between you and fellow little giant Hoshiumi Kourai. Are you two aiming to play each other in the finals again?” The interviewer asked.

”Of course, and we’re going to get to,” Hinata replied.

”Well let’s hope that you don’t go up against Inarizaki in the second round again,”

”We beat them last year and if we have to, we’ll beat them again this year,”

”But you lost your setter from last year,”

”That match really wasn’t a setter battle, there were five other players on both sides playing too. Besides we may have lost a setter, but a captain is perfectly capable too and we have our new sub setter too,”

”Yes Iwata Rin, that really was a surprise,”

”How come?”

”I guess you focus too much on volleyball. Iwata Rin is known to be one of the top pitchers in Japan,”

”What’s a pitcher?”

”It’s a baseball term,”

”Well either way, he chose to play volleyball. If he wanted to play baseball then he would have chosen to play baseball,”

Iwata overheard some of Hinata’s interview. Iwata knew that people would recognise him from baseball and that this interview was inevitable. He was there explaining why he chose baseball over volleyball.

”There must be a big reason for you to suddenly swap to playing volleyball,” the interviewer said.

”I wouldn’t call it a sudden swap. For a year and a half I played volleyball and baseball. I chose to continue with volleyball in high school and that’s that,” Iwata replied.

”So you chose to give up your position as best pitcher to try and compete for best setter. Do you think you stand a chance against your captain? And even the likes of Yoshino Akihiko, the younger brother of Japan’s top setter, and Miya Atsumu?”

”I’m not competing against them, and the only time I will is when I’m playing them on the court, after that match I’ll stop competing against them again. I play volleyball because it’s fun, not because I want to be the best. I like the challenge that it brings,”

Fukui passed by court F as he waited to warm up on it. Did the interviewers really have to take so long. “I play volleyball because it’s fun, not because I want to be the best,” Fukui overheard one of the interviews, knowing that he hated this player, “I like the challenge that it brings,” Fukui heard the next part and the player had slightly redeemed themselves. Fukui couldn’t understand not wanting to be the best and wanting to play at nationals at the same time. People who played for fun didn’t fit in at nationals. If you didn’t want to win, then you would be sent home quickly.

Hinata’s interview finished and he noticed Inubushi East waiting to go on, “Good luck Fukui,” Hinata said as he passed him, “By the way. I have improved, you just can’t see it,” 

“Shouyou, let me guess. Short comments?” Kunimi said as he helped Hinata gather his stuff.

”That and Iwata. Did you know he was the best pitcher in inter junior high baseball?” Hinata replied, “Not that it matters though. I was looking forwards to watching Kourai’s game but they’re in the other gym. Guess I’ll have to settle for Mujinazaka versus Minamiyama,” the whole of Inubushi East turned to stare at him as if to say, “What about us?”

”Why not Inubushi East?” Kunimi asked, as if he could hear the team.

”I don’t particularly want to be reminded how good Fukui is at the moment. At least I know that I’m not trying to compete against Miyashita or Yoshino,” Hinata replied.

”Trying to compete?”

”Both Fukui and myself focus on analysis. I’d rather not be reminded that I’m only really good at guess blocking when it comes to analysis,”

”Is there a whole analysis community?”

”You want to know about all the volleyball communities?”

”Sure. Enlighten me,”

”Well there’s the libero community. It’s basically just liberos and other good receivers. Then there’s the setter community. Same as the libero one but for setters instead. As far as I’m aware, wing spikers and middle blockers don’t have specific communities because they can be interchangeable. A spiker can block and a blocker can spike, and if you can set or receive then you can join the other communities. Then there’s the analysis community. One of the smallest ones out there, it’s full of guess blockers and observant players, most of who want to beat the master analyst. Who I’m not going to reveal,”

”Why not?”

”If you really want to know you should become a member of the analysis community. Then there’s the midair fighter community, who focus on things like discussing the best jousts and jousters and are crazy about midair control, the Winged Monster is basically their icon,”

”Who’s the Winged Monster?”

”South Korea’s under nineteens’ ace, Choi Yeong-Su. Moving on there’s the ace community, pretty self explanatory. A hub of aces and wannabe aces. There’s a blocking community who have two main sides. Fearsome blockers and upcoming blockers. The rest are all really fan communities,”

”That reminds me, congrats on top three,” 

“Thanks!”

The two went to court I and watched at the side, “Mujinazaka’s blockers are terrifying!” Kunimi exclaimed, “Even without a top three ace they radiate powerhouse vibes,”

”Miyashita,” Hinata pointed to an incredibly tall player.

”He’s taller than Kindaichi!” Kunimi shouted which grabbed Miyashita’s attention.

”Good to see you’re giving your teammates a culture tour Hinata!” Miyashita said as Yoshino rolled his eyes before performing a setter dump right where Miyashitat should have been blocking.

”Hey Miyashit. Maybe focus on the game for a second would ya!” Bishin yelled.

”It’s MiyashitA. Shi-tah. Not Shit!” Miyashita yelled back.

”Shut it Miyashit!” Bishin said, “And get the point back for us!”

Chapter Text

“So round two. Good news. It isn’t Inarizaki,” the head coach said and the team cheered, “We’re up against Higashihara,”

”Who?” Inaba asked.

”They reached Top Eight last year in inter high, although it was the team’s first time ever doing it. They aren’t considered a powerhouse and many have said that it was a fluke,” the head coach explained, “But being a Top Eight team isn’t an easy feat and they do have some boast worthy players,”

”Inaba, were you even listening to Kobayashi last night? Higashihara is one of the four underdogs for this tournament,” Watari said, “They have a top five libero and top ten ace. I.E. not exactly a school to laugh at,”

”Out of the four underdogs they’ve probably got the best chance of winning,” Kunimi said, “From what I’ve heard,”

”Koizume Hideki and Maki Daiki,” Yahaba said, “Which one’s going to be the bigger pain in the ass?”

”On the court, Maki Daiki, he’s a top ten ace that alone should be making you acknowledge his abilities. Whilst we may have a top three ace, what about the rest of you?” The head coach said, “His spikes are going to be annoying and you’ll have to deal with them. However off the court the bigger pain in the ass is going to be Koizume Hideki. He’s known for his large fan base. Whilst some of them may support you, the majority will stick to supporting Koizume. His support is going to be overwhelming and his fame is only overshadowed by the top libero, Komori Motoya. Not to mention he is a top five libero so he has skills,”

”What about the rest of the team?” Takumi asked, “How do they fit into this?”

”They’re a pretty average team. None of the other members stand out and unlike Fukurodani, they’re not all exceptional,” the head coach said, “They seem to be more ground based, which is strange for a volleyball team,”

”Well we’re right on track to making it to the quarter-finals again,” Maki pointed out.

”It depends on who we get tomorrow and then if we make it through the day after that,” Koizume said.

”Cold feet already Koizume?” Their manager asked.

”No, but if we do an Aoba Johsai and go up against Inarizaki, will we really stand a chance?” Koizume asked.

”I guess. If we go up against a strong team early on we can say bye bye to winning,” Maki sighed, “So let’s just hope that some kind soul understands that we want to win and goes easy on us,”

”Yeah. Hey kind soul! Can we not go up against these teams!” Koizume shouted the team looked at him with an expecting look, “Yup! It’s time for my list of players that I really really really don’t want to go up against. Number one: Hinata Shouyou from Aoba Johsai - I won’t stand a chance against his speed. Number two: Fukui Ryoichi from Inubushi East - he aims for weaknesses, I’ll be screwed if he figures me out. Number three: Bokuto Kotaro from Fukurodani - his straight spike seems hard to get,”

”Koizume, you know that Bokuto was a third year last year, right?” Maki asked.

”Really? So he’s not playing this year? I thought for sure that he was a second year because he’s friends with their setter who was a second year,” Koizume replied, “Okay, number three: the Miya brothers of Inarizaki - they’re too good. Number four: Nishikawa Kooki from Furukata - he was last year’s under nineteen’s pinch server, basically I don’t wanna receive that serve. Number five: Hoshiumi Kourai from Kamomedai - his power is insane, especially for his height. Number six: Sakusa Kiyoomi from Itachiyama - like the other top three aces, I don’t want to deal with them, I know my limits,”

”Okay. We pulled the short straw here so we either have to win this or we’re going home,” Higashihara’s coach said as he entered their room of the inn they were staying at, “We have to play Top Four team Aoba Johsai,”

”Number one: Hinata Shouyou and his god like speed and jumps,” Koizume gulped.

”Quick question Koizume,” someone said as they entered the room.

”Okamoto? What are you doing here?” Koizume asked.

”I had a look at the seeds and thought I’d come to offer my condolences and support,” Okamoto explained, “Do you think that Komori would be able to receive Hinata’s spikes?”

”Perhaps. Maybe not at first,” Koizume replied.

”So imagine what would happen to your spot in the rankings if you could receive those spikes,” Okamoto said, “Anyway, I’m gonna be supporting Aoba Johsai tomorrow, just a heads up. They just give off this vibe that makes you want them to win,”

”Enjoy the match Okamoto!” The team smiled before watching some of Aoba Johsai’s matches.

