Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sawamura Daichi - Captain of the Boy's Volleyball Club at Karasuno High School - doesn't know what to do anymore. For the very first time in his - almost - three years of High School, his team is finally about to go to Nationals, and they're a total disaster.

Daichi, Suga, Asahi, and Shimizu are trying very hard not to think about their last Tournament. All of them are quitting Volleyball after this, a decision that they made a long time ago.

Daichi, Suga, and Asahi have finally made their dream of going to Nationals come true. The dream of those three bright-eyed first-years that came to Karasuno full of hopes and enthusiasm has finally become a sweet reality. They're so excited and nervous, they can barely keep their feelings at bay, but they hold them in.

They're the older ones now. They need to make an example. They need to be strong, to be calm, and collected. They need to support their younger teammates. They need to be strong for them, to be there for them when they need them. They need to take them to the top, just like they took them to the top. They're the old crows now, the ones with big and strong wings. Wings that already know how to fly. They need to teach the younglings how to fly too.

Then there are the second-years. Most of them are at the bench right now, with only Tanaka and Nishinoya taking center stage. Daichi can tell that they're trying hard, even harder than before, but he also knows that they still doubt their place on this team.

They aren't the bright-eyed baby crows eager to take flight and test their new wings. They're not the old crows, either. Their wings aren't that strong yet. Their flying isn't that smooth. They aren't the little kids trying to test anything and everything. They're not the veteran parents who already know what works and what doesn't. They're the in-between. They're the older brothers. The ones who calm down the parents and help them when things become a little difficult. They're the older brothers who support the younger brothers when they need them or scold them when things become dangerous. They're the ones that keep everything together. They're the referees of this match.

The Guardian Deity of Karasuno, who always has everyones' back. The Reliable Ace in the making, the one that you know you can always count on no matter what happens. And the new level-headed Captain, the one that fills every hole his team might've. Daichi knows that next year, those three and the rest of the other second-years are going to be a force to be reckoned with, but right now, they seem lost. They aren't the stars of the show, and they know it. This isn't their year. They have to wait for the perfect time.

Then there's the first-years, those five unbelievably gifted rookies. There's Yamaguchi and Yachi, those two shy first-years that don't seem like much at first glance but who are full of surprises once you get to know them. Daichi knows that, in a few years, Little Yachi will be one of the best managers out there. As for Yamaguchi, he's going to be an incredible player and a fantastic Captain. Daichi can recognize one when he sees one, and Daichi can't wait for the day that he gets to see the young man proudly wearing the same jersey that now belongs to him.

Then there's Tsukishima, a great blocker in the making that doesn't seem to care much about the game at first glance but whose hunger for winning grows more and more with every game. Daichi knows that Tsukishima will go far, but the kid will do it at his own pace, he isn't going to be left behind, but he isn't going to rush, either. He's flying at a steady pace, and it's working wonders for him.

Then there's Kageyama, an outstanding setter and a well-rounded player. There are no doubts about him going far. If there's someone here who will make it into the pro-leagues, then it's him. The guy isn't perfect, of course. His attitude and social skills need one heck of a job. The guy stretches the line between being amazing and annoying way too much that it snaps way too often. As a Volleyball player, he's perfect. Way too perfect many would say. But as a person, he leaves much to be desired. Daichi wants to help him with that, but with Kageyama, it always feels as if you take one step forward and two backward. You never really know how the guy will react until he does it, and it's kind of scary at times.

And last but not least. There's the overwhelming rising talent of Hinata Shouyou. If someone here can one day surpass Kageyama - and many others out there - then it's him. But right now, the kid is lost. He hasn't found his place in the world yet, or in the sport that he loves so much. Daichi sometimes thinks that Kageyama is like a cage around the little crow. Never letting him go, never letting him grow, never letting him free, never letting him fly as freely as he so much desires. Hinata is a free spirit. He always wants to try new things. He always wants to go farther, faster, to do more. The little guy is the definition of freedom and evolution.

Kageyama is a perfectionist. A strong and well-rooted tree in the most fertile soil. He's growing strong and beautiful with the things he already has. He's happily living in his comfort zone. Hinata is a seed still looking for a place to bloom, and once he finds it, he'll grow even stronger and more beautiful. Hinata needs time, just a little bit of time. A time that Daichi sometimes feels that Kageyama isn't willing to give him. Hinata and Kageyama are so alike but so different at the same time. One always knew what he was missing, while the other never knew what he needed, and now that they have finally come together, they don't know how to act around each other.

Everyone is lost, no one knows their places yet, and it's a total disaster.

Daichi watches as Kageyama tosses another ball that is clearly for Hinata, but the little crow decides to act as a decoy at the last moment, and he lets Asahi do the spiking.

Daichi watches as Ennoshita is able to save the ball, and how he passes it to Suga, who perfectly tosses to Yamaguchi, who then gets blocked by Tsukishima, easily earning Daichi's team the match. Daichi watches as his team celebrates their victory and how they praise the tall first-year for earning them the win. Suga and Daichi share a look, and the both of them sigh in unison.

So, I'm not the only one who noticed what a disaster these three sets were, huh?

They won, yes. But it was more of a miracle than anything else.

"Nice one, Tsukki!" Daichi hears someone say.

For a moment, he wonders why Yamaguchi was praising Tsukishima when he was the one that blocked his spike, making Yamaguchi's team lose in the process. But then, Daichi realizes that it wasn't Yamaguchi, the one who just said that, but Hinata instead. The little crow raises his hand, clearly asking the tall middle blocker for a high-five. The taller boy smirks mischievously, and he then high-fives the smaller boy, a little faster and harder than it's necessary, and Hinata loudly complains about the pain in his hand.

"Bet you can't do something like that, you orange hamster. Are you sure you're a middle blocker?" Tsukishima teases the smaller boy, but Coach Ukai interrupts Hinata's retort.

"Alright, gather around. I'm gonna give you a few pointers," Coach Ukai says and then starts scolding them.

He's not sugarcoating anything, is he? Daichi thinks with a sweat as he listens to his teacher.

"You saw it too, didn't you?" Suga asks him after Coach Ukai finished talking to the team.

Daichi swallows his water and puts his bottle down. He looks at Suga in confusion and asks, "Saw what?"

Suga rolls his eyes at him. "Don't play dumb, Daichi. I know you saw it, too. I'm talking about that dark aura around Kageyama and the new developments of Tsukishima and Hinata."

Yeah, Daichi saw them, alright.

He noticed that Kageyama is snappier than usual today. Something's definitely bothering the guy, and it's starting to show on the court. Daichi doesn't want to say it, but he acts as he used to do back in Junior High. He's acting as 'The King of the Court' and not as the setter that all of them know.

There's also Hinata and Tsukishima. Karasuno's little sun and grumpy moon. Hinata didn't spike many balls in the three sets that they played against Suga and his team. Hinata went more for receives, blocks, and acting as a decoy instead of spiking. This is good in Daichi's eyes, to be honest, but at the same time, it's also a little weird. It also seems to be irritating Kageyama more than he already is. Then there's Tsukishima's growth. The tall first-year seems to be blocking even better now, he's also spiking more than before, but that isn't all.

Hinata and Tsukishima synced up with each other spectacularly today. When Tsukishima noticed that his blocks weren't going to be enough, he manipulated them in a way that the ball would go straight to where Hinata was already waiting for it, as if he knew all along that the ball was going to go that way. Daichi is delighted about that. He's pleased that Tsukishima and Hinata have finally realized that they're teammates and not opponents on the court. That they play the same position and that they need to work together, and not against each other. But it seems that the 'Tsukishima and Hinata' new teamwork comes with a price. Kageyama and Hinata didn't sync up with each other at all during the three sets that they just played, and Daichi can tell that it's pissing Kageyama off to no end.

Daichi sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "What the hell happened at those camps?" Daichi asks for what feels like the tenth time today.

Suga shrugs beside him. "Dunno, Kageyama has been very open about it, but you can tell that he's hiding something. Or, well, it's more like something's bothering him, but he doesn't want to say what it is. Hinata has also been very open about it, but he apologizes to us more than telling us about the camp. As for Tsukishima. Well, he's Tsukishima."

Suga is right.

Kageyama told them a lot about his camp. He told them about #1 high school setter Miya Atsumu, and you can obviously tell that he's a little jealous of the guy. He told them about one of the top three aces, Sakusa Kiyoomi. He told them about #1 libero, Komori Motoya, and all the other players he met over there. He even made some jabs at Hinata about a 'Little Giant,' but the jabs don't seem to be bothering Hinata as much as Kageyama seemed to be expecting. But even after all that, everyone can tell that something is bothering Kageyama.

Hinata, on the other hand, seems to apologize more than actually telling them about how his little trip went. They learned more about his stay there during the match from his little comments to Tsukishima than from his actual story about it. That seems to be another reason why Kageyama is mad.

Daichi and Suga sigh in unison again.

This is gonna explode any minute now.

Coach Ukai calls them back to the court not long after that. It's time for another practice match against Suga and his team.

Time after time, Daichi watches as Kageyama tosses balls that are obviously for Hinata, but only sometimes, the little decoy spikes them. Most of the time, he prefers to act as a decoy instead, and he lets Asahi or Tanaka do the spiking. Or he receives, and Kageyama has no other option than to choose someone else.

It's the second set of their second match against Suga and the others. Suga won the first set, and his team is now at match point. If they score this one, they'll win the whole match.

Ennoshita spikes the ball as hard as he can, Nishinoya is able to save it, but it's a bad pass. Kageyama sets it so that it'll go to Hinata, but Hinata acts as a decoy once again, and he lets Tanaka do the spiking. Narita is able to save it, and Suga sets it for Yamaguchi. The first-year clearly learned something from the previous match, and he spikes the ball straight down, and nobody in Daichi's team can save it in time. Suga and his team cheer in delight as Coach Ukai announces them as the victors of the match.

Daichi hears Coach Ukai calling them, and he starts walking towards the bench, but a small 'thud' sound from behind him stops him.

Kageyama has Hinata pinned to the floor, and his face is an angry red. "Oi! Why haven't you been spiking any of my tosses today? What's wrong with you?!" Kageyama asks angrily, Hinata tries to get out of his hold, but Kageyama is not letting go that easily.

"I'm practicing my receives and my blocks more..." Hinata tries to explain, but that only seems to make Kageyama even angrier than before.

"And who said that you could practice them, huh?! Your receives and your blocking suck. The only reason why you're here is that you score points, so stop being useless!"

"Kageyama!" Daichi and Suga shout in unison but are ignored.

Hinata seems to lose his fight all of a sudden. "I know I suck. That's why I'm practicing."

"I already told you, as long as I'm here-" Kageyama tries to say, but a shout from Hinata makes him stop.

Daichi is sure that Hinata's following words are probably something that Kageyama has never thought of before.

"But you're not always going to be here! What do I do then?!" Hinata shouts, and with a sudden burst of strength, he manages to get himself free, and he runs away from the gym.

Suga immediately tries to go after him, but Coach Ukai and Sensei stop him. "Let him cool down first. He'll be back soon. As for you, Kageyama. Take a little break for a while. The rest of you take five and then start practicing your serves and receives," Coach Ukai orders, and everyone reluctantly obeys.

Daichi looks at Kageyama and notices just how down the poor guy looks. Daichi wants to say something, but he doesn't know what to say or do. Sure, this isn't the first fight that Kageyama and Hinata have, but something feels different about it. Daichi feels as if their relationship is in danger.

After a small break, the team continues their practice. Nishinoya is the better at receives, with Daichi coming in second. Asahi is the better one at serves, with Yamaguchi being second.

After about ten or fifteen minutes into their practice, Hinata returns and starts practicing his receives with Nishinoya.

Daichi looks at Kageyama, who has been practicing with a ball by himself in a corner of the gym. Clearly, he noticed Hinata's return if the looks he keeps sending Hinata and Nishinoya's way are any indication.

Daichi sighs and starts practicing receives with Suga.

"Man, you can feel the tension in the air, can't you?" Suga asks, and Daichi hums in affirmation.

"I'm worried about them, about the whole team, to be honest. I don't know what to do," Daichi admits, and Suga looks at him and sighs.

"You know, Daichi. Sometimes, I think that you worry too much, but right now? I'm with you. We're finally going to Nationals. The dream that we all share is finally coming true, but everyone seems to be on edge. Everyone seems lost, we were finally becoming a team, but now it's like we're starting all over again," Suga says, and Daichi nods in agreement and understanding.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. We're gonna have a lot of problems if those two keep arguing with each other like that," Daichi says with another sigh.

"But are you surprised, though? It feels like this has been coming for a very long time now. Hinata wants to fly, but Kageyama doesn't seem to want him to. For years, Kageyama looked for him, and now that he finally has him..."

"He doesn't want to let him go."

"Exactly. Hinata, on the other hand, never knew that he needed Kageyama, so when he found him..."

"He saw him as a rival, as a goal. He saw him as to where he needed to go, and not as where he needed to stay."

"Life is cruel, isn't it?" Coach Ukai suddenly asks from right behind them. Daichi and Suga both jerk in surprise. They didn't notice him at all. "You know, Captains. I think we need to do a meeting." Suga and Daichi nod in unison and start calling everyone for a meeting.

Coach Ukai asks them to make a circle and sit on the floor after everyone assembles near the bench. Ukai-san asks Shimizu and Yachi for some notes, and after they give him the notes, he sits down on the bench facing them.

Coach Ukai sighs and looks at his notes with a frown. "Okay," Coach  Ukai starts to say, and everyone stiffens. "First things firsts. Serves, guys. Practice your serves every day if necessary. Serves are one of our weaknesses. Nationals are scary, guys. There are people with killer serves over there. The whistle blows, and next thing you know, the opposite team just scored a service ace. Kageyama, Azumane, and Yamaguchi, you guys are the better ones at serves right now, keep practicing, but please help me with the other ones a little bit. Especially with Hinata and Tsukishima, out of all our regulars, their serves are the weakest ones. Remember that we're a team guys, we need to work together, okay?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Next thing, receives. Everyone needs to practice their receives, which are also one of our weaknesses. Nishinoya, you're better at them than any of us. So please, help me during practice with the others. You too, Sawamura."

"Yes, sir!"

"At Nationals, many opponents would look at some of you and aim for you. They'll try to make you take a knee. So, please. Practice your receives, okay?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Another thing is, blocking. Read block, guys. Observe first, see where the ball is going before you jump or make a move. Sometimes, we jump too early, and that's how the other team scores. Spikers, spice things a little bit more, don't always make the same moves, don't let your opponents get a read on you, change things around. If you're having trouble with something, then practice and practice, don't stop until you get it right, got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Kageyama, you're an excellent setter, but you're going to go against even better ones, and not just good ones. You're also going to go against experienced ones: setters who have already gone to Nationals before, setters who already know the rhythm of that court. So please, try to keep a level head. Relax a little bit more. Everyone in here is nervous, and everyone feels pressure. Talk with your teammates, make a game plan together. Relax, we're a team, okay? You're not alone."

"Yes, sir."

"Well, that's it for now. Rest for a while. We're going to have another practice match soon."

"Yes, sir!"

This time, things were even worse than before.

Tsukishima misses some spikes because Kageyama tosses them too high. Kageyama's serves are mainly out because he went at them a little too hard. He also keeps snapping at Nishinoya or Hinata for 'being in the way' when they receive. It gets so bad that Coach Ukai and Takeda-sensei call for a timeout.

"Kageyama, what's wrong? Did something happen at the Youth Camp? Or at home?" Takeda-sensei asks, and Kageyama shakes his head.

"Nothing happened. I'm fine," Kageyama answers, and Coach Ukai sighs in exasperation.

"You don't seem fine, Kageyama. Is something bothering you?" Coach Ukai asks, and Kageyama shakes his head again.

If Daichi has to guess, he'll tell you that Kageyama is biting his tongue, trying hard not to say all the things he wants to say, which is bad in many ways.

"Since the King is not having a good day, can we please go home?" Tsukishima asks, and that comment makes Kageyama snap.

"Don't call me that!" Kageyama shouts in anger, and Tsukishima just rolls his eyes at the young setter.

"And why shouldn't I? You're acting like one. So, excuse me for pointing out the obvious, Your Majesty. Acting like a Goody-Two-Shoes isn't gonna fix what you did before, y'know," Tsukishima says with a sneer.

"What did you just say?!" Kageyama asks and grabs hold of Tsukishima's shirt. Tsukishima tries to push him away, but Kageyama isn't letting go. He's clearly furious now.

"Kageyama! Tsukishima!" Daichi shouts.

Daichi and Coach Ukai somehow manage to separate the two tall first-years before things get even more ugly than they already are.

"Both of you, calm down, or I'll bench the two of you!" Coach Ukai threatens, which makes both boys stop struggling.

"He started it," Kageyama says.

"Me? You're the one acting all Kingly," Tsukishima retorts.

"What?!"

"Enough!" Daichi shouts.

Daichi is about to tell everyone to go for a run to cool their heads, but then a bright light blinds all of them. A groan of pain accompanies the sound of something heavy falling to the floor, and then the bright light is suddenly gone.

After their eyes readjust, they look towards where the light came from. On the other side of the gym, there's a man slumped on the floor, and he's groaning in pain. Beside the man is a black gym bag with the words 'Bouncing Ball' on it. Daichi frowns. He has never heard of that company before in his life, but he guesses that what's more important right now is asking the man where he came from and if he's okay, but everyone seems to be in shock. Daichi doesn't blame them. He also doesn't know what to say or do.

Am I hallucinating?

Am I dreaming?

Maybe those brats hit me in the head. That's probably why I see things all of a sudden.

Yeah, that's it.

The man slowly gets up from the floor with his back turned towards them, and he gently rubs the mess of orange curls that is his head.

Is the man related to Hinata?

He pats his black tracksuit as if looking for something.

Is he looking for injuries?

The man sighs in relief after he finishes and looks around the gym.

"Huh? This looks like-"

Coach Ukai loudly clears his throat, and the man jerks in surprise. The poor guy probably thought that he was alone. The man slowly turns towards them. The first thing Daichi notices about the man is that his skin is very tan, a kind of tan that Daichi is pretty sure you won't get anywhere in Japan, but he could be wrong. The man looks Japanese, after all. The second thing he notices is that the man is well built. The man is clearly an athlete or just someone who really loves the gym. The third thing he notices is the man's eyes. They're sharp and too knowing.

Mature, Daichi thinks.

But what surprises Daichi the most about the man is the color of the man's eyes. An eye color he has only seen in one person so far.

Hair as orange as a tangerine, eyes the color of honey, and short stature.

Wait a minute.

"Hinata, I didn't know you have an older brother," Coach Ukai says, and everyone turns to look at Hinata. The little decoy's eyes are extremely wide for some reason.

"I don't," Hinata says. "I only have a little sister. Her name is Natsu."

"Then who is...?" Coach Ukai waves his hand in the direction of the man, who is looking at all of them in shock.

The man then starts talking in a language that none of them seem to recognize or understand. Daichi doesn't understand anything the man is saying, but he's pretty sure that he isn't saying anything nice, and Daichi isn't the only one who notices it.

Tanaka and Nishinoya make that face.

Suga sighs.

Daichi pinches the bridge of his nose and groans.

Asahi sweatdrops.

"Oh, here we go," the three say in unison.

"Oi, oi, oi. Who the hell are you?!" Tanaka and Nishinoya ask in unison while making that face.

The man stops talking and sighs. He looks at the ceiling as if asking for help, or maybe he's just asking the gods for a quick death, but the gods don't seem to be listening right now. The man sighs again, and he then gives them an intense look that all of them recognize immediately.

"It's Shouyou," the man answers. "Hinata Shouyou."

Chapter Text

"It's Shouyou," the man says with that intense look on his eyes that Hinata sometimes gets. "Hinata Shouyou," the man finishes, and everyone stares.

Koushi is pretty sure that his mouth is on the floor at this point. Everyone around him is as still as a statue. If what the man says it's true, then that means-

Koushi jumps about a foot in the air after hearing the intense laughing attack of Noya and Tanaka. Looking around him, he probably isn't the only one who was startled by it.

Koushi and Daichi share a look, and both sigh in unison. Today is going to be a very long day, and it's only midday.

Tanaka and Noya grab Hinata - the young one - and start hitting him on the back, and the poor guy grimaces with every hit he gets.

"Nice one, Hinata! I didn't know you had it in you," Tanaka says while laughing uncontrollably.

"Yeah, bro! Such a good prank, I almost believed it for a second," Noya says. One of his hands is hitting Hinata's back, and the other one is wiping his tears of laughter away.

"But seriously, Hinata. Why didn't you tell us that you have an older brother, huh? You met my big sis, so what's up with that? I feel betrayed," Tanaka says with a frown.

Koushi can tell that Tanaka's and Noya's laughing attack is contagious because in no time at all, Yamaguchi, Yachi, Asahi, Kinoshita, and Narita are laughing too. The ones that aren't laughing just stare between the three of them and the Older Hinata. As if some kind of tennis match is going on or something.

"I already told you, I don't have a big brother. I only have Natsu. I'm the big brother!" Hinata says while trying to escape from the arms of his friends.

Older Hinata clears his throat. The ones that aren't laughing flinch at the sound, and the ones who are laughing suddenly stop their antics and listen.

Huh, he can command attention just like that? Weird.

"He's telling the truth, y'know? I'm not his big brother. I'm him from about ten years in the future, give or take," Older Hinata says.

Once again, Tanaka and Noya start laughing. Koushi notices how Older Hinata sighs and looks at the ceiling again. Tanaka and Noya stop laughing once they realize that no one else is laughing. They turn around and notice that everyone is staring at Older Hinata.

"Oh, c'mon, guys. You're not gonna tell me you believe him!" Tanaka says, and everyone else just looks away from him.

What if? Is the question in everyone's mind.

"What? Seriously? Guys? Coach? Sensei?" Noya asks, and Takeda-sensei sighs.

"While it's true that time travel doesn't exist, probably. You can't deny the similarities between the two. What year is it, Hinata-san?" Takeda-sensei asks.

"2022," Older Hinata answers without missing a beat. Clearly, there's no lie in there. He really believes that it's the year 2022. "Why? What year is it here?"

"It's December 2012."

Older Hinata's eyes widen at that. The man brings a hand to his chest and pinches himself. After a grimace, he walks straight towards Young Hinata and flicks him on the forehead.

"Ow, ow, ow. Hey, what do you think you're doing?!" Young Hinata asks while rubbing his forehead.

"Proving you're not a hallucination," Older Hinata deadpans. The 'Duh' clearly left unsaid, but everyone can hear it in his voice.

"You couldn't prove it by asking me a question or something?"

"No."

"You jerk."

"You know, you two might not be brothers, but you sure act like it," Koushi says with a chuckle.

Older Hinata points at Young Hinata at that and says, "Don't even think about it!"

"You don't know what I was thinking!"

"I'm you, I do know. If you start calling me Nii-chan, or Shouyou-nii, or something like that, I'm gonna kick your ass." 

"As if you could."

"What was that?!"

"Okay," Coach Ukai says after the little interaction between the two Hinatas. "Older Hinata-san-"

"You can call me Shouyou."

"Okay, Shouyou-san. How is it that you got here? Is this like normal where you come from or something?" Coach Ukai asks.

"Not at all. The world hasn't changed much in ten years if you really think about it. I mean, we do have better technology, and I guess, more opportunities? There are also a few inconveniences here and there. But nothing crazy, like time travel, or flying cars, or anything like that," Older Hinata replies.

"Then how did you get here?"

"Dunno. I was on my way to the gym, and then there was this bright light, and then I fell here," Older Hinata says, and Coach Ukai confirms that it's the same for them. Nothing out of the ordinary and then a bright light and the sound of something falling to the floor.

Koushi stares at Young Hinata. During that whole conversation, the little guy didn't take his eyes away from Older Hinata. Koushi gives him a pat of encouragement on the shoulder. Young Hinata nods and walks closer to Older Hinata.

"So, you really are me? From the future?" Young Hinata asks, and Older Hinata chuckles and ruffles Young Hinata's hair.

"Of course I am."

"So, does that mean I'll get taller?" Young Hinata asks in excitement with stars in his eyes. Older Hinata rolls his eyes and sighs.

"Figures, that'll be the first thing you'll notice."

"What about Volleyball? Do you still play? What team do you play on? Is it a Division 1 team? Is it the National team? Is it-"

Older Hinata stops the little guy's non-stop questions by putting one of his hands over the kid's mouth. "Hold it right there, short stuff. No spoilers, okay?" Whatever reply Young Hinata has for that is entirely muffled by Older Hinata's hand.

"So, Shouyou-san. How old are you?" Takeda-sensei suddenly asks.

"26," Older Hinata replies without missing a beat. Everything goes quiet for a minute. You can almost hear a pin drop.

"So, does that mean that you're our senpai now?" Koushi asks, and everyone freezes at that.

"Shouyou-senpai!" Tanaka and Noya shout in unison, and Older Hinata flinches at the loud shout.

"Please, don't call me that. It's weird. In my mind, you guys are still my senpai."

"So, I guess, reintroductions are not necessary, huh?" Daichi asks, and Older Hinata shakes his head.

"Not necessary at all, Daichi-san. I remember all of you guys' names and faces," Older Hinata says and smiles at them.

"Well, anyway. It's nice to meet you. You look bigger," Daichi says, and Older Hinata frowns.

"You're still taller than me, though," Older Hinata says.

Daichi laughs. "That's not what I meant."

"You mean fatter?" Older Hinata asks worriedly, and Daichi laughs and shakes his head.

"No. Anyway, we have been practicing all morning. Let's take a break to eat lunch. We'll continue after we finish," Daichi says, and everyone nods.

Older Hinata picks a volleyball from the floor and gives it a spin. "Practicing? For what?" He asks, and everyone stares at him in surprise.

Daichi raises an eyebrow at him, but Older Hinata isn't paying attention to him. The man throws the ball high into the air and prepares himself to catch it.

"What do you mean? Did you forget? The 2013 Spring Tournament. You know, Nationals."

Older Hinata freezes at that, and the ball hits him in the face. He brings his hands to his face and groans in pain. Koushi can't help the feeling of foreboding that comes over him when he sees the ball falling to the floor, and Older Hinata's reaction isn't helping at all.

"Woah, what was that? That was one hell of a rollercoaster of emotions and memories, the hell?" Older Hinata asks no one in particular. He turns to look at their bewildered expressions and grimaces.

"Sorry, sorry. It's just; it's been ten years, okay? And it's like those ten years just flashed before my eyes. Anyway, you guys do what you gotta do. I'm gonna go look for a blue telephone booth or something."

"A telephone booth? Why?"

Pretty much the whole team asks that. Koushi, Yachi-san, Shimizu, Tsukishima, and Takeda-sensei are the only ones who don't ask that.

"I think he meant he's going to go look for a way to get back home, but I'm not sure. I didn't know you knew about Doctor Who, Hinata-kun," Takeda-sensei says.

"Dr. What now?" Young Hinata asks in surprise. "Who's that?"

Takeda-sensei chuckles at that. "Well, it seems that only older you know about it. Anyway, let's go have lunch."

The team doesn't need to be told twice, and in no time, everyone grabs their bentos and assembles on the stage to have their lunch.

Everything's normal so far.

Kageyama, Hinata, and Tsukishima are bickering like always, with Yachi-san and Yamaguchi playing referees.

The third-years are talking about game tactics with Coach Ukai, Takeda-sensei, and Shimizu.

The second-years play amongst themselves until Ennoshita finally has enough.

But things aren't normal. If you look closer, past all the routine and familiarity, you can see how tense and awkward things really are, and if you concentrate enough, you can also hear the intense tapping coming from the other side of the room.

Koushi sneaks a glance at Older Hinata, who is sitting cross-legged on one corner of the room, gym bag by his side, and he's furiously tapping on...

Is that a smartphone? Why does it have so many camera lenses? And what's with the cordless earbuds? Are they even working?

"Su..."

"...ga."

"Suga!" Daichi snaps his fingers in front of his face, and Koushi scowls.

"Sorry, sorry. It's just, we have been calling you, and you didn't answer. Coach Ukai asked you a question," Daichi says in his defense.

Koushi apologizes and looks at Coach Ukai. "Sorry, what was the question?"

Coach Ukai gives him a weird look and sighs. "I asked you to tell me how do you think serves practice is going."

Koushi nods and thinks about his answer for a moment. "Well, Asahi and Tanaka, they both seem to have mastered jump serves, but we still don't know how the nerves of a real match are going to affect them. The same goes for Yamaguchi and Kinoshita with their jump floaters. The better one at serves is still Kageyama, but something seems to be bothering him, and until he doesn't resolve that, he's gonna keep messing up. There's also Tsukishima and Hinata, their serves are the weakest ones, and since they have been away, they haven't really started their practice like the rest of us."

Coach Ukai nods at that. "Yeah, for nerves, there's really nothing I can do about it. Only that person can work on that. Really work on that. As for Kageyama, I tried to talk to him, but he doesn't seem to want to talk to me. I hope he opens up to someone soon or decides to finally talk to me. I'm gonna keep trying anyway. As for Hinata and Tsukishima, they did miss a whole week of practice. I'm gonna talk to them about it and see how they take it, see if they want some extra practice or something," Coach Ukai says, and Koushi and Daichi nod in agreement.

"There's still so much work we need to do. I didn't want to ask this, but are we really ready for Nationals?" Asahi asks, and Koushi and Daichi give him a dark look, Asahi sweatdrops. "Scary," Asahi murmurs under his breath.

"If you see it that way? Then no. Truth be told, no one is really ready for Nationals, but some have experience, so they're a little calmer than us. Everyone goes to Nationals knowing they're going to lose, be it sooner or later, but everyone also hopes to be that lucky one who gets to win it all, and they fight for it, no matter what it takes. Don't worry, guys. Even the third-years who have gone to Nationals before will be a ball of nerves over there. You're not going to be the only ones. You have to remember that you're going against humans, against kids your age or younger. Don't let your nerves get the better of you," Coach Ukai says.

"Right. So, you're saying that, unless you're a professional Volleyball player, you're gonna be nervous at Nationals. It's High School, after all. Thanks for that, Coach," Asahi says with a sigh of relief.

Shimizu - who's taking notes of everything they're saying - suddenly looks at them in surprise. "What about him?" She asks and nods in the direction of Older Hinata, who's still furiously tapping away on his device.

"What about him?" Asahi asks in confusion. "You really think that we can help him find a way home?"

"No, I mean, he's an athlete, I can tell. What if he plays professional Volleyball now? What if he can help us get better?" Shimizu asks.

Koushi, Daichi, and Asahi look at her in surprise. Coach Ukai's eyes widen, and he starts dragging Takeda-sensei away from them while telling him that they need to talk as soon as possible.

Koushi and Daichi share a look and nod. They quickly finish their lunch and walk towards Older Hinata. The closer they get, the more apparent the frustration on his face becomes.

"Everything alright, Shouyou-san?" Koushi asks, and Older Hinata sighs.

"Not really. My phone doesn't seem to be working here, it doesn't have any signal, and I forgot the school's wifi password." 

"It's Crows2012," Daichi says, and Older Hinata smiles at him.

"Thank you so much, Daichi-san."

"Who are you trying to contact, anyway?" Daichi asks, and Older Hinata sighs again.

"Dunno. My Coach, my manager, my sponsor, one of my friends, my mom? It doesn't matter. I just need someone to know where I am, see if they can do something about this."

Coach?

Manager?

Sponsor?

Koushi and Daichi share a look. So, he really is a professional athlete. The question here is... Is he a professional Volleyball player? Hinata seems like the kind of guy who would be good at any sport you throw him at. He just needs time to get the hang of it.

He's an athletic monster, after all.

Older Hinata groans. "This isn't working," he says and sighs in annoyance. He throws his devices back into his gym bag and pouts, actually pouts. Koushi suppresses a chuckle. It seems that some things are never going to change, no matter how many years pass by.

Coach Ukai and Takeda-sensei choose that moment to come back. "Gather around, guys," Coach Ukai says, and everyone assembles around him. "Well, did everyone finished eating?"

"Yes, sir."

"Okay, we're gonna have two more practice matches, just two more, okay? The rest of the day is gonna be all about practicing your serves and receives, got it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Alright then. Boys, do your stretches. Girls, can you clean the court for us?"

"Yes, sir."

Everyone nods and starts to do what Coach Ukai ordered. Takeda-sensei starts to write some things on the board, and Coach Ukai is helping the girls with the cleaning.

In no time, everyone is ready to start the game. Koushi and Daichi shake hands while Coach Ukai flips a coin in the air. It's time for Daichi's team to serve.

Koushi prepares his team to receive one of Kageyama's serves, but their efforts are in vain. Kageyama hits the ball a little too hard, and it ends up hitting the wall with a loud bang.

Koushi looks at Older Hinata. He's still sitting in his corner, Coach Ukai offered him a place on the bench, but he refused. Older Hinata looks extremely surprised at Kageyama's serve, and he's frowning. He's probably trying to remember this moment from before, desperately trying to look for a day where Kageyama was so mad that he missed his serves.

Koushi looks at Coach Ukai and notices the look he and Takeda-sensei share.

So, this is their plan, huh?

Show Older Hinata how bad they are right now and then convince him to help them?

Not bad.

Koushi only hopes that it works. His teammates need all the help they can get.

Koushi watches Yamaguchi serve, Daichi is barely able to receive it. Kageyama sets the ball for Hinata, but Tanaka is the one who spikes it, earning a glare from Kageyama in the process.

Narita is able to block him, but Hinata saves the ball. Kageyama sets it for Asahi this time. Koushi is able to receive it, but now he can't set the ball. Ennoshita sets the ball for Yamaguchi, but Kageyama is able to block him, earning a point for Daichi's team.

And so it continues like that, with Daichi and Noya trying to save as many balls as they can, Hinata tries to help them, but most of the time, he just ends up hurting himself. Tanaka and Asahi are spiking more balls than before, but Tsukishima fails more at it because Kageyama sets them too high.

Koushi glances at Older Hinata again. He isn't sitting anymore, now he's standing, and the expression on his face clearly says that he can't believe what he's seeing.

They're at 15 - 21 now, Koushi's team is winning, and he can tell that the other team is getting a little desperate.

Koushi tosses to Ennoshita, but Daichi is able to save it. Unfortunately, it's a bad pass. Kageyama sets for Hinata, but Hinata doesn't spike. Asahi does instead; but he does it a little too hard. Koushi knows that the ball is coming in a little too hard and a little too fast to do a proper receive, but that doesn't stop Yamaguchi from trying, which only manages to change the ball's trajectory. What was going to be a killer spike from Karasuno's ace just a few seconds ago is now heading straight at little Yachi.

Coach Ukai is playing referee, and Takeda-sensei is taking notes, so they aren't fast enough to react. Neither is Shimizu, who's managing the scores. Koushi, Daichi, and Young Hinata run forward, but the three of them know that they won't be able to stop the ball in time. Yachi's eyes widen as soon as she sees the ball coming her way. She closes her eyes and braces herself for the impact.

An impact that never comes.

Everyone looks at the scene playing in front of them with wide eyes and open mouths. No one can believe their eyes.

Yachi opens her eyes and sees that a tan hand is in front of her face, and the ball that was just a few seconds ago coming straight at her is now spinning in the man's hand.

"Oi!" Older Hinata says with a dark look in his eyes. "Be more careful. There are ladies here," he finishes saying just at the same time that the ball finishes its spinning. He grabs it and gives it to Yachi, who hesitates for a moment before taking the ball. "Are you okay?" He asks the scared girl, and she nods vigorously and brings the ball to her chest.

"Th... tha... thank you," Yachi stammers. She seems about ready to cry her eyes out.

"Don't worry about it," Older Hinata says and smiles reassuringly at her. Shimizu finally makes it to them. She thanks the man for saving her friend and hugs Yachi while offering her some water.

Everyone else is still in shock. They still can't comprehend what just happened. How exactly did a man who was in the farthest corner of the room be able to reach the court so fast? And how was he able to react fast enough to stop a ball with so much speed and force? And to do it one-handed, no less.

Just how?

Not even Koushi - who would've been the closest one to Yachi at the time - managed to get there fast enough.

Unsurprisingly, it's Noya who recovers first. "Woah, Shouyou-senpai! That was so freaking cool! How did you get there so fast?! You were like a Ninja," Noya says while jumping up and down and doing some Ninja poses. "That was amazing. Please, teach me how to do that. I wanna be a Ninja too."

Older Hinata's eyes widen in surprise, and then he starts laughing. Everyone looks at him weirdly.

"Oi, what's so funny? I wanna be a Ninja too," Noya says with a pout.

"It's just, you called me a Ninja," Older Hinata says, still laughing.

"I did, but what's so funny about that?" Noya asks in confusion.

"Nothing, you'll get it in a few years," Older Hinata says dismissively.

"Huh?"

Older Hinata clears his throat. "Anyway, don't you guys have a game to finish?"

"Actually, Shouyou-san. We wanted to talk to you. I was planning on waiting until the match finishes, but I think there's no better time than now," Coach Ukai says. Koushi, Daichi, Asahi, and Shimizu stiffen. Everyone else just looks confused

"Talk to me? About what?"

"The team," Takeda-sensei says. "I don't know if you noticed, but we're having a few problems."

"I did notice, and they aren't a few."

The team flinches at that.

Yeah, we know.

"But what does that have to do with me?"

"Well, it's clear that you're an athlete. You're a professional Volleyball player, aren't you?" Coach Ukai asks.

Older Hinata sighs. "I am."

Young Hinata gasps in surprise, Koushi and Daichi give him a look, silently telling him to calm down and ask questions later. This is important.

"There are many teams out there who have two Coaches, so we want to offer you a place in the team as a Coach, alongside Ukai-kun and me. Please, please, teach our kids how to play Volleyball. Please, take them to Nationals," Takeda-sensei says with a bow.

Coach Ukai is bowing too. Koushi, Daichi, and Shimizu bow next. The rest of the team - except for Tsukishima and Kageyama - bow after them.

"Please teach us, Shouyou-san!"

Koushi notices that everything is very quiet. Slowly, he and everyone else raise their heads and look at Older Hinata, and the man looks at all of them with a sad look on his face and eyes.

"No," is Older Hinata's response.

"What!? Why!?" Everyone asks in surprise.

Tsukishima sighs in annoyance and says, "Do you have to ask that? Really? How illogical can you guys get?"

"Huh?"

"Senku over there is right. I'm sorry, everyone. But I can't teach you," says Older Hinata.

Senku? What?

"It's Tsukishima Kei! And who the hell is Senku?" Tsukishima asks, but he doesn't get an answer.

Older Hinata nods at them and starts walking towards his gym bag. "Besides, the sooner I get home, the better it'll be for all of us, trust me."

Koushi and Daichi share a look at that. Older Hinata makes them feel as if they just did something very wrong, but Koushi can't understand what it is yet, and looking at Daichi right now, it's clear that he doesn't get it either.

Koushi notices Young Hinata running towards Older Hinata. Koushi and Daichi sweatdrop, and in unison, they say, "Oh, there he goes."

Young Hinata stops in front of Older Hinata, the little crow is angry, and he's ready to show his claws. Older Hinata stops in his tracks and sighs. He says something that Koushi doesn't understand and looks at the ceiling then at his younger self.

"What is it, Chibi-chan?"

"Don't call me that! You're short, too."

"Whatever you say, short stuff."

"You jerk! Why don't you want to help us? Why don't you want to coach us?" Young Hinata asks angrily, and Older Hinata just sighs.

"You'll get it when you're older," Older Hinata says and then chuckles to himself. "Now, there's something I never thought I'd say to myself."

"Don't give me that! Tell me why."

"Shouyou," Older Hinata says gently, too gently. This isn't the Hinata all of them know. This is the mature and experienced young man, the older brother. "Do you realize what you're asking me to do?"

"Yeah, I do. We're asking you to teach us how to play Volleyball and get better. Since you're a pro, that means that you have way more experienced than any of us."

Older Hinata shakes his head and kneels in front of his younger self. He takes the kid's hands in his and says, "No, you're asking me to give up my whole life."

"Huh? You're not gonna die just because you're gonna train us. We promise not to hit your head."

"That's not what I mean," Older Hinata says with a small smile. "Do you remember all the time travel movies and stories you have watched or read?" Older Hinata asks, and Young Hinata nods.

"Well, you know that there are some really good ones, and there are some really bad ones, but there is something that all of them have in common. If you mess with time, time messes back. Shouyou, I want you to think about the year that is about to start, about going to Nationals, about all the people that you're going to meet there, about all the friends you're going to make. About all the experiences you're going to have. All the losses, all the victories, mistakes, and all the things you're going to learn. Think about your second year of High School and your third, about graduation and whatever you think comes after that. Think about all the people you're going to meet, all the things you're going to experience.

"All of those things you're thinking about right now are things that I already have in my life, and I fought so hard to get them. Maybe my life isn't perfect, but it's mine, and I love it, and I'm happy with it. I truly am. Are there things that I would like to change? Of course there are, but I'm afraid to change them because all of those things, good or bad, made me who I am today, and I like who I am. I know this might sound selfish to you, but I'm not just thinking about myself here. I could change everyones' lives by saying yes. My friends and family looked very happy with their lives the last time I saw them, and I don't want to change that. I don't need that on my conscience. I don't want to find a way to go back home, only to find out that it's not home anymore. Do you get it now?" Older Hinata asks, and Young Hinata nods.

"Yeah, I get it. It's just-"

"Are you crying?"

"What? No!" Young Hinata says while wiping some tears away.

Older Hinata smiles at him and hugs him. "Yeah, I know how you feel, don't cry," Older Hinata says and rubs the kid's back.

Koushi wipes some tears away, and he notices that some of the others do the same.

You have grown, Hinata. I'm so proud.

"Well, it looks like age made him a little smart, at least," Tsukishima says while rolling his eyes.

"Tsukishima," Daichi warns.

"Yeah, I know. Sorry," Tsukishima apologizes with a sour look on his face.

"We're sorry, Shouyou-san. We didn't think about it that way," Takeda-sensei apologizes with a bow.

"It's okay," Older Hinata says. He's still hugging Young Hinata.

He's good with kids.

Could it be?

No, Koushi.

Don't think about that.

"This is weird for everybody. I don't blame you for not thinking about it like that. Time travel is not exactly an everyday thing. Don't get me wrong, I don't know what the hell is going on either, but I do want to go home, y'know?"

"Yeah, we get it now. Sorry for everything," Coach Ukai says while bowing too.

"As I said before, it's alright. C'mon, kiddo. Don't you have a game to finish?" Older Hinata asks, and Young Hinata wipes his tears away and looks up with determination shining in his eyes.

"Right, watch me win."

"Alright, you'll buy me a meat bun if you lose," Older Hinata says.

"And what do I get if I win?"

"What about a meat bun?"

"Deal! Come on, guys. We have to win."

Older Hinata laughs at his younger self's antics. Koushi also laughs. "Did you forget that we're the ones winning? Maybe I'll be the one getting a meat bun later today." 

"I'll win, you'll see," Young Hinata says and starts dragging his teammates to the court.

Koushi notices that Kageyama is the only one not moving. He's looking at Older Hinata. Koushi can't tell what's going on with Kageyama right now. Since Older Hinata showed up here, Kageyama has been looking at him with an intense look in his eyes, but there's never an expression on his face. It's always hard to tell with him. Koushi can tell that Older Hinata also notices the staring, but the man doesn't seem to mind, so it isn't problematic, at least.

"Kageyama, Sugawara-san! Let's play!"

"Right."

If Koushi thought that having that talk with Older Hinata would help their team dynamics. Boy, was he mistaken.

Hinata seems to be trying to spike more, keyword being trying. Not even the others are spiking now. Kageyama is doing some reckless tosses, telling everyone to go faster, to jump higher. Why didn't you hit that if it was perfect?

The King of the Court.

Koushi thinks with a heavy heart.

The King is back, this time for real.

"Oi, Kageyama. What's wrong with you?" Young Hinata suddenly asks the young setter.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? First, you don't want to spike my tosses, but now you want me to send all of them to you? What do you think I am? Your servant or something? You have been acting weird all day."

"I have been acting weird? You're the one acting weird. What's with those reckless tosses. No one can hit that, not even me, and that's saying something."

"Well, I'm not your personal setter. Didn't you say that you wanted to work more on your crappy receives? What are you doing spiking the ball now?"

"I want to win this match."

"So now you want to win? What are you trying to prove now? If you want to win so badly, then go to Sugawara-san's team. They're the ones winning. Oh, that's right, I forgot! You can't hit Sugawara-san's tosses. You can only hit mine, so stop being useless and listen to me, dammit."

"Kageyama!" Koushi and Daichi shout in unison.

"Guys, come on. Calm down, and let's continue the game, okay?" Daichi says in that commanding voice that he sometimes uses, a voice that reminds you that he's the Captain.

And so they continue the game, but it's clear that Kageyama is still pissed as hell. He continues doing those reckless tosses. Koushi watches how Kageyama sets a ball for Hinata, but Hinata misses. Noya manages to save the ball, and he sends it to Koushi's side of the court.

Koushi's team takes advantage of the chance ball, and once it's back in Daichi's side of the court, Kageyama grimaces and prepares himself to set the ball again, but two tan hands snatch the ball from the air before Kageyama can touch it. Koushi and everyone else stares, crouched down beside Kageyama is Older Hinata, ball in his hands and bangs covering his eyes.

"You guys just came back from your training camps, didn't you? The All-Japan one and the one at Shiratorizawa, right?" He asks.

Tsukishima - who's the one who looks the less shocked out of all of them - answers him, "That's right. Took you long enough."

"I see," Older  Hinata says while getting up from the floor. He gives the ball a spin and looks at his younger self. "Shouyou? Trust me," he says with that intense look on his eyes that Hinata sometimes gets. Except his look is more intimidating for some reason.

Older  Hinata throws the ball at Coach Ukai who catches it without missing a beat. "Pass that to me, would you?" Older Hinata asks, and Coach Ukai nods and passes him the ball.

"Fly, Shouyou-kun," Older Hinata says. No, he commands, and he sets the ball for Young Hinata.

Koushi watches how Young Hinata jumps with his eyes close and hits the ball that his older self just tossed to him. Koushi knows what's coming, but at the same time, he can't believe it. Koushi hears the ball passing right beside him like a bullet, and he turns around just in time to see the ball hitting the floor on his side of the court with a loud bang, earning Daichi's team a point.

What was that?

Everyone is speechless at what they just witnessed. Young Hinata looks at his red hand in wonder and then at Older Hinata.

Did they just do a quick?

Kageyama and Hinata's freak quick?

Are you for real?

Chapter Text

Keishin still can't believe what he just witnessed. He participated in it, and he still can't believe what he just witnessed. Shouyou-san set a ball for Hinata. Older Hinata just set a ball for Younger Hinata. But it wasn't just a set.

Oh no, no, no.

It was the freak quick. The quick that made their two rookies and their whole team famous and hated at the same time. But how? Hinata isn't a setter, or is he?

Even if he is, Keishin's pretty sure that not just any setter can pull a move like that, but the guy's form was perfect, as perfect as Kageyama's. No, it was probably better than Kageyama's. The guy is a pro, after all.

Keishin looks at Young Hinata, who's looking at his red hand in wonder. His eyes are shining, and his mouth is open in an 'O' shape, and his cheeks are flushed. Young Hinata clenches his hand and brings it to his chest. He then looks at Older Hinata in admiration and amazement. Older Hinata looks as cool as a cucumber, as if he didn't just shift everyones' world upside down.

Older Hinata gives an intense look to his younger self and says, "Kageyama Tobio isn't the only setter that can set to you. You'll find that out soon enough."

Keishin looks at Kageyama at that. The guy doesn't look shocked anymore. Now he just looks pissed as hell.

"So the other option is you?" Kageyama asks through gritted teeth.

Older Hinata looks at Kageyama at that. "Wow, you look like you wanna punch me right now," Older Hinata says with a chuckle. "But I wasn't talking about myself," Older Hinata says, then he turns to look at his younger self. "You'll meet him soon," he says cryptically and starts walking in the direction of his gym bag.

"Wait, where are you going?" Keishin asks the man, and he stops and turns to look at him in confusion.

"I told you I wasn't going to step in, and I won't. I just figured that telling him and showing him something he'll find out soon anyway won't hurt the timeline that much. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to my corner. No, I am not depressed. I just wanna go home."

"Wait, who taught you how to do that?"

"A friend," Older Hinata replies, and the whole team turns to look at Kageyama in unison. "Oh, no. Not him, definitely not him. He sucks at teaching. Trust me, I know," Shouyou-san says, and Kageyama's left eye twitches at that.

"Wait, Older Me!" Young Hinata shouts as he runs towards his older self in excitement.

"Call me Shouyou."

"Right, Shouyou-san. That was amazing! You were so cool and serious, and then you went all whoosh, and I went like bam, and then the ball went all boom on the other side like a bullet, and it was amazing! My hand hurts a little, but hitting the ball felt so good. You truly are amazing. Teach me how to do that!" Young Hinata says in excitement, he's jumping up and down, and his eyes are wide and full of stars. He would've probably said even more, but Older Hinata put one of his hands on the kid's face to stop his enthusiasm.

"Woah, what was that?" Older Hinata asks no one in particular. He looks to the side and brings a hand to his chest. "It's like feeling the warmth of the sun after a harsh winter, the hell?" He whispers under his breath, but with how quiet the gym is, all of them hear him.

"Never been on the receiving end of one of those, huh?" Sugawara asks Older Hinata, and the man shakes his head. The third and second years start chuckling at his reaction.

Young Hinata finally manages to get himself free from the hand of his older self. "Shouyou-san, would you...?"

Whatever Young Hinata is about to ask his older self is cut off by Kageyama grabbing hold of his shirt and throwing him away as hard as he can.

"Kageyama, you jerk!" Young Hinata shouts after he's thrown. Older Hinata's eyes widen in surprise as he looks at the scene playing in front of him.

"Woah, calm down. You're gonna hurt him before Nationals," Older Hinata says in a panicked voice. He breathes a sigh of relief when he notices that Young Hinata manages a perfect landing, Kageyama's left eye twitches at the scene.

"You," Kageyama says as he points at Older Hinata.

The older man frowns and asks, "Yes?"

"I challenge you."

"What?!" Some team members ask in utter surprise.

Sawamura, Sugawara, and Tanaka just sigh. "Déjà vu," the three say in unison.

"You...?" Older Hinata asks in utter confusion. "I'm sorry?"

"I challenge you to play a game against me," Kageyama says with determination shining in his eyes. Clearly, the guy isn't going to take a no for an answer.

"Oi, Kageyama," Daichi and Sugawara say in unison but are ignored by the young setter.

Kageyama points to his teammates and says, "Pick a team. I'll do the same."

"Woah, what?" The team asks in unison, and Tsukishima scoffs.

"Pick a team? What is this? Junior High's Gym Class or something?" Older Hinata asks, and surprisingly, Tsukishima nods in agreement. "Listen, Kageyama-kun-"

"Don't Kageyama-kun me! Pick a team and play against me, dammit!" Kageyama shouts angrily.

"But..."

"I'll play on your team, Shouyou-san!" Young Hinata, Nishinoya, and Tanaka shout in unison.

"What?!"

"Um..." Older Hinata says, a little dumbfounded. Then he seems to recover his composure and says, "Listen, guys. That's not your decision. If your Coaches and Captains agree to it, then I'll do it, but if not, then I'm sorry, but the answer is no. Remember that your practice comes first."

Everyone looks a little stupefied at that response, but Keishin can see a little bit of pride shining in some eyes. He smiles, glad that the situation has come to this. He regrets that thought as soon as everyone in the room turns to look directly at him.

Keishin gulps.

"Right, Coach. That's me," Keishin mutters under his breath, and then he clears his throat. "Sensei, Sawamura, and Sugawara. Can you guys come with me?" Keishin asks, and the three mentioned guys nod at him, and together the four of them walk out of the gym.

"Well, that was unexpected," Sensei says, and Keishin nods in agreement.

"Not really. This is what happened the first time those two met in this gym. So, it doesn't surprise us that much. So, what are we going to do?" Sugawara asks.

"Well, for one. It's a good idea, but..." Sawamura starts to say.

"It was Kageyama's idea, and it might've not been born with good intentions in mind," Sugawara finishes for him.

"Exactly."

"Then, what do we do?" Sensei asks, and the three of them turn to look at Keishin in unison. Keishin knows that he has been quiet for a while now, but he thinks he has a plan.

"Let's do it," Keishin says with determination shining in his eyes. Clearly, this is his final say in the matter. He isn't going to accept any arguments.

"What?!"

"Just trust me. I have an idea."

"So..." Sensei starts to say.

"We're doing it?" Sawamura and Sugawara finish for him.

"Yeah, let's do it. It might be good for the team. Just trust me, okay?" Keishin pleads.

"Well, if you think it might help us, then it's fine, I guess," Sawamura says.

"Yeah, just keep an eye on Kageyama, just in case things get a little out of control, and make sure you watch closely how Hinata-san plays. This might be the only chance we get to see it," Keishin says, and his two students nod in unison.

"No need to tell us. We will," Sawamura and Sugawara say in unison and smile darkly. Keishin suppresses a shudder. His students are way too intense sometimes.

"Now, this is what we're going to do. Listen carefully," Keishin says and starts to explain to the others his plans.

By the time they get back inside, the guys are taking a break. Some are drinking water, while others are just slumped on the floor, resting their sore muscles. Keishin looks for Older Hinata and notices that the guy went back to his corner. He's sitting cross-legged on the floor, and he's tapping away on...

Is that a smartphone? What's up with the cameras?

Keishin clears his throat and takes a deep breath. "Okay, guys. We're doing it."

Kageyama, Nishinoya, Tanaka, and Young Hinata celebrate. Others are choking on their water, while the rest just looks at the four of them like they're crazy. Keishin doesn't blame them. Keishin hears Older Hinata sigh in resignation. He's the only one that doesn't look surprised at the news.

"Guess I need to change, huh?" He asks, and Sawamura smiles at him and nods. Sawamura throws him the keys of the clubroom, and the man catches them with one hand.

"That's the key for the clubroom. You can change there," Sawamura says, and Shouyou-san nods and takes off, gym bag in hand.

"Alright, the rest of you, prepare yourselves," Keishin says, and the guys nod and start to do their stretches. Keishin helps the girls with the cleaning, and Sensei takes care of everything else.

In no time, they finished cleaning the court, and they finished just at the same time that Keishin hears the gym doors opening.

"Woah!" Keishin hears Yachi-san exclaiming in surprise and some other gasps of surprise.

Keishin looks at the entrance and sees that Older Hinata is back, and he's now wearing black shorts and a black T-shirt, but he kept the track jacket on. His kneepads and Volleyball shoes are also black, with his shoes having gold accents on them. Hinata seems to wear a lot of blacks now. Even his water bottle is black with the words 'Bouncing Ball' on it.

Keishin looks at the reaction of the team and sighs. Back when he was just wearing the tracksuit, they could tell that Older Hinata has the body of an athlete, but now that he's wearing his Volleyball gear, they can see that more clearly. Now, everyone can see that Older Hinata put himself through some crazy training.

Professional athletes are scary.

Older Hinata barely spares a glance at them and goes to do his stretches. Keishin clears his throat to get his students' attention and begins helping them with their warm-ups. He somehow feels like his students are finally taking things seriously today.

"Damn, is he stretching or doing Yoga?" Keishin hears Nishinoya asking.

"Both maybe," Tanaka replies.

Keishin turns to look at Older Hinata, and he can't help the little sparks of jealousy that he feels at the sight of the older redhead. Is this guy really the same age as him? Keishin's pretty sure that if he starts moving like that, something's gonna pop, and it ain't gonna be pretty.

Seriously, what kind of training did this guy go through?

"Spiking practice, everyone," Keishin announces, and his students form a line, starting with Sawamura and ending with Yamaguchi. Keishin nods towards Yachi-san and prepares himself to set the ball.

"Looking sharp, everyone," Keishin says as Yamaguchi's spike lands perfectly on the other side of the court. "Kageyama, it's your turn to set."

Kageyama nods at him as the team forms a line again. Then it's Sugawara's turn to set. Everything's looking good so far.

"One more time with me, come on," Keishin says, but halfway through it, he makes a mistake. He tosses the ball a little too high, and there's no way that Narita can get that. Heck, probably not even Young Hinata can get that.

Keishin turns to look at the guys, apology at the ready, but then he notices a black blur running towards him. No, not to him, to the ball. There's a loud boom sound accompany by a gentle breeze, and then Keishin hears the ball landing on the other side of the court with a loud bang.

Older Hinata lands perfectly on his feet in front of Narita. "Holy..." Keishin hears someone say, it's probably him, to be honest.

"Sorry for interrupting," Older Hinata says and smiles at their shocked expressions.

Keishin gulps. "Right, it's okay. Narita, Yachi-san, one more try."

The both of them swallow their shock and get in position again. The rest of the spiking practice goes smoothly. Kageyama spikes harder than necessary but, whatever.

"Right, receives," Keishin says, and everyone gets in position and starts practicing. "One more time, and next serves," Keishin says, and the team nods.

"What about him?" Kageyama asks and nods in the direction of Older Hinata, who's practicing with a ball by himself in a corner of the gym after his little display.

Keishin looks between the two of them and nods. "Shouyou-san, wanna practice receives with us?"

Shouyou-san clearly heard Kageyama, but he nods nonetheless. If Kageyama thinks that he'll win with whatever that was, he's clearly mistaken because it doesn't matter what kind of receive it is. Older Hinata perfectly executes all of them. Nishinoya's in tears, Kageyama's eye is twitching again.

Then it's finally serves practice. After Yamaguchi's turn, it'll be Older Hinata's turn.

Yamaguchi prepares himself and lands a perfect jump floater, and his teammates cheer for him. Then it's Older Hinata's turn to serve, and the guys immediately quiet down and observe.

Keishin watches as Yachi-san gives a ball to Older Hinata, and the man thanks her with a smile. Keishin also sees how Kageyama is smirking. Keishin represses the urge to sigh.

Older Hinata prepares himself to serve. He takes a deep breath and gets an intense look on his face and eyes. He tosses the ball into the air and jumps - to the surprise of many -  and then lands a very powerful and perfect spike serve in a very ugly spot.

The gym goes silent all of a sudden. Keishin swears that he hears grasshoppers chirping in the distance.

"The whistle blows, and next thing you know, the opposite team just scored a service ace. That's Nationals." Keishin's words resonate throughout the gym like some kind of curse. Keishin takes one look at the spooked faces of his students and sighs. "Are you guys sure you want to do this? You're going against a pro here, practice match or not."

At Keishin's words, the spooked faces suddenly disappear, only to be replaced with looks of determination and hunger. Seriously, his students are way too intense sometimes. Older Hinata smiles at them. Keishin swallows hard. For some reason, he doesn't like that smile at all.

"Alright, guys. Is everyone ready?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Alright, this is what we're going to do. Karasuno has twelve members in total. Seven of you are regulars, so can the seven of you step forward."

Sawamura, Azumane, Nishinoya, Tanaka, Kageyama, Young Hinata, and Tsukishima step forward.

"Because you guys are starters, I want the seven of you to play this match, and since Shouyou-san is also playing, that makes eight of you, which means."

Keishin turns to look at Sugawara, Yamaguchi, Ennoshita, Narita, and Kinoshita.

"One of you has to stay out of this match and take notes. As Volleyball players, your notes are going to be more detailed than those of Shimizu-san or Takeda-sensei. So talk amongst yourselves, and then tell me what you decided."

The five of them step to the side and start to talk. After a while, it's decided that Narita is going to stay out of the match and is going to be the one taking notes. Takeda-sensei motions to him, and the both of them go to sit down at the bench with their notebooks and pencils at the ready.

"Okay, next. Shouyou-san's gonna be playing Captain for his team, no matter what position he chooses to play. But, since this was Kageyama's idea, and we don't know how the teams will end up like, Sawamura decided to step down as Captain for this match. This means Kageyama is also going to be the Captain of his team," Keishin says, and the team - except for Sawamura and Sugawara, who already knew of the decision, and Older Hinata, who was probably expecting something like that - look utterly shocked.

"What?!" The team shouts in unison while Tsukishima groans in annoyance.

"Settle down, guys. It's just for this match, and it was my and Coach Ukai's decision, so please, respect it," Sawamura says, and slowly the team starts to nod.

"Okay, then. Captains, please step forward," Keishin says, and both Captains step forward. "Okay, here are the rules. Each of you gets to choose five players. It's going to be one setter, one libero, one middle blocker, one opposite hitter, and two outside hitters, got it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Alright, I'm going to mention a position, and you're either going to name yourself or the name of the person that you want on your team, okay?"

"Yes, sir."

Keishin nods and asks both Captains what they prefer. After he gets their answers, Keishin flips a coin in the air.

"Okay, seems like Shouyou-san gets to pick first, and then Kageyama. Remember, I mention the position, Shouyou-san picks one, and then Kageyama picks one, got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Okay, we're going to start with the most tricky one right now, the libero. Since we only have one libero, then keep in mind that if you don't choose Nishinoya, then whoever you choose as your libero won't be able to score points during the match. Defense only, got it?" After getting some nods, Keishin turns to Shouyou-san.

"Libero."

"Nishinoya-san," Older Hinata says, and Nishinoya celebrates and steps to the right. Keishin then turns to look at Kageyama.

"Libero."

Kageyama hesitates for a moment, eyes scanning his teammates a few times until his eyes finally land on Sawamura.

"Sawamura-san," Kageyama says, and Sawamura nods and steps to the left. Keishin then turns to look at Shouyou-san again.

"Setter."

"Sugawara-san," Older Hinata says, and Sugawara looks up in surprise, then he nods in understanding and goes to high-five Nishinoya.

Did Sugawara think that Older Hinata was going to choose himself for the position?

Keishin then turns to look at Kageyama. The raven-haired teen points to himself, and Keishin nods. Now that one was a 100% obvious. Keishin turns to look at Shouyou-san again.

"Middle Blocker."

"Shouyou-kun," Older Hinata says, much to the delight of Young Hinata, who immediately goes to celebrate with Nishinoya and Sugawara.

Keishin turns to Kageyama then. The young setter has a sour look on his face. The guy looks as if he just swallowed some lemon juice or something. This is probably a hard decision for him, the guy is way too used to playing alongside Young Hinata, and he doesn't get along with Tsukishima. While he knows that he can pick other middle blockers, like Yamaguchi, for example, he isn't used to playing with them, so he's left with no other choice.

"Tsukishima," Kageyama says through gritted teeth after a while.

Keishin turns to look at Tsukishima, who also looks as if he just swallowed some lemon juice, but he goes to stand beside Sawamura nonetheless. Keishin then turns to look at Shouyou-san again.

"First Outside Hitter."

"Tanaka-san," Older Hinata says, and Tanaka celebrates and goes to high-five his new teammates. Keishin then turns to look at Kageyama again.

"First Outside Hitter."

"Azumane-san," Kageyama says quickly and without hesitation. Azumane nods and goes to step beside Sawamura and Tsukishima. Keishin nods and then looks at the team.

All the main players are out of the picture now, which will complicate things for Kageyama since he's so used to playing with them. Keishin doesn't consider this a problem for Older Hinata since he has more experience with the team than Kageyama. Keishin sees how his students are fidgeting and turns towards Shouyou-san again.

"Second Outside Hitter."

"Ennoshita-san."

Keishin and many others look surprised at that. Keishin was sure that Older Hinata was going to pick himself for the position, but no. He chose Ennoshita instead. Ennoshita nods and goes to step with his new teammates. Keishin then turns to look at Kageyama again.

"Second Outside Hitter," Keishin says.

Kageyama hesitates for a moment. He's looking between Yamaguchi and Kinoshita. Kageyama knows that both of them will end up on his team. Clearly, Older Hinata is going to pick himself for the following position. What Kageyama needs to figure out now is in what position to put them.

Kageyama thinks about it for a little while but finally says, "Kinoshita-san."

Kinoshita nods and goes to step with his new teammates.

"Okay, then. I guess that means that Shouyou-san is going to be playing opposite hitter for his team and Yamaguchi for Kageyama's, right?" Keishin asks, and both Captains nod.

Keishin flips a coin again. "Seems like Kageyama's team is serving first. You guys have five minutes to come up with a strategy, good luck."

Both Captains nod and go to make plans with their teams. Keishin looks between both teams and can't help the feeling that he was tricked. Something in the back of Keishin's head is bothering him, but he can't figure it out yet.

What is it?

Come on, Keishin.

Think, think, think.

Keishin sighs and waits for the five minutes to be up. Shimizu-san erases Sugawara's and Sawamura's names from the board, and she writes Kageyama's and Hinata's instead. Yachi-san presents the team with new training vests. Kageyama goes for blue, Older Hinata goes for red. Keishin notices that both Sawamura and Sugawara are named Vice-Captains. Keishin sighs and looks at the clock.

Three more minutes.

Keishin blows his whistle, and both teams line up on their respective sides of the court.

"You guys know the rules. Play a fair game. Remember, this is a practice match. Learn from it as much as you can. Relax and communicate with your teammates. Best of luck to both teams."

The teams bow to each other and get in position. Keishin looks at them and once again can't help the feeling that he was tricked. He sighs and blows his whistle again.

It's time to begin.

Kageyama serves, hitting the ball with great precision and force. Unfortunately for him, Older Hinata reads him like a book, and he perfectly receives his serve, much to the shock of the raven-haired teen. Shouyou-san makes a perfect pass to Sugawara, the setter tosses to Tanaka, and the wing spiker lands a perfect spike, easily earning Shouyou-san's team their first point.

Keishin sighs and prepares himself for a long match.

Older Hinata is a beast on the court. Every receive, every pass, every dig, every emergency set, every jump, every block, and every spike is perfection. The man moves around the court as if it is his own bedroom or something, and that isn't all. He's reading his opponent's movements like a book.

Especially Kageyama's.

If Keishin has to describe Kageyama's team as books on Older Hinata's bookshelf, he'll describe Kageyama as Older Hinata's favorite book. A book that he knows inside and out. Remembering every word on every page and knowing the story's plot like the palm of his hand.

That's probably something Kageyama didn't think of before going into this. Older Hinata is an entirely new opponent for Kageyama, but for the older man, Kageyama's nothing but an old toy. He knows Kageyama's every trick.

If Keishin's theory is correct, and Older Kageyama is also a professional Volleyball player in the future, that means that Older Hinata is used to a monster. For Older Hinata, this Kageyama is nothing but a tiny kitty compared to the big lion he must be used to.

Older Kageyama is probably way more experienced. He has probably already mastered every trick in the book and knows what works and what doesn't. This Kageyama, on the other hand, he's just beginning to experiment, barely starting to try new things, and against Older Hinata, that's going to be his greatest weakness.

Keishin watches Kageyama's team going for a synchronized attack, and he sees how Older Hinata's team prepares themselves and starts to mentally ask themselves who Kageyama is going to use. All except for one, Older Hinata never takes his eyes off Kageyama, so when the young setter tries to do a setter dump, Older Hinata is there to save the ball in a flash. Kageyama looks shocked, and Older Hinata smirks. Sugawara tosses to Ennoshita, who lands a perfect spike. Older Hinata's team celebrates. They just won the first set.

Keishin looks at the reaction of both teams, and the realization hits him like that bucket of cold water he got as a prank that one winter during Junior High.

He was tricked. No, not just him. Kageyama was tricked too. But how? Keishin flipped a coin. How is that bastard so lucky?

Keishin feels really dumb right now. His fingers start to twitch. He needs a smoke, pronto. Keishin turns to look at Older Hinata, who's talking with his teammates. "That damn brat," Keishin mutters under his breath and sighs.

"Something the matter, Ukai-kun?"

Keishin jumps about a foot in the air at Takeda-sensei's voice. He wasn't expecting the guy to be so close. Wasn't he sitting at the bench just a second ago?

"No, I just realized I was tricked. Well, not just me, Kageyama too," Keishin says.

"Tricked? What do you mean?" Takeda-sensei asks while tilting his head to the side like a curious puppy.

"Older Hinata tricked us, and he's starting the sparks of rivalry on the team in a good way. Why didn't I think about that before?" Keishin smacks himself in the forehead, much to his companion's concern.

"I don't understand," Takeda-sensei says, and Keishin looks for the better way to explain this. "Look at Nishinoya and Sawamura, for example. Both are the better ones at defense on the team right now. When I asked them to pick a libero, Shouyou-san immediately went for Nishinoya, forcing Kageyama to pick Sawamura. I have a feeling that if Kageyama picked Nishinoya, then Shouyou-san would've picked Sawamura. Another example would be Tanaka and Azumane, or Hinata and Tsukishima. Shouyou-san found a way to put them against each other. When they play alongside each other, they know that their teammates are amazing and appreciate them. Still, it's not until you play on opposite teams that you realize how truly amazing your teammates are, and that's when you start to say to yourself, 'I won't lose to you,' and you start to work harder and better. Your greatest rivals are never going to be your opponents but your teammates. You don't want to get left behind on your own team."

Takeda-sensei still looks a little confused at his words. Keishin sighs. "The second set is about to start. Grab your notebook and come here. I'm gonna try to explain it better, and I want you to take notes, Sensei," Keishin says, and the man nods and goes to do what he was told.

Keishin blows into the whistle, and the teams get ready again. This time, it's Older Hinata's turn to serve, he prepares himself, and after the whistle blows again, he lands a perfect jump serve between Sawamura and Kageyama.

Oh, an ugly spot.

Keishin notices that Sensei's back and starts his commentary. "Notice what he did there? He aimed his serve between the libero and the Captain. That's a good thing in two ways. Imagine that the teams didn't know anything about each other beforehand. You know the libero is the better one at defense, and the captain is supposed to be a clever, well-rounded player. He's the one that covers any holes his team might've. If you aim your serve there, and they manage to pick it up, then you know that they're good at defense, but if they don't, then you start making a mental note that defense might be one of their weaknesses. He tested them and also gave a powerful blow to their mental defenses," Keishin says, and Sensei nods and starts to take notes.

"Also, since Shouyou-san knows that the better one at serves is Kageyama, then he manipulates his line up in a way that every time Kageyama serves, Older Hinata would be there to receive. Every time Kageyama is in the front, Older Hinata is there to stop his dumps. And not just that, Shouyou-san has been tricking the servers and spikers. He makes obvious clues that he's defending one part of the court, making the server or spiker aim to the other side, but then he's suddenly there to receive it. Notice anything weird about his receives or digs?" Keishin asks, and Takeda-sensei thinks about it for a while.

"He seems to have incredible balance and is also very flexible. His speed seems to be helping him a lot, too," Takeda-sensei says, and Keishin nods.

"There's that, yes. But there's something else. Look at Nishinoya and Sawamura when they receive. Now look at Shouyou-san and tell me what you see."

Takeda-sensei observes them for a while. Once he gasps in surprise, Keishin knows that he's got it. The guy's a teacher for a reason.

"He doesn't leave his feet."

"Exactly, he doesn't leave his feet. He never takes a knee. That helps a lot. He never loses his form so that he can adapt super quickly to any situation."

"Wow," Takeda-sensei says and starts retaking notes. "What was that you were saying? About being tricked."

"Nishinoya and Sawamura are the better ones at defense on the team right now, but Nishinoya is the libero of the team. By putting him against Sawamura, someone who is also very good at defense and who happens to be on the same team as him, you're giving him a great rival. Right now, Sawamura and Nishinoya are not praising each other's saves. They're cursing them. 'How are you so good?', 'How were you able to save that?', 'Not even I could have saved that, but he did,' 'Just let the ball drop already.' I bet that's what they're thinking about each other right now. Nishinoya is the libero, so having someone else on the team better at defense will hurt his pride. Sawamura is the Captain. He doesn't think much about himself, and he probably thinks he's not that special or good. But he's the Captain for a reason. He's clever and cunning. He's responsible, and he commands attention and respect without even trying. He's also a well-rounded player, and he knows he needs to fill every hole his team might've. Our biggest hole is defense. That's why he got so good at it. But if he's failing at defense right now and watching Nishinoya being good at it, that's gotta hurt his pride too. He's supposed to be the support of the team. I bet you anything you want that after this match, both of them will work more on their defense. They're not going to get left behind. If you look closer, you can see that they have been trying to copy each other and Shouyou-san. They also realized Shouyou-san's little technique."

Takeda-sensei observes them for a while and realizes that it's true. They have been trying to copy each other and Older Hinata. "What about Azumane-kun and Tanaka-kun?"

"Azumane is the ace of Karasuno, but he lacks confidence. He knows he's good, and he has been trying to become better, but he still needs confidence. He knows he's supposed to be the one who scores more points, and that puts a lot of pressure on him. So much so that he left the team at the first sign of weakness. But then, Hinata showed up, and that changed his view of things. Do you remember what happened with Hinata not that long ago?" Keishin asks, and Takeda-Sensei nods.

"Well, that put a lot of fear and pressure on him, and he has been trying to become even better than before after that, but now you put him against Tanaka, and suddenly he just realized that it's not just Hinata that can leave him in the dust, but Tanaka too. That's gotta hurt his pride. Tanaka and Hinata might be his teammates and friends, but he's the ace. Tanaka, on the other hand, has the makings of an amazing ace, but he has judged himself and found himself lacking. He compared himself to Azumane and other aces out there and realized that he's not there yet. He still needs work, and he still needs to grow and learn more, so much more. He needs to convince the team and himself that he can and will be Karasuno's next ace, but first, he needs to surpass the current one. We might be seeing some intense spiking practice on the days to come from those two."

"I see. What about Tsukishima-kun and Hinata-kun?"

"Both play the same position, and both think that the other one is better at it. Hinata sees Tsukishima as a better blocker, and he's also jealous of his height and experience with the sport. On the other hand, Tsukishima sees himself as the man who needs to work in the shadows of Hinata's spotlight. Tsukishima has been playing Volleyball longer and has a physically better body for it. Still, he considers Hinata a better spiker and jumper and also a way better decoy than him. Middle blockers aren't just blockers. They're hitters and tricksters too. Tsukishima knows Hinata is a better spiker, so he has been trying to become a better blocker to not be left behind. Still, now that Hinata seems to be trying to be a better blocker, then Tsukishima is trying to be a better spiker. They're learning from each other, and they're pushing each other to be better. 'You're not going to leave me behind. I won't let you,' is what they're thinking. Hinata is trying to become an iron wall. Tsukishima is about to spread his wings and is all thanks to each other. They're pushing each other to their limits and beyond."

"Is there more?"

"Yes, Ennoshita and Sawamura. Ennoshita is going to be the next Captain. The second-years already decided that, but Ennoshita doesn't trust himself in that role. He thinks too highly of Sawamura, and he also doesn't think he's good enough. That's probably why Shouyou-san put him alongside Tanaka, Nishinoya, and Young Hinata. If he can control those three out there on the court and also help his team win with his own strategies and efforts while playing two whole sets or maybe even three, then he's going to start thinking that he might be ready to become Captain. There's also the fact that the ones that aren't starters right now are trying to become better so they can be regulars next year. Right now? They're not just playing a Volleyball match. They're fighting for a spot on the team. 'Look at how good I am,' 'Look, I can help you win,' it's what's going through their heads at the moment."

"What about Kageyama-kun? Why did you ask Sawamura-kun to step down as Captain for this match?"

"Ah, Kageyama. I think I know what's wrong with him. You see? Kageyama is, in a way, a spoiled child, but not in the way you might be thinking. He knows he's amazing on the court. He has been told that many times, to the point that he became arrogant and overconfident in a way. 'King of the Court' ring any bells? But then he met Hinata and saw that there's someone out there that can surpass him if they want to, then his weaknesses were exposed. The facade of Mr. Perfect broke, and he was lost, but then he found himself here in Karasuno alongside Hinata. The person that can one day surpass him is now his teammate, and Hinata needs him. Kageyama knows that if you take Hinata out of the picture, he'll still be Kageyama. But if you take Kageyama out of the picture, Hinata is nothing. That's also something Hinata knows very well, I might be looking too much into it, but I feel that, in a way, Kageyama likes that Hinata needs him. But, there are at least three things that are eating at him right now.

"One, he went to that camp and realized that he's not that good or that special. He saw Oikawa as an opponent, but he already won against Oikawa, and while he wanted it or not, that went a little bit to his head. He knows that there are setters out there that are good, but while he respects them and admires them in a way. I don't think he considers setters like Kozume, Akaashi, or Sugawara as rivals, but then he went and met Miya Atsumu. I have heard about the guy, I know he's outstanding, and now, Kageyama knows that too. Going to that camp was like a slap to the face for him. Do you think you're a good setter? Well, here's Miya Atsumu. Do you think you're a good spiker? Well, here's Sakusa. Do you think you're good at defense? Well, here's Komori. Do you believe that you're a well-rounded player? Well, here's Hoshiumi. Kageyama just realized that he's not that special, that there are people better and more experienced than him.

"The second thing that is bothering him is Hinata, both of them. He came back, and the guy who needs him the most suddenly is trying to grow for himself, to grow apart. Like Hinata just turned around and told him, 'I know I need you, but I don't want to need you,' that was slap number two. Then Older Hinata shows up, and Kageyama can see that Young Hinata's potential is now a reality, making that slap number three, and finally, as slap number four, was that quick attack. He just realized that he's not the only one that can do it, that there are at least two more people out there that can do it. He just realized that Hinata doesn't really need him. He just needs a good setter."

"If he's in such a bad place right now, then why did you want him to be Captain?" Takeda-sensei asks, and Keishin smirks.

"For reason number three, Kageyama's weakness; his communication skills. What sets Sugawara apart from Kageyama is that Sugawara is great at communication. He's understanding and supportive. He talks with his teammates, and he makes them feel at ease, comfortable. Communication between a setter and his spikers is key. Kageyama lacks a lot of that. From what I have heard about how he was during Junior High, and from what I can see now, I know that he has been trying, but that's still not enough. Maybe he has been trying too hard, and I feel that he got called out for it during the camp, and that's what's been bothering him lately. Kageyama knows what he wants to say, but he bites his tongue because he doesn't know how to express himself in a friendly and polite way, and he's also afraid of rejection. What happened in Junior High probably affected him more than he lets on. As a Captain and a setter, you need to communicate with your team, no matter what. You need to develop strategies for you and your team, you need to point out their mistakes to become better players, but you also need to be supportive and responsible. You need to be gentle but strict at the same time. You want your teammates to fear you but to want your approval too. That's a balance that not many people can reach. By putting him against a setter and a Captain experienced with that balance, maybe, just maybe, he'll realize what he lacks right now. Maybe seeing Sugawara and Shouyou-san talking with their teammates and feeling the pressure that he needs to do the same, then he'll start to open up a little. At least, I hope so."

"Yes, Shouyou-san seems like a natural leader out there. I'm surprised," Takeda-sensei comments, and Keishin frowns.

"You mean, you don't know? Hinata was the Captain of his team during Junior High," Keishin says, and Takeda-sensei looks at him in surprise.

"Really?" He asks, and Keishin nods.

"Yeah, Sugawara and Sawamura told me about it."

"I didn't know that, but it does explain a lot."

Keishin nods and continues to observe the match. Older Hinata's team is at match point, one more point, and the match will end with their victory. Sugawara tosses to Tanaka, but Sawamura is able to receive it. Kageyama prepares himself and tosses to Azumane. Karasuno's ace spikes the ball with great force, but Sugawara manages to keep it alive after some struggle, but now he can't set.

"Shouyou-san!" Sugawara shouts, and Older Hinata prepares himself to set. Keishin wonders who he's going to use.

Older Hinata's team decides to make a synchronized attack. Tanaka is coming from the left, Ennoshita from the right, and Young Hinata from the middle. Keishin looks at Kageyama's team and notices that they're also wondering who Older Hinata will toss to.

The ball is getting closer to Older Hinata now. Once again, Keishin wonders who he's gonna choose. He tossed to Tanaka before, and they earned two points that way, but when he set to Ennoshita, they were blocked by Tsukishima. He also tossed to Sugawara before, but Keishin doesn't think Sugawara is coming in for an attack now. That receive looked painful.

Older Hinata gives a subtle look to Young Hinata, it's a tiny and very subtle look, but that's all Kageyama and Keishin need to know what's coming next. Older Hinata hasn't set to his younger self before, so everyone probably forgot that he could do the freak quick with Young Hinata, but Kageyama hasn't. Kageyama quickly prepares his team to block the quick attack, and Young Hinata jumps. The ball finally reaches Older Hinata, and then...

Everyone is speechless at what they just witnessed. Kageyama, Azumane, and Tsukishima land on their feet and turn to look at Sawamura, Kinoshita, and Yamaguchi, who are on the floor, the three of them dived to save the ball but weren't able to save it in time. Young Hinata lands on his feet too and looks at Older Hinata in amazement, and he isn't the only one. Nishinoya, Sugawara, Ennoshita, and Tanaka look so surprised that they probably haven't even realized they just won.

"Did he just...?" Takeda-sensei asks after the shock of what he just witnessed starts to subside.

"He did," Keishin answers, still in shock. "He tricked everyone by looking at Young Hinata, and then he didn't set the ball. He spiked it himself... with his left hand. The hand the blockers couldn't see."

"Shou..." Young Hinata starts to say with stars shining in his eyes, and that little whisper seems to break whatever spell came over all of them.