”So we have to watch out for their ace, no.10, Hinata Shouyou obviously. Then there’s their no.2,” Higashihara’s captain said, “Their libero seems decent but not amazing, we definitely have the stronger libero,”

”Naturally,” Koizume said.

”Their no.5 could be a problem with his height and I don’t like the limited information that we have on their no.4 and no.6,” the captain continued.

”We just have to keep the ball up,” Maki said, “As usual it’s still the same, it’s just going to be harder. Let’s not try and change things up for a strong team, lets keep our roots firmly in the ground,”

”Well said. Not only do you have me, but we have each other. As long as we keep the ball up Aoba Johsai can’t win,” Koizume said confidently, “We keep the ball up and give Maki as many chances as he needs to spike,”

The next day arrived and Aoba Johsai found themselves waiting at the side of court E to start playing their match. “Which match do you think will be the big one today?” Someone asked as they passed the team, “Yesterday was Mujinazaka versus Minamiyama, what about today?”

”Let’s look at the seeds. Found it. Itachiyama versus Fukurodani,” someone else said, “I’m juts going to say it won’t be as good as Mujinazaka versus Minamiyama,”

”What teams are these?” Yahaba asked Hinata.

”Furukata,” Hinata pointed to one team, “Eiwa,” Hinata pointed to the other team.

”WHO IS THAT LIBERO?” Watari shouted, “How did he receive that serve?”

”WHAT WAS THAT SERVE?” Kunimi shouted.

”The server was Nishikawa and the libero was Sasaki,” Hinata replied, “Sasaki would have gotten that even if he didn’t spend ages practising receiving Nishikawa and Yoshino’s serves,”

”We’ve got a practise match against that?” Kyoutani asked pointing to Nishikawa, “I’m just sayin’ it’s going to be hard!”

”It’ll be good practise!” Kobayashi replied. The match ended and Eiwa won.

”It’s good and all to have strong hitters and a great server, but if you’re up against a good libero then they’ll just receive it and give their team more chances to attack even if they have weak attackers,” Inaba said.

”It’s why both teams only get so far. Furukata may have great serves, but come up against a good defence and they’re nothing. It’s why they got dominated by Inarizaki. And you could have one of the top liberos but if your offence is weak then you’ll only get to the third round or so,” Kurosawa speculated, “Both teams are good, and they stay for a decent bit in the tournament, but they aren’t special. They’re not powerhouses and they’re not underdogs,”

”Dammit! Koizume complained, “Why does Sasaki have to be so good? He’s going to steal my spot in the top five!” Both teams noticed the stands filling up.

”And the fans have arrived,” Maki commented.

”Woah! Look how busy it is!” Takahashi said, “This many people have come to support us!”

”I don’t think they came for us,” Yahaba said.

”They’ve come for Koizume Hideki. This is the power of the best fans in Japan,” Watari gulped.

”Good luck!” Komori said to Watari as he passed him, “Looks like if you win we could be playing each other soon. Show Koizume someone else he should be watching out for,”

”Got it,” Watari replied.

”Don’t get too ahead of yourselves. You still have to beat us!” Bokuto said.

”You’re not even playing anymore Bokuto,” Akaashi sighed.

”I have a tracksuit!” Bokuto protested.

”From last year!”

”PAPA BOKKUN! MUMKAASHI!” Hinata shouted as he jumped onto the two, forcing the three into a group hug.

”SHOUSHOU!” Bokuto shouted back.

”Hinata! We have to go!” Kindaichi said.

”Good luck Mumkaashi!” Hinata said as he jumped off of Bokuto and ran to his team.

”I don’t know who to support! My son or my old team!” Bokuto cried.

”Please don’t call him your son,” Oikawa said.

”Oikawa!” Aoba Johsai called out with Hinata being the only one adding a senpai onto the end.

”Look at you shortie pie, you really took control of the second set!” Oikawa said to Hinata.

”Well I was trying to do what you told me to! Did I hide it really well?” Hinata asked.

”Yup! How does their libero have that many fans!” Oikawa cried after seeing Koizume’s fans.

”He’s the second most famous libero,” Kyoutani explained, “Go get your fangirls to overpower him or something,”

”This does remind me of last year’s second round. Inarizaki’s marching band,” Oikawa laughed, “Just think about how far we’ve come since then,”

”Yeah!” The team said apart from Hinata.

”What is it Hinata?” Kobayashi asked.

”Nothing!” Hinata said slightly flustered.

”You sure?” Kobayashi asked.

”Yeah,” Hinata replied.

”Hinata, spill it,” Yahaba ordered, “You said yesterday that we won’t play our best if we’re worrying about something. What’s on your mind?”

”It’s nothing really. I just think that it’s strange that at the end of last year Oikawa-senpai told me that he didn’t care if we even made it to nationals again, yet he’s come to support us and is still teaching me,” Hinata said, “I know it’s stupid,”

”Well I can explain,” Oikawa smiled, “I thought that I wouldn’t care how you did because I wasn’t playing anymore, but I still came to your first match out of courtesy. It was only after watching that match that I realised that I still want you to win. Even if I’m not playing, I’m still on the team in a spiritual way, and because of that I want you to win,” Oikawa lifted up Hinata, “Still I didn’t expect you to remember that. Go out there and win shortie pie. Go stick it to Fukui!”

”I can tell what he meant when he said that you hated him,” Kobayashi said.

”I don’t hate him. I just don’t like him and I think that he’s a shady bastard,” Oikawa said.

”Don’t worry, feeling’s mutual,” Fukui said as he passed the team, “I’m honestly disappointed that I didn’t get to play Oikawa though. It would have been an interesting match. This line up of Aoba Johsai isn’t the same. There’s no rational order to your thoughts or plays,”

”So this is the bastard that said that Hinata hadn’t improved!” Kyoutani shouted.

”There’s no point in fighting! We have to warm up!” Takumi sighed as he began to warm up by himself.

”Don’t recognise your own mentor’s abilities?” Oikawa asked, “Just like you’ve been teaching shortie pie, I’ve been doing just the same?”

”Did Oikawa teach him?” Kunimi asked.

”I just copied him badly,” Fukui replied, “This makes sense though. It would explain why I stopped being able to tell when Hinata was analysing or not. Not like I care. It’ll just make us stronger for internationals,” Fukui shrugged as he left.

"So that's Fukui for you, cold and logical," Oikawa joked, "Well I'm trusting you guys to win this time,"

The team finished warming up and began deciding on their line up, "Yahaba's playing setter," Iwata said, "He knows how everyone plays better,"

"So I'm thinking Kunimi, Hinata and Takumi as wing spikers to start with," Inaba said, "We need our top controllers, hitting the ball anywhere won't work with a good libero,"

"I'm starting off," Hinata said definitely, "I want to see how they play a bit more. And it'll confuse them,"

"Okay. I'm guess Inaba and Kindaichi will be our middle blockers like usual," Yahaba said and the mentioned two nodded, "Okay, with Hinata not starting we don't need to keep in any traditional rotation, we don't even need to do that when he's on,"

"Takumi and I will go down the left," Kyoutani said. The starters walked onto the court headstrong after their chant.

Takumi [2] - front left, WS; Kindaichi [5] - front centre, MB; Yahaba [1] - front right, S; Kunimi [6] - back right, WS; Inaba [8]/Watari [7] - back centre, MB/L; Kyoutani [4] - back left, WS

"They're not starting with their ace?" Koizume asked in surprise, "Guess this makes things easier for us,"

The match went off to an average start with neither team standing out or taking the lead, Coach was right, Hinata thought to himself as he watched the match, they do like to keep the play on the ground. They only ever have one blocker with the rest of the players ready to dive and receive it. So we don't just have to deal with Koizume's receives, we have to deal with all of the team's receives. They all seem to be decent at setting, but their main setter, no.4, is clearly the best out of them. He can set from anywhere on the court with most passes or even setting on the first hit. There seems to be a real emphasis on using their ace for spikes, but some of the other players do go in for them too. They have a solid defence and a decent offence. I guess the best thing would be to overwhelm their defence, but that would be quite hard. We could easily score points off of blocking because apart from their ace, their spikes aren't that good. Because they focus on ground play there's almost no-where to aim, all the good spots are risky, probably deliberate as well. The best way to overwhelm them is either height or power. There could be one more thing. How good are they at creating boundaries? Hinata got up, he knew where he wanted to play. "Can I go on for Inaba?" Hinata asked.

"Okay," the head coach said, handing Hinata the number eight sign. Hinata stood at the side of the court as Inaba walked over to him.

"Do what you have to do," Inaba said as the two swapped. There are a lot of things I want to test, but I don't have much time. I have at best three rallies and at worst two. I have to make these count.

"I'm gonna be testing a couple things out, so if it looks like I'm playing worse than usual, it's probably deliberate," Hinata explained as he got ready for Higshira's serve. With the ball staying up he called for the toss, first I've got to see how good Koizume is. Hinata aimed the ball in the gap near Koizume who just about kept the ball up. Maki spiked the ball and Hinata signalled for everyone to not block it. Maki upon seeing the lack of blockers went in for a feint. Which Hinata received and passed to Yahaba before calling for the toss again. This time he aimed for the seams between the two front row receivers, both who ran for the ball and ended up dropping it. Hinata smiled, so I've learnt that Koizume is good and that the team doesn't have boundaries, so aiming for the seams seems to be the best plan. Hinata prepared for his serve. He aimed it at Maki. Maki saw the ball and jumped up for it, due to him being on the front row, he was able to get it over the net. Hinata noticed the ball coming back at him and jumped up and hit it back over from his end line to Higashirhaa's end line. Unfortunately Koizume picked up the ball and Higshira attacked again. Fortunately Kindaichi was able to block it and Kyoutani took the toss and unfortunately it went out. Watari swapped in again with Hinata going off.

Hinata took the time to consolidate what he had learnt, I know that Koizume is good. I guess we got lucky with not going up against the top liberos last year. I also know that height won't really affect them either, but they don't have boundaries. And most importantly, "THEY MAY BE KEEPING THE BALL UP BUT THAT DOESN'T MATTER IF THEY CAN'T FOLLOW THROUGH WITH THEIR OFFENCE!" Hinata shouted to his team. Suddenly Aoba Johsai focused more on their blocking than their receiving, with the most noticeable change being when Hinata returned to the court. After scoring more points off of their blocking Aoba Johsai quickly took the first set 25:20.

"Okay! Time to change things up!" Yahaba said, "Time to throw everything out of the window and onto Higshira. Let's go all out and win in straight sets. Hinata go on for Kyoutani. Inaba go on for me. Kurosawa go on for Inaba. We can sub me back in if we need to but Takumi will take over the setting for this set. We need our best aimers on. Hence Hinata, Takumi, Kunimi and Kurosawa are going on. I figured that we should also up our receiving if we don't have a setter because we need four spikers. So we'll need Inaba to be on full time,"

"This is risky Yahaba!" Watari warned.

"So it'll be fun. The worst that's going to happen is that we lose the set and go into a third one," Hinata said, "Where's the fun in a game when we can't take risks. We get a slight control over the game and Higashihara won't even have a clue what could come next,"

"Yeah. If taking risks is going to give us the win, then we have to do it," Kindaichi said, "We have to win like we're going to lose,"

"Risks make the game more fun," Kunimi said, "And part of winning like your loosing is to feel like you're loosing. When you're loosing really badly you fall below the last hope determination. You fall to the giving up stage. There's an in between, it's the well if I'm not even going to win I might as well enjoy myself. That's part of loosing, if we're going to win like we're going to loose, then we have to play for fun. If things don't go well this could be our last match. Whilst we should be trying our hardest to make it not the case, we should also enjoy ourselves just in case it is our last match. And taking risks does exactly that,"

"Okay! Let's do this!" Kyoutani shouted, "What's our name?"

"AOBA JOHSAI!" the team shouted back.

Takumi [2] - front left, WS; Kindaichi [5] - front centre, MB; Inaba [8] - front right, WS; Kunimi [6] - back right, WS; Kurosawa [12]/Watari [7] - back centre, MB/L; Hinata [10] - back left, WS

"What is this line up?" Yamada asked, confused.

"That's what happens when you let the team choose the line up," Morikawa replied, "You get pure nonsense, that they think may somehow work,"

"It will probably work though," someone said, "I barely remember you two. Seems that you keep in touch,"

"How? It's nonsense!" Yamada exclaimed.

"The team works because of nonsense, but it's probably going to be their downfall at some point," the other person said.

"Remember, aim at the seams," Hinata reminded the team, "We're counting on you Takumi. I believe in you, so show everyone what would have happened if you stuck as a setter," The team played better in the second set. Watari and Inaba kept the ball up. Takumi set most of the time but sometimes Watari would set to let Takumi spike. Everyone aimed at the seams and more points were scored quickly.

"Aoba Johsai really have turned it around this set. This just goes to show why they're currently a powerhouse," the commentator said.

Kurosawa was surprised when he was told to play in the second set. Out of all the first years he would say that he was the worst. Whilst Iwata was slightly more inexperienced he made up for that in his morale and barbaric nature. Kurosawa wasn't tall and couldn't jump like Maeda. He also didn't have the same power as Takahashi. He was just good at knowing where he wanted the ball to go. 

Kurosawa jumped for the toss. Kurosawa always knew that he couldn't jump. He always knew that good blockers would tower over him. He always knew that he would be better suited as a more ground based player, a defence specialist. But he loved feeling the ball in his hand as he went in for a spike. As he surprised the blocker by hitting it below their block. If Kurosawa couldn't jump as high as the best blockers, then he would aim right below them. Somewhere no-one would be able to get the ball. Technically this move was called a feint, but Kurosawa ignored that fact.

"Wow! Look at him Masaru!" Maeda shouted as the two watched Aoba Johsai play Fukurodani in the national semi-finals, "He just ran around the blockers! He's such a cool player! He's overcoming the blockers by avoiding them! Maybe you should do that too Masaru!"

"I'm not fast Kohaku. I wouldn't be able to move that fast," Kurosawa replied, "Besides I still avoid the blockers. I just let them think that they've got me,"

"True. You have that weird feint and spike crossover," 

"The one where I aim just beyond the blockers or right under them,"

"Yep, that one,"

"Yeah, I still have it,"

Kurosawa proudly watched as he saw the blocker look below him to see the ball falling there. Kurosawa let his arm continue to swing as he fell back down. He wasn't the best, but he was still good and he was content with that. He didn't need to be a starter. He just needed to be able to spike the ball every now and then.

Koizume wasn't enjoying the match. He knew that he never would, going up against the one player that he knew he wouldn't stand a chance against. Sure he managed to receive a couple of Hinata's spikes in the first set but Koizume had a suspicion that Hinata had only done those to get a feel for how Higshira worked. In this line up of Aoba Johsai they had their most accurate spikers playing. Koizume could tell that Aoba Johsai's offence was overwhelming Higshira's defence. And then there was Higashihara's offence. Or lack of it. The team was a laughing stock when it came to offence, they were lucky that they had Maki. However Aoba Johsai had good blockers and they had Hinata telling them where to go, and he was almost never wrong. Maki was the sole reason that Aoba Johsai weren't winning the set 25:0. Koizume sighed, he knew that without a good offence a team couldn't really get anywhere and it was getting harder. Keeping the ball up was getting harder and there was only so many times you could dive for the ball and watch your teammate's spike get blocked. "Don't mind Maki," Koizume said pathetically. It wasn't that he was physically tired, he was mentally tired.

"COME ON KOIZUME! YOU CAN DO IT! ONE MORE PUSH! THERE'S STILL A CHANCE!" one of Koizume's fans said.

"Thanks!" Koizume replied, "You're right. The game's not over. It's only just begun!" all of Koizume's fans that were supporting him began cheering.

"Such a pain in the ass!" Kyoutani complained, "Of course his fans would save the match for him,"

"So this is what coach meant by him being the bigger pain in the ass off the court," Yahaba replied, "Let's just hope Hinata's fangirls pull through too,"

Inaba served the ball and Koizume received it passing it to the team's setter who tossed for Maki. Hinata deflected the spike and Watari set for Takumi. One of Higshira's players received the ball and tried to pass the ball to their setter. Koizume began running in a diagonal to the other side of the court. Just as he reached the back line he jumped up and spiked the ball.

"He knows that the ball will be fouled if it goes over, right?" Kurosawa asked, "Liberos aren't allowed to score points,"

"Surely he would know that," Yahaba said, "It's one of the first rules of being a libero,"

Maki jumped up and touched the ball. Continuing the spike in the same direction.

"Their ace didn't spike the ball. He just touched it so it wouldn't be fouled," Kyoutani said, "That spike was all their liberos doing,"

"YOU GO GO GO KOIZUME!" Koizume's fans shouted.

"GO SHOW THEM WHO USED TO BE AN ACE HIDEKI!" Okamoto shouted.

"And Higshira's libero Koizume Hideki, no.11, shows off his abilities. Proving that he could easily be the team's ace as well," the commentator said.

"It looks like the true ace finally showed up," Higshira's setter commented.

"Sorry it took so long," Koizume replied, "Guess I was too focused on receiving Hinata's spikes that I forgot to spike myself,"

Higashihara made their come back with Koizume fake spiking. 20:22 "We're in the lead!" Maki shouted out. Aoba Johsai called a time out.

"We have to stop Koizume somehow," the head coach said, "I never knew that he could do that,"

"I think I finally understand why he's the second most famous libero and a top five," Watari said, "He really should be top three, but I guess Higashihara isn't that known,"

"I know it sounds counter intuitive for a regular match, but this isn't exactly a regular match. We have to aim for Koizume," Hinata said, "He can't fake spike if he gets the first touch,"

The team tried to do that but as it turned out Koizume could sometimes fake spike on the first touch too as Higashihara bumped the score up to 20:23.

"Shortie pie! I thought you said that you were going to be the best ace out there! Why are you letting a libero become a better ace than you?" Oikawa shouted.

"Tooru's come to support his mini self," fangirl#1 squealed.