"Shouyou-san!" Older Hinata's team shout in unison as they tackle the man to the floor in celebration. Keishin turns to look at Kageyama and his team. All of them still seem to be in shock. Especially Kageyama and Tsukishima.

Keishin walks towards them and says, "I warned you, I told you that you were going against a pro, so don't look so disappointed and upset. Learn from everything you just witnessed. It's just a practice match, after all." Slowly, Kageyama's team start to nod.

"Gather around, guys. Let's talk," Keishin says, and he makes sure that his voice is loud enough to be heard over the noises of celebration. After a little while, Older Hinata's team start to quiet down and getting up from the floor. "Grab your drinks and towels, then meet me at the bench," Keishin says, and the guys nod. Well, all except one.

Kageyama looks at Older Hinata, who's getting up from the floor and starts walking towards where he left his jacket and water bottle. He doesn't look like he just won. The man just looks tired. Kageyama scowls and runs towards him. Keishin sighs and observes the scene in front of him.

"Oi!" Kageyama shouts and stops a little bit behind Older Hinata. The man stops in his tracks and slowly starts to turn to look at Kageyama with a questioning look.

"Yes?"

"You won," Kageyama says through gritted teeth.

"I'm aware."

By now, everyone in the gym is looking at the two.

"You won, so why aren't you happy?!" Kageyama shouts angrily.

"What do you mean? I'm dying of excitement, can't you tell?" Older Hinata deadpans.

"Don't joke around. You won against me, so why aren't you happy?!" Kageyama shouts angrily again, and Older Hinata sighs.

"Kageyama-kun," Older Hinata says gently. "Do you think this is the first time I play against you?" Older Hinata asks, and Kageyama freezes, eyes going extremely wide.

"I don't need to hide this from you because I'm sure you already figured it out by yourself, but where I come from, you're also a professional Volleyball player, and we don't play on the same team. Our teams have played against each other many times, and sometimes your team wins, and sometimes, my team wins. That's how Volleyball is. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go drink some water," Older Hinata says and starts walking away from Kageyama, leaving the younger man to just stare in shock at his retreating back.

Keishin clears his throat loudly and motions to his students that it's meeting time. Keishin takes Narita and Takeda-sensei's notes. He sits down on the bench and waits. After a little while, Shimizu-san and Yachi-san sit to his left side and Takeda-sensei to his right. The guys make a circle in front of the bench and sit down on the floor and wait.

Kageyama is the last one to join them. Young Hinata notices that Kageyama sits beside him and offers him some water, and Kageyama takes it gratefully.

Well, at least they don't seem to be mad at each other. That's a relief.

Keishin clears his throat and looks towards Older Hinata. "Do you want to join us, Shouyou-san?" Keishin asks, and the man thinks about it. After a while, he nods and comes to stand near them, but not too close. Clearly, he isn't planning on participating. He just wants to listen.

Yachi-san offers Older Hinata a chair, and the man takes it with a smile. He puts his track jacket on and sits down on the chair with his water bottle in hand.

"You don't mind if we talk about you, right?" Keishin asks, and Older Hinata shakes his head and gives them a 'go ahead' with his hand. Keishin nods and turns to look at his students.

"Well, guys. What did we learn today?" Keishin asks, and the majority of his students raise their hands. Keishin sighs. "Ok, let's start with serves. What did we learn there?"

Tanaka, Azumane, Yamaguchi, Sawamura, Nishinoya, and Sugawara raise their hands.

"Sawamura, what did you learn?" Keishin asks, and Sawamura nods at him and starts to explain to his teammates his observations.

"Well, I noticed that Shouyou-san tended to aim his serves between the libero and the Captain, or the middle blocker and the ace. But he mainly aimed at me, the libero," Sawamura says, and Keishin nods.

"And why do you think he was aiming there?" Keishin asks, and Sawamura thinks about it for a second.

"He was testing our defense. If I, who was the libero, couldn't pick up his serve, or Kageyama, who is a well-rounded player, couldn't pick it up either, then that meant that our defense was weak. He was testing us and also showing us that we're weak there," Sawamura finishes explaining, and Keishin nods.

"That's correct. It's true that when you serve, you aim to score but also aim to test your opponents too. Imagine going against a team you have never played against. You want to know how good their defense is, so aim for the libero or the Captain. You know the libero has to be the best one at defense, and the Captain is supposed to cover his team's weaknesses, so if defense happens to be one of those weaknesses, then the Captain would get better at defense. So, if they manage to pick the ball up, then you know their defense is good, but if they don't, then you know that the defense is a weakness for them, and you also give that team a mental blow," Keishin explains, and the team nods in unison. "Anything else?" Yamaguchi and Azumane raise their hands.

"Yes, Yamaguchi?" Keishin says, and the pinch server looks a little surprised for a second but then nods and clears his throat.

"I noticed that he never let us get used to his serve technique. He started doing powerful spike serves but then switched to a normal serve when he noticed that everyone stepped back to receive it. The ball ended up close to the net on that one, and we couldn't save it in time. He also did a jump floater after he noticed that Kageyama managed to receive his spike serve," Yamaguchi says, and Keishin nods.

Yeah, that was crazy. It makes Keishin wonder what type of serve Shouyou-san would use next if the match kept going.

Professional players are scary.

"Yeah, that's another thing he did. He never let you guys get used to it. Starting with a jump serve, then a completely normal one, then a jump floater. He switched things around, so you guys didn't know what to expect every time he came up to serve. Listen, I told you this before, but the players at Nationals are not going to have just one type of serve. You guys are used to the normal ones, to jump serves, and the occasional jump floater. You're also used to one player having only one type of serve. You might be prepared for Kageyama's spike serve or Yamaguchi's jump floater, maybe even for an underhand serve, but what happens when the person in front of you knows how to do those three? If Kageyama is serving, then it's a spike serve. If is Yamaguchi, then it's a jump floater. If is Hinata-kun, then it's a normal one. But what happens when is Shouyou-san serving? You know he has more than one style, so how do you prevent the nerves from clouding your mind and prepare yourself to act quickly?" Keishin asks. His students seem to think hard about it for a moment.

After a minute or two, Sawamura, Sugawara, Kageyama, Nishinoya, and Yamaguchi raise their hands. Keishin's so surprised that Kageyama raised his hand that he picks him immediately.

"By observing their pre-serve routine. When doing a normal serve, you don't jump, so that's the biggest giveaway to that one. Your form is also different if you're doing a spike serve or a jump floater. Count the steps they take before they jump, maybe? Or to what side of their body they put their weight? Maybe how they handle the ball?" Keishin smiles, that's a good idea, but Kageyama seems to be missing something.

Keishin turns to look towards Shouyou-san, and the man rolls his eyes and sighs. "I'm on it," he says, and he gets up from his chair. He takes his jacket off and heads straight towards the court. Much to the team's confusion. Keishin asks his students to watch Shouyou-san closely. The man picks a ball from the ball cart and prepares himself to serve.

First, he does an entirely normal underhand serve, then he goes back and picks another ball. He does another one, just like the one before, but this time he sends the ball high into the ceiling, where the bright lights blind everyone, and they only manage to hear the ball slamming into the floor.

Shouyou-san then goes back to the ball cart and picks another ball. First, he does a normal jump serve and then a powerful jump serve that looks more like a spike than a serve. He then does another jump serve, but this time, he hits the ball with the tip of his fingers, and the ball barely makes it past the net.

He then does two jump floaters; he aims one at the back of the court and the other one a little closer to the net. Then he does another two, he does one that looks like a jump floater but ends up being a spike serve instead, and then he does it again, but this time backward. What seems to be a spike serve ends up being a jump floater.

Keishin looks at his students after the man finishes. The looks of amazement, jealousy and fear almost make him smile, but he isn't that sadistic. "See? Servers can trick you into believing that you got it, but you really don't. I'm not saying Kageyama's idea was bad; it was great, actually. But if you go into a match thinking you have someone already figured out, then you have already lost. I told you before, relax and observe first, then act, got it?" Keishin asks, and his students nod.

Shouyou-san picks the balls he used and puts them back into the ball cart, and then he sits down again.

"Okay, let's put serves a little bit to the side right now and tell me about Shouyou-san's emergency sets," Keishin says, and Sugawara and Kageyama raise their hands.

"Sugawara."

"Thank you, Coach. I noticed that Shouyou-san's tosses are very easy to hit. They're very precise too. There's no way a spiker can miss one of his tosses if it's not too much for you, Shouyou-san. Can you tell me what helped you be that precise with your sets?" Sugawara asks, and Older Hinata looks surprised for a moment.

There's a weird look on his face. He's probably debating if he should answer that question with the truth or not. After a moment, he shrugs and smiles at Sugawara.

"The wind," the man says and leaves it at that, and everyone looks confused. Keishin clears his throat and asks Kageyama for his input.

"He also uses many tricks, like that subtle look he gave to Hinata at the end, only to spike the ball himself. And during the first set, it seemed like he was going in for a spike, but then he set to Tanaka-san at the last moment. Then when he did that back toss to Sugawara-san, he looked at Tanaka-san first, who was coming in front of him, making us believe he was going to toss to him again, but then he did a back toss to Sugawara-san instead, he tossed to where there were no blockers. He also tricked Tsukishima into blocking him, but since he was setting instead of spiking, you gave the point to them."

Yeah, Keishin remembers that one. A clever little trick he did there. Keishin almost didn't want to give him the point. But at the end of the day, he's a Volleyball player and a Coach. He knows the rules by heart, so he gave the little bastard the point.

Ya happy, now?

"Yeah, you're quite the trickster, ain'tcha?" Keishin asks, and Older Hinata snorts at being called a trickster.

"Y'know. Someone I know would call me the Ultimate Decoy instead."

In unison and without missing a beat, the team turns to give dirty looks at Kageyama. The raven-haired teen slumps into himself and mutters something under his breath about awakening tiny monsters.

"And another friend would tell me, 'Setters are the ones who rule the court, Shouyou-kun. It's our domain, and we have to let them know'," Older Hinata finishes quoting his friend with a smile.

Kageyama and Sugawara perk up at his words, probably wondering how true those words are and how they can apply them for themselves.

"Okay, what about defense?" Keishin asks, and Nishinoya and Sawamura raise their hands.

"Yes, Nishinoya?"

"Yes, finally!" The young man celebrates while fist-bumping the air. He stands up and starts talking excitedly. Although, his hands seem to be doing most of the talking.

"Shouyou-san was like a Ninja." Older Hinata snorts at that. "He was in one part of the court, and then boom, he suddenly was on the other side doing a perfect receive. He tricked the spikers by giving signs that he was defending one area in a certain way, so the spikers aimed the ball to the other side, but then he was there saving the ball. How did he do that? You're probably wondering. Well, because one, he's that awesome, and two, because he never took a knee, that's right. Every receive and dig, with those beautiful passes, were done with his feet well planted on the floor. So, he never lost his form and was able to adapt to the situation super quickly. He has incredible balance, speed, and flexibility. He also always knows where the ball is going, even when it changes course while in midair. And that save and pass he did with his foot was unbelievable. How did you come up with that technique? I wanna learn how to receive like that too. Please, tell me your secrets, Shouyou-senpai."

Nishinoya pleads, and Older Hinata gives him the same look he gave Sugawara before, then he sighs and says, "The sand." Much to the confusion of everyone present.

Nishinoya blinks once, twice. He then blushes in embarrassment and sits down again. "Well, that's all I wanted to say. Please, continue."

Keishin looks at his watch and sighs. "Well, it's getting late, so we're going to rush through the next two. Blocking, anyone noticed anything out of the ordinary?" Keishin asks, and Kinoshita raises his hand.

"Yes, Kinoshita?"

"Well, I noticed that when I tried to do a wipe using Shouyou-san's fingers, he moved his hand out of the way and made me missed," Kinoshita says, and Keishin nods. He noticed that too.

"Yes, we'll talk about that more at our next practice. What about spiking? Anything out of the ordinary that hasn't been mentioned before?" Keishin asks, and the guys think about it for a second and shake their heads.

Keishin isn't surprised. Shouyou-san didn't spike that much during the match, but every time he did, he made it count.

"Well, then. You guys know what to do. Do your cool-down stretches, clean after yourselves, and we'll see each other on our next practice, have a nice weekend," Keishin says and bows to his students, who bow back.

"Thank you, sir. Have a nice weekend," the team says in unison and starts to disperse, talking amongst themselves.

Keishin turns towards Takeda-sensei and then nods in Older Hinata's direction. Sensei nods and follows him.

"Shouyou-san, where do you plan on staying?" Keishin asks, and Older Hinata sighs.

"Dunno. Obviously, I can't go with Shouyou-kun. I don't want to give my family heart attacks. Besides, I feel like the fewer people that know about me, the better. I also don't want to intrude in anyone's home life. There's also the problem that I don't think my credit cards are going to work here. That puts renting a room out of the question. So, honestly. I have no idea what to do," Older Hinata answers honestly.

So, the man has been thinking about it.

Fortunately for him, Keishin and Takeda-sensei also thought about it. "Shouyou-san," Takeda-sensei starts to say. "You can stay with me, my apartment is close by, and I live alone. I have a spare bedroom so that you won't be in anyone's way. Please, accept my offer. I know you're older now, but you're still one of my students, and I feel responsible for you," Sensei says with a bow, and Older Hinata looks surprised.

The man is quiet for a moment. He's probably thinking hard about the offer. After a minute or two, he sighs and nods. "Thank you very much, Sensei. I appreciate it," Older Hinata says with a bow to his former teacher, and Takeda-sensei smiles reassuringly at him.

"Shouyou-san!" Young Hinata suddenly comes running towards them. Keishin notices that the guys finished their stretches and are now looking at the three of them.

Did they hear our conversation?

"You're going to stay with Takeda-sensei tonight?" Young Hinata asks.

So, they did hear our conversation.

Keishin needs to have a talk with them about not listening to conversations between adults. Nah, he'll do it later. He isn't their father, after all. It can wait.

"Yes, why?" Older Hinata asks, and Young Hinata hesitates, getting shy all of a sudden. He looks at his shoes and starts playing with his shorts. He mutters something under his breath that none of them seem to understand.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear that," Older Hinata says, and Young Hinata looks at his older self. He seems ready to start crying.

"You're not going to disappear tonight, are you? You're still going to be here tomorrow, right?" Young Hinata asks. Keishin hears how the team gasp in surprise at that question. Older Hinata gives a gentle look to his younger self and sighs.

"I don't know. That can be a possibility," the man answers honestly. No one knows what's going to happen. This is new for all of them.

Young Hinata sniffs and surprises everyone by jumping into the arms of his older self. Older Hinata looks shocked, but he manages to catch the small teen in time. The instincts of not dropping the child to the hard floor are probably stronger than his shock.

"I don't want you to disappear!" Young Hinata cries. "I don't want you to go. I want you to go with us to Nationals, even if you don't coach us. Just watch us play and cheer for us. Watch us win. Please, stay!" Young Hinata cries into the man's neck.

Older Hinata closes his eyes and hugs his younger self. The man looks pained. Clearly, he doesn't want to hurt the child's feelings, but he knows that the decision isn't up to him.

"That's not up to me, kiddo," Older Hinata says while rubbing the kid's back. "Tell you what? If I'm still here tomorrow, then why don't you and I hang out, okay?" Older Hinata asks, and Young Hinata nods into his neck.

"Yeah, okay," is Young Hinata's shaky reply.

"Oi. Just the two of you? That's not fair!" Nishinoya complains.

"Yeah, what about us? Your awesome senpais, aren't we invited? You're hurting my feelings, bro. Right here on my heart," Tanaka says as he points to the wrong side of his chest.

"Yeah, we wanna hang out with the Hinatas too. Can we please go?" Sugawara asks as he joins the group.

Young Hinata raises his head and wipes his tears away, and then he turns to look at his teammates and then at Older Hinata. The man gives him a nod. Young Hinata smiles at him and then turns to look at his teammates with a smile.

"Of course, you guys are all invited too. Let's all of us hang out tomorrow with Shouyou-san!" Young Hinata says, and the team cheers. They're glad to see their friend back to normal.

Young Hinata then seems to realize that he's still in the arms of his older self, and with a sheepish look, asks to be pulled down.

"Here, Hinata-kun," Takeda-Sensei says as he gives a card to Young Hinata. "This is my number. Call me tomorrow when you guys are ready." Young Hinata nods and thanks his teacher.

"Go home and rest, brats. No extra practice, okay?" Keishin says while looking at Hinata and Kageyama, and both teens blush in embarrassment at being called out. "Remember, rest is important too, especially now. No practicing tomorrow, either. Sunday is your mandatory rest day. So please, don't put your health in danger, understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"See you tomorrow, guys," Keishin says.

"Goodbye, everyone. See you tomorrow," Takeda-sensei says.

The team bow at them and say their goodbyes. Takeda-sensei turns to look at Older Hinata and says, "Whenever you're ready, Shouyou-san."

Older Hinata sighs and looks at the team. "Have a nice evening, everyone. See you guys soon," Older Hinata says to the team.

Keishin notices that he doesn't say, 'See you tomorrow.' Just soon, the man really doesn't want to give them false hope.

"Goodbye, Shouyou-san. Thank you for the match," the team says in unison with a bow, and Older Hinata smiles at them. He then turns to look at his younger self and ruffles the kid's hair.

"See you soon, kiddo. Take care." Young Hinata hugs his older self goodbye and waves to the three adults as they leave the gym.

Once Keishin gets home, he takes a well-deserved shower and prepares a healthy dinner for himself. Once he finishes, he cleans after himself and picks up the notes from today's practice. Older Hinata, while intentionally or not, was a great help. Keishin now knows what he needs to do to improve his team by a lot.

Keishin grabs a pencil and a notebook and starts writing his new ideas down. His students won't even know what hit them.

I hope you're ready, Karasuno, because I'm about to give you your biggest challenge yet.

Tobio looks around the park and sighs. He knows he's fifteen minutes earlier than the hour they agreed on, but he's pretty sure that he isn't the only one here. Sure enough, as he gets closer to the swing sets, he notices a mop of orange curls. Hinata's sitting on one of the swings, moving his little feet back and forth, causing the swing to start moving gently. Tobio walks closer and sits down on the other swing and notices that Hinata is clutching his phone in his right hand.

He hasn't called yet, huh.

At first, Tobio didn't understand why Hinata acted so weird yesterday towards his older self. Sure, meeting your older self is probably really cool. Tobio would be lying if he'll say that he isn't curious about Older Kageyama Tobio because he is a lot. He'll like to talk with his older self about Volleyball and other things, but at the end of the day, he'll let the man go, but Hinata doesn't want to let Older Hinata go.

At first, Tobio didn't understand, Hinata's reaction was childish in his eyes, but then, when Tobio got home and sat down to eat dinner with his parents and older sister, he remembered something. Back when they were studying like crazy, so they could go to Tokyo for their training camp with Nekoma and the others, Hinata invited Tobio to his house one Saturday to study, and Tobio said yes.

Riding over that mountain was fun and a great exercise. Then, Hinata stopped at a neighbor's house to pick up his little sister, and the Hinata that Tobio was so used to disappeared and was replaced with what Tobio would later describe as 'The Perfect Older Brother.'

Tobio stayed until late that day, it was already dark out by the time he left, but no adult had come home yet. Hinata took care of his little sister all day, cooking for her, making sure she didn't hurt herself while playing outside, giving her only healthy snacks. Not letting her stay up too late, helping her into her pajamas, and even stayed with her until she fell asleep.

Hinata mentioned to his sister that their mother would be coming home late that night, that something had come up at work. Never a mention of a father or older siblings. Tobio doesn't know anything about Hinata's family, and honestly, he doesn't want to ask. That isn't his place.

But last night, as he ate his mom's home-cooked dinner, while his father asked him if he needed help with his homework, and his sister complained about Tobio needing a haircut and to 'Please, Tobio. Take a shower before you come down for dinner. You stink.' He realized something, Tobio isn't an older brother. He doesn't know the pressure of taking care of someone so small and fragile. He doesn't know how to cook either.

He always eats whatever healthy food his mother or sister put in front of him. He doesn't need to take care of the house either. That has always been his father's job. Heck, even with Volleyball, they're different. Tobio had his grandfather and his sister for Volleyball while growing up. Hinata had no one, and he had to learn everything by himself.

In front of them, Hinata is so carefree that it looks childish, but at home, he's the man of the house. How much pressure does that put on him? And how much of that pressure disappeared yesterday at the sight of his older self. Maybe Tobio is looking too much into it, but maybe, just maybe, Older Hinata is here to fill the role of the older male figure that's missing in Hinata's life.

The man is too young to fill the role of a father, but what about an older brother? Or a mentor? Hinata needs someone like that, even if it's just for a little while. Someone who'd come to their games to cheer him on, someone that proudly declares, 'Look, that's my little brother right there.'  Just like the older siblings of Tsukishima and Tanaka-san had done before. Someone who'd give him meat buns or ice cream if he wins, someone who helps him get better if he happens to lose. Someone who'd do for him the same things he does for his little sister every day. Hinata is still a kid, after all. No one can blame him if he wants to be spoiled once in a while. Maybe for Hinata, his older self happens to be that someone.

Tobio sighs and looks at the sky. "You haven't call yet, have you?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I'm afraid. What if he's not there? What if he's gone? What if everything was just a dream?" Hinata asks, and Tobio looks at the smaller teen. Hinata isn't looking at him. He's looking at his hand, the one that's tightly clutching his phone.

"Well, you won't know until you call him," Tobio says and pokes the smaller teen on the arm, silently asking for his attention. Tobio waits until Hinata looks at him, and after their eyes meet, Tobio gives him a challenging look. "Call him," Tobio says, and Hinata nods at him and then takes a deep breath. He takes out the card that Takeda-sensei gave him yesterday, and he starts to dial the number. Tobio and Hinata hear the phone ringing and wait.

Chapter Text

Hinata dials Takeda-sensei's phone number, and Tobio takes a deep breath. For the sake of the team and Hinata, he hopes the older redhead is still here. Hinata can't lose control of his emotions right now. Not with Nationals getting closer and closer every day. They all need to give it their all. The top is waiting for them. They just need to reach it.

Hinata puts his phone in speaker mode as the phone starts ringing, and Tobio holds his breath. He can hear Hinata doing the same beside him.

One ring.

Two rings.

Three rings.

And finally...

"Hello?" Takeda-sensei answers the phone. "Takeda speaking. Who's this?" The man asks, and Hinata clears his throat.

"Takeda-sensei. It's me, Hinata Shouyou."

"Oh, Hinata-kun. Good morning."

"Good morning, Sensei," Hinata says and closes his eyes. "Is, is Shouyou-san with you?" Hinata asks shakily. Takeda-sensei is silent for a moment, and Tobio prepares himself for the worse. That silence isn't a good sign. He just knows it.

"I'm sorry, Hinata-kun. He's not here," Takeda-sensei says, and Hinata's breath hitches. The small teen almost drops his phone, but Tobio reacts quickly and catches it before it hits the ground. Takeda-sensei is saying something, so Tobio brings the phone closer to his ear.

"Wait, wait. Hinata-kun, I'm sorry. It's not what you think. Listen to me." Tobio hears Takeda-sensei's panicked voice saying.

"Sensei, this is Kageyama. What do you mean?"

"Oh, Kageyama. Well, um. Listen, Shouyou-san woke up here, but he woke up before me and left me a note saying that he was going for a run and that he'll be back later, but he hasn't come back yet. I don't know if he's still working out or if he got lost. Or something else."

Or if he disappeared just like he appeared, bathed in a bright light that blinds everyone around him. Tobio looks at Hinata. Clearly, the small teen heard their teacher's panicked explanation. The color he seemed to lose a few seconds ago is slowly returning to his face.

Tobio sighs. "Sensei, at what time did he leave?" Tobio asks, and he hears Takeda-sensei's sigh of relief on the other side. The next time Takeda-sensei speaks, he sounds calmer.

"I'm not sure. I woke up at seven, and he was already gone," Takeda-sensei answers. Tobio checks the time on Hinata's phone. It's 8:52 AM now. The man has been gone for a long time.

Is he here? Or did he disappear?

"The others will be arriving soon. We'll call back after everyone gets here, then. Goodbye, Sensei," Tobio says, and after he hears Takeda-sensei saying his goodbyes too, he hangs up. Tobio pockets Hinata's phone and sits down again, and waits for the others to arrive. One look at Hinata's face, and Tobio can tell that the boy is anxious.

Tobio sighs.

If Hinata becomes depressed and starts to mess up during practice, then he swears that one day, when they're twenty-six years old, he'll kick Hinata's ass until he can't play volleyball anymore.

Yeah, that sounds like a good payback.

It isn't long until the others start showing up. Sawamura-san, Sugawara-san, and Azumane-san are the first ones to arrive. After a few greetings and worried glances towards Hinata, the third-years go and sit on the nearest bench. Tobio can't hear what they're whispering about, but if the worried looks they keep throwing Hinata's way are any indication, then whatever it is, it's probably about the boy.

Nishinoya-san and Tanaka-san are the next to arrive, talking about some new video game Tanaka-san is playing. Their arrival seems to distract Hinata from whatever he's thinking about. Soon, he's telling Tanaka-san about tricks that Nekoma's setter told him about the game. The rest of the second-years arrive after them, and after their greetings, they join the third-years at the bench.

Shimizu-san and Yachi-san arrive a little later than the others, the arrival of Shimizu-san distracts Nishinoya-san and Tanaka-san, and immediately, Hinata starts to worry again. Thankfully, Yachi-san notices it and starts to animatedly talk to the two of them about a new project that she and Shimizu-san are planning for the team.

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi are the last ones to arrive. Or, more like, Yamaguchi arrives while pretty much dragging Tsukishima in their direction. Tobio rolls his eyes at the scene. If he didn't want to come, then why is he here? They can do just fine without him, thank you very much.

Tobio looks around and nods to himself. He gets Hinata's phone out of his pocket, giving it back to the little tangerine. Tobio ignores the questioning looks that his teammates are giving him, and he looks straight at Hinata.

"Call him," Tobio challenges again, and Hinata gulps and nods at him. The boy takes the phone and once again, he calls their teacher. Hinata puts his phone in speaker mode as their teammates get closer to the two of them.

One ring.

Their teammates form a circle around them.

Two rings.

Everyone seems to hold their breaths.

Three rings.

"Hey, kiddo. What's up?" Older Hinata's voice asks, and everyone breathes a sigh of relief. Hinata's eyes widen, and Tobio swears that there are stars in them. Hinata smiles, all bright and happy. Tobio sighs and gives a small smile. Well, one less problem to deal with. Now they just need to deal with everything else, but that's a problem for the them of tomorrow. It can wait.

"Shouyou-san!" Hinata and the team shout in unison, and Tobio flinches. That was loud, and apparently, he isn't the only one who thinks that.

"Woah, calm down. You're gonna kill my poor ear. So, is everyone there?" Older Hinata asks.

"Yeah, everyone is here. Well, except you guys and Coach Ukai," Hinata says, and Older Hinata hums in response.

"Listen, meet me at Coach Ukai's store in half an hour. Also, make sure to buy some snacks for the road," Older Hinata says, and everyone looks confused.

"Snacks? Road? What are you talking about, Shouyou-san?" Hinata asks.

"Gotta go, see you guys soon," Older Hinata says and hangs up on them, leaving everyone utterly confused. Sawamura-san sighs and tells them to grab their stuff and start walking in the direction of Coach Ukai's store.

After they buy their snacks and drinks, Coach Ukai asks them to wait outside and goes to call someone to take care of the store for him. The team sits down on the ground and starts taking turns playing Tanaka-san's new video game.

A familiar sound distracts them from watching how Nishinoya-san fights the beast that defeated them all. They follow the sound, and to their surprise, they're met with the sight of their bus in front of them, the one they used when they went to Tokyo.

Takeda-sensei parks the bus right in front of them, and Older Hinata opens the doors with a big smile on his face. Hinata runs towards the older redhead and jumps into his arms. The man catches him with ease as if he's used to kids randomly jumping into his arms or something.

The team gets up and greets their teacher, and Takeda-sensei greets them back. Coach Ukai gets out of his store and greets their teacher too.

"Good morning, everyone," Older Hinata says, and the team greets him back. Hinata comes back to them with a sheepish look on his face after letting go of the older redhead.

"Alright, everyone. Get on the bus. Make yourselves comfortable because we have a long journey ahead of us," Coach Ukai says, and the team just stares at him in confusion.

Coach Ukai seems to understand immediately and sighs. "Don't ask me where we're going. I do not know. Only he knows," Coach Ukai says and points to Older Hinata, who's going inside the store alongside Takeda-sensei.

"Well, you heard the Coach. Let's go, guys," Sawamura-san says, and the team nods and steps inside the bus.

Shimizu-san, Yachi-san, Sawamura-san, and Sugawara-san, sit on the front. Azumane-san also decides to sit on the front, but by himself. That way, he can stretch his legs.

Nishinoya-san and Tanaka-san decide to sit on the back as usual. Ennoshita-san and the other second-years decide to sit near them to keep an eye on them. Tobio and the rest of the first-years decide to go for the middle seats.

After waiting a few minutes, Older Hinata, Takeda-sensei, and Coach Ukai come back from the store with bags in hand. They also bought some snacks and drinks for themselves. The three adults put their bags away and take their seats, and to the surprise of everyone, the one who sits in the driver's seat is Older Hinata.

"You can drive?!" The team - except for Takeda-sensei and Coach Ukai - shouts in unison.

Older Hinata looks at them weirdly and then sighs. "Guys, I'm 26. Of course I can drive. I usually don't, though. I hate traffic." Takeda-sensei and Coach Ukai nod in agreement and understanding.

"Shouyou-san, where are we going?" Hinata asks the older redhead, and the man just smiles at them.

"No spoilers," he says and prepares himself to drive.

Tobio wakes up to the sound of Coach Ukai's whistle. He hears many groans around him and yawns.

What's going on, again?

Oh, that's right! Older Hinata is taking us somewhere.

"Wake up, sleepyheads!" Older Hinata says, and Coach and Sensei chuckle.

Little by little, Tobio and his teammates start to wake up. Once they do, they look outside the windows and notice where they are.

"Oooohhhh," Tobio and his teammates say in unison. Eyes wide and excitement building inside them.

Skiing.

Older Hinata took them skiing. The team is about ready to come out of the bus running in excitement, but when they turn around, Coach Ukai is already at the door, holding a hand up to stop them.

"Wait, you guys need to get ready first. Follow us and behave," Coach Ukai says with authority in his voice and a dark look on his face, and the team nods and obeys.

Scary, Coach Ukai is scary.

After they get ready, Coach Ukai lets them enjoy themselves. The team spends their morning snowboarding and skiing. The place Older Hinata took them to even has a place designed just to play in the snow. So, after they race each other in snowboarding and skiing, they have snowball fights and little competitions to see who can build the better snowman or snow castle. And, of course, the girls win the last two with no trouble at all.

The team doesn't want to leave the resort, but they're getting hungry, so reluctantly, they say their goodbyes to the place, and Older Hinata takes them to eat some delicious hot ramen.

Everyone's cold after spending so much time playing in the snow, but no one seems to be enjoying the steamy hot ramen more than Older Hinata. The team looks at Older Hinata and then at each other, and they start hiding their smiles. Older Hinata looks like a little kid on Christmas morning.

Hinata looks at his older self in worry. "Shouyou-san, did you have breakfast this morning?" Hinata asks, and Older Hinata blushes in embarrassment when he notices that everyone is staring at him.

Takeda-sensei chuckles. "We had breakfast this morning, but to be honest, he had that same reaction to the food. He had it for last night's dinner too."

"Sorry, it's just. I missed this food so much," Older Hinata tries to explain, but then he stops himself and looks at the ceiling, and frowns. Clearly, he said something that he didn't mean to or wasn't supposed to say.

"Oh," Hinata says in surprise. "You missed Miyagi's food? So, you don't play near Miyagi?" Hinata asks his older self, and the man gives him a weird look.

"Yeah, something like that. Excuse me," Older Hinata excuses himself and leaves the room.

Tobio notices that Coach Ukai and Takeda-sensei share a look, and he sees that Sugawara-san and Sawamura-san do the same. He also notices that Tsukishima is following the man with his eyes. Tsukishima has that same look on his face that Tobio's classmates get whenever they try to solve a complicated test question.

Once they finish eating, they order some tea that's supposed to help them relax their muscles. Older Hinata hasn't come back yet, but Coach Ukai asks for some tea for the older redhead too. After the girl finishes serving them, Sawamura-san stands up and asks for their attention.

"I know this kind of things are done with wine or something like that, but we're minors and athletes, so I'll do it with the tea instead. I want to thank all of you for this. Suga and Asahi, thank you so much for listening to a crazy guy during your first year of High School, thank you for not giving up on me, on the team, or the sport we love, thank you for spending hours practicing with me, I wouldn't be here without the two of you. Shimizu, thank you so much for saying yes that day and shouldering such a big responsibility for almost three years now. We wouldn't be here without you. Nishinoya, Tanaka, Ennoshita, Kinoshita, and Narita, thank you for joining our team even when you knew it wasn't the best. Thank you for being there and not giving up on us no matter what. Takeda-sensei, thank you so much for accepting such a big responsibility even when you didn't know anything about us or the sport. Thank you for all the things you have done for us. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for all your efforts. Yachi-san, Tsukishima, and Yamaguchi thank you for joining us and for not giving up on us, and thank you so much for letting me see you grow even more and more every day. Thank you so much for caring so much about this team, even when you didn't have to. Coach Ukai, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for supporting us and for teaching us so many things. I know we're not easy to deal with, but thank you so much for not giving up on us. If today we're known as champions, then I want you to know that is in great part thanks to you and all of your efforts.

"And finally, Hinata and Kageyama. I know I was harsh with the two of you at first, and I'm sorry, but thank you for not giving up and overcoming your differences and becoming teammates and a great duo on the court. Thank you so much for choosing our school and our team, even when it wasn't your first choice or the more convenient one. Thank you for not giving up on us and for teaching us so much. I have seen you grow little by little, and I'm so proud of the two incredible young men that the two of you have become. Thank you so much for helping us reach the top. I have seen all of you pouring blood, sweat, and tears into this team, and I'm proud of all of you. I don't know what's going to happen in January. I don't know if we're going to reach the top or how far we're going to go. What I do know is that if I'm going to reach my dream in January, then I want to do it with this team, with my little Volleyball family. Slowly but surely, our wings have started to heal, and we're starting to spread our wings more and more every day. Now is time we fly higher and farther than before. Is time for the fallen warriors to rise again and fight, to become strong shields and spears that'll last through every battle ahead of us. Thank you to all of you for not letting the walls in front of you stop you. Thank you for making Karasuno strong enough to stand on that court, now is time to go beyond. I know I probably sound too cheesy right now, but I wanted to appreciate all of your efforts. So..." Sawamura-san raises his cup of tea, and the rest of them do the same. "Come on, guys. Say it with me."

"KARASUNO, FIGHT!" They shout in unison and drink their tea. After that, the third and second years hug Sawamura-san with tears in their eyes, telling him how much they appreciate him as a Captain. Everyone is either crying or teary-eyed. Tobio looks to the side to compose himself, and that's when he sees it.

During Sawamura-san's speech, Older Hinata returned, but no one noticed him because he seems to be hiding. The man is hiding behind the little plant that's in the entrance of their private room, and he's leaning on the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. Tobio can't see his expression because the man is looking down, and his bangs cover his eyes and part of his face while the other half is cover by shadows. For some reason, the sight of him like that reminds Tobio of that day. The day victory tasted bitter in his mouth, and a Volleyball net separated him from the small boy.

What have you been doing for the past three years? Tobio remembers asking. How long has he been standing there? How much of that speech did he hear?

Tobio is suddenly distracted from the sight by his teammates, who are asking for a picture. They've been doing that a lot today. They were taking pictures, making memories. Tobio does a peace sign just like his teammates are doing and looks at the camera that Sensei brought with him.

After the blindness of the flash passes, he looks to his side again, but the man is gone. Tobio sighs and shakes his head to get rid of any unnecessary thoughts.

The team takes more pictures and drinks their tea, and talks amongst themselves about random things. Tobio's in the middle of a conversation with Hinata about the new jump that they almost got yesterday before they were sent home when the doors to the room open.

"Hey, Karasuno. Wanna watch a movie?" Older Hinata asks with a smile on his face as he steps into the room. Tobio looks at the man and frowns. Did he imagine him earlier? No, Tobio's sure that he was there. Then why...?

His teammates cheer at the mention of going to the cinema, excitedly talking about what movie they want to watch. Tobio can tell right away that it'll be a heated topic. Opinions already seem to be divided. In no time, the team's ready to go. 

"Okay, you guys go to the bus while I go pay for this," Older Hinata says, and Takeda-sensei and Coach Ukai share a look.

"Shouyou-san, it's okay. We can pay for this," Takeda-sensei says, and Older Hinata shakes his head.

"Don't worry. I got it. You guys go on ahead," Older Hinata says and starts walking away. Coach Ukai tries to stop him, but the older redhead ignores him.

"I thought his credit cards don't work here?" Coach Ukai asks, and Takeda-sensei looks down and then looks at Hinata and sighs.

"Sensei?" Hinata asks in confusion, and Takeda-sensei sighs.

"He sold his wristwatch this morning; that's why he was late. Yesterday, I asked him if he had any clothes for today, he told me that he had a change of clothes in his gym bag. I didn't believe him, so he showed them to me. He also had a wristwatch with him. I don't know much about watches or fashion, but it was clear that it was a very expensive gold watch," Takeda-sensei explains, and everyone gasps in surprise.

"And he sold it? Just like that?" Tanaka-san asks, and some of the others seem to be wondering the same thing.

"Well, it makes sense. He doesn't know for how long he's going to be here, and he's going to need money so that probably seemed like a good idea at the time. Still, I hope he doesn't regret that choice in the future," Coach Ukai says, and everyone nods.

Tobio and his teammates pick up their stuff and start walking in the direction of the bus. As soon as they step outside, they're met with someone they weren't expecting to see anytime soon.

"Well, looky here! If it isn't the little crows of Karasuno. What are Miyagi's current champions doing here?" A voice asks from behind them, and Tobio and his teammates jerk in surprise. Everyone recognizes that voice. In unison, they turn and are met with the face of Oikawa-san.

"Eek, it's the Great King!" Hinata shrieks in surprise, and he immediately hides behind Tobio.

Really? This guy challenged all of Shiratorizawa not once but twice, but he's still afraid of Oikawa-san? What's up with that?

"Oikawa-san, what are you doing here?" Tobio asks in the most polite way he can muster right now. This isn't saying much, and it's evident that Oikawa-san notices if the annoyed look he throws Tobio's way is any indication.

Oikawa-san looks at him and then gestures to the people behind him. Tobio doesn't recognize any of them, but the resemblance to Oikawa-san is uncanny. "Family gathering," Oikawa-san says to them and then turns to look at his relatives. "You can go on ahead. I'll be there in a minute," Oikawa-san says to his family, and they nod and start going inside the restaurant. "So, I heard that you won against Shiratorizawa. Congratulations. I heard it was a good game," Oikawa-san says, but judging by the way he says it, it's evident that he isn't pleased about it. Sawamura-san plants a fake smile on his face nonetheless and thanks him anyway. Tobio has a feeling that Oikawa-san doesn't buy it at all.

"I heard all of you played hard, especially the two of you, the freak duo," Oikawa-san says and looks to Tobio and Hinata. The smaller boy makes a weird noise and hides even more behind Tobio.

Seriously, what's he so afraid of?

It's just Oikawa-san, the boy wasn't this afraid of Ushiwaka, but he's trembling at the sight of Tobio's annoying senpai.

Tobio gets his answer when another familiar voice comes from behind Oikawa-san. "Everything okay?" Older Hinata asks, Hinata makes another weird sound, and the team stiffens.

Oh. So that's why he's so afraid. What if Oikawa-san puts two and two together? What's gonna happen then? Is Older Hinata going to disappear?

Oikawa-san turns to look at Older Hinata with a smile and probably fake words at the ready, but then his smile drops, and he does a double-take. He looks Older Hinata up and down and then turns to look at Tobio again and tilts his head a little to the side to get a better look at Hinata, who's still hiding behind Tobio. Oikawa-san looks between the two redheads again and frowns. "You two related or something?"

Tobio hears Hinata murmuring 'or something' under his breath, but thankfully Oikawa-san doesn't hear him.

"He's my little brother," Older Hinata replies.

Tobio is glad that Oikawa-san decides to turn to look at the older redhead at that exact moment because that way, he can't see the surprise reactions of Karasuno. Those looks will give everything away in just a moment.

What happened to kicking Hinata's ass if he ever calls you 'Nii-chan'?

"Oh, I see. I didn't know Chibi-chan has an older brother. I've never seen you in one of his games," Oikawa-san says casually but a little guarded, obviously trying to fish for more details. Clearly, he still doesn't believe the older redhead completely.

Karasuno holds their breaths.

"I was overseas, I just came back," Older Hinata says, and Oikawa-san seems to believe him.

Karasuno releases the breaths they were holding.

What a smooth liar.

"Is that so? That explains the tan skin, then," Oikawa-san says. He's still looking at the man searchingly. "You play Volleyball, too?" Oikawa-san asks, and Hinata makes another weird sound behind Tobio.

"Sometimes," Older Hinata says, and Oikawa-san's eyes spark in interest.

"Oh, really? What position do you play?" Oikawa-san asks with a challenging tone.

"Setter," Older Hinata responds with a little smirk. Oikawa-san's smile suddenly drops.

This time, Tobio also makes that weird sound alongside Hinata. Oikawa-san hears them this time, and he turns to look at the two of them curiously. Oikawa-san raises an eyebrow and smirks. "Oh my, if you can make Tobio-chan look like that, then you must be really good," Oikawa-san says, and Tobio scowls.

Look like what? I don't look like anything, thank you very much.

Tobio's about ready to give Oikawa-san a little piece of his mind, but then the arrogant teen says something that makes the whole team freeze in their places. "We should play together one day," Oikawa-san says to Older Hinata. He gives the older redhead his famous - and annoying - wink and peace sign, tongue sticking out and all.

Older Hinata doesn't react at all. He just looks at Oikawa-san and says, "Sure."

"Wait, what?!" Tobio and the rest of Karasuno shout in surprise.

"Wait, Hinata-san. This is..." Coach Ukai tries to explain, but he's interrupted by Hinata's little outburst.

"Nii-chan, you can't play with him. Don't you know who he is? He's the Great King!" Hinata shouts, finally coming out of his hiding spot behind Tobio, and he goes to stand between his older self and Oikawa-san.

"I know who he is, Shouyou," Older Hinata says, and Oikawa-san's eyes spark in interest again.

"Oh, so you have heard about me. All good things, I hope," Oikawa-san says and turns to look at Hinata with a dark look on his face. Hinata shivers and immediately hides behind the older redhead. Hinata's older self looks as cool as a cucumber. The difference between the two couldn't be more obvious.

"Please, don't scare him," Older Hinata says and drags Hinata out of his hiding place.

Oikawa-san sighs and nods. He turns to look at Tobio and the others. "Well, you made it this far, Karasuno. Don't disappoint us now. You're going to be representing all of us, you know. Don't make us regret our loss more than we already do. Break a leg or something," Oikawa-san says with an intense look in his eyes and turns around. "See you around, Hinata-san," he says to the older redhead and starts to walk away.

Karasuno seems to breathe more easily at the sight of his retreating back.

"Oikawa-san," Older Hinata suddenly says, and the team stiffens.

"Yes? You know my name?" Oikawa-san asks as he turns to face them again.

Older Hinata turns to look at him and asks, "What would you have done?"

"Huh?"

"If you have gone to Nationals, what would you have done?" Older Hinata asks, and everyone looks at him in surprise.

Oikawa-san looks at them and then at Older Hinata with a weird look on his face and eyes. Tobio braces himself for Oikawa-san's 'Baka' reaction that he always does whenever someone he considers annoying asks him a question. Oikawa-san sighs and shakes his head. He looks Older Hinata straight in the eyes, and a moment seems to pass between the two of them. Oikawa-san smiles and looks at the sky and then looks at Older Hinata. No one has seen that smile before.

"I'll give it my best and then some. I'll try to support my teammates and bring the best out of everyone. But most importantly, I'll try to have fun and give my teammates the best experience of their lives, whether we win or lose. If we don't come back home as champions, then at least I'll try to come home with no regrets. Volleyball is fun, that's why we all started to play it, and I'll try to make sure no one forgets that, not on my watch," Oikawa-san says to the surprise of everyone present.

Older Hinata smiles at him and says something Tobio doesn't understand, but that Oikawa-san seems to understand for some reason, he looks a little surprised at first, but he smiles anyway.

"Thanks. I was serious, y'know. We should play sometime," Oikawa-san says, and Older Hinata smiles at him.

"Oh, I'm sure we will."

"You think you can beat me, don't you?" Oikawa-san asks with a challenging tone in his voice.

Older Hinata smirks. "Oh, you'll be eating sand."

"Don't you mean dirt?" Oikawa-san asks in confusion. Older Hinata just laughs and waves him goodbye, and starts to walk away. Oikawa-san huffs in annoyance and finally leaves.

This time, Karasuno breathes a big sigh of relief.

Hinata looks between their retreating backs in confusion and then looks straight at Tobio. "What just happened?" Hinata asks, and Tobio shrugs. He's still surprised at Oikawa-san's response to Older Hinata's question.

"I'm not sure."

"Come on, Karasuno. We have a movie to catch," Older Hinata shouts at them from inside the bus. He's already seated in the driver's seat. At the mention of the movie, everyone hurries inside.

"Hey, Shouyou-san. Why did you ask the Great King that?" Hinata asks, and Older Hinata hums.

"Dunno. I just wanted to know, I guess. You know, it's a shame Oikawa-san never went to Nationals. He would've had so much fun there," Older Hinata says, and everyone looks a little surprised at that, mainly because he referred to him as Oikawa-san and not as the Great King. 

When did he stop being the Great King?

"I think a part of me still thinks of him as the Great King. I still think he's awesome, y'know. But I stopped referring to him like that a long time ago," Older Hinata says, and Tobio blushes in embarrassment. He didn't mean to ask that aloud.

In no time, the talk about Oikawa-san is put aside, and the debate of what movie they're going to watch continues until they reach the place Shouyou-san is taking them next. Before they leave the bus, they decide to watch a sports comedy that everyone seems a little curious about. It's about Volleyball, after all.

Older Hinata buys the tickets, and everyone buys some snacks and drinks for themselves, and they start to look for the correct room where their movie is going to be playing at

Halfway through the movie, Older Hinata leaves, saying he needs to go to the restroom. After a few minutes, Tobio also excuses himself, the movie is so inaccurate, and it's pissing him off to no end. The actor playing as a setter clearly doesn't know anything about Volleyball. He's nothing more but a pretty and famous face. Tobio huffs in annoyance and heads for the restroom.

To be honest, Tobio isn't surprised at what he sees. Older Hinata is sitting on a bench in the hallway near the restrooms. He's fumbling with something that Tobio assumes to be a smartphone from his time.

What a weird design that is.

Tobio sighs and sits beside the man. Older Hinata does something to his phone when he notices him, and his screen goes black, but not before Tobio sees what the man was looking at.

A picture.

A picture of a beautiful young couple and what seems to be their baby. Tobio doesn't recognize them, but he's sure that they're people important to Older Hinata if the look on his face is anything to go by. He probably misses them a lot. All his friends, his family, and everyone else in his life. This must be really hard for him.

"Hello," Tobio says, and Older Hinata looks at him in surprise. "Don't look so surprised."

"Sorry, hello."

"Listen, I don't like you."

"I'm aware."

"I don't trust you."

"I noticed."

"You're too different from him, and it's weird."

"I know that."

"But I need your help."

"Okay... wait, what?"

Tobio sighs and rolls his eyes at the older man. "You heard me. I'm not going to repeat myself."

"Okay, okay. What do you need my help with?" Older Hinata asks, and Tobio sighs.

"What do people mean when they call someone a Goody-Two-Shoes?"

Older Hinata looks at him and then hums. "Miya Atsumu, right?" He asks and looks at the ceiling. Tobio's surprised, but he guesses that older him told Hinata about that at some point.

"Yeah."

"Well, normally, it is an insult, and knowing him, he probably meant it that way. Look, being a Goody-Two-Shoes is not a bad thing. It means that you're good and friendly and that you try to help others and make everyone feel at ease. It means you're a good guy that plays by the rules, but I gotta admit that many people don't see it that way, and that's when they use it as an insult," the older man explains, and Tobio nods.

"And as an insult? What does that mean?" Tobio asks, and the older man looks at him and sighs.

"To say it in an easy way for you to understand. It means that you like to kiss people's asses. That you don't take any risks, that you're afraid to try new stuff. That you're a perfectionist, someone who only does what they know is going to work. Among other things, but you get it."

"Yeah, I get it," Tobio says and looks to the side.

So that's what he meant? Am I really like that?

"Kageyama-kun," Older Hinata says, and Tobio turns to look at him. "I do remember this, y'know. The Return of the King," Older Hinata says as if it's the title of a movie or something. "The team is trying to grow, and if you can help them, then they're not going to push you away or anything like that. They're going to listen to you, if you have something to say, of course. They want to improve, to become better and stronger. They want to win and reach the top. They're waiting for you, Kageyama-kun. You're not going to be rejected, on the contrary. You should talk to them."

"What should I say?"

"The truth, but in a polite way, of course. If you think there's a way for Nishinoya-san to improve his receives, or for Tanaka-san to become a better spiker, then tell them, I'm sure they're going to listen to you. If they think that they can do it, then they'll listen to you, and they're going to try to apply whatever you suggested, and if they don't like it, then they won't listen to you and be done with it. It's that simple. Don't be afraid. They won't kick you out of the team or anything like that. There's nothing wrong with being the King, y'know. Your old teammates couldn't handle you, but Karasuno is strong, and you're a part of Karasuno now. Forget what you were before, and don't think about what you're going to become in the future, either. Think about the here and now. You're Karasuno's setter, Kageyama-kun. Act like it," The man says with a little bit of a challenge in his voice and eyes.

Who are you? Tobio wants to ask. When did you become like this? What happened to you?

"I personally never thought that you being the King was a bad thing. The little nickname is cool, and I never thought of it as you being self-centered, or arrogant, or anything like that. I always thought of the nickname, meaning that you were really, really good. Setters are the control tower of the team, the rulers of the court. So don't be afraid of that name. You're an excellent setter Kageyama-kun, don't be afraid to show that to the whole world. Stand on that court and make it yours, show all of Japan and the rest of the world what you can do, what you're made of. You want to play Volleyball professionally, don't you? Then start knocking on the big doors. Look at Oikawa-san, he never got that opportunity, but you do, don't let that go to waste, or you'll regret it," Older Hinata says and gives him an intense look, and Tobio turns away from him.

Older Hinata overwhelms him. The man radiates confidence in and off the court. He's no longer that timid tiny teen that hides behind Tobio when something scares him. He's no longer that clumsy little kid who loves to eat meat buns and teases Tobio all the time. The one who challenges stronger players all the time and gives everything on the court just to prove that he's right. This Hinata is older, calmer, wiser. He's more experienced, mature, and somehow bigger in a way that Tobio can't describe. He's not just different from his younger self physically, but personality-wise too. It doesn't matter what Tobio does or says. He'll never rise to the challenge. He's not that childish anymore. Tobio doesn't understand this Hinata. He's like a complete stranger to him. That's probably why Tobio finds it so easy to talk to him.

Tobio sighs and turns to look at the man again. "Would you like to listen to some of my ideas? For the team, I mean," Tobio says, and Older Hinata smiles at him and nods.

"Sure, let's hear them. Maybe I can help too."

So Tobio starts to talk, and Older Hinata listens to him. He points out some things here and there. Some things Tobio understands immediately, and some are entirely new things to him, but it sounds like something that'll work for the team. So little by little, his worries start to subside, and his head starts to fill with a bunch of new Volleyball ideas. Maybe, Older Hinata is right, and being the King of the Court isn't so bad.

The others find them after a while. Tobio's teammates are talking about how inaccurate but funny the movie was. Tobio notices that Sawamura-san and Sugawara-san share a look at the sight of him talking to Older Hinata. Coach Ukai also notices and smiles at him, and a little bit of tension starts to disappear from his shoulders.

So, they were worried about me, huh? Was it really that bad? I'll talk to them tomorrow, then.

"Well, it seems like the movie finished just in time. It's time for the last surprise of the day. Follow me, Karasuno," Older Hinata says, and everyone nods. After a little bathroom break, they walk straight to their bus.

The last surprise of the day turns out to be a hot spring with a spa where they're spoiled rotten, plus a healthy and delicious dinner. After that, they head home. Before they leave, Tobio notices that Sugawara-san and Sawamura-san give a piece of paper to Coach Ukai. They were saying something about it being the notes from yesterday's practice. That gives Tobio an idea, and once he gets home, he starts to write his own notes to give to Coach Ukai.

Tobio remembers his senpai's words. The team with the stronger six is always the strongest. Tobio's team will reach the top, no matter what. Tobio is going to make sure of it.

Keishin looks at the entrance of the gym and sighs. He hopes that today isn't as disastrous as Saturday was. Keishin braces himself and opens the doors. The guys are all already there doing their stretches. Shimizu-san and Yachi-san are also there, talking about a new project for the team. The only ones missing are Sensei and Older Hinata.

"Good morning, everyone."

"Good morning, Ukai-san."

"How's everyone doing today?"

"Good, sir. You?"

"I'm doing great, thank you. Well, you know what to do, finish your stretches and go for a run. We're gonna do some serve practice after you guys come back," Keishin says, and the team nods.

Keishin sits down and looks at the notes he finished yesterday after going through the notes Sugawara and Sawamura gave him. The two of them have excellent observation skills and experience in the sport, so their input helped Keishin a lot, and he was able to finish his new training plan yesterday after he got home.

Yesterday was a complete surprise, but a welcome one nonetheless. Keishin's glad that Older Hinata did what he did. The team needed a day off to just relax and bond. Tensions and worries have been high around here lately. Keishin is glad that yesterday his students seemed to put everything aside and just enjoyed themselves for once. Once in a while, they need to remember that they're still kids and need to enjoy life a little. A time will come where they won't be able to do that anymore, and they're going to miss being young so much.

Keishin hears the doors to the gym opening and turns to see who it is. Sensei walks in and greets the team, and everyone greets him back. Once Keishin realizes that Sensei is alone, he looks in the direction of Young Hinata and sees how the face of the small boy saddens. Keishin turns to look at Takeda-sensei again and gives him a subtle signal towards the small boy.

Sensei's eyes widen, and he quickly grabs a piece of paper from his pocket and walks towards Young Hinata. "Shouyou-san went for a run this morning and left this for you, Hinata-kun," Sensei says while giving the small boy the neatly folded note. At the sight of the paper and the mention of his older self, Young Hinata smiles again and excitedly takes the paper.

"Well, what does it say?" Nishinoya and Tanaka ask in unison. Sawamura reprimands them, but Young Hinata clears his throat and starts reading the note aloud anyway.

"'Hey, kiddo. Good morning. I just wanted to let you know that I'm not going to your morning practice today, I've to buy some things I might need while I'm around here, but I'll make sure to be there for your afternoon practice. I hope it doesn't bother anyone. Have a nice day'. That's what the note says," Young Hinata says, and the team smiles.

"Of course, he can come to see us. What's up with him?" Tanaka asks, and his teammates nod in agreement.

"Well, anyway. Let's go, guys," Sawamura says, and the team gets ready for their morning run.

"Sensei, do you have time? I need to show you something," Keishin asks, and Takeda-sensei nods at him.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Here are the ideas I was talking about yesterday. I need you to give them a look," Keishin says while offering the papers to the man. Sensei nods and takes the papers. He sits down and starts reading, asking some questions here and there.

Once the guys come back from their morning run, they start practicing their serves, and Nishinoya starts practicing his receives. Keishin can see that Kageyama looks a little bit more relaxed today. Keishin is glad about that. It seems that whatever talk he had with Older Hinata yesterday helped him a lot. The rest of the team looks more relaxed too. Some are even trying to do new things.

Always evolving.

Keishin smiles.

Now, those are my students.

Soon, it's time to end morning practice. Keishin calls out to Sawamura and Sugawara while the rest of the team cleans the gym.

"You called us, Coach Ukai?" Sawamura asks, and Keishin nods. 

"Yeah. Do the two of you have free time during the day? I need to discuss something with you."

Sawamura and Sugawara share a look. Then silently agreed. "We can meet you during lunch if that's okay with you," Sawamura says, and Keishin nods.

"That's okay, just make sure to come alone," Keishin says, and the two boys nod at him and go back to their teammates.

Keishin is extremely surprised when Kageyama comes to talk to him once he finishes cleaning. "Coach Ukai?" The young setter asks nervously.

"Yes, Kageyama?"

"I'm not good with words, but I thought of a few things last night, and I wanted to ask you if you could give them a look, if that's okay with you, of course," Kageyama says and presents a neatly folded piece of paper to Keishin.

Keishin takes it with a reassuring smile. "Of course, I can give them a look. Thank you for cooperating with us. I'm sure you learned a lot during your training camp, and I'm glad you're sharing a little bit of that knowledge with us," Keishin says, and Kageyama thanks him again and leaves after he hears Young Hinata calling his name. Keishin turns to look at Sensei, who also seems a little surprised. "Seems like I have more homework to do."

After going through the notes of Saturday's practice, the Captains' notes, and Kageyama's new ideas. Keishin finally has everything ready.

Shimizu-san also informed him this morning that she and Yachi-san are working on something that apparently will be ready in a few days. She didn't tell him what it is, though.

Keishin sighs and opens a new project on his computer, and starts to write everything down.

Takeda-sensei helps him with the printing and organization of the papers. By the time Sugawara and Sawamura come looking for them, there are two little stacks of papers waiting for them at the table.

Sugawara and Sawamura share a look and start reading, eyes getting wider and wider with every page. Once they finish, they put their papers down and look at the two of them in surprise.

"Well? What do you guys think?" Keishin asks.

"This is..." Sugawara starts to say.

"A little crazy," Sawamura finishes for him.

"Are you sure about this, Coach?" They ask in unison.

"Of course I am."

"But, what brought this on?" Sawamura asks.

"Well, mostly Shouyou-san. Something he said kept bothering me, and I came up with a theory. If I'm right, then I want to be prepared for it. But if I'm not, then it doesn't hurt to learn it, right?" Keishin says, and Sugawara and Sawamura share another look.

"Well, we're okay with it, but are you sure that the rest of the team is going to agree with this?" Sawamura asks, and Keishin thinks about it.

No, they probably won't, not at first anyway. That's why I've got an explanation ready.

"Don't worry about it. Leave that to me," Keishin says, and his students nod. "Well, is there anything you guys would like to add to the plans before we meet with the team?" Sawamura and Sugawara nod and start making a few notes in the papers before they leave.

Well, it seems like I've to do this all over again.

Keishin sighs as Sensei passes him the laptop again.

For the second time that day, Keishin finds himself in front of the gym doors and sighs.

Here goes nothing.

Once again, he finds everyone already there, except for Shouyou-san. That's good. Keishin doesn't want to see the man's reaction when he hears what Keishin's about to say.

The guys stop doing their stretches when they notice the entrance of their teachers. Keishin can see the curious looks they're sending him when they notice the stacks of papers he and Sensei are carrying.

Keishin clears his throat. "Meeting time, everyone." Keishin heads for the bench alongside Takeda-sensei. Shimizu-san and Yachi-san are already there. That means that they just need to wait for the guys to take a seat.

Once everyone is sitting on the floor. Keishin stands up. "Okay, after seeing how things were on Saturday, I came up with a few ideas, and a new training plan for you guys was formed, but before I give that to you, I'm personally going to tell you one of the craziest things you're going to find in those papers. Kageyama and Hinata. Can the two of you come here for a second, please?"

The mentioned boys share a look and nod. Once they reach him, Keishin asks them to face the group. Keishin puts a hand on each of their shoulders, and the two boys flinch. "Starting today, all of you guys, with no exceptions, are going to learn how to block and receive the famous attack of our famous little duo."

And in five...

Four...

Three...

Two...

"WHAT?!"

And there it is.

"Settle down and listen," Keishin says. He's glad that he talked with Sugawara and Sawamura before doing this because the two help a lot in calming the panicked reactions of the team.

"Shouyou-san gave us a lot of clues. I might be wrong, so don't take my word for it, but-" Keishin stops there and summons the most serious look he can muster at the moment. Keishin looks straight at his students and says, "There might be a team at Nationals that can use that attack too," Keishin finishes and waits for the shock to wear down.

Kageyama and Hinata are as still as statues under his hands, and even Sugawara and Sawamura look shocked. Keishin told them his plans, but he didn't tell them the reasons behind them.

Sawamura is the Captain for a reason. He seems to be the one to recover first. "You really think so, Ukai-san?"

"Yes, as I was saying, Shouyou-san gave me a lot of clues, while intentionally or not."

"What clues?" The mentioned man suddenly asks from the entrance of the room, and everyone jolts in surprise.

When did he get here? And why didn't he make any sound? What is he? A Ninja or something?

The older redhead looks at all of them and seems to read the atmosphere in a second. "Am I interrupting something? I can come back later if you want," Older Hinata says, and Keishin shakes his head.

"It's okay. You can stay."

"Are you sure? You guys seem a little spooked. Is something wrong?" Older Hinata asks and in a flash Young Hinata and Kageyama are in front of the man.

"Is there someone at Nationals who can do our quick?" The two ask in unison, and the older redhead looks at them in surprise.

"Wait, guys. Stop!" Sawamura shouts, he seems ready to reprimand the boys, but Older Hinata's words freeze him in place.

"Yeah, there is."

Kageyama and Young Hinata fall to the floor like the dramatic Volleyball Kings that they are.

"There is someone..."

"Who can do..."

"Our quick..."

"Well, would you look at that? It seems like our special little duo isn't so special anymore," Tsukishima says with a smirk.

"Tsukki," Yamaguchi whispers. "Not now."

"Come on, you two. I'm sure it won't be that bad," Sugawara says, clearly trying to console the boys.

"Yeah. Didn't you hear what Coach Ukai said? I'm gonna learn how to receive one of those. Cool, I always wanted to do that," Nishinoya says excitedly.

"And the rest of us are gonna learn how to block that attack. We're about to become Karasuno's Iron Wall. The other guys won't even know what hit them," Tanaka says with determination.

"I always wanted to block one of those. It seems like I'll finally get to. That'll be fun," Tsukishima says with a smirk and a dark look on his face.

"Guys, stop. I think you're making it worse," Sawamura says once he notices Hinata and Kageyama shivering in fear.

"Receive..."

"Block..."

"Our quick..."

"Oh, stop being so dramatic! You have been blocked before! What's the big deal?! Are you really that afraid of the Freak Duo 2.0?!" Tsukishima asks with a sneer. That seems to snap the two boys out of their little depression.

They stand up with twin looks of determination on their faces. "Of course not! We're going to win!" They shout in unison.

"Aaannnd they're back," Sugawara says with a grin, and the team breathes a sigh of relief and smiles at the two. Glad that the freak duo is back to normal.

"I'll do it," Older Hinata suddenly says to the surprise of everyone present. They all turn to look at him in surprise and notice that he's still standing near the gym's entrance.

"You'll do what, Shouyou-san?" Young Hinata asks his older self in confusion.

"I'll become your Coach," Older Hinata says, and everyone freezes. "I won't promise to take you to the top, but I promise to get you far enough. If you'll still have me, that is." 

The gym goes silent all of a sudden. If a pin drops right now, it'll probably sound like a bomb. The shock starts to wear down after a minute or two, and the team blinks once, twice, and then...

"Shouyou-san!" The team shouts in excitement and celebrates, but Older Hinata raises a hand to placate them.

"Not so fast," he says, and the team stiffens. "I'll do it under one condition," he says and raises one finger.

"Which one?" The team asks in unison.

The man looks at all of them and sighs. Older Hinata starts walking towards his younger self. Once he reaches Young Hinata, the older redhead leans down and whispers something in Young Hinata's ear.

Keishin sees how all the color seems to drain from Young Hinata's face and how his eyes widen in surprise. Older Hinata raises his head and stares intensely at his younger self, but Young Hinata ignores him. He seems very busy trying to do his best fish impersonation at the moment.

Kageyama looks between the two redheads and grabs Young Hinata. "What? What did he ask you? Boke, what did he say?" Kageyama asks while shaking Young Hinata. "Boke!" Kageyama shouts right in front of Young Hinata's face. That finally seems to get a reaction out of him, and he whispers something that the others can't hear, but that Kageyama seems to if his reaction is anything to go by.

"WHAT?!" Kageyama shouts, shock evident all over his face, and the team starts to panic.

Keishin sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. This is going to be a very long afternoon. He can feel it.

Chapter Text

Earlier today...

Monday, December 10, 2012.

The date keeps flashing in Shouyou's eyes as he runs.

Monday...

Two days ago, it was Tuesday.

December...

Two days ago, it was September.

10...

Two days ago, it was the 13th.

2012...

Two days ago, it was the year 2022.

Shouyou is in Miyagi.

Two days ago, he was in São Paulo.

Shouyou is in Japan.

Two days ago, he was in Brazil.

Two days ago, he headed for the gym to practice with ASAS São Paulo, but he ended up in Karasuno instead.

Ten years.

Shouyou somehow traveled ten years to the past.

His past.

How?

Why?

He doesn't know.

Shouyou kept it together in front of Karasuno. That night he went to sleep wishing that everything was a dream, that he'll wake up in his apartment in São Paulo. He'll do his morning routine, then he'll be on his way to the gym, his teammates will greet him warmly, and they'll play Volleyball together until Coach Paulo has enough of them and asks them to go home.

Then he'll go home and do his duties and text his friends and family, and before going to bed, he'll laugh about what a crazy dream he had the night before.

But none of that happened. He woke up in a small room that he didn't recognize, and he had been so cold. Where is that Brazilian sun that Shouyou is so used to? Where is that Brazilian warm? Japan is so cold, colder than he remembers.

Yesterday during his morning run, he finally lost it and freaked out. He tried everything.

Texts messages.

Phone calls.

Video calls.

Emails.

Social Media.

None of it worked.

His friends and family never responded. He tried using his credit cards too. Maybe if Kenma notices something weird in his bank account, he'll check it out, but no, that didn't work either. Declined, the screen read.

Shouyou doesn't know how to get back home. He doesn't even know how he got here in the first place. A part of him wants to take a plane straight to Brazil, but something in him tells him that it isn't going to work. Something tells him that he needs to stay here in Miyagi.

There's something about his younger self that pulls him in. Little Shouyou is... well, little. He's so tiny and fragile. Seeing him was a shock for him. Shouyou doesn't remember being that small or skinny. No wonder people never took him seriously while growing up. He was so, so small. Seeing Little Shouyou like that reminds him so much of Natsu that it's no wonder his big brother instincts kicked in immediately.

There's also the fact that Little Shouyou is so clingy. Shouyou doesn't understand that behavior, but he guesses it's kind of like the same thing that pulls him towards his younger self. Something that tells them that they need to stay together, at least for now. Shouyou doesn't know what it is, but he understands something. Shouyou needs to be here.

But why?

Shouyou shakes his head and keeps running. He has many things to do right now, and all those questions can wait. It's not like he's going to find any answers, anyway.

Shouyou finishes his morning run and goes back to Takeda-sensei's apartment. He takes a shower and prepares a healthy breakfast for himself. Once he finishes, he cleans after himself and checks the time. Some stores are probably gonna be open by now.

Shouyou sighs and grabs his wallet, phone, a spare key that Takeda-sensei gave him, and his track jacket. The change in climate and time zones is still bothering him, but he'll get used to it. It isn't the first time, after all.

After checking that the apartment is locked correctly, he heads straight to the nearest shopping district. Shouyou earned a pretty penny after selling his watch yesterday, he didn't want to do it, but he had to do it. That wristwatch was a birthday gift from Kenma.

Shouyou sighs.

Sorry, Kenma. I'll pay you later, I promise.

First of all, he needs a means of transportation, so the first thing he needs to buy is a bike, and he knows where to get one.

Shouyou met the kind old man during his second year of High School, after suffering a weird accident with his old bike. Thankfully, his little accident happened near the old man's store, and the kind old man helped him fixed his old bike in no time. After that time, every time his old bike needed a repair, he'll bring it to the old man who would fix it in record time. Of course, the old man doesn't know him now, but Shouyou is already familiar with the little store. Once Shouyou gets there, he smiles and greets the old couple that owns the store, and then he starts looking around for a new bike.

After getting a new bike, Shouyou heads to the nearest drugstore. Takeda-sensei was kind enough to let him borrow some travel-sized toiletries that he stored in his bathroom cabinet, but it's time that Shouyou gets his own.

Shouyou buys some toiletries, a first aid kit, and some medicine that he might need. Hanging around Omi-san made Shouyou a little paranoid of everything that can go wrong, especially around winter time.

Shouyou sighs and checks the time again. Some clothing stores are gonna be opening soon. Shouyou heads back to Takeda-sensei's apartment to drop his purchases there. After that, he heads straight for the nearest clothing store. Shouyou buys some clothes and a pair of shoes at the clothing store. He also buys some groceries at the market.

After he finishes his shopping, Shouyou heads back to Takeda-sensei's apartment and starts making lunch. He has been cheating for the past few days, but it's time that he remembers that he's an athlete and that it doesn't matter in what country or year Shouyou is in; he has to follow a diet no matter what.

It's just that he really missed Japanese food. Japanese food doesn't taste the same in Brazil; even if Shouyou cooks it himself, the taste just isn't the same. It doesn't matter what Shouyou tries or how many times he reads the recipe; something is always missing in the taste. But every time that Shouyou complains about it, his mom only laughs at him.

After Shouyou finishes eating and cleaning after himself, he tries once again to reach out to his friends and family but to no avail. It doesn't matter what or who he tries. His messages and calls just never go through.

Why am I here?

Shouyou grabs his phone again and starts going through his gallery. He misses everyone.

Karasuno made him an offer on Saturday, and Shouyou isn't going to lie; a part of him was tempted to take it, but...

What'll happen if I do?

What's gonna happen to all the people Sawamura-san saved as a policeman if something happens and he never becomes one?

What's gonna happen to all the kids that Sugawara-san inspired and took care of? All the kids he has probably saved from bullying or family abuse. If Sugawara-san never becomes a teacher. What's gonna happen to those kids?

And what about Azumane-san? Would he become so successful if his career path changes? Is he going to be happy?

What about Nishinoya-san? Would he be happy if he never starts traveling the world? If something changes. Is he still going to feel free?

What about Tanaka-san and Shimizu-san? What's gonna happen to their marriage? To their careers? If Shouyou intervenes now. Is there still going to be a wedding? Are they going to be happy?

What about Yachi-san, Yamaguchi, and Tsukishima? What's gonna happen to their lives? Are they still going to be as successful and happy as before?

And what about Kageyama? What's gonna happen if he never goes pro? Or if he never joins the Adlers or goes to Italy? Is he going to be happy with another career? Or with other teams?

What's gonna happen to Natsu? What's gonna happen to his mom?

What about Ennoshita-san, Narita-san, or Kinoshita-san? What would happen to their lives?

What's gonna happen to Kenma, Kuroo-san, Lev, Inuoka, Yaku-san, and the rest of Nekoma?

Or to Date Tech?

What about Seijoh?

Shiratorizawa?

Inarizaki?

Fukurodani?

Itachiyama?

Kamomedai?

And the rest of them.

What's gonna happen to their lives and careers?

And what about Little Shouyou?

What if he never goes to Brazil?

What's gonna happen to Pedro? What if he never gets out of his little shell if Shouyou isn't there to push him?

What about Heitor? Is he going to quit Beach Volleyball if Shouyou isn't there to be his partner?

What about Nice? Is she going to get married to Heitor again? And what about their baby? Shouyou loves that tiny little human. Is he still going to be there once Shouyou finds a way to go back home? His little nephew can disappear in the blink of an eye, and it is all going to be Shouyou's fault.

What about 'Tsumu-san, Bokuto-san, Omi-san, Meian-san, Inunaki-san, and the rest of his Black Jackals family? Are they still going to be his family?

What about Coach Paulo, Guilherme, Thiago, Tomás, and the rest of his São Paulo family? Are they still going to consider Shouyou, a part of their family?

Shouyou has so much to lose. His friends and family have so much to lose. The timeline can't change, but that's the problem.

The timeline is already changing.

Many things happened that didn't happen before. The dates of the camps, that practice match, the trip yesterday, Daichi-san's speech, the talk with Little Kageyama, the encounter with Oikawa-san.

Shouyou wants to laugh at that last one. That's just his life, isn't it? First Brazil, and now here. It seems like every time Shouyou is starting to doubt himself, Oikawa-san appears with words that change his views on the matter.

Come home with no regrets.

Once upon a time, Shouyou came home with many regrets. He came home with a mind full of what if's and should've's and with a heart full of guilt and regret. It doesn't matter how many years ago it was. Shouyou still blames himself for what happened.

Sure, maybe they weren't expecting to win it all, but there are good losses and bad losses. Shiratorizawa, Inarizaki, and Nekoma were big examples that even the defeated ones can walk away as champions if you only give it your all out there on that court. Karasuno poured blood, sweat, and tears into that court, but their loss was still a bad one, and Shouyou blames himself for it.

What did I say to Little Kageyama yesterday?

Think about the here and now.

Shouyou has a chance to erase his past mistakes, but what's going to happen if he does it? Is he going to erase his future victories too? What's gonna happen to his whole life? What if he erases all of it?

Shouyou doesn't know what to do.

Why am I here? What's my purpose here? What should I do? Do I even have a home to come back to? Am I even able to come back? Am I stuck here forever? Should I abandon my old life and start a new one here? But what if that light comes again? What's going to happen then?

Think about the here and now.

Come home with no regrets.

Once upon a time, he came home with many regrets and guilt, but what about now? If he goes home now, is he gonna regret it? Is he going to feel guilty? The answer is a big fat yes. There's no doubt about it. Shouyou has a chance and the skills to help them, maybe they won't reach the top, but Shouyou can get them far enough.

Think about the here and now.

Come home with no regrets.

If I'm going to reach the top, then I want to do it with this team.

My little Volleyball family.

Give my teammates the best experience of their lives, whether we win or lose.

Shouyou looks at the clock and sighs.

It's time to go.

I'm sorry, everyone. I love all of you with all my heart, but I have to do this. Please, forgive me.

Now...

Daichi looks between Young Hinata and Kageyama and notices that the color has drained from both of their faces. Kageyama is clutching Young Hinata's shoulders so hard that Daichi is sure that the little decoy will have bruises there tomorrow. Whatever Shouyou-san asked Young Hinata has left both boys in shock.

Daichi sighs and tries to stop the panic that is slowly consuming his teammates. With the help of Suga and Coach Ukai, Daichi manages to stop his panicked teammates from doing anything reckless. Nishinoya and Tanaka are the most affected by the reactions of Kageyama and Young Hinata. Tanaka and Nishinoya tried to shake the boys out of their shock, but the two boys were unresponsive, lost in their little world.

Coach Ukai finally intervenes when he notices that Nishinoya and Tanaka are ready to tackle Older Hinata to the floor and make him confess whatever he said to Young Hinata. After his teammates finally settled down, Daichi turns his attention to Older Hinata. The man is still standing near Young Hinata with his bag in hand. He's silently looking at the two boys, and there's no hint of surprise on his face at all. He definitely expected that reaction.

Daichi clears his throat and gets closer to the man. "Shouyou-san, what did you ask him?" Daichi asks, and Shouyou-san turns to look at him and sighs.

"I decided to help you, but I also have a life, a family, and friends that I need to protect," Shouyou-san says, and Daichi sighs and nods.

Daichi notices how his teammates seem to be paying extra attention to them now. Even Kageyama and Young Hinata seem to be listening to them. The sound of the older redhead's voice probably shook them out of their shock.

"The only way that I think I can protect them is to keep the timeline as close as to how it went down the first time around. I know that I can't influence the life or decisions of others, but I can do something about mine. If Shouyou-kun can promise me that he'll do what I did after I graduated, then I'll help you. The decision I took was heavily influenced by things that happened to me during Nationals. If I change those events, then my life and many other lives out there can change, and who knows if it is for better or worse. I don't want to risk it. You understand that, don't you?" Shouyou-san says, and Daichi nods.

Yeah, I understand that much, but what's that decision that you made? And why are my two underclassmen acting like that about it?

"What's that decision that you made? What's your condition?" Daichi asks, and he notices how Shouyou-san looks at his younger self and Kageyama. He turns to look back at Daichi and prepares himself to answer him, but the answer doesn't come from his lips.

"To move to another country," Tsukishima says, and everyone turns to look at him in surprise. The young man rolls his eyes and crosses his arms. "Don't look so surprised. He has been dropping hints all around. Even Oikawa figured it out faster than I did. Yesterday, when he went to pay for our dinner, I heard him talking in English with an American-looking waitress. He told Oikawa that he had been overseas, and the guy concluded that it explains his tan skin. Which makes sense, I guess. There's no way that tan is a result of Japan. He also said something to Oikawa in Spanish, I don't know what he said, but I recognized the language. He even told us that he missed Japanese food. He says things in another language when he's surprised or annoyed, and even his Japanese accent changed, is now lighter and less pronounced. He even struggles with his words sometimes, like he forgets them or needs to think about them before saying them. There are other things that I noticed, but after seeing your expressions, I don't think I need to say more. As for the country that he moved to, if I have to guess, based on the knowledge that he knows English and Spanish and the tan skin, I'll say that it's somewhere in America. Am I wrong?" Tsukishima asks while giving a challenging look to Older Hinata. 

The older redhead smirks at him. "Y'know, Tsukki. You've always been way too smart for your own good. Better be careful. It might get you in trouble one of these days."

"So, it's true. The shrimpy over there has to move to another country for you to help us, huh? That does sound like something crazy enough for you to do it, but why?" Tsukishima asks, and Older Hinata sighs.

"As I was saying, things happened, and decisions were made. Besides, he doesn't have to move away now. I was talking about after graduation."

"Where in America?" Daichi asks. He's trying to be calm about this, but it's taking a lot out of him to stay as calm as he can. He needs answers, and he needs them now.

"South America, actually," Older Hinata says, and everyone gasps in surprise. "To Rio de Janeiro," Older Hinata finishes saying, and everyone freezes.

The gym becomes extremely quiet all of a sudden. Only the animated voices of their schoolmates can be heard in the distance.

Older Hinata takes one look at their expressions and sighs. "Yes, that Rio. In that Brazil."

"BRAZIL?!"

Shouyou-san sighs again. "Listen, he doesn't have to answer me now. He can think about it for a while if he wants. But I'll only become your Coach if he promises me that he'll go there."

"Do you seriously expect us to believe that you live in Rio de Janeiro? Can you even speak the language?" Tanaka asks, and Older Hinata says something in a language that they don't recognize, but now they can guess what language it is, Brazilian Portuguese.

Tanaka blinks at the man, and then he makes that face. "Okay, I have no idea what you just said, but that better not be anything rude, or you'll regret it, you little brat."

Older Hinata sighs again. "I can speak Portuguese, and I don't live in Rio, not anymore." The team breathes a sigh of relief at that. "I live in São Paulo now," Older Hinata says, and the team stiffens again.

"Yes, that São Paulo. In that Brazil."

"São Paulo?! Are you serious?" The team asks in unison.

"Deadly," Older Hinata deadpans. "Listen, you asked me if I was a professional Volleyball player, and I am. But I don't play in Japan. I play in Brazil. My team is ASAS São Paulo," Older Hinata says, and the gym explodes with sound. Questions are being thrown at the older redhead left, right, and center.

Daichi and Coach Ukai try to control the situation again, but the team is completely out of control this time. Daichi shares a look with Coach Ukai and the both of them sigh. This time, it'll probably take a miracle for everyone to calm down.

"SHUT UP!" Young Hinata suddenly screams at the top of his lungs. His face is red, and his knuckles are turning white.

The room goes quiet at the sudden shout. Everyone turns to look at Young Hinata in surprise. When the young redhead notices that everyone is looking at him, he blushes in embarrassment and whispers apologies under his breath.

"Damn, Shouyou. You've got some big lungs in that tiny body," Nishinoya suddenly says.

The surprise seems to disappear at Nishinoya's words, but before the team has a chance to go crazy again, Young Hinata's voice interrupts them once again.

"Do you really play in Brazil?" Young Hinata quietly asks.

"Yes," the older redhead replies.

"I don't believe you," Young Hinata says, and Shouyou-san smiles.

"I know, that's why I brought this," Shouyou-san says and opens his gym bag and pulls out a red jersey. He throws the shirt to Young Hinata, who catches it without thinking.

Young Hinata inspects the shirt with wide eyes. It has Hinata's name and the number twenty-one on it. Looking at the material, at all the logos, and the tags, it's evident that it's the real deal. There's no doubt about it. That's the jersey that his older self proudly wears on the court now. He's no longer Karasuno's #10. Now he's ASAS São Paulo's #21. Young Hinata pulls the shirt to his chest and falls to the floor, and starts crying. Suga tries to console him, but Daichi stops him and points to Older Hinata.

Shouyou-san smiles at his younger self. "You make it, kiddo. It's gonna take a lot of effort, a lot of pain, many sacrifices, and a lot of trial and error. But one day, all that sweat, all of those tears, and all that blood, are going to give you a result. That result is in your hands right now. I'm not lying to you. That jersey is yours, and trust me, the road to get it wasn't an easy one."

The team stares between the two Hinatas in silence. This is a moment between them that they can't intervene in. It isn't their place.

"Why Brazil?" Young Hinata asks after he gets a little control of his emotions.

"As I was saying, some things happened, you like Volleyball, but I discovered that I love it, that it was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I also discovered that I wasn't good enough for that, not yet. So, I did a little research and found out about how things are done in Beach Volleyball, the concept intrigued me, so I decided to learn how to play Beach Volleyball. Unfortunately, the best person I could find to teach me lives in Rio, and of course, I wasn't going to let that stop me. So, after graduation, I took about a year to prepare myself, then I moved to Rio, and I started my training in Beach Volleyball, for two years, that's all I did, training. As for the rest. Well, you can imagine it."

"Wait," Coach Ukai suddenly says. "I thought you were a professional indoor Volleyball player."

"I am."

"Then why Beach Volleyball?" Coach Ukai asks, and the team nods. Everyone is probably wondering the same thing.

"To become better at indoor Volleyball," Older Hinata says like it's obvious.

"You lost us," the whole team says in unison, and Shouyou-san smiles.

"I know it doesn't really make sense at first, but believe it or not, Beach Volleyball helped me a lot. I became a way better indoor player thanks to it," Older Hinata says with a smile, but the team still looks confused.

"But..." Young Hinata's tiny voice interrupts them again. "Brazil is so far away. What about my family? My friends?" Older Hinata sighs and walks closer to his younger self. He kneels in front of the young boy and asks him to look him in the eyes.

"Listen, Shouyou-kun. I won't lie to you. It was very hard. The climate, the time, the people, the food, the culture, everything is different over there, and it's going to overwhelm you. Not understanding the language at first, not having anyone to talk to, starting from the very bottom again, it's going to be one of the greatest challenges of your life. You're going to have many doubts, and there will be a lot of bad days. You won't even want to get out of bed on some days, but give it a chance. Little by little, you'll start seeing the beauty of the place, you'll start understanding the people around you, you'll learn to love Volleyball once again, you'll see everything in a new light, and you're gonna make a bunch of new friends. One day, you're going to realize that, without you noticing, Brazil became home," Older Hinata finishes with a big smile on his face.

Daichi gasps in surprise, and he hears many others doing the same. Young Hinata has never smiled like that. Shouyou-san is clearly in love with the place. Now Daichi understands, Brazil is Older Hinata's true home. He finally found himself. He's no longer lost. Fighting against that treacherous sand, against that wild wind, and that scorching sun, finally revealed his true self. Hinata is no longer Karasuno's little #10 or Kageyama's other half. On that beach, he's just Shouyou. He went there to find himself. He went there to become free, to become his own person, to fight on his own. The cage around his wings is no longer there, now he's flying freely, and there's no one there to stop him. He left all of his insecurities on that beach. Everything was washed away by the sea.

Crap, Daichi wants to cry. Their little crow isn't so little anymore. If he feels this way, then how does Older Daichi feel when he watches one of Hinata's games? Older Daichi has seen Hinata grow from a baby crow to this amazing young man that moves around the court as if he owns the place.

How do you feel, older me? Do you feel proud? Happy? Because I sure do.

Daichi shares a look and a smile with Suga, both understanding what this moment means to them.

A loud gasp of surprise suddenly fills the silence in the room. Daichi turns to look towards where the sound came from and notices that Kageyama is looking intensely at Older Hinata. Shouyou-san turns to look at him, but Kageyama starts running as soon as he notices that the older redhead heard him. In a flash, Kageyama is out of the gym. Young Hinata follows Kageyama with his eyes and then looks at Shouyou-san.

"Go," the older redhead says, and Young Hinata nods and runs after Kageyama. Daichi notices that Yachi also tries to run after them with a worried look on her face and eyes, but Shouyou-san stops her.

"Don't," Shouyou-san says. "They have a lot to talk about, trust me. He had a lot of things to say the first time around, after all," Older Hinata says while looking at the gym's entrance.

Coach Ukai takes one look at the man and turns to look at them with a frown on his face. "Well, we have wasted enough time already. We have a meeting to finish. Everyone, go back to your places. Sensei, get the board. Shimizu-san, please help me with the papers. Yachi-san, please take notes to give to Kageyama and Hinata. Shouyou-san, would you do me a favor and look through my ideas and tell me what you think?" Coach Ukai orders and everyone starts doing what they were told.

In no time, the meeting restarts. The only sign that they were interrupted before is the absence of their little duo.

Daichi sighs and prays for everything and everyone to be okay. They can't lose their concentration now. They need to give Nationals their 120% or even more.

Tobio hears him before he sees him. Of course, the little tangerine ran after him. Tobio sighs and turns to look at the small boy and notices that Hinata is still clutching that red jersey in his hands.

"You should go," Tobio says, and Hinata frowns.

"No, I came here to talk to you, and I'm not leaving until we talk," the boy says with determination shining in his eyes, and Tobio rolls his eyes.

"No, boke. I mean to Brazil. You should go there," Tobio says and waits for the little tangerine to process his words and give him a proper response.

"Why?"

Or a confused one.

Tobio sighs. "You smile all the time, or well, most of the time. But ever since I met you, I have never seen you smile like that. You don't smile as he does."

"That's nonsense. We're the same person."

"Maybe, but you don't share the same feelings. Can I ask you a question?" Tobio asks and waits for Hinata's reply. The boy looks at him searchingly and nods after a while.

"Are you happy? Truly," Tobio asks, but the truth is, he doesn't need a reply, not really.

Because it's written all over the smaller boy's face, he's happy, he enjoys Volleyball, and he likes to spend time with his friends and family, but he isn't truly happy. Something's missing. There's a weight on his shoulders that isn't on Older Hinata's shoulders, not anymore.

"What kind of question is that? Of course I am," Hinata says, and Tobio shakes his head.

"Don't lie to me. You know, ever since I met you, I have known something about you. You're lost. You haven't found your place in the world or Volleyball. When I found out that I could do that toss, I knew right away that it'd take one hell of a spiker for it to work properly. I looked everywhere for that spiker, but they weren't fast enough, or they didn't jump high enough, but then I met you. I saw your speed, your jump, and I knew that you're the person I have been looking for. You overwhelmed me, but I also knew that you weren't ready yet. Then I found you again, and you trusted that toss with everything you got, and it worked perfectly for us, until it didn't, and I was afraid I was going to lose you, but then you came back with this crazy idea that somehow worked and everything was fine again. But then, I got chosen for that camp, I saw your face, and for a moment, I thought you hated me, I thought that we were over, and when I came back, everything was different, you're different."

"You're not making much sense, Kageyama-kun."

"I know. I'm not good with words, so I don't know how to make you understand." Tobio sighs. "When I started playing Volleyball, it began to get boring after a while, not because I didn't like it, or anything like that. It's just, I was too good at it, and the other kids just weren't. Someone very important to me noticed that I was going easy on the other kids, and after I told him that it was the only way that I could find to keep playing more Volleyball, he told me that if I got very good at it, then someone better would come and find me. I clung to that idea for years, waiting for that someone to come to challenge me, I waited for someone as good and as passionate as me to come and find me, and just when I started losing hope, I found you. I knew that you were that person, but while you have the potential, you're not ready yet. You're not there yet. You like Volleyball, but you don't love it, not yet. You're good, but you can be way better at it. You need to find a way to stand on that court as Hinata Shouyou, not as the Little Giant, or as the other part of the Freak Duo, or Karasuno's #10. You need to be just you.

"I didn't wait my whole life for the Little Giant or a partner. I waited for an opponent, for someone better to come and challenge me. If I have to wait a few more years for that to happen, then so be it. If you have to go to the other side of the world for that to happen, then so be it. I don't care how much time I have to wait for you to be ready, just promise me that you'll come back, that you won't forget that you made a promise to defeat me. Go to Brazil, become better and stronger, then come here and prove to me, and the entire world out there, that you deserve to stand on the same stage as me. Prove to me, and everyone else, that I didn't make a mistake when I chose you as my rival."

Tobio is pretty much shouting at this point, but he doesn't care who hears him. He has to make Hinata understand why seeing that smile on Older Hinata's face was so eye-opening for him. Tobio never thought he'd be jealous of his older self, but he is. Older Tobio has the monster that is Older Hinata to play Volleyball with. Tobio also has him, but this Hinata is lost. He still doesn't know who or what he wants to be. This Hinata can change his mind and path at any moment. He can turn around and leave Tobio behind forever until he's nothing more but another High School memory buried somewhere deep in a box gathering dust in an abandoned room. Older Tobio is never going to lose Older Hinata. The man loves that court and the sport probably more than he loves his own life. To see him so happy, so carefree, so in love, seeing him like that made Tobio finally realized what he's missing. He finally realized what his grandfather meant.

All this time, Tobio has been fighting not to lose Hinata, just like he lost his sister, his Grandpa, and his teammates, but it's not about losing him. It's about him coming back to Tobio, better and stronger. How many times has Hinata walked away from Tobio only to come back better and stronger? He should've realized it sooner. But Tobio's an idiot. It took this for him to realize it. Now Tobio isn't afraid to let him go, not anymore because he knows that he's always going to come back to him.

"Brazil is so far away," the smaller boy suddenly says with his little hands clutching the red jersey to his chest. "I don't really understand what made him go there. I don't know what happened to him, but I know how I feel. I love playing Volleyball, and I want to stay on that court for a very long time, and I want to keep playing with you. When you got chosen to go to that camp, I knew you were going somewhere I couldn't follow, I knew I didn't deserve to be there, all the people there are probably really amazing, people who have given their all to the sport for years and years. People who have poured blood, sweat, and tears into every practice and every game. I don't deserve to be there. I'm not good enough yet. That's why I went to Shiratorizawa, I wanted to see what I lacked, and now I know. I'm going to get better, so much better, I'm going to learn from everyone around me, then I'm going to go to Brazil and learn everything I can and more, and I'm going to come back, and we'll play as many games as you like. The big stage, the place that every athlete dreams of, we'll stand on that court together, we'll represent our country together, and we're going to take it to the top, I promise." 

"If you forget that promise, I'm gonna kick your ass," Tobio warns, and Hinata laughs.

Tobio guesses that now he knows how Hinata must have felt when Tobio went to that camp. This time, Hinata is the one going to a place that Tobio can't follow.

"I won't forget, I promise," Hinata says and raises his little fist, and Tobio smiles and bumps their fist together.

Tobio turns around and starts walking. "Come on, we have to tell the team that we have a new Coach," Tobio says but doesn't hear any footsteps following him, so he turns around with a frown.

The sight of Hinata wearing Older Hinata's red jersey greets him. Hinata notices him staring and spins. He then turns to look at him with a smile. "Well? How do I look?" Hinata asks, and Tobio rolls his eyes.

"Like you're wearing a dress."

"Bakageyama! Don't be so mean!" Hinata whines.

"Well, it's true, you don't have the muscle or height to fill it up. You look like a little kid wearing his dad's clothes," Tobio honestly says, and Hinata huffs in annoyance.

Once Hinata is out of the shirt, he throws the red jersey straight at Tobio's face. Unfortunately for him, Tobio catches it with one hand, and Hinata huffs annoyingly again.

Tobio looks at the red jersey in his hands.

ASAS São Paulo, huh?

It's too bad, really. Tobio is going to steal one hell of a spiker away from you guys. This time around, things are going to be different. Tobio would make sure of it.

"So, what do you think he's going to teach us?" Hinata asks as soon as they start walking in the direction of the gym.

Tobio sighs.

He has been wondering the same thing. There's no doubt that Older Hinata has an arsenal full of skills and tricks under his belt, but what's the older redhead going to consider appropriate for a bunch of High Schoolers?

"Dunno. Hopefully, something good that helps us reach the top," Tobio finally replies after thinking a little bit about it.

"We're going to reach it, you'll see," Hinata says with a smile, and Tobio smiles back.

"Yeah, we will."

As soon as Tobio and Hinata enter the gym, everyone turns to stare at them. Tobio and Hinata share a look and smile.

"We have a new Coach!" They say in unison, and the whole team celebrates.

Meanwhile...

Thursday, September 15, 2022

Rome, Italy

3:13 AM

The whole week, Tobio has been having the same dream.

He's on the orange court, wearing Karasuno's #9. His teammates from his first year of High School are all there. The cheers of the people around them are almost making him go deaf. Tobio looks at the scores again, Set 3, 24 - 22.

Just one more point, one more point, and the match would be theirs. Tobio looks at his teammates again, he knows all of their strengths and skills, but he also knows that this point has to be his. If Tobio wants this match to be theirs, if he wants to win, then the ball has to go to him.

Tobio's eyes search for those orange curls and that bright number ten. Once he finds him, their eyes meet, and Tobio thinks, 'Fly for me, come here and get it,' and once the ball reaches him, Tobio tosses it perfectly to his little partner.

The other team panics, the spectators seem to be holding their breaths, and Tobio smirks. He knows the effect the little monster has on others.

Yes, be afraid of our little crow.

Tobio hears the squeak of his partner's Volleyball shoes, and when the smaller boy jumps, Tobio swears he can see wings.

But suddenly, there's a loud bang, then a bright light, someone screams, and in the blink of an eye, Hinata disappears, only leaving black feathers behind.

Tobio watches the ball fall to the floor right in front of him.

This is wrong.

The ball is supposed to be falling on the other side of the court. Where's their little spiker? Why didn't he spike? Where did he go?

A loud sound wakes Tobio up, and he groans.

Is it my alarm already?

Tobio looks at the time and realizes that no, it's not his alarm and that it's too fucking early for this.

Tobio looks at his phone, finally realizing where the loud sound is coming from. Tobio groans again. He forgot to put the damn thing in silence.

If it wasn't for the creepy dream he was having, Tobio swears he'll aim a serve to the head of whoever is calling him at three in the fucking morning.

Tobio looks at the name and picture staring back at him, and a few curses escape his lips before answering the damn call. "Do you have any idea what time it is here!? Learn about time zones before calling someone who lives in another country!"

"I see. So, ta news hasn't reached ya yet," the voice of Miya Atsumu greets him back after Tobio's warm little hello.

Tobio has to rub his eyes and look at his phone again because he's pretty sure that Miya Atsumu never sounded like that. The older setter always has this little teasing tone in his voice, and it always makes Tobio wonder if the guy is genuinely talking to him or simply making fun of him. About ten years of knowing the guy, and Tobio still can't figure that out.

But now he just sounds frustrated. He sounds angry and sad. Devastated, some people would say. Tobio wonders what kind of thing can make the older setter sound like that.

"What news?" Tobio asks, and he hears Miya-san sigh on the other side of the phone.

"The Jackals just got a call from São Paulo," Miya-san says, and Tobio stiffens, and his whole body goes cold.

São Paulo.

Hinata.

Shit.

"Shouyou-kun is missing."

Chapter Text

Keishin looks around and takes a deep breath, the celebrations have finally died down, and it's time to finally get to practice.

Keishin clears his throat to get his students' attention and braces himself. "Okay. Kageyama and Hinata, while you guys were gone, it was decided that morning practices will be dedicated to your serves training. All of your serves still need work, and the more people who master either spike serves or jump floaters, the better. As for the afternoon practices, those are going to be dedicated to everything else. Nishinoya is going to start practicing tossing to everyone, even to Kageyama. People are starting to notice that he can only sync with Azumane or Tanaka, and the fewer blocks we get, the better."

"That's not true. I also toss to Suga-san and Daichi-san," Nishinoya says with a pout. 

"Yes, but you usually don't. I want you to be able to toss to everyone, especially to Hinata and Kageyama. We're also going to start practicing to block and receive the quick attack, and Kageyama will start practicing with our backup players more. That's what this week is going to be about. Everyone else is fine with it. What about you two?" The two boys share a look and nod.

Okay, Karasuno. It's time for you to face your greatest challenge: the monsters you created.

"Alright, we're going to start practicing blocking and receiving the freak quick. Who wants to go first?" The team shares anxious looks with each other. Clearly, no one wants to go first. Keishin sighs and looks at Tsukishima. The tall first-year notices him staring and rolls his eyes, and he's about to say something when Shouyou-san interrupts him.

"I'll do it," the man says, and everyone turns to look at him in surprise. "Listen, I know you guys are a little scared of that quick attack, but blocking it or receiving it it's not that hard or impossible. It has happened before, right?" Shouyou-san asks, and the team gives each other nervous glances. 

"Well, yeah. But..."

"Let me guess, you thought it was luck, didn't you? But it's not about luck or anything like that. It's about dedication, and let me tell you something, 'luck' is the worst kind of insult you can give to a player. You guys are scared because that attack has never been used against you outside of practice matches against your own teammates but think about that attack going against you in a real match, in a match where every move and point counts, in a match where the tiny little mistake can mean the end of your team. You don't like that, do you?" Shouyou-san asks, but judging by the looks on the team's faces right now, it's clear that he doesn't need an answer.

"The truth is, you guys actually have an advantage against that attack. You guys know it inside and out. You know the players' movements, the speed of the attack. You can probably even guess the direction of where the ball is going to go before it happens. The only thing you need to do is stop thinking of that attack as yours and start thinking of it as an enemy attack because that's what's going to become soon. As I said before, it's not that hard, and it's not about luck. Just let me get ready, and I'll show you," the man says and grabs his gym bag while asking Sawamura for the keys to the clubroom.

"Not that hard, he says," Sugawara whispers.

"For him, maybe," Azumane whispers back.

"But he's right, y'know? You guys do have an advantage. Alright, Kageyama and Hinata, go get ready too," Keishin orders, and the two boys nod and start preparing themselves. "As for the rest of you, observe and take notes."

Oh, this is going to be so much fun.

In no time, the man is back and starts doing his stretches. Kageyama and Hinata are practicing spiking. Keishin looks at the three of them and almost wants to laugh. They have the same look of concentration and determination on their faces.

Keishin turns to look at the team. "Okay, since Yachi-san is busy doing whatever 'secret project' she and Shimizu-san are planning now, who wants to help?" Keishin asks, and Kinoshita and Narita raise their hands.

After a little discussion, it's decided that Narita is going to be the one passing the balls to Kageyama, and Kinoshita is going to be the one picking up the stray balls. The rest of the team grab some chairs and sit down to observe. Sugawara and Sawamura even ask for notebooks to take notes.

After finishing his stretches, Shouyou-san nods at him and steps into the court. He looks at Young Hinata and Kageyama and smirks. "Alright, kiddos. Guess it's time for the two of you to learn a little lesson," Shouyou-san says, and the two boys share a look.

"What lesson?" The two ask in unison, and Shouyou-san gives them a very intimidating look.

"You're not invincible," Shouyou-san says and smiles sweetly at the two boys. Keishin suppressed a shiver, and the freak duo takes a step back.

Scary, professional players are scary.

Keishin turns to look at Takeda-sensei. The man has already divided the board into ten little squares. The top row says, 'Receives,' and the bottom row says, 'Blocks.' Keishin nods at Sensei and turns back to the court.

"Alright, Hinata and Kageyama, I need you to send ten spikes Shouyou-san's way, just ten spikes, no more. Shouyou-san, try to give us five receives and five blocks. If you can't, that's fine, do whatever you feel comfortable with or whatever you think will work best. Is everyone ready?" After receiving some nods and noticing that everyone is in position, Keishin blows his whistle.

Narita passes the ball to Kageyama. As soon as the ball leaves Narita's hands, Keishin notices how Shouyou-san's eyes sharpen and how he starts following the ball with his eyes. The ball reaches Kageyama, and Young Hinata jumps. Kageyama does a back set to the little spiker. Keishin notices how Hinata spikes it a little to the left, Shouyou-san reacts quickly, and in no time, he's in a position to receive the ball. Shouyou-san does an overhand receive and sends the ball perfectly to where the setter would be.

As if it's second nature, Kinoshita grabs the ball from the air, and after he notices what he did, he stares at it in disbelief. Keishin hears some gasps of surprise from behind him, and he also hears how Nishinoya laughs in delight. Young Hinata and Kageyama are staring at Shouyou-san in disbelief. One receive down, four more to go.

After the third receive, Kageyama scowls and grabs Young Hinata, he whispers something into the smaller boy's ear, and Young Hinata nods. Keishin looks at Shouyou-san and notices that the man doesn't look worried at all.

Keishin turns to look at the team and notices how Sawamura and Sugawara are furiously taking notes. Nishinoya separated himself from the group on the second receive and started mimicking Shouyou-san's movements, carefully watching the man and the ball. The small libero is probably taking mental notes of everything happening in the court right now. He's accumulating information and coming up with strategies for the future.

Keishin is glad that Shouyou-san is making it look like receiving that fast attack is easy, at least the scared looks disappeared, only to be replaced with looks of concentration, his students are thinking about what they'll do in that situation, that's a good sign, it means they're taking this seriously.

Keishin sighs, and he blows his whistle again. Two more receives to go.

Narita passes the ball to Kageyama. As soon as the ball reaches the setter, Young Hinata jumps and swings his arm. Keishin realizes what the kid is going to do a second before it happens. Hinata is going to pull a feint.

Shouyou-san moves so fast that Keishin is pretty sure he teleported. He bumps the ball with his arms to where the setter would be. Once again, Kinoshita grabs the ball from the air and throws it back into the cart.

Keishin stares at Kinoshita. The boy reacts pretty quickly to the ball, snatching it from the air at precisely the right moment. If this were a practice match, then Kinoshita's timing would be perfect to set. Questions and ideas are starting to form in Keishin's head.

Has Kinoshita ever played as a setter before? Did he play Volleyball during Junior High? Keishin knows that some of the others did, but what about Kinoshita? He has to ask the boy about it sometime.

It's time for the last receive of the day. Kageyama pulls Young Hinata to the side again and whispers something to him. Young Hinata nods and signals that they're ready. Keishin blows his whistle again, and Narita passes the ball to Kageyama. Young Hinata starts running and jumps. Keishin knows what's about to happen. Hinata is going to spike the ball straight down, just like that time against Shiratorizawa.

Older Hinata also seems to know what's going to happen, and in a flash, he's right there to receive it. This time, Older Hinata doesn't pass the ball to Kinoshita; instead, he sends it to the other side of the court, and Kageyama fails to save it.

Keishin blows his whistle. "Okay, that's five receives, rest for a bit, and after that, we'll start with blocking. Kinoshita, can you come here, please?" Keishin asks, and the young man looks up in surprise and nods at him.

Keishin looks at the worried face of his student and sighs. "Relax, kid. I'm not going to scold you or anything like that," Keishin says, and Kinoshita sighs in relief and relaxes a little.

Keishin frowns.

Am I that scary?

"Quick question. Did you play Volleyball during your Junior High years?"

Kinoshita looks at him in surprise and then nods after a minute. "Yeah, I did. Not much, though. I wasn't a starter until my third year."

"I see. What position did you use to play?"

"The same one as now," Kinoshita says, and Keishin hums.

"Have you played as setter before?" Keishin asks while lowering his voice a little, in case Kageyama or Sugawara hear them.

Those two can be quite the jealous type sometimes. They tend to defend their position with sharp claws when they feel threatened. Kageyama more than Sugawara, but still.

"Not outside of practice matches. I never played Volleyball before Junior High, so my Coach tested me in all positions before making me a starter. And I have played as a setter during three-on-three's. Why?" Kinoshita asks, also lowering his voice during his explanation.

"So, you have some experience. I saw how you quickly reacted to Shouyou-san's passes. I thought that if it was a practice match, then you'll be in a perfect form and position to set. You were pretty good out there just now," Keishin says, and Kinoshita blushes in embarrassment at the praise.

"Thanks, but I think that was mainly because Shouyou-san's passes were perfect."

"It can be that, yes. But that and your knowledge and experience kicking in made you react to it." Keishin sighs again and looks at the team. "Listen, next year, Sugawara is not going to be here. Kageyama is truly amazing, there's no doubt about it, but things tend to happen. So far, we have dealt with those things by bringing Sugawara in, but next year, we're not going to have him, and if we don't get a backup setter with the new members, then we're screwed. If something happens to Kageyama - and don't get me wrong, I hope nothing happens. - But if something happens to our setter, then it's game over for Karasuno," Keishin says, and Kinoshita's eyes widen in surprise, and he starts to look a little sick.

Keishin knows that the first and second years are aware that the third-years are leaving soon, but he also knows that they're still living under the blanket of security that their senpais provide.

Ennoshita and Tanaka can probably fill the holes left behind by Sawamura and Azumane, it'll take a lot of effort and confidence, but Keishin is sure they can do it.

Yachi-san might be shy and awkward, but Shimizu-san is trying her best to teach her how to handle things around here, and Keishin can see that the results are paying off. Besides, the first-years are going to be an excellent support for that girl. Even though things are sometimes tense and awkward between them, Keishin can see a strong bond forming between those five.

But Sugawara is more than a backup setter. He's like the older brother to all of them, or more like a mom to the team in a way. Those are two roles that need to be filled by someone else next year.

Keishin has been worrying about it for some time now, he doesn't know what kind of people will be joining the club next year, but he can work with the people he has now, right? He still doesn't know who's going to be filling Sugawara's second role just yet, but maybe, just maybe, he can get someone to fill his setter role.

"Listen, I know you're already a backup wing spiker and also a pinch server, but would you mind practicing setting for a bit? If you don't like it or are not comfortable with it, tell me, and it'll be fine. I'll try someone else but at least give it a try. How's that sound?" Keishin asks, and he sees how Kinoshita thinks long and hard about it.

"I can try, but I can't promise you anything," Kinoshita says, and Keishin nods.

That's fair.

"That's fine with me. Maybe I can get Narita, Ennoshita, and Yamaguchi to accept, too. That way, you're not doing it alone, and who knows, I might get a new backup setter out of it. I'll talk with Sugawara and Kageyama too, see if they can give you guys some pointers or something," Keishin says, and Kinoshita nods. Keishin dismisses him and turns to look back at the team.

"Alright, is everyone ready to continue?" Keishin asks, and the team nods at him.

"Back to your positions then. Kinoshita, since Shouyou-san is going to be blocking now instead of receiving, then change your position from setter to libero, please." Kinoshita nods at him and changes his position. "All of you need to remember that there are different types of blocking, okay? So, if Kinoshita can get the ball, we're counting it as a successful block. Same drill as before, Shouyou-san. Try to give me five successful blocks, but if you can't, then do whatever you think will work best," Keishin says, and Kinoshita and Shouyou-san nod. Keishin turns to look to the other side of the court and notices that his students are ready, and he blows his whistle.

The first block is a one-touch, and Kinoshita manages to get it in time. It looks painful, though, and the pass is very shaky. On their second attempt, Young Hinata changes directions at the last second, but while Young Hinata is fast, Shouyou-san is faster. The older redhead jumps just in time and manages to smack down the ball. Young Hinata and Kageyama are unable to react on time. In the third attempt, Young Hinata tries to do a wipe, but Shouyou-san notices it and moves his hand out of the way, and Kinoshita calls it an out.

He used that move again, huh. Keishin thinks in irritation. Mind you, it's not the first time he sees it or hears about it, but damn, that one sure is annoying.

He's a professional. What did you expect? A voice inside Keishin's head asks. Keishin gets even more irritated now. That voice sounds way too much like his old geezer for comfort.

Young Hinata and Kageyama seem torn between looking annoyed or amazed. Kinoshita, on the other hand, seems very happy. Probably glad that he isn't the only one to have that move used against him.

Kageyama pulls Young Hinata to the side again and once again whispers something to him. Shouyou-san looks amused for some reason. Keishin sighs and tells them to get ready to continue.

Keishin blows his whistle, and Narita passes the ball to Kageyama. Young Hinata jumps, and Keishin sighs, already knowing what's going to happen. Sure enough, Kageyama does a setter dump, or better say, he tries, but his dump gets blocked by Shouyou-san too.

"Kageyama-," Keishin starts to say, but he gets interrupted by Shouyou-san.

"Hey, Little Kageyama. I know you hate losing, but Coach Ukai wants you guys to learn how to block and receive the quick attack, not your setter dumps. Save those for a real match, please. Also, get more creative; that was painfully obvious," Shouyou-san says, stealing every word from Keishin's mouth.

Kageyama looks annoyed, and his left eye starts twitching again. Kageyama huffs in annoyance and turns to look at Narita and Young Hinata and signals at them to continue.

On the fourth try - Or is it fifth? Are we counting the dump? - Shouyou-san makes Young Hinata spike straight to an already waiting Kinoshita. Nishinoya's cheers can be heard in the background, and Young Hinata's eyes sparkle in recognition and then in annoyance.

"Yeah, I hate that guy's blocking too," Shouyou-san comments, and Young Hinata agrees with him. Everyone else looks at the two Hinatas in confusion. Not understanding what the two redheads are talking about.

On the last try, Young Hinata tries to regroup with a rebound, but once again, Shouyou-san moves his hand out of the way, and Kinoshita dives to save the ball, barely managing it in time. The ball goes back to Kageyama's and Young Hinata's side of the court, but both boys are so shocked that they don't even realize it until they hear the ball hitting the floor.

"Well, that's a good move to use against someone like Bokuto," Tsukishima comments, and Keishin has to agree.

"Shouyou-kun, Little Kageyama," Shouyou-san says, and both boys snap out of their shocks. "Why do you look so shocked? It's not the first time you get blocked or your quicks get received. Tell me, why do you think I was able to do that?" Shouyou-san asks, and both boys look at him in confusion. "Do you think it was luck? Because I'm older? A pro? Because I have more experience?" Shouyou-san asks, but Kageyama and Young Hinata don't answer. They just continue to stare at the man in shock. "It wasn't luck or experience. It was observation. The whole court is full of information. The way the ball moves, the way the players move, you have to read it all," Shouyou-san says and then turns to look at the rest of the team.

"There's also something else. I remember, for three years, Kageyama and I made that move during practices and official matches. Perfecting it, making it faster, sharper. Finding new ways to make it better. I've seen Kageyama made that toss so many times. I remember how he moves, how he handles the ball, his favorite way to toss it. I remember my moves, seeing myself spiking and running while reviewing every match that we played. I remember the times that attack was used against me. I remember how it felt and how the other setter and spiker moved. For three years, I saw that move almost every day. You have been seeing that attack since the start of the school year. You have seen its success and failures. You saw it improve. You're already used to seeing it. You already know how the players move, so why are you so afraid of it? Sure, speed is amazing, all-powerful, and intimidating. But it's not invincible. You guys know that better than anyone else, don't you?"

Everyone looks down at that, clearly knowing what Shouyou-san is referencing and remembering that moment. The moment their ultimate weapon failed.

"Get ready and then form a line. I'm gonna make you guys practice until you puke. You're not leaving this place until the whole rotation has gotten five consecutive receives," Shouyou-san says with an intimidating aura all around him.

"Scary," the team murmurs.

"Get ready, now."

"Yes, sir!"

"Why do I feel like my job just got stolen?" Keishin asks under his breath.

The first one to try for receives is Sawamura. He struggles with the first set of five, only getting two. Sugawara, Azumane, and Tanaka only get one out of five. Nishinoya is the most promising so far, getting three out of five. Narita, Kinoshita, Tsukishima, and Yamaguchi only manage to get one.

Keishin looks at the team and frowns. "Shouyou-san? I know you said the whole rotation, but how are Hinata and Kageyama going to practice?"

Shouyou-san gives him an odd look at that question. "Did you forget that Shouyou-kun and Kageyama-kun are not the only ones that can handle that toss?" Shouyou-san asks, and Keishin's eyes widen.

"You mean..."

"I can toss to Shouyou-kun so Kageyama-kun can practice, and Kageyama-kun can toss to me so Shouyou-kun can practice. See? Easy," Shouyou-san says, and Keishin sweatdrops.

Easy, he says.

Kageyama looks pissed as hell when Shouyou-san takes his spot as the setter, but he manages to get two receives out of five. Hinata manages to get one with his face.

Shouyou-san sighs. "Alright, Nishinoya-san, since you managed to get three already, you go first in the second round. Daichi-san and Kageyama-kun, you go second and third. The rest of you, observe," Shouyou-san says, and the three mentioned boys form a line.

In the second round, Nishinoya manages to get three again. Sawamura also manages three, and Kageyama is still on two. But none of them are consecutive.

"Okay, Kageyama-kun, come set for Shouyou-kun. Nishinoya-san, try again, please." Nishinoya manages only three again.

"Noya-san. Don't just watch the ball. Watch how Kageyama-kun and Shouyou-kun move too," Shouyou-san says, and this time, Nishinoya manages to get four receives, but he misses the first one.

"Again," Nishinoya says, and Keishin and Shouyou-san share a look.

"Last try, take a break after this one," Keishin says, and Nishinoya nods. He still only manages four receives.

"Take a break and relax, Nishinoya. Clear your mind. That way, you'll be able to think more clearly," Keishin says, and Nishinoya nods and moves to the side. Azumane offers him some water, and the small libero takes it gratefully.

"Okay, Captain. You're up next. Relax, okay? You know the drill," Keishin says, and Sawamura takes a deep breath and nods.

Sawamura manages to get three on the first try, but he finally gets four on the third try. He's now on the same level as Nishinoya.

"Take a break, Sawamura. Kageyama, you're up next," Keishin says, and Older Hinata takes Kageyama's place.

The young setter takes a deep breath and concentrates. He manages two on the first and second tries, but he finally upgrades to three on the third one.

"Let me try again," Nishinoya says, and Keishin nods as Kageyama and Shouyou-san switch again.

Nishinoya manages four again on his first try, and he almost gets the fifth one on his second try. Before the third round, he slaps himself in the face, much to the concern of his teammates. Nishinoya starts doing finger pushups, and he takes a deep breath once he finishes and signals that he's ready. Keishin notices how his eyes seem to be sharper now.

Nishinoya manages the first three receives with no problem. By the fourth one, the whole team seems to hold their breaths. He gets the fourth one with no trouble at all, and Keishin can feel the tension rising in the room.

Shouyou-san passes the ball to Kageyama. Hinata starts running and jumps just a second before the ball reaches the setter. Kageyama does a back set to Hinata, and the small teen spikes the ball with all his might.

Nishinoya moves in a flash and manages to save the ball with his foot. The pass is definitely shaky, but at least he gets it up. Everyone follows the ball with their eyes, and once Keishin snatches it from the air and throws it back into the cart, the whole team cheers in delight.

"Nishinoya!" The team shouts and immediately goes to high-five the small libero, who's jumping up and down in happiness.

"Well, it seems like Nishinoya is the first one to get it right. That's our amazing libero right there," Sugawara says as he ruffles the boy's hair.

"Noya-san," Shouyou-san calls out to the small libero, who turns to look at the man with a big smile on his face.

"Yes, Shouyou-san?"

"I'll buy you a soda-flavored popsicle after practice."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because you're my awesome senpai," Shouyou-san says, and Nishinoya starts crying.

"Shouyou-san!"

Keishin doesn't understand much of what's happening, but he guesses it's probably something important to the small libero. Sawamura notices his confusion and mouths the words 'first meeting' at him.

Oh, it's a call back to their first meeting. That makes more sense now.

"I still have to practice more, though. I barely got that last one, and I still have to try it while Shouyou-san is the one setting or spiking. But that felt really good," Nishinoya says, and the team smiles at him.

"That's our Nishinoya," Sawamura says proudly. "But I'm not gonna get left behind. It's my turn now."

Kageyama and Young Hinata nod, and everyone goes back to their places. At the end of his three tries, Sawamura still can only get four. Kageyama tries again, but he's still at three. Nishinoya tries it again, this time with Shouyou-san as the setter, he has a hard time in the first two tries, but by the third try, he manages to get four. The same thing happens with Sawamura, and Kageyama finally upgrades to four on his last attempt.

Kageyama starts setting again, and Nishinoya finally manages to get five perfect receives. His popsicle count upgrades to two after that.

Sawamura still can't get the last one, but it's clear that he's close. He just needs to figure the best way to kill the speed and spin of the ball without it going crazy.

Kageyama is still at four, but Keishin can tell that he'll also get the fifth one soon. Nishinoya finally manages to get five receives when Shouyou-san is setting, but he still can't get all five when the older redhead is the one spiking. Shouyou-san's spikes are more powerful than those from his younger self, and they're also faster. Nishinoya only manages to get three, but his popsicle count does upgrade to three.

By the end of practice, only Nishinoya manages to get five receives. He's still struggling when Shouyou-san is setting, and he still can't pick up all of Shouyou-san's spikes, but he has no trouble at all when it comes to Young Hinata and Kageyama.

The ones who only managed to receive only one try it again, and after five rounds of the whole rotation going at it, Azumane and Tanaka upgrade to two. The ones who are still really bad at it are Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and Young Hinata. Keishin isn't surprised. Those three have always been a little bad at receiving.

Keishin sighs.

Hopefully, tomorrow's a better day.

Keishin approaches Shouyou-san while the guys do their cool-down stretches. "You surprised me, y'know," Keishin says, and the man turns to look at him.

"I'm sorry?"

"You're excellent as a Coach, I thought you'd be all awkward and that explaining things would be a little difficult for you, but you looked like a natural out there," Keishin admits, and the older redhead laughs.

"I have experienced as a Coach, y'know? I used to give classes to kids and tourists back in Rio. It was fun, and sure it was awkward and a little hard at first, but I got used to it after a while, and I liked it."

"Oh, that explains it. Wanna review today's practice with us?" Keishin asks and points towards Takeda-sensei, who's already organizing the notes of today's practices.

"Sure, I'll be there after I do my stretches," the man says, and Keishin nods. Once he turns around, he notices that Shimizu-san and Yachi-san are right behind them.

"Yes?" Keishin asks, and the girls share a look.

"We were wondering if we could ask a few questions to Shouyou-san, is for our secret project," Shimizu-san says, and Shouyou-san looks confused.

"Secret project?"

"It's something we're planning for the team. We were wondering if we could ask you a few questions, Shouyou-san. I mean, if it doesn't bother you, of course," Shimizu-san says, and Shouyou-san turns to look at him.

Keishin shrugs. "Don't look at me. I don't know anything about it." 

"If I can answer some of your questions, then sure, I'll help you. What do you guys need to know?" Shouyou-san asks, and the girls smile at each other and start firing question after question.

Keishin's eyes widen. He's already guessing what the 'secret project' might be.

On Tuesday, during morning practice, Keishin tells Takeda-sensei and Shouyou-san about his idea about training someone on the team to act as a backup setter once Sugawara graduates.

"That's not a bad idea at all. That sounds great," Takeda-sensei says, and Shouyou-san nods.

"Takeda-sensei's right, but I recommend that you also suggest to the main players the same thing. We need stronger emergency sets. The only ones who can do it decently as of now are Daichi-san and Nishinoya-san," Shouyou-san comments, and Keishin nods.

"Yes, I know. That doesn't sound so bad. As soon as Nishinoya gets the hang of receiving the quick attack, I'm gonna start letting him practice tossing to the others," Keishin says.

"He's still weak at overhand receives and getting jump floaters, though," Shouyou-san points out.

"Yes, but he's been practicing with Kinoshita for quite some time now. If he doesn't improve soon, then I'll step in, but he seems to be doing fine for now," Keishin says, and Shouyou-san nods.

After that, they turn to look at the team practicing their serves, with Nishinoya practicing his receives.

"What about their serves?" Shouyou-san asks, and Keishin sighs.

"Some are still very weak at it, but Kageyama, Azumane, Tanaka, Yamaguchi, and Kinoshita, seem to have gotten better control of theirs. I'm still worrying about their nerves in a real match, though," Keishin comments, but Shouyou-san seems to be lost in thought as he looks at the guys practicing their serves.

Keishin frowns. "Something the matter?"

"Dunno. I feel like I forget something about serves," Shouyou-san says with a frown.

Keishin and Takeda-sensei share a worried look. "Is it something bad, Shouyou-san?" Takeda-sensei asks, and Shouyou-san shrugs. 

"Dunno. I think it had something to do with music, though. I'll probably remember later."

Music? The hell?

As soon as afternoon practice starts, Keishin calls everyone for a meeting. After Takeda-sensei informs the boys about their upcoming practice match against Date Tech, Keishin finally drops the bomb about the setter thing.

"Listen, guys. This is something that we didn't talk about during our last meeting because I just thought of it yesterday. As you all know, the third-years would be graduating soon. I know what it means for some of you, but it also means that we'll be losing our backup setter," Keishin says, and some eyes widen.

"There are backups for Sawamura's and Azumane's positions, but there aren't any for Sugawara's. That's why I want those of you who aren't starters to start training to become our new backup setter. If you don't like it or don't feel comfortable playing as a setter, then it's fine. We'll try somebody else. But as of now, I want all of those who aren't starters to start practicing. We don't know what kind of people would be joining us next year, maybe we'll get a setter, maybe we won't, but I want to be prepare anyway. For those of you who are regulars and want your emergency sets to improve, the invitation is open for you too. Starting today, I'll dedicate an extra hour of practice to setting. Sugawara and Kageyama, if you guys want to help me a little, then that's fine with me. Those of you who are interested, please tell Takeda-sensei. Understood?" Keishin asks, and everyone nods.

"Okay then, go do your stretches. We're going to continue where we left off yesterday."

Nishinoya manages five perfect receives with Young Hinata and Kageyama attacking. He also manages five when Shouyou-san is setting, but he's still struggling when Shouyou-san is the one spiking, only managing to get three, and they're messy.

Sawamura finally upgrades to five when Young Hinata and Kageyama are attacking. The team cheers in delight, and Shouyou-san promises him a meat bun. He's still at four when Shouyou-san is the one setting, though, and just like Nishinoya, he only manages to pick three of Shouyou-san's spikes.

Kageyama is still at four, but Azumane and Tanaka finally upgrade to three, Sugawara and Ennoshita upgrade to two. The rest is still at one.

By the end of practice, Sawamura upgrades to five when Shouyou-san is setting, and his meat bun count upgrades to two. Nishinoya and Sawamura finally manage to pick four of Shouyou-san's spikes. Sugawara and Ennoshita upgrade to three during their last try, and Narita and Kinoshita upgrade to two. Azumane and Tanaka stay at three, and the rest stays at one.

As for setting practice, Kageyama promises to make some notes to give to the team, and Sugawara decides to help Keishin during the practices, saying he'll like to train his successor. Keishin is glad that Kinoshita, Narita, Ennoshita, and Yamaguchi show up and even happier when Tanaka, Tsukishima, and Young Hinata decide to stay too.

Kageyama, Nishinoya, Sawamura, and Azumane decide to practice their serves and receives with Shouyou-san during that extra hour of practice.

During Wednesday's morning practice, Young Hinata surprises everyone by asking Shouyou-san to teach him how to do a jump serve. Shouyou-san agrees immediately, and in record time, he does his stretches and explains the basics to the kid.

By the end of morning practice, Shouyou-san has Young Hinata, Yamaguchi, Ennoshita, Narita, and Kinoshita, hanging to his every word. Sugawara and Sawamura look at Older Hinata like a pair of proud parents. Nishinoya and Tanaka are crying, looking proudly at the young man like a pair of older brothers or something. Azumane, Tsukishima, and Kageyama try to look like they aren't paying attention to what the man is saying, but they clearly are.

Keishin shares an amused look with Takeda-sensei.

Serves practice just became way more interesting.

During the afternoon practice, Sawamura and Nishinoya pick every ball spiked by Young Hinata. It doesn't matter who is setting; both boys have received every spike perfectly. Both boys also finally manage to pick four of Shouyou-san's spikes. The fourth one is still shaky, but it's there.

Azumane, Tanaka, and Ennoshita finally upgrade to four, with Sugawara still staying at three. Narita and Kinoshita also upgrade to three, Yamaguchi finally upgrades to two, but Tsukishima and Young Hinata are still at one. Also, Young Hinata finally stops receiving with his face. Kageyama finally upgrades to five at the last second, it's shaky, but it's there. Shouyou-san promises him a meat bun of his choosing.

As for setting practice, Ennoshita and Kinoshita are very good at it. Clearly, both boys have little experience on the matter. Tanaka and Tsukishima also seem to be decent enough. The group is divided after that. Those who seem to have a little experience in the matter go with Sugawara, and those who don't seem to know much about it stay with Keishin.

After the extra hour of practice is over, Nishinoya and Young Hinata surprise everyone again when they ask Shouyou-san to teach them how to receive. Once again, Shouyou-san has everyone hanging to his every word.

Keishin realizes that the team is in good hands for now, and he goes to check on the girls. He wants to see how the 'secret project' is going.

Thursday's practices are a little odd.

Since Young Hinata is inexperienced with serves, Shouyou-san asks him first to get the hang of a normal one. To practice until serving becomes second nature to him, tossing the ball into the air and then hitting it.

After they get the hang of tossing and hitting, Shouyou-san puts many water bottles all over the court, and Keishin notices that they're numbered. Shouyou-san asks them to aim at a specific number, and the guys do. Some are struggling more than others, but by the end of practice, many have gotten the hang of it.

When Keishin gets to the gym for afternoon practice, he finds Shouyou-san frowning at a piece of paper.

"Everything okay?"

"Someone gave me this today when I went to the store," Shouyou-san says and shows him the paper. Keishin recognizes it, and immediately, he knows where all of this is going.

Oh, boy.

"Hey, guys," Shouyou-san says once the guys - and girls - are all there. The team looks at each other and then gets closer to the two of them.

"Did you guys already take your flu shots?" Shouyou-san asks, and the team looks surprised and starts looking at each other worriedly. Takeda-sensei and Shimizu-san are the only ones who nod.

Shouyou-san curses under his breath. "Man, Omi-san is going to kill me."

Omiwhatnow?

"Who?" The team asks in confusion, but Shouyou-san ignores them and shows them the paper he's holding. The team unconsciously take a step back and shiver.

"We can't. We have practice," Tanaka says in a hurry.

"We can go during the weekend," Shouyou-san comments with ease.

"We have a practice match against Dateko on Saturday," Nishinoya says, mimicking Tanaka's tone.

Shouyou-san looks at the paper and smiles. "Well, whaddya know? They're open on Sundays." The team starts to panic, and in unison, they turn to look at Keishin. 

"Y'know, it's not a bad idea at all," Keishin says, and the team shivers in fear, and complaints and excuses start coming left, right, and center.

"Teenagers," Shouyou-san says and sighs in exasperation. Keishin and Takeda-sensei look at him weirdly.

"You're not that much older, y'know," Keishin says, and Shouyou-san chuckles.

"Aren't we the same age?" Shouyou-san asks, and Takeda-sensei and Shimizu-san start laughing at that, and Keishin scowls.

That damn brat.

Shouyou-san clears his throat and looks at the team, and the guys finally settle down. "Listen, I'm aware that accidents happen and that you can't do anything about it, but getting sick can be prevented. Athletes need to take extra care of their health, y'know. Having a balanced diet, doing your stretches right, exercising, not overworking yourselves, and having a good sleeping schedule, are things that every athlete worth their two cents should do. But I guess it can't be helped. If you don't want to do it, I won't force you. Just don't come crying to me when you're stuck in bed with a fever, headaches, coughing fits, and annoying running noses, while your teammates play at Nationals without you. I'll greet everyone there for you, so no worries. It'll be fun seeing all the younger versions of my friends again," Shouyou-san says and turns around.

Takeda-sensei and Keishin share an impressed look. "Oh, he's good."

The team share looks between them, and the faces of fear are replaced with those of determination. "We'll do it," the team says in unison, and Shouyou-san smiles sweetly at them.

Keishin snorts, teenagers indeed. They don't even realize that they were just tricked into taking a flu shot and a checkup. 

"Alright, with that out of the way, go get ready. We're gonna start practicing receiving as soon as you guys are done," Keishin says, and the guys nod at him and start getting ready.

Kageyama is still struggling with his receives, but at least now he can get all five. Sawamura and Nishinoya finally manage to get five of Shouyou-san's spikes, but they're still struggling with them. Shouyou-san promises them meat buns for their efforts.

The others stay the same as before, but Keishin can tell that the practice is helping all of them. Young Hinata and Kageyama are getting more creative with their attacks, and the others seem more aware of the ball and the players now.

Kenshin gets an idea, and for the last rounds, he makes the whole rotation practice normal receives. All of them manage to receive them. Not all of them are perfect, but the ball is up, and that's what counts. Their defense is clearly improving with all that practice.

The extra setting practice is going well, too. Kinoshita and Ennoshita manage to sync up with each other and with Sugawara in no time. Tsukishima also learns the best way to make an emergency set for Tanaka to spike, but Tanaka struggles to find the best way to set to the tall middle blocker. The other three improved as well, all of them managing to pull a decent emergency set with so little practice.

At the end of practice, the girls finally present the 'secret project' to him. Once Keishin gets home, he sits down and starts to review it. A meeting is coming soon. This new information is going to help his students a lot.

Friday's afternoon practice is when Sawamura, Nishinoya, and Kageyama, finally graduate from receives practice. The team celebrates, and after they finish, Shouyou-san takes Kageyama's place as setter while the raven-haired teen gives Nishinoya's libero tosses a try.

Sawamura decides to stay and give a few pointers to his teammates. Azumane, Tanaka, Ennoshita, and Sugawara are still at only four receives. Narita, Kinoshita, Yamaguchi, Tsukishima, and Young Hinata are still at three, but it's clear that they're fighting hard to improve. 

"Next week, we're going to start blocking practice, so be ready. Also, I want to get some spiking practice in, so I'll try to have a schedule ready for Monday, so we don't get sidetracked. By the way, we're going to have a meeting tomorrow before Date Tech comes here, and hopefully, we can also get some practice in," Keishin says, and the team nods.

"By the way, guys. Like you guys must know already, winter break is coming soon. I was planning to let you do as you always do, but since Shouyou-san is here, would you guys like a training camp during the break? You don't have to answer me now. You can think about it during the weekend and inform us of your decision on Monday," Keishin suggests, but judging by the excited looks going all around the gym, he's sure that it's a done deal.

During the extra hour of practice, Kageyama finally manages to sync up with Nishinoya's tosses. Kinoshita and Ennoshita manage to sync up with Sawamura and Azumane. Tanaka finally finds the perfect way to set for Tsukishima. Young Hinata and Yamaguchi are spiking Narita's tosses perfectly now, and Shouyou-san surprises everyone when he starts coaching the newbies too.

"You're setting is perfect, Shouyou-san," Sugawara comments, and the older redhead thanks him with a smile.

"Thanks, I'm no setter, but I've played the position before in Beach Volleyball, and I also do a lot of setting during matches. People always tell me that my emergency sets are as good as 'Tsu-" The man stops there and clears his throat. "I mean, like the ones from the main setter of the team, and he's an awesome setter, one of the best ones out there, so having people say that to me is really something."

Keishin can pretty much hear Kageyama gritting his teeth from the other side of the room at that little comment. 

"So, you're not the setter of your team? Since you told Oikawa-san that you were a setter, I thought-" Shouyou-san chuckles, and Sugawara stops talking.

"I wanted to see his reaction at a little competition, but no, I'm not ASAS setter. That's Guilherme. He joined the team a year before I did, so he's still pretty new at some stuff, but he's pretty good at setting. Brazilians really have their own style of playing sometimes," the man says with a little laugh, probably remembering something that happened before.

"Do you like setting, Shouyou-san?" Sugawara asks, and the man smiles widely.

"Of course I like it. But spiking is still my favorite, though."

"In Beach Volleyball, you play all positions, right? How did that work out for you?" Sawamura asks, and Shouyou-san thinks about his answer for a little while.

"It was hard at first. Moving around in the sand is hard. So receiving, running, and jumping, were hard at first. I got the hang of it with time, though. Serving, spiking, and setting were also pretty hard because of the wind, but I learned to work with it instead of against it."

"Y'know, I have wanted to ask. What made you decide on your new form for receiving? Why don't you leave your feet now?" Nishinoya asks, and Shouyou-san looks at him.

"Well, it was easier and faster to move around in the sand that way, and I thought that it'd also be easier on my setter if I could get into position faster. By not losing my form and getting into an attacking position faster, it's easy for the setter, he gives me a better set, and it also gives us more options at attacking. It's a win-win situation all around, so it was a no-brainer."

"But wasn't it difficult?"

"Sure, it was a lot. But it was worth it."

"Oh, man. I want to try that, teach us how to play Beach Volleyball, Shouyou-san!"

"Noya-san, I'll happily do it, but we're in Japan, and it's December," Shouyou-san points out, and Nishinoya's face saddens.

"Curse you, Japan!"

"And what about spiking with your left hand. Why did you start to do that?" Tanaka asks, and Shouyou-san laughs.

"Well, I thought it was cool, and it does put a nasty spin on the ball, making it harder for the other team to pick up. I have unconsciously been doing it during matches since the finals against Shiratorizawa. Still, it wasn't until I started my training that I seriously started practicing spiking with my left hand."

"And how did you practice?"

"I started practicing spiking it against a wall. Once I got the hang of hitting the ball with my left hand, I started practicing with a setter. After I was able to do the tempos and different attacks with them, I started practicing on the beach. That one was a little difficult because of the wind."

"Oh, can we do that once our spiking practice starts?" Young Hinata asks, and Keishin sighs. His students are always trying new things.

"We can try, but keep in mind that not everyone will be able to get it right," Keishin says, and the team nods excitedly at him. "Go do your stretches and clean after yourselves. Tomorrow is gonna be a long day," Keishin says, and the team nods.

They seem very excited to be playing Date Tech tomorrow. Probably eager to try their new moves.

Now that is Karasuno.

Tomorrow is going to be a very long day.

Shouyou-san approaches him as soon as he finishes his stretches. "Do you want me to be there tomorrow?" Shouyou-san asks, and Keishin frowns.

He can hear how the team stops what they're doing and starts paying extra attention to their conversation. Oh right, he still needs to give them a talk about not eavesdropping. Keishin gives the team a look, and they pretend to go back to their duties.

Keishin sighs.

"Yes, why wouldn't I?" Keishin asks, and Shouyou-san gives him an odd look.

"Look, I know Oikawa-san and people around the school already saw me, but are you okay with Date Tech seeing me?" Shouyou-san asks, and the team gasps. Keishin gives them another look, and the guys go back to their stretches. Or at least, they pretend to.

"Are you okay with it?"

"I don't think I mind. I think I can pull off the big brother act again. Besides, if there's someone who can figure out who I really am, then they aren't at Date Tech for sure. Nationals is what worries me," Shouyou-san says, and Keishin and the team frown.

There's someone at Nationals who can figure all of this out just by what? Looking at him? It took them a little to get it, even after almost a week of the man being here. Keishin still can't believe it sometimes, and he's pretty sure that it's the same for the rest of the team.

Who is this person?

Keishin sighs and turns to look at the team, who are nodding at him enthusiastically. "If you're okay with it, and we're okay with it, then I don't see a problem. It would be best if you're here with us tomorrow. Observe how the guys play and maybe give them some pointers or something, whatever you think works best," Keishin says, and Shouyou-san nods.

"I'm gonna be late, though. I've to go set up the appointments for Sunday," Shouyou-san informs him, and Keishin and the team shiver.

Right, the doctor's appointment, for all of them, including him. He should've listened to his mom and taken the flu shot sooner.

"Well then, see you guys here tomorrow. Let's break the Iron Wall once again before leaving for Nationals."

"Yeah!"

Meanwhile...

Thursday, September 15, 2022.

Rome, Italy.

As soon as the news spread around Japan, the group chats and media posts start going wild. Tobio ignores his phone and continues to shove things into his suitcase. He's going to take a plane straight to São Paulo, and no one is going to stop him.

Miya-san didn't have many details. The Jackals only know what the person who called them knows. Hinata disappeared Tuesday morning, and there were no signs of a break-in at his apartment. No one has called to ask for anything yet, and the police don't have any leads yet. Hinata just disappeared out of nowhere.

Tobio shoves his clothes into his suitcase a little more harshly than before. There's a knock at his door, and Tobio groans in annoyance, but he goes to open the door anyway.

Coach Lorenzo stares back at him with a worried look on his face. "I heard what happened, and I wanted to check on you since you didn't show up to practice," the old man says, and Tobio greets him and lets him in.

Tobio is glad that he's the one who came looking for Tobio. The man is one of the few people around here with who Tobio can actually communicate with. Even after all this time, Tobio's Italian is still not good enough, but his English at least is decent enough to carry a conversation. The man is also saving him time. He needs to talk to him anyway.

Coach Lorenzo looks around his apartment and sighs. "As I thought. You're leaving, aren't you?"

"Please, let me go. The closest thing I have to a best friend might be in danger right now, and I don't know what to do. I just ask for a few days off, we don't have any official matches coming soon, and as far as practice matches go, you said you wanted to start testing and training the new setter, right? So, this is your chance to do that," Tobio says, and the man holds up a hand to placate him.

"Relax, kid. I'm a family man. I understand what you're going through. We talked about it. You can have some days off. You haven't taken a break in a while anyway, so it won't affect you. Don't worry about us. We know that the team and your career are important to you, but your friend is a human being, someone made out of flesh and blood, someone fragile. With your talent and dedication, you can build your career again in no time, but if something happens to that boy, you'll lose him forever. So go, we support you. The manager already landed you a spot on the next flight to Brazil. You're plane leaves in two hours, don't miss it," Coach Lorenzo says and hands him an envelope with the ticket and a form to sign for his vacation.

Tobio sighs in relief and thanks the man as he signs the papers.

"We'll be here once you're ready to come back," Coach Lorenzo says as he's leaving. "That is if you still have a will to go on," the man whispers under his breath, and Tobio pretends not to hear him.

Hinata is going to come back. He always does. He always comes back to Tobio.

"Good luck, son," the man says, and Tobio thanks him again and closes the door.

He needs to get everything ready. He has a plane to catch.

Friday, September 16, 2022

São Paulo, Brazil.

Tobio finally makes it to São Paulo after spending almost sixteen hours on a plane, although it felt more like thirty.

It's a good thing that Tobio has visited Hinata before because otherwise, he'll be completely lost right now. After little shenanigans with the languages, he finally manages to get someone to drive him to Hinata's apartment. Someone has to be there, right? In case something happens, or Hinata comes back.

After paying the man and getting a little lost while looking for, first, the correct floor and then the right door, Tobio finally manages it. He takes a deep breath and rings the bell, and waits. It takes some time, but Tobio finally manages to hear some footsteps approaching the door. Not long after that, the door opens, and Tobio stares in shock at the face looking back at him.

"Huh? What are you doing here?" Tobio asks, a little glad that he can speak in Japanese again, but he sure as hell doesn't show it.

Miya Atsumu's eyes widen in surprise, and he sighs. "I could've asked ya the same thing, y'know? But I won't, 'cause I get it," Miya-san says as he moves aside to let Tobio in.

Tobio nods in thanks and remembers to take off his shoes. Even though they're living in different countries now, that little habit never changes.

"C'mon. We're waitin' fer the news ta start."

"We?"

Miya-san looks at him and sighs. "Kenma-kun reached out ta Bokkun, and we tagged along."

Kenma-kun?

Once Tobio and Miya-san arrive at the kitchen, Tobio realizes what the older setter meant.

Sitting alone in a corner of the room is Sakusa-san, drinking some kind of tea. Bokuto-san is sitting close to the TV, paying extra attention to the news playing on the screen, carefully reading the fast Japanese subtitles. Kozume-san is sitting close to him, furiously tapping away on a tablet and sneaking little glances at the TV here and there.

Near the stove is someone speaking rapidly on the phone, Tobio doesn't understand anything of what the young man is saying, but he recognizes the language as Portuguese. Once the man turns around to look at them, Tobio realizes who he is, Hinata's former roommate.

Tobio gives the room a once-over and sighs.

I guess I wasn't the only one crazy enough to fly straight to São Paulo once they heard the news, huh?

This is going to be a very long break.

Chapter Text

Keishin looked at the gym doors and sighed, he hopes that this project that the managers had worked so hard on for the whole week is helpful to the team.

No, that's not right, he knows it will be helpful, the thing is, he's afraid of what this information could do to his students. It could motivate them to become way better than they already are, or it could break their spirits completely.

Well, he won't know what is going to happen until he's done showing it to them. He just hopes they don't take everything the wrong way.

Keishin opened the doors and was met with the sight of his students stretching while Takeda-sensei and the girls were getting everything ready.

Date Tech would be arriving a little bit after lunchtime, so Keishin only has a few hours to do this meeting and the warm ups before the practice match starts.

Keishin greeted his students and they greeted him back. "Finish stretching and then go for your morning run, after you're done, gather around the bench, we're having a meeting today," Keishin said, the team nodded at him, and he started to get everything ready for the meeting.

The girls had done a great job with their research, they put everything important on paper and made copies for each one of the boys and the coaches, they even made spares in case someone lost their copy and needed a new one, and they made an incredible video and presentation with all the information that they found online.

Keishin was so proud of the managers, the girls had done a lot for the team with this. He hopes that everyone appreciates the efforts and that the team finds a good way to repay them. The girls really deserve something good for doing this, for finding so much information about their future challengers.

Not long after Keishin finished setting everything up, Takeda-sensei and the girls finished their duties too. "You're worrying too much, Ukai-kun," Takeda-sensei said as he and the girls approached him. Yachi-san looked confused but Shimuzu-san nodded in agreement with her teacher.

"This won't break our boys' spirits, is going to make them stronger, you'll see," Shimizu-san commented and Keishin sighed.

They were right, he was worrying too much, he knows his boys, he knows how they are. They never back down, no matter what. They're survivors, not quitters.

"I win," the voice of Hinata-kun could be heard coming closer and closer. The gym doors were suddenly opened and in walked Kageyama.

"I'm the first one in, so I win," Kageyama proclaimed as he came inside with a smug smile on his face.

"Only because you cheated!" The smaller boy said as he tried to push the setter away from the entrance of the gym so he could enter too, but the taller boy didn't budge an inch.

"You own me a meat bun now, you do know that right?" Kageyama asked as he looked down at the smaller boy. Hinata-kun huffed in annoyance. "But you cheated!"

"Did I?"

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't."

"You did."

"Did not."

"Did."

"Didn't."

"Are you almost done?" Daichi's voice suddenly came from behind the two boys and both boys flinched and stopped arguing and let the rest of the team in.

Shimizu-san  and Takeda-sensei gave Keishin a look that clearly said 'See? Nothing to worry about.' Keishin sighed again and looked at his team as the managers hurried to give the boys their towels and drinks. Yeah, his boys are strong. Stronger than anyone gives them credit for.

Keishin looked at the team, all of them were sitting on the floor in front of him looking expectantly at him. Keishin shared looks with Sensei and the girls, the three nodded at him and Keishin cleared his throat and looked at the team again.

"As you guys already know, the managers have been working on something during the week, anyone have any guesses about what it could be?" Keishin asked and the guys looked at each other and then sighed, and as one, they turned to look at Tsukishima, who rolled his eyes at them.

"Based on the questions they were asking Older Hinata the other day, I'm guessing is information about the teams that we might face at Nationals," Tsukishima said and Keishin groaned.

"You guys really need to stop eavesdropping on conversations," Keishin growled at the team who at least had the decency to look ashamed of their actions.

"But anyway, Tsukishima is right. We already know that Nekoma and Fukurodani are going, and thanks to the summer training camp, we already know how they operate, but just like Shiratorizawa, there are others schools out there who've gained a reputation for representing their prefectures at Nationals. Thanks to Shouyou-san, and the research of the girls, we managed to narrowed it down to what we can call the top three at the competition right now. Current Inter-High champions, Itachiyama Institute from Tokyo. That's the #1 school in the nation right now, their ace, Sakusa Kiyoomi, is one of the nation's top three aces this year, and the only second-year in that roster. The guy is very well known for not only his offense, but  his defense too. Their libero is known as high school's #1 libero, and along with Sakusa, he attended the All-Japan Youth Camp."

"They have two All-Japan players in their team?" The boys shouted in surprise and Kageyama confirmed it.

Keishin cleared his throat to get their attention again and continue his explanation. "Inarizaki High is the powerhouse famous for representing Hyogo at Nationals. They placed second during the Inter-High, and are now one of the nation's favorites to win the Spring Tournament. Just like Itachiyama, they also have an All-Japan player in their team, setter Miya Atsumu, who is well known as high school's #1 setter and a great server. Their ace is one of the nation's top five, but once he gets serious, he's pretty much top three in my opinion. From what I have seen, their libero is pretty good too, but the ones who worry me the most are their middle blocker, Suna Rintaro, and their opposite hitter, Miya Osamu. Their ace and those two seem to be their top three scorers. The last school that we should be worry about is Kamomedai High from Nagano. They only managed to make it into the quarterfinals during the Inter-High, but they left quite an impression on everyone there. Their blocking is among one of the best in the nation, and their serves are no laughing matter. From what I have seen, almost all of their starters have mastered either the jump serve or the jump floater." Those who haven't mastered any of those, looked a little depressed at that little fact.

"And just like the other two schools, they also have an All-Japan player in their team. Their outside hitter, Hoshiumi Korai, he's their current ace and is very well known for being an all-rounder and an expert of midair battles. Their coach is also someone with experience in the pro-leagues," Keishin commented. Some of the boys gasped, even Kageyama looked surprised at that little piece of information, that confirmed Keishin's theory that he hadn't heard about that little fact during his stay at the camp.

"Those three, along with Nekoma and Fukurodani, are some of the schools we need to worry the most about. Of course, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't worry about the other teams, but these teams are without a doubt, the biggest challengers that we might encounter at Nationals. The girls put together a video, in there you would be shown some of the best plays of your opponents, after you watch the video we can discuss some of the players and strategies that you are about to see, and you will receive some papers with information that you will need to remember," Keishin said and took a deep breath, he looked at his students and smiled reassuringly at them.

"Is everyone ready?" Keishin asked and the boys nodded at him.

Keishin pressed play and sat down, he didn't need to watch the video, he has watched it many times already, reviewing it again and again and making notes that he later gave to the girls to add to their observations.

So, he decided to look at the reactions of the team instead. The video started with Itachiyama and it was really no surprise that the boys seemed to be in awe of Sakusa, if the boys had been afraid of Ushiwaka, then they semeed absolutely terrified of the second-year, but they also seemed to be very excited. Itachiyama's libero also gathered a lot of attention, especially with Daichi, Nishinoya, and Hinata-kun.

The video then changed to Inarizaki, showing some of Miya Atsumu's best sets, Keishin was pretty sure that whatever he was seeing in Kageyama's and Sugawara's eyes right now was definitely jealousy, as a setter himself, he could understand, he also had the same reaction when he saw the video for the very first time.

Miya Atsumu was truly an amazing setter, Keishin didn't want to say it, but the guy seemed to be years ahead of Oikawa and even Kageyama. There was just something about that guy that set him apart from those two, but Keishin still couldn't put his finger on it.

As soon as the segment of Miya Atsumu's best serves started playing the guys looked absolutely terrified and that was definitely envy in their eyes, but then the guys discovered that Atsumu is a dual-wielder and all hell broke loose for a moment.

Keishin paused the video and reminded the team that they only had a few hours for this meeting before Date Tech got here. The boys finally settled down and Keishin continued to play the video.

Atsumu wasn't just good at serving and setting. His blocking, receiving, and spiking were no laughing matter either. The guy's game sense was clearly something to fear, Keishin was pretty sure that it would only take one look at the freak quick for the guy to get used to it.

But of course, you couldn't have Miya Atsumu without his other half, soon his twin brother, Miya Osamu, came into the screen and the guys realized that they weren't just dealing with one incredible player but two.

As soon as the video started focusing on their amazing teamwork, everyone realized that those two weren't afraid of trying new stuff in the middle of an important game. Their teamwork was incredible and truly terrifying, but knowing that they weren't afraid to take risks is what really makes you fear them, you never know what you would end up dealing with, no matter how much you prepare to face them, they would always end up surprising you.

The rest of Inarizaki seemed to be just the same as the twins, they weren't afraid to take risks, making the team completely unpredictable and they sure were impressive.

Keishin wasn't sure if the techniques that they used against Ushiwaka would work against Ojiro Aran. After seeing him play, even if it was just through a video, he really couldn't understand why the guy wasn't top three.

Inarizaki's libero was also pretty good and Nishinoya was clearly impressed with the guy, but the one who seemed to worry the guys more than the twins, was the middle blocker, Suna Rintaro. Even if he was a little short for his position the guy was an incredible blocker, but the thing that seemed to worry the guys the most was the things that the guy could do with his torso.

Tsukishima couldn't take his eyes away from the middle blocker, and the expression on his face clearly said that he knew he wouldn't be able to stop him.

After Inarizaki came Kamomedai and that's when the guys and Keishin truly started to worry, but not for how good the team seemed to be, but because of Hinata-kun's reaction.

As soon as Hoshiumi came into the screen, Hinata-kun excused himself from the group and got closer to the screen. The small boy was expressionless, but his eyes were watching the screen with an intensity that Keishin has never seen before. Keishin swallowed and turned his eyes away from the boy, not able to look him in the eye.

Seeing Shouyou-san in action had been hard, but seeing Hoshiumi in action had been a slap to the face for Keishin, it's like the universe was letting him know how bad of a teacher he was. All this time they have been doing what's best for the team, but in doing so, they have wasted and suppressed a lot of Hinata-kun's potential.

Seeing Shouyou-san talk about Brazil with such a big smile on his face and so carefree, made Keishin wonder if Kageyama and the rest of Karasuno was nothing but a cage around the small boy.

Hinata-kun never feared or wavered in front of powerful players who were bigger, taller, and stronger than him, but Keishin didn't know how the little guy would react to someone who was in the same situation as him, someone who managed to be everything Hinata-kun had dreamed about.

People were always telling Hinata that he couldn't be what he wanted to be, that it was impossible, but Hoshiumi was the living proof that it wasn't impossible, that you only needed the right support and opportunities.

Hinata was born gifted but cursed, and Hoshiumi was born gifted and blessed, that was the difference between them, but it was such a big difference.

The video finished by showing some of Nekoma's and Fukurodani's best plays and players, once the screen turned black, Keishin stood up and cleared his throat to get his students attention.

"Okay, that's some of the information your amazing managers managed to find," Keishin said and the guys thanked the girls warmly.

"So, now is time to discuss some of the teams. Who do you want to start with?" The guys seemed to be undecided on the matter, so Keishin decided to start with the first team in the video, Itachiyama.

"As I said before, Itachiyama are the current champions and have gained a reputation for representing Tokyo. All of their starting players are really good but as you saw in the video, there are three that stand out the most. Setter and Captain Iizuna Tsukasa, who is known for winning the the best setter award in the Junior's Olympic Cup. As you have seen in the video, he's clever and dedicated. He might not be in the same level as Kageyama or Miya, but his quick thinking, cleverness, experience, and dedication make up for it. He's probably on the same level as Oikawa and Akaashi, but he certainly seems to have more experienced with playing against top teams. Don't underestimate him, remember that he has already gone against an All-Japan setter and won. Another one who also stands out is their libero, Komori Motoya. He's known as high school's #1 libero and is an All-Japan player. As you saw on the video his defensive skills and great court awareness is truly something else. He reacts and adapts quickly to any situation, and he doesn't seem to crack under stress. And the most to stand out in that team is their ace, Sakusa Kiyoomi. A very talented player, he's a top three ace and an All-Japan player. Unlike many aces out there, he doesn't just concentrate on offense. He's considered one of the best defenders of his team, with his best defense being his serve reception. He also seems to be very capable at setting and blocking. As for his hitting, compared to Ushijima and Kiryū, he's definitely lacking in power, but his best weapon, his very flexible wrists, and his cleverness make up for it. His wrists flexibility give a very nasty spin to his spikes and serves, making it very difficult to receive or block. It doesn't matter how perfect your position is, the ball would just end up ricocheting. That little gift of his, that makes such unique shots, accompanied with his cleverness, great technique, incredible consistency, and accuracy, is what makes him such a formidable player, and what put him in the top three at such a young age. I haven't seen them in person yet, but I'm pretty sure that his spikes and serves are way harder to deal with than Ushijima's left-handed spikes and serves."

The team's eyes widened at that, everyone knew just how hard dealing with Ushiwaka had been, and this guy was definitely better than him. Keishin knows that Sakusa has already lost to Ushiwaka before, but he knew that the young spiker has a big chance to surpass him one day, the guy clearly has the talent and dedication to do it, he just needs more experience.

"There's something else too. Iizuna, Sakusa, and Komori, seem to have amazing teamwork, and a great connection on the court. Itachiyama managed to do something that is very important in Volleyball, but that you don't see often. A strong bond between the libero, setter, and ace. When face with a tight spot, those three are going to trust each other more than anyone else on that court, so keep that in mind. On your papers, you're going to find more information about Itachiyama and strategies to deal with them if you happen to face them in the future. Read over that information carefully and don't lose those papers, you can also ask one of your managers for a copy of the video if you're interested in seeing it again," Keishin informed the team and signaled to the girls to give the stack of papers to the boys.

"Moving on, Inarizaki. Another powerhouse and another favorite to win it all at Nationals. They're #2 in the nation right now, they have already defeated top three ace Kiryū, and managed to to go head-to-head against Itachiyama during the Inter-High. Their strongest hitters are their ace, Ojiro Aran, the short middle blocker, Suna Rintaro, and their opposite hitter, Miya Osamu. As you saw on the video, their other players are nothing to laugh about, especially their Captain and libero, but the one who's going to cause more trouble is definitely their setter and best server, Miya Atsumu. He's known as high school's #1 setter and server, he's also an All-Japan player. Kageyama, you met him at the camp, right? As a setter yourself, what do you think of him?"

Kageyama certainly didn't look happy to be talking about the guy and it was clear that he didn't like the guys title at all, but he answered the question anyway. "Supposedly, the way he sets the ball makes it look and feel like the spikers have gotten better, one of the coaches called it bewitching the spikers," Kageyama said and Tanaka and Nishinoya laughed.

"What is he? A witch?" Keishin gave them a look and the two boys settled down.

"To be honest," Kageyama continued. "He's sets are very easy to hit, they're consistent and don't waver." Some of the boys raised their eyebrows at that. They looked utterly surprised that Kageyama was actually admitting that. "He told me that anyone who can't hit his tosses is because they just suck."

Hinata-kun looked at Kageyama in surprise. "Really?" Hinata-kun asked and Kageyama nodded. "Yeah, someone at the camp said that he can make an amateur look good."

"Why are super awesome setters always jerks?"

"What's that supposed to mean, boke?!" Kageyama shouted and Hinata-kun flinched away from him.

Keishin cleared his throat to get his students attention again. "Anyway, but as you already saw, his setting is not going to be the only problem. He's a dual-wielder, he has mastered both the spike serve and the jump floater, just like with Shouyou-san, you'll never know what he'll hit you with until the very last second and it'll be very hard to form a serve-receive formation."

"I heard that he won the best server award at both the Inter-Middle and Inter-High tournaments," Kageyama commented and some of the guys groaned and said that they didn't need to know that. Kageyama apologized, but the damage was already done.

"Anyway, as you already saw you can't stop him even if you send a serve or a spike at him. His receives are pretty good, he can set any ball in the first touch, and even if he does a pass, his twin would be there to cover for  him," Keishin commented and the guys groaned. "He also doesn't seem to crack under pressure, on the contrary, the better the game, the better he plays."

"Doesn't he have any weak spots? What is he? Mr. Perfect?" Sugawara asked with huff of annoyance and a dark aura around him that made those who were close to him to flinch away from him, Daichi sighed. "Get a grip, Suga."

The doors of the gym suddenly opened and in walked Shouyou-san with his cheeks flushed from the cold and a clearly tired look on his face. Did he bike all the way from the clinic to here?

The team greeted him in excitement and the redhead greeted them back, Yachi-san offered the man some water and he took it gratefully. "Sorry, it took longer than I was expecting, but everything is ready for tomorrow," Shouyou-san said and the team shivered and groaned. The guys clearly haven't forgotten just what was awaiting them tomorrow, Shouyou-san gave the team an amused look and started drinking his water.

"I'm glad." Not really. "And you have perfect timing actually, we're in the middle of the meeting I told you about."

"Oh, yeah. The secret project," Older Hinata said once he swallowed his water. "How are things going?"

"Well, they already saw the video," Keishin said and he noticed that Shouyou-san looked carefully at the boy's expressions. "Something wrong?"

He noticed, huh.

"Well..." Keishin drawled and Shouyou-san gave him a weird look.

"Is a good thing that you're here, the guys might like your opinion on something." Shouyou-san looked at the team but the boys looked down.

Shouyou-san raised an eyebrow. "Really? It doesn't look like that," the man said and took a sip of his water again.

Keishin looked at the guys and after a few gestures and looks, Keishin sighed and looked at Shouyou-san again.

"The guys want your opinion on Miya Atsumu," Keishin said and Shouyou-san choked on his water and started coughing.

Yachi-san started to panic and tried to help the man, but Older Hinata told her that it was okay and that he was fine. Shouyou-san turned to look at the team who had their eyebrows raised at him, the older redhead sighed. "What about him?"

"What do you think of his serves?"

"His serves, huh," Shouyou-san said and then sighed. "Besides being awesome, they're terrifying and unpredictable. His spike serve is powerful and fast, and just like Oikawa-san, he has great ball control and is smart enough to know where to aim. His jump floater is fast and very unpredictable, you might think is an out, or that is going one way, but it suddenly changes direction at the last second. Like I said before, he has great control of his serves and knows where to aim, he also likes to target people, once he discovers a weakness, he's going to exploit that weakness until you either overcome it, or he gets bored of it and comes up with a better strategy to torture you. Dealing with him as a server is going to be even more difficult than dealing with Oikawa-san or Ushijima-san. Just when you think he's gonna go for one type of serve, he changes it to another one. He's high school's best server after all."

"So there really isn't a way to know what serve he's gonna use until he does it?" Tanaka asked and Shouyou-san thought about it. "For now, there is one," Shouyou-san said and then turned to look directly at Keishin. "You haven't figured it out yet?"

"I have," Keishin said and the guys turned to look in surprise at him. Keishin went back to the video and started looking for the perfect clip to show the guys.

"Miya Atsumu has some very peculiar habits regarding his serves. When he's going for a spike serve, he takes six steps from the end line, and when he's going for a jump floater, he takes four steps, watch this," Keishin said and showed them the clips he had been looking for.

The guys were definitely impressed. Although, Keishin was a little surprised that none of his students figured it out while watching the video the first time around, especially Kageyama, who already saw the guy playing in person.

"But even if you figured that out, that's just the starting line, he's unpredictable, don't underestimate him," Shouyou-san commented and the guys nodded in understanding.

"And his setting? What do you think of that?" Sugawara asked and Shouyou-san turned to look at him and sighed long and hard.

"Miya Atsumu's setting is something that  you won't truly understand, even if you see it on a video, even if is described to you, you just won't get it, not until you see it in person. There are good setters, smart setters, and amazing setters, but that guy is on another level. It doesn't matter what happens, he's going to give you a perfect set every time. He can set a ball from anywhere in the court, it doesn't matter if is the first touch, or the second touch, it doesn't matter how well or how awkward the receive was, or how high, or how low the ball is going, he's going to do everything in his power and more to make that perfect set for his spikers, and he's gonna do it every single time, whatever it takes. He really can make a perfect set with any ball, it makes me so jealous. There's no setter out there who is more considerate or extremely dedicated to his spikers. He can read them like a book, he knows their weaknesses and their strengths, he knows what works and what doesn't, and he always knows who to trust during a game, he's really hard to read too, you won't know who he's going to toss to until the last minute, to be honest, not even his spikers know. You might think he's gonna go for his brother or for their ace, even they might think he's gonna go for them, but at the last second, he chooses someone else. The difference between you guys and Inarizaki, is that you use Shouyou-kun as a decoy, but Inarizaki doesn't have a decoy, Atsumu-san makes a decoy out of them. He's going to make the monsters dance to his tune, not the other way around. Going against him is truly terrifying, he's unpredictable and while he might not look it, he's smart, and he sure as hell isn't afraid to take risks, to try something new when you least expect it, and he's talented and dedicated enough to actually pull that off perfectly on the first try. Also, you can't break him, the better the game, the better the players, the sharper his concentration gets, and the more excited he becomes, he just plays better if you give him a good game and good players. People like him, the ones who can evolve during a game, are truly terrifying, you never know what their going to hit you with."

"You're admitting that?" The team asked in unison and Shouyou-san looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"He's clueless."

"What do you mean by there's no setter out there that is more dedicated to his spikers than him? I don't get it," Daichi asked and Shouyou-san sighed.

"Let's put it this way, if on the court, Oikawa-san can be described as the definition of unity, because of the way he handles his team. Ushijima-san as the definition of power, because of his overwhelming presence during the game. Kenma as the definition of intelligence, because of his cleverness and observation skills. And Kageyama as the definition of talent, because of the way he manages to make miracles out on the court, then Miya Atsumu is the definition of love, he takes care of his spikers like no one else does, that guy truly is the ideal setter."

"What did you just said?!" Kageyama asked in anger.

"My, it looks like the King was replaced," Tsukishima said with a smirk.