"Listen to Tooru Shouyou!" fangirl#2 shouted, "Show them why you're the ace!"

"Use that speed of yours! They don't call you the speed demon for nothing!" fangirl#3 shouted.

"WE BELIEVE IN YOU SHOUYOU!" the fangirls shouted.

"SAME HERE HINATA!" Kyoutani shouted from the sidelines, "YOU'RE CONSTANTLY GOING ON ABOUT HOW YOU BELIEVE IN US! WELL WE BELIEVE IN YOU TOO!"

Hinata felt his blood lust pour through but it was different, it wasn't just his determination to win. It was everyone's hopes. Everyone else's determination. 

"TAKE MY DETERMINATION TOO SHORTIE PIE!" Oikawa shouted.

"AND MINE!" Bokuto shouted even louder, "GO SHOW THEM HOW YOU ALMOST BEAT ME! EMPHASIS ON ALMOST!"

Hinata smiled, "Five more points in a row. We can do this,"

"YEAH!" the team shouted full of enthusiasm. Enthusiasm. That's what I'm feeling. Not determination, enthusiasm, Hinata thought as he prepared for the next five points.

Maki served and Watari received it. Takumi set it as quickly as he could as Hinata ran for the ball. Jumping high as he transferred all the energy he got from the jump into speed, aiming for Koizume. Koizume stood still as the ball passed him, barely missing him. The crowd went wild for Hinata 21:23 (to Higashihara). Hinata went in to serve. Using his underarm serve he scored a service ace. 22:23 (to Higshira).

Hoshiumi ran to court E to try and catch some of Hinata's match, "What's the score?" Hoshiumi asked as he approached Yahaba.

"1:0 to us. 25:20. Higarashi's currently in the lead 22:23," Yahaba said, "Glad you came Hoshiumi, Hinata's going to appreciate it,"

Hinata looked to his team before his next serve where he spotted Hoshiumi. He smiled at his friend before scoring another service ace. 23:23

"Smash the Shouyou!" Hoshiumi shouted, "You've got to make it to the finals remember,"

Hinata went in for another serve, this time Higashihara received it and Maki had done an extremely powerful spike which had deflected off of Watari. Hinata began running for the ball. Oikawa-senpai. Bokkun. Kourai. They're all great players, all who I have favourite moves of. Oikawa-senpai's super long set. Bokkun's straight spike. Kourai's end line shot. I'm going to show them how much I've improved because of them. The ball was falling far to the left and back of the court, past the end line. Hinata jumped up and hit the ball back over the net at his top speed and accuracy in a perfect straight line. Getting Aoba Johsai to the set point, "Introducing the super long straight end line shot!" Hinata announced, "Courtesy of Oikawa-senpai, Bokkun and Kourai," 

"Just get another service ace and end the game already," Kindaichi said. Hinata did just that.

Oikawa watched Hinata pull off the super long straight end line shot. He saw hints of his super long set that he could do with Iwaizumi.

Bokuto watched Hinata pull off the super long straight end line shot. He saw hints of his straight shot in there.

Hoshiumi watched Hinata pull off the super long straight end line shot. Without a doubt it was an adaptation of his end line shot.

"Well done," Koizume said to Hinata at the end of the match.

"You're amazing!" Hinata said, "Did you play ace before or something?"

"Yeah. I played as an ace during junior high. I just find being a libero to be more exciting,"

"That fake spike is something else. Why aren't you top three?"

"I don't know,"

"Shouyou!" Hoshiumi called out to his friend.

"Kourai!" Hinata called back. The two dodged interviewers and had lunch together at the cat cafe that they had been to the previous year. The two got some strange looks when they started loudly squealing at the cats when they came out.

"He looks just like Mami!" Hoshiumi squealed.

"This one's so soft! Feel her Kourai!" Hinata squealed.

Chapter Text

“A third of the tournament gone already,” Kindaichi said as the team sat waiting to find out who they were up against next.

”I wonder who it’ll be next,” Inaba said, “We’ve got quite lucky so far, not going up against Inarizaki in the second round was nice,”

”But our luck will only take us so far. Even if we get another weaker team tomorrow and win, quarter-finals isn’t going to be so kind,” Watari said.

”But we have been lucky so far. Just think of some of the other match ups. First round, Mujinazaka versus Minamiyama,” Kunimi said, “Second round Itachiyama versus Fukurodani,”

”What seed are we?” Takahashi asked, “How do the seeds even work?”

”The seeds are what they call the match ups for the first three rounds. Each seed consists of eight teams and there are eight seeds in total. In the first round team one go up against team two and so on. The winner of that goes up against the winner of team three and four. Then the winner of that goes up against the winner of the other half of the seed. The team that wins goes to the quarter-finals,” Kobayashi explained, “The winner of seed one goes up against the winner of seed two and so on. Last year we were in seed three, team one. Tsubakihara, Inarizaki and Nekoma were all in seed three as well. Tsubakihara being team two; Inarizaki being team three or four; and Nekoma being one of teams five to eight. We went to the quarter-finals and went up against the winners of seed four, Kamomedai. Having won that we went up against the winners of the seed one and two quarter-finals, Fukurodani, who inevitably won,”

”This year we’re seed five,” Yahaba said, “But still team one. The crowds don’t really know about the seeds and the inner workings of them. They know they exist and that it’s why certain teams play each other, but they don’t know who’s in which seeds. We don’t even know who’s in which seeds until we play them,”

”Are they random?” Iwata asked.

”Yeah. They don’t deliberately put powerhouses against each other in the first round. When it happens, that’s just luck,” Sugiyama said.

”It’s nice for the non-powerhouse teams though. Means one less powerhouse to come up against,” Hinata said, “Unfortunately for us, we are a powerhouse so it still doesn’t change anything. But that match up really sucked for Minamiyama. They went from being a Top Four team to being sent home on the first day,”

”That’s how nationals work,” Kyoutani said, “No mercy is shown to the strong or the weak,”

”Coach!” The team shouted upon the head coach’s arrival, “Who’re we playing?”

”Itachiyama,” the head coach replied.

”I knew our luck was going to run out!” Inaba complained, “Just when we thought that we’d finished dealing with defensive teams like Higshira we get matched up against the better version of them,”

”The best libero. Top three ace. Best in Tokyo. Beat Fukurodani today. Won inter high last year,” Yahaba began listing all their acomplishments.

”And then there’s us. Top three ace. Top Four from the spring tournament,” Takumi began sighing.

”Hey! Itachiyama only made Top Eight last spring,” Hinata protested.

”I think they might be better than us,” Watari said, “Their defence certainly is and they’re known as a powerhouse, their offence is probably equal to Hinata and the rest of us playing at our best,”

”Them being better or worse than us doesn’t change anything though, does it?” Hinata said, “We still have to win,”

”Okay, let’s see how good you are Itachiyama,” Kunimi said, “Last year’s inter high. They won with Inarizaki stealing one set from them. Last year’s spring tournament. They lost to Inubushi East in the quarter-finals - that’s definitely a match to watch. This year, they beat Osawa in the first round and Fukurodani in the second round,”

”They lost to Inubushi East? How scary is their team?” Kurosawa mumbled.

”Well we met their captain today,” Kyoutani said, “And we somehow didn’t beat him up,”

”Fukui isn’t that bad! He’s just strange and overly competitive,” Hinata said in Fukuis defence, “And for you information, he didn’t play in his representative finals so he could watch our match against Karasuno,”

”Wow! Even though he knew that his team’s setter would be weaker as well. That is called being a bad captain,” Inaba said.

”One could argue that it was called being a good captain because he was helping someone on the under nineteens, the other team that he’s a captain of,” Iwata argued.

”Still if he’s their ace and they could play just fine without him with their setter having a bad day. How good are these other players?” Takumi asked.

Yahaba stood up and shouted at the team, “GUYS! WERE PLAYING ITACHIYAMA TOMORROW NOT INUBUSHI EAST!”

”Sorry,” the rest of the team began mumbling apologies.

”You can apologise by listening to coach,” Yahaba ordered.

”Okay, you saw how we struggled with the fourth best libero today. Just think how much harder it’s going to be tomorrow going up against the best libero,” the head coach said, “But don’t worry about it. Just know what you’re going up against,”

”Why does it feel like we just jumped from the first boss to the final boss,” Takumi commented and the team silently agreed with him.

”So who’s the next challengers?” Komori asked eagerly as the team sat down to find out who they were playing the next day.

”Aoba Johsai,” their coach announced. Komori silently cheered, he was getting his challenge after all, “They are no easy competition, in fact I think they could rival Inubushi East,” Itachiyama gulped at this, “It all comes down to their ace, Hinata Shouyou, who we know is playing along side Sakusa on the under nineteens. The only difference between the two is that Hinata plays as the under nineteen’s ace,”

”So we’re going up against the top ace then,” someone said.

”The top ace up against the top libero,” someone added.