"Tsukishima!"

Kageyama suddenly got up from the floor and in a flash he was in front of the older redhead. "What do you mean by that? Are you saying he's better than me? Or that I don't love Volleyball and setting as much as he does?! That I don't respect my spikers?!" Kageyama asked and Shouyou-san's eyes flared in anger.

"Now listen here, young man," Shouyou-san said. The man hadn't raised his voice but his eyes and his tone clearly gave away just how angry he was. Kageyama was so surprised at that, that he actually took a step back.

Hinata-kun has never being afraid of confronting the young setter and telling him how it is, but Hinata-kun also tended to walk on eggshells around Kageyama. But Shouyou-san was older and wiser, more confident, and mature, and he sure as hell wasn't going to take any crap from a teenager.

"Don't put words in my mouth that I haven't said. There are things that you can do, that Miya Atsumu would probably never be able to do, but there are also many things that Miya Atsumu can do, that you probably would never be able to do. That's because he's Miya Atsumu and you're Kageyama Tobio. You guys are totally different, you guys are different people and different setters. But, take it from someone who has tried everything out on that court, there's a difference between being in a position because you're good at it, or because is what's best for your team. There's a difference between liking a position, wanting a position, and falling in love with a position. That tiny little difference is what makes the difference out there," Shouyou-san said and pointed straight at the court.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that there's a difference between wanting something and getting it because you're good at it, and finding out what you were meant to do and fighting to get it. There's a difference between starting at level zero and starting at level ten. Take him for example," Shouyou-san said and pointed straight at Hinata-kun. "You think he wants to be a middle blocker? Of course he doesn't, and to be honest is a position that wastes a lot of his potential, but he doesn't say anything about it, because he wants to play Volleyball, and because is where his team needs him right now, and let me tell you something, by the time that kid leaves this gym with a diploma on his hands, he's gonna like that position, and he's gonna be damn good at it, but that's not the position that he wants to play, he hasn't found it yet."

"Don't make this about being an ace and the Little Giant, we're not..."

"This isn't about the Little Giant, it never was. Watching the Little Giant on that screen that one day is not what made him love spiking, is what got him interested in Volleyball, what made him love spiking was spiking a ball for the very first time in his life. And let me tell you something, if it had been someone like Atsumu-san or Noya-san in that screen instead of the Little Giant that day, then the result would've been the same. Because guys like them make you believe that you can do it too. When they play, they look like they're having fun, like they're enjoying it, and they make it look so easy that you can't help but admire them from a distance. They look like that's what they were born to do. Maybe a spiker never liked spiking until he battled three blockers and came up victorious with a perfect spike. Maybe a blocker never liked blocking until they blocked someone so powerful that not even they believed that they could do it. Maybe a libero never liked receiving until they made that perfect receive in the most critical moment and saved their team. Maybe a setter never liked setting until they made that perfect toss that made everyone go wild. And maybe a pinch server never liked serving until they landed that perfect serve that they've been imagining for so long. Those tiny little moments is what makes the difference out there, some people know what they want to do with their life, others have to find that purpose with time. At this age, I don't expect you to get it, but at least, respect a player's efforts."

The team looked between Shouyou-san and Kageyama, it was clear that many understood what the older redhead was talking about, the ones who've already had those moments, the ones who already found their position out on that court, those were the ones whose eyes were shining in understanding, but there were many who still looked a little confused, who still didn't get it.

What happens on that court during intense games are not miracles, they have nothing to do with luck, it's all about dedication and determination. Is about practicing until your body is begging you to stop, is about pouring blood, sweat, and tears into every practice and every game, is about finding new ways to improve, about fighting with tooth and nails to stay on that court a little longer than before.

Is not like Kageyama didn't put effort into this, is not like Kageyama wasn't giving it his all out there, is not like Kageyama didn't struggle to get where he is now, but things were definitely easier for someone as gifted and talented as Kageyama, someone who clearly was born to play Volleyball. Kageyama might never understand what it means to be an underdog.

People like Oikawa, and apparently Miya Atsumu, even Hinata, they have to start from the very bottom. They weren't born gifted, they have to make that talent bloom. They weren't born with skills, they have to polish those skills.  They weren't born powerful, they have to become strong on their own. They weren't born geniuses, they have to slowly wake up their minds. They can't stop climbing, or they're going to get left behind. They have to fight for opportunities and recognition. They have to fight talent with hard work. That was the curse of the ordinary, a curse people like Kageyama, and many others out there would never understand.

Welcome to Level 0, King of the Court.

"Kageyama," Keishin said when he noticed that the tension in the room started to rise. "Go back to your place, we have to finish the meeting." Kageyama nodded curtly and went back to his spot besides Hinata-kun. "What about the rest of Inarizaki, Shouyou-san?"

The older redhead hummed. "They're definitely a team that goes more for power than speed, but that doesn't mean that they can't do speed based attacks. Ojiro Aran is very powerful and very clever, if he sees an opportunity he's going to take it. Power wise, he's definitely on the same level as Ushijima-san, but I don't know, it's like he has more stamina or something, maybe he's just faster than him. He's very good at defense too, and he's quick on his feet, so making him take a knee is not going to work as much as it'll work against another ace. He can battle three blockers with ease, but putting pressure on him does work, not for long though. He's game sense is nowhere near as sharp as Atsumu-san's, but he has incredible timing, like I said before, if he sees an opportunity, he's going to take it, your 'total defense' strategy might work against him, but I have a feeling that he's gonna notice it and he's gonna try to do something about it. So be careful, he's not Ushijima-san or Bokuto-san, so don't treat him like you'll treat them. The other outside hitter, their #5, definitely goes more for speed than power, he also tends to get reckless under pressure, but it doesn't last long, either. He's good with receives too and he also has a powerful jump serve just like Ojiro-san. And of course, even if you manage to tame Miya Atsumu, his twin brother, Miya Osamu, would be there to cause you a lot of trouble. He's another one of their players with a powerful jump serve, he's also very good at receiving and blocking too, just like their #5, he's more of a speed attacker than a power attacker, and he's very clever too, he likes to trick the blockers. Osamu-san is also an incredible setter, so even if Atsumu-san won't be there to set the ball for whatever reason, Osamu-san would be there do it for him, and he's gonna do it right. Also, just like his brother, he's not afraid of experimenting in the middle of a game, so watch out for when those two team up. Their #2, the tall and scary looking middle blocker, is also a very capable player all around, but what worries me the most about him, is that I have a feeling that he can tell when you're trying to bait him into blocking someone and won't fall for it, but the middle blocker that worries me the most is their #10, Suna Rintaro. You have seen what he can do, right?" Shouyou-san asked and the team nodded.

"Just like Atsumu-san, he has a very sharp game sense, but Suna-san's is definitely on a higher level. He can adapt quickly to the pace and attacks of the other team, he's definitely going to get used to the quick attack, so be careful. He can manipulate the blockers very easily, and the better that they are at it, the easier that is for him to do it. Just like their #5 and #11, he's also a speed attacker but that doesn't mean that his attacks lack power, Atsumu-san is definitely going to give him the difficult shots. As for his special technique, I'll say that not blocking and concentrating on receiving is the better option, but I'm pretty sure that he can use that against you, the best strategy would be to have one blocker on him who works with the people on the back, but I'm pretty sure he's going to notice what you're doing and once again try to use it against you, so try both and see what works best, I guess? But Suna-san is definitely the one who's going to give you the more trouble, probably even more than the Miya Twins or Ojiro-san, and let me tell you, if Atsumu-san figures that you can't deal with Suna-san, then he's going to exploit that a lot, trust me on this, once he sees a weakness, he won't let it go."

"What about their libero? He seems good," Nishinoya asked and Shouyou-san nodded.

"And he is, he's a very talented defender, he has sharp instincts and quick reflexes, he has a very strong serve-receive and he excels at receiving and digging. Also, I have a feeling that he works a lot with the blockers to accomplish a better defense on the court, but their libero is not the only good defender that Inarizaki has, their Captain is also very good at defense. To be honest, he's one of the ones who worries me the most, not just because of how great of a defender he is, but because of the mental fortitude that he provides for the team. You see, Inarizaki tends to get bad habits as the match progresses, the Miya Twins get competitive, Ojiro-san starts to feel the pressure, Suna-san starts to get lazy, and their #5 tends to get reckless with his attacks, but as soon as that guy enters the court is like those habits disappear and Inarizaki starts behaving, and the more they behave, the better they play. If the big guns of the team send you into despair, that guy is gonna make sure that you stay there for a very long time, he's a little scary."

"You seem to know a lot about a team that you probably only faced once or twice, especially about their setter," Tsukishima commented and Shouyou-san shrugged. "Many of their players are in the pro-leagues now, so I still watch them play sometimes. Just because I live in Brazil that doesn't mean that I can't watch Japanese games, you know. Especially when people I actually know are the ones playing."

"Is that all you can tell us about Inarizaki?" Keishin asked and Shouyou-san thought about it for a moment and then his eyes widened and he gasped in surprise. "How could I forgot about that?!" Shouyou-san shouted in surprise and the team looked a little confused and afraid. "Forgot about what?"

"There's something you should know about Inarizaki, since they're so famous, especially the Miya Twins, many fans tend to show up to their games, that accompanied with their big orchestra and cheer squad, is going to bring a lot of trouble. You see, they're foxes, so they like to use tricks. Out of the court, their orchestra and cheerleaders use rythm and sound to distract the players, especially the servers. They used booing or a beat to break their concentration. Inside of the court, Inarizaki tends to use time and tricks, especially Osamu-san. I think Coach Ukai said that it was their way of expanding their territory, whatever that means."

"Well, that sounds lovely," Sugawara commented with a sour look on his face.

"Yeah, that's going to be troublesome, but now that we know about it, then maybe it won't affect us as much, the element of surprise would be gone at least, that doesn't mean is not going to cause us trouble though. Anything else you have to add?" Keishin asked and Shouyou-san shook his head. "No, I think that's it, if I remember something else, then I'll tell you about it."

"Alright, what about Kamomedai?" Keishin asked and Shouyou-san stiffened, Keishin noticed how the eyes of the older redhead suddenly changed, they became sharper and even his tone changed, he sounded more serious now. "Oh yeah, those guys."

"That bad, huh?" The team asked and Shouyou-san sighed. "Let's put it this way, think about a team formed with the most terrifying servers and blockers you know, and that's Kamomedai for you." Whatever 'team' the guys were imagining right now, clearly was something to be truly terrified about, because they started to look a little sick. "We really didn't need to know that."

"Anyway, Kamomedai is good, as in plain good, as in annoying and boring good. They're like, a little army of perfectionists. They're like soldiers going to war instead of high schoolers enjoying a sport. Man, those guys truly need to loosen up a little once in a while, looking at how stiff they are gives me the creeps." Shouyou-san shivered. "Their blocking is like a maxed-up Date Tech, and their serving is like Atsumu-san and Oikawa-san switching places just to torture you. And they're like robots, it doesn't matter what happens during the game, they'll never lose their cool. But out of all their incredible players, there's one who worries me the most, can I borrow that for a second?" Shouyou-san asked while pointing at the control, Keishin nodded and gave it to him.

"Hoshiumi-san, right?" Kageyama asked with a knowing look on his face and the team stiffened.

"No, not him," Shouyou-san replied distractedly, Kageyama looked surprised and a little curious.

"Really? I thought it would be him, since he's... well, you know," Kageyama said and Shouyou-san looked confused. "No, I don't know what you mean. And of course you should be worry about the guy, he's Kamomedai's tiny one man army, but he's not the one who worries me the most."

"That's strange," Kageyama commented with a frown. "Also, you're not that much taller, you know."

"No one asked you, Little Kageyama."

"Don't call me that!"

"Well, you're younger, shorter, and skinnier, than the Kageyama I know, so deal with it!" Shouyou-san said and Kageyama huffed in annoyance and the team chuckled.

"You just can't win, buddy," Tanaka said with a little laugh.

"There!" Shouyou-san suddenly shouted once he found what he was looking for and pointed to the screen. "That bastard is the one who worries me the most, their middle blocker, the Immovable Hirugami," Shouyou-san said while muttering something under his breath about stupid robots, dumb statues, and coldhearted soldiers.

"If it weren't for the fact that you look so pissed right now, I would be laughing my ass off at the little nickname," Tanaka commented.

"Me too," Nishinoya agreed, the rest of the team nodded in agreement.

"What's wrong? Finally found someone who doesn't fall for your dirty little tricks?" Tsukishima teased.

"That sounded so wrong, Tsukishima!" Tanaka and Nishinoya shouted in unison.

"He did fall!" Shouyou-san huffed in annoyance.

"Really?"

"He did!"

"Aha."

"He did."

"Sure."

"Fine, it only happened like a couple of times, and it took a lot of effort and time, but it did happen," Shouyou-san finally admitted and Tsukishima grinned in victory. "But ever since that time, I always wondered how differently that match would've gone if I made him react sooner or a little more."

"You really are a sore loser," Tsukishima said while rolling his eyes. Shouyou-san got a weird look on his face all of a sudden.

Keishin has never seen that look in any of the two Hinatas, so he didn't know what it meant, but it did worry him. "I didn't lose," Shouyou-san whispered under his breath and Keishin shivered at the tone of his voice. Who was this guy? And why did he worry Shouyou-san so much?

"Besides, I'm not talking just about me here, Karasuno's style of playing involves many tricks, and trust me on this, he's not going to fall for any of them. It doesn't matter how many times Kageyama tries to trick him and bait him, it's just not going to work. It doesn't matter how many times you use the synchronized attack, he's gonna read you every single time. Shouyou-kun is pretty much going to be useless against him, you think Tendou-san was bad? This guy is even worse, he's gonna read you like a book and stop you every single time."

"You really hate him, don't you?" Sugawara asked with a sweat. "Hate him? I don't think so, I just want revenge."

"So? Why don't you get it?"

"Because the damn seagull statue isn't in the pro-leagues, he quit Volleyball after high school. But, now's my chance." Shouyou-san smiled darkly and turned to look at Hinata-kun. "I'm so going to make him pay attention to you!" Shouyou-san said and Hinata-kun made a weird sound and immediately hide himself behind Kageyama.

"Your face is scary, what are you scheming?" Hinata-kun asked in fear and Kageyama also smiled darkly.

"Wait, Hinata. It might not be a bad idea," Kageyama said and Hinata-kun shifted to look at him and made that weird sound again. "Ah, there are two of them now!"

"Come on, don't you want to defeat such a strong and intimidating blocker?" Kageyama asked and Hinata-kun thought about it and nodded. "Then listen to him."

"Yeah, but later, we have to continue the meeting, we're running out of time. What about Nekoma and Fukurodani? You have anything to add there, Shouyou-san?" Keishin asked and Shouyou-san nodded.

"You already know how Nekoma plays and the kind of players they have. I don't think I need to say this, but the one you need to be really careful of is Kenma. Don't get me wrong, I love the guy, but dammit, he's annoying and hard to deal with when we're out on the court. He's clever and observant, and he likes to use a lot of tricks." Shouyou-san stopped there and turned to look at Hinata-kun and Kageyama. "He's going to come between the two of you, he's going to try to separate you, he knows that Kageyama-kun won't toss for the useless, so he's going to make him lose interest in Shouyou-kun by not letting Shouyou-kun jump."

"Sounds like he wants to break them up," Tsukishima commented and Yamaguchi frowned. "Yeah, that's exactly what Shouyou-san is saying, Tsukki."

"That's not what I meant, I'll explain later."

"That's just stupid," Kageyama said and Shouyou-san chuckled. "Is it really? I'm pretty sure that Kageyama felt for it, even if it was just for a little bit."

"I'm not him!"

"Technically, you are."

"Anyway," Keishin said before they could get sidetracked again. "What about Fukurodani?"

"You also already know the way they play and their players, don't underestimate them, especially not Akaashi-san and Bokuto-san, I know what you think about Bokuto-san, but he's top five for a reason, and keep in mind that this is his last Spring Tournament, he's going to give it his all, he's gonna go all out," Shouyou-san said and the team nodded.

After that they continue to talk more about the teams and players, Shouyou-san had a lot to say about Itachiyama too, especially about Sakusa. After giving a once over to the papers and discussing what strategies would work best against a certain team or player, the long meeting finally came to a close.

Keishin gave the guys an hour to eat lunch and once they finished eating it was time to start their warm ups.

Receiving drills went smoothly, it was clear that in just a week the team had improved their defense by a lot.

Blocking also went smoothly, it was also clear that the team was now more aware of the ball and how the players moved.

Spiking practice went a little awkward, though. Asahi, Tanaka, and Hinata-kun seemed to be trying new moves and they were completely failing at it, Kageyama was starting to get irritated, better say, he had been irritated ever since Miya Atsumu was brought up.

But what truly convinced Keishin that Kageyama had definitely not gotten over whatever was bothering him at the start of the week, was Hinata-kun's comments to Tsukishima about Date Tech's setter. Keishin was starting to worry, they really didn't need a repeat of last Saturday's practice. The guys were taking a break from their warm ups when Takeda-sensei got a call that Date Tech was close.

"Oi, Karasuno," Shouyou-san suddenly said and the team turned to look at him. "Get familiar with those walls, you need this practice, trust me." The team nodded and after that little warning, Keishin and Takeda-sensei headed for the school gates to wait for their guests.

As soon as Date Tech stepped into the gym, the tension in the room seemed to rise.

Date Tech bowed to Karasuno, and the team bowed back. It was clear that a part of the team still was afraid of Date Tech, but it was also clear that weird friendships had started to form between the two teams, Date Tech's setter seemed very happy to see Karasuno's middle blockers, and of course, there was also that weird friendship between Aone and Hinata-kun, Keishin still didn't know how that happened. Their personalities were complete opposites, but Keishin could understand that their friendship was mostly born out of respect and admiration for each other. Both  boys were incredible players and they knew it and respected that.

Coach Oiwake congratulated the team for beating Shiratorizawa and making it into the Spring Tournament, the team thanked the man and the players who also congratulated them.

It didn't take long for Date Tech to notice Shouyou-san. "Hinata, you're multiplying!" Koganegawa shouted and both Hinata's sweat dropped.

"No, I'm not! He's my big brother!" Hinata-kun said and Date Tech looked utterly surprise.

During lunch, the team had come up with a story for Shouyou-san, the older redhead was now Hinata Hikaru - (name chosen by Sugawara and the managers) - he's Hinata-kun's older brother by ten years, he moved to Brazil after finishing high school, once he was there, he became a Beach Volleyball player, and later a coach for an indoor Volleyball team, and since he has already used the lie with Oikawa, he's also a former setter. He's visiting his family for the holidays, and is helping with the team while he's around.

The story wasn't technically a lie, many of the things in the story were things that Shouyou-san had really done, Keishin only hopes that Date Tech buys the story and that the team doesn't screw up by calling him Shouyou-san instead of Hinata-san in front of Date Tech.

"Date Tech, this is Hinata Hikaru, Hinata-kun's older brother, he's going to observe the  practice match, if it doesn't bother you, of course. Hinata-san, this is Date Tech, the team with the best blocking in Miyagi," Sensei said and Shouyou-san greeted Date Tech, the other team still looked a little dumbfounded but they greeted him back anyway.

Coach Oiwake gave the older redhead a once over and then looked between the two Hinatas and hummed. "I see, I don't have any problem with him staying, and I don't think my boys do, either. Or do you?"

"No, sir!"

Man, they're loud.

"See? No problem at all." Coach Oiwake looked at Shouyou-san again. "Do you play Volleyball, Hinata-san?"

"Yes, I do."

"What position do you play?"

"He's good at everything," Hinata-kun said with a pout and Shouyou-san smacked him in the head.

"Setter." Koganegawa looked interested at that and Kageyama huffed in annoyance. That little reaction didn't go unnoticed by some of Date Tech's players.

"He's better than you, huh." Date Tech's new Captain taunted the young setter who huffed again. "No, he isn't."

"That's not what your face is saying."

Date Tech suddenly looked way more interested in Shouyou-san. Even the coach's eyes were sparkling in interest now. Keishin cleared his throat. "You can start getting ready now, we already did our warm ups so the court is all yours," Keishin said and Coach Oiwake nodded at him and started organizing his team.

Keishin had a little meeting with his boys while Date Tech did their stretches. "Listen up, guys. We already know Date Tech has the best blocking in the prefecture, but I heard that they only got better at it after the Spring Tournament prelims. Their blocking is definitely on a national level now. Like Hinata-san said, get familiar with those walls, that way you won't panic when you face similar walls during Nationals, this is a time for discovery and growth, don't get stressed out there, don't panic, think and come up with a strategy, no two spikers are the same, so think and try to find out what works best for you. We already know that there's a team out there with better blocking than theirs, but we're not facing them now, don't think about them now, don't get overwhelmed. Think about the opponent that is in front of you now, not the one that you might play against in the future. Relax and think, once you open up your minds, you'll start to see the cracks on the wall, find those weaknesses and explore them, that's the best chance you got."

To be honest, Keishin wouldn't be so worry about the practice match if it weren't for the fact that Shouyou-san looked so worry about it.

There was also Kageyama, good blockers don't just put pressure on the spikers, but they also put pressure on the setter too. Kageyama has been building up a hurricane of emotions since he came back from the camp, he wasn't in the right mind for this match, he would probably lose his cool and make rash decisions during the match. Keishin just hopes that Kageyama's teammates are enough to control him. This match is probably going to be a harder match for Kageyama than the one against Shiratorizawa. The problem here is that the more stressed Kageyama gets during the match, the easier that it'll be for Date Tech to control him and manipulate him, Keishin just hopes that Kageyama realizes it in time.

As soon as the match started Keishin knew that Kageyama had already become Date Tech's prey, they were manipulating him, making him choose anything but the middle, the good thing is that the team has gotten better at receiving, so even if Karasuno keeps getting blocked, the ball never hits the floor. This match just turned into a battle of wills. Date Tech's new Captain also liked to use taunts and he turned Kageyama and Tsukishima into his new targets.

"Kageyama-kun looks very stressed out there," Takeda-sensei commented and Keishin nodded.

"A setter never likes when their spikers get blocked, especially not their favorite one," Keishin said as Hinata-kun was blocked by Aone.

"Hinata-kun is Kageyama-kun's favorite spiker?" Sensei asked and Keishin nodded.

"Every setter has a favorite spiker whether they realize it or not. The spiker they trust the most when in a tight spot, the one they try new moves with, the ones that they like tossing to the most, the ones they want to impress. For Kageyama, that spiker is Hinata-kun. All week, Hinata-kun's attacks have been getting blocked and received. He hasn't said anything because he knows is what's best for the team but he hates our new training methods, he hates when Hinata's attacks don't work. His face has been getting more tense with every practice, that's why I sent him to practice with Nishinoya yesterday. There's also the fact that now he knows that Hinata won't be there forever, I still don't know how he took those news. Shouyou-san's comments about Miya, Kozume, and Hirugami also affected him. You should've seen his face when Shouyou-san was talking about them. Add all of that up with whatever was bothering him last Saturday and you get a bomb ready to explode."

"I thought he already got over that after his talk with Shouyou-san on Sunday," Sensei commented and Keishin shook his head.

"Words are powerful, they can build you up or destroy you in a second, but actions are always going to be more powerful. Insecurities won't just die because you had a pep talk, actions are required too. That talk might've helped at that moment, but what happened this week definitely was stronger than whatever Shouyou-san told him that day."

On the court, Kageyama definitely kept getting more and more frustrated, he was starting to give dirty looks to his teammates. Once Date Tech did a feint and Nishinoya dived to receive it, it finally happened.

"Nishinoya-san! You're in the way!" Kageyama shouted and the whole team looked shocked, even Date Tech looked shocked, and Keishin could swear that he heard Shouyou-san facepalming and groaning in the background.

Nishinoya gave Kageyama a look that clearly say 'Not this, again', but he asked for an explanation anyway, after Kageyama gave him one, Nishinoya nodded and apologized but the damage was already done, the tension was already rising in the room.

Things definitely kept getting worse on the court, especially since Date Tech's retired third-years showed up to cheer for their team. Kageyama started to snap more often to his teammates and  he definitely had it out for Tsukishima. Keishin could hear his students whispering about Kageyama and that was definitely Shouyou-san groaning in the background. It got so bad that Sensei wanted to call for a time out, but Keishin didn't let him, the first set would be over soon, anyway.

Kageyama wasn't the only one having trouble out there, the guys were clearly stressed and they were definitely worrying too much about getting blocked. They were probably thinking that if they couldn't handle Date Tech right now, then they sure as hell couldn't handle the blockers at Nationals, especially not the team that worries Shouyou-san so much. Keishin was regretting doing that meeting before the match, the guys were definitely overthinking things now.

It was no surprise at all that Date Tech took the first set, Keishin looked at his boys and sighed, he needed to find the right words to say to them but nothing came to mind.

"I..." Kageyama started to say with a strained voice and the team turned to look at him. "I know my tosses are good! So, please, score more often!" Kageyama shouted, stunning the team into silence.

Tsukishima was the least surprised out of all them and didn't missed the opportunity to taunt the young setter. "Well, would you look at that? Is the return of the King."

Kageyama seemed to realized what he had done and tried to apologize but then a Volleyball smacked him in the head. The team gasped in surprise and even Date Tech was choking on their drinks.

"You're not the Great King!" Hinata-kun shouted. "You're not setter Miya-san, either! You're not Kenma or Kogane! And you're definitely not Suga-san or Akaashi-san! You're Kageyama Tobio! You're Karasuno's King of the Court, you're Miyagi's best setter. Who cares about what happened at that camp?! Of course there's always going to be people better than you! That's life, welcome to it, you big idiot! Who cares about what happened in Junior High?! Fighting and disagreements between teammates is normal! Who cares about how good those All-Japan guys are?! Who cares if your former teammates didn't jump?! We're your teammates now! We're here and we'll jump for you, just ask us how high. Even Tsukishima jumps for you and he can't stand you, but do you know why he still jumps? Because unlike them, we really want to win. You can't win alone, there are six of us out there! So use us already, dammit! What are you, scared?! Or are we not good enough for you, Mr. All-Japan?!"

Hinata-kun's face was an angry red by the time he finished his little rant, Kageyama and the rest of the team looked stunned. For how long had Hinata-kun been swallowing those words? It seems like Kageyama wasn't the only bomb waiting for a little spark to ignite them and explode. Hinata-kun and Kageyama tend to spend a lot of their time together, had Kageyama been taking his frustrations out on the little spiker? Was this the result of that?

"What's wrong with him being the King? Is it because he's too bossy? Too self-centered? Is it because he's too hard to deal with? Well, I don't care how good of a player he is, if he tells me something I don't like, or in a way I don't like it, then I'm not going to listen to him! If he can't be a good teammate, then I'm not going to be one either. I'll treat him like he treats me and be done with it, if he doesn't like it, then that's his problem and not mine, he gets what he deserves."

In no time the rest of the team started to agree with Young Hinata's words and since the weird duo was speaking their minds now, then so did the rest of the team. Keishin started to chuckle, actions are always more powerful than words.

"Kageyama-kun," Shouyou-san said all of sudden and everyone turned to look at him.

"The only way to evolve is to not dwell on the past, yesterday is gone, is nothing but history. What matters is today, what are you going to do today? What about tomorrow? Think about the here and now. In a team communication is key, you suck at it, is true. But that doesn't mean is only your fault, is their fault too. They don't know how to tell you when you mess up, is it because they don't know how to? Is it because they're afraid? Who knows. So far, you all have been making mistakes, you're too comfortable in your own shells right now, but you're crows and you need to learn how to fly. Tsukishima-kun and Shouyou-kun can jump higher, Tsukishima-kun can handle higher tosses, and Shouyou-kun can handle faster tosses. Asahi-san and Tanaka-san are power attackers, so slow your tosses for them a little bit, that way, they can see the blockers better and break the wall, people tend to forget that Daichi-san is good at offense too, so use that to your advantage. All of you have been adapting to your bad habits and if you continue that way, then you won't even make it through the first round of Nationals. You have an opportunity to grow right in front of you, don't waste it or you'll regret it. If you want to win then go out there and become a team that deserves to go to Nationals. You think the other teams are resting right now? No, they're evolving, becoming better and stronger with every second that passes by, don't get left behind." The team nodded dumbfounded, this was pretty much the first time that Shouyou-san scolded them, so they didn't know how to react.

"See? No one cares if you're the King or not. I mean Kings are supposed to be cool, right? Isn't it great that you have such a cool nickname? It makes me so jealous," Hinata-kun said and the team chuckled.

"Nothing beats a set that is easy for the spiker to hit, and the only way to find that perfect set is through communication, but that doesn't mean you can't fight," Keishin said and smiled at the young setter. Asahi told Kageyama that he had been working on his timing to fool the blockers, and Tanaka told him that he has been trying to get a 'super sharp cut shot', Hinata-kun told Kageyama that Tsukishima could fly higher, and that he wasn't going to let Tsukishima beat him in height.

After hearing what his teammates had to say Kageyama took a deep breath and turned to look at Daichi. "I'm going to be tossing to you more, Date Tech doesn't expect you to attack so that might work for awhile." Daichi nodded and smiled at Kageyama.

The young setter then turned to look at Asahi and Tanaka. "I'll slow my tosses for the two of you a little bit more so you can see the blockers better, I wish you good luck on perfecting your new weapons." Asahi and Tanaka smiled at Kageyama and thanked him.

Kageyama then turned to look at Tsukishima and grimaced. "Listen, I'm not going to sink down to your level, if you can jump higher, then jump higher, is the only way we can beat them." Tsukishima and Yamaguchi really didn't look happy at that little comment, but Tsukishima reluctantly agreed anyway.

"And you..." Kageyama said and grabbed a hold of Hinata-kun's shirt. "If you really are my spiker, then fly for me! I know I suck at explaining things, but something just clicked with you while watching the real deal, didn't it? So fly as high as I ask you to!"

"Of course I will, I'm gonna fly higher and you better be there to reach me!" Hinata-kun shouted right in front of Kageyama's face and the young setter smiled at him. "Also, if you hit me with a Volleyball again, I'm going to kill you, understood?!"

"Yes, sir!"

"The second set is about to start so get ready," Keishin said and his boys nodded and went back to their places.

As soon as the second set started, Kageyama tossed higher for Tsukishima, unfortunately they didn't sync up, fortunately for them, Nishinoya managed to save the ball and he sent it to Date Tech's side. On the second try, the spike ended being an out, but the new move clearly surprised Date Tech, Kageyama looked very smug about it, Tsukishima was analyzing the blockers in front of him, so he didn't noticed the look. Or at least, he hadn't noticed until Tanaka pointed it out for him, Tsukishima turned to look at Kageyama with a scowl and Kageyama smirked.

"So, you can fly."

"Well, I am a crow."

"Boys, the game."

"Right!"

Using Daichi more on offense did work for a little bit, but the more that Date Tech played against Karasuno, the better they got. Karasuno wasn't the only one evolving here. The battle of wills was now a battle to see who could evolve faster. The third time that Tsukishima and Kageyama tried their new move it miraculously did go as planned, the team cheered for the both of them, but the ones who actually did it, just glared at each other.

"At least high five or something, guys!" Sugawara shouted but Tsukishima and Kageyama only glared harder at each other. 

"Boys, the game," Daichi reminded them again and the guys went back to their positions. 

Once Hinata-kun was back to the game, he surprised everyone by jumping really, really high, even Kageyama looked surprised as the loud 'boom' resonated throughout the gym, Shouyou-san was laughing in delight in the background, and he only laughed harder when Kageyama missed Hinata-kun's contact point and Hinata-kun forgot to swing.

"I forgot to hit!"

"If you can't do both then don't do it, boke!"

"Oh shut up! You just missed me there!"

"But it would've been fine if you had just reacted in time!"

"Oh, man. You guys are totally hopeless," Shouyou-san said while laughing uncontrollably.

"Shut up! You try it, then!" Kageyama and Hinata-kun shouted in unison.

"Boys, the game!"

Asahi and Tanaka definitely didn't wanted to get left behind by their juniors, and Asahi finally managed to get his timing right to trick the blockers, Date Tech was definitely surprise and the new Captain was totally losing his cool out there, and the taunts of his senpais were just adding more fuel to the fire. Tanaka still couldn't get his 'super sharp cut shot,' but he sure as hell was giving the blockers more trouble now that he could see them better. Slower tosses were working wonders for the two boys.

The end of the second set was coming near, Karasuno was in the lead now but Date Tech was too close for comfort. Just one more point for Karasuno and they'll get the set, but if Date Tech got this point then it would be a deuce, and Date Tech could win the match. Date Tech's Captain did another feint but Nishinoya was there to save the ball and this time he made sure to not be in anybody's way.

Hinata-kun moved so fast that by the time everyone realized what had just happened he was already high in the air, higher than Date Tech's blockers could reach.

"Bring it here, Kageyama!" Hinata-kun shouted and Kageyama smiled at him.

"Don't you dare miss!" Kageyama shouted back, and in the blink of an eye the ball was already there, Hinata-kun spiked the ball and it landed with a loud 'bang' on the other side of the court. It was like seeing the freak quick for the very first time without previous knowledge of it, everyone looked stunned, not even Hinata-kun and Kageyama seemed to believe what they had just done.

"That was..." Sensei started to say.

"Hoshiumi's jump plus the freak quick," Keishin finished for him.

"What the hell?! What was that?!" Date Tech and Karasuno shouted in unison and Shouyou-san laughed in delight.

"Way to go, kiddos!" Shouyou-san shouted and that seemed to be what broke the spell. Kageyama and Hinata-kun looked at each other and started celebrating.

"It was there! It really was there! The ball was there! Just what kind of freak are you? Are you an alien?! A wizard?! Are your hands magic?!" Hinata-kun asked and grabbed Kageyama's hands to confirm that they were real.

"I'm the freak?! When did you even get there?! You scared the crap out of me! Don't you dare do that again! Give me a signal next time, you idiot!" Kageyama shouted back.

"I just thought that the best way to get past the blockers was with speed and height, so I did it. I knew the ball would be there for me, I mean I can fly, but you're the amazing one, I can't win on my own, you once said that you'll help me break any wall, so I jumped." Kageyama looked at Hinata-kun in disbelief and Hinata-kun smiled at him, he ran out of the court and grabbed his towel.

"The setter is the team's control tower!" Hinata-kun started to say while mimicking Kageyama's voice, he was even trying to straighten down his hair to look like Kageyama's.

"It's the setter that handles the ball the most in a match. It's the most dominant role! It's the coolest!" Kageyama's eyes started to widen and Hinata-kun started to form a crown with his towel.

"Spikers can't shoot without the setter. Is the setter that tricks the enemy blockers. The setter tears down walls for the spiker. It's difficult, it's cool, it's fun and that's the setter!" Both Date Tech and Karasuno started to look curiously at the two boys.

"I'm not just gonna forget that you said all that. No matter how much you try to act like a Goody-Two-Shoes, you're a King deep down inside! Prepare yourself..." Hinata-kun said as he started to get closer to Kageyama.

"From this day on you shall be known as..." Hinata-kun jumped and crowned Kageyama with his towel. "The new King of the Court!"

Everyone gasped in surprise at the scene playing right in front of them, Hinata-kun smiled at Kageyama and the young setter threw him the towel, it hit Hinata-kun in the face and the little spiker made a little sound of surprise.

Keishin didn't missed the small smile in Kageyama's face and the way he relaxed all of sudden, even his eyes looked less burdened now.

"Now he got over it," Keishin told Takeda-sensei who nodded in agreement. Words are humanity's greatest weapon, but words get carried by the wind, they get lost in time and only our actions is what remains. Shouyou-san's words might've helped, but it was Hinata-kun's actions what just killed all of Kageyama's insecurities.

"Was my life really this dramatic when I was their age?" Shouyou-san asked all of a sudden and the whole team turned to look at him in disbelief. "What? I don't remembered it being that bad!"

"Hinata-san, we really need to work on your timing," Sugawara said and the man looked confused. "What did I do?"

"He's clueless."

Soon it was time to start the third set, Daichi and Nishinoya were on point with their defense, Tanaka still couldn't get that perfect spike that he was looking for, but he did become more difficult to deal with for the blockers. Asahi still hasn't perfected his new move but it sure was giving Date Tech a few headaches, so was Tsukishima with his new jump.

But what really send Date Tech into despair was Hinata-kun and Kageyama's new faster and higher quick, even if they jumped twice, or higher they still couldn't get a hand on it, the freak duo was back and they were having more fun than ever.

The Iron Wall was evolving, it was becoming higher and stronger, but Karasuno was evolving too. They were flying faster and higher now, their spears were sharper and their shields were stronger. Keishin couldn't help but smile. Look at us, world! This is the new Karasuno. Are you ready for us?

It was no surprise that Karasuno managed to take the third set and win the practice match, the battle of wills and evolution finally coming to a close with the crows coming up on top, but Date Tech wasn't going to give up so easy.

"One more time!" All Date Tech players shouted in unison and their coach laughed.

"We have never had a practice match against you, but we heard the rumors, you like to go all out, don't you? My boys have been very excited about this, so please give them another chance. Besides, there's something that I want to try," Coach Oiwake said and Karasuno shared looks between them. Silently communicating with each other, Keishin got the message and nodded.

"We can give you another chance, but what's the condition?" Keishin asked and Coach Oiwake smiled and looked directly at Shouyou-san. "You, Hinata-san, was it? Get in there and play against my boys."

"WHAT?!"

"Wait a minute, Oiwake-san. He's not..."

"Sensei, it's okay," Shouyou-san said and then looked straight at Coach Oiwake. "Why?"

"Your eyes, they're sharp and too knowing, when everyone else was panicking and trying to look for a way to overcome the Iron Wall, you were looking at my boys like you already knew what to do. You're a smart one, aren't you?" Coach Oiwake asked and Shouyou-san smiled. "Not at all, I just really hate losing."

"What a coincidence, my boys hate losing too, so give them a chance." Shouyou-san looked at Date Tech, he gave the team a once over and smiled. "You guys really think you can take me?" Date Tech scowled at that question. "Bring it!"

Shouyou-san smiled. "Okay, let's do this."

"You're so going to regret that!" Karasuno warned their opponents and Shouyou-san only smiled wider but Date Tech wasn't backing down.

This practice match just got way more interesting.

Tuesday, September 20, 2022

São Paulo, Brazil.

It has already been a week, a week since Hinata disappeared without a trace.

Pedro-san has been calling hospitals, morgues, airports, stations, and even jails, but there were no news about Hinata in any of them.

Tobio, ASAS, and the Jackals, had been spreading posters all over São Paulo, but no one had called them with any news.

Kozume-san keeps checking Hinata's bank account, but there hasn't been any weird activites on it and hacking Hinata's phone turned out to be useless, Kozume-san was losing his mind, saying that it seemed like Hinata's phone just disappeared from existence.

Tobio's phone started ringing and he answered as soon as he saw the name on the screen.

"Daichi-san?"

"Kageyama, how's it going? Any news?"

"None. Kozume-san keeps trying to hack Hinata's phone but he has been unsuccessful so far. Pedro-san keeps calling everywhere, but no one has seen him and the police just don't have any leads."

"This is unbelievable. Are you all sure he never mentioned anything to any of you about meeting anyone strange or a crazy fan or something?"

"We have been asking everywhere and the answer is always no."

"What about a partner? An affair?"

"Hinata is not like that!"

"Okay, okay. I'm just saying, this is just too weird."

"I know. We really don't know what to do anymore."

"As someone who deals with this kind of stuff on a daily basis, let me tell you, sometimes, the right answers for these questions are found where you least expect them."

"At this point, I don't care where we find them, I just want a clue, even if it's a small one."

"Have faith, son. You'll find the answers right in front of you if you just have faith and believe that they'll appear. I have to go, don't forget to keep the groupchat updated, everyone is worried sick."

"Don't worry, I will. I'll talk to you later, Daichi-san." Once Daichi-san said his goodbyes, Tobio ended the call.

Tobio looked around the room and sighed. All of them had decided to stay at Hinata's apartment in case something happened and sometimes it got a little cramped for all of them and personalities started to clash, but all of them understood that this wasn't about them, it was about finding Hinata.

Pedro-san was on the phone, he was always on the phone, either making calls or receiving calls from people who called on a daily basis to see if there were any news about Hinata. Tobio knew that Hinata's family, Oikawa-san, Hinata's Beach Volleyball Coach, and Heitor-san and his wife, called Pedro-san everyday.

They weren't the only ones, Kozume-san and the Jackals also got many calls during the day. Karasuno and the Adlers also liked to keep in touch with Tobio, but he preferred to keep them undated through texts instead of calls.

Tobio sighed when he noticed that Kozume-san was still trying to hack Hinata's phone, the former setter just wasn't giving up on that. Bokuto-san and Miya-san were printing more posters for tomorrow, Tobio frowned, he hasn't seen Sakusa-san all day.

"Bokuto-san, where's Sakusa-san?" Tobio asked and the two Jackals shared a look. "Omi-Omi was getting very stressed and irritated, so he went to do his rituals."

"I'm sorry?"

Miya-san rolled his eyes. "What he means, is that Omi-kun has been cleanin' every inch of Shouyou-kun's apartment, is the only way he knows how ta deal with the stress." Tobio nodded in understanding, that does sound like something Sakusa-san would do.

Tobio turned on the TV, the news were about to start and they always watched them in case something involving Hinata was brought up.

Five minutes after the news started, Sakusa-san started screaming, everyone stopped what they were doing at the sound, and as soon as Miya-san and Tobio realized that the screams were coming from Hinata's bedroom, they all rushed there.

Hinata's bedroom was off limits, only the police has been there before, so what was Sakusa-san doing there and why was he screaming?

Chapter Text

Faster than Date Tech could come up with a plan to counteract whatever Shouyou-san was about to throw their way, the man had already changed into his Volleyball gear and had stretched.

Date Tech stared blankly at the man waiting for them in the middle of the court, they were probably wondering just how exactly the man had changed and stretched so fast. Karasuno, - who was already used to Shouyou-san's speed at pretty much everything, - just stared expectantly at Date Tech.

And so the waiting game began.

Keishin stared at his students and smirked. "Follow Hinata-san's lead on this one, okay?" The team nodded.

"Kageyama, Date Tech would probably want for Hinata-san to start as setter, so let him play as setter for the first set, we'll change things around in the second set, I don't think we'll get a third one, but if we do, then we'll let them decide who they want, got it?" Kageyama certainly didn't look happy about that, but he huffed and nodded anyway.

Once both coaches finished talking with their teams, Shouyou-san looked at Date Tech again and said, "You know, I gotta ask, why?"

Coach Oiwake frowned. "I told you..."

"Oh, no. I got that, but like, what's the real reason?" Shouyou-san asked and both teams turned to look at him in surprise. Keishin had to admit, he has been wondering the same thing.

Dateko's Captain smirked. "Because we want to beat them," he said and nodded towards Karasuno. "Oikawa and Ushiwaka would be gone next year, the only thing standing in our way would be them. So, we want to become stronger, that way, we'll beat them and go to Nationals," the boy admitted and Keishin's students looked about ready to pounce.

Coach Oiwake and the retired third-years tried to do some damage control, but Shouyou-san laughed and held up one of his hands to stop a confrontation between both teams.

"Wow, really tell me how you feel, why don't ya? Yeah, I figured it'll be something like that. You really think you can handle Nationals?" Shouyou-san asked and Date Tech nodded, there was determination shining brightly in their eyes.

"Well, then. That's your first mistake," Shouyou-san said. His tone of voice changed from happy-go-lucky to complete seriousness and his eyes became sharper.

Both teams turned to look at the man in surprise and shivered in fear once they saw his expression. "Alright, let's see what you're made of," Shouyou-san said and nodded towards the court.

Once both teams got ready, Keishin flipped a coin in the air and caught it.

Oh, uh.

"Looks like Karasuno would be serving first, good luck," Keishin said and he really meant it, because the first one to serve would be Shouyou-san.

Once everyone and everything was ready, Keishin blew his whistle, it was time for this little match to finally begin.

Suga observed how Shouyou-san prepared himself to serve, Coach Ukai blew his whistle and Shouyou-san tossed the ball high into the air, the older redhead jumped and swung his arm with great force and precision and he sent a very nasty spike serve straight at Dateko's Captain.

Suga was sure that the loud 'bang' sound that the ball made once it hit the floor could be heard all the way to the first gym. Dateko stared at the ball in surprise, then as one, they turned to look at Shouyou-san in shock and fear.

"This isn't the first time that we deal with powerful serves, get a grip! Remember Oikawa?" Dateko's Coach shouted at his team and his students nodded and got ready to receive again. Their eyes were shining with determination once again.

"Huh," Shouyou-san said and smirked.

"Oh, uh."

Shouyou-san prepared himself to serve once again and in a 'blink and you'll miss it' moment, he sent a jump floater straight at the libero's face. Dateko's libero literally didn't even know what hit him. By the time everyone realized what just happened, the ball was already on the floor and the referee was giving a point to Karasuno.

Kageyama scoffed in annoyance. "What a show off."

"Man, that was really something, the whistle blew and then the ball was in the libero's face, that was scary," Narita said and Suga had to agree.

"I wanna serve like that," Yamaguchi, Kinoshita, and Hinata-kun said in unison.

"Is it just me, or is he been more serious than last time?" Ennoshita asked and Suga nodded. "He probably didn't get really serious with us, he was still cautious about the timeline, and he probably didn't wanted to hurt our feelings that much, and also..."

"I didn't pissed him off," Kageyama said, "But they did."

"Exactly."

"Wow, he can probably win this whole match with just serves," Yamaguchi commented as Shouyou-san landed another service ace against Dateko's Captain.

"Is this what dealing with setter Miya-san would be like?" Hinata-kun asked and Kageyama shook his head. "No, Miya-san at least gives something away before serving, but your... brother doesn't give any hints," Kageyama responded.

Suga had noticed that too, Miya-san had some pre-serve habits that give away what serve he would use before doing it. Shouyou-san on the other hand, he doesn't give anything away, you really don't know what he's going to hit you with until the very last second. That was even more troublesome and dangerous.

Karasuno was already five points ahead and it was all because of Shouyou-san's serves. It was no wonder that Dateko's Coach asked for a time out. Forcefully cutting Shouyou-san off, if they weren't careful, this match really could be won with just serves. Is Date Tech concentrating too much on their blocking that they're neglecting their receiving? Or were Shouyou-san's serves really that powerful?

"I heard that there's a dual-wielder at Nationals," Shouyou-san told Date Tech once they came back to the court, Suga noticed how Kageyama stiffened at the older redhead's words. "I don't think you're ready to face him." Dateko's Captain and some of the other players scowled at that.

"We will go to Nationals," Futakuchi said and his team nodded in agreement.

Shouyou-san hummed. "We'll see."

The older redhead prepared himself to serve again and Suga frowned. "Isn't he being too obvious about it?" Suga asked once he noticed that Shouyou-san's movements screamed 'spike serve'.

"He's probably going easy on them," Narita said as they noticed that Date Tech prepared to receive.

Shouyou-san tossed the ball high into the air and jumped. "It really is too obvious," Ennoshita commented.

It was clearly a spike serve and everyone knew it, but everyone learned a lesson that day. If Shouyou-san is being too obvious about something, then it's a trap.

A very dangerous trap.

Shouyou-san shifted while in midair and hit the ball with his left hand instead of his right one, that put a very nasty spin to his serve, Dateko didn't even know what hit them and apparently neither did Karasuno.

"He served with his left hand?!"

The room got very quiet all of a sudden, everyone was looking between Shouyou-san and the ball.

Everyone was in shock.

"I also heard that there's an ace at Nationals with very flexible wrists. Apparently, that puts a very nasty spin to his serves and spikes. You couldn't pick that one up, are you sure you're ready for him?" Shouyou-san asked and Futakuchi had enough.

"Stop humiliating us! We will go to Nationals!" Futakuchi snarled.

"He's not," Aone suddenly said and everyone turned to look at him in surprise.

"What?"

"He's not humiliating us, he's preparing us," Aone said and Shouyou-san smiled.

"Now, there's a smart one." Everyone's eyes widened in sudden realization.

So that's what he has been doing?

"Now, with that lesson learned, let's begin, shall we?" Shouyou-san said. This time, he did a normal serve that Dateko's libero had no trouble picking up.

"He definitely wasn't going easy on them, huh," Narita sweat dropped.

"We should've guessed it, you know?" Ennoshita said, "We already saw him spiking with his left hand, we really shouldn't be that surprised to find out that he can also serve with it."

"Yeah, we really shouldn't."

"Wow, he's awesome," Hinata-kun said with stars shining in his eyes, Kageyama scoffed in annoyance once again.

"He really is a good setter," Suga said as Shouyou-san gave a high toss to Asahi.

Shouyou-san wasn't just giving good tosses to his spikers, he was also helping them trick the blockers. Suga really couldn't believe that they were actually falling for it.

What happened to your read blocking, Date Tech?

On the court, Koganegawa tried to do a setter dump, keyword being tried. Shouyou-san had reacted quickly and smashed the ball down, earning Karasuno a point. Koganegawa looked at Shouyou-san in surprise and the man sighed.

"You know, I already told 'Blueberry Eyes' over there the same thing but," Shouyou-san said and nodded towards Kageyama. "If you're gonna do a setter dump, then at least be less obvious about it, get more creative with them."

'Blueberry Eyes' over here, was huffing and puffing in irritation, much to the amusement of Young Hinata. Kageyama looked about ready to throttle the little decoy, but he was saved by Nishinoya, it was time for Hinata-kun to finally join the match.

It was clear that Date Tech was a little wary of both Hinatas playing together, their guard was definitely up now. Daichi received one of Futakuchi's spikes, once the ball was high in the air, Karasuno did a synchronized attack.

"Oh, they haven't done that before with him," Kinoshita said, "I wonder who he's gonna toss to."

"Probably to Hinata-kun, he has been tossing to him the whole week," Narita commented.

On the court, Shouyou-san jumped to reach the ball, while on midair, he switched quickly from a set formation straight into a spike one and spiked the ball himself, both teams stared at him in surprise and irritation.

"Man, is like he's saying 'Look, that's a setter dump'," Suga said as he saw how Koganegawa looked in awe at the moves of the older redhead and how Kageyama's eye was twitching.

"You know, he's completely unknown as a setter to us," Nishinoya said. "We saw him setting to Shouyou-kun all week and there's also that match but..."

"We haven't seen him in the position for real," Kageyama finished for him.

It was true, during their match last Saturday, Shouyou-san had made some emergency sets, but it was clear that he hadn't been giving it his all to that match, and while he has been tossing to Hinata-kun all week, it was only that one attack that they had been seeing from him so far. They haven't seen him as a setter for an entire match yet, but he was really good at it, there was no way that Date Tech wouldn't believe that he wasn't really one.

Karasuno was way ahead of Dateko in points and it was clear that the other team was starting to feel the pressure, they were definitely falling more for Shouyou-san's tricks now, and they were also getting a little reckless with their attacks.

Nishinoya was back in the game now, and he managed to receive a very nasty spike from Futakuchi. Unfortunately, the receive was messy.

"Sorry, it's short!" Nishinoya apologized.

Shouyou-san waved him off. "Don't worry about it, I can work with that," was Shouyou-san's response. The man jumped and raised his hand.

"How is that creative?" Kageyama asked in annoyance once he noticed that Shouyou-san was about to do another setter dump.

Aone and Futakuchi jumped to block him, Shouyou-san quickly switched from a dump to a set and tossed the ball to Tanaka, the outside hitter spiked the ball freely while laughing, once the ball hit the floor in Dateko's side, Karasuno celebrated.

"Best blocking team in Miyagi and he just got a free shot," Ennoshita said, "That's gotta be annoying." Judging by the reaction of Date Tech, it clearly was.

"The setter," Kageyama started to say, he looked so torn between being amazed or annoyed. "Tears down walls for the spiker. They trick the enemy's blockers."

Futakuchi aimed a spike straight at Shouyou-san, which was a very bad idea, Shouyou-san didn't even bother with receiving, he set the ball in the first touch, tossing it straight to Hinata-kun, who was in the front row now that Tsukishima had left the match.

Hinata-kun spiked the ball with all his might and Date Tech stared open mouthed once they realized that Shouyou-san and Hinata-kun could do the freak quick too. Both redheads looked very smug about it as they fist bumped each other.

"Hinata-san hasn't set to Hinata-kun or Tsukishima during this set, so Date Tech wasn't expecting an attack from the middle at all, especially not one that came right after the first touch," Suga commented.

"And especially not that attack," Tsukishima said, "Since the King is not playing, they definitely weren't expecting that one."

"But now they will," Kageyama said, "And don't call me that!"

Date Tech was more aware of the middle now, which Shouyou-san used to his advantage, using Hinata-kun as decoy and tossing to the spikers on the sides more.

"Why isn't he using the middle more?" Kinoshita asked.

"I think is because Dateko's blockers are on the middle..." Suga started to say, but he was interrupted by Narita. "So he's evading them?"

"No," Kageyama said, "He wants to tire them out, if he tosses to the middle, the blockers would just jump, but if he tosses to the sides, then they have to run and jump, all of that moving and jumping around has got to be exhausting in the long run."

"Oh," Kinoshita and Narita said in unison. They were probably making mental notes to apply to their setting practice.

Coach Ukai told Kageyama to start warming up not long after that. The first set finally came to an end with Daichi's spike a couple of minutes after Kageyama started doing his warm ups.

Coach Ukai informed Date Tech that they would be switching setters but that Shouyou-san would stay on the court. Dateko seemed torn between relief or worry.

Go for worry, Suga thought with a smile.

"So, does that mean that me or Tsukishima won't be playing in the second set?" Hinata-kun asked Coach Ukai as soon as the man came back.

"Not exactly," Coach Ukai said and everyone turned to look at him. "I've had my doubts ever since the first day, but I think the speech from earlier confirmed it for me. Hinata-san isn't a middle blocker in the..." Coach Ukai  stopped there and gave a nervous glance to Dateko. The opponent team seemed to be very busy at the moment, rapidly talking with their coach. "Well, you know."

"Then, what position does he play?" Nishinoya asked and everyone turned to look at the older redhead, who was wiping his face with a towel. Suga noticed that Tanaka and Asahi went rigid as soon as Nishinoya asked that question.

"He's an opposite hitter," Daichi answered the question. Kageyama and Coach Ukai nodded in agreement. Everyone else just turned to look at their Captain in surprise. "Don't look at me like that. Think about it, he's good at receiving, blocking, spiking, serving, and setting. What position would fit him best?"

"But Daichi-san, that's your position," Tanaka said.

"He doesn't have to, I can play..." Shouyou-san started to say, but Daichi interrupted him. "Oh, no. I want to, it's clear for all of us that you weren't giving it your all against us last Saturday. So, I want to see how you do as an opposite hitter, maybe I can learn a few tricks by watching you."

"Well, then, problem solved. Kageyama, you're going in as setter. Hinata-san, you're going in as an opposite hitter. Daichi, you're staying out. Hinata-kun, you're starting in the front row this set," Coach Ukai said and everyone nodded.

"Wait, Kageyama-kun," Shouyou-san suddenly said and Kageyama turned to look at him. "I didn't use the middle much during that set, but now that you and Shouyou-kun are back in action, they're going to be watching the middle more. Besides that dump, they really don't know me as a spiker, so try to use that to your advantage. Also, if you get a chance to set a ball in the first touch, then toss it to me."

"Why?"

"Just trust me." Kageyama didn't look very convinced about it, but he nodded anyway.

Hinata-san wasn't wrong, as soon as the second set started, it was very obvious that Date Tech was extremely vigilant of the middle, but Kageyama did listen to the older redhead, he was using the sides more. With Shouyou-san playing Daichi's position, Karasuno was way more stronger in both defense and offense.

"Wow, is like having two liberos and four aces," Yamaguchi said and Suga nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Hinata-kun is a big point getter and a great decoy. Tanaka and Asahi know how to battle three blockers at once, Nishinoya is a great defender and Hinata-san..."

"Is all of them combined," Daichi finished for him and Suga chuckled. "Yeah, he is."

Back on the court, Kageyama set for Hinata-san. Koganegawa, Futakuchi, and Aone jumped to block the older redhead. Hinata-san apparently was going to do a line shot because Aone's hand moved closer to the antenna. Hinata-san reacted quickly and with a tiny shift of his hand, he sent the ball through the space that Aone just created for him.

"Oh," Suga and his companions said in amazement.

"That is called a midair battle," Shouyou-san said to Dateko, "There's a player at Nationals who is an expert at them, and he's about that height," he said and pointed to Hinata-kun who huffed indignantly.

Date Tech stared at him in surprise. "Oh yeah, there's another tiny little devil you should be worry about."

"More like three," Futakuchi said in annoyance while glaring at Shouyou-san. "So, that look just now was just a feint, huh?" Futakuchi asked and Aone shook his head.

"No, he really was going to go for that line shot, he just reacted more quickly than I did. Sorry, it was my fault," Aone apologized to his Captain who told him that it was okay.

"What're they talking about?" Yamaguchi asked in confusion.

"Spikers tend to look to the place where they're going to spike," Tsukishima said, "Once Date Tech's middle blocker realized where the spike was going to go, he moved his hand to block it, but instead of panicking, Older Hinata used that to his advantage and sent the ball through the crack that the blocker himself created on their iron wall."

"So, that's why he apologized?"

"Well, it was his fault, he should've moved both hands instead of just one."

"I know he described Miya Atsumu as the ideal setter and if that's the case then," Suga started to say as soon as Yamaguchi and Tsukishima were done with their conversation. "Hinata-san is the ideal spiker."

"What do you mean, Sugawara-san?" Yamaguchi asked and Suga nodded towards Shouyou-san.

"Hinata-san said that Miya Atsumu can make a perfect set out of any ball, that it doesn't matter how good or how awkward the receive is, or how high or low the ball is going, he said he's very dedicated to his spikers," Suga continued as they watched Shouyou-san jump higher than they had ever seen him jump before, the man spiked a high toss from Kageyama, earning another point for Karasuno.

"Hinata-san can handle any toss, it doesn't matter how good or how awkward, how low or how high. He doesn't panic when he goes against blockers, and he never complaints, not even when it was clearly the setter's fault," Suga said as Shouyou-san spiked an awkward emergency set from Hinata-kun.

"If his setter went through the trouble of putting that ball up there for him, then he's gonna do everything in his power to spike it, whatever it takes. If a partnership between Hinata and Kageyama is this deadly," Suga continued to say as they watched how Hinata-kun and Kageyama did their new freak quick.

"Can you imagine how much powerful and dangerous a partnership between Hinata and Miya Atsumu would be?" Suga asked and his companions turned to look at him in concern. "Sorry, that crazy thought just came into my mind all of sudden, don't tell Kageyama."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Daichi said.

"Not even in my worst nightmare," Kinoshita and Narita said in unison.

"Don't worry, I won't say anything," Ennoshita reassured him.

"Same here," Yamaguchi agreed.

"A partnership between the ideal partners, huh?" Tsukishima asked and Suga didn't like the tone of his voice at all. "Now, that would be something."

A chance ball was coming straight at Karasuno and Kageyama finally got a chance to set a ball in the first touch, he tossed it to Shouyou-san who jumped ready to spike, in a flash, Date Tech's blockers were right in front of him, rapidly creating their usual strong wall.

"Battling three blockers now won't be so easy, they've seen many of his tricks already," Narita said and Daichi shook his head. "Don't underestimate him."

Shouyou-san apparently had more tricks under his sleeve, he re-set the ball that Kageyama just set for him while in midair, giving a quick to Hinata-kun in the process. Date Tech's blockers stared at the older redhead with almost hatred in their eyes.

"Don't forget that he's a setter!" Dateko's Coach shouted at his team, his students nodded and went back to their positions.

"I stand corrected," Yamaguchi said, "It's like having four aces, two liberos, and two setters," the young man finished saying and everyone chuckled.

"He really is annoying," Tsukishima said, he sounded very irritated. He was probably sympathizing way too much with Dateko's blockers.

"Well, he hates losing, what did you expect?" Ennoshita asked and Tsukishima scoffed in annoyance.

Daichi hummed. "You think we can do that? Quick not included of course. I mean, with a regular toss," Daichi asked and Suga thought about it. "Maybe, if we practice it enough. We need to talk to Kageyama first though." Daichi nodded.

Tsukishima rejoined the match not long after that, Kageyama took advantage of his high tosses, but Date Tech was starting to get used to them. Asahi and Tanaka were also giving Date Tech's a few headaches, but they were also starting to get used to their attacks.

Kageyama gave another high toss to Tsukishima, unfortunately, they didn't sync up. Fortunately for them, Shouyou-san reacted quickly and saved the ball, quickly sending it back to Dateko's side of the court.

"Oh," Daichi said, he sounded so impressed that Suga couldn't help but smile. "It almost looked like he was waiting for it."

"He really is a great defender," Ennoshita commented and Yamaguchi chuckled. "I keep telling you, two liberos."

"Don't forget two blockers," Suga commented as Tsukishima and Shouyou-san stopped one of Aone's spikes.

"That too," Yamaguchi agreed.

Karasuno was now at twenty-three points, two more points and this match would be theirs.

Futakuchi aimed a serve straight at Kageyama, who had no other choice but to receive it. Shouyou-san quickly got under the ball and tossed it to Kageyama. The young setter didn't waste any time in sending the spike straight at Futakuchi with a smug smile on his face.

"You take his setter out of commission," Suga started to say.

"And he makes his setter pay you back," Daichi finished for him. Both of them chuckled at that.

"You okay Hinata-kun? You've been really quiet since the match started," Yamaguchi asked the small middle blocker. It was clear that the young spiker couldn't take his eyes away from the match.

"I think, I finally get it," Hinata-kun said and Suga and his companions turned to look at him.

"Finally get what?" Suga and Daichi asked at the same time.

"Being good," Hinata-kun said as Kageyama received a spike from Aone and Shouyou-san prepared to set. "Means being free," Hinata-kun finished saying as Shouyou-san fooled Dateko's blockers by spiking the ball with his left hand instead of tossing it to Asahi who was asking for a toss.

The match finally came to a close with Karasuno as the victors, but Suga and his companions didn't join their teammates in their celebrations, instead they stared at the young redhead, all of them knowing that something important just happened.

Something just awakened in him, and all of them wondered just how far that realization was going to take him.

If looks could kill, Keishin thought as he noticed that some of Date Tech's players were staring daggers at Older Hinata. Then Shouyou-san would be more than six feet under.

"You're annoying and I don't like you," Futakuchi told the older redhead.

"Thank you, it's a honor," Shouyou-san said. Tsukishima, Kageyama, Nishinoya, and Tanaka smirked. Futakuchi looked about ready to pop a vein.

"But," Futakuchi hissed, "I, I, I..." Dateko's former Captain smacked him in the head. "I appreciate what you did for us," Futakuchi said through gritted teeth.

"Don't hurt yourself there, buddy," Shouyou-san said and Coach Oiwake rolled his eyes and pushed his student away.

"What Futakuchi-kun is trying to say," Coach Oiwake started to say, "Is that we thank you for your time and for this opportunity. We realized now that we shouldn't be overconfident, that there are things that still need some work, and that we need to train hard if we want to go to Nationals next year," the man finished and asked his students to thank Shouyou-san.

"Oh, is that what he was trying to say?" Shouyou-san asked as Date Tech bowed in thanks to Karasuno.

"Don't push it, Hinata-san," Keishin told him as he and his team also bowed in thanks to the other team.

"Thank you for the match!"

Turns out, Shouyou-san didn't just gained the hatred of some of Dateko's players, he also gained the respect of the retired third-years, Coach Oiwake, Koganegawa, and Aone. All of them offered their hand and a bow to the older redhead as they left. Karasuno breathed a big sigh of relief once Date Tech was out of sight.

"Man, that was something," Asahi said with a sweat and all of his teammates agreed with him.

"Well, you still have time to squeeze in some extra practice. Go, go, go," Keishin said and his students nodded.

Kageyama and Nishinoya started practicing their new move. Yamaguchi and Tsukishima started practicing their serves alongside Tanaka and Asahi. While the rest went to practice setting with Sugawara.

"You," Keishin said to Shouyou-san, "Come with me, I wanna talk about some of your moves." Shouyou-san nodded and they both went to sit at the bench where Takeda-sensei was already waiting for them with a notebook in hand. 

"Hinata-kun and Kageyama-kun are acting weird," Takeda-sensei pointed out as Keishin finished the notes from today's practice.

Weirder than normal, you mean, Keishin thought as he looked at his students.

It was true, the little duo has been whispering to each other in a corner of the room for quite some time now. But true be told, they weren't the only ones acting weird, the third-years were also talking amongst themselves in another corner of the gym, the only ones who were still practicing were Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and the second-years.

Keishin turned to look at Shouyou-san and nodded towards the duo with a questioning look in his face and eyes. "What is that about?"

Shouyou-san shrugged. "Don't look at me, I don't know what those two little devils are planning."

Keishin looked at the time and sighed, he then turned to look at his students again. "Do your stretches and clean after yourselves, practice is over," Keishin said and his students nodded and got in position to do their cool down stretches and Shouyou-san went to join them.

"Sawamura-kun and Sugawara-kun told me that they want to do something for the managers tomorrow. After we go to the doctor, of course," Takeda-sensei informed him.

"That's good, the girls deserve it. But what are they planning?" 

"They're still undecided."

"They must've something in mind, right?"

"Lunch, a spa, the movies, dinner. Things like that."

"Isn't that what we did last Sunday?"

"Yes, that's the problem."

"Oh, I see," Keishin said and called Shouyou-san over and told him about the situation.

Shouyou-san hummed. "I don't think going out is a good idea, their arms are probably going to be bothering them and it would be best if they don't move around too much. If they hurt themselves, they won't be able to practice on Monday."

"Yeah, that's another problem, what do you suggest?" Keishin asked and Shouyou-san thought about it.

"Sensei, do you think your apartment would be able to fit all of them?" Takeda-sensei thought about it for a moment. "Maybe, if I move some things around, why?"

"Well, we can order some takeout and let them watch some movies or do karaoke, I dunno. What did I used to do for fun when I was their age?" Shouyou-san asked no one in particular and Keishin and Takeda-sensei stared at him in disbelief. "Hey, ten years is a very long time, gimme a break here."

"Shouyou-san's idea doesn't sound so bad. I'll talk with Sawamura-kun and Sugawara-kun, see what they think." Takeda-sensei went to talk with his students, who were now cleaning the gym.

When Sensei came back, he told them that Daichi and Sugawara had agreed with Shouyou-san's idea. Apparently, the adults wouldn't need to worry about anything this time around, because the third-years would be the ones organizing everything. 

Once they were done with the cleaning, Kageyama and Hinata-kun approached the adults in the room, Takeda-sensei and Shouyou-san were busy going through some notes, so they didn't noticed the arrival of the two first-years, but Keishin did, he looked at the two boys as they started whispering to each other.

"Go on," Kageyama said and Hinata-kun frowned. "No, you go on."

"He's your future self, not mine."

"But you're the one who has to tell him."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"Yes, it does."

"But..."

"Come on, Bakageyama. We already agreed on this," Hinata-kun whined and Kageyama huffed. "We didn't agree on anything."

"Yes, we did."

"Don't recall."

"You're being a jerk."

"Shut up, boke."

"Fine, you coward. I'll do it."

"What did you say? Outta my way, I'll do it!" Kageyama said and Keishin sweat dropped.

These two, really.

Kageyama sighed and cleared his throat, "Hinata..." awkward pause, "-san." Shouyou-san turned to look at the two boys in surprise and confusion at the mention of his name. "Yes?"

"Could we... talk to you?" Kageyama asked and Shouyou-san raised an eyebrow.

"Sure, what's up?" The two boys shared a few looks, silently communicating with each other for a moment. After a few looks and some poking, Kageyama finally turned to look at Shouyou-san again.

"Why do you look like you just swallowed something really gross and is my fault?" Shouyou-san asked as soon as he saw the expression the young setter was wearing all over his face, Keishin and Takeda-sensei suppressed a laugh.

Kageyama scoffed in annoyance and Hinata-kun smacked him in the arm. "We don't think that our quick and falling toss are going to work much at Nationals," Kageyama said and Shouyou-san nodded. "You might be right, but why are you telling me this?"

"We were wondering if you could help us develop new weapons, Hinata..." another awkward pause, "-san," Kageyama said.

Keishin and Takeda-sensei shared a surprise look. Shouyou-san's eyes widened in surprise once he understood what the two boys were asking him to do.

Hinata-kun smacked Kageyama in the arm once again. "Please," the boy said once he understood the message, Hinata-kun smiled at him and then turned to look at his older self in excitement.

"Sure, what do you have in mind?" Shouyou-san asked and the two boys grinned at him in excitement.

Evolution is definitely Karasuno's greatest weapon, Keishin thought as he smiled at his students.

Maybe they weren't ready for Nationals yet, but Nationals wasn't ready for them either. New adventures and discoveries were definitely waiting for them in the road ahead.

Keishin didn't know when his store became the unofficial meeting place for the team. Once again, his students were outside his store screaming at a video game on a Sunday morning, Keishin sighed and went to call his mom. Sensei and Shouyou-san would be arriving soon and he needed someone to take care of the store while he was gone.

Once the two missing adults showed up with their bus, Keishin drove them straight to the small clinic that was going to give them their flu shots.

The third-years decided to go in first, setting a good example for their juniors, Asahi looked about ready to pass out, but he put on a brave face once he was called in. The second and first years weren't fooled by his expression in the slightest, but they appreciated the effort anyway.

The second-years went next, acting like brave warriors going to war, even when everyone could see that they looked about ready to throw up.

As for the first-years, Hinata-kun, Yachi-san, and Yamaguchi, looked really nervous and a little sick, while the other two were wearing their usual scowl - (Kageyama) - and bored look - (Tsukishima) -.

The appointment also included a check up and Keishin was surprised to see that many of his students came out with a bottle of vitamins and new diets in hand.

The ones who truly worried him the most were Hinata-kun, Tsukishima, Nishinoya, and Yachi-san. Their weight and height weren't correct for their age group according to the doctor, and they also seemed to have some very questionable eating habits.

Tsukishima also needed new glasses. Apparently, the ones he had now weren't the right fit for his eyes and no one had noticed before, not even Tsukishima.

Keishin didn't even flinch when he got the flu shot and he also didn't say anything when the doctor politely asked him to stop smoking and drinking. It was the same thing that doctors always told him, so he was used to it by now.

Once everyone was done, Keishin took them to eat some ramen and after that, they went to Takeda-sensei's apartment to enjoy the rest of their day.

Daichi and Sugawara brought some movies and animes to watch, Tanaka brought a karaoke and a video game console that he borrowed from his sister, and Asahi brought the snacks and drinks. The third-years and Tanaka set everything up and the girls were extremely happy to know that all of these was for them.

The team decided to watch some animes and everyone sat around the TV with snacks.

Keishin saw how Shouyou-san grabbed some onigiri with a big smile on his face and sat down beside his younger self and Kageyama.

As soon as the man swallowed his first rice ball, his face fell.

Asahi, - who was the one that brought the onigiri - started to panic. "What's wrong? Is it the taste? I messed up, right?"

Shouyou-san looked a little guilty at the boy's reaction. "Oh, no. It's not that, they're good."

"Then what's with that face?" Nishinoya asked in confusion.

"It's just," Shouyou-san started to say as he held a rice ball in front of him, "They don't taste the same," Shouyou-san said with a pout and looked at the onigiri as it offended him or something.

Everyone was looking at him weirdly now, the older redhead noticed the stares and sighed, "Sorry, a friend kinda spoiled me with onigiri," the man said as he bite into another rice ball, "I guess I got too use to the taste."

"It's okay, I understand now," Asahi said, "It must be like eating your favorite meal but feeling like is missing something because your mom didn't made it."

"I guess," Shouyou-san said after he swallowed another onigiri.

"So, what anime do you guys want to watch?" Sugawara asked and anime titles started to be thrown left, right, and center.

At last, everyone decided to watch One Piece. Apparently, everyone needed to catch up with the anime.

Shouyou-san sighed and laughed quietly to himself as soon as the opening sequence started to play. Sugawara smiled at the older redhead. "Ah, that expression brings back memories, this reminds you of something, doesn't it?" Sugawara asked and Shouyou-san nodded.

"Yeah, it reminds me of Pedro," Shouyou-san said with fondness in his voice and a big smile on his face.

"Who's Pedro?" Hinata-kun and Kageyama asked at the same time.

"He was my roommate back in Rio," the man said after thinking a little bit about it, "He's a huge anime fan, but One Piece is his favorite, so we used to watch it and read it all the time."

"You had a roommate?!" Hinata-kun asked in excitement and now everyone was paying more attention to Shouyou-san instead of the TV.

"Yeah, he's really shy, but once you manage to befriend him, he's a great guy to be around, he reminds me of Kenma in a way."

"Tell me more about him," Hinata-kun asked excitedly, "Please, I wanna know more about him."

Shouyou-san smiled at him. "Like I said, he's really shy and quiet, but he's a really nice guy. He loves anime, movies, and other shows, so he's always throwing pop culture references at you, he's always listening to music, even when he sleeps, so you always have to get his attention first when you want to tell him something. He doesn't go out much, but he tends to stay up all night reading manga, watching shows, or playing video games. So, I always had to wake him up in the mornings because he slept in, I tried my best, but I'm pretty sure he was always late for class. He's a disaster in the kitchen, so never let him cook, he also eats whatever he can find or nothing at all, so make sure he eats his veggies and fruits, being in college doesn't mean he can't eat healthy."

"Were you his roommate or his mother?" Kageyama asked in exasperation.

"Sometimes, I felt like I was both. Anyway, he also watches all my games and calls me afterwards, he might not understand much about Volleyball, but he gets pretty excited when I play. Oh, by the way, his Japanese is really good, but you should start learning Portuguese sooner, I gave poor Pedro so many headaches."

"But how am I going to learn?" Hinata-kun asked with a pout, Shouyou-san rolled his eyes at him. "Dummy, I can teach you while I'm here."

"Really?!"

"Sure, what do you want to know?" Shouyou-san asked and Hinata-kun thought about it for a second.

"How do you say spiker?" Shouyou-san laughed. "Atacante."

"What about setter?" Kageyama asked to the surprise of everyone, for someone who complained about learning English, he sure as hell seemed very interested in learning Portuguese.

"Levantador."

"What about serve?"

"Saque."

And so the conversation continued between the three, at some point everyone just decided to ignore the two redheads and the raven-haired teen and went back to watching the anime.

As the day continued, Keishin was surprised to learn that almost all of his students were terrible at video games, Shouyou-san pretty much wiped the floor with all of them, loudly thanking Nekoma's setter everytime the screen announced him as the winner.

Keishin was also surprised to find out that he had many decent singers in his team, at least when it came to karaoke. Hopefully, none of them try to sing professionally, because then he was pretty sure that it would end in an epic failure that Keishin didn't want to be a part of.

Shouyou-san and Shimizu-san turned out to be extremely good dancers to the surprise of everyone, the other ones, not so much. At least, they were good at Volleyball.

As soon as they sat down for dinner, conversations started again, a very interesting conversation in particular caught everyone's attention.

"Shouyou-san," Sugawara said and the man turned to look at him with a questioning look in his eyes. "Yes, Sugawara-san?"

"I know you're still cautious about the timeline, but do you have any pictures of us? You know, from the future." Shouyou-san bite his lip and thought about it for a long time.

"We have a groupchat and we exchange pictures there, so yes, I have some."

"Oh, can we see them?" In no time the whole team was asking for the same thing, Shouyou-san sighed in resignation.

"Sure, just don't ask many questions, I won't be able to answer you. Not all of them, at least."

"We third-years already know what we want to do after we graduate, so don't worry too much about us," Daichi said and Sugawara, Asahi, and Shimizu-san nodded in agreement.

Shouyou-san took out his phone and started tapping, soon he turned the screen towards them.

"Look Daichi, it's us!" Sugawara said and pointed to the screen in excitement.

In the screen, the older versions of Sugawara and Daichi were grinning at the camera, a big television screen was in the background, showing a Volleyball court.

"You guys got together to watch my last game of last season, and you sent me this after the match was over," Shouyou-san said, he swiped the screen with his finger and another picture appeared, it was the older Shimizu-san and older Tanaka, preparing some snacks.

"Shimizu-san and Tanaka-san were also there, as well as you three," Shouyou-san said as he switched to another picture, this time showing the future versions of Ennoshita, Kinoshita, and Narita, they were sitting on a couch, holding a banner with the words 'Fly High, Hinata!' on it.

"Man, look at those glow ups, you guys look so cool and Kiyoko-san looks so beautiful, but what about me? Where am I?" Nishinoya asked with a pout.

"And me," Asahi said.

"And us," Yamaguchi and Yachi-san said at the same time.

"Oh, Nishinoya-san and Asahi-san were watching the game too, but they were in another location," Shouyou-san said and started looking for the right picture. "Look, here you are."

The older versions of Nishinoya and Asahi smiled at them, a laptop was between them, also showing a Volleyball court, they both had a red twenty-one painted on their cheeks.

"Woah, I think I actually got taller!" Nishinoya exclaimed in excitement as he stared at the picture.

"Asahi still looks scary, though," Sugawara said with a laugh.

"Oh, this is Coach Ukai and Takeda-sensei, look," Shouyou-san said as he changed the pictures again.

Keishin immediately recognized the place, it was Karasuno's second gym, a bunch of teenagers wearing Karasuno's jackets were sitting on the floor, and in front of them were older Keishin and older Takeda-sensei, both giving proud smiles to the camera, a big television stood between them, in the television screen, Shouyou-san seemed to be preparing himself to do a serve.

"Woah, that's a big team," Ennoshita said as he finished counting the students.

"Man, they haven't changed much," Narita said.

"You guys recorded the game for your students, I heard that there's a pair of brothers who want to be like me and Kageyama," Shouyou-san said. The team had some mixed responses about that little comment, some looked amused and others looked exasperated.

Another freak duo, huh? Keishin thought with a cold sweat.

"Look, that's you guys," Shouyou-san said, in the new picture, older Yachi-san and older Yamaguchi were giving smiles and peace sings to the camera, older Tsukishima stood between the two, wearing a green jersey with the number seventeen on it and giving a small smile to the camera.

"Oh, Tsukki is a Volleyball player too!" Yamaguchi exclaimed in excitement and Tsukishima stared at the picture in disbelief.

"Yeah, you guys went to one of his games and took that picture," Shouyou-san said.

"Woah, he got taller! How's that possible? No fair!" Nishinoya whined.

"Oh, is he teammates with anyone we know?" Kinoshita asked and Shouyou-san nodded. "Yeah, but I can't tell you who."

"That's fair."

"What about us?" Hinata-kun asked as he pointed to Kageyama and then to himself.

"Oh, here you are." Shouyou-san showed them the picture.

"Wow, he's so tall," Hinata-kun said, "Hey, look Kageyama, you really can smile!"

"What's that supposed to mean, boke?!"

"Woah, he's big," Tanaka said.

"Wow, what a glow up," Sugawara said, "He's so handsome."

"He's definitely an athlete," Daichi said, "No doubt about it."

"Were you teaching him how to play Beach Volleyball?" Nishinoya asked.

"Yup."

"Was he any good at it?"

"Nope."

"Shut up! I'm sure I was great at it, how hard can it really be?" Kageyama asked and Shouyou-san smirked. "I mean, after you were done cursing nature and eating sand. Sure, you were decent, at least." Kageyama huffed in annoyance and the team laughed.

"Oh, I can picture it now," Tanaka said, "He was probably cursing the wind for messing up his serves and tosses."

"And the sand everytime he lost his balance," Nishinoya added.

"And probably the sun too, once the heat got to him,"  Tanaka continued.

"And..."

"Okay, we get it," Kageyama said in annoyance.

"All of you," Takeda-sensei suddenly said and everyone turned to look at him, "Look so happy, I'm glad."

"And I'm glad we're still keeping in touch with each other," Sugawara said with a smile.

"Well, we always knew that this team was going to go far," Daichi said and he smiled at all of them. He raised his drink and said, "For Karasuno!"

"Karasuno, Fight!"

Daichi's arm hurt, but he still had to go to morning practice. As usual, Hinata-kun and Kageyama were already there, practicing with a volleyball while they chatted with each other.

Were did his juniors get the energy? Daichi still didn't know.

"Good morning, Daichi-san," the pair said in unison and Daichi greeted them back and opened the club room for them.

The rest started to arrive as they were changing and once everyone was there, Daichi and his teammates headed for their gym.

The managers and Takeda-sensei were already there, setting everything up for them. Shouyou-san and Coach Ukai were discussing something over some papers. Daichi and his teammates greeted everyone with a bow and the others greeted them back.

"How are your arms feeling?" Coach Ukai asked and everyone groaned. "Sore."

Shouyou-san and Coach Ukai shared a look. "No morning practice today then, come here, I wanna talk to you guys about something," Coach Ukai said and everyone nodded and sat on the floor.

"Okay, what did you guys thought about the training camp?" Coach Ukai asked and the rest of morning practice was spent planning their upcoming training camp.

During the afternoon practice, after they came back from their run, the team continued with their receiving practice, Daichi could tell that a lot of his teammates were improving but some were still having trouble.

Especially the first-years.

One in particular.

"I think, I'm the problem," Shouyou-san said as Hinata-kun failed to receive another of the older redhead's spikes. Everyone turned to look at him in surprise and there were also some looks of concern.

"Don't look at me like that, we're all thinking it, my spikes are faster and stronger, that's probably why he's having so much trouble with them, maybe if I slow them down a little, or..."

"Don't slow them!" Hinata-kun interrupted the older redhead. "All the other spikers are bigger and stronger than me, if you hold back, then I'm never going to learn how to receive one." Shouyou-san looked at the younger redhead and sighed.

Shouyou-san turned to look at Coach Ukai and pointed at Hinata-kun. "Can I borrow him for a second?"

Coach Ukai looked a little surprised at the question but he nodded anyway. "Sure, come on guys, let's practice some of Nishinoya's tosses."

Daichi and his teammates made a line as Shouyou-san and Hinata-kun grabbed their jackets and went outside.

By the end of afternoon practice, Nishinoya had already managed to sync up with the majority of the team, he was still struggling to sync up with Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, and since the two Hinatas hadn't come back yet, they still didn't know how a team up with Hinata-kun would end up looking like.

"Kageyama," Coach Ukai called to the young setter, "Shouyou-san and Hinata-kun are waiting for you in the first gym, your extra practice starts today."

"Extra practice?" Daichi asked as soon as Kageyama was gone, Coach Ukai shrugged. "All I know is that they're developing new weapons, they think their quick attacks won't work much at Nationals."

"Oh, we also wanted to talk about new techniques with you, are you in a hurry to leave?" Suga asked and Coach Ukai shook his head. "Not at all, what do you have in mind?" Suga and Daichi shared a look and smiled.

A lot, they had a lot in mind.

By Tuesday morning, their arms weren't hurting so much, so Keishin decided to go back to regular practice. It was a good thing that they had listened to Shouyou-san and gotten the flu shot in their left arms instead of their right ones, they would've probably lost two days of practice if they had gone that route.

Service practice was going great since Shouyou-san took over, but ever since the meeting something has been bothering Keishin.

"We need noise," Keishin said and Takeda-sensei and the managers gave him a weird look. "Don't look at me like that, remember what Shouyou-san said about Inarizaki? Besides, that place is going to be filled with loud noises, it could affect them badly."

"But what kind of noise do we need?" Takeda-sensei asked and Keishin thought about it for a second.

"Unconsciously, Shouyou-san relates what Inarizaki did to music, he also said something about booing and cheerleaders."

"You want us to start cheering them on?" Yachi-san asked nervously.

"Well, we need to start mentally preparing them for it somehow," Keishin said. He got an idea and he shared it with his companions, they didn't look very convinced about it, but they followed his lead anyway.

Out of all of his students, there were some that worried him the most, so once Tanaka and Asahi came up to serve, Keishin and his companions started booing the two outside hitters, the guys flinched in surprise at their loudness and Shouyou-san sweat dropped, Asahi and Tanaka completely messed up their serves, they both turned to look at them with eyes full of hurt, anger, and confusion.

"Well, it's a good thing that happened during practice and not in a match against Inarizaki," Keishin said and pointed to where the balls had fallen after the two outside hitters messed up. The eyes of his students widened in realization, Keishin was glad that they got it so quickly and that he didn't need to explain things further.

"Starting today, you'll be hearing random noises when you come up to serve, don't let those noises distract you and break your concentration," Keishin said and the guys nodded and went back to their practice.

"That's not the only problem with serves, Ukai-kun," Takeda-sensei said and Keishin nodded. "Yes, Miya Atsumu is another problem."

"How are we going to prepare for him? I'm an amateur, but even I can tell that his serves are miles away from ours," Takeda-sensei said and Keishin groaned.

Yeah, I know.

But that's not the only problem, there are only two guys in their team that can use jump floaters, and only three that can use spike serves, and they're not anywhere near Miya Atsumu's level.

Just like Oikawa, the guy has been doing those serves since his Junior High days, Keishin's students on the other hand, they just recently started using them, they have the power, but not the control or technique.

They're baby servers.

"Do you know what's the difference between Oikawa's serves and Ushijima's serves?" Keishin asked and Takeda-sensei thought about it for a second.

"The left hand?" Keishin gave him a look. "I really don't know."

"Out of the two of them, who do you think had the most service aces, Sensei?"

"Oikawa-kun."

"And do you know why that is?"

"Not at all, it's just a feeling, maybe I'm just saying that because we faced his serves more."

"There's not denying that both players have powerful serves, but even to an amateur, Oikawa's serves would look better, that's because of his control and technique. Ushijima definitely has more power than Oikawa, but he lacks control and technique. If Ushijima could control his serves more, then he would've had more service aces. Miya Atsumu has the power, the control, and the technique, our boys on the other hand, they only have the power."

"So Miya Atsumu is an Oikawa, and our boys are an Ushijima?"

Keishin sweat dropped. "Yeah, something like that." At least, technically. "Experience and hard work is not something you can beat easily, even talent would've a hard time beating that," Keishin said as he watched Kageyama serve.

"The only thing we can do now is practice and hope for the best. Dealing with those serves is going to be very troublesome, especially for our defenders," Keishin said as Nishinoya failed to receive a jump floater from Kinoshita.

"That can be fixed, right?" Shimizu-san suddenly asked and Keishin turned to look at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Miya Atsumu is not the only dual-wielder with power, control, and technique around here," Shimizu-san said as she nodded towards Shouyou-san who was helping Hinata-kun with his serves. "Can't he recreate them?"

Could Shouyou-san do it?

He never gave away what serve he was going to use during his matches against Kageyama's team and later Date Tech.

But could he do it? Could he count the steps just like Miya does? Could he make his jump floaters as fast as Miya's? Or make his spike serves as powerful as Miya's? Could he target one of them just like Miya does?

"There's only one way to find out," Keishin said and he called Shouyou-san over.

The older redhead gave Keishin a very weird look when he finished explaining the situation to him. "I could try, but keep in mind that even as a teenager, Atsumu-san is taller and bigger than me. Also, he has been growing up with those serves, there's no way they're going to be the same as mine."

"I get that, but I don't want them to be the same, I just want the guys to get use to the rhythm of it, I want them to adapt to the situation so they don't panic once they face the real deal. As long as they don't panic when they're out there on that court, we can survive a little longer."

Shouyou-san was quiet for some time but then the man sighed. "Well, then. I guess is time to find out if it's true that the student really can surpass the teacher."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Shouyou-san sighed again. "Nothing."

"Afternoon practice is going to be divided into four parts from now on," Keishin said as soon as his students finished their stretches.

"Number one, receives. We're still practicing receiving the quick attack, five rounds of the whole rotation going at it, we won't stop until all of you get five consecutive receives, got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Number two, blocking. We're going to start our blocking practice today. We'll divide the team into two teams, the ones with Hinata-kun and Kageyama, you'll be practicing block follow, those on the opposing team, you'll be practicing blocking and receiving the quick attack, those at the net, try to work with the people on the back as much as you can, don't just smash the ball down, understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Number three, serve reception. Shouyou-san would be trying to prepare you as much as he can for powerful servers like Miya Atsumu and those from Kamomedai, he'll be switching his serves constantly so be prepare for them, okay?"

"Yes, sir!"

"And last but not least, setting. We're still practicing our emergency sets and trying to look for a backup setter. I know I said it before, but I'll say it again, I want all of you to sync up with Nishinoya's tosses. That's how your afternoon practices are going to be this week, are we clear?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Any questions?"

"No, sir!"

"Ever thought of joining the military?" Shouyou-san asked and the team chuckled.

"When did you become like this?!" Keishin asked in exasperation.

Shouyou-san shrugged. "I blame my teammates," Shouyou-san said and the team gave him dirty looks. "The future ones," the man added once he noticed the looks.

"Anyway," Keishin said, "Receives, now!" The team nodded and in a flash, they were ready to start their practice.

The team was definitely improving their defense by a lot. Nishinoya, Daichi, and Kageyama were still the better ones at it, but Asahi, Tanaka, Ennoshita, and Sugawara were coming in close. The ones who were still struggling were still the first-years, but something had definitely changed with Hinata-kun since yesterday.

He wasn't just relying on his usual animal instincts anymore, now he was thinking, reading, trying to adjust to the situation quickly.

He still didn't get the timing right, moving too far forward and saving the ball with his body or face instead of his hands. It looked very painful and his teammates were definitely pitying him right now, but Keishin knew that once his quick reflexes, sharp instincts, and observation skills merged into one, he'll be unstoppable.

Keishin wasn't wrong, it was almost at the end of practice when it finally happened, the ball Yachi-san send to Kageyama had been messy, so the set was a bit low, Shouyou-san had to readjust his approach at the last second, as soon as Shouyou-san was in the air, Hinata-kun moved as fast as he could, his positioning was perfect, he was crouched down in a way that would help him adapt quickly to whatever comes next and his arms were stretched in front of him perfectly.

The moment that Hinata-kun made contact with the ball, he used his whole body to kill the ball's speed, the ball was sent high into the ceiling, spinning gently, coming down slowly, giving time for the setter and spiker to adapt and think about what the best plan of attack would be. It was a perfect pass, a perfect receive.

Everyone stared in silence as the ball gently came down, the only one that didn't look surprised in the slightest at what just happened was Shouyou-san.

"Nice receive!" Shouyou-san said to the younger redhead and Keishin heard Kageyama whispering the same words as he stared at the ball.

As soon as the ball hit the floor, Nishinoya tackled Hinata-kun to the ground, loudly congratulating him and looking at him like a proud older brother would. Sugawara and Tanaka soon followed his lead. The others were a little bit more reserved with their actions, but they still congratulated the young redhead.

Body, face, or hands, that had been five consecutive receives.

"What did Shouyou-san taught him yesterday?" Takeda-sensei asked, he was a little teary-eyed.

"I don't know, but I'm gald and so proud," Keishin said.

"Me too," Takeda-sensei agreed.

As for the rest of practice, Keishin wasn't surprised to find out that Tsukishima was the better one at blocking the quick attack, giving smug smiles and taunts to the weird duo as he smashed down every ball. Hinata-kun and Kageyama looked about ready to throttle the guy, Kageyama was pissed as hell and Hinata-kun looked torn between fear and anger, but he was definitely leaning more towards fear, probably wishing to never go against him in a real match.

Kageyama wasn't as good as Tsukishima, but he was definitely better than the rest, he didn't smash every ball like Tsukishima had done, but he definitely blocked the attack more than the others did. Hinata-kun was definitely afraid there, shivering in fear everytime the raven-haired teen smiled darkly at him as he blocked the quick attacks.

As for block follow, Nishinoya and Daichi were very good at it, but Tanaka, Ennoshita and Sugawara were getting close to their level. The ones having more trouble were Yamaguchi and Tsukishima, and of course, they still needed to know how good or bad the freak duo was going to be at it.

Kinoshita was improving a lot in setting practice, he had no trouble syncing up with the third and second years now. Narita and Ennoshita were also really good, Yamaguchi was the one having more troubles, but that was expected, unlike the other ones, he had no experience at all with setting before this. Thankfully, Sugawara was there to help him.

As for the regulars, Tanaka and Tsukishima were improving fast, syncing with each other and with Daichi and Asahi with no trouble at all. As for Hinata-kun and Kageyama, they decided to give Nishinoya's tosses a try. Kageyama had no more problems in spiking the libero's tosses, but since this was the first time that Nishinoya and Hinata-kun worked together as setter and spiker, they were having some troubles syncing up, thankfully for them, both Kageyama and Shouyou-san were there helping the two.

As for serve-receive practice. Well, let's just say that it went as bad as Keishin was expecting it to go and leave it at that.

Keishin tried to stay to see what exactly the extra practice that the freak duo was doing with Shouyou-san was all about, but the two redheads and the raven-haired boy had pretty much kicked Keishin out of the gym.

Keishin sighed, he'll find out soon enough, he had an idea, Keishin grinned and grabbed his phone. It was time that the Karasuno Neighborhood Association visit his students once again.

Wednesday's morning practice was normal. Or as normal as Karasuno could be, the random booing, cheering, and music bursting out at random moments were clearly affecting the team, but it was also helping them, so no one complained. At least, not to Keishin's face.

As for afternoon practice, the receiving drills were improving, Hinata-kun was still having some troubles here and there, but he was definitely leveling up faster than before. The rest of his teammates didn't want to be left behind by the young redhead, so they went at it with a new hunger shining in their eyes. Hinata-kun was enjoying his delicious food so much that the rest were getting hungry too.

Keishin smiled.

Sometimes your teammates push you more beyond your limits than your opponents do. You don't want to get left behind on your own team, do you?

Blocking drills went well too, Hinata-kun and Kageyama seemed to be somewhat decent at block follow, but Hinata-kun was still struggling to find the perfect blocking technique to stop Shouyou-san.

"Hey, Shouyou-kun," the older redhead said as Hinata-kun failed to block him once again. "Who are the most scary blockers that you have faced?" The older redhead asked and the little decoy thought about it for moment.

"Aone-san and Tendou-san," was Hinata-kun's reply.

"Right," Shouyou-san said, "But Aone-san comes at you with at least two more blockers and they loom all over you, creating their strong and big iron wall. As for Tendou-san, he has incredible observation skills and a body that reacts quickly to them. You don't have Aone-san's height or presence, and your observation skills are nowhere near Tendou-san's level, but that doesn't mean that you can't be a good blocker. You don't have two more blockers by your side, so Dateko's blocking won't work here, and when you're commit blocking someone, guess blocking doesn't work either, so what do you do?"

Hinata-kun shrugged. "I'm not sure."

Shouyou-san sighed. "Okay, who are the most annoying blockers that you have faced one-on-one? You know, the ones who really put a lot of pressure on you, the ones that make you think about your next move more carefully."

"Inuoka, Matsukawa, and," awkward pause and nervous glance, "you."

Shouyou-san grimaced. "Right, so think about Inuoka's speed, Matsukawa's tricks, and whatever annoys you about me, and try to apply that when you're blocking, okay?"

"Okay."

Okay, he says.

But Shouyou-san's words actually helped, the next time that Hinata-kun came up to block, he actually managed to smash down the ball  a few times, and he also managed to narrow Shouyou-san's path, making him hit a line shot that Nishinoya had no trouble receiving, he even tried to use Shouyou-san's little trick of taking his hand out of the way when the man tried to do a wipe using his fingers, but of course with the older redhead's experience that hadn't gone as planned.

"Get your timing right, otherwise you'll open up a better and easier path for your opponent," Shouyou-san said and Hinata-kun nodded. "Right."

Right, he says.

"You can tell from miles away that things are changing, and is all happening right in front of our eyes. The difference between the two, is getting shorter everyday," Takeda-sensei said and Keishin nodded.

"Yeah, what he needed was a good role model. Someone he wants to become instead of someone he wants to defeat," Keishin said as he observed how Kageyama prepared himself to block Hinata-kun.

Keishin was starting to get worried and Shouyou-san was on the same boat as him. "I don't get it," the older redhead said and Keishin sighed. "Same here."

"I mean, I'm counting the steps, so they know what serve is coming. I know my serves are powerful, but I'm pretty sure Ushijima-san's were way more powerful than mine. I know I have control and technique, but I'm pretty sure that Oikawa-san was better, so why are they struggling so much?"

"Maybe they're thinking about it too much," Takeda-sensei suggested and Keishin and Shouyou-san hummed.

"Maybe," the both said in unison. Both thinking about what they could do about this new problem that had presented itself in front of them. But one thing was clear, their students weren't a 100% ready for the servers at Nationals.

"At least, setting practice is going well," Takeda-sensei said as Hinata-kun spiked one of Nishinoya's tosses.

"Yeah, at least."

Tadashi was feeling sleepy, he had stayed longer than normal practicing with Shimada-san last night. But he was just so excited, that jump floater that Shouyou-san had used against Dateko's libero had looked so cool and he wanted to do something like that too.

He had told Shimada-san about it and the man had been impressed too. At first, the man had been surprised to find out that Hinata-kun had an older brother, Yamaguchi was just glad that he managed to lie to his teacher, he needed to protect Shouyou-san's secret, that's why he hadn't told his teacher about the serve sooner.

But he finally told him about it yesterday, excitedly explaining what he had seen, telling his teacher that the libero hadn't had any time to react at all, the whistle blew and next thing the libero knew, the ball was already floating in front of his face.

Tadashi wanted to serve like that. He wasn't a starter, but he also wanted to help his team, he wanted to reach the top, he wanted to stand beside them in that court, he wanted to fight too. But to become a great warrior like them, he needed better weapons.

So, he had asked his teacher for help, the man had agreed, he had been very curious and intrigued about the attack, a powerful jump floater, a serve worthy of winning Nationals.

That's what they both wanted, so they practiced longer than normal, both wanting to find that perfect serve.

Tadashi yawned again and he heard how Tsukki scoffed in annoyance beside him. "Did you sleep at all last night? You look like you're about to fall face first into the floor and sleep there for the rest of the day."

"I did sleep," Tadashi said and yawned again.

"Doesn't look like it," Tsukki said while rolling his eyes at him. Tadashi pouted and turned to look at his teammates again.

Kageyama landed another service ace against Nishinoya, much to the libero's annoyance and the setter's smugness.

Then it was Hinata-kun's turn to serve.

Thanks to Shouyou-san's help, the small teen had finally gotten the hang of a normal serve, he didn't fail at them anymore, and he could control them too, he also had a wicked aim, he had made Tadashi take a knee every time the younger redhead aimed at him.

But ever since Tuesday, Hinata-kun had been trying his hand at jump serves. Shouyou-san had asked him to practice them against a wall first, at first it always ended with the ball ricocheting back at him, hitting him in the face.

Tadashi unconsciously rubbed his nose, thinking about all the nosebleeds that he and Yachi-san had to stop these past few days.

But yesterday, Hinata-kun had finally gotten the hang of it, so Shouyou-san wanted him to try it on the court now.

Hinata-kun tossed the ball into the air and jumped and swung his arm, but he completely missed the ball.

Shouyou-san sighed, the older redhead grabbed the ball and looked at his younger self curiously, he tilted his head to the side and observed the young redhead with an intensity that made Tadashi start shivering in fear.

Shouyou-san tended to do that a lot, always thinking about the best way to fix the problem that presented itself in front of him.

The older redhead told Hinata-kun to prepare himself to serve again, but he didn't give him the ball. Shouyou-san tossed the ball into the air and Hinata-kun ran and jumped, he swung his arm and hit the ball with all his might, Nishinoya didn't even know what hit him.

"That was technically a spike," Tsukki said and Yamaguchi nodded in agreement.

"No," Kageyama said with a grin, "It was the quick attack."

"Okay," Shouyou-san said as the younger redhead turned to look at him in excitement. "Why did you got that one but not the first one?" The older redhead asked and Hinata-kun's face fell.

"Well, since you tossed the ball, I thought of it as a spike instead of a serve," Hinata-kun replied nervously.

"If that's easier for you, then think of it as a spike," Shouyou-san said with a shrug and everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the two.

"Kageyama-kun and Bokuto-san taught you spiking techniques, but they didn't taught you how to spike, you learned how to do that by yourself during Junior High, remember?"

"Yeah, but..."

"No, but's," the man interrupted the young redhead. "When I joined the pro-leagues, I got really overwhelmed sometimes, so I always closed my eyes and concentrated until the court became the beach, I remembered that it was only me and my partner there, and that I needed to protect every inch of that court by myself. Teammates are great, but a serve is the only thing that you do by yourself, no one is gonna be there to help you. Once upon a time, you were all alone, remember?" Shouyou-san asked and Tadashi noticed that Kageyama flinched and he also seemed a little guilty. Of what? Tadashi didn't know.

"Yeah," Hinata-kun whispered.

"So, when is your turn to serve, close your eyes and imagine that you're back in Junior High, all of your friends are busy and can't help you practice, Kageyama-kun and all the other setters in your life don't exist yet. Once again, you're nothing but a one man team, you have to be your own setter and spiker, so toss the ball high into the air and spike it," Shouyou-san said and he gave Hinata-kun another ball. "Go on, try it."

Hinata-kun took the ball in his hands and nodded, he walked away from the older redhead and prepared himself to serve.

Tadashi noticed how his friend took a deep breath and he closed his eyes, once he opened them again, they were sharp. Tadashi was sure that, whatever Hinata-kun was seeing right now, it wasn't them, maybe he wasn't even seeing the court, he was seeing something else, something that none of them could imagine.

Hinata-kun tossed the ball high into the air, giving him enough time to run and jump, Hinata-kun never took his eyes away from the ball, so once the ball got closer to his contact point, he swung his arm and hit the ball with all the force he could muster, the ball went over the net, hitting the floor with a loud 'bang'.

It had been an out, but no one cared about that right now, everyone was staring in shock at the young redhead, eyes sometimes shifting to the ball just to confirm that it had been real.

Shouyou-san smiled at the young redhead. "Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Shouyou-san asked and Hinata-kun turned to look at the man in excitement.

"But you still need to learn how to control that, okay? Come on, we need to find out how much force you really need to put into that one, and also, where would be the best place to aim it." Hinata-kun followed the man and they started practicing against the wall once again.

"It's scary," Tsukki suddenly said, breaking the silence that everyone seemed to be stuck in.

"What is?" Tadashi asked. Really having no idea what his friend was talking about.

"Him," Tsukki said and nodded towards Shouyou-san. "And the way he's hooking Hinata more into Volleyball, sinking him one level deeper every day. It's like we're witnessing..."

"The birth of a monster," Kageyama finished for him with a grin that made Tadashi shiver in fear. Kageyama is really scary when he smiles, no wonder Hinata-kun was so afraid of him.

"You look very excited about that," Tsukki said, giving Kageyama one of his analyzing looks. "I thought you'll be more pissed about all of this."

"Why would I be? I've been waiting for this my whole life," Kageyama said and left to go practice his serves again.

"No," Tadashi heard Tsukki whisper under his breath. "You've been waiting for him."

Tadashi still had a lot to work on, he was still struggling with receiving the quick attack and Shouyou-san's crazy serves. At least, blocking practice wasn't going as bad for him as he expected, his experience as a Junior High middle blocker had kicked in, he still wasn't as good as Tsukki or some of the others, but he was holding up his own out there, but he needed to work more on his block follow.

Serve practice was going great for him, but he was still having a little trouble with setting, he had no trouble tossing to Hinata-kun, Sugawara-san, and Tsukki, but he still had troubles syncing up with the others.

Tadashi sighed and grabbed his bag, it was time to go practice with Shimada-san.

"Yamaguchi," Tsukki called after him and Tadashi turned to look at him. "You're gonna go practice with Shimada-san, right?" Tsukki asked and Tadashi nodded.

"Yeah, why?"

"Can I join you?"

"Sure, you don't want to go home yet?"

"It's not that," Tsukki said as he played with his fingers. "I'm not as aggresive as Hinata, so a spike serve would probably never be my style. But I think I can try my hand at jump floaters," Tsukki said and Tadashi's eyes widened.

"I won't lose to Hinata." Tadashi smiled.

Shimada-san sure was surprised to find out that he now has two students, but he started training Tsukki anyway.

Today was the last day of school this year, Tobio was very excited about it, he can finally dedicate more time to Volleyball now. He also wanted to know what Coach Ukai and Hinata-san had in store for them, their training camp was going to start on Monday, and Tobio couldn't wait for it. He was excited, he wanted to improve, he wanted his teammates to improve.

Tobio wanted to win.

As soon as they came back from their morning run, Coach Ukai announced that they would be having a practice match against the Karasuno Neighborhood Association on Saturday, he had said something about not wanting to break their new traditions, whatever that means.

Kageyama shared a look and a smile with Hinata, the both of them had been wanting to try what they had been learning with Hinata-san and this was their chance.

Tobio grabbed a Volleyball and prepared himself to serve, Hinata was getting better at serves everyday now, and Tobio wasn't gonna be left behind. Tobio smiled as he landed a service ace against Sawamura-san.

"We need to come up with names and signals for our new moves," Tobio told Hinata during lunch. The little tangerine thought about it for a second.

"Hand signals or code words?" Hinata asked and Tobio thought about it.

Hand signals were definitely more discreet but code words were a little easier to do and to understand in the middle of a match. But their code words had failed against Oikawa-senpai once, Tobio was sure that there would be people at Nationals that could do the same thing too. Kozume-san and Miya-san, for example.

"Dunno, hand signals are more discreet, but code words are easier," Tobio said and Hinata hummed.

"What if we ask Shouyou-san, or Sugawara-san?" Hinata proposed and Tobio thought about it.

Sugawara-san had helped them before with their signals, but he didn't know anything about what Tobio and Hinata were working on now. They also didn't wanted to tell them yet, Tobio and Hinata wanted to surprise them.

Hinata-san on the other hand wasn't that bad of an idea. The older redhead probably already had names and signals for those moves. "I think Hinata-san would be the best idea, he probably already has names and signals for them," Tobio said and Hinata nodded and smiled at him.

"Then we'll ask Shouyou-san after our practice with him."

And that's how Tobio and Hinata ended up staying an extra hour with the older redhead, busy writing down everything the man told them. Once they were done, the man smiled at them. "Well, are you ready to show everyone the new freak duo?"

Tobio and Hinata shared a look and smiled. "Of course we are!" The two said in unison.

"I only have one request," Hinata-san said and Tobio and Hinata shared a look. "Which one?"

"Save that one for Nationals," Hinata-san said. He didn't need to explain things further, both of them already knew what the man was talking about. It was fine with them too, that attack still needed some work. Or more like a lot of work.

"Okay."

(Turning back time a little.)

Tuesday, September 20, 2022.

São Paulo, Brazil.

"Miya! Bokuto!" Sakusa-san screamed and Tobio and his companions hurried to Hinata's room.

When they got there, the man was sitting on the floor right outside Hinata's closet, Hinata's old shoe bag was in front of him, the man was staring at the bag in shock and fear and Tobio noticed that he was trembling.

Miya-san and Bokuto-san wasted no time in trying to calm down the man, maintaining their distance, but supporting him anyway.

"What's wrong Omi-Omi?" Bokuto-san asked and Sakusa-san pointed a shaky finger towards the bag. "Look inside," Sakusa-san said and Miya-san nodded and opened the bag to look inside, he immediately dropped it, all the color draining from his face in a flash.

Tobio had enough, he needed answers and he needed them now. He grabbed the bag and looked inside. He gasped as soon as his mind registered what was inside.

Tobio didn't know what expression he was wearing, but it was bad enough to worry Kozume-san. "What is it?" The former setter asked and Tobio swallowed hard.

"Bloody clothes and shoes," Tobio said and passed the bag to Kozume-san.

"That's impossible, the police already searched this room, they found nothing," Pedro-san said and Tobio frowned.

"Well, apparently they didn't do their job right! How do you explain this?!" Pedro-san flinched away from him and Tobio felt a little guilty.

"They were well hidden in his closet, is no surprise they didn't find it," Sakusa-san said, giving Tobio a very judging look. Tobio sighed and apologized.

"Everyone, calm down," Kozume-san said while he examined the clothes and shoes. "Maybe they're not even Shouyou's clothes," Kozume-san said, completely ignoring the fact that they were the perfect size for Hinata.

"They're his," Miya-san said and everyone turned to look at him in surprise.

"How do you know?" Tobio asked and the man nodded towards the clothes and shoes.

"Because I sent him that tracksuit and shoes for his birthday, 'Samu even chose that T-shirt,"  Miya-san replied.

"We don't even know when was the last time he wore them," Pedro-san said, just like Kozume-san, he was trying to control the situation.

"He wore them the week before he dissapeared," Bokuto-san, - who had been quiet all this time, just silently staring at the clothes, - said.

"How do you know that?" Tobio asked and he noticed how Miya-san and Sakusa-san stiffened.

"Because I video called him that week to..." the man stopped there and sighed sadly, "Well, it doesn't matter now, the thing is, I video called him and he was wearing those clothes."

"What day was it?" Pedro-san asked and Bokuto-san tried to remember.

"Sunday, it was a Sunday." The tension started to rise in the room after that.

"Okay, the clothes are definitely his, and he wore them not that long ago, but I need everyone to calm down, I don't think is Shouyou's blood," Kozume-san said and everyone turned to look at him with hope in their eyes.

"What do ya mean, Kenma-kun?" Miya-san asked and Kozume-san sighed.

"Think about it for a second, what kind of injury could cause this much blood on a human?" Kozume-san asked and everyone went quiet for a minute.

"Stab wounds, a gunshot, animal claws," Sakusa-san replied and Kozume-san nodded.

"But look at the clothes, they don't have any tears or bullet holes," Kozume-san said while pointing at the clothes. "And thanks to his team, we also know that he wasn't hurt, he was as healthy as he could be the last time they saw him."

"Then, whose blood is it?" Tobio asked and Kozume-san sighed again.

"I don't know, but whatever this is, whatever it means, it's a clue. Pedro, is there a lab nearby where I can send this?" Kozume-san asked and Pedro-san nodded.

"Yeah, I'll make you an appointment, I'll be back," Pedro-san said as he left the room, phone in hand.

"Don't worry about it too much, knowing Shouyou, it's probably just the blood of a dog he rescued or something," Kozume-san tried to console them, but the damage was already done, everyone's worry just went a level higher.

Bokuto-san ran out of the room and slammed the door. Miya-san and Sakusa-san sighed.

"Sorry," Sakusa-san apologized but Miya-san shook his head. "Don't worry about it, ya had ta do it."

"Still, it must be really hard for him," Sakusa-san said and Tobio frowned.

"It's hard for all of us!" Tobio snapped, the Jackals gave him dirty looks, and Kozume-san sighed.

"You have no idea what today is, right?" Kozume-san asked him as he put the clothes back into the bag. "Tuesday?"

"Today's Bokkun's birthday, Tobio-kun," Miya-san said and Tobio flinched. He didn't know that, now he felt really guilty. No wonder Sakusa-san had apologized.

"Remember that video call he was talking about?" Sakusa-san asked and Tobio nodded. "He called to invite Hinata to the birthday party that Akaashi-san and our team were organizing for him."

"Ya met him first, ya befriended him first, ya were his teammate first, but don't forget that we're his friends too, don't forget that we care about him too," Miya-san said and Tobio sighed and nodded. He'll apologize to Bokuto-san later.

"Anyway, I've ta go call Paulo-san, he has ta know what's goin' on," Miya-san said and left the room.

Kozume-san frowned. "I didn't know he was that close to Shouyou's coach," Kozume-san said and Tobio nodded, he also noticed how Sakusa-san stiffened and turned away from them.

"Yeah, I've noticed that too," Tobio said and turned to look at Sakusa-san. "Sakusa-san, you know what's going on, don't you?"

Sakusa-san sighed. "You'll probably get mad."

"Why would I?"

"ASAS' setter, I think his name is Guilherme, he recently got married." Yeah, Tobio knew about that, Hinata told him, the redhead had been really happy for his friend, but what did that had to do with anything?

"His wife is pregnant with twins," Sakusa-san continued. "So he's planning on taking next season off to help his wife, Miya has been interested in the international leagues for some time now, Paulo-san found about it through Hinata. Because of Miya's skills and teamwork with Hinata, Paulo-san reached out to him, it's not a done deal yet, but Miya might join ASAS São Paulo next season."

"Makes sense, the Black Jackals were pretty much invincible when those two teamed up," Kozume-san said and Sakusa-san nodded. "Hinata doesn't know about it, though. So don't tell him, we want it to be a surprise."

"Don't worry, I won't tell," Kozume-san said and both men turned to look at him.

"I won't say anything," Tobio said and left the room.

Tobio sighed and grabbed his phone, he opened the Karasuno groupchat and started typing.

We found a clue, I think.

Within seconds his notifications were going crazy.

Chapter Text

Today the Karasuno Neighborhood Association would test Tobio's team one last time before going to Nationals. Tobio was very excited about it, the last time that they played against Coach Ukai's team...

Well...

It didn't go so well for Tobio's team, they were barely a team back then, Azumane-san and Nishinoya-san hadn't even joined them yet. Or well, they were part of the team, but at the same time, they weren't.

Man, that's complicated.

But this time it would be different, Karasuno was at it's best now, they were a stronger team now. Of course, Coach Ukai's team had more experienced than them, Tobio knows that experience is not something that you can beat so easily, but it would be really cool if they manage to defeat them, it'll prove that Karasuno was ready for Nationals now.

Tobio sighed, he wonders if all of them would show up this time, or if some of Tobio's teammates would've to join them again, maybe even Coach Ukai would play this time, that'll be cool to see, or maybe Hinata-san would join them, Tobio doesn't want to admit it, but he would like to see the older redhead play once again.

Tobio sighed again and walked a little faster, he could already see the clubroom from here, was he the first one here?

"KA-GE-YA-MAAAA!"

Tobio turned just in time to see a black blur crashing into him, Tobio didn't even had time to brace himself for the impact and he fell to the ground with a groan, thankfully the snow cushioned his fall, but now he was cold.

Tobio only realized what just happened when he heard a familiar laugh and he felt and saw how orange curls tickled his chin.

Tobio scowled. "Hinata, boke!"

Hinata laughed again and finally raised his head to look at Tobio, the smaller teen gave him one of those smiles that Sugawara-san liked to call 'Hinata's sunny smiles'.

"Happy Birthday, Kageyama!" Hinata said and Tobio froze.

It's not like it wasn't true, or anything like that, today really is Tobio's birthday, the weird thing here was, that Tobio never mentioned it to anyone at Karasuno. The only ones that probably know about it are Takeda-sensei, Sawamura-san, and Shimizu-san, and that was only because of Tobio's school papers and club application. Those three also didn't seem to be the type of people to be spreading those news around, so how...

"How do you know about that?" Tobio asked and Hinata smiled again. "Shouyou-san told me about it, why didn't you said anything before?"

Right, Hinata-san. Now that makes more sense, he was probably another person who knows about Tobio's birthday, and if anyone was gonna tell Hinata about it, then it would be the older redhead.

Tobio sighed and shrugged. "It's not like it's a big deal." Not since he died, at least.

Hinata punched him in the chest and Tobio flinched. "That hurt, you tiny idiot. Get off me!"

"Not a big deal?!" Hinata asked in exasperation, completely ignoring the jab at his height. "Bakageyama, you turn sixteen today!"

"So what?"

Hinata huffed in annoyance and crossed his arms. "Fine, Souryama," Hinata said and Tobio scowled at the new nickname, he tried to push Hinata away, but the boy's next words froze him in place. "I'll keep your present to myself, then."

"You..." Tobio started to say, he was a little dumbfounded. "Got me a present?" None of Tobio's former teammates had ever gotten him a present before, Tobio really didn't know how to react in this situation at all.

Hinata gave him a weird look. "Well, yeah. That's what you're supposed to do when it's someone's birthday, right?" Hinata said like it was obvious, as if he was stating that the sky was blue, and that water was wet.

Tobio can't help but wonder just how many times Hinata's parents have told the smaller teen that for it to come out sounding like that. Like it was the most obvious thing in the whole wide world.

"What did you get me?" Tobio asked and Hinata smiled again and finally stood up, he went to where he had left his bag and Tobio took the chance to finally get up from the ground, his back was so freaking cold now.

Hinata came back with a brown bag in hand and smiled at Tobio again as he offered him the bag, Tobio took it with a little hesitation and looked inside. "Since I didn't know about it until yesterday, I didn't have much time to get you something big, or anything like that. So, I brought you some pork buns and a blueberry pie, those are your favorites, right?" Hinata asked and Tobio nodded dumbly.

"Oh, I also got you this with the help of Shouyou-san," Hinata said, he took a little box with a bow from his pocket and gave it to Tobio.

Hinata took the bag of goodies again and Tobio opened the little box. It was one of those chain looking keychains, the ones with many charms on them. Tobio took it in his hands and stared at the little charms more carefully. The one at the top was the Japanese Kanji for 'Luck', the second one was a King's crown, and the ones under those two, were the number nine and the letter 'S', and the last and biggest one was a volleyball.

"What does the 'S' mean?" Tobio asked and Hinata rolled his eyes.

"It's for setter, Bakageyama," Hinata said, like it was obvious. Yeah, now that Tobio thinks about it, it really should be obvious. "Well, do you like it? Now you'll have a lucky charm, too. Just like mine!"

"Yeah, thank you." Tobio grabbed his bag and put the new keychain there, Hinata smiled brightly at him and gave him the brown bag again.

"Hey, Kageyama. Do you have the key for the clubroom or the gym?" Hinata asked and Tobio shook his head. "No, I think Sawamura-san has it."

"Then, do you want to practice outside the clubroom for a bit?" Hinata asked and Tobio thought about it. "Actually, I'm kinda hungry. So, why don't we eat what you brought?" Tobio asked and Hinata smiled. "Sure."

Sawamura-san and Sugawara-san found them eating pork buns right outside the clubroom not long after that, after they shared a few buns and slices of pie with their senpais, Hinata informed them of Tobio's birthday. After they wished him a happy  birthday, Sugawara-san immediately went to the gym and grabbed a volleyball, he started writing something on it, much to Sawamura-san's dismay, and Hinata's curiosity.

Sugawara-san made everyone write a message for Tobio on the volleyball, by the time that they finished their stretches, Tobio had a volleyball filled with little birthday messages from everyone, he even got one from Tsukishima, even if his message was just a 'Congratulations, you're getting old, King.'

The only one who didn't wrote anything on the ball was Hinata-san, he said something about not wanting the gift to get ruined by the timeline, or something like that. Tobio grabbed the ball and put it inside his bag, now he had another gift to take home.

"Go do your morning run, and start doing your warm ups once you get back, the guys would be arriving soon," Coach Ukai said and everyone nodded and prepared themselves.

They were almost done with their warm ups when Coach Ukai's team showed up. "Team Neighborhood Association is here," they said in unison and everyone greeted them.

"Wait, is it just me, or are there more of them now?" Hinata asked and Tobio nodded. "Yeah, we haven't met that one yet."

There was another member with them now, a short and skinny looking raven-haired and green-eyed guy, he seemed to be a little younger than the others, probably a college student.

"Everyone, this is Miyamoto Itsuki," Coach Ukai said as the mentioned man waved at them. "He's our amazing libero, he couldn't come last time because he had to work, everyone say hi." Miyamoto-san greeted them and everyone greeted him back.

"Where's Yamada?" Coach Ukai asked once everyone was done with the greetings.

"Sorry, he couldn't take the day off, after all. He tried, but you know how his boss is," Shimada-san replied.

Coach Ukai sighed. "So, we need a wing spiker?" Coach Ukai asked and turned to look at the team. "Let's see..."

"Oh, don't worry about it, I already took care of it," Shimada-san said and Coach Ukai turned to look at him in surprise. "Whaddya mean?"

"He should be arriving here any minute now," Shimada-san said and almost like it was planned, a tall blond man appeared at the open doors of the gym, he had a gym bag in one hand, and he seemed to be very out of breath.

Did he run here?

"I made it," the man said, once he got his breathing under control. 

"Is that?" The first-years asked.

"It is," the second and third-years responded. Tsukishima groaned in annoyance.

"That's Tsukishima's big brother, right? The one we met at the Shiratorizawa match," Hinata asked and Yamaguchi nodded with a sweat and a sidelong glance at Tsukishima.

"Explain," Coach Ukai and Tsukishima said at the same time. One to Shimada-san, and the other one to his big brother.

Shimada-san and Tsukishima's big brother shared a look. "Well, you see," Shimada-san started to say. "When Yamada told me he couldn't make it, I was going to tell you, but then Akiteru showed up at my store, and since he told us that he plays Volleyball too, then I decided to invite him. He had to go pick up his stuff first, though."

Coach Ukai sighed. "What position do you play, Tsukishima... -san?"

"Wing spiker, outside or opposite is fine, and please, call me Akiteru," Tsukishima's big brother said and Tsukishima seemed a little surprised.

"Alrighty, seems like we only need a setter," Coach Ukai said and turned to look at the team once again. "Suga-" 

"Wait, Keishin," Shimada-san suddenly interrupted Coach Ukai again.

"What is it? Got a setter up your sleeve, too?"

"No, no," Shimada-san said and approached Hinata-san. "You're Hinata-kun's big brother, right?" The older redhead looked a little surprised at the question, but he nodded at Shimada-san nonetheless. "Tadashi told me that you're a setter, and that you've got a crazy jump float serve, I wanna see it in person, so play with us."

Many eyes turned to look at Yamaguchi at that, the boy seemed to be trying to hide himself behind Tsukishima, a blush of embarrassment was very pronounced in his freckled cheeks.

Hinata-san and Coach Ukai shared a look and both men nodded at Shimada-san.

"Okay, then," Coach Ukai said with a sigh. "You guys go change," Coach Ukai said to his team. "And you guys finish your warm ups," Coach Ukai said to Tobio's team, both teams nodded and did as they were told.

Once the veteran team started doing their stretches and warm ups, Coach Ukai called for a meeting. "Okay, guys. Shimada and Hinata-san are, - without a shadow of a doubt, - their best servers, but don't underestimate the others. Their libero is very good, Hinata-san and Shimada are also great defenders, so watch where you're aiming your spikes and serves. Also, keep your eyes on Hinata-san, you already saw him playing as a setter before, but this time, he has veterans on his team, he can do more things now that he probably couldn't do with you guys. Tsukishima, anything we should know about your brother?"

Tsukishima shrugged. "Not really, I haven't seen him play in a real match for a very long time now."

Coach Ukai sighed. "The last time you played them, you guys were a total hot mess. You're a team now, you guys are strong, but they have way more experienced than you. Shimada and Tattsun have been going to pretty much all of your matches, so they know all of your moves this time. There's also Hinata-san, he knows this team inside and out. Not to be a pessimist, but you guys probably don't stand a chance against them, so try to make this practice into a battle of survival. Don't get overwhelmed, try to see what would work best for you, what's the best strategy, don't panic, don't accelerate things. I know that many of you want to try new moves, so do it. That's what practice is all about, try your new moves, let's see if they work. If they don't, then let's see if we can fix what went wrong, or try another approach, got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Okay, this is the formation we're going to start the first set with. Sawamura, you start on position one. If we're serving, then you're the first one to serve, don't aim for Miyamoto, like I said before, he's good, as in crazy good. Don't aim for Shouyou-san, either. Don't make it easy for them, okay?" Sawamura-san nodded.

"Azumane, you're on two. Tsukishima, you're on three. Kageyama, you start on four. Let's start with our tallest wall first, let's see how they battle our blockers. Tanaka, you're a good receiver, so you start on five. Hinata-kun and Nishinoya, you guys are middle back. Let's start with our best wall up front and some of our best receivers on the back, got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Don't panic. Remember, this is a practice match, learn from it as much as you can, okay?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Go grab your training vests, and wait for the other team to get ready."

"Yes, sir!"

Hinata approached Tobio as soon as Yachi-san gave them their training vests. "Kageyama, what're we gonna do? Shouyou-san is playing, he knows our signals," Hinata whispered and Tobio nodded.

"Yeah, I know. But we don't have another choice. Besides, is good practice, sooner or later, people are going to figure them out. You remember which ones we're saving for Nationals, right?" Tobio whispered back and Hinata nodded.

"You're right, and yes, I remember. Are you ready for this?"

"Of course I am. What about you? Need to go to the bathroom?" Tobio teased and Hinata huffed in annoyance. "Of course not, shut up!"

"You two, stop bickering," Sawamura-san said and Tobio and Hinata nodded.

Takinoue-san smiled at them as soon as he finished his warm ups. "It's high schoolers versus veterans once again. Let's see how you do this time, kiddies."

"Bring it!"

Keishin stared at the papers that Shouyou-san just gave him with a feeling of foreboding in his guts.

Something's fishy here.

"They made Hinata-san their Captain?" Takeda-sensei asked in surprise and Keishin sighed. "It makes sense, the setter is pretty much the Captain while playing."

"That's true, I suppose," Takeda-sensei said. "Is something wrong, Ukai-kun? You look troubled."

"I'm just a little surprised by some of Hinata-san's choices. He made Tsukishima's brother his opposite hitter, I thought he'll go for Shimada or Uchizawa, they're setting and receiving is good, but I don't know anything about Tsukishima's brother, which worries me. His rotations are also going to be troublesome, especially his second one. He has his best receivers on the back, and his tallest wall up front, the only weakness I can find in his second rotation is that Hinata-san is in the back row, I wonder who he's gonna use as his backup setter when he receives. Normally, emergency sets go to the opposite hitter or the libero, I wonder how he's gonna handle that. Also, on his first rotation, Shimada is on position one, while Hinata-san is on position two, if they start serving, their best servers are going to come up right after the other one."

"That does sound troublesome."

"Yes, it does."

"But the team can handle it, can't they?"

"I hope so," Keishin said with a sigh.

Once both teams finished planning their strategies and got ready, Keishin blew his whistle. Fortunately for Karasuno, they were the ones serving first. Unfortunately for them, the Neighborhood Association team was starting with some of their best receivers in the back row, and some of their best blockers in the front row.

Sawamura served and Miyamoto had no trouble picking it up, he made a perfect pass to Shouyou-san, the older redhead jumped to reach the ball, Keishin was curious about who he would use for his first attack. Was he gonna go for the outside?

The middle?

The opposite?

Back row attack?

In a 'blink and you'll miss it' moment, the ball was already hitting the floor in Karasuno's side of the court to the surprise of everyone present.

Keishin wanted to hit something. "That damn brat, attacking on two, establishing himself as an attacker with a setter dump right off the bat, huh?"

0 - 1

"Well, that was a very bold and unexpected move," Takeda-sensei said once he recovered from his shock.

Shouyou-san smirked at the gawking faces of Karasuno. "Wake up, kiddos," Shouyou-san said, Keishin's students looked about ready to sink their claws and teeth into Shouyou-san's flesh.

"Woah, ballsy!" Miyamoto said in amazement. "That was the coolest setter dump that I've ever seen. You're an interesting one, ain'tcha?"

Shouyou-san laughed. "Yup, definitely a Hinata," Shimada and Tattsun said in unison.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Both Hinatas asked and Shimada and Tattsun laughed and shook their heads.

Everyone went back to their positions and Shouyou-san prepared to serve. As soon as the whistle blew, Shouyou-san sent one of his crazy jump floaters straight at Nishinoya, the small libero completely failed at receiving that one.

"Woah, it just appeared in front of his face," Tattsun said in surprise. "Scary."

"Wow, what was that?" Akiteru asked in amazement.

"So, that's the famous serve, huh? Not bad, not bad at all, but now I'm jealous," Shimada said in amazement and Miyamoto looked very excited for some reason. "I wanna receive one of those," Miyamoto said. "You gotta practice with me one of these days, ginger."

"Man, he totally planned that," Keishin said and Takeda-sensei looked a little confused. "Planned what?"

"He started in the front row so he could get that surprise attack in, and as soon as the rotation changed, he'll be the first one on his team to serve, and he immediately started targeting Nishinoya, exploiting his weakness right away. I've known this since the very first day, but now is clearer than before, Hinata-san is very dangerous," Keishin said as Nishinoya failed to receive another jump floater.

Takeda-sensei tried to call for a timeout as soon as he realized that Nishinoya wasn't getting any closer to receiving those crazy fast jump floaters, but Keishin stopped him.

"I told you, Sensei. This is a battle of survival, it's cruel, yes. But Hinata-san knows what he's doing, and Nishinoya knows why he's being targeted. He knows his weaknesses, and he knows that is time to overcome them. We need to let them grow on their own."

Five points, that's how far ahead the other team was when Nishinoya finally managed a messy receive. Karasuno reacted quickly and went for a synchronized attack, Kageyama decided to go with a setter dump, but Miyamoto was suddenly there to receive it, much to the surprise of the young setter.

Shouyou-san tossed the ball to Akiteru, the older blond had no trouble battling Karasuno's blockers, quickly earning another point for the Neighborhood Association.

0 - 6

"Woah, you were right," Miyamoto said to Shouyou-san who smiled at him after he high-fived Akiteru.

"Right about what?" Kageyama asked curiously and Shouyou-san smiled.

"Kageyama-kun always does a return dump," Shouyou-san said and Kageyama and his teammates looked a little surprised. "When it comes to setter dumps, you're very predictable. I told you before, get creative."

"Hinata-san is going to go for all of their weaknesses, isn't he?" Takeda-sensei asked and Keishin nodded. "Yeah, he's going to make them extremely conscious of their bad habits and weaknesses, no doubt about it. While he's conscious of it or not, Kageyama has the bad habit of doing a return dump, if anyone realizes that, as soon as their setter does a dump, they'll be marking Kageyama, making his setter dumps useless."

"I never really noticed that until now," Takeda-sensei said and Keishin sighed. "Dont worry about it. You're not the only one."

Shouyou-san served again and Nishinoya managed a very shaky receive, Kageyama tossed to Azumane, but he was blocked, Sawamura managed to save the ball and Kageyama tossed to Tsukishima, the younger blond tried do a feint, Miyamoto was suddenly there and saved it with no trouble at all, much to the surprise and suspicion of Tsukishima and Kageyama.

Shouyou-san tossed to Tattsun, who had no trouble battling Karasuno's blockers, Nishinoya and Sawamura tried to save the ball, but they weren't able to reach it in time.

0 - 7

"He also told me that you'll go for a feint," Miyamoto told Tsukishima.

"I'm glad I didn't disappointed you," Tsukishima deadpanned, much to the amusement of Miyamoto.

"Ukai-san, your kids are very interesting."

"Thanks."

Shouyou-san served again and Nishinoya managed to get it without much trouble this time. Karasuno went for a synchronized attack, Kageyama tossed to Sawamura, but the Captain's attack was blocked by the other team.

Fortunately for Karasuno, Nishinoya managed to save the ball in time. Karasuno tried another synchronized attack, Kageyama tried a setter dump this time.

To Kageyama's surprise, Miyamoto saved the ball without any trouble once again.

Shouyou-san tossed for Uchizawa, the outside hitter had no trouble earning another point for his team with a very powerful spike.

0 - 9

"Sensei, did you noticed?" Keishin asked as the veteran team celebrated.

"Yes, during the synchronized attacks, their blockers are marking Sawamura-kun, and their libero is marking Kageyama-kun."

"Our synchronized attack is a great weapon, but the ball almost always ends up going to Sawamura, or Kageyama does a setter dump when everyone is busy watching the spikers. We use other plays, but those are the most common ones, the message is clear now, isn't it?" Keishin asked as he observed how Shouyou-san prepared to serve again.

"We're wasting it," Takeda-sensei said and Keishin sighed as Nishinoya failed a receive.

"This rotation is one of his better ones, not only is Hinata-san, - who is their best server, - the one serving," Keishin started to say as Nishinoya failed to receive another jump floater.

"But Akiteru, Uchizawa, and Tattsun are on the front row, that's one of his best walls right there," Keishin said as Azumane got blocked again. Thankfully, Sawamura managed to save the ball.

"I'm so glad we've been practicing our receiving and block follow a lot lately," Takeda-sensei said and Keishin sighed.

"Yeah, I don't know where we would be right now if that wasn't the case."

Miyamoto managed to get his hands in another feint from Tsukishima. Shouyou-san tossed to Shimada, but he was blocked by Karasuno, but Miyamoto managed to save the ball without much trouble.

"This is also his best defense," Keishin said with a sigh as Akiteru managed to get past Karasuno's blockers once again.

0 - 12

Takeda-sensei tried to call for a timeout, but Keishin didn't let him. "Not yet, battle of survival, remember? The boys know better than anyone what's going on, Hinata-san is treating them like he treated Date Tech, he's making them extremely aware of their weaknesses and bad habits, it looks cruel, I know. Call it tough love if you want, he really is a good Coach, he's teaching them even when he's going against them."

"Why do you look so jealous of it, Ukai-kun?" Takeda-sensei asked and Keishin sighed and shook his head.

Nishinoya managed a shaky pass, Kageyama tossed to Azumane, the outside hitter tried to do a wipe using Tattsun's hand, Shouyou-san managed to get to the ball in time before it touched the floor. "Guess you can't use one of his best weapons against him. But now I wonder who his backup setter would be."

Tsukishima's brother got under the ball and tossed to Tattsun, Karasuno managed to block them, but Miyamoto saved the ball in time. Shouyou-san tossed to Akiteru, his attack went past the blockers, but Nishinoya saved it in time.

Kageyama tossed to Sawamura, but Tattsun managed to stop Sawamura, but thankfully Tanaka saved the ball.

Kageyama tossed for Tsukishima, the tall middle blocker got blocked by his own brother, earning another point for the veteran team and a glare from his little brother.

0 - 13

"That was their longest rally yet, they're accelerating things too much, I don't like this," Keishin said with a sigh. "Come on, guys. Don't panic, take your time."

"Don't let them get to fifteen points!" Sugawara suddenly shouted, much to the surprise of everyone. Keishin finally let Takeda-sensei ask for a timeout.

Keishin stared at his students as they drank their water and wiped their sweat. "I don't think I need to tell you this, but I'm gonna say it anyway. You need to stop Hinata-san's serving streak, you need to take control of the serve, you need-"

"We need to hurry up the rotation," Kageyama suddenly interrupted him. "We need Hinata in the front."

"Or Yamaguchi's serves," Tsukishima said.

"I can't bring Yamaguchi in yet, not while those three are in the back," Keishin said as he stared at Miyamoto, Shimada, and Shouyou-san. "Their sixth rotation is our best chance at bringing Yamaguchi in, so take control of the serve there, I'll bring Yamaguchi in as soon as that happens. As for Hinata-kun, you only need two more rotations for him to enter the match, so don't panic and get control of the serve now."

"How? All our attacks are getting blocked our received," Tanaka said and Keishin sighed.

"Kageyama-kun," Kageyama flinched, already knowing what Keishin meant every time he added the '-kun'. "Your tosses are getting faster and very close to the net, Hinata-kun has no problem handling those tosses, but Hinata-kun is not playing right now. We already went over this, every spiker is different, so give them options. Hinata-san's tosses are simple, his tosses are slower, a little high and off the net, they're very simple. Textbook perfect tosses, nothing flashy. So why is he getting past our blockers so easily?"

"Because sometimes, simple is best," Sugawara said and Keishin nodded. "Slow, high, and off the net gives his spikers more options, they can see the blockers better and think about where would be the best place to attack."

"Correct," Keishin said. "So Kageyama-kun, try that and see how it works, remember this is a practice match, so don't panic and think, okay?"

"Yes, sir."

"Nishinoya, how you doing?"

Nishinoya sighed. "Unless their serve is pretty good, they don't normally aim at me during matches. So being targeted is something new and different, but I know why he's doing it. To be honest, I'm glad he's doing it, I've got a feeling that this is how Nationals are going to go down for me, so I better get used to it, huh?"

"At Nationals, there's only two teams that are familiar with your playing style, but the more you play the more the teams at Nationals are going to know your playing style, and they can always get their hands on the Shiratorizawa match. So they're gonna know who your best and worst receivers are, who scores more, who has the best serve, stuff like that. Hinata-san is doing exactly that now, so learn from it. This is the best time to experiment. Don't accelerate things, don't panic, don't let your mind get clouded with dark thoughts. This is your best chance at surpassing your limits, so take a deep breath and calm down. Think about your next move more carefully, get your timing right, get your positioning right. If something doesn't work, try another approach, got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Okay, that's it for now, get back in there."

"Kageyama," Azumane suddenly said. "Give me the next one, I'll make it count."

"Right."

The boys went back to the court and Shouyou-san served again, Nishinoya managed to get it just in time, Kageyama tossed to Azumane, but he got blocked, Sawamura was there for the save, Kageyama prepared to set again.

"Come on, Kageyama-kun. Simple is best," Keishin said just as the same time that Kageyama tossed the ball slower, a little high and off the net.

Azumane jumped and he almost seemed to be frozen in midair as the blockers went down, Shouyou-san tried to warn Miyamoto, but the raven-haired libero didn't manage to save the ball in time.

Karasuno stared dumbfounded as the ball dropped to the floor on the veterans' side of the court.

1 - 13

"Yes!" Karasuno celebrated in delight.

"Well, it looks like they finally woke up," Shouyou-san said.

"Good job, Asahi," Sawamura said. "You almost looked like an ace there."

"I am the ace!"

"Then serve and don't miss," Sawamura said with a dark look and Azumane shivered. "Yes, sir."

Azumane prepared himself to serve, he aimed his serve straight at Shimada, the outside hitter failed to properly receive the powerful serve from Karasuno's ace.

"Eek, that looks painful," Miyamoto said while unconsciously rubbing his arms.

2 - 13

"Come on, guys. Turn it around," Keishin said as Azumane prepared himself to serve once again.

Once again he aimed straight at Shimada, but this time, Miyamoto was there to receive it. Shouyou-san tossed to Uchizawa, but Tsukishima and Kageyama blocked him in time, Shimada reacted quickly and saved the ball before it touched the floor.

Shouyou-san and Tattsun did a quick, thankfully Tanaka got a hand on it and Sawamura managed to save it in time.

Kageyama tossed to Tanaka, the outside hitter went for a cross that Miyamoto failed to receive. Karasuno celebrated again.

3 - 13

Azumane served again, this time, Shimada managed a shaky pass, Shouyou-san tossed to Akiteru, the older blond did a feint that Sawamura and Nishinoya didn't manage to save in time. Tsukishima glared at his big brother.

3 - 14

"Dammit, they managed to cut Azumane off, and now is Tattsun's turn to serve."

"You look troubled, does he have a powerful serve?" Takeda-sensei asked and Keishin sighed.

"Compared to Shimada and Hinata-san, then no. Tattsun doesn't have a powerful serve, but..." Keishin said as Tattsun prepared to serve.

"He has that," Keishin said as Tattsun aimed his serve right between Azumane and Sawamura.

Both wing spikers tried to receive it, then they realized what they did and both stepped back at the same time, the ball dropped to the floor right between them.

"Tattsun has wicked aim," Keishin said as Azumane and Sawamura apologized to each other. "And that just got them to fifteen points," Keishin sighed as Yachi-san changed the score.

3 - 15

Tattsun served between Sawamura and Azumane again. Karasuno's Captain managed to get it this time, Kageyama tossed to Tanaka, the outside hitter's attack passed the blockers, but Shouyou-san managed to save it, calling out to Akiteru in the process.

"Now that Miyamoto is out of the match, Hinata-san is gonna go for the saves more, which means that Tsukishima's brother would be setting more."

Akiteru tossed to Mori, who got blocked by Tsukishima and Kageyama. Shouyou-san saved the ball again, this time, Akiteru surprised everyone with a dump.

"Dammit, I thought it would be easier with him setting," Keishin sighed.

3 - 16

Tattsun served once again between Azumane and Sawamura, the Captain received it once again. Kageyama tossed to Tanaka, they were blocked but Nishinoya saved the ball in time.

Karasuno went for a synchronized attack and Kageyama tossed for Sawamura, but Shouyou-san saved the ball.

Akiteru tossed to Mori again, Tsukishima blocked him, but Shimada saved the ball.

Shouyou-san tossed to Akiteru, Tsukishima got a hand on it, Azumane saved it in time. Kageyama tossed for Tanaka again, Tanaka did a wipe using Mori's fingers and Tattsun failed to get to the ball in time.

4 - 16

"Yes! That's our third rotation, Hinata-kun is finally joining the match," Takeda-sensei said in excitement.

Keishin sighed. "Yes, but it also means that we'll lose Nishinoya as a libero, and Tsukishima as a blocker."

You think he wants to be a middle blocker?

To be honest, is a position that wastes a lot of his potential.

"Sensei," Keishin said as Tsukishima prepared to serve. "Do you think that Hinata-kun would be better suited in another position?"

Takeda-sensei turned to look at him in surprise as Shimada received Tsukishima's serve. "Well, I'm not sure. I'm not an expert at this, but..."

Shouyou-san set for Mori and Hinata-kun got a hand on it. "I feel like, if he had been here since the beginning of the set, with Tsukishima-kun as a blocker and Nishinoya-kun as a libero," Sensei said as Azumane saved the ball in a way that seemed to be very painful.

"Then the point gap wouldn't be so big. That's what I think, but why are you asking, Ukai-kun?"

Keishin hummed. "Just wondering."

Kageyama prepared himself to set as Hinata-kun did his now famous slide, Kageyama tossed for Hinata-kun and Keishin realized something right away. "They're not going to sync up!" Keishin said as Hinata-kun spiked perfectly with his left hand. Keishin stared and blinked a couple of times.

"Wait, was that intentional?" Keishin got his answer when Shouyou-san didn't look surprise at all and saved the ball so casually that it almost looked like he has been doing it everyday.

That's because he has, Keishin thought as Tsukishima's brother tossed to Mori.

Hinata-kun blocked the veteran middle blocker without any trouble, Shimada saved the ball in time and Shouyou-san tossed to Akiteru.

Hinata-kun blocked him, but Tattsun saved the ball, Shouyou-san tossed to Shimada this time, who did a back row attack with Mori acting as his decoy.

Sawamura managed to save the ball in time and Kageyama tossed for Hinata-kun again, the small middle blocker did another left-handed slide.

Shouyou-san saved it again and Akiteru tossed for Mori. Hinata-kun blocked them again and Shimada didn't managed to save it this time.

5 - 16

"That left-handed slide, is that one of the new moves that Hinata-san taught them?" Takeda-sensei asked and Keishin nodded.

"Must be. It's a smart move, to be honest. The blockers normally jump to block your right hand, which is the dominant hand of the majority of the players. Besides, a lefty spike does put a spin on the ball that not many defenders are used to, if Hinata-san wasn't there, then that first attack would've been a kill."

Shimada once again received Tsukishima's serve and Shouyou-san tossed to Akiteru and Hinata-kun got a hand on it.

Azumane saved it in time and Hinata-kun and Kageyama did their famous Minus Tempo attack. Unfortunately for them, Shouyou-san managed to get it.

Akiteru tossed for Uchizawa, but Kageyama managed to block them.

6 - 16

"Woah, what was that?" Miyamoto asked in amazement. "Is that the famous freak quick?"

"Aha," Tattsun said. "Oh yeah, this is the first time that you see it in person, right?"

Miyamoto nodded excitedly. "Hurry it up, I wanna receive that."

Tsukishima served again and once again Shimada managed to get it, Shouyou-san and Mori did a quick, finally cutting off Karasuno's point winning streak.

6 - 17

"This is bad, they're getting closer to twenty points," Keishin said as Uchizawa prepared himself to serve.

Sawamura managed to get the serve and Hinata-kun and Kageyama did their new quick, everyone in the veteran team seemed stunned at how high Hinata-kun could jump now, but Shouyou-san was already used to the move, and he had no trouble receiving the attack.

Akiteru tossed to Shimada, but they got blocked, Shouyou-san saved the ball.

Akiteru tossed to Mori this time, but they got blocked again. Miyamoto saved it this time and Shouyou-san tossed to Akiteru, the blond man had no trouble getting past Karasuno's blockers.

6 - 18

"You can jump higher now? Tadashi didn't mention that," Shimada asked with Tattsun nodding along.

"Yup, it's the boom jump, it's super awesome, right?" Hinata-kun asked excitedly and Shimada and Tattsun laughed.

"You two always manage to surprise us," Shimada said with a chuckle.

"It's always something new with you two," Tattsun agreed.

"Hey, little ginger," Miyamoto said and Hinata-kun turned to look at him in surprise. "Yes?"

"That jump of yours and that quick was pretty cool, but I'm gonna receive it, so don't get too comfy."

"Okay?"

Uchizawa served again and once again Sawamura managed to get it, Hinata-kun and Kageyama did their quick attack once again and Miyamoto failed to get it, Karasuno celebrated.

"Well, it looks like he still hasn't gotten the hang of that one," Keishin said as Shimizu-san changed the score.

7 - 18

"Ukai-kun," Takeda-sensei said and nodded towards Tattsun who was asking for a timeout.

"Why, though? It's not like we've that big of an advantage, or anything," Tanaka asked once he finished drinking his water.

"I think Hinata-san just realized something, Tsukishima-san's tosses are good, but he keeps getting blocked, and Miyamoto-san doesn't know how to receive the quick attack yet," Sugawara said and Keishin nodded.

"Miyamoto has heard about the quick attack, but this is the first time that he sees it in person, Hinata-san knows how to receive it, but he can't keep going after every ball, his job is to set after all. As for Tsukishima's brother, he's doing what Kageyama was doing at the beginning, tossing fast and very close to the net," Keishin said and some of his students nodded in agreement.

"By the way, you two," Keishin said and Kageyama and Hinata-kun stiffened. "Was that left-handed slide one of your new attacks?"

"Yup, isn't it cool?" Hinata-kun said and Nishinoya laughed. "Of course it is, Shouyou. You guys have to practice with me sometime, I wanna receive one of those."

"Sure, Noya-san."

"You did something like that during the Shiratorizawa match, right?" Yamaguchi asked and Hinata-kun nodded.

"Yup, Sho... I mean, Hi..." Hinata-kun shook his head and rubbed his neck. "Nii-chan... thought that if I could control it, then it'll become a powerful attack."

"It would've worked perfectly if Hinata-san wasn't on the other side of the court, though," Kageyama said after he swallowed some water.

"Yeah," Hinata-kun agreed.

"Well, I don't know how much he taught you, but keep experimenting, better now than at Nationals, mistakes won't hurt us here," Keishin said and he noticed that Hinata-kun and Kageyama shared a guilty look. "Something wrong?"

"No, nothing," the freak duo said in unison and Keishin sighed. "You guys are hiding something, ain'tcha?"

"Of course not, Ukai-san," they said in unison again while shaking their heads.

"Could you be more obvious?" Tsukishima asked with a roll of his eyes. "You know what? Don't answer that."

"Anyway, I trust Hinata-san, kinda. So I'm not going to keep pushing, but you guys better not try anything crazy until you've got control of it, got it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Those teams at Nationals won't even know what hit them," Tanaka said in excitement. Hinata-kun's and Kageyama's faces fell.

"Not really," the two said in unison and Tanaka frowned. "What? Why?"

"Hinata-san said that many of the players at Nationals have already gone against Ushijima-san and Sakusa-san, so they're already used to the spin of the ball," Kageyama said and Tanaka groaned. "Right, I forgot about that."

"Nii-chan asked us to use the moves as much as we can during the practice match to get the hang of them during matches, but he want us to treat them as surprise attacks during Nationals," Hinata-kun said.

"He wants them to wonder if it was a fluke or if it's really one of our moves," Kageyama finished for him.

"So kinda like how the quick attack used to be, huh?" Tanaka said and the two boys nodded. "I guess is a good strategy."

"Yeah," Karasuno said in unison.

"Looks like the timeout is over, get back in there," Keishin said and his students nodded.

Once both teams were back on the court, Kageyama prepared himself to serve, he aimed straight at Shouyou-san, who received it without any trouble, Akiteru quickly got under the ball and tossed to Shimada.

"He fixed his tosses," Keishin said as Shimada aimed his spike straight at Kageyama, who had no other choice but to receive it.

Sawamura reacted quickly and tossed to Tanaka, the ball passed the blockers but Miyamoto saved it. Shouyou-san tossed to Shimada, who aimed at Kageyama once again, Sawamura tossed to Tanaka again, Mori got a hand on it and Miyamoto saved the ball in time.

Shouyou-san tossed to Mori this time, who also aimed for Kageyama, but this time, Nishinoya was there to receive the ball, he quickly got out of the way so Kageyama could prepare himself to set, Hinata-kun and Kageyama did that left-handed slide once again and Miyamoto failed to get it.

8 - 18

"They're aiming their spikes at Kageyama-kun," Takeda-sensei pointed out as Shouyou-san received another one of Kageyama's serves.

"When the setter is good, you want to take him out of the picture," Keishin said as Akiteru tossed for Mori, Nishinoya received their quick attack and Kageyama tossed to Hinata-kun again, Miyamoto prepared himself to get the left-handed spike.

"He's going to get it this time!" Keishin said once he noticed Miyamoto's positioning.

Hinata-kun did a feint with his left hand at the last second, much to the annoyance of Miyamoto, the amusement of Shouyou-san, and Kageyama's surprise.

9 - 18

"Can you please don't act like a proud big brother? He got us all with that one, you know," Miyamoto said in annoyance and Shouyou-san laughed.

"Don't worry too much about it, Miyamoto-san. You'll get it next time." Shouyou-san said and Miyamoto huffed in annoyance as he went back to his position.

Kageyama aimed his serve towards Shouyou-san once again, and the older redhead got it without any trouble once again, Akiteru jumped to reach the ball, but instead of tossing it, he spiked it himself, just like Shouyou-san did at the beginning of the set.

"Nice one, blondie!" Miyamoto said as he high-fived Akiteru.

9 - 19

"This is bad, we don't know anything about Tsukishima's brother as a server, and Hinata-san is back in the front row now," Keishin said as Akiteru prepare himself to serve.

The older blond surprised everyone with a powerful spike serve that left even his little brother open mouthed. "And that service ace just got them to twenty points, dammit!" Keishin said as Akiteru prepare himself to serve once again.

Nishinoya managed to receive the second serve and Kageyama tossed to Tanaka, they were blocked but Nishinoya saved it in time.

Kageyama tossed to Sawamura this time, but they were blocked by Shouyou-san.

9 - 21

Akiteru served again and Nishinoya bumped it, Kageyama and Hinata-kun did their broad attack and Miyamoto received it this time, much to the surprise of the freak duo.

"He got the hang of the normal freak quick now," Keishin said with a sigh as Shouyou-san send a quick Mori's way, they were blocked, but Miyamoto saved it in time.

Shouyou-san tossed for Uchizawa, the outside hitter did a back row attack that Nishinoya managed to get, Kageyama and Hinata-kun did their broad attack again, Hinata-kun went for a feint this time and Shouyou-san saved the ball, Akiteru tossed for Shouyou-san, the older redhead easily earned another point for his team.

9 - 22

"Dammit, we need to cut his serving streak," Keishin said as Nishinoya bumped Akiteru's serve again.

Kageyama tossed to Tanaka, Shimada managed to get a hand on it, and Miyamoto saved it in time. Shouyou-san set for Shimada, the outside hitter was going for a cross, but Hinata-kun redirected his spike towards Nishinoya, much to Shimada's surprise.

Kageyama tossed for Hinata-kun, they went with another slide, but he hit it with his right hand this time, confusing the blockers and Miyamoto to no end. Shouyou-san chuckled.

10 - 22

"Shut it, ginger!" Miyamoto said and Shouyou-san raised his hands to placate him.

Tanaka served and Miyamoto saved it, fortunately for Karasuno, the ball was long and it was coming back to them.

"Chance ball!" Nishinoya shouted and bumped the ball. Kageyama tossed for Azumane and Miyamoto failed to receive his powerful attack. 

11 - 22

Tanaka served again and this time Miyamoto managed a perfect pass, Shouyou-san and Akiteru did a back row attack, Nishinoya managed to save the ball and Kageyama tossed for Azumane again, earning another point for Karasuno with another powerful spike.

12 - 22

Tanaka served again and once again Miyamoto had trouble doing a perfect pass, it was once again going back to Karasuno.

"Chance-" Shouyou-san jumped and spiked the ball. "Ball..." Nishinoya finished lamely as the ball dropped right in front of him. Everyone stared at the ball in surprise.

12 - 23

"Well, that was unexpected," Keishin said with a sigh.

"Nice one, ginger!" Miyamoto said as he high-fived Shouyou-san.

"There it is, their sixth rotation," Keishin said as Mori prepared to serve. "Get control of the serve now, boys."

"What is it about their sixth rotation?" Takeda-sensei asked as Nishinoya received Mori's serve.

"Mori is your typical middle blocker, he's a fast attacker and a good blocker while in the front row, but his defense is a little weak," Keishin said as Kageyama set for Azumane, Akiteru proved to once again be different from his little brother when he managed a perfect receive.

"Dammit, with Miyamoto out, and with Shimada and Hinata-san in the front row, I thought this would be their weakest defense, I guess I didn't count on him being a good receiver," Keishin said as Tanaka received Tattsun's spike.

"Come on, get control of the serve," Keishin said as Mori failed to receive Azumane's spike. "Yes!" Keishin celebrated and he didn't waste any time in putting Yamaguchi in.

"Score twenty points, Yamaguchi," Hinata-kun said as he switched places with Yamaguchi.

"Come on, kid. You know where to aim," Keishin said as Yamaguchi prepared himself to serve.

Yamaguchi managed to get two service aces against Mori, but Akiteru managed to awkwardly bump his third serve.

Unfortunately for them, the ball was coming back to Karasuno.

"Chance-" Azumane jumped and spiked the ball, doing what Shouyou-san had done before. "Ball..." Sawamura finished saying and blinked a couple of times.

"Woah, Asahi-san, you almost looked like an ace there," Nishinoya said. Hinata-kun, Nishinoya, and Sugawara smiled and gave a thumps up to Azumane.

"I am the ace!"

15 - 23

Yamaguchi prepared himself to serve again, Uchizawa managed a very shaky pass, Shouyou-san went for a dump when he noticed that the ball was low, Tsukishima jumped and blocked him.

"All right!" Keishin said just at the same time that Tsukishima said, "Dammit!"

Narita, - who was playing referee, - gave the point to the Neighborhood team.

15 - 24

"Huh? Why are we getting a point? Four Eyes blocked that one," Miyamoto asked in utter confusion.

"Because my brother blocked a set, not a dump," Akiteru said and realization hit everyone like a bucket of cold water.

"Woah, cool," Miyamoto said and the Neighborhood team nodded in amazement.

Keishin groaned. "Wait a minute, that's a whole rotation, which means," Keishin said and turned just in time to see Shimada preparing to serve. "Dammit."

Shimada served and his service ace earned his team the first set.

"Well hello there, my old friend. Haven't seen you in a while," Sawamura said as he looked at the board.

15 - 25

"Come on, everyone. Let's turn things around in the second set," Sugawara said and the guys nodded.

"Coach Ukai," Kageyama suddenly said and Keishin turned to look at him. "Yes?"

"Are they changing their rotation for the second set?"

"I don't think so, why?"

"We're going in with the same rotation, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Just wondering," Kageyama said as he and Hinata-kun shared a look and a nod.

Keishin sighed. "You already played a set against them, you know how they play now, try to use that to your advantage, okay?"

"Yes, sir."

"Is their time to serve now, Shimada is their first server and Hinata-san comes right after him, try to cut them off as fast as you can, okay?"

"Yes, sir."

"Alright, get back in there."

The second set started not long after that and Shimada got a service ace against Nishinoya. The small libero managed to bump his second serve and Kageyama jumped to reach the ball, the blockers immediately targeted Azumane, who jumped ready to spike.

Kageyama spiked the ball himself, starting the second set just like Shouyou-san started the first one.

1 - 1

"That creative enough for you?" Kageyama asked Shouyou-san as his teammates celebrated his first successful setter dump of the day.

"He's gonna turn this into a setter battle, isn't he?" Keishin asked with a sweat as Kageyama and Shouyou-san glared at each other.

Miyamoto managed to bump Azumane's serve, Shouyou-san jumped ready to spike. "He's gonna do a return dump?!" Keishin asked as Karasuno's blockers jumped to stop him.

Shouyou-san changed from a spike into a set while on midair and tossed to Tattsun, Nishinoya didn't managed to save the ball in time.

1 - 2

"Dammit, is Hinata-san's turn to serve now. Come on, guys. Cut him off quickly, don't get stuck here once again."

Shouyou-san aimed his jump floater straight at Nishinoya, the small libero failed to get it. "Come on, Nishinoya."

Shouyou-san served again and Nishinoya failed to get it again. "You can do this, Nishinoya."

Nishinoya managed to awkwardly get the third one, Kageyama tossed to Tanaka, but they were blocked by Tattsun, who didn't fall for Tsukishima's decoy.

Nishinoya saved the ball and Kageyama and Azumane went for a back row attack, Miyamoto received it and Shouyou-san tossed to Akiteru.

Sawamura saved the ball in time, Kageyama set for Tanaka again, but they were stopped by Tattsun again.

1 - 5

"Dammit, they've got the advantage once again," Keishin said.

Nishinoya bumped Shouyou-san's serve, Karasuno went with a synchronized attack this time, the blockers were marking Sawamura, while Miyamoto was marking Kageyama, the young setter noticed that and tossed to Azumane, Miyamoto failed to receive his powerful spike.

2 - 5

"Yes, they finally cut him off," Keishin said as Tsukishima prepared to serve and Hinata-kun joined the match. "We managed to turn things around with this rotation the first time, let's see how it works now."

Tsukishima served and Miyamoto bumped it, Shouyou-san tossed to Akiteru and Hinata-kun redirected his spike straight at Sawamura. Hinata-kun and Kageyama ran towards the direction of the ball, they switched positions at the last moment and Hinata-kun set for Kageyama.

"Huh?!" Keishin asked as Miyamoto failed to save the ball in time.

3 - 5

"Did Hinata-kun just tossed to Kageyama-kun?" Takeda-sensei asked as the freak duo high-fived.

"I think so," Keishin said as Karasuno slowly recovered from their shock.

"Oi, that was a little low," Kageyama said and Hinata-kun rolled his eyes. "For the last time, Kageyama. Gimme a break, I'm not a setter!"

"That doesn't mean that you can't give good tosses!" Everyone stared dumbfounded at the two as they continued to bicker.

Shouyou-san cleared his throat. "Be quiet and go back to your positions." Both boys stiffened and nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Huh?" Keishin and Sawamura stared in disbelief. "That's it?" Shouyou-san smirked at them.

"What just happened? I mean, is that allow?" Takeda-sensei asked as everyone went back to their positions.

"Well, yeah. The middle blocker can set if in the position to do so, is just a little unheard of. Normally, is the opposite hitters or the liberos, the ones who get the emergency sets," Keishin said as Tsukishima prepared to serve again.

Miyamoto bumped Tsukishima's serve and Shouyou-san tossed for Uchizawa, Hinata-kun blocked the outside hitter and Miyamoto reacted quickly and saved the ball, the ball went over the net and Kageyama ran after it and set the ball in the first touch.

Akiteru, Uchizawa, and Tattsun jumped to block Hinata-kun, but to the surprise of everyone present, Hinata-kun re-set the ball while in midair.

Kageyama jumped and spiked the ball straight down and Miyamoto failed to reach it in time.

Everyone stared.

4 - 5

"That one was too close to the net."

"Oh shut it, King."

"Don't call me that!"

"Then stop criticizing my tosses!"

Shouyou-san cleared his throat again and both boys went back to their positions to the surprise of Sawamura.

"I'm surprise Hinata-san didn't get that one, he used that move against Date Tech before," Takeda-sensei commented as everyone took their positions again.

"Like I said before, he's not going after the save too much when Miyamoto is on the court, he only does it when he knows Miyamoto read the set up wrong," Keishin said as Miyamoto bumped another one of Tsukishima's serves. "He didn't read it wrong, he just didn't get it in time."

"I see."

Shouyou-san set for Akiteru, Hinata-kun once again redirected the spike, Sawamura had no trouble getting it, the freak duo did their new freak quick, Shouyou-san tried to warn Miyamoto, but the raven-haired libero didn't managed to get it in time.

5 - 5

"Yes! Now they're tied," Keishin said.

"Dammit, I still haven't gotten the hang of that one," Miyamoto said as his teammates told him to not worry too much about it.

"You know, Shimada told me that he has a new student," Keishin said as Tsukishima prepared himself to serve.

"Really?"

"Apparently, Tsukishima wants to learn how to do a jump floater," Keishin said as Miyamoto bumped Tsukishima's serve again.

"Based on what I've seen so far," Keishin continued saying as Shouyou-san set for Tattsun and Hinata-kun got a hand on it. "He already got the floating part down, he just needs to incorporate the jump into it."

Kageyama went after the first touch, tossing the ball to Hinata-kun. "But Miyamoto-kun keeps getting them."

The small middle blocker re-set the ball again. "That's because he keeps aiming there, which I told him not to do."

Hinata-kun's toss was high and off the net, this time. Kageyama called out to Azumane, Karasuno's ace wasted no time in spiking the ball, Miyamoto couldn't save it in time.

Everyone stared again.

6 - 5

"Hinata-kun and Azumane-kun just did a back row attack, right?" Takeda-sensei asked in amazement and Keishin nodded dumbfounded.

"Yes, it looks like now we can use Hinata-kun as not only the decoy for Azumane's back row attack, but also as the decoy and the setter."

Hinata-kun turned to look at Kageyama in excitement. "Shut up, that was just luck!" Kageyama said and Hinata-kun huffed in annoyance. "I haven't even said anything yet, Bakageyama!"

"It's written all over your face, boke!"

"Hinata-kun," Azumane said. "That toss was amazing," Karasuno's ace said as he patted Hinata-kun's shoulder.

"Thank you, Asahi-san!" Hinata-kun said and turned to look at Kageyama with a smug smile on his face, Kageyama huffed in annoyance and went back to his position.

"How much did Hinata-san taught them?" Takeda-sensei asked and Keishin shook his head. "I don't know."

To be honest, is a position that wastes a lot of his potential.

Miyamoto bumped Tsukishima's serve again, Shouyou-san tossed for Akiteru, Hinata-kun got a hang on it and Kageyama set it in the first touch again.

No blockers jumped for Hinata-kun this time,  they were probably waiting to see to where he was gonna toss it this time.