”Yes. He’s fast, there’s a high chance that you won’t be able to keep up. He uses an underarm serve which he’s got a good aim on, it’s difficult to receive. He has a variety of attacks and he doesn’t fall into a pattern, keeping up with him physically is hard, keeping up with him mentally is harder. But you won’t be chasing him, he’ll be chasing you. Last year he was more known for his blocking before he took over as his team’s ace in the semi-finals. He guess blocks and he clearly learnt it from the guess monster, add onto that his hearing and speed and you have the formidable blocker Hinata Shouyou,” their coach explained

”His hearing?” Komori asked.

”He can correctly guess most of your regular hits and he can he can tell the difference between a hit and a feint using sound,” their coach said, “However the thing that’s going to be the worst about him is his aiming. It’s good, really good add on his speed and jumping reach and he’s unrivalled on the court. We’ll need our best blockers doing their best and working together. Never go in for a block against Hinata on your own. He’s a killer jouster and he isn’t afraid to beat you,”

”So this is Japan’s ace,” someone commented.

”Why Top Four? If you have a player like this how do you lose in the semi-finals?” Someone else asked.

”Aoba Johsai would have beat Fukurodani in the semi-finals if their libero didn’t get injured,” the coach said, “Their former ace wouldn’t have felt the same pressure and Hinata wouldn’t have been forced to take over the receiving and spiking. They would have won the match and gone on to beat Inubushi East and win the whole tournament,”

”They would have won?” Someone asked, “If only their libero didn’t get injured?”

”Fukurodani were good but that match was close. They know that they barely won the semi-finals. They may have lost their setter this year but the team covers that and it seems that their new setter is taking over pretty well,” the coach said, “If Aoba Johsai had made it to the finals they would have received the trophy, best setter award, best blocker award, best ace award and best libero award. The last one only because Inubushi East have a semi decent libero,”

”They would dominate Inubushi East?” Komori asked.

”Most likely. If a player is constantly adapting and changing how they play, how can Fukui keep up with that. It’s why Bokuto and Fukurodani won. The same would have happened if it was Aoba Johsai playing instead. Of course Aoba Johsai isn't just Hinata. They have plenty of other strong hitters, Hinata just stands out more than any of the others," their coach explained.

The next day the two teams arrived at the gym, they were the final match of the day and both teams had been expecting the stands to be empty however there was a large turnout. "This is the big match of the day!" someone in the stands said, "We had to wait right until the end but it'll be worth it. Aoba Johsai High School versus Itachiyama Academy,"

"Top three ace versus top three ace and best libero. I can't wait!" someone added.

"So many people showed up even though we're the last match of the day. I was expecting the schools, some alumni and maybe a couple of others," Yahaba said, "Not the stands to be practically full,"

"We're lucky that it's such a late match. I decided to skip practise for it," Kozume said as he walked with Kuroo, Bokuto and Akaashi.

"This many people at half four?" Bokuto asked, "It must be the highlight match of the day,"

"I'm just lucky coach let us stay for a day longer. I don't want to miss Hinata's first big match of the year," Akaashi said.

"And he's on face call!" Kuroo announced as the fifth spectator joined them over video call. Nobody questioned Kuroo as he brought out a laptop.

"Tsukki!" Bokuto called out, "You're almost here!"

"I guess," Tsukishima replied.

"What're you doing Tsukishima?" someone from Karasuno asked in the background.

"Watch you don't get any volleyballs to the head or something," Kuroo joked.

"Oh, it's the former and current Nekoma and Fukurodani captains," Enoshita said, "Hi! Are we still going to the summer training camp?"

"You should be, I can ask coach if you want," Kozume replied.

"So what are you four doing? I'm assuming that carrying around a laptop in public isn't common," Nishinoya asked.

"We promised Tsukki we'd show him a match from nationals and we settled for this date because it's last match isn't ridiculously late. I mean on the first day there were some at eight in the morning and it went onto eight in the evening. Although only six hours were boys the other six were the girls," Bokuto replied, "Tsukki, we got lucky with the final match today!"

"Oh really? A powerhouse?" Tsukishima replied.

"Two powerhouses!" Kuroo replied, "Are your team going to watch or not?" some of the members of Karasuno shrugged as they huddled around the laptop that Tsukishima had brought with him. 

Itachiyama and Aoba Johsai had finished warming up. The two teams went into shake hands and Hinata faked shaking Sakusa's hand. Everyone else thought that the two had, but in reality they just hovered their hands around each other. "Thank you for the game," the two teams said before going off to decide starting orders.

"Let's rule the court, play our strongest line up," Watari said, "Just throw everything at them, because that's all we can do,"

"Can I not play today," Inaba said, "At least for the beginning. I'm feeling out of it at the moment," They agreed on an order:

Takumi [2] - front left, WS; Kindaichi [5] - front centre, MB; Kyoutani [4] - front right, WS; Kunimi [6] - back right, WS; Hinata [10]/Watari [7] - back centre, MB/L; Yahaba [1] - back left, S

The two teams entered the court and the four from Nekoma and Fukurodani made their way into the front of the stands, "Seijoh versus Itachi-something?" Tsukishima asked in surprise.

"I mean we didn't know until today, but yeah it is them," Kozume replied, "It'll be nice to get to see Hinata play from a neutral view,"

"Neutral view?" Tanaka asked.

"From the eyes of a spectator. When watching this match I'm going to forget about my ties to the team. Forget that Aoba Johsai beat us last year," Kozume explained.

"I guess it's easier for us to do though. The owl and myself don't play our high school teams anymore so if we ever go up against these guys it won't be with them all playing together and Akaashi and Kenma know that they are less likely to play them again, but you guys have to beat them if you want to make it to nationals," Kuroo said, "Still you can look at the match from three different ways. We have to beat them so lets analyse this game. Lets just enjoy the match as if it were a random volleyball match. Or they beat us and are representing our prefecture, we should support them so that our prefecture does better,"

The match began with Kunimi serving, all of his previous matches passed through his head. Yesterday against Higshira, the day before against Sarukawa Tech. Karasuno, Shiratorizawa, Johsenji, Date Tech and Kakugawa. The previous year, although he hadn't gotten to play anyway near to the amount that he does now he still got to stand on the court and touch the ball. Fukurodani, Tsubakihara and Nekoma. Nekoma. The match where he started giving his all to volleyball. It had only been half a year but Kunimi felt like a totally different player, he had come so far since scoring the winning point of the third round. He thought back to losing to Shiratorizawa for the first time. Even further back, back to his time at Kitagawa Daiichi. Back to when he played with Kageyama. Kunimi smirked, he reckoned that he could probably get Kageyama's stupid quick now, not that it mattered anymore. Kunimi looked even further back, right to his first year of elementary school.

"What about you Kunimi? Are there any clubs you want to join?" Kunimi's only friend asked him.

"No," Kunimi replied, clubs were a waste of time anyway.

"I know that some of the lower year clubs sound trashy but you could always ask to be on the higher year clubs,"

"That would require actually looking into something,"

"Well it's a simpler decision then. The arts and crafts club, the sports club, the performing arts club, the reading club, the science club or the maths club,"

"I don't like art or performing,"

"Well then sports, reading, science or maths,"

"Dunno,"

"The obvious choice is sports Kunimi! Nobody would choose to do extra academics,"

"I might join the maths club,"

"Are you serious?"

"I was joking. Maths is Miki's thing,"

"Miki? Oh your sister. Isn't she joining the maths club and performing arts club? The teachers are praising her for being so varied,"

"Yeah. I'm the only Kunimi sibling that's not in a club yet,"

"So what one is Shun joining?"

"Science club,"

"So join the sports club with me!"

"Fine, if only to shut you up,"

"That's the third Kunimi triplet, isn't it," someone whispered in the hallway.

"I heard that he's emotionless," someone else whispered.

"He's nothing like Shun but the two look just the same," a third person whispered. The three people made their way to the science club where they continued to gossip.

"He's a monster,"

"He's a failure,"

"HEY! Akira's not that!" Kunimi Shun protested as he turned away from studying the model skeleton.

"He's a freak! He never smiles,"

"He just has a harder time at expressing himself. But when he looks up, he's either really focused or really happy," Shun said, "And then he always looks to his right when he's scared, and to his left when he's angry. He closes his eyes when he's sad. When he's excited his voice gets higher and when he's in trouble he'll fidget more than usual,"

"Sorry. I'll get it," Kunimi apologised to his club mates as he went to get the baseball. Kunimi wasn't good at sports. There was always someone better at it than him anyway. Kunimi entered a gym that was split in two. The higher year clubs - the akido club and the volleyball club. Kunimi found the ball and waited for the volleyball club to finish their rally before running to get the ball. He didn't think that the sport was that cool, it was just another sport.

The next day the sports club tried out gymnastics, "This is boring and girly!" someone complained. Kunimi thought that it was interesting. Focusing on balance and the meticulous control that went into perfecting each pose, into each trick. At the end of the session Kunimi stayed behind.

"Mrs Minami?" Kunimi asked.

"Yes Kunimi," his teacher replied.

"When do we next have gymnastics?"

"Oh I wasn't planning on doing it again. Most people seemed to not enjoy it,"

"Oh,"

"Did you like it Kunimi?"

"I guess so,"

"Then maybe think about joining it in your third year. The purpose of the sports club is to introduce you first and second years to lots of sports so that you can choose one come your third year,"

"Mrs Minami. Could I join the gymnastics club this year?"