Hinata-kun noticed that the blockers didn't fell for it this time, so he spiked the ball instead of tossing it, much to the annoyance of the blockers.

Shouyou-san saved the ball and Akiteru tossed to Uchizawa, but they were blocked. Miyamoto saved the ball this time and Shouyou-san tossed for Tattsun and Hinata-kun narrowed his path.

Sawamura did a perfect pass to Kageyama and the freak duo decided to do their freak quick, Miyamoto completely failed at saving that one. Keishin stared.

7 - 5

"I thought he could already get the normal ones, but that one seemed very difficult to get for some reason," Takeda-sensei said and Keishin blinked a few times and then sighed.

"That's because he spiked it with his left hand," Keishin said and Sensei nodded.

"Oh." Wait for it. "What?!"

"Hinata-kun spiked a freak quick with his left hand," Keishin said slowly as Tsukishima served again.

"For real?" Takeda-sensei asked as Shouyou-san set for Akiteru. "Yeah, and he did it so casually too, that's probably why not many people noticed it," Keishin said as Sawamura received Akiteru's spike, Kageyama tossed to Hinata-kun, who did a feint that Miyamoto failed to save in time.

8 - 5

"We're getting closer to ten points, we might actually reach them first."

"Don't jinx it, Sensei."

Tsukishima served again and Miyamoto bumped it, Shouyou-san tossed to Uchizawa, Azumane painfully received it, but unfortunately for Karasuno, the ball was going over the net.

"Kageyama!" Sawamura shouted.

"Akiteru-san!" Shouyou-san shouted at the same time.

Kageyama and Akiteru jumped, Akiteru got there first and tipped the ball, earning another point for his team.

8 - 6

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it, Sensei."

Tattsun prepared himself to serve and Keishin groaned as he aimed his serve right between Azumane and Sawamura again.

8 - 7

Sawamura managed to get the second one and Kageyama tossed to Tanaka, Shimada managed to get it and Shouyou-san tossed to Akiteru, Keishin groaned again.

8 - 8

"They managed to catch up pretty quickly."

Sawamura bumped Tattsun's serve again and Kageyama set for Hinata-kun, Shouyou-san saved the ball and Akiteru spiked it instead of setting it.

8 - 9

Sawamura bumped the serve again and the freak duo did that switching thing again where Hinata-kun sets and Kageyama spikes, it didn't go so well for them this time because Shouyou-san saved the ball.

Akiteru tossed to Mori and Hinata-kun managed to get a hand on it, Kageyama ran and got the first touch, setting the ball for Hinata-kun, who re-set the ball for Kageyama once the blockers fell for it, Shouyou-san received Kageyama's spike, unfortunately for him, it was going over the net.

"Akiteru-san!" Shouyou-san shouted just as the same time that Hinata-kun jumped and spiked the ball. Karasuno stared in surprise as Hinata-kun celebrated.

9 - 9

"Finally decided to use your head, huh?" Kageyama asked. "Shut up, I use my head all the time!"

"Yeah, right."

"What was that?!"

"Kageyama, the serve," Sawamura said and Kageyama nodded and prepared himself to serve.

Kageyama aimed his serve straight at Shouyou-san, Akiteru tossed to Mori, Hinata-kun managed to block him.

10 - 9

"Hinata-kun has become a better blocker," Takeda-sensei commented as Kageyama aimed another serve at Shouyou-san.

"Yeah, he jumps higher now, and he also has better timing too," Keishin said as Hinata-kun got a one touch on Mori's attack and Nishinoya saved it.

"He also works a lot with the people on the back when he knows his blocking won't be enough," Keishin said as Shouyou-san received Hinata-kun's left-handed slide.

The ball was once again going over the net, but Akiteru jumped and spiked it this time.

10 - 10

"Dammit, they cut Kageyama off so quickly," Keishin said as Uchizawa prepared himself to serve.

Nishinoya bumped the serve and Kageyama set for Tanaka, Miyamoto received the attack and Shouyou-san tossed to Akiteru, the older blond aimed his spike straight at Kageyama, Sawamura tossed to Tanaka, but they were blocked.

10 - 11

Nishinoya bumped Uchizawa's serve again, Kageyama tossed to Azumane, but Miyamoto saved the ball. Shouyou-san tossed to Akiteru, Kageyama received the spike once again.

Karasuno went for a synchronized attack, using Nishinoya as the setter, the small libero tossed to Hinata-kun, much to the surprise of the Neighborhood team.

Shouyou-san managed to save the ball, Akiteru tossed a quick attack to Mori, Hinata-kun got a hand on it, and Kageyama went after the first touch and he set the ball for the small middle blocker.

Hinata-kun did a feint when he noticed that the blockers didn't jumped for him again, Miyamoto saved the ball and Shouyou-san tossed to Shimada, but Hinata-kun blocked him.

Miyamoto saved the ball again, Shouyou-san tossed to Mori this time, but Hinata-kun got a hand on it again, Kageyama set it in the first touch again.

This time, Hinata-kun re-set the ball for Tanaka, once the blockers jumped for him this time.

Miyamoto didn't fall for it and managed to save the ball in time. Shouyou-san tossed to Mori, who did a wipe using Tanaka's fingers.

10 - 12

Uchizawa served again and Nishinoya bumped it, Kageyama tossed for Tanaka, but Miyamoto saved it again. Shouyou-san tossed for Akiteru, Kageyama received again, Karasuno did another synchronized attack, Nishinoya tossed to Hinata-kun again, Shouyou-san tried to warn Miyamoto, but he didn't get there in time to save Hinata-kun's feint.

11 - 12

"Yes, they finally got control of the serve again," Keishin said as Tanaka aimed his serve straight at Miyamoto. "I told him not to do that."

Shouyou-san tossed to Akiteru, Kageyama received it again, Karasuno did another synchronized attack, Nishinoya tossed to Azumane this time, but Miyamoto managed to save it in time and Shouyou-san tossed to Shimada when he noticed that the blockers marked Akiteru.

Nishinoya saved the ball and Kageyama and Hinata-kun did their new freak quick again, Miyamoto cursed as he failed to receive it.

12 - 12

Miyamoto received Tanaka's serve and Shouyou-san tossed to Shimada, this time he went for a feint that Nishinoya didn't managed to save in time.

12 - 13

"This is bad," Keishin said as Akiteru prepared himself to serve. "He has a powerful serve, and Shouyou-san is back to the front row now."

Nishinoya managed to receive the serve but the ball was going over the net, Shouyou-san tossed it in the first touch to Shimada, to the surprise of everyone, Shimada re-set the ball and Shouyou-san reacted quickly and jumped and spiked the ball, easily earning another point for his team.

12 - 14

"Nice, Shimada-san!" Miyamoto said as he high-fived Shimada.

"That damn old geezer," Keishin hissed and Takeda-sensei turned to look at him in surprise. "I thought Shimada-kun was around your age, Ukai-kun."

"Oh I'm not talking about him," Keishin said as Akiteru served again. "I mean my grandfather, he's the one who taught Shimada how to set."

Nishinoya managed a good pass this time and Kageyama tossed to Azumane, but Miyamoto managed to get it.

Shouyou-san jumped ready to spike, but he set to Shimada at the last second once the blockers fell for it.

12 - 15

"Dammit, they got to fifteen points first. Come on, boys."

Akiteru served again, Nishinoya bumped it, the ball went to the other side of the net and Shouyou-san set it in the first touch again, Shimada didn't re-set the ball this time, he did a wipe using Hinata-kun's fingers.

12 - 16

"Come on, guys. Break his serving streak."

Kageyama and Hinata-kun went for a freak quick, but they were blocked by Shouyou-san.

12 - 17

Nishinoya bumped Akiteru's serve, Karasuno went for a synchronized attack, Kageyama tossed to Tanaka, but Miyamoto saved the ball.

Shouyou-san raised his hand for a dump when he noticed that the ball was short.

"Don't block him!" Kageyama shouted, but it was already too late.

Hinata-kun blocked Shouyou-san's set and Narita gave the point to the Neighborhood team.

12 - 18

Hinata-kun glared at the older redhead, Shouyou-san smirked smugly at him.

"Don't fall for it, you tiny idiot," Kageyama said. "Shut up, you would've done the same thing."

"Of course not!"

"You two, go back to your positions," Sawamura said and both boys flinched and nodded.

Akiteru served again and Nishinoya bumped it, Kageyama set for Azumane, Miyamoto shakily received it, Shouyou-san raised his hand again.

"Don't fall for it!" Kageyama said and Hinata-kun stopped himself from jumping. "Oh, shut up. I know!"

Shouyou-san dumped the ball this time once he noticed that no blocker fell for it.

12 - 19

Hinata-kun glared at Kageyama as Shouyou-san smirked at them. "Okay, I admit it, that one was my fault," Kageyama said and Hinata-kun huffed in annoyance. "Jeez, ya think?!"

"You could've reacted more quickly, you know!"

"I don't have super speed, Kageyama!"

"Stop bickering!"

"Yes, sir!"

"I hate that move," Keishin said as Akiteru served again.

"If you're timing is too fast, you block his set," Keishin said as the freak duo did their normal freak quick and Miyamoto saved it.

"If you're timing is too slow, he goes for the set," Keishin said as Uchizawa did a back row attack.

"And if you don't fall for it, he goes for the dump."

12 - 20

"I'm not an expert at this, but... he would've been a great setter, right?" Takeda-sensei asked, Keishin nodded. "Yeah, but he got the next best thing, opposite hitter."

You think he wants to be a middle blocker?

Kageyama set a chance ball in the first touch and Hinata-kun re-set for Azumane, Miyamoto didn't managed to save the ball this time. Karasuno finally managed to cut off Akiteru's serving streak.

13 - 20

"Is Hinata-kun's turn to serve now," Takeda-sensei pointed out. "You're not going to put Yamaguchi-kun in?"

"Not yet, I want to try something. Besides, Miyamoto is in the back row now."

"Don't miss," Kageyama told Hinata-kun and the small teen nodded.

"Oh yeah, this is Hinata-kun's first jump serve in a match," Keishin said.

Hinata-kun concentrated, he close his eyes and took a deep breath, once he opened his eyes again, they were sharper.

Narita blew his whistle and Hinata-kun tossed the ball and jumped, he hit it a little too hard and it ended up hitting the wall once Miyamoto got out of the way and called it an out.

Hinata-kun loudly apologized as the ball hit the floor.

13 - 21

"And he totally blew it," Keishin said with a sigh as Shouyou-san and Kageyama stared at the ball in disbelief.

"Nice homerun," Kageyama deadpanned and Hinata-kun huffed in annoyance. "Shut up, that was my first time, okay? Gimme a break! Besides, you do that sometimes, too. What's your excuse?"

Kageyama flinched. "Shut up, we're not talking about me right now, boke!" Kageyama shouted in anger.

"Poor thing, his sports anime powers didn't awakened in time," Tsukishima teased the small middle blocker with a big smirk on his face.

"Tsukishima, you jerk! Wipe that smirk off your face!"

"You three, go back to your positions," Sawamura said with a dark look on his face and the three boys nodded.

Mori prepared himself to serve. "Their sixth rotation," Keishin said. "Come on, guys. You know what to do."

Hinata-kun received Mori's serve perfectly, Kageyama tossed to Hinata-kun, but Shouyou-san managed to save it.

Akiteru tossed to Shouyou-san and Hinata-kun received his spike, Kageyama and Hinata-kun did their Back Minus for the first time today.

Shouyou-san received it again, Akiteru tossed to Shouyou-san once again and Hinata-kun saved the ball again, Kageyama tossed to Azumane this time and Akiteru saved the ball.

Shouyou-san went for a dump, but Hinata-kun saved the ball. Kageyama tossed to Sawamura, he was blocked but Hinata-kun saved the ball.

Kageyama tossed to Tsukishima, he was blocked too, but Hinata-kun saved the ball again.

Kageyama and Hinata-kun tried their Back Minus again, Shimada managed to get a hand on it and Akiteru saved it in time.

Shouyou-san tossed for Shimada and Hinata-kun received the attack, Kageyama set for Sawamura who did a wipe using Shimada's fingers, Shouyou-san ran after the ball and to the surprise of everyone, he managed to return it with a spike from the back of the court.

13 - 22

"I guess there's no rule that says that the setter dump has to be in the second touch. Still, can't believe he actually managed to get that," Keishin said and Takeda-sensei nodded in agreement.

Hinata-kun received Mori's serve and Kageyama tossed to Azumane, they were blocked but Hinata-kun saved the ball in time.

The freak duo did a left-handed Back Minus, it went out of bounds, but thankfully for them, the ball touched Shimada's fingertips.

The two boys stared at each other in disbelief, and then started celebrating as Narita gave them the point.

14 - 22

"Hinata-san didn't get that one?" Takeda-sensei asked in surprise.

Keishin sweat dropped. "I don't think he taught them that one, look at how surprise he looks."

Keishin didn't waste any time at putting Yamaguchi in after that. "Yamaguchi, nice serve," Sawamura said as he and Yamaguchi switched places.

"I think this is the first time I'm bringing Yamaguchi in when is Sawamura's turn to serve," Keishin commented as Yamaguchi prepared himself to serve. "All the defense is going to depend on Nishinoya now."

Takeda-sensei hummed. "Nishinoya-kun wasn't playing just now and we were doing fine, though."

"Yeah, all thanks to Hinata-kun," Keishin said as he stared at Hinata-kun. Sugawara ruffled the kid's hair and smiled at him while saying something that made the boy smile.

Is a position that wastes a lot of his potential.

Yamaguchi managed to get two service aces against Mori, but Akiteru bumped his third one. Shouyou-san tossed to Tattsun, Tsukishima got a one touch and Nishinoya saved it in time, Karasuno did a synchronized attack, Kageyama went for a setter dump, but Shouyou-san saved the ball in time.

Akiteru tossed to Shouyou-san, thankfully Nishinoya saved the ball, Kageyama tossed to Azumane, but Uchizawa saved the ball.

Shouyou-san tossed to Akiteru, Tsukishima blocked him and Mori and Shimada didn't managed to get the ball in time.

17 - 22

Yamaguchi got another service ace against Mori, Uchizawa got the second one, Shouyou-san tossed to Shimada, the outside hitter aimed straight at Kageyama, who had no other choice but to receive it.

Karasuno did a synchronized attack, Keishin was surprised to see that even Yamaguchi was participating on it.

Nishinoya tossed to Kageyama to the surprise of Shimada and Tattsun, but Shouyou-san saved the ball.

Akiteru tossed to Shouyou-san, the older redhead aimed at Kageyama, Karasuno did another synchronized attack, Nishinoya tossed to Kageyama again, the young setter aimed at Mori, the veteran middle blocker failed to receive the attack.

19 - 22

Yamaguchi served again and Akiteru bumped it, Shouyou-san tossed to Shimada and Tsukishima blocked him.

20 - 22

Yamaguchi served again and Akiteru bumped it once again, Shouyou-san tossed to Tattsun, Nishinoya saved the ball.

Kageyama tossed to Tanaka, but Akiteru saved the ball.

Shouyou-san jumped with his back to the net, Tsukishima marked Shimada, Kageyama marked Tattsun, Shouyou-san dropped the ball right between the two, finally cutting off Yamaguchi's serving streak.

20 - 23

"That looked like it was gonna go to Shimada-kun."

"Yeah, I think that was the point," Keishin said as Shimada prepared himself to serve. "His positioning looked like he was gonna toss to Shimada, but he looked at Tattsun first, so I don't blame any of them for not getting that one."

Shimada aimed his serve straight at Tsukishima, who failed to receive it. Nishinoya managed to bump his second serve, but the ball went over the net.

"Yes, it's going to drop!" Keishin said, but Shouyou-san was suddenly there on his knees, back almost touching the floor and hands ready to set.

Not even a second later, the ball touched his hands and he tossed it and called out to Akiteru.

Tsukishima's brother didn't waste any time in spiking the ball, easily getting past the blockers, Nishinoya dived to receive the ball, but he didn't managed to get it in time.

20 - 25

Miyamoto whistled loudly. "Well, that's a setter if I ever saw one."

Kageyama couldn't take his eyes away from Shouyou-san and Tsukishima was going through the same thing, he couldn't take his eyes away from his big brother, either.

Akiteru and Shouyou-san high-fived each other as their teammates celebrated their win.

"Veteran Team one," Tattsun started to say.

"High School Team zero," Shimada finished for him.

Keishin's students looked about ready to pounce. "Yeah, yeah. You guys won the first round, congrats. But the day is just starting. Everyone take a small break, we'll continue playing after it."

"Yes, sir!"

"Coach Ukai," Shouyou-san called out to him after everyone went to grab some water and towels. "Yes?"

"I want to try something, if that's okay with you, of course."

Keishin hummed. "What is it?"

Shouyou-san told him and Keishin's eyes widened and then he smiled. "You know what? That's not a bad idea at all, let's try it."

Tobio was enjoying some protein bars and an energy drink with Hinata and some of their senpais when Hinata-san approached them.

"Kageyama-kun, Sho-chan."

Both boys stiffened, already recognizing that tone in the older redhead's voice.

Tobio doesn't like to admit it, but truth be told, the three of them had gotten really close after their training started. Hinata-san was now like an older brother to the two of them.

Unlike Hinata, Tobio is not a stranger to having older siblings, but well, Tobio has an older sister, not an older brother. So is still a little strange to be treated as a little brother by the older redhead.

It also made Tobio wonder just how different his life would've been if Miwa had been a boy.

Maybe, just maybe, an older brother would've never abandoned Volleyball.

"Yes?"

"Kageyama-kun, I told you before, you need to stop doubting Shouyou-kun's sets if you want to win, we know that they're not perfect, so help him out a little, okay?"

"Okay."

"And Sho-chan, what was with that homerun of serve back there?"

Hinata flinched as the older redhead put an arm around his shoulders. "Sorry, I got nervous."

"Why, though? You've been doing perfectly fine during practices." Tobio nodded in agreement with the older redhead.

Hinata had been doing fine during their practices, so it really surprised Tobio that he messed up so badly back there.

"Yeah, but this is different."

"How so? You've got the court, the net, the ball. Remember, is only you out there, forget about everything else and just play and have fun. If you can do it during practice, you can do it in here too. Is only you and the ball and nothing else, okay? If seeing all of those players scares you, then imagine the water bottles with the numbers."

"Okay."

"Wow, you're like an older brother," Tanaka-san said and Nishinoya-san snorted. "That's because he is one, Ryu."

"Oh, right."

"By the way, Nishinoya-san. Sorry about the..." Hinata-san started to say, but Nishinoya-san interrupted him.

"Oh don't worry about it, Shouyou-san. Actually, I want you to keep doing it, I'm gonna get that perfect pass soon, I can feel it. So I'm not gonna stop until I get it," Nishinoya-san said with determination shining in his eyes. Hinata-san smiled at him. "That's great, Nishinoya-san."

"By the way, you two." Hinata and Tobio stiffened again. "What was with that left-handed Back Minus, huh?"

Hinata rubbed his neck. "You saw that, huh?"

"Well, of course I did. You did it right in front of me, after all." Hinata-san sighed. "Listen, I'm not mad, just don't try new things until you've got a little control of it, okay? That could've gone horribly wrong, you could've hurt yourself."

"Sorry."

"Oh, Kageyama-kun. Coach Ukai asked me to let you know that we're starting with Sugawara-san next."

"What? Why?" Tobio asked in surprise once the news registered in his mind.

"We're playing two sets with Sugawara-san as setter, then two sets with Yamaguchi-kun and Narita-san as middle blockers. Then two more sets with Ennoshita-san and Kinoshita-san as outside hitters. The only ones that would be playing the whole day are Daichi-san and Nishinoya-san, since there aren't any backups for their positions," Hinata-san said and everyone stared at him.

"That's different, why are we doing that?" Tanaka-san asked.

"To get familiar with them playing in the regular team, in case we need to bring one of them in during Nationals. You know, we want to get the awkwardness out of the way now," Hinata-san said.

"Well, that is definitely different, but I understand why you're doing it," Nishinoya-san said and Tanaka-san nodded in agreement. "This is going to be fun."

The second match started not long after that, they were using the same rotation as before, apparently Coach Ukai wanted to see how good or bad that rotation worked.

Sugawara-san was playing as setter now, so Tobio sat alone at the bench and observed the match.

Nishinoya-san was still having trouble with Hinata-san's jump floaters, but Tobio could tell that he was already improving, his passes weren't as shaky as before.

Now that Tobio wasn't playing, he could tell how much his teammates had improved, Tsukishima seemed to have a new serve. He was now using a standing jump floater, Tobio didn't notice that before. He also seemed to be aiming a lot to Miyamoto-san and Shimada-san for some reason.

Without Tobio there, Hinata couldn't do any flashy attacks, but thanks to that, Tobio could now see just how much his receiving and blocking have improved. He was also helping Sugawara-san with the setting sometimes, and he finally managed to get a service ace in a real match. 

The third-years also improved a lot, they even managed to surprise Hinata-san with their own version of the Double Set and Spike.

Their version of it was Sugawara-san bump setting the first touch while receiving the ball, Sawamura-san re-setting the ball while on midair, and Azumane-san spiking the third touch.

According to the little explanation that they gave to Hinata-san, they started practicing that move right after the Date Tech match.

Tanaka-san was also getting less blocked now, but Miyamoto-san was still receiving his attacks without any trouble.

Yamaguchi was brought in again, and his serves helped a lot, but once again it wasn't enough to win the match.

After their lunch break, it was finally Tobio's turn to go back to the court, he played two sets with Yamaguchi and Narita-san as middle blockers first.

It was a little weird at first, he had a little trouble syncing up with them, and he kept looking for Hinata and sometimes he even found himself looking for Tsukishima of all people. But by the second set they had already gotten the hang of it, but unfortunately, they still couldn't win.

Then they played two sets with Ennoshita-san and Kinoshita-san as outside hitters, the same thing happened. Tobio had a little trouble syncing up with them at first, and he kept looking for Tanaka-san or Azumane-san. But by the second set, they had already gotten used to it, but once again, they still couldn't win.

Coach Ukai then decided to test Ennoshita-san, Kinoshita-san, and surprisingly Hinata, in Sawamura-san's position.

Ennoshita-san was good, but Tobio could tell that he played better as an outside, his defense and setting were good, but he always tossed to Tanaka-san, with the occasional toss to Azumane-san.

As for Kinoshita-san, his defense wasn't as good as Ennoshita-san's, but his setting was definitely better, but he also tended to toss too much to Tanaka-san, with a few tosses to Azumane-san here and there.

They're still not use to playing with us first-years, Tobio thought as Kinoshita-san tossed to Tanaka-san again when Tobio received.

Tobio hated to admit it, but Hinata did pretty good as an opposite hitter.

His passes still needed some work, but as long as he sent them high and off the net it was fine with Tobio.

With him playing the whole set, it also meant that they had more chances to do flashy attacks. Hinata's setting still needed some work, but unlike the other two, he actually tossed to everyone.

He even tossed to Yamaguchi, who replaced him as a middle blocker.

Tobio had to admit that it was a good move, no one expected Yamaguchi to attack during a synchronized attack, everyone thought he'll go for Tobio, heck even Tobio thought that.

He made everyone his decoy, Tobio thought as Yamaguchi and Hinata high-fived each other. He's having fun.

There was also an extra bonus with Hinata playing as an opposite hitter, it meant the teamwork between Nishinoya-san, Tsukishima, and Hinata got a chance to shine. Karasuno seemed to be unstoppable with those three playing together.

This is different, Tobio thought as Hinata passed him the ball and prepared himself to spike. It doesn't feel awkward like with the others, it's almost as if Sawamura-san is the one playing with us.

The veteran team wasn't able to stop Hinata in time, and Hinata happily celebrated with their teammates.

You think he wants to be a middle blocker?

I made a mistake, Tobio thought as he turned to look at Hinata-san.

The older redhead was already looking expectantly at Tobio and then he nodded towards Coach Ukai. Tobio turned to look at his Coach and he was met with the same look of realization that was probably in Tobio's face.

All this time, they had been treating Ennoshita-san as Sawamura-san's replacement, but it looks like Ennoshita-san was better suited as Tanaka-san's replacement once the other second-year embraces his role as Karasuno's next ace.

It looks like the best replacement for Sawamura-san is actually Hinata, but if that happens, then who would replace Hinata as a middle blocker?

Hinata playing as opposite hitter almost gave them the win, with only a two point difference in every set, if it hadn't been for Hinata-san and Tsukishima-san, they would've probably won this one.

After a snack break, they played the rest of the sets with their regular lineup, and sooner than they were expecting, it was already time for the Neighborhood team to go.

Not winning any sets sucked, but Tobio had to admit that they had a lot of fun.

Shimada and Tattsun stared at Keishin with wide eyes and Keishin was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. "What is it?"

"The team," Shimada started to say. "Is different."

"They improved a lot," Tattsun continued to say. "They're not the same team that barely survived Shiratorizawa."

"I mean the freak duo has all of these new attacks, and that crazy new jump of Hinata-kun's is amazing," Shimada said in excitement.

"And their serves have improved a lot too, they've better aim now. Tanaka, Tsukishima and even Hinata have new serves now. Also, Nishinoya now tosses to the freak duo? And Hinata sets now?!" Tattsun continued the rant. "And their defense! The ball almost never drops now, just when I think is going to drop, there's suddenly a hand or a foot saving it!"

"I mean, I know you guys didn't won any sets," Shimada said. "But if it hadn't been for Team Big Brother over there and Miyamoto, then we would've lost a few sets," Shimada admitted and in unison the three of them turned to look at Shouyou-san who was talking with Akiteru, then to Miyamoto who was chatting with Nishinoya.

"I still remember the day you called us to tell us to get ready to play a practice match against some High Schoolers you had become the Volleyball Coach of," Tattsun started to say.

"To be honest," Shimada continued. "We thought this would be too much for you, but you turned out to be a natural at it. This is really happening Keishin, you're really taking these kids to Nationals. You made the crows fly again."

"Don't give me too much credit," Keishin said with a sigh. "I still can't compare to the old geezer, or many of the other Coaches out there. Sometimes, I feel like I can't even compare to Hinata-san, but I like doing this," Keishin said and sneaked a glance at Shouyou-san. "And something tells me that I'm gonna keep doing it for a very long time, even after those five graduate." Keishin nodded towards the first-years, who were busy bickering with one another.

"I never wanted to be like the old geezer, but I think I finally realized that I'm not like him, I'm just Keishin."

"Well, would you look at that? It looks like our little Keishin is actually maturing," Shimada said and Keishin huffed. "Shut up."

"Maybe one day, you'll be taking one of their kids to Nationals," Tattsun said. "You think they'll call you 'Grandpa'?"

"Shut up!"

"We're just teasing you, Keishin. We're glad you finally found what you were meant to do," Shimada said with a smile and Tattsun nodded in agreement.

"Thanks, now leave."

"How rude."

"I've to do a meeting, so go away. Don't you've things to do?"

"Fine," Tattsun said. "Come on everyone, we gotta go. Mr. Ukai needs to have a meeting with his students." Keishin groaned.

Soon everyone said their goodbyes and Keishin was left alone with his students.

"Well, you guys lost every set," Keishin pointed out and his students flinched. "But now you know what you need to work on, right?"

"Yes."

"The training camp is going to help you with that, so even if you think the training camp is too extreme, give it your all. That training is going to help you not only at Nationals, but it's also going to be a good training for next year, okay?"

"Yes, sir!"

"The training camp doesn't start until Monday, but we thought that it'll be better if you guys show up tomorrow in the afternoon. You're not leaving until the 31st, so come prepare. We're staying at the same place as before, so you guys are already familiar with that place. Of course you can go home and have Christmas' dinner with your family, but you've got to come back the next morning, are we clear?"

"Yes, sir!"

"You've got time for some extra practice if you want. If not, then you're free to go as long as you do your cool down stretches, see you tomorrow at the lodge. Kageyama, Sawamura, and Sugawara, do your cool down stretches and come find me, I need to talk with you three about something." The three mentioned boys looked up in surprise, but they nodded nonetheless and went to do their stretches.

Tanaka, Azumane, and Hinata decided to keep practicing their serves. Kinoshita and Nishinoya also decided on some extra practice.

Narita and Ennoshita decided to go, apparently they needed to buy something from the store for their packing, they said something about snacks and toothbrushes on their way out.

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi also decided on leaving, apparently Shimada told them that he'll wait for them outside. One of his friends apparently let him borrow a Volleyball net, and they were going to practice with it today. But first, they needed to do their stretches.

Shouyou-san was also going to leave, he still needed to get some things for the training camp, but first, he needed to give Keishin the whole plans for the training camp.

Keishin stared at the papers with wide eyes. "This is..."

"Rough? Too much? A little extreme?"

Keishin was about to say yes, but then he remembered that this was probably nothing compared to what Shouyou-san had to go through. Besides, the man knew what he was doing, right? "Well, yes. But I think the boys can handle it."

"I hope so."

Out of the corner of his eye, Keishin saw Tsukishima and Yamaguchi approaching them. "Hinata..." awkward pause, "-san."

Shouyou-san turned to look at Tsukishima in surprise at the mention of his name and Keishin had a feeling of Déjà vu. "Yes, Tsukishima-kun? Do you need something?"

Tsukishima didn't answer right away, he seemed to be very busy going through all the facial expressions he knows how to do at the moment.

"Have you been eating the same thing as Kageyama-kun?" Shouyou-san asked and the two boys looked confused.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Tsukki, we gotta go," Yamaguchi said and Tsukishima sighed.

"I just wanted to say... thank you," Tsukishima whispered while playing with his fingers.

"For what?" Shouyou-san asked in confusion.

"For not being the Little Giant," Tsukishima murmured and Yamaguchi's eyes widened in surprise and then in understanding and amazement. The poor kid seemed ready to burst out crying.

Shouyou-san didn't seem to have any idea of what the blond boy was talking about, but he could tell that this was important somehow. "You're welcome," Shouyou-san said and Tsukishima nodded and left in a hurry.

Keishin stared between the three and sighed, he didn't exactly know what the three of them were talking about, but he had a feeling of what it could be. His old geezer told him many stories after all, some things make so much more sense now.

Shouyou-san left to talk to Hinata-kun after that, and his three students approached Keishin.

"Come with me, I need to talk with you guys."

Keishin and his three students assembled at the clubroom. "I think you guys know why I called you here, don't you?"

"Is about Hinata, right?" Kageyama asked and Keishin nodded.

"Do you guys think that Hinata-kun would do better in another position?" Keishin asked and Sugawara and Sawamura shared a look and Kageyama looked down. "I wasn't your Coach yet, but I was there when you guys decided to make him a middle blocker. He's a speed attacker, his defense and setting wasn't the best, and his jumping power helped him as a blocker, he's also a great decoy, so it made sense that you guys put him there, but soon, that's not longer going to be the case, right?"

His students nodded. "Yes, his setting still needs some work. Yes, he needs to get better control of his serves. Yes, he still makes a few mistakes while receiving, but he's improving. With the proper training all of that can be fixed. Sawamura is one of our best defenders, but he's not going to be there next year, balls that Sawamura would normally receive, would drop to the floor. Do you think that Hinata-kun can save those balls?"

"I think he can," Sugawara said.

"Me too," Sawamura agreed. "Like you said, he still needs to work on some things, but I was watching him today, he did great as an opposite."

"He seemed to be enjoying it to no end, he looked so happy," Sugawara said.

"What about you, Kageyama? What do you think?" Keishin asked and Kageyama sighed.

"I also think that keeping Hinata as a middle blocker would probably not be the best idea, it'll waste a lot of his potential, but you can't deny the fact that Hinata is also good as a middle blocker. Who's going to replace him as a middle blocker?"

"It's true that Hinata-kun is good as a blocker, and he keeps getting better at it everyday, but it's not like we'll lose him as a blocker. As for who would be his replacement, we've Narita and Yamaguchi. Also, we still don't know what kind of first-years would be joining us next year. I'm going to start testing those two as middle blockers starting Monday. As for Hinata-kun, let's make Nationals a test for him. Let's see how much he improves and how well he does during Nationals, and as soon as Nationals are over, I'll ask Shouyou-san to start training him and I'll be testing him as an opposite. Is that okay with you guys?"

"Yes, but don't tell Hinata about that," Kageyama said and Keishin frowned.

"Why not?"

"You haven't heard the story about our first practice match, have you?"

"No, did something happened?"

"Hinata-kun doesn't deal with nerves and pressure well. So if you want him to perform well at Nationals, keep this a secret between the four of us," Sugawara said and Keishin nodded. "Okay, I can do that."

"There's something I don't understand, though," Sawamura said and everyone turned to look at him. "It makes sense for Kageyama to be here, but why are you asking us this? Shouldn't you be talking with Ennoshita about it?"

"And I'm going to talk to him, but I wanted your opinions first. The three of you have been there since day one, if there's anyone in here who has seen that kid grow from a seed into what he is today, then it's you three."

"Well, can't deny that," Sugawara said and Sawamura nodded in agreement.

"Besides, is the future of Sawamura's position what we're discussing, I wanted his opinion about his possible successor."

"Well, I personally think that he'll do great," Sawamura said. "Me too," Sugawara agreed.

"Well then, with that out of the way, let's talk about the others. What did you think of Ennoshita and Kinoshita?"

"Kinoshita's setting has gotten pretty good," Sugawara said and Kageyama nodded. "I also think that, but he's not used to tossing to us first-years."

"Yeah, I noticed that."

"His defense and spiking technique needs some work, though. But his blocking was decent," Sawamura added.

"Hopefully, we can improve that during the camp. So far, Kinoshita seems to be the most promising one to replace Sugawara as our backup setter, though."

"I agree," both setters said at the same time.

"But there's still time to decide. What about Ennoshita?"

"I personally think that he plays better as an outside than as an opposite," Kageyama said. "His defense and emergency sets are good, so is his blocking, but he looks really tense and uncomfortable as an opposite."

"Well, according to what he told us that first day, he has been playing as an outside since he started playing Volleyball, he used to be his team's ace, but they went against a powerhouse in their second round during his last Junior High Tournament, and their season was cut short," Sawamura explained.

"So he's used to the position. To be honest, I agree with Kageyama, he seems to play better as an outside. You also didn't seem to have that much trouble syncing up with him," Keishin pointed out and Kageyama nodded.

"Before Azumane-san joined us, Tanaka-san and Ennoshita-san used to be our outsides, I just remembered what tosses he told me he felt more comfortable with."

So the first-years are used to playing with him, that's good. He also seems to have great chemistry with Tanaka and Nishinoya. I guess I found Azumane's replacement. Keishin thought as his students continued discussing Ennoshita.

If they don't get any promising first-years, then Ennoshita could be their next outside hitter. The first-years and second-years already trust him and respect him, they're also already used to playing with him.

And again, if not promising first-years show up next year, then Hinata-kun would become our next opposite hitter. Both the team and Hinata-kun had looked very comfortable with him playing as an opposite, and it was the closest that they got to winning today.

But that still left one problem.

Who would be their next middle blocker? If Hinata-kun agreed to being an opposite hitter, then who would replace him as a middle blocker?

Narita or Yamaguchi?

"What did you guys thought of Narita and Yamaguchi?"

"Well, I don't think we can judge that now, Yamaguchi played four sets today, and Narita only played two, judging them now won't be fair," Sawamura said and his teammates nodded in agreement.

"Just humor me for a second here."

"Personally, I think Yamaguchi has it easier, he has been brought in more, just like me. So the team is already used to him," Sugawara said and Kageyama nodded in agreement.

"Yamaguchi has good chemistry with Tsukishima and Hinata-kun, but Narita has good chemistry with Tanaka and Nishinoya," Sawamura said.

"And what do you think, Kageyama?"

"If we're talking about blocking, then they're both good. Their defense needs a lot of work, though. Yamaguchi's serves are better than Narita-san's, but Narita-san's spiking technique seems to be better than Yamaguchi's. But I feel like I can't really judge that now, we kept getting blocked after all."

Keishin sighed. "Like I said, I'm gonna start watching those two more closely from now on, let's see how much they improve at the camp. We still have a lot of time to decide and we don't know what kind of first-years we'll be getting next year. For now, keep this between us, I don't want to put any pressure in any of them, okay?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, that's it for now, see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow, Ukai-san."

Keishin sighed and went to look for Takeda-sensei, they have a lot to talk about.

Tobio stared at his phone as some of his teammates changed behind him.

From: Kageyama Miwa

Sorry, mom and dad had to go to Tokyo for the weekend, you know how busy this month is for them, but your dinner is still a go. You can bring a friend if you want.

I hate it when she says that, Tobio thought as his teammates left.

Tobio sighed and pocketed his phone, some of his things were still at the gym, so Tobio headed there once he grabbed his stuff.

He found Tanaka-san and Nishinoya-san on his way there. They once again wished Tobio a happy birthday when they said their goodbyes.

Once Tobio got to the gym, he found out that Hinata was the only one still practicing, Takeda-sensei and Coach Ukai were also still there, busy talking over some notes.

You can bring a friend if you want.

Miwa asked the same thing last year, but Tobio's classmates and teammates didn't even know when Tobio's birthday was, so he never bothered asking, but...

Hinata knows that today's Tobio's birthday. Hinata brought him food, he gave him a present, and even though it had gone horribly wrong, he tried to give Tobio a birthday hug this morning, didn't he?

You can bring a friend if you want.

Miwa won't like it if it's just Tobio and her again this year, right? Miwa would be happy if Tobio finally brings a 'friend' home, right?

Knowing Miwa, she'll probably adore Hinata, and if Hinata ever learns that Miwa used to play Volleyball, he'll think that Miwa is 'super awesome'.

You can bring a friend if you want.

Oh shut up, Miwa! I get it, okay?

Tobio took a deep breath and approached Hinata, who just landed another service ace. "Oi, Hinata."

"Oh hey, you're back. Wanna practice with me? Shouyou-san had to leave early today."

"Yeah, I heard," Tobio said. "And no, I can't. My sister is waiting for me at home, she prepared a dinner to celebrate my birthday."

"Oh, really? That's awesome!" Hinata said as he prepared to serve again.

"Do you want to join us?" Tobio suddenly asked and Hinata missed the ball completely. Takeda-sensei and Coach Ukai turned to look at them in surprise. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine," Tobio answered as Hinata turned to look at him in surprise. "You don't need to look so surprised, you know. I just wanted to say thank you for the food and the gift."

"Kageyama, you don't need to repay a birthday gift. You do know that, right?"

"Of course I know! If you don't want to go, then-"

"I do want to go," Hinata interrupted him. "Just let me do my stretches and call my mom, okay?"

"Okay."

As soon as Tobio walked into his house, he was assaulted by a bunch of colorful papers. "Happy Birthday, Tobi!"

"That nickname got way too old a long time ago, Miwa!"

"Stop being such a grumpy cat! It's your birthday today, Tobio! You're gonna have a permanent scowl by the time you're twenty!"

Hinata giggled and Miwa froze. She looked behind Tobio and her eyes widened. "Miwa, this is Hinata, he's my teammate. Hinata this is-"

"Your big sister, I know. She looks like you, except her face isn't scary."

"Shut up, boke! My face isn't scary!"

"See, you're doing it right now!"

"I was born with this face!"

Miwa burst out laughing. "Hi, I'm Miwa. I'm this idiot's big sister. Who're you?"

"Shut up, I'm not an idiot!"

Hinata seemed to remember his manners all of sudden, he bowed to Miwa and introduced himself. Miwa smiled at him. "You're Tobio's teammate?"

"Yup, he yells at me all the time, though."

"No, I don't!"

"See?"

Miwa laughed. "What position do you play?"

"Middle blocker." Miwa looked surprised at that. "Really?"

Hinata's face fell. "You haven't watched any of our games, right?"

"No, I haven't gotten the chance to. Maybe we can watch some of them tonight. How 'bout that?"

"Sure, that'll be cool."

"But first, you guys need to take a shower, you're not having dinner with me smelling like that. Tobio, show him where the bathroom is, and come help me set up the table," Miwa said.

Okay, yeah. I can take a hint.

So after Tobio explained where everything was, and confirmed that Hinata has a change of clothes with him, he braced himself and went to meet his sister.

Miwa stared at him and Tobio stared back. Tobio looked away first and Miwa smiled in victory. "So, who's the little sun?"

"Weren't you paying attention? That's Hinata, he's my teammate."

"Gimme a break, Tobio. That's literally the first friend you bring home and in your birthday, no less."

"He's more like a rival, and I only did it because he gave me some food and a gift." Tobio busied himself by getting everything ready, Miwa asked him to set up the the table after all.

"A gift?"

Tobio already was expecting that question, so he took the little keychain from his pocket and showed it to Miwa. His sister took it in her hands and started looking at it as Tobio set up the table for three people.

"It's nice," Miwa said after a while. Tobio turned to look at her and noticed that one of her fingers was playing with the little crown.

That's when Tobio remembered that Miwa knows, she knows about that stupid nickname, she knows about Kitagawa Daiichi. To be honest, that's probably the reason why Miwa hasn't attended or watched any of his Karasuno games.

"It's not what you think," Tobio said, he felt like he needed to defend Hinata for some reason.

"I know," Miwa said. "One look at him and I know, he doesn't see you that way. Or well, he does, but not in the same way as the others."

"He thinks is cool."

"Yeah, I can see that." Miwa offered the keychain back to him, Tobio tried to take it, but Miwa grabbed his hand before he could. "He never said that they have to be a rival."

"Miwa..."

"Your friend might get lost, why don't you wait for him and show him the way down."

"Right."

After his shower, Tobio found his sister and Hinata laughing uncontrollably in the kitchen while watching something in Miwa's laptop.

"And then, Ushiwaka was like-"

"What're you two doing?"

"Oh, hey Tobio. We're watching your game against Shiratorizawa."

Hinata was suddenly in front of him, a wide smile on his face and eyes sparkling. "Kageyama, your sister is super awesome, she knows so much about Volleyball, and she used to be the ace of her team." Miwa gave Tobio a smug smile.

Well, can't say I didn't see this coming.

"You're also pretty awesome, Sho-chan."

Sho-chan?!

"Thank you, Kageyama-san." Miwa grimaced. "Don't call me that, it makes me feel old."

"You are old."

"Shut it, Tobio."

"Hey, Kageyama."

"Yeah?" Tobio and Miwa said at the same time and Miwa grimaced again.

"Oh, this won't do," Miwa said. "We're all Kageyamas here, so why don't you call us Tobio and Miwa?"

Tobio stiffened and Hinata's eyes widened. "But that's not polite."

"Aren't you guys the same age?"

"Yeah, but..."

Miwa threw them a weird look and sighed in defeat. "How about you call me Miwa nee-san? Is that better?"

"Oh, like Saeko nee-san!"

"I've no idea who that is, but yeah. Just like that."

"Saeko nee-san is Tanaka-san's older sister, she's super cool. I think you can see her cheering for us in the Shiratorizawa video," Hinata said and Miwa thought about it. "Tanaka is one of the outside hitters, right? Baldy-kun."

"Yeah, the other one is Asahi-san, he's our ace. He's super amazing!"

"Samurai-kun, right?"

"Mmhhh, mmmhhh."

"Can you stop giving weird nicknames to my teammates?" Tobio asked and Miwa sighed.

"You're no fun, Tobio. Anyway, sit down. I'll bring dinner."

"Miwa nee-san is so cool, Kageyama. She's nothing like you."

"What's that supposed to mean, boke?!"

Miwa laughed again.

"Got any siblings, Sho-chan?" Miwa asked Hinata once Tobio and Hinata finished telling her pretty much everything about Karasuno.

"Yeah, two," Hinata said and Tobio stiffened. "Hikaru and Natsu."

"Oh, how old are they?"

"Hikaru is twenty-six, he's our Coach. Well, one of them. Natsu's ten, she wants to join a team soon."

"A Volleyball family, then. When did you start playing Volleyball, Sho-chan?"

"When I was eleven. Or well, more like, when I started High School."

Miwa looked so confused. "What do you mean? I don't get it."

And that's how Tobio finally found out the whole story about Hinata's Volleyball career. About Hinata always being interested in Volleyball, but being rejected because he was too short and too skinny.

About seeing the Little Giant play that day and that being proof enough for him that he could do it. He found out about Hinata preparing to join his Junior High's Volleyball team, only to find out that his school didn't have one.

About fighting to get a team and some practice, about finally being able to get into a Tournament, only to have his dreams crush by Tobio of all people.

Hinata never told this story to Tobio, he has heard parts of it here and there. Things that were said to Sugawara-san, Tanaka-san, or Nishinoya-san. But never the whole story.

Tobio finally gets it, he finally understands why Hinata is so obsessed with beating him. Tobio was the one who crippled his wings, the one who crushed his dreams. Dreams that were barely starting to take shape. Wings that just learned how to fly.

What have you been doing for the past three years? Guess he finally got an answer.

After their dinner, Miwa made Tobio open some presents from their parents. Unsurprisingly, it was Volleyball stuff.

They also spend the night watching more of their games. Miwa commented a lot during their games, and Hinata carefully listened to every word.

After Miwa found out where Hinata lives, she convinced Hinata and Hinata's mom to a sleepover.

Once Hinata left to talk with his mom in private, Miwa grabbed Tobio's hand.

"You finally found someone who is the right gender."

First, Miwa's interest changed.

"The right age."

Then, time took Grandpa away.

"Someone who shares that same passion for Volleyball."

And at last, Tobio found out that his teammates don't love Volleyball like he does.

"I know you're afraid because of everything that has happened, but don't push him away, don't lose him, or you'll regret it forever."

Miwa let go of his hand and went to prepare everything for Hinata. Hinata rejoined him on the couch not long after that, and together, they watched Karasuno win against Seijoh.

Don't lose him, Miwa said, but that was the problem, wasn't it? Tobio already did. It only took one look at Hinata-san for Tobio to know that.

Hinata-san doesn't look at Tobio the same way Hinata does.

Tobio noticed it the first time he tossed a freak quick to Hinata-san. He noticed how Hinata-san adjusted to Tobio's toss, not the other way around. So he tried to toss higher and faster, he managed a pretty good one just once, and Hinata-san had looked very happy about it, but then he turned to look at Tobio and his face fell when his eyes didn't met the person he was expecting.

Who are you looking for? Tobio wanted to ask.

Is it Older Tobio?

The Brazilian setter?

Or that mysterious setter that taught you how to do the freak quick?

Hinata looks at Tobio as if he's something amazing, but Hinata-san's eyes only hold nostalgia.

What did he do?

What did he said?

When did I lose you?

Those were questions that he wanted to ask Hinata-san, but Tobio feared the answer. But he had a feeling that it happened at Nationals.

Older Tobio said or did something that hurt Hinata-san, something a part of Hinata-san could never forgive or forget. It didn't matter how much he cared about Older Tobio, the damage was already done. There are wounds that just never heal.

Nationals changed Hinata-san, and Tobio was afraid that they'll change Hinata too.

It's not like Hinata-san hates Tobio, but there's something there that Tobio doesn't understand. Is not resentment, more like resignation. A part of Hinata-san gave up on Older Tobio a long time ago.

Don't lose him.

Hinata-san doesn't think Older Tobio is amazing anymore. But Hinata still thinks that Tobio is.

Don't push him away.

Hinata-san gave up on Older Tobio. But Hinata hasn't given up on Tobio yet.

He never said that they have to be a rival.

Hinata-san probably doesn't look for Older Tobio anymore. But Hinata still looks for Tobio everytime he does a good play.

Hinata-san isn't the only one with a second chance here.

Tobio pictured Older Tobio's smiling face. I'm not you, I won't lose him.

Tobio always thought he wanted an opponent that'll make a few games fun to play. But maybe, what he needs is a partner, why have fun in just a few games, when you can make every game and practice interesting and fun.

"Hey, Hinata. You wanna see something cool?" Tobio asked and Hinata turned to look at him in surprise. "Sure, what is it?"

So Tobio took Hinata to his room, Miwa's eyes widened when she saw the box that Tobio took out from his closet.

"Here, open it."

Hinata opened the box and took out some of the notebooks and books that were inside. "What is this?"

"My old Volleyball journals and some books that I've collected over the years, you can borrow them for a while as long as you take good care of them."

Hinata turned to look at Tobio in disbelief. "Really? I can do that?"

"Sure, I mean they're more about setting than anything else, but I think they can help you."

"Thanks, Kageyama!" Hinata smiled brightly at him and Miwa smiled at them.

"Hey, Tobio. Why don't you teach him how to make his own Volleyball journal," Miwa suggested and Hinata looked really excited about the idea. "Can we do that? Please, Kageyama?"

"Sure, just let me go grab a new notebook."

This time around, things would be different. Tobio would make sure of it.

Hinata-san was no longer a stranger to Tobio, he was no longer someone who Tobio didn't particularly liked or trusted. Now he was a teacher, an older brother. Someone that Tobio respected and even admired. But he wasn't Hinata, not to Tobio, at least. The difference between the two were still too much for him to see him that way.

The same feelings of envy and jealousy that he has for Hinata sometimes just weren't there when it came to the older redhead. Or well, they were, but it wasn't the same, something stopped them from growing.

Every time Hinata-san did a setter dump so casually, or had no trouble reading the spikers, or did one of those crazy sets or serves, something told Tobio to stop feeling jealousy, he has no right to feel that way, he also felt like he was stealing something away from Older Tobio.

Which was a little stupid to think about, because is not like Hinata-san belongs to Older Tobio, but well, that's how Tobio's mind sees it.

Hinata-san won't like what Tobio is about to do, but Miwa was right. Tobio has lost too much already, it wouldn't be fair to also lose pretty much the first and only friend Tobio has made. The closest thing he has to a best friend.

"Hey, Hinata. Can I ask you a question?"

Hinata stopped writing in his new notebook and turned to look at Tobio. "Sure, what is it?"

"Are we friends?" Hinata stared blankly at him for a moment, then he blinked a couple of times. "Well of course we are. Where did that even come from?"

So simple, so easy. No hesitation.

"Then why do you want to beat me?"

"Kageyama, I don't think you understand what losing to you meant to me. What you mean to me. What you represent. You're my goal, beating you is my goal."

"Are you saying... that you won't feel worthy until you beat me?"

"I wouldn't phrase it like that, but yeah. Pretty much."

"Do you know who that is?" Tobio asked and pointed to the picture frame on his desk.

"I'm guessing he's your grandfather."

"You told us your story, so now let me tell you ours."

So Tobio told him about his Grandpa and Miwa. About losing Miwa and then later his Grandpa, about becoming the King of the Court and the downfall of all of it. And he also told him about his Grandpa's promise.

"For the longest time, I thought Oikawa-san was that person, but I was wrong. Is not Oikawa-san, is you. That's why I want to play against you again. Be honest with me, do you really want to play for Brazil?"

"Shouyou-san looks so happy and free when he talks about Brazil and his teammates, I want that."

"I won't stop you from going to Brazil, but I want you to promise me something."

"What?"

"Go to Brazil, prepare as much as you can. Then come back to Japan, join the strongest team you can find and beat me at the top. After that, let's play Volleyball together again. Let's join whatever team we want. Can you promise me that?"

"Yeah, I promise."

On Sunday, Tobio accompanied Hinata to his house to pick up Hinata's stuff for the camp.

After that, they headed for the place they would be staying at for the week. Unsurprisingly, they were the first ones to arrive.

When it was finally time for dinner, Tobio was surprised to find out that Hinata-san and the managers prepared a dinner to celebrate his birthday.

Hinata-san prepared something Brazilian for him, Tobio immediately forgot the name of it, but the food really was delicious. The managers also baked him a birthday cake. Funny enough, it was decorated as a Volleyball.

They had so much fun that night, but Monday morning at 5:45 AM, a loud alarm sounded in their room. It was time for their training camp to finally begin.

(Meanwhile in 2022)

Monday, September 26, 2022

São Paulo, Brazil.

Saying that everyone was on edge right now, was the understatement of the year.

Pedro-san went to pick up the results from Hinata's bloody clothes half an hour ago, and everyone was anxiously awaiting his return.

Thankfully, they didn't have to wait for much longer. Pedro-san opened the door to Hinata's apartment and everyone looked about ready to pounce.

Kozume-san gave them a look and everyone sat down again. "Well? How did it go?"

Pedro-san sighed. "The good news is, that is not Shouyou's blood." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at that.

Kozume-san gave them another look. "And the bad news?"

Pedro-san sighed again. "The bad news is, that it is the blood of a human, but it doesn't match anyone in their records."

"So, is a dead end?" Bokuto-san asked and Kozume-san shook his head. "Not exactly. Pedro, do you know the blood type?"

"Yes, why?"

"Come help me with something, I don't understand Portuguese."

"What're ya gonna do, Kenma-kun?" Miya-san asked and Kozume-san sighed.

"Think about it, is not like Shouyou killed someone, right? And if is not the blood of an animal he rescued, but the one of a human..."

"Then it's someone he rescued," Sakusa-san said and Kozume-san nodded. "Yes, and someone who lost that much blood would need a blood transfusion. Bokuto, can I see that call?"

"Sure," Bokuto-san said and without any hesitation he gave his phone to Kozume-san. "Do you remember anything, Bokuto? Like, did he say anything important, or weird to you?"

"Well, I do remember that he had to hang up because he had to do some grocery shopping."

"Okay. Pedro, do you know where he normally does his grocery shopping at?" Pedro-san nodded. "Well then, let's narrow down our search to that area and the time Bokuto ended the call."

It took a while, but after a lot of typing and murmuring, Pedro-san finally said, "There!"

"What is it? Found anything?" Tobio asked and Pedro-san nodded. "Yeah, about two hours after Shouyou hang up, a small clinic not far away from the grocery store posted that they were looking for donors, and the blood type they were asking for matches the one in Shouyou's clothes."

"It could be just a coincidence."

"I hate to admit it, but Miya is right," Sakusa-san said and Pedro-san sighed. "I mean, it could be just a coincidence, but the thing is, that blood type is actually pretty uncommon."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go there."

Kozume-san sighed. "Kageyama, is being weeks. That person was probably released from the hospital already. Besides, no hospital is just going to handle you information about their patients."

"Then what do we do?"

"Pedro?"

"On it, just tell me what to do."

This time, it took a little longer than before, but Pedro-san and Kozume-san managed to find what they were looking for.

"The patient is a little girl, around seven or eight. Red hair, green eyes. Definitely not Brazilian, it says here that she only speaks English," Pedro-san said.

"Why didn't this girl came up in the police's investigation?" Bokuto-san asked and Pedro-san sighed.

"Because she has no connection to Hinata Shouyou, the man who brought her in was someone named Paulo Rodrigues."

"That sounds like a very common name around here," Sakusa-san said.

"It's also a name that Shouyou-kun would've no trouble remembering if ya think 'bout it," Miya-san said.

"Paulo like his Coach," Bokuto-san said.

"And Rodrigues like Heitor-san's wife," Tobio said and Miya-san nodded in agreement.

"But why use a fake name?" Sakusa-san asked.

Pedro-san sighed. "You guys are public figures, you've got an image and contracts to protect. What would you've done in his place?"

"He's right, y'know," Miya-san said. "What else does it say, Pedro-kun? Is she outta danger now?"

Pedro-san continued reading and then he gasped in surprise. "What is it, Pedro?" Kozume-san asked.

"Guys, this girl has been in a coma since Shouyou dissapeared."

Chapter Text

As the boys continued having fun with Kageyama. The managers, Takeda-sensei, and Keishin had a meeting with Shouyou-san.

"Okay, let me tell you what your jobs for the week are going to be," Shouyou-san said as he organized some folders.

"Takeda-sensei, you're an amazing cook, so you're in charge of the food for the week. They're letting us borrow a room to eat lunch at, so prepare the food here, or at your apartment. Then take it there for everyone to eat, okay?" Takeda-sensei nodded and Shouyou-san gave him a folder with the camp's schedule, the list of everything he needed to buy, the money, and the recipes of the meals he wanted him to prepare for the boys.

"Yachi-san, you're in charge of Nishinoya-san and his Libero Training, here's his schedule and everything else that you're going to need. If you have any questions at all, come to me, or to Coach Ukai, okay?" Yachi nodded and took her folder and started going through the papers.

"And finally, Shimizu-san. You're helping Coach Ukai and I with the rest of the boys. You're our record keeper and ball girl. Here's everything you're going to need." Shimizu took her folder and started going through it as well.

"Everything ready, Ukai-san?"

"Yes, I already did what you asked, and everything is ready for the camp."

"Great!"

After that, everyone got ready to go to bed. Things were a little different than last time. For one, Shimizu was staying with them this time, she didn't want to leave Yachi alone. And of course, there was also the addition of Shouyou-san, and the pressure of Nationals on their shoulders, but by 11:00 PM, the team and the managers were already sound asleep.

Keishin shared a look with Takeda-sensei when they went to check on the team. "Those poor kids, they have no idea what's coming for them," Keishin said and Takeda-sensei nodded and sighed.

Monday morning at 5:30 AM, Keishin woke up and got ready to start his day. By the time that he went to grab some coffee from the vending machines, he found out that Takeda-sensei and the managers were already there.

"Where's Shouyou-san?" Keishin asked as he put the money in the vending machine.

"He went to-" Takeda-sensei was suddenly interrupted by a loud alarm. Keishin almost dropped his coffee at the sound. "Do that," Takeda-sensei finished saying as the loud alarm sounded again.

"He went to wake up the boys, huh?" Keishin asked and sipped his coffee. The alarm sounded again.

"Yeah," the managers answered in unison as various groans and screams sounded throughout the lodge.

Keishin grabbed more money and started getting more coffees, this was going to be a very long day, he could feel it.

Keishin stared at his students in disbelief. "Wow, you guys look like zombies," Keishin said and the boys groaned.

They were already at Karasuno's first gym, probably sooner than the guys were expecting. Last night, Shouyou-san had asked them to leave everything ready for today. That way, they could leave early in the morning. Guess the guys didn't know just how early it was going to be.

"Okay, everyone. Listen up, I know you're probably thinking very disrespectful things about me, right now. But I'm doing this for your own good. Tell me something, do you guys know what every team that goes against you at Nationals is going to be thinking?" Shouyou-san asked and the guys shook their heads.

"'Oh thank God, we're not going against Shiratorizawa. This is gonna be easy.'" The guys strengthen at that. "You have to show every single one of them that you're not a blessing, you have to show them that you're a curse. You're not Shiratorizawa, you're even worse. The teams at Nationals are giants, so you have to get on their level or leave their battlefield. So what's it gonna be, huh?"

"Get on their level!"

"I didn't heard ya."

"GET ON THEIR LEVEL!"

"So think about that person or that team that you want to defeat. Think about that person that you want to show who's boss. The ones you want to impress. Think about that position, that title that you want. Think about that prize that you desire so much. You've to give everything that you have and more into this camp to accomplish all of that, got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Okay, then. Go do your stretches, and come find me once you're done."

Keishin and the managers stared in disbelief as the boys went to do their stretches with a newfound energy.

"How do you always do that?" Keishin asked Shouyou-san and the older redhead smiled at him.

"I learned it from the best." Shouyou-san smiled at him. Keishin almost fell for it, almost. But then he noticed that the damn brat was trying to steal one of his Bosa Coffees.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, brat." Keishin swapped Shouyou-san's hand away. "Get your own, I need these to function properly."

"Well, at least I tried."

Once the boys were done with their stretches, they approached Shouyou-san once again. "Everyone, grab an exercise mat, a pair of dumbbells, and a jump rope, then start following my lead, got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

And so, for the next thirty minutes, Shouyou-san and the boys did pretty much every workout known to mankind, plus their Volleyball footwork. After that, they got a two minute water break, and then started jumping rope for fifteen minutes. After another break of two minutes, they ran around the court for ten minutes.

At 7:00 AM, an alarm sounded throughout the gym, indicating that it was time for breakfast. The boys collapsed to the floor and groaned. Keishin sipped his coffee and looked from the boys, who were groaning in pain while they were slumped on the floor, to Shouyou-san, who wasn't even winded.

"Wow, you guys are out of shape," Keishin pointed out the obvious and sipped his coffee again.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Tanaka said. "Man, I feel like even my birth certificate is hurting."

"Well, you better get used to it," Shouyou-san said. "Because you'll be doing this every morning while at the camp." The boys groaned again. "Anyway, follow the managers. They're going to take you to Takeda-sensei. You're going to eat all of your breakfast and take the vitamins that Takeda-sensei is going to give you. If you throw those pills away, I'm gonna know, trust me. So you better not do it. If I find out that you're not taking those pills, you have to do this exercises twice, got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

As soon as the guys saw the food that Takeda-sensei had prepared for them, they burst into tears. "Take-chan! Thanks for the food!"

"The second thing that we're gonna do today is Two-on-Two's, anyone know why we're doing them?" Shouyou-san asked and Hinata-kun raised his hand to the surprise of his teammates.

"Yes, Shouyou-kun?"

"Because you want to see how good we are at everything, right?" Hinata-kun said and Shouyou-san nodded.

"That's right," Shouyou-san said. "There's only going to be two of you on a team, so all of your weaknesses and strengths are going to be expose to us. Are you good at receiving? What about setting? Are you a good blocker? We're about to find out," Shouyou-san said while pointing between Keishin and himself.

"You have twenty-five minutes, when the alarm sounds, the team with the most points is the winner and the losers have to do five rounds of diving drills. Shimizu-san is gonna be recording everything in case you guys want to see it later today, is everyone ready?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Great, then Daichi-san and Sugawara-san, you guys are Team A. Asahi-san and Noya-san, you guys are Team B. Good luck!"

As soon as the match started, it was clear that the best team was Team A, Sawamura and Sugawara have excellent teamwork, and Team B was definitely not ready for it.

"Sawamura's defense is great," Keishin said as he and Shouyou-san observed the match. "He also has very good aim when serving."

Shouyou-san nodded. "Yes, but his spiking needs some work, as well as his setting. He's not bad, but he could get better."

"Yeah, I agree. What about Sugawara?"

"Sugawara-san's setting is incredible, he also has good control of his serve, but his spiking needs a lot of work. His defense is also good, but it could become better."

"What about their blocking?"

"Both of them have good game sense, so they know where they need to block, but their blocking has weaknesses. Maybe some of them can be fix if they jump a little higher."

"I agree. They also have excellent teamwork," Keishin pointed out as Sawamura re-set a ball for Sugawara to spike.

Shouyou-san nodded. "Yeah, it's amazing. I mean, it almost looks like they're not even using signals, but if you look really closely you can see the subtle hints."

"Yeah, I noticed that too." On the court, Sawamura received one of Azumane's powerful spikes and passed it perfectly to Sugawara. The gray-haired setter jumped to reach the ball, but instead of setting it, he dumped it to the surprise of everyone present.

"Oh, Sugawara-san's setter dump," Shouyou-san said in excitement as Yachi changed the score.

"I don't think I've ever seen him do one before, he did it so casually. Sawamura's decoy also helped a lot."

"Two-on-Two's don't just expose your weaknesses and strengths, but also you're creativity, as well as your quick thinking, and adaptability," Shouyou-san said and Keishin nodded.

"Yes, Team A is doing great. Team B, on the other hand, is having a lot of trouble."

"Yeah, Nishinoya-san's setting is good, but you can tell right away that he's way too used to his libero tosses and bump setting. He doesn't really know how to set normally. There's also the fact that he's a libero, so his spiking and serving is definitely not the best out there. And well, his height definitely doesn't help with his blocking."

"I'm surprised Nishinoya isn't an all-rounder. I mean, he comes from a powerhouse, doesn't he?"

"His Coach was probably someone who believed in becoming the best you could be in the position that you play, not the best at everything," Shouyou-san said and Keishin groaned.

"I hate guys like that."

"Yeah, me too."

"What about Azumane?"

"His serves are powerful, but he still needs to work on his control. His defense, setting, and blocking needs a little bit of work, though. He's not bad, but he could become way better at it. But his spiking is great."

"I agree. Their teamwork is good, but..."

"Is not as good as Team A's," Shouyou-san said as Sugawara tried to do another setter dump, as soon as the gray-haired setter noticed that Azumane jumped to block him, he tossed the ball to Sawamura, who was already waiting for it. Shouyou-san smiled.

"Yeah, that's probably because they're not used to working with each other like this. Normally, Azumane is the one spiking and blocking, not receiving or setting. Nishinoya is way too used to being a libero, he knows what he needs to do while playing other positions, but his execution of it is a little awkward."

"He knows what he needs to do, but he doesn't have the technique and experience to back him up. Team A knows that Asahi-san isn't the best setter out of the two of them, and they also know that Nishinoya-san isn't the best at spiking, so they're using that to their advantage by aiming their spikes and serves at Nishinoya-san," Shouyou-san pointed out and Keishin nodded.

"Team A is playing smart, Team B needs to step up their game if they want to win," Keishin said and Shouyou-san nodded.

The alarm sounded not long after that, Sawamura and Sugawara were declared as the victors. Nishinoya and Azumane went to the other court to start doing their penalty as the two Captains celebrated.

"Congratulations, Daichi-san and Sugawara-san. Better luck next time, Asahi-san and Nishinoya-san. Okay, Tanaka-san and Ennoshita-san, you guys are Team C. Kinoshita-san and Narita-san, you guys are Team D. Good luck!"

In the second twenty-five minutes match, Team C was definitely the better one.

"Tanaka and Ennoshita have good chemistry," Keishin said and Shouyou-san nodded.

"Yeah, their teamwork is good. They're not doing any flashy plays like Team A, but you can tell that they're comfortable playing with each other," Shouyou-san said and Keishin nodded.

"What do you think of them?" Keishin asked and sipped his coffee.

"Tanaka-san's serving is good, but he needs better control. Once he gets control of that beast, he's gonna be unstoppable. His defense is good, but it can improve. His setting needs a little bit of work, though. His spiking is also good, but once again, he can improve. He needs better game sense, though. Improving his game sense, as well as his court awareness, is going to help him a lot with his defense and blocking."

"What about Ennoshita?"

"Ennoshita-san's spiking technique needs to improve if he wants to compete with Nationals-level outside hitters, his blocking needs to improve too. His defense is great, though. But we need to work on his setting and serving." Shouyou-san hummed and observed the match for a while. "Ukai-san, do you think that Ennoshita-san can handle a jump serve?"

"Spike serve or jump floater?"

"He seems more of a jump floater guy, but who knows? Maybe he'll surprise us with a spike serve, I'll talk to him about it, maybe I can convince him of learning one."

"That sounds like a good idea, Shouyou-san. What about Team D?"

"Kinoshita-san's setting is great, not on the same level as Sugawara-san's, but he's not that far behind, either. His spiking technique, his blocking, and his defense needs some work, though. But his serving is great, a little bit of more practice, and a little bit of more control, and you've got a serve that everyone would be afraid of."

"What about Narita?"

"Out of the four of them, he's definitely the better blocker, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't need to work on it. If he wants aces to fear him, he needs to step up his game. His defense, on the other hand, needs a lot of work. His serving too, I'll also talk to him about learning a jump serve, see what he thinks. His spiking technique is good, but it can become way better, I think he'll be able to handle more quicks, don't you think?"

"Yeah, he's definitely a speed attacker. He also needs to work on his jumps, I think he can jump higher, the same goes for Kinoshita and Ennoshita."

"Yeah, the only one who seems to be jumping at his full potential is Tanaka-san, but I think he can also jump higher."

"I agree."

This match was almost a tie, but Team C managed to get one more point in just before the alarm sounded, Tanaka and Ennoshita celebrated, while Kinoshita and Narita went to the other court to start doing their penalty.

"Congratulations, Tanaka-san and Ennoshita-san. Better luck next time, Kinoshita-san and Narita-san. Okay, then. Kageyama-kun and Shouyou-kun, you guys are Team E. Tsukishima-kun and Yamaguchi-kun, you guys are Team F. Good luck!"

The third twenty-five minutes match was really something to witness.

"Both teams have great teamwork and chemistry, but..."

"Kageyama-kun and Shouyou-kun definitely have the better one."

"Well, what do you think of them?"

"Little Kageyama is really good, but that doesn't mean that he can't improve even more. As for Sho-chan, his serving has gotten better, but he still needs to work on his control. The strength of his serve is the speed of it, not the power behind it, and speed is something really hard to control. His defense also improved a lot, but he still makes a few mistakes here and there, he needs to work on his passing. His setting also needs improvement, but his blocking and spiking are great. He can become better, though."

"Say, do you think that Kageyama can jump higher?"

"Yeah, I think he can. Like I said before, he's good, but he can improve. He needs to get better control of that serve, he needs to work more on his spiking technique, and he needs to get used to receiving. As for his setting, he needs to master setting with one hand, and he needs to work on fooling the blockers. Sometimes, he's really easy to read."

Wow, he's actually criticizing him, never thought I'll see the day.

"He also needs to work on keeping a cool head, sometimes the blockers put more pressure on him than on the spikers."

"Yeah, I've noticed that. What about Tsukishima and Yamaguchi?"

"Tsukishima-kun is definitely the best blocker so far, but he can become way better. His spiking needs a lot of work, he also needs to work on his defense, and his setting. He's serving is getting better, but it still needs some work. He also needs to work on his stamina, he lacks speed and power. He also needs to work on his jumps. Physically, he's definitely the weakest one. He needs to get in shape, he needs a better sleeping schedule, and a balanced diet as well."

"Yeah, the doctor said something like that, too. It worries me, to be honest. What do you think of Yamaguchi?"

"Just like with Kinoshita-san, if Yamaguchi-kun works more on his serving, it'll become something to fear. But he needs to work a lot on his defense and setting, his spiking technique also needs some work, I think he can jump higher and hit faster. His blocking is good, but it needs to improve if he wants to stop Nationals-level aces in their tracks. He also needs to get in shape, actually all of them need to get in shape. Shouyou-kun might be an stamina monster, but even that can backfire on him if he's not careful. He needs to eat a balanced diet, he needs to learn how to get some rest, and do some proper exercise, he also needs to work on his emotions."

Keishin sighed. "Yes, the doctor also mentioned that."

Thanks to the freak duo's flashy plays, they were declared as the victors as soon as the alarm sounded. Kageyama and Hinata-kun high-fived each other as Tsukishima and Yamaguchi prepared themselves to do their penalty.

"Congratulations, Kageyama-kun and Shouyou-kun. Better luck next time, Tsukishima-kun and Yamaguchi-kun. Well, so far, we have three winners, but there can only be one winner. So Team A, you're going up against Team C now. Good luck!"

Once again, Team A played smart, and their amazing teamwork left Tanaka and Ennoshita in the dust. Once the alarm sounded, Sawamura and Sugawara were declared as the victors, and Tanaka and Ennoshita went to do their penalty.

After that, Team A went against Team E, that one was definitely a battle of teamworks and flashy plays. It was a very tight and intense battle, but once the alarm sounded, the freak duo was declared as the victors of the Two-on-Two's. Sawamura and Sugawara went to do their penalty as Kageyama and Hinata-kun celebrated.

Keishin stared at his students once everyone was done with their penalties. "Well, hopefully you also learned something with these exercises. Do you guys know what you need to work on while you're here?"

"Yes, sir!"

The 10:30 AM alarm sounded just then. "You have thirty minutes of break, Takeda-sensei prepared some healthy snacks and drinks for you, so go find him, and then come back here at eleven, understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

Keishin and Shouyou-san shared a look as their students left the gym. "Okay, let's do this," Keishin said and the two of them started making notes about everything that they just witnessed.

Tadashi was surprised to find Akiteru-kun and Shimada-san talking with Shouyou-san and Coach Ukai once everyone came back to the first gym.

"Nii-chan?"

"Shimada-san?"

"What are you guys doing here?" Tadashi and Tsukki asked at the same time. Tsukki to Akiteru-kun, and Tadashi to his teacher.

Akiteru-kun smiled at them. "Oh, we're helping your libero with his training today," Akiteru-kun said and Nishinoya-san looked up in surprise.

"Really? What am I doing today?" Nishinoya-san asked and Shouyou-san smiled at him.

"Glad you asked, come with me," Shouyou-san said and took Nishinoya-san to the second court, because everyone else was also curious about Nishinoya-san's training, they also followed the older redhead.

Yachi-san seemed to be the only who already knew what Nishinoya-san was going to be doing today, she quickly grabbed a chair, a yellow folder, her notebook, and a whiteboard, after she was done, she sat down very close to the net.

"Listen, a lot of the players at Nationals are really good servers, they've already mastered jump serves, be it the spike serve, or the jump floater, and in case of Miya Atsumu, both of them. So for today, you're gonna be receiving Shimada-san's jump floaters, and Akiteru-san's spike serves. Here's how this is going to work, as you can see, there are two ball carts on the other side of the court, one on each corner, that's where Akiteru-san and Shimada-san are going to be."

Shimada-san and Akiteru-kun wasted no time in taking their positions, Akiteru-kun to the left, Shimada-san to the right.

"You," Shouyou-san said and pointed straight at Nishinoya-san. "Are going to be on middle back, which is normally where you would play, they're gonna be serving straight at you, and you have to bump that serve, but there's a catch. As you can see, there's an empty ball cart on your side of the court, do you know why that ball cart is in that particular place?"

Nishinoya-san thought about it for a second. "Because that's where the setter would be."

"Correct," Shouyou-san said. "You have to pass that ball to your setter, which in this case is that empty ball cart, if the ball goes inside the ball cart, Yachi-san would count it as a good pass, if the ball doesn't make into the ball cart, or you fail to receive the serve, Yachi-san would count it as a bad pass. You're weakness is overhand passes, right?" Shouyou-san asked and Nishinoya-san nodded.

"Then every miss that you have will equal five overhand passes that you have to do on that wall at the end of the day. Before we leave this gym today, Yachi-san is gonna tell you how many mistakes you did today, and how many overhand passes you have to do as your penalty, got it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Okay, let me show you how this is gonna work. By the way, they're not going to tell you who is gonna serve. You might get one jump floater and one spike serve. You might get two jump floaters, or you might get two spike serves. You have to be ready for everything, okay?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Okay, then. Everyone stand back, we don't want you to get hurt." Everyone stepped away from the court as Shouyou-san positioning himself to receive. "You guys ready?" Yachi-san nodded. Shimada-san and Akiteru-kun grabbed a ball and prepared themselves to serve.

Yachi-san blew a whistle, Shimada-san and Akiteru-kun tossed the ball and jumped, Shimada-san let his ball fall to the floor as Akiteru-kun hit his. Shouyou-san bumped Akiteru-kun's serve, everyone watched how the ball made it inside the ball cart.

Nishinoya-san clapped.

Yachi-san blew her whistle again, once again, both Shimada-san and Akiteru-kun tossed the ball and jumped. This time, Akiteru-kun let his ball drop to the floor as Shimada-san hit his. Once again, Shouyou-san received the serve perfectly and the ball made it inside the ball cart again, Nishinoya-san clapped harder this time. Yachi-san grabbed the balls and threw them back at the servers, who caught them without any trouble.

"Well, what do you think?" Shouyou-san asked and Nishinoya-san seemed very excited for some reason.

"Man, this is gonna be so much fun!"

"Noya-san, we really need to work on your definition of fun," Tanaka-san said and the team chuckled.

"He's all yours now, Yachi-san. If you two have any questions, I'll be on the other court." Yachi-san and Nishinoya-san nodded at Shouyou-san. "You two," Shouyou-san said while pointing at Akiteru-kun and Shimada-san. "He's our amazing libero, so treat him well, or else," Shouyou-san said while pointing at Nishinoya-san.

"Yes, sir!" Akiteru-kun and Shimada-san said and saluted the older redhead.

"Okay, then. Everyone else, follow me."

"Quick question, what's the first thing that you do on a Volleyball match?" Shouyou-san asked.

"Line up?"

"He means the serve, boke!"

"I knew that!"

"Kageyama-kun is right, I do mean the serve. Listen, guys. The true hurts, but I'm gonna say it anyway. Your serving sucks." Tadashi and his teammates bristled at that. Coach Ukai and Shimizu-san stared at Shouyou-san in disbelief.

"You all lack control and technique, many of you also don't know how to do a jump serve. Listen, I could teach you how to do jump serves, but trying something new this close to Nationals is probably gonna do more damage than good. Like I said before, the serve is the only thing that you do alone. A ball drops to the floor during a rally, that's on the whole team. You missed a serve, yeah that one is on you, and only you. So, I'm gonna help you to control them, and to get more creative with them. Everyone, grab a ball and form a line, let me see your serves."

After that, Shouyou-san started checking their serves, correcting their approach, their swinging, their tossing, and their hitting. He was trying to eliminate any unnecessary movements that they've been doing while serving. Those who learned their serves by themselves, had a lot that needed to be corrected compared to those who had a little bit of help while learning theirs.

Thanks to Shimada-san, Tsukki and Tadashi didn't need that many corrections. Shouyou-san even praised Tadashi's serves, he was really happy about that. Him and Tsukki hadn't done that well during the Two-on-Two's earlier today, so Tadashi was glad that this exercise was about something that Tadashi was good at.

After all of their corrections were done, Shouyou-san took them to a wall with various red circles on it. "As you can see, there are red circles on the wall, that's your target, you have to aim your serve there. Your next break is at one, so grab a circle and start serving at it," Shouyou-san said and everyone nodded and started trying to aim their serves at the red circles.

After a couple of minutes of them doing that, Shouyou-san left them in the hands of Coach Ukai and Shimizu-san, and he went to check on Nishinoya-san's progress.

By the time the alarm that signaled their lunch sounded, Tadashi was pretty sure that the only thing that he could see now was the red circle and the ball.

"Everyone, go eat lunch. You can come back here at two, okay?" Coach Ukai said and everyone nodded and went to look for Takeda-sensei.

Once everyone was done with their lunch, Coach Ukai and Shouyou-san shared a look and nodded. "Ennoshita, Narita," Coach Ukai called and the two boys looked up in surprise. "Hinata-san wants to talk to you."

Everyone looked up in surprise at that.

"Yes, Hinata-san?"

"Listen, you two. I don't know if you have already realized this, but next year, the two of you, - and of course Nishinoya, for obvious reasons, - are the only ones in our current team that are not going to have a jump serve."

Ennoshita-san and Narita-san flinched. "Yeah, we know."

"The thing is, since you're not on the regular lineup right now, then that means that I can teach you how to do a jump serve, the question here is, do you want to learn one?" Shouyou-san asked and everyone turned to look at the two second-years.

Ennoshita-san and Narita-san shared a look and thought about it for a while. After a few minutes of silence, they shared another look and nodded. "Yeah, we do."

"Great, which one do you want to learn?"

Ennoshita-san was the one to answer first. "I remember what you said to Hinata-kun, about thinking of his new serves as spikes to make them easier for him. I'm very comfortable with spikes, so I think I want to try my hand at spike serves."

"That's great!"

Everyone turned to look at Narita-san after that. Narita-san turned to look at Kinoshita-san, the other second-year turned to look at Narita-san curiously, but then his eyes widened and he smiled and nodded at Narita-san. "I already commented this to him," Narita-san nodded towards Kinoshita-san. "I want to try my hand at jump floaters."

"Awesome! Let me go set up another court then," Shouyou-san said and left in a hurry.

"He loves teaching, doesn't he?" Shimada-san asked and Coach Ukai nodded.

"Yeah, he does."

"Congratulations, you two," Sawamura-san said to the two second-years. "You just landed yourselves a great teacher. I can't wait to see those serves."

"Me too," Sugawara-san said.

"Me three," Azumane-san joined the party.

Shimizu-san sighed. "Don't pressure them." She turned to look at Ennoshita-san and Narita-san and smiled. "Do your best." Ennoshita-san and Narita-san blushed bright red at that.

Once they came back to the first gym, three courts were waiting for them this time. One for Nishinoya-san, one for Ennoshita-san and Narita-san, and one for the rest of the team.

Nishinoya-san and Yachi-san went with Shimada-san and Akiteru-kun to continue with Nishinoya-san's Libero Training of the day.

Shouyou-san told Ennoshita-san and Narita-san to wait for him on the new court, and everyone else went to their court, that now has many circles in different colors on one side, and one big red 'X' on the middle of the other side.

"Your next break is on two hours, so for one hour, you're gonna be serving at those circles," Shouyou-san pointed to the side with the circles. "You're gonna form a line, when you come up to serve, Coach Ukai is gonna pick a color, and you have to aim your serve at that colored circle. If your serve lands on the colored circle of Coach Ukai's choosing, then Shimizu-san is gonna count it as a service ace, if you miss the circle, then Shimizu-san is gonna count it as an out. Every out will equal five serves on the wall, at the end of the day, Shimizu-san is gonna tell you how many outs you had, and how many wall serves you have to do as your penalty, got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

"As for the other hour, you're gonna go to the other side of the court, and serve everywhere you want, except to the area that is marked with the big red 'X'. Do you know why that particular area is marked?"

"Because that's where the libero would be," Sawamura-san replied and Shouyou-san nodded.

"The first drill only has one rule: Don't miss the target. The second drill has two rules: Don't miss, and don't aim at the libero. Once again, every mistake equals five wall serves. Good luck!"

For the first drill, Tadashi tried to get as many service aces as he could, soon his competition wasn't only going to be Kinoshita-san, but Tsukki and Narita-san too. So he tried to get all of his serves in the correct circle, he didn't managed to get all of them, but he did managed to get a lot of them, Coach Ukai seemed very impressed.

Kageyama and Hinata-kun also managed to get a lot of aces, the other ones didn't managed many, but all of them managed to get at least five service aces.

For the second drill, Tadashi managed to serve anywhere but at middle back, and once again, Coach Ukai seemed very impressed. With the exception of a few mistakes here and there, everyone performed really good at that one. At 4:00 PM, an alarm sounded and everyone stopped what they were doing.

"You got thirty minutes of break, once again, Takeda-sensei prepared some healthy snacks and drinks for you guys, so go find him," Coach Ukai said and everyone nodded and went to find Takeda-sensei.

"So, what's Hinata-san teaching the two of you?" Tanaka-san asked Ennoshita-san and Narita-san a few minutes into their break.

"He's teaching us the correct approach for our new serves," Ennoshita-san replied.

"He told us that we'll start practicing tossing the ball after the break," Narita-san added.

"Oh, that sounds cool."

"Not as cool as what you guys were doing, though."

"True, it was fun, wasn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Noya-san's training seems very extreme, though."

"You're just jealous of it, Ryu."

"No, I'm not."

"Anyway, don't be so jealous of it."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Nishinoya-san didn't replied, he just smiled at Tanaka-san in a mischievous way.

"Oi, Noya-san. What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Dinner is at seven, so that means that you have two and half hours to do the next exercises," Shouyou-san said and the team nodded. "The next drill is the Service Ace Challenge, you have ten minutes to get a service ace against a team. You're nine guys right now, so that means you're gonna be divided in teams of three's. Third-years, you guys are Team A. Second-years, plus Kageyama-kun, you guys are Team B, the rest of the first-years, you guys are Team C. Teams B and C, go to the other side of the court."

Everyone went to the other side of the court and took their positions where Shouyou-san told them to be. "Many people out there think that to get a service ace, you need to have a powerful serve, but that's not true. As long as you know where to aim, you can get a service ace, watch this."

Shouyou-san did a completely normal serve, but Hinata-kun, - who was playing middle back,- wasn't able to get it. Shouyou-san did it again, and once again, Hinata-kun wasn't able to pick it up. The third time he did that, Hinata-kun manage to bump it, but the pass was very shaky. "Anyone know why that happened?"

"Because of Kageyama," Sugawara-san said and Kageyama looked surprised and a little offended. "You were aiming your serve right between positions six and five. The setter was on position five, and he has to move to the front row to set the ball, but he can only do that after the serve is up, so he kind of got in Hinata-kun's way, that's why he was late to receive it."

"Correct," Shouyou-san said. "My Coach calls that serving into traffic. There's also this," Shouyou-san said. Once again, he did another normal serve, he aimed it right between Hinata-kun and Tanaka-san, both players went for the receive, but stepped back at the same time once they realized what they did, the ball dropped to the floor right between them.

"Tattsun did that to you on Saturday, remember?" Coach Ukai asked and the team nodded.

"There are many other tricks, like serving right after the whistle blows. Waiting a little bit after the whistle blows. Aiming very close to the net, aiming very close to the endline, turning a powerful serve into a soft one. Aiming at the weakest receiver, things like that. Every single one of you has ten minutes to get a service ace against a team, I don't care how you get that service ace, just get one. Let us see your creativity. Team A, prepare yourselves to serve, good luck!"

After that, Shouyou-san went back to Ennoshita-san and Narita-san. The third-years prepared themselves to serve, Shimizu-san prepared to count their misses and aces, Coach Ukai blew his whistle and Sawamura-san started his ten minutes of serves.

Sawamura-san listened to Shouyou-san, and he tried many tricks, he got various service aces on their six rotations. After that came Sugawara-san, who also got various aces on their six rotations while doing many tricks. Azumane-san didn't do many tricks, but with how powerful his serves are, he really didn't need to, most of his service aces were because the receiver couldn't handle the power behind them.

After that came the second-years, plus Kageyama. Tanaka-san also used many tricks, he also put a little bit of more power behind his serves. Kinoshita-san gave them a lot of trouble, he doesn't just have wicked aim, he was also using many tricks. Tadashi also discovered just how difficult getting a jump floater is, if it hadn't been for Sawamura-san and Hinata-kun, then Kinoshita-san would've been the better one at this so far.

Just like Azumane-san, Kageyama went for more power than tricks, he also gave them a lot of trouble, but once again, Sawamura-san and Hinata-kun saved them.

Then it was finally time for Tadashi's team to serve. Hinata-kun's strength is speed, so he used that to his advantage, he also used many tricks. Tadashi was pretty sure that Sawamura-san and Hinata-kun just formed a rivalry. So far, only Sawamura-san and Kageyama seemed to be the only ones able to get his serve. Hinata-kun also aimed a lot at Kageyama, which meant that Sugawara-san needed to be the one "setting". Coach Ukai praised him for that move, he said that taking the setter out of the picture was a very good idea.

Tsukki gave a lot of trouble to the team with his tricks, the floating part of his new serve was also helping him a lot, Tadashi is pretty sure that the team was mentally cursing Tsukki throughout his ten minutes of serves.

Since Tadashi was the last one do this exercise, he actually learned a lot and applied everything he learned during his ten minutes of serves. He never aimed close to Sawamura-san, or to Kageyama. He also tried many tricks, the floating part of his serve also helped him a lot, some of his serves were picked up, but he managed to get a lot of service aces.

"Listen up, everyone. This camp is not only going to help you correct everything that you've been doing wrong all this time, it's not only gonna help you improve whatever needs improving. Is also gonna help you get better control, better technique, and also get better stamina. You guys are definently not ready for Hell Day," Shouyou-san said and the team flinched.

Yeah, the workout session from this morning proved that, Tadashi thought with a sweat.

"So from here until the alarm sounds, you guys are gonna be doing a drill that is normally called Serve and Sprint, any of you know what that is?"

"I do," Kageyama said in excitement and everyone turned to look at him. "You're only allow one ball, right? The first one in line gets the ball, then they've to serve to position one, then ran and get the ball, then serve to position two, and so on. Once you're done serving to all the positions, you've to pass the ball to the next one in line, and they've to do the same thing too, right?"

Wow, Kageyama seems very excited about this.

"That's right," Shouyou-san said. "Everyone understood Kageyama-kun, right?" The team nodded. "Well, then. Good luck!"

That last drill sure was a little hard, but it was also fun. They managed to do many rounds of it before the alarm sounded. But at 7:00 PM, Tadashi's team and Nishinoya-san collapsed to the floor.

Ennoshita-san and Narita-san stared at them in surprise, the adults and the managers sighed. "Those of you who are joining your family for Christmas Eve, you can go home as long as you do your penalties and your cool down stretches. Those who are staying, do your penalties and go look for Takeda-sensei, he prepared some dinner for you guys. If you wish to get some extra practice in, you can come back here at eight, we'll be leaving at ten, understood?" Coach Ukai informed them and everyone nodded.

"By the way, guys," Shouyou-san suddenly said. "Pack a long sleeve and your kneepads for tomorrow." Nishinoya-san smirked.

"Noya-san, you know something we don't, dontcha?" Tanaka-san asked, Nishinoya-san just laughed.

Tadashi was joining his family for dinner tonight, so as soon as he got his breathing under control, he approached Shimizu-san to know how many wall serves he has to do. After Shimizu-san told him, Tadashi picked a red circle and started serving at it.

Today was rough, but it was also fun. He couldn't wait to see what they were going to be doing tomorrow.

The four third-years, as well as Ennoshita, Kinoshita, Narita, Tsukishima, and Yamaguchi left to go have dinner with their families. That meant that Keishin, Sensei, and Shouyou-san were only left with Tanaka, Nishinoya, Kageyama, Hinata, and Yachi.

Tanaka, Hinata, and Kageyama decided to keep practicing their serves. Nishinoya asked Shouyou-san to help him continue practicing his serve-receive. Yachi decided to start preparing everything for tomorrow, and Sensei went to go help her.

Keishin sat down and started reviewing the recorded Two-on-Two's and the notes from today's practice. Many of his students surprised him today, and Keishin wanted to see how he could apply that new growth into their matches.

The four third-years and Tsukishima rejoined them at the lodge, and after a well needed bath, Keishin's students collapsed into their futons and fell asleep within seconds.

The next day, after the boys' workout session and their breakfast, Shimada and Akiteru rejoined them again. Miyamoto and Tattsun were also with them this time.

"Merry Christmas, everyone!" Miyamoto said.

Keishin sighed and sipped his coffee. "How do you always have this much energy in the morning?"

"Youth, Keishin. Youth," Tattsun replied, he also had a coffee with him.

Shimada looked between the two of them and sighed. "Why are you two talking like a pair of old men? We're in our mid-twenties, he's twenty-one!"

Shouyou-san and Akiteru chuckled at their antics. The teenagers in the room only looked at them weirdly.

"So," Shouyou-san said and the guys strengthen. "Yesterday we started our Volleyball match by serving the ball, what's next?"

"Receive it!" Nishinoya responded in excitement.

"That's right. Listen, guys. The true hurts, but I'm gonna say it anyway. When it comes to defense, you depend way too much on Nishinoya-kun and Sawamura-kun." The team flinched at that. "Sawamura-kun won't be here next year, and Nishinoya-kun has to rotate out of the match sometimes. So all of you have to improve your defense. If you thought that Nishinoya-kun was the only one that was gonna be doing crazy serve-receive drills during this camp, well you thought wrong. Today, we're all liberos. Go grab a long sleeve and your kneepads because this is gonna hurt. Isn't that right, Nishinoya-kun?"

"No pain, no gain," Nishinoya said, then smirked at his teammates and turned around.

"Hey, Noya-san. Where are you going?" Tanaka asked.

"Nishinoya already did this drill yesterday, so for today, he's gonna be working on his block follow with Tattsun and Miyamoto," Keishin said.

Nishinoya smirked. "Good luck, guys!"

"Okay, third-years and second-years, you guys are Team A, from here until four, you're gonna be working with Shimada-san and Akiteru-san. First-years, you guys are Team B, you guys are with me. Same drill as yesterday, let's go!"

Once again, Shouyou-san corrected the guys' positioning and footwork, once he was done, it was time to finally begin. Shimizu was in charge of keeping track of Team A's progress, while Keishin was in charge of Team B's.

At 4:30 PM, after the guys came back from their break, it was time to finally change things around.

"Okay, what we're doing next is called the Lone Defender Challenge. We six," Shouyou-san said and pointed between himself and the other adults in the room. "Are gonna be playing a game, and you guys are gonna be playing liberos. For fifteen minutes, you have to defend your side of the court. Every libero gets fifteen minutes, don't let that ball drop to the floor, or Shimizu-san would count it as a miss, got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

The first libero was Sawamura, and he did pretty good, he missed the ball cart a few times, and sometimes he read the set up wrong, but he kept the ball in the air most of the time and that's what counted.

Sugawara also did very good, he also missed the ball cart sometimes, but the only time he read the set up wrong, was when Keishin went with a setter dump instead of tossing to one of his hitters.

Azumane was the one who had the most trouble out of the third-years, but he did managed to keep the ball in the air most of the time.

Then it was time for the second-years, Nishinoya was great at this drill, he had a few problems here and there, but he was definitely the one with less problems out of everyone so far.

Tanaka performed a little better than Azumane, but he still needed to work on his game sense and overall defense, especially his passing. He missed the ball cart too many times.

Then came Ennoshita, he missed the ball cart a few times, but he has good game sense that helped keep the ball in the air most of the time. Kinoshita and Narita had many problems, they needed to improve their game sense and reaction time, but they can fix all of that with the proper training.

Then it was time for the first-years, Kageyama and Hinata-kun performed well. Kageyama still needed to get used to receiving, and Hinata-kun still needed to work on his passing, but their game sense was on point.

Tsukishima's game sense was good, but it was clear that he wasn't used to using it for his receiving. He definitely needed to improve his reaction time when it came to receiving. Yamaguchi's defense needed a lot of work, but Keishin could tell that he was improving, a little bit of more training and practice, and he'll become really good at receiving.

"Alrighty, since everyone is staying with us today, then we'll continue after dinner. Go look for Takeda-sensei, he prepared some dinner for you guys, come back here at eight," Keishin said and his students nodded and went to grab some dinner.

"Well, Keishin. You guys won't be needing me for a while, so I'll see you on Friday," Shimada said and Keishin nodded.

"Yeah, see you. Talk with some of the other guys, see if they can come too."

"Sure, I'll talk to them. Don't worry."

After dinner, the guys came back to the gym. "Okay, now we're gonna be working on receiving left-handed spikes and serves. Coach Ukai is gonna toss to me and I'm gonna be hitting it with my left hand, forget about the ball cart right now, just keep that ball in the air, okay?"

"Yes, sir!"

So for the next one hour and a half, the guys tried to receive as many of Shouyou-san's left-handed spikes and serves as they could. They definitely had a lot of trouble there, but there were some who performed decently. It was clear that they learned a lot when they went against Ushijima.

At 9:30 PM, Keishin told his students to start doing their penalties and cool down stretches, Takeda-sensei and the managers cleaned the gym and prepared everything for tomorrow, while Keishin and Shouyou-san went over today's notes.

As soon as his students were done doing their wall passes and started doing their stretches, Keishin turned to look at Shouyou-san. "You know, I gotta ask. Why the penalties?"

"Sometimes, the penalties help more than the actual drills, you know. Ukai-san, how do you think we got so good at diving?"

Keishin thought about it for a second and then realization hit him. "The Tokyo Training Camp."

"Yup."

Tobio was very excited about today's training, he was starting to see a pattern in their training camp, and if he was right, then that means that today they'll be practicing setting.

Once everyone was done with their breakfast, they headed straight to the first gym. Only Tsukishima-san showed up today, the older blond was already talking with Hinata-san and Coach Ukai when they got there.

"Okay, guys. We already served the ball, we already passed that ball to our setter. Anyone know what's next?"

"We have to set it," Tobio answered and Hinata-san nodded.

"That's right! The true hurts guys, but..."

"You've to say it anyway," Tobio's teammates said, much to Hinata-san's surprise. "We need stronger emergency sets, we depend too much on Kageyama."

Tobio and Hinata-san looked at Karasuno in surprise. Coach Ukai and the managers chuckled, Tsukishima-san just looked curiously at them.

"Yeah, that's right," Hinata-san said dumbly. "Anyway, Kageyama-kun is either gonna hate us, or love us, because today we're all setters. Everyone get in line and let me see your setting."

Unsurprisingly, Sugawara-san and Tobio were the only ones that didn't need corrections. After they were done showing their setting to Hinata-san, the older redhead explained that Nishinoya-san would be working on his libero tosses today. He was gonna be using an empty ball cart as his target, and Yachi-san would be passing him the ball.

Yachi-san and Nishinoya-san nodded and went to the other court to start doing Nishinoya-san's Libero Training of the day.

"Okay, as you can already see, there's a stand on positions four and two. Akiteru-san is gonna be standing on top of the stand that's on position four, and I'm gonna be standing on the stand that's on position two. You're gonna stand where the setter would normally be, Coach Ukai is gonna pass you the ball, you're gonna do a normal set to Akiteru-san, Coach Ukai is gonna pass you another ball, and you're gonna back set to me. Then you're gonna go to the back of the line and the next one in line is gonna do the same thing. Kageyama-kun, help me show them how this is gonna work."

Everyone got in positions and Kageyama nodded to his teacher. Coach Ukai passed him the ball and Tsukishima-san swung his arm. Within seconds, the ball was there and then a loud bang was heard throughout the gym. Coach Ukai passed him another ball, Tobio couldn't see it just yet, but he was sure that Hinata-san's hand was ready to spike, so he back set the ball to him and another loud bang was heard.

"Did everyone got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Well, then. Get in line."

Tobio could tell that a lot of his teammates needed to work on their tosses, but Sugawara-san, Kinoshita-san, and surprisingly Hinata performed very well, but of course, Tobio was the better one at it.

After they came back from their break, everyone noticed that now there was only one stand. It was now on the middle of the front row.

"Now is time to set to our middle blocker, in this case, Akiteru-san. Everyone get ready."

And so they tossed to their "middle blocker" for an hour. Once again, Sugawara-san, Kinoshita-san, and Hinata did really well, but Tobio was still the better one.

The team was then divided into two, Team A set back row attacks to Tsukishima-san, and Team B set back row attacks to Hinata-san.

Sugawara-san and Kinoshita-san were the best setters of Team A, while Hinata and Tobio were the best setters of Team B.

After their delicious lunch, Tsukishima-san went to practice with Nishinoya-san.

"For the next exercise," Coach Ukai started to say and everyone turned to look at him. "We're gonna be practicing our synchronized attacks with different setters. One of you is gonna be the setter for twenty minutes. The rest of you are gonna be in teams of five. Regulars, you're Team A. Backups, you're Team B. Setters you get twenty minutes, ten minutes with every team, you have to toss to everyone during those twenty minutes, understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Play smart, guys," Shouyou-san said. "Good luck!"

Sawamura-san was their first setter, when playing with Team A, he had no trouble syncing up with Azumane-san and Tanaka-san, but he had some troubles when it came to tossing to the first-years. When he played with Team B, he had no problems when it came to Sugawara-san and Ennoshita-san, but he had troubles with everyone else.

Sugawara-san was their second setter, he was also the first one who didn't have any troubles when syncing up with everyone in both teams.

Azumane-san was the third setter, when playing with Team A, he had no problems when it came to Sawamura-san and Tanaka-san, but he had many problems with the first-years. When he played with Team B, he had no problems with Sugawara-san, but he had troubles with everyone else.

Their fourth setter was Tanaka-san, when it came to Team A, the only one he seemed to have troubles syncing up with was with Tobio. Those extra setting practices probably helped him with Tsukishima and Hinata. When it came to Team B, he didn't have any trouble with anyone, probably another result of that extra setting practice.

Their fifth setter was Ennoshita-san, when he played with Team A, he seemed to have troubles with the first-years, especially with Tobio. But he didn't have any troubles with Team B. Their sixth setter was Kinoshita-san, and he only had troubles with Tobio.

Tobio was really starting to regret not joining those extra setting practices.

After their break, Narita-san was their first setter, and once again, Tobio was the only problem.

The it was finally Tobio's turn, Team A was a piece of cake for him. When it came to Team B, he only had troubles with Kinoshita-san, Narita-san, and Yamaguchi.

Tobio really should've joined that extra setting practice.

Well, too late now.

Then it was Hinata's turn, to Tobio's utter surprise, he didn't had any troubles syncing up with anyone, again probably a result of that extra practice. The little tangerine also managed to surprised everyone by landing his last point with a setter dump.

Everyone stared.

"Yes! I always wanted to do one of those! Woohoo!"

"Oi, what was that?!" Tobio asked and Hinata dared to look confused.

"Well, Nii-chan said to play smart, so I went with a setter dump," Hinata said, like it was obvious. Hinata-san chuckled.

"Nice, Sho-chan! Good job!"

"Yeah, kid," Coach Ukai said. "Well played, no one was expecting that one."

"Wait, you mean we could've done that this whole time?!"

"King, you are a setter. Why didn't you thought of that?" 

"Well, I..."

"Wow, can't believe the orange hamster actually has more braincells than you."

"Tsukishima, you jerk! I'm not a hamster! Also, I'm a redhead! Red hair!"

"Looks orange to me."

"Then get new glasses."

"I already did!"

"Anyway," Coach Ukai finally had enough of their banter. "It's Tsukishima's turn now."

Tsukishima looked straight at Tobio and smirked.

He's also gonna do a setter dump, isn't he?

Unsurprisingly, the only one that Tsukishima had a little trouble syncing up with was Tobio. And just like Tobio thought, the annoying blond went for a setter dump, it wasn't as surprising as Hinata's, but it managed to pissed Tobio off, which was probably what the four-eyed jerk was aiming for.

As for Yamaguchi, the only ones in Team A that the boy had no troubles with were Tanaka, Hinata, and Tsukishima. But he didn't have any troubles with Team B.

After Tsukishima-san left, it was time for Nishinoya-san to play setter. Or better say, he was "playing setter" while using his libero tosses. Nishinoya-san synced perfectly with Team A, but he had a few problems with Team B.

Soon it was time for their dinner and since today was Ennoshita-san's birthday, Takeda-sensei prepared a special dinner and a birthday cake for him.

"You've one hour and half to squeeze in some extra practice, don't forget to do your penalties and cool down stretches at the end," Coach Ukai said and everyone nodded.

The third-years decided to work on their new re-setting move, Nishinoya-san convinced Tanaka-san and Kinoshita-san to practice with him, while Ennoshita-san and Narita-san went to work on their serves with Hinata-san. Tobio and the rest of the first-years decided to keep working on their setting.

It was almost at the end of practice when Ennoshita-san surprised everyone by landing a service ace using his new jump serve, the third-years clapped, the second-years tackled Ennoshita-san to the floor.

"Ennoshita!"

Hinata-san, Coach Ukai, and Takeda-sensei smiled at the antics of the second-years and congratulated Ennoshita-san.

"Well, I guess now we know what he got for his birthday," Tsukishima said and the first-years nodded and went to congratulate their senpai and future Captain.

Tobio and Hinata decided to write on their journals as they waited for their turn to take a bath. "I like what we're doing at the camp, we're learning a lot, but..."

"We haven't had a chance to practice our new moves," Tobio finished for Hinata, once the little tangerine trailed off.

"Yeah, some of our new moves still need some work, especially that one. Hey, do you think that Shouyou-san would let us use the second gym tomorrow if we ask him?"

Tobio thought about it for a second. "Hinata-san might let us, but I'm not sure about Coach Ukai."

"Do you think that Shouyou-san can convince him to?"

"Dunno, but I hope so, there's something I want to try."

"Really? What is it?"

"There's this move Hinata-san uses, the feint dump one, you know which one, right?"

"Yeah, if you jump too fast, you block his set. If you're too slow, he sets the ball. If you don't jump, he dumps the ball. He used that against Date Tech and against us. You want to try that one?"

"Yeah, when it comes to setting, I know where my strength lies, speed and accuracy. Hinata-san, on the other hand, he toys with the blockers, he's the kind of setter that tears down walls. I wanna learn how to do that, I wanna tear down walls for my spikers." Tobio swears that Hinata's eyes were shining when he looked at him.

"There's something else that Shouyou-san does that I think you can also do, Kageyama."

"Really? What's that?"

"Hey, you two."

Tobio and Hinata looked up in surprise, sometime during their conversation, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi had approached them.

"Tomorrow," Tsukishima started to say. "Can you help us with something?"

"Please," Yamaguchi added once he realized that Tsukishima wasn't gonna say it.

Tobio and Hinata shared a look. "Only if you also help us with something."

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi shared a look. "Deal."

The next morning, Hinata almost tackled Hinata-san to the floor.

"Shouyou-san!"

"Woah," the older redhead said as Hinata crashed into him. "Sho-chan, you scared me. I thought you guys were eating breakfast."

"We finished already," Tobio informed the older redhead. Hinata-san turned to look at the clock and frowned.

"It's not eight, yet. So what are you guys doing here?"

"We want to ask you something," Hinata said as he rejoined Tobio's side.

"What is it?"

"After dinner, are we having extra practice or a training drill?" Tobio asked.

"Extra practice, why?"

"Can we go to the second gym to practice by ourselves?" Hinata asked. "Tsukishima and Yamaguchi are gonna join us, too."

"There's no need, I think I can fit another court here."

"But we don't want them to know what we're practicing, we want to surprise them. Please, Shouyou-san."

"Convincing Coach Ukai won't be easy, Sho-chan. He'll probably ask one of the managers or Takeda-sensei to keep an eye on you."

"Then let Yachi-san join us, we trust her. Please, Shouyou-san."

"I'll try, but I can't promise you anything. What are you gonna be working on, anyway?" The older redhead asked, Tobio and Hinata shared a look.

Hinata-san's eyes widened in surprise once they told him their plans.

"We already served, received, and tossed our ball, so what's next?"

"We gotta spike it," Hinata-kun answered the question while jumping and swinging his arm as if he was going to spike.

"That's right! Listen, I think some of you can jump higher, but like I said before, trying something new this close to Nationals is probably gonna do more damage than good, I don't want you to mess up, or to mess up your setters. So, as much as I want to work on your jumps, I can't. So we're gonna start by working on our tempos, first with Kageyama-kun, and after the break with Sugawara-san, everyone get in line, let see me your approach run."

So after Shouyou-san corrected their footwork and swinging, the guys started working on their tempos with Kageyama as the setter. Keishin noticed it yesterday, but Kageyama still has some troubles syncing up with the backups, they need to fix that.

Shouyou-san didn't tell them anything today, but Keishin knew that when it came to spiking, the team depends way too much on Hinata-kun, Azumane, and Tanaka. That can backfire on them one of these days, so hopefully the team realizes that today.

Keishin sipped his coffee and went to check on Nishinoya, who was working on his overhand passes today. Keishin was surprised to find out that Nishinoya and Yachi even renamed their empty ball cart as Setter-san.

Tattsun showed up with Akiteru and Mori after their lunch break. They were gonna be playing as blockers for the boys today. "Okay, now that we worked on our tempos with both of our setters, is time to work on our spiking technique. We're gonna be doing free spiking, first with Kageyama-kun, then after the break with Sugawara-kun. Cross shots, line shots, feints, wipes, rebounds, back row attacks, do whatever you want, there's only two rules here, don't get blocked, and don't send the ball out of bounds. Kageyama-kun get ready, everyone else grab a ball and form a line."

After their dinner, Ennoshita and Narita went to work on their serves with Shouyou-san. The first-years have been acting weird since yesterday, today they decided to go do their extra practice at the second gym. Keishin wanted to follow them, but Shouyou-san asked him to trust them. Of course Keishin didn't trust the four boys, but he trusted little Yachi. The fact that she was joining them actually made Keishin breath a little easier.

As for the rest of the second-years, they were helping Nishinoya with his serve-receive. The third-years were working on their re-setting moves, Keishin stared at them.

"Something wrong, Ukai-kun?" Takeda-sensei asked and Keishin sighed.

"It's nothing. Well... the third-years."

"What about them?"

"They surprised me. They're not going to continue playing Volleyball after this, but they come up with new moves every day. They've improved a lot."

"How is that surprising?" Shimizu suddenly asked. "Going to Nationals has been their dream since their first day at Karasuno. It's finally a reality, of course they're going to give it their all."

Keishin stared at the third-years again. "Yeah, you're right."

Sawamura re-set a ball for Azumane, Karasuno's ace spiked the ball with all his might and a loud 'bang' resonated throughout the gym.

The next day, some members of Keishin's team, plus Akiteru showed up to help them.

"The ball has already been served, received, tossed, and spiked, so what's next?"

"The block," Tsukishima said and Shouyou-san nodded.

"Correct! We have five hitters," Shouyou-san said and pointed to Shimada, Tattsun, Mori, Uchizawa and Akiteru. "And one setter," the older redhead said while pointing to himself. "For today, there's only one rule, block us."

"Miyamoto, go help Nishinoya with his training," Keishin said.

"Oh, what are we doing today?" Miyamoto asked and Nishinoya beamed.

"Emergency saves."

"Cool, we're doing pancakes!" Miyamoto said and both liberos smiled.

"We're doing what?" Yachi asked in confusion.

"You don't know what a pancake is, little blondie?" Miyamoto asked and Yachi shook her head. "Ever seen a libero saving a ball like this." In a flash, Miyamoto dived to the floor and extended his hand as if to save a ball.

Yachi shrieked in surprise, but after she recovered from her shock she slowly nodded. Miyamoto got up from the floor and smiled at Yachi. "Well, that's most commonly known as a pancake."

"Oh."

Keishin sighed and turned to look at his students. "Tsukishima, Kageyama, and Azumane. You're our tallest wall, so from here until our break, you're gonna be blocking them. Everyone else, go to the other court and start practicing your jumping blocks, understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

Once again, Shouyou-san corrected their footwork and positioning, after everyone eliminated any unnecessary moves, it was finally time to begin. Once again, Shouyou-san didn't told them anything, but when it came to blocking, the team depends way too much on Tsukishima, hopefully after today, Karasuno gets a stronger wall.

After their break, it was time for the middle blockers, - (Narita, Hinata-kun, and Yamaguchi), - to start blocking. After lunch, it was time for the outside hitters, - (Tanaka, Ennoshita, and Kinoshita), - to do some blocking. And at last, it was the Captains', - (Sawamura and Sugawara), - turn to block.

After their dinner, Ennoshita and Narita went to practice with Shouyou-san. Kinoshita and Tanaka went to practice with Nishinoya, the third-years started working on their new moves and the first-years went to the second gym to do whatever they were doing in there.

Keishin reviewed today's notes as Takeda-sensei and Shimizu prepared everything for tomorrow.

"On Monday we practiced our serving, on Tuesday our defense, on Wednesday our setting, on Thursday our spiking, and yesterday we practiced our blocking. That covers pretty much everything on a Volleyball match, right?"

"Yes."

"So anyone know what we're doing today?"

"Matches?"

"Nope. Not yet, anyway."

"Then what are we doing today?"

"Transitions."

"Huh?"

"For today, all of you, - well except for Nishinoya-san, - are gonna be working on your transitions. We're gonna work on the front row from here until lunchtime. The first front row drill is the Setter Drill, you're gonna jump as if you were blocking, then you're gonna set to position four, block again, then back set to position two, then block again. So is gonna be Block + Set + Block + Back Set + Block, got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Everyone get in line, Nishinoya-san come with me. They're all yours, Ukai-san. Don't miss the ball carts guys, good luck!"

After their break, it was time for the second front row drill, Nishinoya and Yachi left to the other court to continue working on Nishinoya's balance and ball control. While everyone else assembled on the middle court.

"Second front row drill is the Middle Hitter Drill, this is how is going to work, you're gonna jump as if you were blocking, Coach Ukai is then gonna toss the ball over your block, - it'll look as if you got a one touch on it, - you're gonna go save that ball, then you're gonna do your approach run because I'm gonna set that ball to you, after you spike it, you're gonna block again. So is Block + Save + Attack + Block, got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Great! Get in in line, then."

After their lunch, it was time to start working on the back row. "First back row drill is, once again, the Setter Drill, you're gonna serve, then go and set to position four, go back and serve again, then go and back set to position two. So is Serve + Set + Serve + Back Set, got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Then get in line. Once again, don't miss the ball carts."

Once their students started doing their exercises, Keishin turned to look at Shouyou-san. "You know, they have been doing surprisingly well today."

"Yeah, the exercises from this week helped them a lot, they're still making a few mistakes here and there, but they improved a lot in just one week."

"And there's still tomorrow and Monday."

"Yeah." Shouyou-san suddenly smirked. "The kitty cats, the sneaky foxes, the seagulls, the owls, the weasels, none of them are ready for these hungry crows."

"The Strongest Challengers versus The Rising Rookies, who do you think is gonna win those battles?"

Shouyou-san hummed. "We just have to wait and see, Ukai-san. The crows are hungry, but they aren't the only ones. There are many sleeping beasts with terrifying hunger in our way, if the crows manage to wake them up, we might not survive that long, trust me."

"Then I guess we just have to wake up our sleeping beasts first," Keishin said as Hinata-kun served and then back set to position two, the ball went inside the cart and Hinata-kun ran to the end of the line.

Shouyou-san gave him a very intense look that made Keishin shiver. "You're not ready for that," the man said and went to check on Nishinoya.

Keishin stared after him, sometimes Shouyou-san says things that really make him start to seriously worry about their futures.

"Next back row drill is the Server Drill, you're gonna serve, then Coach Ukai is gonna spike a ball at you, you're gonna pass that ball to your setter, - in this case me, - then you're gonna do your back row attack, then receive the second ball that Coach Ukai is gonna spike at you. So is Serve + Defend + Back Row Attack + Defend, got it?"

"Yes, sir!

"Get in line, then."

The after dinner extra practice was almost routine by now, Narita and Ennoshita went with Shouyou-san, the third-years went to one court, the rest of the second-years went to Nishinoya's court, and the first-years went to the second gym. Keishin started going through today's notes as Takeda-sensei and Shimizu organized everything for tomorrow.

"Ukai-kun," Takeda-sensei said once he was done with the cleaning. "That, is arriving on Monday."

Keishin's eyes widened. "Really? About time, I almost forgot about it."

"Do you think he'll like it?"

"I hope so," Keishin said and turned to look at Shouyou-san.

It's really funny how life works, just at the same time that Keishin turned to look at Shouyou-san, Narita landed his first ever service ace with a jump floater, Shouyou-san congratulated the young man with a high five just before the second-years tackled the middle blocker to the floor.

"Narita!" The second-years shouted. The third-years clapped. Shouyou-san laughed in delight.

"Actually, I think he's gonna love it."

"For today, we're gonna keep working on our transitions, all day long we're gonna be doing a drill called Pass-Set-Hit. Nishinoya-san is joining us for this one, because we need all twelve of you. You're gonna get on teams of three's, one of you is gonna pass the ball, one of you is gonna set the ball, and one of you is gonna spike it, then you're going to rotate. The spiker becomes the passer, the passer becomes the setter, the setter becomes the spiker and so on. Everyone got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Then pick your team and your court."

"Just one more day," Takeda-sensei said as everyone did their after dinner practice.

"Yeah."

"What are you guys doing tomorrow?"

"Matches, well Two-on-Two's and Three-On-Three's."

"That sounds tiring."

"You have no idea, Sensei."

"Happy Birthday, Daichi-san!"

That'll be something nice to wake up to, if it wasn't so loud, Keishin thought as the shout resonated throughout the lodge.

Today's December 31st, 2012. The last day of their training camp, - and of the year, - and it was also Sawamura's 18th birthday. Keishin took his coffee from the vending machine and went to wish his student a happy birthday.

"Congratulations, you didn't collapsed to the floor today," Keishin's students groaned as the alarm signaling the end of their workout session sounded. "Go get some food in you, today's gonna be rough." Keishin's students groaned again.

Just like he has been doing since the camp started, Shouyou-san left the breakfast table earlier to go get everything ready for today's exercises. As soon as the older redhead was gone, Keishin cleared his throat. "Everyone, listen carefully. We have a surprise for Shouyou-san, this is what we're gonna do."

After Keishin was done explaining everything, his students smiled and nodded. "No one say anything before it happens, okay?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Today, we're doing Two-on-Two's and Three-On-Three's, we're not only doing this because we want to see how much you improved during the camp, but because we want to prepare you for the long matches you're probably gonna have during Nationals. This is how it's going to work, the matchups are the same as last Monday, we're using the three courts, we're not counting points. This time is not about how many points you make, it's about how long you can play. You're gonna start playing Volleyball and you're not gonna stop playing Volleyball until the alarm that signals your next break sounds. Once again, the managers are gonna be recording everything in case you guys want to see it later today. You're allow two timeouts if you feel like you need a break, got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

"After lunch is gonna be Three-On-Three's and is the same thing as with this one, okay?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Good luck!"

Keishin observed his students and smiled. "So Narita and Ennoshita are using their new jump serves, huh?"

"Yeah, they still need to really get use to them and get better control and technique, and of course, try them on a real match, but I think they can get a few service aces if they try."

"Interesting, everyone else also improved a lot, don't you think?"

"Yeah, the baby crows are long gone, this is the New Karasuno."

In court one, Sawamura set for Sugawara, Azumane received the spike and Nishinoya prepared to set as Azumane did his approach, Sugawara received the spike and Sawamura dumped the ball once he noticed that the other team was marking Sugawara.

In court two, Ennoshita served the ball, Narita received it, Kinoshita tossed to Narita, but Tanaka saved the ball, Ennoshita tossed to Tanaka and Kinoshita received the powerful spike, Narita prepared to set as Kinoshita jumped, after the ball landed right between his opponents, Narita prepared himself to serve.

And finally in court three, Hinata-kun served the ball, Tsukishima received it with a smirk, Yamaguchi prepared himself to set and Tsukishima jumped, Kageyama received the ball with a smirk and Hinata-kun tossed the ball to Kageyama, Yamaguchi received the spike and Tsukishima tried to dump the ball, but Hinata-kun was suddenly there for the save, Kageyama tossed the ball to Hinata-kun, who spiked it with his left hand.

Hey, old geezer. The wings have healed and the crows are flying to Tokyo again. I hope you watch their battles.

Cats, owls, seagulls, foxes, weasels, and crows. Only one of them can reach the top, but all of them can fall. So what's it gonna be?

Takeda-sensei prepared a special dinner and and a birthday cake for Sawamura, - (whose birthday is today), - and for Azumane, - (whose birthday is tomorrow).

"You can go home if you want after this, or you can squeeze in some extra practice," Keishin informed his students during dinner. "There's not gonna be any practice tomorrow, stay home and rest. We're leaving on Friday, which means you only have two more days to practice whatever you feel needs practicing. You can come here after eight, both gyms are gonna be open to you and we're going to be here in case you need something, understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

"By the way, guys. It's time."

In a flash the boys and the managers stood up. Keishin and Takeda-sensei also stood up, Shouyou-san looked up in surprise. "Umm, what's happening?"

Sawamura smiled at Shouyou-san and gave  him brown box with a red bow. "Here, open it."

"Umm, you're the birthday boy, Daichi-san."

Sawamura smiled. "I know, but take it as a thank you gift for everything you have done for us, besides you're gonna need that."

"Okay?" Shouyou-san open it the gift and took out his new Karasuno jacket with a 'C' on it, signaling him as a Coach, and his pass for the Spring Tournament, with his new name on it.

"Come on, put it on!"

After Shouyou-san recovered from his shock, he took off his now familiar Bouncing Ball jacket and put on his Karasuno one.

"Ready and... go!"

"Welcome to the Karasuno Volleyball Club, Coach Hinata!" Everyone shouted and showed their backs that were proudly displaying their club's name. "Thank you for training us!" The boys said and bowed to Shouyou-san.

"Don't thank me yet, we still need to go to Tokyo. We still need to reach the top."

"And we will," Sawamura said. "Thanks to you."

"Let's go to Tokyo together, Coach Hinata!"

"Yeah, let's go to Tokyo together, Karasuno."

Everyone smiled and nodded at Shouyou-san.

"Shouyou-san," Hinata-kun suddenly said. "Where are you spending New Year's Eve? With Takeda-sensei?"

Shouyou-san seemed to think about it, he looked between his two jackets and sighed. "Actually, Sho-chan. I think is time we go home."

Hinata-kun's eyes widened. "You mean..."

"Do you think Natsu would like her new big brother?"

"Of course, Nii-chan."

Monday, December 31, 2012

That was the day Coach Hinata Hikaru was born and Shouyou-san dissapeared.

(Meanwhile in 2022)

Monday, September 26, 2022

São Paulo, Brazil

"Is there anything else, Pedro? Like about her injuries or the place where she was found?" Kozume-san asked and Pedro-san continued reading.

"There's nothing about her injuries, as for the place she was found, it was in the street before the store."

"Brazil has traffic cams, right?"

"Um, yeah? Why?"

"Because I'm gonna hack into them."

"You can do that?!"

"I can try."

And so after Kozume-san somehow managed to hack into the traffic cams, they started to watch the recording of that day and waited for something to happen. For hours, they just watched cars and people passing by, but then the screen was bathed in white light.

"Did something happened?" Bokuto-san asked.

"Is not my computer," Kozume-san replied while checking his laptop.

"Camera malfunction, then?" Sakusa-san asked and Kozume-san nodded.

"Most likely."

"Hey, guys. That's Shouyou-kun's car," Miya-san said and pointed to the screen, where sure enough, the light was gone and Hinata's car was arriving at the streetlight.

"Why's he pulling over? Is he gonna walk to the store or something?" Bokuto-san asked and Pedro-san shook his head.

"I don't think so, see those signs? It says you can't park there."

"Then why is he doing it?"

"Just watch," Kozume-san said.

As soon as Hinata was out of his car, he ran to the space between the two buildings, a few minutes later he came back, but this time he had something in his arms. The little bundle in his arms was covered by his jacket and once he put the little person inside the car and turned to get inside too, they could see that his shirt had a big stain on it.

"Guess now we know where the blood comes from," Pedro-san said. "He had his window down, so he probably heard the little girl calling for help or something."

"Yeah, that's probably what happened. After that he probably took her to the nearest hospital he could find," Kozume-san said.

"And used the fake name to not cause his team a scandal," Sakusa-san concluded.

"Tobio-kun."

"Yeah, I noticed."

"What's going on with you two?" Bokuto-san asked.

"That light, we've seen it before," Tobio said and Miya-san nodded.

"The light? What? Where?" Pedro-san asked.

"In the video that the police showed us. Camera malfunction, or a trick from the kidnappers, that's what the police called it," Tobio said and he could see that realization was slowly downing in his companions.

"Hey, Pedro-kun. Where's that hospital?"

"Not that far from here, why?"

"Cuz we've ta meet that lil' girl."

Chapter Text

Friday, January 4, 2013

Tokyo, Japan

A Day Before the Tournament

"Woah, look!" Hinata-kun says.

"Wow, it's huge!" Nishinoya says.

"Man, it looks so cool!" Tanaka says.

Chikara sighs.

He already knows what's coming.

"That's the real Skytree!" The three troublemakers shout in unison with stars shining in their eyes, and Chikara sighs again. 

After a long and exhausting trip, they're finally in Tokyo, just a few minutes away from their hotel, according to Takeda-sensei.

Based on what Daichi-san said as he scowled the three troublemakers, they're going to drop off their luggage at the hotel they're going to be staying at, and after that, they're going to go practice at a gym that Coach Nekomata helped them rent.

Faster than Chikara is expecting, Takeda-sensei announces that they just arrived at their hotel.

"Wow, this is our hotel?! So cool!" Tanaka shouts in excitement as he looks up at a beautiful hotel.

Chikara smirks and taps Tanaka on the shoulder. Once he has his friend's attention, Chikara points to the small hotel Takeda-sensei is parking their bus in front of.

"Is that one, you dimwit. There's no way we can afford that."

Tanaka's face falls once he notices the tiny little thing that is Jaybird Inn. Then he smiles, and his eyes fill up with stars again.

Chikara sighs.

What is it this time?

"Woah, I bet that thing is totally haunted! Let's go explore!" Tanaka says, and his two minions follow him in excitement.

Chikara sighs again.

Here we go.

Daichi-san seems to suddenly materialize in front of the trio with a dark and intimidating aura all around him. Chikara swears that the three troublemakers freeze in midair at the sight of him.

"Yes, sir!"

Chikara looks at the scene and sighs. Daichi-san didn't have to say anything at all for the trio of troublemakers to stop. Chikara isn't sure that he can do the same thing. But soon, that has to be him. He has to do that.

Can I really do that?

Coach Hinata suddenly sighs long and hard, and Chikara turns to look at him with a questioning look. Coach Hinata looks between the two buildings and sighs again.

"We really need to get some sponsors. Some donations could help, too."

"Bouncing Ball," Chikara says, and Coach Hinata jerks in surprise. "That's your sponsor, right? All your training things have that name on them, but I've never heard of them."

"Yeah, they are. But that company doesn't exist yet," Coach Hinata says, and Chikara nods.

"Yeah, I figured. Still, who would want to sponsor us?" Chikara asks, and Coach Hinata frowns and looks at the beautiful hotel again.

"Who, indeed?"

"Listen up, everyone," Coach Ukai starts to say as soon as they get to the gym. "Don't overdo it with the practice. I don't want you to suddenly collapse during the first round of Nationals, okay?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Every team in here is facing the possibility of playing six matches. A maximum of twenty-two sets, a minimum of fourteen, if you're lucky enough to reach the top by winning in straight sets. So don't overwork your bodies and minds, or you won't be able to make it to the end. I know you're already getting nervous, and I know that many of you have some extra energy, but please don't overdo things. We don't want you to get hurt or sick, understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Well, then. Start doing your stretches and warm-ups. We're starting with serves. Watch your breathing. We're not in the mountains anymore. The air in here might feel different for some of you. Now, go!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Woah, Shouyou. You got new shoes!" Nishinoya points out as soon as they start doing their stretches.

Chikara turns to look at Hinata-kun and notices that the little redhead does have a pair of new Volleyball shoes. His new shoes are black with gold accents on them, just like Coach Hinata's, except Hinata-kun's don't have the 'Bouncing Ball' logo.

"You mean you just noticed, Noya-san? He has been wearing them to practice since Wednesday," Tanaka says, and Hinata-kun nods.

"Well, the first-years have been hiding in the second gym with Coach Hinata since Wednesday. How was I supposed to know? Anyway, where did you get them, Shouyou? They look so cool!"

"Oh, Nii-chan gave them to me. It's my Christmas present," Hinata-kun says, and Nishinoya smiles. "They're super comfy, I feel like I can jump super extra high now, and they look just like his. Isn't that cool?"

"Of course it is, Shouyou. That was nice of him. Anyway, what have you guys been doing with Coach Hinata in the second gym all this time?"

Chikara sighs.

Be more subtle, Nishinoya.

"Practicing," the four first-years answer in unison. The second and third years share some looks between them and sigh.

For two days, that has been their answer. Heck, they can't even get some information out of Yachi-san. Now that's saying something. Not even Daichi-san can get them to talk.

The good thing is that they'll find out soon. The bad thing is, if their dear first-years mess up, the team won't be prepared to help them in time. Hopefully, everything goes well. They trust Coach Hinata, after all.

"Hey," Hinata-kun suddenly says, and everyone turns to look at him. "What did Coach Ukai meant by twenty-two sets. Shouldn't it be twenty?"

"This isn't like before," Kageyama says. "In here, the semifinals are also best-of-five instead of best-of-three."

"Oh. So, we can play five sets in both the semifinals and finals?"

"Yeah."

"If we manage to go that far," Tsukishima suddenly says, and both boys give him a dirty look.

"Of course we'll go that far!"

"Sure."

After everyone finishes with their stretches and warm-ups, they start practicing their serves. Everyone is still jittery, so the majority of the serves are out, or Nishinoya bumps them with no trouble at all.

Then they start practicing serve-receive with Coach Hinata as their server and Setter-san as their target. Since Wednesday, Coach Hinata has been making them get an underhand serve known as a Skyball in Beach Volleyball but as a ceiling serve in Indoor Volleyball. According to Coach Hinata, there are some players in the tournament that can use that serve.

After that, they start practicing receiving spikes, then their setting, spiking, and blocking. Coach Ukai informs them that they still have some time to squeeze in some extra practice, so everyone decides to keep practicing their serves, while Nishinoya goes to practice some overhand passes against a wall.

"Hey, Ennoshita," Tanaka whispers to him when they're waiting for their turn to serve.

"Yes?"

"Is it just me? Or do Hinata-kun's jumps look different?"

Chikara turns just in time to see Hinata-kun toss the ball and jump, landing a perfect service ace without any trouble at all, much to Kageyama's irritation.

"Huh, it does look different, but why?"

"He jumps higher now," Tsukishima suddenly says from right behind them, and Chikara and Tanaka jerk in surprise.

"Damn you, Tsukishima! Don't do that to people," Tanaka says with a hand over his chest. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

"Don't worry. You'll live."

"So Hinata-kun is jumping higher now?" Chikara asks, completely ignoring his friend's dramatics.

The tall first-year nods. "He improved his jump. So he jumps higher and with a better form now, which means he hangs in the air longer, and he can see better now and hit faster. Just when I thought he couldn't get more annoying," Tsukishima says with a sour look.

"Oh, that explains it," Chikara says. "But how he managed to do that?"

Tsukishima shrugs. "Don't ask me. Coach Hinata taught him how to do it."

"And what else did Coach Hinata teach him?" Tanaka asks, and Chikara sighs.

Seriously, guys. Be more subtle.

"You'll see," Tsukishima smirks and goes to prepare himself for his turn to serve.

That was another shocker earlier. Tsukishima finally managed to incorporate the jump into his serve. He's no longer using a standing float serve.  Now he's using a jump floater.

Karasuno now has four jump float users. Yamaguchi, Kinoshita, Narita, and now Tsukishima as well. But of course, the one with the best control of it is still Yamaguchi.

A crazy good control of it. Chikara thinks as Yamaguchi lands a perfect service ace.

Now that Chikara also uses a jump serve, Tanaka has made it into some kind of competition of who can get the most service aces during practice. Chikara doesn't really care much about the competition, but he likes the practice.

The one who took advantage of all this was Nishinoya, since now two of the second-years use a jump floater, while the other two use a spike serve. He dragged the four of them to the court Coach Hinata set up for him in the first gym.

The past two days, Nishinoya has been doing that crazy serve-receive drill that Coach Hinata taught him, but this time, with the second-years as his servers. None of them complained, though. It was good practice, after all, not only for Nishinoya but for them too. Their serves still need a lot of work.

"Our first opponent is Tsubakihara Academy, Kanagawa Prefecture's second representative," Coach Ukai says as soon as their meeting starts. "They were here last year, but they didn't make it past the first round. Here's a video of them. Watch carefully."

"Yes, sir!"

"Well, what do you think of them?" Coach Ukai asks as soon as the screen goes black.

"Their defense is good," Daichi-san points out. "Their serving, too."

"Yes, Tsubakihara is a team that specializes in defense and serving. Everyone is good at defense, especially their third-years, so don't be surprised if at least one of them manages to get the freak quick once," Coach Ukai says, and the team nods. "As for their serving, only their outside hitters and two of their pinch servers use a jump serve, but all of them have extremely good aim. They'll probably try to minimize our attack options with their serves. I had a strategy prepared for them, but according to Hinata-san, it's..."

"A recipe for disaster," Coach Hinata says, and everyone turns to look at him in surprise.

"What?! Why?!"

"Ukai-san wanted you to start with the serve, but I think it's better if we give it to them."

"Why? We normally start with serving," Tanaka asks, and the team nods. "It works fine for us."

"That's true. But who's the one who normally gets those first serves?" Coach Hinata asks, and in unison, the team turns to look at Kageyama.

"Kageyama."

"Or Asahi-san," Nishinoya says.

"And why is that?"

"Powerful jump serve."

"Exactly, and that's not going to work here. Not at first, at least."

"Why?"

"Many things are different here," Coach Ukai says, and everyone turns to look at him. "As some of you may already know, I visited one of my college senpais early December, his school been to Nationals before so I asked him what to expect. Apparently, two things are bigger problems than anyone realizes. First, the floor. Second, the ceiling."

"What do you mean by that, Ukai-san?" Sugawara-san asks, and Coach Ukai sighs.

"The floor at the Tokyo Gym is not the wooden gym floors you're used to. It's designed to be nonslip. Dive on those floors like you normally would, and you'll just end up hurting yourselves. So, tomorrow, during our warm-ups, I want all of you to warm up more than usual, work up a good sweat to decrease some of that friction, okay?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Next, the ceiling. The gym is too big, and the ceiling is too high, not just that, the bright lights will cause you a lot of trouble too. Thanks to the Sendai City Gymnasium, you probably have a head start adjusting to it, but it's still going to take some time for you to completely adjust to the scale and distance. Kageyama's spatial awareness is probably going to be the most affected by it since his setting requires absolute precision, especially for the quick attack," Coach Ukai says, and everyone turns to look worriedly at Kageyama.

Kageyama sighs. "Yes, Hinata-san already warned me about it. I've been practicing in different rooms and outdoors since he told me."

"That's good, but at the end of the day, this is your first time in the Tokyo Gym. So, tomorrow, I want all of you to send the ball as high as you can during our warm-ups. Kageyama, try to sync up with everyone before the match starts, especially with Hinata-kun, understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

"That's why we're not starting with serves. We're giving the other team the serve, and we're keeping Kageyama-kun as far away from the serving position as we can. As for the attacks, Kageyama-kun, just toss slow, high, and off the net and let your aces do their thing," Coach Hinata says while pointing to Asahi-san and Tanaka, who look very proud of themselves. "And as soon as your accuracy is back in action, let the freak duo debut at Nationals, okay?"

"Okay."

"As for our first server, I think Sawamura-kun is our best option," Coach Hinata says, and Daichi-san looks extremely surprised.

"Huh? Me? Really?"

"Yes, you don't use a jump serve, so you don't have to toss the ball that high up, and you have perfect aim, so your serves are our best option. Don't let us down, okay?"

"Okay."

"Listen, the most troublesome is Tsubakihara's ace, their #4, Teradomari. He's tall and powerful, a power attacker that can hit above the block. He has good court vision and can spike confidently any set, no matter how difficult. He normally goes for a cross, but be prepared for the line shot too, he doesn't fake his shots, though. So he normally hits in the direction his body is facing; keep that in mind. He has an impressive jump serve, intense back attacks, and is good at defense, so he's dangerous not just in the front row, but also in the back row, understood?" Coach Hinata informs them, and everyone nods.

"Because of how good he is while in the back row, I thought Tsubakihara would like him to start there, but Hinata-san thinks otherwise," Coach Ukai says, and Coach Hinata nods.

"Tsubakihara will most likely want to start with him in the front row. That way, he can smash down every ball, be it with a spike or with a block. That's why we're putting him against our tallest wall and our best defense. Tsukishima-kun, he's all yours. Have fun," Coach Hinata says, and Tsukishima smirks.

"Their other outside hitter is also going to give us trouble. #1 Maruyama, he's good at block-outs and tooling the blocks. He also goes for feints, so watch out when you're blocking him. He's also good at cross shots, so keep that in mind. Just like Teradomari, he's good at defense and has a good jump serve and back attack. Shouyou-kun, you know what to do," Coach Hinata says, and Hinata-kun nods.

"Their setter and Captain, #2 Echigo, is also going to be troublesome. He's good at defense, and he's skillful and experienced. The guy is smart with his plays, especially with his setter dumps. He's level-headed and good at calming his teammates, so putting pressure on him won't work, but he'll most likely toss to the third-years, so keep that in mind, okay?"

"Yes, sir!"

"The rest of their starting lineup is nothing special. They're very good at defense, blocking, serving, and spiking, but nothing out of the ordinary except for their #8, Iwamuro. He's skilled at aiming his serve toward an exact spot to purposely mess up the opponent's receive and limit their attacks. If Kageyama-kun is in the back row when that guy is serving, he'll probably aim at him or as close to him as he can to either mess up the timing or make Kageyama-kun get it. So Kageyama-kun, move as fast as you can. Anyone close to Kageyama-kun at that time, don't hesitate to get that serve, okay?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Their #5 is a pinch server and the only one who can use a jump floater, so be ready for it. Listen, the best way to deal with them is by predicting their starting rotation," Coach Hinata says, and everyone stares.

"You can do that?"

"Well, I'm no psychic, but I can try," Coach Hinata says and grabs a whiteboard, where the drawing of a court is already on it. "If we give them the serve, then their first server will probably be #8. They've been here before, so they're already aware of the ceiling problem, so giving their first serve to someone who doesn't use a jump serve but who has good aim is the best strategy. I want Kageyama-kun to start in position five, so #8 is probably going to serve as close to him as he can," Coach Hinata says as he writes Kageyama's number in position five and a number eight on position one on the side marked as 'Tsuba High.'

"Our best options for starting servers are Sawamura-kun and Shouyou-kun, who also has a good aim when using his normal serve. That's why Shouyou-kun and Nishinoya-kun will start on position one. If they give us the serve, Shouyou-kun won't have trouble with it as long as he uses his normal serve, if we start by receiving, then we've Nishinoya-kun there ready to receive any serve," Coach Hinata says as he writes the numbers ten and four in position one in Karasuno's side.

"Sawamura-kun is going to start on position two," Coach Hinata says as he writes a number one in position two on Karasuno's side. "That way, he'll be our first server as soon as the rotation changes. I don't think I need to say this but make sure you cut #8 at one. Get Sawamura-kun to the serving position as soon as you can, okay?"

"Yes, sir!"

"As I said before, Tsubakihara will probably want to start with their ace in the front row. Position four would probably be the best option, but they can't do that because their other middle blocker is going to be there, so position three is the best next thing. That way, he'll be in the front row for two rotations," Coach Hinata says as he writes the numbers nine and four in positions four and three in Tsubakihara's side. "I want our tallest wall to go up against him. So, Tsukishima-kun will start on position four, and Azumane-kun will start on position three. As soon as Sawamura-kun rotates to the back row, Kageyama-kun will rotate to the front row, and then our tallest wall will form. Whatever you do, don't let Teradomari spike above the block, got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

Coach Hinata nods and writes the numbers eleven and three in positions four and three on Karasuno's side. "Azumane-kun, do you think you can handle being our second - or third - server?" Coach Hinata asks, and Asahi-san thinks about it for a second.

"I need to see the Tokyo Gym first, but I think starting with about 50% of my power would be best," Asahi-san says, and Coach Hinata nods. "I'll do my best."

"Listen, Tsubakihara is good, but we're better. But... because of your inexperience here, Tsubakihara can give us a run for our money. The best way to not let them catch up to us or even surpass us is by getting as many points as possible early on in the game. That's why I want Yamaguchi-kun to serve as soon as it's Tsukishima-kun's turn. Do you think you can handle it, Yamaguchi-kun?"

Yamaguchi thinks about it for a second and then nods with a determined look on his face. "I can try."

"That's all I'm asking," Coach Hinata says and then sighs. "But, since we're throwing Yamaguchi-kun this early on in the game, it means that Tsubakihara's first pinch server would be their jump float user. They'll probably bring him in when their #9 comes up to serve, which is rotation four. Sawamura-kun, Nishinoya-kun, and Azumane-kun, you'll be in the back row when that happens; make sure to get that. He'll probably aim at Azumane-kun, though. So watch out."

"Yes, sir!"

"Their setter is very good at defense, so he'll normally be in the back row, but since we're the first ones attacking, they'll probably want their tallest wall to go up against us. Their setter is also another one of their players without a jump serve, but with good aim, so he's probably going to be in position two. Because they're starting without their libero, they'll probably want one of the third-years in the back row; that's where their #1 comes in. This is how their starting rotation would end up looking like," Coach Hinata says as he finishes writing on the board.

1. Iwamuro/Kaikake (#8/#12)
2. Echigo (#2)
3. Teradomari (#4)
4. Atema (#9)
5. Maiko (#10)
6. Maruyama (#1)

"From there, you can guess the rest of their rotations and make a plan of attack. As for our starting rotation," Coach Hinata says as he points to Karasuno's 'court.'

1. Hinata/Nishinoya (#10/#4)
2. Sawamura (#1)
3. Azumane (#3)
4. Tsukishima (#11)
5. Kageyama (#9)
6. Tanaka (#5)

"Now, listen carefully. This is what we're going to do," Coach Hinata says and starts telling them his plan. As soon as the man finishes, everyone stares at him in shock.

"I'm so glad you're in our team," Coach Ukai says, and Coach Hinata turns to look at him in confusion.

"Ennoshita," Daichi-san calls out to him a little bit after their dinner, and Chikara closes the book he was reading to look up at him.

"Yes, Daichi-san?"

"I've got a meeting with the Coaches and Sensei, so I'm leaving you in charge," Daichi-san says, and Chikara's eyes widen. "Keep an eye on the problem children, would you?"

"Um, okay."

"Huh? Why aren't you asking me? Hello, Vice-Captain here," Sugawara-san says as he looks up from his studies in indignation.

Daichi-san sighs. "Because you're coming with me."

"Huh? Really?"

"Yes, Coach Hinata asked for you to come too."

"Let me put this away then," Sugawara-san says as he starts picking up his stuff.

"Breathe, Ennoshita," Daichi-san suddenly says, and Chikara jerks in surprise.

"I'm breathing!"

"Doesn't look like it," Daichi-san says with a sigh. "Listen, you'll be fine. Most of the guys are still busy with Coach Ukai's video, and the girls are preparing for their bath. As soon as they get out, send the first-years to take a bath. We won't be long. If you need help, ask Asahi, okay?"

"Okay, I'll do that."

"Ennoshita," Daichi-san suddenly says, and the tone of voice he uses worries Chikara. "You need to get used to this. There's not much time left."

"Daichi-san..."

"Ready when you are, Daichi," Sugawara-san says as he joins Daichi-san's side. The gray-haired setter seems to read the atmosphere in a second and looks worriedly between the two of them. "Am I interrupting something?"

Daichi-san shakes his head. "No. C'mon, they're waiting for us. Take care of them, Ennoshita," Daichi-san says, and Chikara nods. Sugawara-san throws him a worried look as he and Daichi-san leave the room.

Chikara sighs.

I guess I really need to get used to this.

Chikara looks around the room and starts counting. With Daichi-san and Sugawara-san gone, then that means Chikara only has to worry about two third-years. Shimizu-san is getting everything ready for her bath, and Asahi-san is watching the 'I'm Awesome' video.

That's two.

With Chikara in charge, that means he only has to worry about four second-years. Kinoshita and Narita are studying. Nishinoya and Tanaka are also watching the video.

That's four.

Okay, now; five first-years. Yachi-san is also getting everything ready for her bath, and Yamaguchi is also watching the video.

That's two.

Chikara nods to himself and then freezes.

Wait a minute, that's two. I'm missing three.

Chikara groans, and in a flash, he's out of the room and looking for the runaway teens.

I'm going to kill those three.

Chikara finds Kageyama in the hallway, the raven-haired setter is wearing his workout clothes, and he has his running shoes in one hand.

Oh no.

"Kageyama, where do you think you're going?!" Chikara asks, and Kageyama turns to look at him in confusion.

"Out for a run," Kageyama says like it's obvious, and Chikara sighs.

"Are you crazy? No matter how you look at it, that's a bad idea. It's the wilds of Tokyo nighttime out there."

But if he's too wound up and can't sleep tonight, that'll be a problem in its own right. If he doesn't sleep well tonight, plus the difficulties he's gonna have with the ceiling tomorrow, that's a recipe for disaster: Yup, Grumpy Kageyama for sure.

What to do? What to do?

The answer - miraculously - comes in the form of Hinata-kun, who's practicing with a Volleyball in the lobby. The small teen keeps the ball in the air by only using his legs and feet, like a soccer player or something. He's also murmuring something that Chikara doesn't understand.

Kageyama stops in his tracks and looks curiously at the boy. "What're you doing?" Kageyama asks, and Hinata-kun stops what he's doing and looks at Kageyama with a smile.

"My night routine."

"You're what now? Since when do you have a night routine?"

"Monday."

"How did that happen?" Kageyama asks, and Hinata-kun smiles.

"Nii-chan."

"Of course," Kageyama says with a sigh and a roll of his eyes.

"What exactly are you doing, Hinata-kun?" Chikara asks, and Hinata-kun beams.

"I'm practicing my ball control and balance. Today, I've to keep the ball in the air by only using my legs and feet while counting to fifty in Portuguese. That way, I can practice Volleyball and learn Portuguese," Hinata-kun says, and Chikara shakes his head and smiles.

So this is the best way that Coach Hinata could come up with for the Portuguese lessons, huh? Not bad. The guy's smart. I'll give him that.

"Hey, Kageyama," Hinata-kun says, and Kageyama turns to look at him after he finishes tying up his shoes. "Did you know that there's a Brazilian setter that can set with his foot? Isn't that cool? Although, you'll probably never be able to do that," Hinata-kun comments as he restarts his 'night routine.'

Kageyama's eyes widen. "What did you just say to me?!"

Jeez, Hinata-kun. You just hurt his setter's pride.

"Give me that!" Kageyama says as he grabs the Volleyball from the air and pushes Hinata-kun away. "I'll teach you how it's done," Kageyama says as he tosses the ball in the air and tries to keep it alive by only using his foot but fails miserably at it.

A familiar laugh suddenly comes from behind them, and Chikara turns and notices that Tsukishima is leaning against the vending machine. "Yeah, no foot setting for you, King. Not even in a million years."

"Well, I'm not Brazilian!"

"Nishinoya-san and the Hinatas aren't Brazilian either, and they've been doing that drill just fine."

"Shut up!"

"Don't want to."

Chikara sighs.

Maybe, just maybe, taking care of the problem children isn't so hard after all. 

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium

Day One of the Spring Tournament

"Woah," Hinata-kun says with stars in his eyes, and Chikara can't help but agree. "We're here. We're really here. The stage where the Little Giant played."

Chikara looks up at the beautiful and impressive building in front of him. He sees the colorful flags proudly displaying school names, sees the colorful tracksuits of his Volleyball peers, and he can feel the excitement going all around him. Chikara can see it, feel it, even smell it, but he can't believe it.

They're really here. He's really here. They're made it. They're finally made it. They're finally standing here, wearing their Karasuno jackets with pride.

"I think I'm gonna throw up," Chikara says, and Narita and Kinoshita turn to look at him in surprise.

"Keep it together, Ennoshita!"

"I'm trying," Chikara says with a sigh. "What? You're gonna tell me you're not nervous?"

"Well, yeah," Kinoshita says. "My nerves are about to kill me, I feel like a beast is eating my guts away, but at the same time, I'm so glad we're finally here."

"If we're this nervous, imagine how they must feel," Narita says and nods toward the regular lineup.

"Shut up," Hinata-kun suddenly shouts, and Chikara and his companions jerk in surprise. "It's the mood that counts, the mood, got it?!" Hinata-kun says, one finger wildly pointing at Kageyama, who just smiles smugly at him.

"Or maybe not," Narita says with a sweat.

"Jeez, those two never give it a rest, do they?" Kinoshita asks, and Chikara sighs.

"I'm pretty sure they don't even know what that is."

"True," Narita and Kinoshita say in unison with a chuckle.

"Are you okay?" The worried voice of Coach Ukai suddenly comes from behind them, and Chikara and some of his teammates turn to look at him. 

The pale face of Coach Hinata greets them, and those who turned to look at him stiffen at the sight. "We're here," Coach Hinata says in a tone that sends shivers down their spines. "We're really here. This is really 2013. They're all here." Coach Hinata sounds so different from his younger self that those who didn't turn to look at him earlier now turn to look at the older redhead with worried looks on their faces.

"Nii-chan? Are you okay?" Hinata-kun asks, but Coach Hinata doesn't respond. He just stands there and looks at the Tokyo Gym with an unreadable expression.

"Nii-chan?"

"Hinata-san?"

"Coach Hinata?"

The worried voices of his companions finally seem to snap the man out of his little world, he shakes his head and smiles at them, but the smile doesn't reach his eyes. "You guys should change. The opening ceremonies are gonna start soon. I'm gonna go look for a place to sit," the man says, and in a flash, he's out of their sight.

"Nii-chan!" Hinata-kun tries to follow him, but Coach Ukai stops him.

"Wait, Hinata-kun," Coach Ukai says. "Let him go. He needs to be alone right now. I've been wondering why he hasn't lost it yet. I think this was finally a little too much for him. This place is unknown to us. These people are strangers to us, but to him, this place is full of memories. These people are his friends. This place is special, not only for him but for you too."

"For me?" Hinata-kun asks in confusion, and Coach Ukai sighs and looks him straight in the eyes.

"This is your first step into becoming him."

Hinata-kun's eyes widen, and he gasps. "Becoming," he whispers. "Him."

"Ryu-chan!"

"Hi, Kageyama."

"Hey, Hinata! Hey!"

"Tsukki!"

"Are you nervous, Sawamura-san?"

Man, it's like everyone knows someone in here. Chikara thinks with a sweat. Can this thing just start already? My nerves are about to murder me in cold blood.

After their reunion with Nekoma, Tanaka's reunion with a childhood friend that Chikara swears has a crush on him, Kageyama's reunion with a libero that makes Nishinoya stare like a predator, and Hinata's reunion with Fukurodani's ace and setter; it's time for this damn thing to finally begin.

Chikara takes a deep breath as the announcement to take their places is heard. Miyagi is one of the first schools to be announced, so they need to get closer to the entrance. Chikara passes behind Fukurodani's ace and setter just as Hinata-kun is saying his goodbyes, and he can't help but overhear their conversation.

"Well, I'm glad you finally made it here, Hinata. But don't think I'm gonna go easy on you once the net is between us," Bokuto-san says, and Hinata-kun chuckles.

"I don't want you to, Bokuto-san. I'm not gonna go easy on you either," Hinata-kun says with a smile. Bokuto-san laughs as Kageyama takes Hinata-kun away. As soon as the freak duo is out of sight, Bokuto-san stops laughing.

"Akaashi," he says. He sounds worried and excited at the same time.

"Yeah, I noticed it too," Akaashi-san says as he stares in the direction the freak duo went. "He's different."

Chikara gasps, and he hurriedly tries to reach his teammates. They could tell that Hinata-kun changed just by looking at him and exchanging a few words? Chikara knows that those three got close during their summer training camp, but he didn't realize they were this close. No wonder Coach Hinata warned them about Nekoma and Fukurodani.

Listen, if anyone asks about me, this is the story we're going with.

Chikara sighs.

Yeah, I just hope it works.

In no time, they're entering the arena, marching alongside the girls' team, with Daichi-san proudly holding up their school's name. Everyone was a little jittery before entering, but as soon as they stepped inside, it's like their nerves disappeared, only to be replaced with excitement. All of them have seen this on TV at least once, but this time they aren't spectators sitting in front of a TV. No, this time, they're one of those players marching in the gym. They finally made it.

Chikara looks at Daichi-san and sighs. Their Captain made history by being the Captain that made the crows fly again. What if Chikara is the one that cripples their wings again? What if next year, they'll be spectators once again? Sitting alone at home in front of their TVs, watching how their friends and rivals proudly display their uniforms and school names.

Chikara is so lost in thought that he barely registers Tanaka trying to point out certain schools to him or any of the speeches. Chikara doesn't even pay attention to Japan's National Anthem, and he feels a little guilty about that. Sending the flag a silent apology as they start marching once again.

As soon as they're out of the gym, Tanaka grabs his arm and starts pulling him away from the group. "Cut it out, Ennoshita," Tanaka says, and Chikara frowns.

"What are you talking about?"

"Stop thinking depressing things!"

"Are you a mind reader now?"

"It's written all over your face!" Tanaka shouts, and then he sighs. "Listen, next January, we'll be here too, I'm gonna be the ace fighting on that court, and you're gonna be the Captain proudly holding up our school's name, got it?"

"You don't know that."

"I do know!" Tanaka shouts, and Chikara flinches. "And you better be prepared because next January, you're gonna be fighting on that court too. But I'm still gonna get more service aces than you!"

Chikara sighs. "You know, Tanaka," Chikara starts to say with a little smile. "Sometimes, you actually say stupidly cool things, but only sometimes."

Tanaka sweatdrops. "Did you had to add 'stupidly' and 'sometimes'? Why you gotta break my heart like that, Ennoshita?! I'm trying to cheer you up!"

"And you succeeded. Happy now?"

Tanaka huffs, but he nods anyway.

"Tanaka! Ennoshita!" Daichi-san calls out to them, and they turn to look at him. "Hurry up. We've to go practice at the gym."

"Right!"

"Don't worry," Tanaka says as they start walking in the direction of their teammates. "Our team is strong." Chikara looks at his teammates and smiles.

Yeah, they are. We are.

"Did you guys pay attention to the floor and ceiling?" Keishin asks as soon as they enter the gym they were assigned to do their warm-ups at.

"Yes, sir!"

"That's good. Still, the real challenge will come as soon as our official warm-ups start," Keishin says with a sigh. "C'mon, start doing your stretches and warm-ups, same drill as yesterday."

"Yes, sir!"

"Poor kids," Takeda-sensei says as soon as their students start doing their stretches. "They've been going through a rollercoaster of emotions all morning."

"Can you blame them? This is their first Spring Tournament, and for some of them, their first and last," Keishin says as he looks at the third-years. Sawamura has been quiet all morning, and it's starting to worry Keishin. If Sawamura loses it, Keishin doesn't want to think about what will happen to the team.

"Technically, it can be the first and last for everybody," Hinata-san says as he joins them. Keishin turns to look at him and notices that the man is pocketing his new phone.

"How are things in Miyagi?"

"According to Akiteru-san, fine so far. They're just waiting for Saeko-san and some of the others to finish their shifts for them to come here. According to Akiteru-san's calculations, they'll be here around dinnertime."

"So they'll be joining us for dinner? That's good."

"Yeah, but Saeko-san doesn't want the team to know about it yet. She wants to surprise them."

"I'm pretty sure Tanaka has his suspicions already, but okay."

Hinata-san chuckles. "Yeah, he probably has them, but he hasn't said anything so far. So it'll be a surprise for the rest."

Keishin nods and then sighs and looks at the older redhead, who's looking at the guys with a frown. "I've to tell you something."

Hinata-san hums. "What is it?" He asks without taking his eyes away from the team.

"Ennoshita told me that apparently Fukurodani's Bokuto and Akaashi could tell that something changed with Hinata-kun," Keishin says, and Hinata-san stiffens. "They're already getting suspicious."

"So soon," the older redhead says with a sigh. "Well, at least it wasn't Kenma."

"He's the one you're more worried about, isn't he?"

"Yes and no."

"I don't follow."

"Kenma is smart, that's one of his strengths, but it's also one of his weaknesses. Even if his mind keeps going to the time travel theory, his logic is just going to keep killing it. The moment his logic doesn't kill that idea anymore..."

"That's the day we'll be in serious trouble," Keishin finishes for him, and Hinata-san nods.

"Exactly."

"Well, it's a good thing we're ready for whenever that happens, then," Takeda-sensei says, trying to stop the panic from rising. "Let's just hope that our plan works."

"Yeah, let's hope."

Keishin and his companions sigh and keep watching their students as they practice. Sooner than Keishin is expecting, he gets a call with news from the Tokyo Gym.

"Damn, I wanted them to practice a little bit more. The guys are still jittery, but we've to go," Keishin says as he ends the call.

Hinata-san looks between him and the team and then sighs. "Listen up, everybody," Hinata-san shouts, and the team stops what they were doing to look at him in surprise. "Everyone in that gym thinks you're pushovers." The guys stiffen at that. "They think you're here because of a lucky break or a fluke, they think defeating you is gonna be easy, they think they're lucky because they're not going against Shiratorizawa. Prove them wrong."

"Yes, sir!"

"I know you're nervous because this is your first Spring Tournament, but for some of you is your first and your last." The third-years stiffen at those words. "But truth be told, it might very well be the last for all of you. Sure, some of you might've more opportunities in the future. But don't depend on those opportunities. Think about the here and now; give it your all here and now, not next year or the year after that. You're here now, and this might be your last opportunity. This isn't your first Nationals; it's your last, got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Everyone in that gym and Miyagi is going to be watching you. Waiting for that moment that you finally let your nerves swallow you whole, so don't let them. Prove to them that you can survive this, prove to them that you deserve to be here. That you earned your place here fair and square. Practice wins games, dedication wins games, talent wins games, but it's teamwork and intelligence that wins tournaments. So be the best team out there. Starting today, Nishinoya-kun is not your only libero; you're all liberos, don't let that ball drop. Starting today, Azumane-kun is not your ace; you're all aces, spike every ball with all your might. Starting today, Kageyama-kun and Sugawara-kun are not your only setters; you're all setters. Tsukishima-kun is not your only blocker; you're all blockers. Shouyou-kun is not your only decoy; you're all decoys. Twenty male teams will be eliminated today, don't be one of them. Play smart and give it your all, understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

Keishin smiles at his students. "Well, with that out of the way, get ready. It's time to go."

"Yes, sir!"

Keishin looks at Hinata-san and sighs. "Thank you," Keishin says, and the older redhead smiles at him. "But seriously, how do you do that?"

Hinata-san chuckles. "Easy, I just tell them what I would've wanted to hear when I was their age."

"What I wanted to hear," Keishin whispers. Weirdly, that makes so much sense.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I've to go save Sho-chan's shoes," the man says as he turns away from him and walks in the direction of Hinata-kun. Keishin stares at him in confusion.

"What?"

"Alright, guys," Keishin says as their official warm-ups begin. "You know what to do."

"Yes, sir!"

"They're getting distracted by the ceiling," Takeda-sensei points out as a ball hits Hinata-kun in the face. "The bright lights aren't helping."

"Well, we knew it was gonna be a problem. Let's just hope they adjust quickly," Keishin says. "Send those balls as high as you can, guys!"

"Yes, sir!"

"They're too cautious of the floor," Hinata-san points out, and Keishin sighs.

"Work up a good sweat, c'mon!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Still, the real problem isn't here yet," Keishin says as he looks at the freak duo. "Those two need to sync up before the match starts, or we'll be in serious trouble," Keishin says worriedly.

As soon as the spiking drill begins, Keishin can tell that's it's not going to be easy. Time and time again, the freak duo keeps missing their quick, and it's evident that the other team notices that Kageyama is having trouble with his tosses if the murmuring and pointing looks are anything to go by.

"They're going to try to trick him, aren't they?" Keishin asks, and Hinata-san nods.

"Yes, let's just hope they fall into our trap first."

Sooner than Keishin is expecting, the official warm-ups are over. "They didn't sync up," Keishin says worriedly.

"Don't worry, Ukai-san. Kageyama-kun knows what to do," Hinata-san says, and Keishin nods. "Well, this is where I leave you. Play smart, guys. Give it your all out there. Show those guys what Karasuno is made of. Let's go, Yachi-san." The team stiffens.

Damn, we didn't tell them about that.

"Wait, Nii-chan," Hinata-kun says in surprise. "Where are you going?"

Hinata-san frowns and looks at Keishin and Takeda-sensei. "You didn't tell them?" Keishin and Takeda-sensei shake their heads, and the older redhead sighs. "Listen, the information about Karasuno was sent here way before I showed up. So, for them, I'm not an official member of the team. For them, Takeda-sensei is the Head Coach, and Ukai-san is the Assistant Coach. As for me, I'm just like Yachi-san, I can help you during warm-ups, but I can't sit at the bench."

"But..."

"Don't worry. You'll be fine. You practiced for this. So, don't let your nerves get the better of you, okay?"

"Okay."

Hinata-san smiles at the young redhead and ruffles his hair. "Boa sorte. Eu te amo," he says, and his voice sounds so different that everyone looks at him in surprise.

Hinata-kun smiles. "Obrigado!" Hinata-kun says, sounding almost like the older redhead. He then thinks about it and says his following words more carefully. "Eu também amo você."

"Wow," Yachi-san says with sparkles in her eyes. "I've no idea what they just said, but that was so cute." Some team members nod in agreement.

"Hinata-san said, 'Good luck. I love you,' and Hinata said, 'Thank you. I love you too.' I think," Kageyama says with a frown. Clearly trying to remember something.

"Careful, if you keep thinking that hard, your head is going to explode," Tsukishima says with a smirk, and Kageyama huffs in annoyance.

"What you say?!"

Hinata-san chuckles. "Boa sorte, Kageyama-kun."

Kageyama stiffens and thinks about it. "Obrigada," he says slowly. Hinata-kun hits him in the arm.

"Do."

"Obrigado!" Kageyama corrects, and both Hinatas chuckle.

"Good luck, everyone!"

"Thank you, sir!"

"Let's go, Yachi-san."

The blonde manager nods and wishes everyone good luck as both of them leave. Not long after they leave, Sawamura announces that he gave the serve to the other team.

"Okay, part one of our strategy is already in progress. Everyone get ready."

"Yes, sir!"

Sooner than Keishin is expecting a "Let's play!" Is heard.

Keishin looks at Tsubakihara's starting rotation and smiles. "Well, whaddya know? He really is a psychic," Keishin says, and Takeda-sensei chuckles.

"It's time for the world to discover the new Karasuno," Takeda-sensei says, and Keishin smiles.

"Here it is," Keishin says, and he takes a deep breath. "Karasuno's first battle on the orange court." The referee blows into his whistle, and Tsubakihara's #8 prepares himself to serve.

"Bring it!" Keishin's students say as they prepare to receive the serve.

"Let it begin," Keishin says as Tsubakihara's #8 tosses the ball and hits it, sending the ball straight at Kageyama.

Meanwhile...

Monday, September 26, 2022

São Paulo, Brazil

"Seriously," Kozume-san starts to say after Miya-san's declaration. "How can the two of you be geniuses on the court but complete idiots out of it?!"

"Kenma-kun?!"

Tobio doesn't even flinch. He's already used to Kozume-san's outbursts, especially after he became Nekoma's Captain after Kuroo-san retired.

"Think about it for a second here," Kozume-san continues his loud rant. "That girl is in a coma, which means she's probably in Intensive Care. Her family are probably the only ones that can visit her. Oh, wait a minute. She was found on the street! That means she's probably an orphan! Don't you think that a bunch of men going to visit her would look suspicious?! Do you want to go to jail?!"

"Well, no. But..."

"Besides, we're public figures. We'll be recognized in a heartbeat. We're going to cause a scandal in a hospital! Heck, now that I think about it, those doctors were probably the ones who suggested the fake name! They're not exactly fond of paparazzi and reporters, you know."

"I think you're exaggerating there, Kozume," Sakusa-san says. "Not everyone is a fan of Volleyball or video games."

"Yeah," Pedro-san nods. "I mean, I only watch Volleyball because of Shouyou," Pedro-san says, and after he notices the stares from Tobio and the Jackals, he smiles awkwardly. "No offense," he adds.

"This is Brazil!" Kozume-san shouts, and everyone flinches. "If there is a Volleyball country out there, then it's probably this one. Their National Volleyball teams are one of the most famous in the world, and you guys are not that far behind!"

"He got us there," Bokuto-san says with a sigh. "But Kenma, don't you find it weird that Hinata's face has been all over Brazil with a big fat 'Missing' sign at the top, and this hospital has never contacted us?"