"If you really wanted to. Mr Inoue, you've got a new member," 

"And what's your name?" the teacher in charge of the gymnastics club asked.

"Kunimi Akira," Kunimi replied and soon after he joined the gymnastics club.

Kunimi enjoyed gymnastics. He enjoyed practising the fine movements and control and his upperclassmen had been kind, they taught him all about the importance of warming up and cooling down, "Come on Kunimi! If you don't stretch out then you'll become stiff and injure yourself," one of the girls said. Kunimi had found his home, his passion. Come his fourth year at elementary school and he was part of the school's gymnastics team and by the time he reached his sixth year he was the captain of the team.

It was early January and Kunimi was walking home from his grandparents' house with his brother and sister. They passed an electronics store and Shun said that he needed the toilet. Shun went to a nearby cafe leaving Kunimi and his sister, Miki, outside the electronics store. "Volleyball, jeez how boring," Miki complained. However Kunimi watched in awe. There was this team playing and they had this smaller player, the way he controlled his body and the ball was amazing, deliberately aiming the ball in the exact spot where it would ricochet off the blocker and onto the opponents side of the court. Volleyball was just another sport but gymnastics was Kunimi's sport, but perhaps he wanted to make volleyball his too.

The Kunimi triplets all went to Kitagawa Daiichi Junior High, they were the only students from their junior high going there which was nice for Kunimi, he could swap to volleyball with no-one caring. The night before his first day Kunimi packed away his gymnastics kit, trophies and medals. The Kunimi triplets were very different, but they were still all the same. They enjoyed what they enjoyed and they still looked the same.

Kunimi immediately regretted joining the volleyball club, it seemed like he was the only one who cared about controlling the ball. Well there was one other person and that was a fellow first year, Kageyama Tobio, but the setter seemed to already know how to play so Kunimi avoided him at first. Over time Kunimi became a better player and got the confidence to befriend Kageyama. The two were close but they never really went beyond teammates, but it was the closest thing that Kunimi had to a friend so he would take it, not that he used the word friend anyway. Kunimi and Kageyama were almost always practising, both trying to get better control over the ball.

Soon the two were in their third year and Kunimi began to see Kageyama for who he really was (near the end of Kunimi's first year of high school he would go onto correct himself and say that it was who he saw Kageyama to be).

"You're not going to go to Karasuno?" Shun asked Kunimi, "But didn't Kageyama say that he would go there if he didn't get into Shiratorizawa,"

"Yeah, but I got invited to Aoba Johsai and I'm not really sure if I want to play with Kageyama anymore," Kunimi replied.

"Some sort of sports team thing that I won't understand?"

"Yeah," 

The Kunimi triplets were very different, none of them had similar interests and none of them went to the same school anymore. Kunimi Miki went to Shiratorizawa where she was on an arts scholarship, perusing her musical theatre career. Kunimi Shun went to Karasuno, which was arguably too far away for it to be a rational option but he didn't listen, due to it's academics and he became a top student there. Kunimi Akira went to Aoba Johsai where he was invited to play on their volleyball team although it still hadn't motivated him to pretend to be interested in the sport. The three triplets had separated from each other, they were three individuals only tied together by a surname. Out of the three of them Miki had grown the most distant due to her boarding at Shiratorizawa. Kunimi was the next to go after nationals in his first year he began spending more time practising. Shun stayed at home keeping up with his studies and enjoying the challenges that he set himself. The three had grown so distant that they barely knew what was going on in each others' life. Kunimi didn't doubt that neither of his siblings even knew that he was at nationals, but it wasn't like he could talk he had no idea what production Miki was in or what university Shun was helping out at.

Kunimi thought back to his first year in elementary school, it was almost laughable, brushing off volleyball as if it were just some sport. It was Kunimi's sport, his life and he was going to give it his all. He had his promise to keep, he was going to win nationals with Aoba Johsai. Giving my all and taking risks, that's why I love this sport. Kunimi thought as he tried to clear his mind for his serve. He watched the floater go exactly where he didn't want it to go, straight into Komori's hands.

Komori easily passed the ball to Itachiyama's setter and Sakusa finished the attack off with a strong spike which flew past Watari but gave Itachiyama the point, "Don't mind!" Hinata said as he watched the game from the sidelines. Sakusa rotated into serving. Kunimi received the serve and passed it to Yahaba who tossed for Takumi.

"Nice kill Takumi!" the team shouted as they got their first point of the game.

"Good control of the ball," Komori said to himself, "I can deal with that,"

Kyoutani went in for a serve, I haven't had much time to show off my abilities this year, so I'm going to show them who they should have their eyes fucking glued to! Although no-one really knew he had been working on his jump serve, It doesn't matter too much if it goes in or out, as long as it scares the living shit out of them.

Komori watched as the powerful serve came to his side of the net. He quickly sprinted to the ball and bumped it up, "It's up!" he shouted. Their setter set and one of their spikers spiked. Kindaichi slammed the ball down, "One more!" the team shouted at Kyoutani.

If you're gonna get the ball, then I'm gonna give this serve everything I got, no point in holding back for nothing, Kyoutani threw the ball up again and jumped for it. Slamming it down with even more power than the previous serve. Komori watched, horrified, as the ball deflected off of him. Once again Kyoutani served, "It's going out!" Komori called out as he watched the ball barely miss the end line, falling on the wrong side of it. The score equalled again (2:2).

"What's up Inaba?" Kobayashi asked.

"Nothing much," Inaba replied letting out a sigh, "I guess I'm just getting too ahead of myself,"

"How come?"

"I'm too focused on Inubushi East. When we were watching the Itachiyama versus Inubushi East match I was watching Inubushi play instead of Itachiyama,"

"So you're not playing because of that?"

"Yeah,"

"Let me guess. You don't think that you'll be able to properly focus on the match,"

"Yep,"

"It's natural to be watching the big competition, they're the favourites,"

"But everyone is trying hard to make sure that they don't focus on them,"

"And everyone else is also struggling with that. We all saw what happened yesterday. We were doing it last time with Itachiyama, but because we weren't focusing on not doing that we never noticed it. You know your focus on Inubushi East isn't the worst thing,"

"How so?"

"What did Inubushi East prove last year?"

"That just because a team is the favourites, it doesn't mean that they're going to win,"

"Exactly. A win is never guaranteed to a team,"

"But I know that,"

"Inaba, do you know why you were drawn to Inubushi East?"

"Not really,"

"Because they're good and you saw that,"

"Yeah, I really want to beat them,"

"They lost to Fukurodani too. So we're equal to them. You want to beat them, first you need to get even. They've beaten Itachiyama and we haven't yet. We beat them and then we can challenge Inubushi East. Is there anyone in particular you want to beat?"

"Fukui Ryoichi. I want to fuck with his master analyst brain," 

"Why Fukui? You know you're picking the hardest fight,"

"I want to make him think that he's got my weakness and then make that into his weakness. I want to make him think that he's winning and then beat him. I want to receive his carefully planned spikes aimed right and my weak points,"

"So you have to go out there and show that you can also beat Itachiyama and then you can mess with Fukui all you like," Kobayashi smiled, "Go out there and do your best Inaba,"

"Not yet. I need to wait a bit. I'll probably go on in the second set,"

Hinata got limited spikes, but that was expected when he was playing as a middle blocker, he got less opportunities on the court. The spikes that he did get were good. He was tricking the blockers and getting past them, but he wasn't getting past Komori, nobody was getting past him. Hinata took a deep breath as he swapped with Watari, there goes the second burst of spikes, Hinata thought as he signalled to his team not to talk to him, he needed some time to come up with a strategy. Hinata sat on the floor cross legged as he closed his eyes and thought.

We're dealing with their offence well enough. They're blockers are good but nothing new so they're easy enough to get past. It's Komori. That's the problem, I can't get past Komori. I need to take my decoy abilities to the next level. I can trick blockers, now it's time to trick a libero. I have to take this massive risk and do what Oikawa said. If I choose what points Itachiyama get then I get ultimate control over them.

Hinata stared intensely at Komori. The libero brushed it off as the ace being annoyed at his spikes being received so frequently, not Hinata plotting his (volleyball) demise. I only get a short burst but that's what I'm going to have to do in this game. The ace is meant to be overwhelming and reassuring. I'll just have to over overwhelm them in the brief moments I get. It's time to let Komori have his way, Hinata thought as he reentered the court, You don't seem like the type who relies on their brain Komori, you definitely focus on your reflexes. But if I spell it out for you even you'll acknowledge it.

"Go with me here my plan may look crazy but in the long run it'll help," Hinata whispered to his team as he got on the court again. Hinata started hitting the ball in two very different ways. Hitting it, and not hitting it. 

There was hitting it, this was when Hinata would run for the ball and jump higher he would swing his arms and hit the ball, or air if he ran for someone else's toss.

Then there was not hitting it, this was when Hinata would run for the ball and then suddenly stop and not jump. Letting the ball fall on their side of the court. Itachiyama had gotten a large lead by the third time Hinata had come to use this new tactic, reaching 21:11 (to Itachiyama).

"Shoushou really isn't on his game today," Bokuto said, worried for his son.

"What's he doing, just not going in for the spike. It was clearly tossed for him!" Kuroo cried out, "GET YOU ACT TOGETHER HINATA!"

"The team still trust him," Tsukishima pointed out, "They would have called a time out ages ago if they were concerned. You don't normally just keep playing like this when the other team has a ten point lead. They clearly know that Hinata is up to something but not what, but they trust him completely,"

"It's taking a massive risk but Shoukkun lives for risks on the court," Miya Atsumu said as he joined the quartet plus their virtual fifth member, "He plays like this all the time on the under nineteens. Even though he's meant to jump right after I start the toss sometimes he'll jump later so he'll be completely over the ball so he can do a more powerful spike, even though he's risking mucking up. Sometimes he still looks like he sucks as a physical player, but his mental abilities and risk taking more than cover for that. Someone who takes risks sucks a lot less than someone who doesn't,"

"Tsumtsum!" Bokuto called out to the setter, "How's Shoushou doing on the under nineteens?"

"And here I was thinking that you might ask about how I was doing. Yeah Shoukkun's doing great. He's gotten better, every time I think that he's playing his best he gets better, I don't think I'd want to play against him. No, I'm quite happy playing with him," Miya replied.

Hinata smirked, his team may loose the first set, he was risking a lot, but in the long run this was the right thing to do. Hinata saw the ball come for him and began to run, he then stopped and watched the ball fall. "Another not hit," Komori said, "This is getting predictable," Hinata hid his delight at that phrase, it's time for phase two. Hinata let a small bit of his blood lust pour in as he got ready to control Komori.

"Yahaba toss to me. Kyoutani pretend to go in for my toss when you notice that I'm not jumping, but don't actually go for it - make it look like you missed it, and I'll do my part," Hinata whispered to the two other members of the front row.

Sakusa served, Watari received it and passed it to Yahaba. Yahaba tossed the ball for Hinata who had already begun to run. Hinata suddenly stopped and Kyoutani jumped up and under swung his arm making it look like he was going to miss it. Hinata took a couple of steps back when Kyoutani jumped. Hinata took one step forward before jumping up and slamming the ball down on Itachiyama's side of the court at his top blood lust speeds but at a lower jumping reach than usual.

"We all know that Shou's a decoy, right?" Tsukishima asked the people on the other side of the screen, "He tricks blockers into running for him. Do you think that he could be using his decoy abilities on Itachiyama's libero?"

"That does look like what he just did. He's conditioned their libero to follow him when he goes in for a hit and to ignore him when he suddenly stops. If he changes this up then Hinata will have a while where he has complete control over Itachiyama's libero. And if their libero is in the opponent's control, then Itachiyama are going to quickly lose that lead they gained," Kozume said.

"That was a smart but sneaky move he pulled. It was risky but now the reward comes in," Akaashi said, "Hinata often uses the big risk big reward strategy. Risk loosing the first set at the price of having control over your enemy's libero. For him it's a no brainer. But there's something else about Hinata. I don't think that this is his only plan, he has a backup plan. If things don't go well and he loses control over Komori quickly then he already knows what he's going to do. Hinata doesn't go in for a risk unprepared. He knows what he wants to do, what he expects to happen, and at least one other plan if his first one fails. And the analysis community only recognises him as a good guess blocker. Hinata has brains, he just hides them exceptionally well. Everyone, including Hinata, has gotten used to him just being a guess blocker just like the guess monster, so nobody expects him to turn into a master analyst. Additionally, you wouldn't expect the idiot who takes things at face value and barely manages to get a pass, asking for other's notes so he can turn in a paper to have a brain this good. You'd expect his simple mind to follow suit on the court, but if you know Hinata well enough then you know that his brain is working fast,"

"Oh those guys," someone said as they passed the match, "They're the lunatics that decided to face Higashira without a setter. They still won so they're good, but they're also lunatics,"

"Yeah, we know our strategy is crazy," Sugiyama said, "Everyone looks down on it until they see how well it works for us. If you want to win then you have to work your hardest, in that sense the team that wins is the team that wants to win the most because they're working the hardest to win. So us doing whatever it takes to win just shows how committed we are,"

"Call us barbaric or desperate, we don't care it's the truth!" Inaba added.

"These guys are out of it! Have you seen their ace, and I thought he was top three, more like bottom three," someone else said.

"Please, entertain me," Kobayashi said, "And stay to watch the second set,"

"Fine, not like we've got anything better to do," the first person said.

"Did you two just diss this team?" a third person asked, "I took a look at the seeds again, remember Ryoichi isn't the only smart guy. The winner of this match plays us in the quarter-finals. Besides their ace is unpredictable. If Itachiyama win then we'll probably go to semis. If Aoba Johsai win... We're screwed,"

"Ignore Kimura first years," a fourth person said, Kobayashi quickly realised that this was some of Inubushi East: two first years, their setter - Kimura Takara, and their vice captain, "He's just worried that Fukui might not like tomorrow's match up. Only Fukui knows how he'll feel about it. I don't think he'll be annoyed if we play the blue castle. He seems quite interested in them,"

"You know our names?" Kobayashi asked.

"Oh Fukui is fascinated by your team and he's been getting distracted by that. So I hope you win, so Fukui can play you guys finally and so I can crush you for weakening our team," the fourth person said.

"What do you mean?" Kobayashi gulped.

"In the finals Fukui was distracted, I could tell that he wanted to play you guys instead of Fukurodani. And so we lost, and I blame you for that. Then he skips our prefecture finals so he can watch your match, we almost didn't come here because of that," Inubushi East's vice captain explained, "Personally I think that you're a crap team. A few good players doesn't make you a powerhouse. I still don't get how you beat Shiratorizawa,"

"Is that a declaration?" Inaba asked.

"I guess it is. We will crush you tomorrow. That's if Itachiyama doesn't crush you first," the vice captain said.

"Oh I was looking forward to destroying Fukui, but I'll think that I enjoy destroying you even more," Inaba said with a sadistic smirk, "The emotional roller coaster I'll make you go through,"

"Inaba stop it!" Kobayashi warned, "Or I'll tell the team not to play you tomorrow,"

"I don't mind it," the vice captain replied, "I look forward to crushing you too Inaba Atsuka. You're only half a duo without Nishinoya Yuu. I really wonder what happened to the Thunderstorm Duo. Did the sun come back out again?"

"It did. But the storm isn't done yet," Inaba replied before leaving, "Let's meet on the court tomorrow,"

"Naturally, Atsuka-kohai," the vice captain replied, equally sadistically as Inaba.

"Nicknames, looks like Mizukami is serious about this," Kimura replied.

"Oh I'm dead serious Kimura. If Fu-Ryo doesn't play his best tomorrow then he'll have hell to pay," Mizukami replied.

"Fu-Ryo? That badly? You've never wanted to crush someone this much on the court since you first met Ryoichi," Kimura replied.

"Shut up Takablah! This stupid sea castle! I just want to crush them so Fu-Ryo will focus on the real competition. ME!" Mizukami shouted.

"Sea castle?" 

"Their colour is turquoise, they're Seijoh - blue castle. Turquoise, blue, flowing, formless. The sea. Control over the opposition, ruling the court. A castle. Sea castle,"

"I guess it makes sense,"

"The sea castle think that Fukui is the only smart player on the team. They think that he's the smartest hitter, and the rest of us are just strong hitters following his directions. Did they even take the time to understand how we play. Inubushi East, we're known for our brains not our brawn. Anyone who know's why we're a powerhouse knows that,"

Hinata scored more points off of his control over Itachiyama but they scored some back and ended up winning the first set 25:19.

"We're winning the next two sets!" Hinata said, "I've got control over Komori. He's following me, just like I wanted. We need to go out and show them why we're better,"

"Yeah! And I'm back in the game now too. If I want to beat Fukui and the vice captain jerk tomorrow then I need to beat Itachiyama first," Inaba said, "So Hinata can play as wing spiker this set,"

"How do you know that we'll be up against Inubushi East tomorrow?" Yahaba asked.

"Their setter figured out the seeds, the winner of this match goes up against Inubushi East tomorrow," Inaba explained, "And I want it to be us!"

"YEAH!" Yahaba cheered, "WHAT'S OUR NAME?"

"AOBA JOHSAI!" the team replied.

"AND THAT'S THE NAME OF WHO'S GOING TO WIN THIS MATCH AND NATIONALS!" Yahaba shouted. The second set starters walked on:

Takumi [2] - front left, WS; Kindaichi [5] - front centre, MB; Hinata [10] - front right, WS; Kyoutani [4] - back right, WS; Inaba [8]/Watari [7] - back centre, MB/L; Yahaba [1] - back left, S

Chapter Text

"Kindaichi, Kyoutani, it's all up to you," Hinata said, "I'm trusting you to pull this off,"

"You can count on us Hinata," Kindaichi replied.

"Don't doubt me for a second Hinata," Kyoutani scoffed.

"Good. You'll need to be quick, but I can count on you so it'll be fine," Hinata smiled.

"Their ace doesn't even seem phased at the crap set he just played," one of Itachiyama's players said.

"Probably knows he just has to win the next two sets. Such a simpleton," one of the others replied, "But he's strong. Simple minded and strong,"

Aoba Johsai received first. Watari passed the ball to Yahaba. Yahaba set the ball for Hinata who began running and faked hitting the ball. "He's going for it!" Komori called out as he followed Hinata's hand, "He missed?" Kindaichi jumped in front of Hinata and spiked the ball, scoring the first point of the set.

"How was that? Was I too close to the ball?" Hinata asked.

"No it worked well. I know to not follow your hand as well," Kindaichi replied.

"Their blocker covered?" Komori asked in surprise. Hinata rotated into serving. All through the set he had Komori on a leash, following his every move. Using his regular decoy abilities and his control over Komori Hinata made the rest of the hitters' job much easier.

"Hinata is crazy good!" Kuroo remarked, "He's got their libero running around exactly where he wants him. Hinata's actually controlling Itachiyama's defence, and they have no clue,"

"Hinata attacks like an enigma," Miya commented, "Even his own team sometimes doesn't know what he's going to do next. It's what makes him so hard to keep up with. You just don't know what he's going to do next, he's got so many moves that he could pull off that you can't run through all of them at once and try and stop him. But you can see the physical strain it brings on his team. We don't get it on the under nineteens because we can keep up with him, but some of these guys aren't ready to play on the same level as Hinata is and they tire out much faster than he does,"

The score had reached 14:18 when Itachiyama called a time out. "He keeps chasing us," their middle blocker said, "He won't stop chasing us. And he's got us,"

Everyone knew who the middle blocker was referring to, "He's good," Komori replied, "He's chasing us. Not because he's the enemy,"

"What?" the team asked in shock.

"He's chasing us so that we don't focus on the rest of the team," Komori realised what was going on, "He was tricking me, and he got his way. I was... I was basically hypnotised,"

"Komori, slow it down for a bit, what the fuck are you on about?"

"Hinata probably plays decoy, with that speed who wouldn't. He's been chasing us, getting us to focus on him so that the rest of his team can spike. And instead of targeting you guys, he targeted me. He made me fall into his trap. I got into a way of thinking that if he did x he would do y. And then in this set he used that to give the rest of the spikers clear shots. I, and by extension all of us, were under Hinata Shouyou's control. He was getting his way," Komori explained, "He's not a normal ace. Taking the spikes and overwhelming us by power. He plots. If I'm correct in thinking, once we've realised that we've fallen into his trap and come up with a counter strategy then he'll just go all out,"

"If he's chasing us so that the others can attack our base, then we need to ignore him and focus on the rest of the team. Hinata can't play decoy if we don't acknowledge his presence," the middle blocker said.

"But then he'll go all out," Sakusa pointed out.

"Like he did at the beginning of the match where I could receive his spikes," Komori pointed out, "Even if he makes them faster and stronger, I'll still get them,"

Hinata caught on quickly that Itachiyama were ignoring him, it was obvious. Hinata feigned being oblivious, it would be more effective when he suddenly swapped back to his normal playing. Hinata would wait until his team needed him.

"Hinata, I think they've figured you out," Kindaichi whispered.

"Kindaichi, they figured me out a long time ago. I'm just letting them think that they have won," Hinata replied, "And then we'll win,"

"Hinata, the rest of us can't hold on much longer," Kindaichi warned, "My arms are getting tired. Can you cov-. Almost mucked up there. Just promise me that we'll win soon. No deuce,"

"I can swap now if you'd like," Hinata replied.

Itachiyama served and Watari kept the ball up. Yahaba tossed for Kindaichi who missed. The team watched as the ball began to fall down. Hinata ran and jumped, three blockers, shielding me quite well, this was made for Kindaichi not me. And I need a second chance at this hit because the ball was low. Watari's closer to me than Yahaba, so I'll just have to hope he sets this well enough. "Watari! Toss for me!" Hinata shouted as he slammed the ball right into the blockers hands and passed the ball backwards to where he knew Watari would roughly be. Hinata pointed to the left side of the court as Watari began to toss the ball Hinata ran and jumped slamming the ball down right where the blocker were for his first spike. The left most (Itachiyama's right most) blocker looked at the ball as it brushed against his foot.

"So that's Japan's ace in action," Komori thought as he saw the ball land, "None of his tricks or mind games, just his pure strength. That's what he can do purely through athleticism,"

"They can choose to ignore me, but soon it'll become apparent that if you take your eyes off of me for one second, then you've lost," Hinata said, "Yahaba, I'm counting on you. I believe in you. Bring out the best in me," Hinata felt his blood lust coursing through his body. He focused it into his speed. If he was going to go fast, then he didn't need to out jump the blockers, because they wouldn't even be there.

Hinata made it look like he was going in for the reuglar not hit and Itachiyama ingnored him. Hinata saw that the ball had been tossed. He finished his first spike and ran for the ball, slamming down right in front of Komori who was frozen on the spot. "But he was over there just a second ago," someone from Itachiyama said, "He like fully went for the not hit, and then he just ran and bam. Point scored before we even registered that he had moved,"

"Watari, a word of advice," Hinata said, "You can be the top libero. You can have incredible reflexes. You can be the best at unbalanced plays. But if you can't see the ball coming straight at you, then you'll lose. Focusing on the ball is a great strategy, but always keep in mind what player is hitting it. Because some have very unique ways of hitting. And some have speed or spin,"

"Hinata, that's faster than you've ever gone," Watari said, "Would Sasaki be able to get that,"

"But it was also lower than I've ever jumped before," Hinata said, "I work so well as a decoy because the other team can't afford to take their eyes off of me. It's like Fukui said, my blood lust is good overall, but if I can choose how I use it then it's even better,"

"Let's win already," 

"Of course," Hinata rotated into the serving position and served. He was more focused on watching Itachiyama. Ultimately the team with the better libero will win. Limiting the number of points the other team scores whilst also giving their team more chances to attack. So in that theory would mean that Itachiyama are going to win this match, but I don't like that outcome. I'm not the master analyst, that's Fukui. I can't tell what Komori's weakness is so I won't be able to use that, and if I can't demobilise their libero then I just have to make ours stronger. That's where shifting can be useful. If I can direct the ball to an easier spot for Watari then he doesn't have as much to worry about. But we don't have time to suddenly start using shifting tactics. But if I understand where their hitters spike the ball then I can redirect that to Watari. Hinata spent the rest of the match half focused, analysing Itachiyama's spikers.

Aoba Johsai were panicking at Hinata's lack of focus, it wasn't like him to get lost in thought on the court. Usually he was the most focused. Hinata kept analysis and game play separate, analysis was strictly off court unless he noticed something and game play was strictly on court. "Takumi!" Hinata shouted as he messily passed the ball. Takumi turned his head around noticing that the ball was already headed for him. Kyoutani started running and Takumi used his backhand set.

"Aoba Johsai reach the set point first!" the commentator announced. Inaba served and Komori received it. Sakusa went in for a spike which Kindaichi and Hinata were meant to block. Only Kindaichi jumped up.

"Hinata, you need to jump!" Kindaichi yelled.

"Do I?" Hinata replied. Hinata watched as Sakusa hit the ball with an interesting curve, he was glad that he didn't go in for the block, his arm would have travelled with the ball, "Inaba finish it off!" Hinata shouted as he jumped up and hit the ball upwards. Inaba ran forwards and dug the ball over the net. Komori got the ball but it had left a gap in the court. Sakusa spike again and this time Hinata went into block. Positioning his hands so the ball would go right into the gap if he got it.

"Aoba Johsai win the second set," the commentator announced, the team won the set 25:21.

"What's going on Hinata?" the head coach asked, "I get the risk in the first set but what was the final quarter of that set?"

"I was analysing them," Hinata replied truthfully. The team stared at him in shock.

"Hinata are you sure that you're okay?" Kobayashi asked.

"I'm fine. I figured out what I needed to," Hinata replied.

"I think you should sit out the team talk. You need some time to get back in the game," the assistant coach said.

"Hinata's never pulled off a stunt like that before," Yahaba said, "What are we going to do?"

"We're making the same mistake again, but this time it's mental instead of physical," Kunimi said, "We're letting ourselves depend on Hinata,"

"No," someone said.

"Ushijima?" the team asked in surprise.

"This is Hinata trying to become like Fukui," Ushijima said, "And it's not working,"

"Fukui, the master analyst," Inaba said.

"I don't doubt that he's teaching Hinata, but it's like what Tendo said. Fukui's strategy works for Fukui and Fukui only. I've played with Fukui so I know what he's like. He's good at multitasking. He can help someone out with maths homework whilst also doing his Japanese homework at the same time. His brain works fast and he can focus on multiple things at once. Hinata is simple minded,"

"So Fukui is trying to get his brain to work faster and do multiple things at once, and well Hinata can't keep up with that," Kobayashi sighed.

"Basically. But there's still hope for Hinata. Both him and Fukui are exceptional at this, and with some guidance Hinata will be able to master his brain and control players even better than he did today,"

"Exceptional at what?" Kyoutani asked.