"I do find it weird," Kozume-san says with a sigh. "But we can't be reckless. We need a plan."

"What kind of plan?" Tobio asks, and Kozume-san sighs.

"First of all, only one or two of us can go. We need someone who the public won't recognize, and of course, someone who knows Portuguese. Last time I checked, the two of you speak Japanese," Kozume-san says, and Tobio and Miya-san flinch.

"So, we need someone who is not a public figure and knows Portuguese," Tobio says, and in unison, Tobio, Kozume-san, and the Jackals turn to look at Pedro-san.

Pedro-san's eyes widen, and then he sighs in resignation. "Why is it always me?"

"Because you're the only one who speaks Portuguese."

"Just so you know, I'm only doing this for Shouyou," Pedro-san says, and everyone nods.

"We know."

"Tell me what I need to do, then," Pedro-san says, and Kozume-san smiles.

Chapter Text

"Coach said to watch some games while we're here. So, any interesting teams playing in the first round?" Suna asks, and Osamu looks at the board.

"Just Fukurodani and Kamomedai."

"That's it?" Suna asks in surprise, and Osamu hums in affirmation.

"Yah, but their games don't start 'till later today."

"Wait," 'Tsumu suddenly says while looking at the board with a frown. "Karasuno's first match is 'bout ta start."

"Karasuno?" Osamu asks in confusion. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

"Isn't that the school that beat Shiratorizawa?" Suna asks, and 'Tsumu nods.

"It's also Tobio-kun's team."

"Tobio-kun? The Goody-Two-Shoes from the camp?" Osamu asks, and 'Tsumu nods.

"The one and only."

"Ya wanna go watch, dontcha?"

"Aren't ya curious 'bout the school that finally managed ta beat Shiratorizawa?"

"We've seen Shiratorizawa get beaten before."

"Not by a Miyagi school, we haven't," 'Tsumu says, and Suna nods. "Ta be honest, I was startin' ta think that the only schools with a Volleyball team in Miyagi are Shiratorizawa and Niiyama."

"Rude, 'Tsumu," Osamu says with a sigh, 'Tsumu just smirks. "Do we've ta go? I'm hungry," Osamu complains, and both Suna and his twin brother turn to look at him in disbelief.

"Are you serious?" Suna asks in surprise.

"Oh, he is," 'Tsumu answers with a sigh. "'Samu, we ate breakfast before the opening ceremonies, and we just ate!"

"But I'm hungry!"

"So what?" 'Tsumu asks. He crosses his arms and nods in the direction of Osamu's backpack. "'Sides, are ya really gonna tell me that backpack is not full of snacks?" 'Tsumu asks, and Osamu holds his backpack protectively.

"Oh, busted."

"Shut yer trap, Suna!" Osamu huffs in annoyance. "Fine, let's go watch that game."

Once they start walking in the direction of the court Karasuno is supposed to be playing right now, Osamu sighs in resignation. "Hey, 'Tsumu. Why are ya so interested in this guy? I thought he didn't leave that much of an impression on ya."

"Huh? Ya mean Tobio-kun? He didn't."

"So, why are we watchin' his match?"

"I'm just curious. At the end of it all, he seemed ta realize somethin'," 'Tsumu says, and Osamu hums. "I'm also a lil' curious 'bout his team."

"By the way, who is this guy?" Suna asks, and 'Tsumu turns to look at him with a frown.

"Didn't I tell ya 'bout him?" 'Tsumu asks, and Suna shakes his head. "He's supposta be a genius setter from Miyagi."

"Suppose to? You don't think so?"

"Well, what can I say? The guy didn't particularly look like a genius ta me," 'Tsumu says with a shrug, and Osamu rolls his eyes. "Or a setter fer that matter," 'Tsumu adds quietly, and Suna and Osamu frown in confusion.

"What's that supposta mean?" Osamu asks.

"Dunno," 'Tsumu says with a shrug. "I don't know the guy's life story or anythin' like that, so I can't judge him," 'Tsumu says, and Osamu gives him an incredulous look. "Much," 'Tsumu adds, once he notices the stares from Osamu and Suna. "But he didn't seem to enjoy settin'."

And fer ya, that'll be a serious crime, wouldn't it? Osamu thinks with a sigh.

"Every time he was settin'," 'Tsumu continues saying as they keep walking through the crowds. "He looked very stressed. Among other things."

"That's strange," Suna comments. "Maybe he was just intimidated by the other players. He's a first-year, right?"

"Nah, I don't think that was it."

"Then? What do you think it was?"

'Tsumu thinks a little bit about it and then sighs. "Dunno. Maybe he really doesn't like settin', or he's lacking somethin'."

"Lacking something? Like what?"

'Tsumu shrugs. "It could be many things. Guidance, the right Coach, the right teammates, motivation, experience, dunno."

"Was he really that uptight?"

"Yah, I think I only saw him smile like twice. When he spiked my tosses and when he did that weird toss."

"Weird toss?" Osamu asks, finally coming back to the conversation. "What weird toss? Ya didn't tell me 'bout that."

"Hmm? I didn't?" 'Tsumu asks, and Osamu shakes his head. "Well, at the beginnin' of our trainin', he got really excited and did this really weird toss, and once the ball fell ta the floor, he seemed very upset."

"What kind of toss was it?"

"A quick," 'Tsumu says. "A very fast one, I almost missed it, a very high one too and very close to the net."

"Yeah, there's no way anyone could've hit that," Suna says, and 'Tsumu frowns.

"That's the thing. He expected someone ta be there and score. He was sure of it. Once he realized there was no one there, his smile dropped."

"Maybe he was tossin' to Houshiumi-kun, you said the toss was high," Osamu suggests, and 'Tsumu snorts.

"If that's what he was going fer, then that was really stupid of him, and he failed miserably."

"Whaddya mean, 'Tsumu?"

'Tsumu sighs. "See? This is why ya aren't a setter. Cuz sending a toss like that ta Kourai-kun would render him useless."

"But ya said the toss was really high."

"Well, yah. But Kourai-kun's strength isn't how high he can jump, 'Samu."

"Huh? It isn't?"

"No," Suna says. "It's how long he can stay in the air. His strength is his midair battles, not his speed. You give a quick to that guy; you take away his greatest weapon."

"Huh? I always thought he was a speed attacker," Osamu says.

Guess I have to pay more attention to him.

"He isn't," Suna and 'Tsumu say in unison, and Osamu rolls his eyes at them.

"Okay, okay. I get it, jeez."

"'Sides, Kourai-kun wasn't on his team at that time," 'Tsumu says with a smirk, and Osamu gives him a dirty look.

"What? Ya could've started with that!"

"Anyway, in conclusion, you don't like this guy," Suna says, and 'Tsumu frowns.

"Hmm? It's not that."

"Then what is it?"

'Tsumu shrugs. "I just don't see what's so special 'bout him. Not yet, at least."

"And what 'bout him? Does 'Tobio-kun' see what's so special 'bout ya?" Osamu asks, and 'Tsumu just shrugs.

"Dunno."

Liar.

"C'mon, 'Tsumu. You're hiding somethin', I can tell."

'Tsumu sighs. "Normally, setters have this way of lookin' at me. Envy, jealousy, hatred, anger, some look at me with respect, and others see me as a challenge. Him, though," 'Tsumu pauses and looks directly ahead with a frown. "He looked at me like I was some kind of threat."

"A threat?"

"Yah. D'ya remember the Sato Siblings, 'Samu?"

Osamu groans. "Yah."

"Remember how they usta look at us?"

"How can I forget? They looked at us like we were criminals or somethin'."

"Well, that's how he looked at me. Like I was gonna steal his favorite toy or kill his dog or somethin'."

"I'm lost. Who are the 'Sato Siblings'?" Suna asks while looking between the both of them in confusion.

"This family that usta live across the street from us. Their kids were 'bout our age. They had this cool puppy that liked to play with us, but the kids always looked at us like we were gonna kill it or somethin'," Osamu explains.

"And the oldest always looked at us like we were gonna break or steal somethin' from their house. I swear they blamed us for everythin' that went wrong at their place or with the kids," 'Tsumu continues the story.

"They moved away when we were nine, after the father got a job here in Tokyo," Osamu finishes the story with a grimace.

"Yah, well. Good riddance," 'Tsumu scoffs, and Osamu just nods in agreement. He doesn't even have the energy to call his brother out for being rude.

That family really was somethin'.

"You guys never told me that story," Suna says, and both twins sigh.

"We're not exactly fond of it, Suna," they say in unison.

"I can see that. Anyway, isn't that kind of stupid or something?"

"Well, yah. But they were kids, so we let it go," Osamu says with a shrug, 'Tsumu just snorts.

"No, I mean, about this 'Tobio-kun' guy," Suna says, and both twins look at him in confusion. "I mean, why would he look at you like that? Shouldn't it be the other way around? At the end of it all, Atsumu is the one with the title of number one, not him. Shouldn't Atsumu be the one to look at him like that? Y'know? Rising star and all?"

"Huh? You're right," Osamu says. "'Tsumu already has what Karasuno's setter must want. So, why would he be afraid of 'Tsumu? There's nothin' 'Tsumu can steal from him, but there is somethin' he can steal from 'Tsumu. So, shouldn't 'Tsumu be a challenge fer him? Whaddya think, 'Tsumu?"

'Tsumu shrugs. "Dunno. Who knows what goes inside that guy's head? 'Sides, who cares 'bout that title? I can always get it back or go higher. Remember our team motto?"

"We don't need memories," Suna and Osamu answer in unison.

"Exactly," 'Tsumu says with a nod, then turns and points ahead. "Anyway, we're here."

"Huh? Riseki-kun? What are you doing here?" Suna suddenly asks, and Osamu and 'Tsumu follow his gaze. Sure enough, just straight ahead is their young teammate. Riseki-kun turns to look at them in surprise once he hears his name.

"Suna-san, Atsumu-san, Osamu-san. Are ya guys interest in this match too?" Riseki-kun asks, and they nod.

"Yah. How d'ya know 'bout them, Riseki-kun?" Osamu asks, and his young teammate looks confused.

"Huh? I don't know them, but alotta people seemed excited ta see this match fer some reason, so I stayed too. It hasn't started yet, though. They just finished their official warmups," Riseki-kun says while pointing down at the court.

"Well, it's a good thing ya stayed ta watch, Riseki-kun," 'Tsumu says, and Riseki-kun turns to look at him in confusion.

"Huh? Whaddya mean, Atsumu-san?"

"Cuz whoever wins this match is gonna play us tomorrow."

"What?" Riseki-kun asks in surprise, he turns to look at Suna and Osamu, and they nod at him in affirmation. "So, whoever wins this match is gonna play ya tomorrow?"

"Us, Riseki-kun. Us," Suna says, and Riseki-kun sighs.

"Right."

Osamu shares a look with his twin.

We needa do somethin' 'bout that.

Talk ta Kita-san and Aran-kun?

Yup.

Later today?

Yup.

Got it.

When Osamu and his twin brother finish their silent conversation, they notice that Suna is staring weirdly at them.

"Creepy," he murmurs.

"Suna!"

"Anyway, who's the genius setter?" Suna asks, and 'Tsumu looks at the court, where both teams are already taking their positions.

"There, black and orange team, #9," 'Tsumu says, and Osamu looks to where his twin brother just pointed.

Huh, he's tall fer a first-year, but he needa build some muscle. The guy's really skinny. The same goes for Blondie over there.

"Hmm?" 'Tsumu says after he finishes observing both teams starting rotations. "Tobio-kun isn't serving? That's weird. He always wanted ta serve first at the camp."

"Does he have a powerful serve or something?" Suna asks.

"Sorta? It's still rough 'round the edges, though. Ya can tell he just started using them."

"It does look weird, doesn't it?" Osamu asks. "From what little we've heard 'bout Karasuno, they're the 'Attack first, strategize later' kinda team, but it looks like they're going fer defense this time."

"Well, this is their first Nationals, after all. Besides, people tend to exaggerate things," Suna says, and Osamu nods.

"True that."

After that, Osamu just concentrates on watching the match that just started. Karasuno's opponent - Tsubakihara - is serving first, and Osamu is surprised to see that even Karasuno's setter prepares himself to receive.

Feeling a lil' confident there, huh Karasuno?

The referee blows his whistle, and it's no surprise to Osamu to see that Tsubakihara's #8 serves straight at Karasuno's setter. What is a surprise to Osamu is seeing how swiftly Karasuno's setter and their #5 change positions. Karasuno's #5 easily receives the serve, and their setter quickly gets in position and prepares himself to set.

Was that intentional? Osamu thinks with a frown.

In a matter of seconds, the ball reaches the setter, and he tosses the ball high and off the net.

That's not impressive at all. That's just a normal toss. Osamu thinks with a huff, and his companions give him a weird look. Is this guy really a 'genius setter'?

A samurai-looking guy wearing Karasuno's #3 jumps just at the same time that Tsubakihara's blockers jump, Karasuno's #3 seems to be frozen in midair as the blockers go down. Karasuno's #3 spikes the ball with all his might once he notices that the wall is going down. The ball hits the floor with a loud 'bang,' but it doesn't stop there. It somehow ends up going straight to the crowd, where one of the spectators manages to grab it before it hits his companion in the face.

There's absolute silence for a couple of seconds, and then what appears to be Karasuno's supporters bursts out in loud cheers, screaming 'Asahi, Asahi, Asahi' at the top of their lungs.

"Scary," Osamu hears some people murmur.

"Woah, what an entrance," someone to Osamu's right comments.

"Getting that one would probably tear your arms off," his companion agrees.

"That might become a problem tomorrow," Suna comments, and Osamu and 'Tsumu nod.

"Yah."

"Huh? Whaddya mean?" Riseki-kun asks in confusion.

"Ya didn't see it, d'ya?" Osamu asks, and Riseki-kun shakes his head.

"Karasuno's #3 and Tsubakihara's blockers jumped at the same time, but Karasuno's #3 somehow stayed longer in the air, and not only that-"

"Tobio-kun was bait fer the server," 'Tsumu finishes for him, and Suna nods.

"Yes, that looked way too much like a practiced dance move to not be intentional. Karasuno wanted the serve to go there."

"Or they knew it was gonna go there," 'Tsumu says, and Osamu frowns.

"Still, isn't it too early ta be showing moves like that?" Osamu asks, and his companions nod at him.

"Yeah, well," Suna says. "Who knows what they're thinking? Let's just watch the match."

It's time for Karasuno's Captain to serve. Surprisingly, his serve it's pretty normal, but his aim is something else. He sends his serve right between Tsubakihara's libero and one of their third-years, confusing both players and managing to score the first service ace of the match.

"They hesitated," Suna comments, and the twins nod.

"But that wasn't a powerful serve," Riseki-kun comments.

"No, it wasn't," Suna says. "But it was smart."

"Not powerful, but smart," Riseki-kun whispers, and the twins share a look.

It seems like he's improving.

Yah, that's good.

The Captain manages to score another service ace with another trick, and Osamu frowns. "Y'know, they're not bad at defense, it's just-"

"They're too good at it," Suna finishes for him, and Osamu nods. "Normally, a team would let the libero get it, but since they're all good at defense, they know they can get it, and that's why all of them react to it."

"He's making them react and then hesitate," 'Tsumu says with a smirk. "Not bad, Captain."

But the Captain isn't the only one who's good. The Goody-Two-Shoes, Samurai, and Blondie are definitely Karasuno's tallest and strongest wall. And the libero and Captain are no joke when it comes to defense. Baldy hasn't made any impressive moves yet, but it's evident that he also has some tricks under his sleeves.

With impressive teamwork, Karasuno easily manages to get to five points in no time, but it's how they score the sixth one that really worries Osamu.

Once again, Karasuno's Captain aims his serve right between the libero and Tsubakihara's #1, the third-year seems to be already used to the move and he easily receives the serve, sending a perfect pass to his setter. Tsubakihara's setter and Captain wastes no time in sending a perfect toss to their #4.

Osamu observes how Tsubakihara's ace and Karasuno's blockers jump simultaneously, one ready to spike a cross-shot and the other three ready to block that same cross-shot. Tsubakihara's #4 seems to quickly change tactics while in midair, and he goes for a line-shot instead.

To Osamu's surprise, Karasuno's Captain is already waiting for it. As soon as Tsubakihara's ace realizes this, he clearly panics and ends up sending the ball out of bounds.

Osamu is not surprised at all to see that Tsubakihara's Coach asks for a timeout as soon as the score marks 6 - 0.

"He panicked," Suna says.

"Can ya blame him?" Osamu asks. "They blocked all of his paths. They were ready fer everythin'."

"They were?" Riseki-kun asks, and 'Tsumu nods.

"Yah, the blockers were waiting fer his cross-shot, the Captain fer his line-shot, and the libero fer his dump."

As 'Tsumu and Suna continue explaining their observations to Riseki-kun, Osamu takes the time to observe Karasuno during the timeout.

What appears to be Karasuno's third-years and second-years based on their numbers seem to be teasing their #3 about something. The first-years seem to be a little apart from their upperclassmen rapidly talking with Goody-Two-Shoes about something.

Osamu frowns in confusion once he notices that while the pretty manager gives them water bottles and towels, the Coaches don't seem to bother with them at all.

Shouldn't they be coaching them or somethin'?

Mind you, this is not the first time that Osamu sees something like this, but he usually sees this kind of behavior in more well-established teams, not in rising rookies like Karasuno.

Although, now that Osamu thinks about it, the match has been going really well for Karasuno, so maybe they don't need to coach them yet. Whatever pre-game strategy they came up with seems to be working for them just fine. Perhaps they're just waiting for the right time to intervene, saving their energy for the perfect time.

Osamu shakes his head and now tries to concentrate on Karasuno's players.

There's a gray-haired guy with the third-years that doesn't really give off 'Volleyball player' vibes, but the Captain and the Samurai guy seem to be discussing strategies with him, so Osamu won't judge him yet.

Excluding the tiny libero and Baldy, the other second-years don't seem like much, and it's evident that they don't usually play in matches.

As for their first-years, Blondie seems to be close to another tall first-year. At first, Osamu thinks that he's the other middle blocker, but the more he looks at him, the more Osamu realizes that that's not the case. He also seems like he doesn't play much in official matches. The last member of the team - a tiny redhead - surprises Osamu a little.

Red-hair? Really? Well, that's somethin' ya don't see a lot in Japan, not the natural kind, anyway.

At first, Osamu thinks he's a libero, but he quickly realizes that the tiny redhead is not wearing the alternate uniform, so he guesses that he's probably a Defensive Specialist. He was probably a libero during his Junior High years, but they probably turned him into a DS this year to give him more options. What also surprises Osamu about the tiny redhead is that he seems to be very close to Goody-Two-Shoes.

Huh? Based on what 'Tsumu told me 'bout him, I thought he'll be really antisocial, but I guess he does have friends.

Sooner than Osamu is expecting, the teams are back to the court and ready to re-start their match. Once again, Karasuno's Captain prepares himself to serve, and Tsubakihara's #1 receives his serve without any problem this time.

It seems like Tsubakihara finally decided who's going to receive the serves. It's a little strange that they didn't give them to the libero, though.

Tsubakihara's #1 passes the ball perfectly to his Captain and Tsubakihara's #4 jumps, just at the same time that Karasuno's blockers jump. By the time Karasuno realizes what happened, the ball is already hitting the floor on their side of the court, and their libero is on the floor. He managed to react to it, but he wasn't fast enough to get it.

"If his spikers aren't scoring..." Osamu starts to say.

"He does it himself," 'Tsumu finishes for him.

"That was a clever move, a very fast one too. It's no wonder the blockers didn't react to it, but the libero did, that's a little scary," Suna comments, and the twins nod.

"Y'know," Riseki-kun starts to say, and Osamu and his companions turn to look at him. "The yellow team is not that bad."

"No team that comes here is bad, Riseki-kun," Suna says. "Some are just better than others. In this case, Karasuno seems to be the better one for now."

"Yah, but it seems that whatever talk the yellow team had with their Coach helped them," 'Tsumu comments. "Have ya two ever heard 'bout them?"

"I haven't," Osamu answers while watchin' Tsubakihara's Captain serve straight at Karasuno's Captain.

Tryin' ta get revenge, huh?

"I have," Suna says. "They were here last year. It didn't go well for them, though."

Karasuno's Captain has no problem picking up the serve and passes the ball perfectly to his setter. It seems like Tsubakihara finally realized that Karasuno's setter has only been tossing to their #3 and Tsubakihara's blockers waste no time in blocking him.

Karasuno's setter surprises them, though. He tosses to #5 instead of #3, and together they quickly cut off Tsubakihara's serving chance.

"How d'ya know that, Suna?" 'Tsumu asks, and Suna sighs.

"Because I was watching."

"Was it really that bad?"

"Yes. Very."

"Hey, look," Riseki-kun says while pointing at the court. "It's Samurai-san's turn to serve. What kind of serve d'ya think he uses?"

"Spike serve," the three answer in unison, just at the same time that Karasuno's #3 lands a perfect and very powerful spike serve.

"Eek."

"Woah."

"Scary."

Are the reactions going on all around them right now after witnessing #3's powerful serve. Osamu can't help but agree. Although, as much as Osamu hates to admit it, his twin brother is better. Or maybe, he just has more experience.

Probably both.

'Samurai-san' almost manages to get his team to twelve points with his powerful serves, but Tsubakihara's #1 surprisingly manages to get one of his serves. With how quickly things happen, there's no time to set the ball, but Tsubakihara's #4 quickly smashes the ball down, easily scoring their second point of the match, bringing the score to 11 - 2.

"That serve might become a problem tomorrow," Suna comments, and 'Tsumu frowns.

"Don't ya dare run from it, Suna!"

"No promises, I like my arms," Suna deadpans, and 'Tsumu scoffs and turns to look at Osamu with an expectant look.

"Don't look at me. That's why we've got a libero."

'Tsumu scoffs. "Lazies."

"You get it, then!" Osamu and Suna shout in unison.

"I've ta set!" 'Tsumu shouts in his defense.

"I can do that fer ya!" Osamu counterattacks.

"Ya don't do it right!"

"I do it better than ya!"

"In yer dreams!"

Their little fight abruptly comes to an end when a volleyball passes right between them.

"What the hell?!" Osamu and 'Tsumu exclaim in surprise.

"Yeah, huh," Suna says, sounding almost apologetically. "Tsubakihara's ace served a little too hard." He then turns to look at the court with a frown. "But I'm not sure that getting angry it's the right answer, though."

"Come ta think 'bout it," Riseki-kun says. "That's probably what the orange team wants."

"How dirty," Suna comments. "But effective."

Osamu and 'Tsumu give each other dirty looks.

We'll finish this later.

'Course we will.

And continue watching the match.

"Well, looks like Tsubakihara finally woke up," 'Tsumu comments as they watch how Tsubakihara's ace lands his second service ace of the match.

"If they do it right, they might even catch up to Karasuno," Suna says as he looks at the scores.

Tsubakihara's third rotation seems to be a little troublesome for Karasuno. They don't just have to watch out for #4's powerful serves. With two of their third-years in the back, it seems like Tsubakihara's strong defense just became even stronger. But the biggest problem comes in the form of Tsubakihara's #1 in the front row.

Karasuno's blockers were doing well, even after their #3 rotated to the back row, and it was mainly thanks to Blondie, who was blocking Tsubakihara's ace left and right, but that doesn't seem to be the case with the other outside hitter. While Blondie quickly reacts to him, he always ends up falling prey to his tricks.

Thanks to #4's powerful serves and back attacks and #1's tricks such as wipes, tools, and feints, Tsubakihara almost manages to catch up to Karasuno. But, just before they manage to score the point that would finally manage to make them even with their opponents, Blondie finally manages to stop #1 on his tracks with a smirk, bringing the score to 12 - 10.

"He's good," Suna comments, and 'Tsumu smirks.

"Yah, you're gonna have so much fun with him tomorrow, ain'tcha?"

"Of course I will. I wonder who their other middle blocker is, though," Suna says, and 'Tsumu shrugs.

"Well, it seems like we're 'bout ta find out."

Unfortunately, they don't find out right away because Karasuno asks for a timeout just then. Osamu observes as Karasuno's blond Coach takes Karasuno's setter and the tiny redhead away from the team and starts talking to them.

"Y'know, 'Tsumu," Osamu says. "I know ya said that he's supposta be a genius setter, but his setting it's pretty normal."

"Yeah," Suna agrees. "The guy never sets to Blondie or the Captain. He only sets to the outside hitters," Suna comments and then turns to look at 'Tsumu. "Is that some kind of strategy?"

"More like his only option right now," 'Tsumu says, and Suna frowns.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"Riseki-kun?" 'Tsumu suddenly asks, and Riseki-kun turns to look at him in surprise.

"Yes, Atsumu-san?"

"Was Karasuno's #9 havin' troubles durin' the official warmups?"

Riseki-kun thinks about it for a second and then nods. "Yah, especially with #10 and #11."

"I knew it," 'Tsumu says with a nod. "He's having trouble with the ceiling."

"Huh? The ceiling? How d'ya know that?" Osamu asks, and 'Tsumu turns to look at him.

"Cuz the same thing happened at the camp," 'Tsumu answers. "He didn't say anything, though."

"Has that ever happened ta ya?"

"Yah, but it didn't affect me as much. But that's just because our setting styles are different."

"Different how?"

"Well, Tobio-kun's setting is very precise. He tosses to where he knows the spiker's hand is goin' ta be."

"Woah, cool," Riseki-kun comments.

"Actually, it isn't," Osamu and Suna say in unison.

"Huh? Whaddya mean?"

"Think 'bout it, Riseki-kun," Osamu starts to say. "If yer setter is gonna send every ball straight to yer waiting hand-"

"You'll never grow as a spiker," Suna finishes for him.

'Tsumu snorts. "That's true, I guess. But that's also how lazy spikers think."

"Hah?!" Osamu and Suna exclaim in surprise and anger.

"Think 'bout it," 'Tsumu says. "If I had a setter that could match me no matter what I do, then I'll just find more ways to improve my spikin' technique. At the end of it all, it doesn't matter how high I jump or which hand I use. The ball is always goin' ta be there fer me."

"The ball is always goin' ta be there fer me," Osamu whispers under his breath, but then he scoffs. "Figures, 'course you'll think that way, 'Tsumu," Osamu says, and 'Tsumu gives him an annoying little smirk.

Once the timeout is over, Osamu notices that two new Karasuno members are entering the court now, the tiny redhead and the other tall first-year.

"Hmm? It looks like we're not gonna see Blondie serve," Osamu comments once he notices that #12 is gonna serve instead of Blondie.

"Wait," Suna says with a frown. "You're telling me that the Chibi over there is their other middle blocker?"

Osamu and 'Tsumu follow Suna's gaze, and sure enough, they noticed that the tiny redhead is taking the position of the middle blocker.

"He's a middle blocker? I thought he was a DS," Osamu says in surprise.

"Actually, I think the DS is their Captain," 'Tsumu says, and Suna nods.

"Yeah, that makes sense," Suna says. "But what can the Chibi do against Tsubakihara's #1? Blondie was barely holding it together."

"Chibi, huh?" 'Tsumu asks with a smirk. "Ya do realize that ya aren't that much taller than him, right?" Osamu can't help but snort, and Suna wastes no time in kicking the both of them.

"That hurt, ya bastard!" Both twins exclaim in unison, and Suna smirks.

"That's good. I intend it to."

"Anyway, why ya hit me fer? 'Tsumu was the one who said it," Osamu complains, and Suna scoffs.

"For laughing," Suna says. "You're the one who's suppose to control him."

"What am I? His mother?"

"The voice of reason," Riseki-kun suggests.

'Tsumu snorts. "Excuse me? Have ya met him?" Osamu kicks him. "Why ya hit me?!"

"Cuz I felt like it."

Suna sighs in exasperation. "Guys, let's just watch the game."

In the court, Karasuno's setter leans down to whisper something to the tiny redhead, and the guy nods at him and gives him a thumbs-up as both teams finish taking their positions.

"Seems like he works closely with Goody-Two-Shoes," Osamu observes.

"D'ya notice?" 'Tsumu suddenly asks. "As soon as those two stepped into the court, the other team seems more nervous and on guard."

"I noticed," Osamu says. "But is it because of #10 or #12?"

"Guess we're 'bout ta find out."

In the court, one of Tsubakihara's players shouts something that makes his teammates relax, and Karasuno's setter stiffens. The tiny redhead seems to respond to whatever that was, and Tsubakihara's players go rigid as Karasuno's setter smirks. The referee finally blows his whistle, and Karasuno's #12 serves straight at Tsubakihara's ace.

"A jump floater, huh?" 'Tsumu asks just at the same time that the ball drops to the floor in Tsubakihara's side, and Karasuno celebrates.

"He's good," Osamu comments as Karasuno's #12 lands another service ace.

"Yah," 'Tsumu agrees. "But just like Tobio-kun, ya can tell he just started using those."

Karasuno's #12 manages to land a third service ace, but Tsubakihara's ace aggressively picks up his fourth one. Tsubakihara's setter wastes no time setting to their #1, and Osamu can clearly see where he's aiming.

"He's gonna aim at #12," Osamu observes, and Suna nods.

"Most pinch servers are weak at defense," Suna says, and Riseki-kun flinches.

But before Tsubakihara's #1 has a chance to take #12 out of the picture, Karasuno's #10 is already there, ready to block whatever attack Tsubakihara's #1 is about to throw at them.

"What?! Where did he even come from?!" One of the spectators close to Osamu exclaims in surprise.

"Heh," 'Tsumu smirks. "He's so short no one saw him."

Osamu and Suna scowl. They really didn't see him at all, which might become a problem tomorrow.

Just like he did with Blondie before, Tsubakihara's #1 does a wipe using the fingers of the tiny redhead. Tsubakihara's #1 smirks, but his smirk disappears as soon as he sees that Karasuno's #10 runs after the ball.

"Woah, he's fast," Riseki-kun exclaims in surprise as Karasuno's #10 manages to save the ball just before it touches the floor. Karasuno's #10 quickly gets up, and in no time, he's jumping and he's ready to spike as the setter prepares himself to set. "He's flying," Riseki-kun says in amazement as they watch just how high Karasuno's #10 can jump.

Besides Osamu, 'Tsumu stiffens. "That's..." 'Tsumu says just at the same time that Karasuno's setter sets a very fast and high quick, sending it very close to the net where #10's hand is already waiting for it, next thing Osamu knows is that there's a loud 'bang' sound and the referee is giving a point to Karasuno.

Just like earlier, there's absolute silence for a couple of seconds as Karasuno's #10 and #9 fist bump each other. After a pause, Karasuno's members and supporters burst out in loud cheers, screaming 'Shouyou, Shouyou, Shouyou' at the top of their lungs.

"A good reference, huh Tobio-kun?" 'Tsumu asks with a smirk, and Osamu turns to look at him in confusion.

"Go, Hinata!" Someone close to them shouts.

"The hell?!" Osamu asks in surprise. "Is that..."

"It is," Suna answers and nods behind Osamu, where sure enough, some of Fukurodani's members are cheering the tiny redhead on.

"See, Akaashi? I told you he looked different. He definitely jumped higher and hit faster just now," Fukurodani's Bokuto comments in excitement, and Fukurodani's setter nods.

"Yes, their first attack is always a killer," Fukurodani's setter says without taking his eyes away from the court.

"Ha, Kageyama was behaving himself, but as soon as Hinata steps into the court, he goes crazy," one of Fukurodani's middle blockers comments.

"Was it just me? Or is that thing even faster now?" Another Fukurodani member asks.

"Damn those bastards. They improved that thing again?" Another one says. "I wonder what triggered it this time, though."

"I'm surprised Kageyama even agreed to it," Bokuto comments with a frown. Osamu raises an eyebrow. He never imagined he'll ever hear Fukurodani's cheery ace sounding like that.

"Bokuto-san," Fukurodani's setter says worriedly. "We have to go," he adds almost as an afterthought.

"Yeah, Bokuto," another Fukurodani member says. "You already saw the Freak Twins debut at Nationals, now let's go. We're gonna be late for our warmups."

"Freak Twins?" Osamu hears Suna whispering, and he can feel him looking weirdly at him and 'Tsumu. Both twins turn to look at Suna and in unison and without missing a beat, they give him identical dirty looks.

"Creepy," Suna murmurs.

"Aw, already?" Bokuto whines. "But I want to see Nekoma play too."

"Nekoma?" Suna whispers again.

It doesn't matter how much Bokuto whines. His teammates pretty much drag him away.

"Well, would you look at that?" Suna asks. "It seems like Karasuno's Chibi has Fukurodani's ace wrapped around his little finger."

"They weren't surprised ta see that at all," Osamu comments and Suna nods.

"Neither was that red team over there. I think that's the team Bokuto just mentioned," Suna says and nods in the direction of a team whose banners and jerseys have the name 'Nekoma' on them.

"The yellow team also didn't look that surprised," Riseki-kun comments. "Just disappointed."

"That was the toss ya were talkin' 'bout, right 'Tsumu?" Osamu asks, but he doesn't get an answer. "'Tsumu?" Osamu turns to look at his brother with a frown but finds him intensely looking at Karasuno's #9 and #10 as they talk with their Captain about something.

"Y'know," 'Tsumu says almost to himself. "His expression completely changed since the camp. It's almost scary. And it ain't just him," 'Tsumu says and narrows his eyes in the direction of the tiny redhead. "Who the hell is he?"

"Bokuto called him 'Hinata,' and Karasuno's supporters cheered for a 'Shouyou,' so I'm guessing his name is Hinata Shouyou. You guys ever heard that name?" Suna asks, and both twins shake their heads.

"No."

"Hinata Shouyou," 'Tsumu says, it almost sounds as if he's testing how the name sounds.

"Somethin' wrong?" Osamu asks.

"No, nothin'," 'Tsumu answers, and Osamu frowns.

Yah, right.

If Tsubakihara's previous rotation was a little troublesome for Karasuno, Karasuno's current rotation ends up being torture for Tsubakihara. Both Tsubakihara's #1 and Karasuno's #10 end up pulling trick after trick against each other, much to 'Tsumu's growing amusement and Suna's growing irritation.

"Somethin' wrong, Suna?"

"No, why you ask?"

"Don't lie. It's written all over yer face."

"Well, you see, spikers like that tend to get on my nerves," Suna says with a sigh. "I get it now, Karasuno's Chibi is the best match for Tsubakihara's #1, and Blondie is the best match for Tsubakihara's ace."

"Looks like it."

Osamu turns to look at his brother next, whose eyes are shining in excitement. "You're gonna fall, 'Tsumu," Osamu warns as he notices just how much his brother has leaned down, but he's ignored.

In the court, Karasuno's setter finally decides to return the setter dump from earlier with a smirk, and Tsubakihara's setter scowls.

"Ha," Suna says. "He waited until everyone forgot about it, and until Tsubakihara's setter is on the back row completely unable to return that. How ruthless. So, maybe there really is something impressive about this guy."

"He's havin' fun," 'Tsumu comments as he observes the match. "Didn't know he could do that."

"So, how do you think that a school from Tokyo knows a school from Miyagi? Two schools from Tokyo if we add that red team over there," Suna asks, and Osamu shrugs.

"Who knows? Although, now that I think 'bout it, weren't there rumors of a new school joinin' the Fukurodani Group durin' the summer?"

"You're right. There were," Suna says in realization. "You think Karasuno is that school?"

"Could be. We never found out which one it was. We only know that it wasn't from their region."

"What's the Fukurodani Group?" Riseki-kun asks, and Suna starts to explain.

"Fukurodani's training partners, a group of Volleyball schools from their region or close by, they might not be very well known here at Nationals, but each one of them is strong in its own way, at least that's what we have heard."

"I think each one specializes on somethin'," Osamu says. "Servin', defense, attacks, ya name it. Apparently, they're one of the reasons why Fukurodani has stayed in the top eight fer quite some time now."

"Oh, I didn't know that."

"I guess Coach hasn't said anything 'bout them ta ya guys."

"No, he hasn't."

In the court, the little battle finally comes to an end when Karasuno isn't able to return an intense back attack from Tsubakihara's ace, bringing the score to 20 - 11.

"Hey, look," Riseki-kun says. "The yellow team is bringing in a pinch server."

"Fightin' fire with fire, huh?" 'Tsumu says as soon as he notices that Tsubakihara's pinch server also uses a jump floater, landing a service ace against Karasuno's ace, bringing the score to 20 - 12.

But Karasuno's ace doesn't let him make a fool of him twice and easily picks up the second serve, sending a good pass to his setter, Karasuno's setter tosses to the tiny redhead again, but to Osamu's and Tsubakihara's blockers' surprise, the one who ends up spiking the ball is Karasuno's #3, bringing the score to 21 - 12.

"Looks like it's time for Karasuno's setter to serve," Suna says as Karasuno's #9 prepares himself to serve. "Let me guess. He uses a spike serve?"

"Yah," 'Tsumu says just as Karasuno's #9 lands a perfect service ace, bringing the score to 22 - 12. "Oh, looks like we improved a little, huh Tobio-kun?" 'Tsumu asks as the guy lands another service ace.

23 - 12

"They might win this set with his serves," Osamu comments as he looks at the scores. Just then, Tsubakihara's setter finally manages to receive the serve.

"He bumped that?!" Riseki-kun exclaims in surprise.

Unfortunately for Tsubakihara, the ball is coming back to Karasuno's side of the court. In a flash, Karasuno's #10 is already returning it with a powerful spike.

"Ha! Nice one, Shouyou-kun!" 'Tsumu cheers.

Shouyou-kun?! The hell?!

Where did that even come from, 'Tsumu?

"The hell?" Suna asks in surprise. "Did that guy just-"

"Spiked an overpass?" Osamu finishes for him. "Yah, he did."

"That's crazy," Riseki-kun says.

"Okay, note to self, no overpasses tomorrow," Suna says. "Anyway, they just need one more point to win the set." Just as Suna finishes saying that, Karasuno's #9 misses his serve.

"Spoke too soon," Suna and Osamu say in unison.

24 - 13

"Hmm?" 'Tsumu asks. "The yellow team is bringing in another pinch server?"

Osamu follows 'Tsumu's gaze, and his eyes land in a shaking skinny little thing.

"He seems very nervous, though. Does the yellow team have a strategy or something? I don't think this is a good idea," Suna says, and Osamu nods in agreement.

"Pretty sure they just want the point," Osamu comments, and 'Tsumu scoffs.

"They wanna earn it or easily give it away?"

"'Tsumu."

"Well, look at the guy. He's tremblin'."

Tsubakihara's new pinch server prepares himself to serve, and Osamu raises an eyebrow.

"An underhand serve? What is this? Elementary School?"

"'Samu."

"Well, look at that. When was the last time ya saw an underhand serve?!"

"Touché."

The referee finally blows his whistle, and Tsubakihara's #14 serves straight to the head of their ace. For the third time today, there's absolute silence for a couple of seconds as Tsubakihara's #14 loses all color.

After a long pause, Karasuno's supporters burst out in almost hesitant cheers as the referee gives Karasuno the point, bringing the score to 25 - 13.

"I guess they're gonna take that," Suna says with a shrug.

"Are ya serious?" The twins ask in unison. "How the hell do ya miss an underhand serve? Where the hell was he even aimin'?"

Suna shrugs. "Who knows? By the way, that's creepy," he says while pointing between the both of them.

"Suna!"

"Aw, we didn't see Baldy and Chibi serve," Riseki-kun laments, and Suna turns to look at him.

"Don't worry. I'm sure we'll see them serve during the second set."

"What kind of serve d'ya think they use, Suna-san?"

"For Baldy, I'm pretty sure that it's a spike serve. For the Chibi, I think it's a normal one."

"A jump floater," Osamu suggests.

"I bet it's a spike serve," 'Tsumu says with confidence, and the three of them turn to look at him.

"What makes ya think that?"

"Just a feelin'," he says. "Anyway, don't ya dare do that tomorrow, Riseki-kun."

Riseki-kun stiffens. "Yes, sir."

'Tsumu raises an eyebrow.

"I mean. No, sir."

"If ya hit 'Tsumu in the head," Osamu starts to say with a smirk. "I'll bring ya onigiri fer lunch 'till the day I graduate." 'Tsumu scowls.

"If ya hit 'Samu in the head," 'Tsumu says with a smirk. "I'll help ya with yer serves." Osamu scowls.

"If you hit both of them in the head," Suna says. "I'll help you become a great middle blocker."

"Suna!"

"What? Do you think that you're the only ones allow to do it or something?"

Riseki-kun laughs. "Hopefully, I don't hit anyone in the head tomorrow."

"What a shame," the three say in unison, and Riseki-kun laughs again.

"Well, it looks like the orange guys have this in the bag. Those first-years of them really are something else," someone behind Osamu comments, and Riseki-kun's eyes widen.

"That's right, they're first-years," Riseki-kun says as he looks at Karasuno's first-years, who seem to be talking about something as they wait for the second set to start.

Osamu shares another worried look with his twin once they notice the tone of voice that their underclassman uses.

"But it's not true that they have this in the bag, though," Suna says, and Riseki-kun turns to look at him in surprise.

"It isn't? Whaddya mean, Suna-san?"

"Well, now both teams know each other, the first set was just both teams testing each other out, but the second set is gonna be more challenging. Now both teams know what to do and who to target to win."

"Yah," Osamu agrees. "Take Karasuno's middle blockers and Tsubakihara's outside hitters fer example. If Tsubakihara matches their #4 with Karasuno's #10 and their #1 with Karasuno's #11, they've more chances to score."

"And their jump float user and their #4 were the only ones able to get service aces against Karasuno. So, maybe starting with them serving is gonna give them more points," Suna continues. "But of course, all of that is only possible if-"

"Karasuno didn't think 'bout it first," 'Tsumu says as he narrows his eyes at Karasuno.

"I guess we're 'bout to find out," Osamu says as the referee calls both teams to the court.

"What other tricks d'ya have under yer sleeves, Karasuno?" 'Tsumu asks as both teams start taking their positions.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.

Date Tech High's Computer Lab

"Well, they already have the first set under their belt," Coach Oiwake says, and Kanji's teammates nod.

"The other team can recover soon, though," Futakuchi-san says. "It's not like they're bad or anything like that."

"That's true, but Karasuno improved a lot," Obara-san says.

"Tch, probably because of that guy," Futakuchi-san says, and Aone-san nods. "You need to practice more, Koganegawa!" Kanji's Captain shouts, and Kanji flinches.

"I know, and I will," Kanji says with determination. "I won't let Tsukki and Hinata get ahead of me."

"More than they already are, you mean."

"That hurt, Captain."

"Good, I was aiming for that."

"Don't be so harsh with your underclassman, Futakuchi," Moniwa-san suddenly says from the entrance of the room, and Futakuchi-san flinches and curses under his breath.

"Ugh."

"Futakuchi, you jerk! What do you mean, 'ugh'?"

"What are you three doing here? Shouldn't you be studying or something?"

"We finished," the third-years answer in unison, and Futakuchi-san rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, right."

"What? We want to watch the game too. This is still our school, y'know!" Kamasaki-san says.

"Ugh."

"It's okay," Coach Oiwake intervenes. "You can stay."

"Thanks, Coach!"

"Why?" Futakuchi-san laments under his breath, but no one pays attention to him as Karasuno's match enters the second set.

"Stop your whining and let us watch, Futakuchi," Sasaya-san says.

"Yes," Aone-san suddenly says to the surprise of everyone. "Let's see just how much Karasuno improved."

Meanwhile

Monday, September 26, 2022

São Paulo, Brazil

"Actually, starting tomorrow, we're all gonna work, not just Pedro," Kozume-san says, and Pedro-san raises his fist in victory.

"Whaddya mean, Kenma-kun?" Miya-san asks, and everyone turns to look at Kozume-san, silently asking for an explanation.

"Well, I've been thinking. If Sakusa managed to find those clothes. Then, who says we won't be able to find more clues?" Kozume-san says, and their eyes widen.

"The police didn't find anything, that's true. But the police also didn't find those clothes or anything about that little girl. We did. Maybe we can find out more. So, tomorrow, I want everyone to look for clues. I'll ask Coach Paulo to check Shouyou's locker for anything suspicious. Bokuto, check Shouyou's car for any clues. Sakusa, check the rest of the appartment. Miya and Kageyama, check out the places where Shouyou disappeared and where that little girl was found, let's see if we can find out where that light comes from. As for Pedro and me, we'll go to that hospital and see what we can find about that little girl. Is everyone okay with my decisions?" Kozume-san asks, and everyone nods.

"Yeah."

"I'm tired of sitting on my ass not knowing where one of my best friends is. Starting tomorrow, we'll get to the bottom of this. We'll find out what happened to Shouyou even if it kills us."

"Of course we will," Tobio says, and everyone nods. "We'll find him. You'll see."

"Yah," Miya-san agrees. "We will."

Chapter Text

Osamu watches as the players of both teams start to take their positions on the court, and he can't help but notice that the Goody-Two-Shoes and the Chibi stay a little behind while whispering with one another.

"It's Karasuno's turn to serve, right?" Suna suddenly asks, and Osamu nods in affirmation.

"Yah, I wonder who they're gonna use fer it?" Osamu wonders aloud, and Suna shrugs.

"Who knows? All of their servers so far have done a good job. My money's on the Samurai dude," Suna says, and Osamu thinks about it for a second.

"My money's on the grumpy setter," Osamu says, and he hears his twin brother snort in amusement.

"What 'bout the pinch server from earlier? He did very well before. Can't he do it?" Riseki-kun asks, and both Suna and Osamu think about it for a second.

"You're right. Maybe they'll use him," Suna says, and Osamu nods in agreement.

"It's Shouyou-kun," 'Tsumu suddenly says, and Osamu and his companions turn to look at him in confusion. 'Tsumu sighs and rolls his eyes at them in exasperation and points in the direction of the court. "The ball boy just gave the ball ta Shouyou-kun, see?"

Osamu follows his brother's finger and notices that sure enough, the one with the ball is Karasuno's Chibi, and he's walking straight to the serving zone.

"The Chibi, huh?" Suna asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Well," Osamu says with narrowed eyes while looking at Karasuno's #10. "This is gonna be interestin'."

Osamu and his companions watch as the Chibi concentrates so much that he almost looks like he's praying. Osamu wonders if the Chibi is one of those guys who gets easily distracted during his serves, just like someone he knows. Because if that's the case, then Inarizaki's cheer squad and the band are going to have so much fun with the little guy tomorrow.

Not long after that, the referee is blowing his whistle, and the Chibi runs and tosses the ball high into the air.

"Right at the whistle?!" Riseki-kun asks in surprise, and Osamu raises an eyebrow.

It doesn't take long for them to realize that the Chibi doesn't reserve those high jumps of his for his spikes only because right now, he's jumping just as high as he did before, if not higher. 

Once he's in the air, the Chibi wastes no time hitting the ball with all his might, and the next thing everyone knows is a loud 'bang' sound that resonates throughout the gym. 

Everything happened so fast that Osamu swears that both the ball and the Chibi's feet touched the floor at the same time.

There's a moment of silence as everyone processes what they just witnessed, and then Karasuno's cheer squad starts cheering for the Chibi at the top of their lungs.

"What the hell?!" Someone behind Osamu shouts.

"What was that?" His companion asks. "Did you see that? That was so cool!"

"Man, the other team didn't even move," a third guy adds. "They didn't even know what hit them."

"That was so fast!" Riseki-kun says in amazement.

"That was technically a spike," Suna starts to say. "It looked just like that freak attack he does with that setter of his," Suna finishes saying, and Osamu can't help but agree with him.

The Chibi's serve did look just like those attacks from earlier. Except the setter didn't participate at all this time.

"Ha! I knew it!" 'Tsumu exclaims in excitement after witnessing the Chibi's first serve.

Osamu can't help but roll his eyes at his brother. Yes, he won the argument from earlier, but does he really need to get so excited about it? It's not like they bet something on it; he didn't win anything besides bragging rights.

Osamu decides to ignore Karasuno's loud celebrations, and he's about to give his twin brother a piece of his mind when he notices 'Tsumu's expression.

"So," 'Tsumu says with a smirk and a knowing look. "He can jump just as high and hit just as fast and hard when he's servin' as when he's spikin'," 'Tsumu continues saying as he watches Karasuno's 'wonder duo' high five on the court. "Which means that the freak quick isn't all Tobio-kun," Osamu's brother comments while narrowing his eyes at Karasuno's 'star setter.' "Interestin'," 'Tsumu finishes with a smirk.

Osamu can't help but shiver and look at his brother worryingly as a feeling of foreboding consumes him. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Suna turn to look at him in concern.

"Something wrong?" Suna asks, and Osamu sighs.

"'Tsumu is gettin' hungry," Osamu replies with resignation.

"But we just ate," Riseki-kun says in confusion as he throws one worried glance at 'Tsumu.

"Not that kind of hunger," Suna and Osamu say in unison as the both of them notice the look of excitement in their setter's eyes. Tomorrow is going to be a long day. They can already feel it.

Thanks to the Chibi's fast serves, it doesn't take long for Karasuno to get the advantage in the second set.

The Chibi manages to get three service aces before the other team even has time to react. But even though they're struggling with the Chibi's serves, Tsubakihara still hasn't asked for a timeout.

"If we were playing them right now, we would've taken a timeout by now," Suna comments as the Chibi prepares to serve once again, and Osamu and 'Tsumu nod in agreement.

"What?" Riseki-kun asks in surprise. "Why?"

"Tsubakihara is trying not to panic and look strong; I'll give them that," Suna starts to say. "But, that's not the best strategy here. The Chibi's serves are good, that's true, but it's painfully obvious that he's a little inexperienced and still doesn't have full control of them. So, distracting him with a timeout is the best strategy to make him mess up. You need a lot of concentration to land service ace after service ace, a concentration that the Chibi still doesn't have."

"Oh," Riseki-kun says as his face lights up in understanding. "Is that why alotta teams ask for timeouts when Aran-san and Atsumu-san are servin'? Ta distract them and make them break their servin' streak?" Riseki-kun asks, and 'Tsumu nods.

"Yup, that's why."

"And in 'Tsumu's case, it almost always works," Osamu says, and Suna snorts. 'Tsumu just frowns at them.

"Shut it, 'Samu."

Tsubakihara finally has enough time to react on the Chibi's fifth serve. That's when Tsubakihara's #1 shakily manages to pick it up, Tsubakihara's setter does what he can with that messy pass from his teammate and tosses the ball to their ace, who manages to bypass the blockers but not the Captain's defense, and Karasuno gets ready to counterattack in an instant.

Osamu watches with a raised eyebrow as Karasuno executes a synchronized attack. The other team definitely looks a little shaken but not surprised at all, which means that they have seen Karasuno make this move before, probably during the Shiratorizawa match, and are as prepared for it as they can be because, in less than a second, the blockers start targeting the Captain, while the guys in the back row are looking intensely at the setter.

"A synchro attack, huh?" Suna asks with raised eyebrows. "Interesting."

"Whoa, cool!" Riseki-kun adds in amazement.

Osamu has to admit that is a good move, but he also has to admit that is a move that can go wrong very quickly. Karasuno is no longer afraid of showing their daring side, it seems.

Osamu wonders just who exactly the setter is going to use in this kind of situation. He definitely works better with the Chibi, but that would be a very obvious choice, wouldn't it? There's also the fact that that little attack of theirs might not work while the Chibi is in the back row. Besides, the guy just served, he's probably just the distraction and looking at the other team right now, Osamu is not the only one who thinks that way.

The outside hitters are fast and powerful, and Karasuno's setter also seems to work well with them, but just like the Chibi, they're pretty obvious choices. The ones that would be less obvious and probably more shocking are the Captain and the blond middle blocker. And it looks like Tsubakihara's money is on the Captain. But is Karasuno's setter really going to make the guy that just received the ball be the one to return it? And of course, you can't forget about the setter dump, which is probably what the back row players are waiting for.

But it looks like both Tsubakihara and Osamu are wrong in their assumptions because Karasuno's 'freak twins' surprise everyone watching by executing another of those flawless quick attacks of theirs, this time from the back row. Karasuno's little cheer squad wastes no time in cheering their players on, while everyone else stares in disbelief.

"He can do that from the back row too?!" Suna and Osamu ask in unison while Riseki-kun just gawks and 'Tsumu laughs in delight.

"Well, this just keeps gettin' better and better, doesn't it?" 'Tsumu says with a smirk and eyes full of amusement.

"Hey, look," Riseki-kun suddenly says as the Chibi does another one of his flashy serves. "It looks like the yellow team did what ya guys predicted earlier. It's a little weird that the orange team didn't take any precautions fer it, though."

Osamu finally looks closer to the players' positions and realizes that Tsubakihara's ace is on position two and the other outside hitter is on position five, meaning that as soon as Tsubakihara rotates, Karasuno's Blondie will be up against Tsubakihara's #1, whose playing style gave him a little bit of trouble earlier. And once Tsubakihara's ace comes back to the front row, he will be up against Karasuno's Chibi, in which case his height is going to give him a significant advantage against the small middle blocker.

"It's not weird," Suna says, and Osamu nods in agreement. "It's a message."

"A message?" Riseki-kun asks in surprise and confusion. "Fer who?"

"Fer them," Osamu replies while nodding towards Tsubakihara. "Fer us," Osamu continues while pointing to himself and then the rest of them.

"And for every other team watching them right now," Suna nods to everyone watching Karasuno playing at the moment. "It means that while Blondie would be the best match for Tsubakihara's ace and the Chibi the best match for Tsubakihara's #1, they aren't afraid to try something new. They're not afraid to get out of their comfort zone. It means that they can and will deal with whatever is thrown their way, even if it's not ideal for them," Suna explains and then nods in the direction of the court. "Besides, it's not like Karasuno doesn't have a little strategy of their own. Look at their starting lineup."

Osamu carefully observes Karasuno's starting rotation for the first time since the second set started and soon realizes their strategy.

"They're startin' with their fastest server, the Chibi. After the Chibi, it's time fer their two strongest servers, the Samurai and the setter, ta do their thing. Then comes Blondie, who's probably gonna be subbed out fer their trickest server, the jump float user from earlier," Osamu starts to explain, and Suna nods in agreement.

"And having those three in the front row means that it doesn't matter what attacker Tsubakihara uses; they'll be going up against Karasuno's tallest and strongest wall, anyway," Suna continues the explanation with his own observations. "And while we still don't know what kind of serve Baldy uses, he's definitely in the back row because of his defense, just like the Captain."

"And the Chibi displayed a good defense while on the front row, so his defense on the back row must be good too. This means that, even though Karasuno doesn't have their libero with them at the moment, their defense is not weak at all," Osamu finishes the explanation, and he hears Suna humming in thought next to him.

"In the first set, Karasuno was mainly going for defense, probably to protect their setter. But now that their setter adjusted to his surroundings, they're going for defense and attack. They've their strongest wall upfront, their best defense in the back, and a great attack strategy by making their best servers come one after another. And that's not even counting the setter's dumps and the spikers' attacks. They're covering and dealing with all the weaknesses and problems that might come up while dealing with Tsubakihara, but it's not like Tsubakihara is not doing the same thing. We mentioned it earlier, didn't we? Now both teams know what to do and who to target to win; what the other team needs to do now is to stop them from accomplishing just that."

"Which means that this is gonna be over very quickly, or they're gonna drag it out as much as they can," Osamu adds after hearing Suna's explanation.

"Wow," Riseki-kun says in amazement. "Ya two know and understan' so much 'bout Volleyball."

Suna and Osamu both laugh. "Blame Kita-san and the Coaches for it," they say in unison, and their underclassmen smiles shyly at them.

"We can teach you some things once this is all over," Suna proposes, and Riseki-kun's smile only gets wider.

"I'll like that, thank ya."

"Don't mention it. It's what we're here fer," Osamu says with a smile and then frowns at his brother, who has been eerily quiet throughout this conversation. "Right, future Captain?" Osamu asks with one eyebrow raised as he nudges his twin brother, who is staring intently as Tsubakihara's ace executes a flawless service ace.

Huh, it looks like Tsubakihara finally managed ta get the advantage against Karasuno while I was distracted with the conversation.

"Hmm, what?" 'Tsumu asks distractedly, and Osamu frowns harder.

"What's wrong with ya? You've been very quiet so far. Were ya even listenin' ta us?" Osamu questions, and 'Tsumu sighs almost tiredly.

"I was listenin'," 'Tsumu says defensively. "Which made me think."

"Well, that would be a first."

"I'm serious, 'Samu."

"Ya think I'm not?" Osamu asks, and 'Tsumu gives him an exasperated look. Okay, if 'Tsumu is not willing to deal with Osamu's teasing, then it must be important. "What is it?"

"Well, the thing is, I've been suspectin' this since the first set, but that conversation of yers was the confirmation I needed if not the one that I wanted," 'Tsumu says, and Osamu and his companions look at him in utter confusion.

"You lost me," Suna says.

"Same here," Riseki-kun agrees.

"Confirmation?" Osamu asks in confusion. "'Tsumu, what in the hell are ya talkin' 'bout?"

'Tsumu takes one look at their confused faces and rolls his eyes in exasperation and huffs. He even dares to look at the ceiling as if asking for divine help, the jerk. "I can't believe that ya two haven't figured it out yet," he says while nodding towards Suna and Osamu.

"Figure what out?" Suna asks in confusion, and Osamu nods his support because he really has no clue about what his brother is trying to tell them.

And people swear that we've some kinda psychic link? Yah, right.

"The fact that Karasuno has a strategist with them," 'Tsumu says and looks at them with expectation in his eyes.

After hearing his brother's theory, Osamu takes his time analyzing every strategy that Karasuno has used so far, and he can tell that Suna is doing the same right beside him.

It doesn't take long for Osamu to come to the conclusion that his brother is right. Karasuno, without a shadow of a doubt, has a strategist on their team and a very good one at that.

"Yeah, you're right," Suna nods in affirmation, and Osamu frowns. "Don't let it go to your head, though. Miracles do happen, I guess."

"Hilarious," 'Tsumu deadpans. "But not the time, Suna!"

"As much as it pains me ta admit it, 'Tsumu is right," Osamu says, and his brother frowns at him.

"Not ya too!"

"But," Osamu continues saying, completely ignoring his brother's need for the dramatics. "The real question here is, who's this strategist of theirs? I mean, look at them. None of their faces scream strategist ta me. I guess the one that comes closest ta it is that gray-haired third-year over there," Osamu says while nodding towards Karasuno's #2, who is gleefully cheering Karasuno's ace as he prepares himself to spike now that Karasuno has taken control of the ball once again. "Or it could be the Captain."

Suna nods in agreement. "What about Mr. Genius Setter over there?" He asks.

"No, it isn't him," 'Tsumu replies without missing a beat.

"What makes you so sure?" Suna asks, and 'Tsumu shrugs.

"I spen' a week with the guy, I won't deny that he's a great player, but he's not the sharpest knife in the set, if ya know what I mean," 'Tsumu replies, and Suna nods in understanding.

"I see."

"What 'bout the Coaches?" Riseki-kun suddenly asks, and Osamu and his fellow second-years shake their heads in unison.

"No, definitely not," they say in unison, and Riseki-kun's eyes widen in surprise.

"Well, that was unanimous," he says, and Suna sighs.

"C'mon, kid. Look at them," Suna says while nodding in the direction of Karasuno's Coaches. "You really think that the Blond Disaster and the Four-Eyed Pushover are really the masterminds behind Karasuno's strategies?" Suna asks, and Riseki-kun looks very torn between agreeing with his upperclassmen or defending his elders.

"Umm."

"A little rude there, don'tcha think, Suna?" Osamu takes pity on his underclassmen and decides to ask the question that is probably clouding Riseki-kun's mind at the moment.

"They're less harsh than whatever insults you two would've come up with," Suna says, and Osamu and 'Tsumu share a look.

"Touché," they say in unison.

"Anyway," Suna continues his 'less harsh' judgments. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying they're not capable; their team is playing in Nationals at the moment, after all. What I'm saying is that they look very amateurish, and whoever this person is, they definitely have way more experience and know more about Volleyball than those two."

"Which means that it can't be one of the players either, right?" Riseki-kun asks, and Suna nods.

"Yeah, most likely. That's my theory, at least."

"What 'bout their former Coach?" Osamu asks, and Suna and Riseki-kun turn to look at him. "Didn't Coach Kurosu mention that the guy used ta have quite the reputation back in the day?"

"But then, wouldn't their moves look a little bit, I don't know, old-fashioned?" Suna asks, and Osamu thinks about it for a second.

"Maybe, dunno. Ta be honest, I don't think it's anyone from the team," Osamu says, and Suna frowns.

"You think they've got some kind of advisor or something?"

"Maybe, I mean, ya never know."

"Whoever this person is, they're definitely a new addition, though," 'Tsumu suddenly says, and the three of them look at him in surprise.

"What makes you say that?" Suna asks, and 'Tsumu shrugs.

"Well, I haven't seen the Shiratorizawa match, but this is definitely not the playin' style that everyone who watched the video described ta us. 'Sides, I saw Tobio-kun play before this, 'member? And this is definitely not the same way he played back at the camp. I mean, I guess ya can argue that this is an official match and that was trainin' and that unlike before, he has his team on his side now, but I'm pretty sure that some things definitely changed in this short time."

"Well," Osamu starts to say after hearing his brother's explanation. "I guess they tried ta get as much help as they could get as soon as the realization of going ta Nationals really sink in."

"Whoever they are, they've a fresh mind, someone who's not afraid ta try new things, someone who doesn't get blindsided by positions and well-established moves, and they definitely have great court awareness," 'Tsumu says and then narrows his eyes at Karasuno. "Someone dangerous."

Suna and Osamu share a look. "Funny you should say that," they say in unison, and 'Tsumu gives them a confused look.

"Truth be told, it doesn't matter who they are," 'Tsumu starts to say, and Suna throws him a weird look. "What really matters right now is if they already prepared Karasuno fer us."

"Prepared them fer us?" Riseki-kun asks, and 'Tsumu nods.

"I think we can all agree that today Karasuno came 100% prepared fer Tsubakihara, a team that half of these people haven't even heard of. I'm guessin' that as soon as they found out what their first match would be, they connected the dots and figured out who they were gonna go up against next if they managed ta win this one. And we're pretty popular; it wouldn't be hard ta find some of our matches online if ya know what ta look fer and where, and Tobio-kun knows 'bout me, at least."

"Are you implying that Karasuno already has a strategy to defeat us?" Suna asks, and 'Tsumu sighs.

"If not a full-on strategy, at least they've got an idea of what they need ta do. If this mysterious person is really that good, that is."

"Well, that's interestin'," Osamu says, and his fellow second-years nod in agreement.

"Aren't ya guys a little bit nervous 'bout that?" Riseki-kun asks almost shyly, and 'Tsumu laughs.

"'Course not, Riseki-kun. After all, we're gettin' our own info right now," 'Tsumu replies with a smirk, and Suna and Osamu nod in agreement.

Maybe 'Tsumu is right, and Karasuno already has an idea of what to do to give Osamu and his teammates a run for their money, but it's not like they can't do the same. Maybe they haven't watched the Shiratorizawa video yet. But, they know exactly where to find it, and the three of them are watching them play at the moment, slowly gathering information about them. Also, Osamu is pretty sure that Kita-san or one of their coaches are not going to rest until they get the video of this match.

In Volleyball, one of the greatest weapons you can have is information, and they have it right in front of them at this very moment. So, it's not like Karasuno has that much of an advantage against them, and it's not like this is the first time that Inarizaki has to deal with something like this; that's the curse of being so well known, after all. It's nothing they can't handle, so they don't need to worry too much about it for now.

As their conversation comes to an end, Osamu decides to concentrate on the game, just in time to see Karasuno take control of the match once again and witness Karasuno's ace execute a perfect and flawless service ace.

"Is it just me, or did Samurai's serves get stronger and faster?" Suna asks, and Osamu nods.

"Yah, I noticed it too," Osamu replies. "He's probably one of those spikers whose playin' style and technique only gets stronger and faster as the match progresses."

"That's possible?" Riseki-kun asks in confusion, and Osamu and his fellow second-years nod.

"Yah, but ya normally only see it in power attackers, sometimes in speed attackers too. But they tend ta get tired more quickly," Osamu explains. "Those kinda spikers normally start with aroun' 30 or 50% of their power and slowly increase it with every spike and serve."

"Wait," Riseki-kun says with wide eyes. "You're sayin' that Samurai-san was only usin' half of his power durin' the first set?"

Osamu nods. "Or less."

"I swear that those serves can tear yer arms off, and that's not even his 100%?!" Riseki-kun asks in surprise, and Osamu shakes his head.

"No, it isn't."

"Wow."

"I know."

Thanks to the Samurai's stronger and faster serves, it doesn't take long for Karasuno to take the lead once again and leave Tsubakihara in the dust.

But the yellow team doesn't let their guard down and what follows next is what Osamu would describe as a 'battle of the aces' because Tsubakihara's ace makes it his personal mission to try and receive every serve that the Samurai sends their way.

Once Karasuno's ace realizes what his opponent is doing, he starts targeting Tsubakihara's ace with his serves, probably aiming to tire him out.

The battle finally comes to an end when Tsubakihara's setter decides that enough is enough and surprises everyone with a clever setter dump.

Tsubakihara's next move leaves everyone a little puzzled because they decide to call in a pinch server, the same pinch server that failed miserably at the end of the first set, no less.

"They're bringing him in again? Is that a good idea?" Suna asks, and Osamu shrugs.

"It seems like a good idea ta them."

Tsubakihara's inexperienced first-year seems to have calmed down from earlier, and he seems to have a little bit of more confidence this time around. Of course, that doesn't stop the players in the front row from covering the back of their heads.

Tsubakihara's #14 takes a deep breath and prepares himself to do another underhand serve.

"He's gonna try one of those again, huh?" 'Tsumu asks, and Osamu nods.

"Looks like it."

As soon as the referee blows his whistle, Tsubakihara's #14 leaves everyone speechless once again, this time by serving straight into the ceiling.

"He served into the ceilin'?!" Riseki-kun asks in amazement while following the ball with his eyes.

"So, that's what he was tryna do earlier, huh?" Osamu asks, and 'Tsumu nods.

"Ya don't see that much outside of Beach Volleyball. It's definitely gonna surprise Karasuno," 'Tsumu comments.

"A ceiling serve, better known as a Skyball in Beach Volleyball. A simple yet tricky serve that can either go very wrong for you or for the other team," Suna explains just at the same time that Karasuno's Captain fails to get the serve and Tsubakihara's cheer squad burst into supporting cheers for their inexperienced player.

"It's not fast or powerful enough that ya can't react ta it," 'Tsumu says after noticing Riseki-kun's surprised expression. "As a matter of fact, it has a very slow descend, which is that serve's greatest weapon."

"In Beach Volleyball, yer greatest help with that serve is the environment. The fast winds that make the ball change directions, the sun that blinds yer eyes, the sand that can get in yer eyes or mouth if you're not careful, but here, the greatest help that serve has is this high ceilin' and its bright lights," Osamu continues where 'Tsumu left off.

"How do ya guys know all of that?" Riseki-kun asks, and Osamu and his fellow second-years shudder at the memory.

"First year's summer camp," they say in unison, and Riseki-kun looks like he wants to ask more questions but is a little afraid of what the answers might be.

"I see. So, the ceilin' is on Tsubakihara's side?"

"The ceilin' has been against Karasuno since the very beginnin'," 'Tsumu says, and Suna and Osamu nod in agreement. "I mean, they changed their whole strategy and technique just to protect Tobio-kun. They were on edge before and only relaxed and looked a little bit more comfortable playin' after Tobio-kun adjusted ta his surroundings and gave them the okay."

"And that small window of vulnerability was all Tsubakihara needed ta notice that weakness and decide ta do somethin' 'bout it," Osamu says, and Suna and 'Tsumu nod their agreement.

"Which is probably why Tsubakihara's Coach decided to use a player who is still a little inexperienced but who has that serve under his belt," Suna finishes their explanation, and Riseki-kun nods.

"Just when Karasuno thought that the ceilin' wasn't gonna be a problem anymore, Tsubakihara made it their enemy once again," Osamu says, and 'Tsumu's snorts.

"Not bad, Tsubakihara," he says in approval.

"I see. So, that's why," Riseki-kun says while nodding to himself.

Tsubakihara's #14 quickly becomes part of the team and gains more confidence as Karasuno keeps struggling with his serves; he even manages to display a pretty solid defense once Karasuno shakily manages to pick his serve up. After that little display, it doesn't take long for Karasuno's Coach to finally give in and ask for a timeout.

"Watch, kid," Suna says to Riseki-kun. "This timeout is either gonna make that first-year mess up or is gonna give Karasuno a boost."

"Oh," Riseki-kun says in understanding. "Are they doin' what ya guys mentioned early?" He asks, and Suna nods.

"Yeah, most likely."

"Actually," 'Tsumu starts to say, and Osamu and his companions turn to look at him in surprise. "I don't think that's why Karasuno's Coach asked fer a timeout."

"Whaddya mean, 'Tsumu?"

"Well, I don't think he wanted ta forcefully cut that kid's servin' streak. I think he wanted ta calm down his team. I mean, sure, Karasuno was strugglin' with those serves, there's no denyin' that, but they didn't look that surprised to see them, I think they definitely know what ta do, they just haven't figured out the how," 'Tsumu explains, and Osamu frowns.

"Are ya saying that Karasuno has dealt with those serves before?" Osamu asks, and 'Tsumu nods.

"Looks like it, but whoever did it ta them before definitely didn't do it durin' an official match; otherwise, Karasuno would've stopped that kid on his tracks a long time ago," 'Tsumu explains and Osamu nods in understanding.

"I see. So, what? He's remindin' them of what they need ta do?" Osamu asks, and 'Tsumu nods.

"Sorta. I think he's calmin' them down, they're gettin' antsy, and if they keep goin' like that, then Tsubakihara might catch up ta them and even pass them. I mean, Tobio-kun looked very pissy after that messy pass. I can't blame him, though, that was very low, and he couldn't do much with it," 'Tsumu says almost in sympathy.

Ya could've done much more with it, Osamu can't help but think, but he doesn't dare to say it aloud because he doesn't want to inflate his brother's ego more than it already is.

"Still," Osamu starts to say as the referee calls the players back to the court. "What Suna said still applies; this timeout can either mess that inexperienced kid up or give Karasuno a boost."

"That's true, I guess. Either way, Karasuno comes out on top; that's the beauty of this kinda timeouts. The real question here is, is it gonna be because of Karasuno's improvement or Tsubakihara's mistake?" 'Tsumu wonders aloud as Tsubakihara's #14 prepares himself to serve once again.

Miraculously, the inexperienced kid doesn't mess up his serve after the timeout. Karasuno's Captain manages to pick it up, though, a little better than he did before. But, Tsubakihara's #14 shows once again that he's a Tsubakihara player through and through and perfectly receives Baldy's spike.

On the kid's second try, Karasuno's libero manages to perfectly pick up the serve, much to the surprise of Tsubakihara, and Karasuno's setter quickly sets the ball to their ace.

Karasuno's ace spikes the ball even faster and stronger than he did before, and Tsubakihara's #14 tries to pick it up. But, the spike ends up being too much for him, and Tsubakihara's #14 ends up falling to the floor on his back as the ball ricochets off his body.

Tsubakihara's ace and setter both try to save the ball, but they're too late for it, and Karasuno's cheer squad waste no time in cheering their ace up as the referee gives Karasuno the point.

Suna and Osamu unconsciously rub their arms in sympathy while Riseki-kun shrieks and hides his face behind his hands.

"Man, that's gonna leave a bruise," Riseki-kun whines, voice muffled due to his hands covering his face.

"Yah, well," 'Tsumu says with a shrug. "This is Nationals, after all," he says in a matter-of-fact voice.

"Atsumu-san," Riseki-kun almost whines 'Tsumu's name. "Don't be so heartless."

"I'm not heartless," 'Tsumu defends himself. "I'm just used ta it," he finishes saying with a shrug.

"Ya mean ta tell me that this is common here?" Riseki-kun asks in surprise, 'Tsumu turns to look at him with a curious look, and then he seems to painfully remember that this is their underclassmen's first time at Nationals, since he didn't get a chance to come last year due to his inexperienced.

"Yah," 'Tsumu says with a sigh. "Pretty much," 'Tsumu finishes saying, and Suna and Osamu nod in agreement. Riseki-kun swallows his fears and then nods to himself.

"I see."

Now that Karasuno has taken control of the match once again, it's time for Karasuno's setter to serve.

Tsubakihara struggles a little at first with the setter's serves, but they soon manage to pick the serve up. Unfortunately for them, the ball returns to Karasuno's side, and the libero quickly passes the ball back to the setter.

"He just served. He won't be able to set that," Suna says, and Osamu and Riseki-kun nod in agreement.

'Tsumu doesn't say anything, though, and out of all them, he's the only one that doesn't look surprised in the slightest when the setter manages to perfectly set the ball.

Karasuno's Baldy executes a perfect spike as his teammates and supporters cheer him on.

"Not bad, Tobio-kun," 'Tsumu says as he nods to himself.

The match keeps going like that for a little while until Tsubakihara's #1 devices that enough is enough and spikes the ball straight at Karasuno's setter, and the raven-haired teen has no other choice than to receive the ball himself.

"The Captain is their OP, right?" Osamu asks his brother. "Ya think he's the backup setter?"

"Dunno, maybe. Although, I heard at the camp that their libero also sets sometimes," 'Tsumu replies.

"Is that so?" Osamu asks in surprise, and 'Tsumu nods. "Interestin'."

All of them are a little surprised when the Captain doesn't set or tells the libero to do it; what he does instead is call out to the blond middle blocker.

"The middle blocker is gonna do it?!" Osamu and his companions shout in unison as Blondie perfectly sets to Karasuno's ace.

"Not bad, Blondie," 'Tsumu says in approval and then snorts in amusement. "But Tobio-kun didn't like that at all," he adds after noticing the other setter's expression.

As Karasuno's setter prepares himself to serve again, Osamu and his twin brother stare intently at Suna. Their raven-haired friend pretends to ignore them for a bit but finally gives in after a minute or two.

"What?!"

"Why don't ya do that, Suna?" Osamu and his twin brother ask in unison, and Suna sweat drops.

"Because you two normally do it?"

"That's not good enough, Suna," 'Tsumu says, and Osamu nods.

"Yah, ya should help too, Suna," Osamu says.

Suna rolls his eyes at them. "What for?" He asks with a challenge in his voice. "So you two can judge me for it?"

"Oh, Suna. That's not true at all," Osamu says as he brings a hand to his chest.

"Yah," 'Tsumu agrees. "We judge ya fer everythin' every day, anyway," 'Tsumu finishes saying, and Osamu nods in agreement.

Suna curses them under his breath and then gives them a dirty look. "That's not helping your case. You two know that, right?"

"C'mon, Suna," 'Tsumu says in exasperation. "I know ya can set. I've seen ya do it before."

"Yah, Suna. Ya can do it," Osamu agrees. "C'mon, is gonna throw everyone off, maybe even the team. Ya like to mess with people, don'tcha?"

Suna sighs in resignation. "You two are not gonna stop, are you?"

"Nope," they reply in unison, and Suna sighs again.

"Fine!" Suna says in resignation. "I'll think about it, but no promises," Suna warns.

Osamu and his twin brother fist bump in celebration, and Suna murmurs something under his breath that sounds suspiciously like, "Damn, twins!" But Osamu and 'Tsumu pretend not to hear him and continue watching the match.

It doesn't take long for Tsubakihara to stop the raven-haired setter's serving streak, and then it's time for Tsubakihara's setter to do his thing. Tsubakihara's setter manages to earn some points for his team before Karasuno takes control of the match once again, and then it's time for Karasuno's Blondie to serve. But he gets subbed out for Karasuno's jump float user, just like Osamu predicted earlier.

"Hey, look," Riseki-kun says and points to the court where it looks like Karasuno's Blondie is encouraging their #12. "It's the pinch server from earlier, just like Osamu-san predicted."

"Y'know," Suna starts to say as he follows Karasuno's Blondie with his eyes. "I kind of wonder what kind of serve he uses," he finishes saying, and Osamu nods.

"Same."

'Tsumu just frowns and narrows his eyes at Karasuno's Blondie.

"What is it?" Osamu asks after noticing his brother's expression.

'Tsumu shakes his head. "Nothin'," he replies, and Osamu gives him a curious look and then shrugs.

Once again, Karasuno's #12 gives a little trouble to Tsubakihara's players, and the fact that the Chibi is back on the court complicates things even more for them. But Tsubakihara is not giving up that easily and soon manages to take control of the match once again.

"Tsubakihara's #1 didn't serve during the first set, right?" Suna asks as Tsubakihara's #1 prepares himself to serve.

"No, he didn't," Riseki-kun replies. "I wonder what kinda serve he uses?" Riseki-kun wonders aloud.

Riseki-kun soon gets his answer when Tsubakihara's #1 surprises everyone with a perfect jump serve. He manages to give Karasuno a little trouble, but his serving streak soon comes to an end when Karasuno's 'wonder duo' make another one of their freak quick attacks.

"It's finally Baldy-san's turn ta serve," Riseki-kun says almost in excitement, but his expression soon falls when he notices that Karasuno's Baldy is getting subbed out for Karasuno's #2.

"One pinch server after another one, huh?" Suna asks with narrowed eyes as Karasuno's gray-haired third-year prepares himself to serve. "Karasuno really wants to end this quickly, it seems."

Osamu looks at the board. "Yah, well. They're only missin' five points," Osamu says with a shrug.

"The moment of truth is finally here, huh," Suna comments as he looks at the board too. "Either Karasuno is gonna end this quickly, or Tsubakihara is gonna drag this out as much as they can and pull a miracle out of their gym bags," Suna finishes saying, and Osamu and 'Tsumu nod in agreement.

Karasuno's #2 has a very normal serve, but just like the Captain, he uses his aim and tricks to earn a service ace for his team. Osamu and his companions soon find out that the guy's name is 'Suga' because that's the name that Karasuno's supporters start shouting at the top of their lungs.

"He's just like the Captain," 'Tsumu starts to say as Karasuno's #2 prepares himself to serve once again. "He uses his aim and his tricks ta confuse his opponents and make them hesitate. Since the Captain hasn't served since the beginnin' of the first set, Tsubakihara probably started ta forget that little trick and fell for it again in an instant."

Unfortunately for Karasuno's #2, Tsubakihara doesn't fall for his trick a second time, and Tsubakihara's #1 easily picks up his serve and passes the ball to his setter. Tsubakihara's setter sets to their ace, but Karasuno's #2 surprises everyone by perfectly receiving his spike, and Karasuno's 'wonder duo' quickly earn their upperclassmen another serving chance.

"Just three more points," Riseki-kun comments as he looks at the board.

Karasuno's #2 serves again, and Tsubakihara's libero picks it up. Tsubakihara's setter goes for Tsubakihara's #1 this time, and just like before, Karasuno's #2 surprises everyone when he perfectly receives the spike.

"He might not be the strategist," Suna starts to say as Karasuno celebrates. "But, he's some kind of strategist."

"Yah," Osamu agrees. "He's smart and has great court awareness. The fact that he has been on the sidelines all this time probably helped him in understandin' Tsubakihara better," Osamu finishes saying as Karasuno's ace earns another point for his team.

"Just two more points," Riseki-kun comments excitedly.

The third serve of Karasuno's #2 is received by Tsubakihara's libero once again. This time the setter goes for one of the middle blockers, who spikes the ball directly at Karasuno's setter. Karasuno's #2 surprises everyone when he tosses the ball perfectly to Karasuno's ace, and the Samurai wastes no time earning another point for his team.

"Oh, not bad," 'Tsumu says, almost impressed. "So Karasuno does have another setter, huh?"

"How do you know he's a setter?" Suna asks, and 'Tsumu just gives him an incredulous look. "Right, sorry."

"Just one more point," Riseki-kun says, almost dancing on the ball of his feet.

Karasuno's #2 prepares to do another serve. If he does it right, then he earns his team their first win at Nationals with a service ace. But, if Tsubakihara manages to pick it up, then they might have a chance to survive a little longer and maybe even go to a third set, and who knows what can happen there.

Karasuno's #2 sends his serve right between Tsubakihara's #1 and the libero, and Tsubakihara's #1 receives it and passes it to their setter. Tsubakihara's setter once again puts his faith in their ace and tosses the ball to him. Tsubakihara's ace spikes the ball with all his might, but Karasuno's #2 manages to receive it and passes the ball to Karasuno's Captain.

"He sent it to the Captain?" Suna asks in surprise. "Not the setter? Why?"

The answer easily comes when Karasuno's Captain prepares himself to spike.

"He's gonna spike that?!" Riseki-kun asks in surprise. "That was a set?!"

Tsubakihara's blockers waste no time in jumping to block Karasuno's Captain, and once Karasuno's Captain notices this, he quickly changes from a spike into a set while in midair.

"Wait," Suna says with a frown and narrowed eyes. "That's..."

Karasuno's Captain sets the ball to Karasuno's ace, much to the surprise of Tsubakihara's blockers and everyone watching. Osamu and 'Tsumu frown and narrow their eyes at Karasuno as Karasuno's ace spikes the ball with all his might, next thing everyone knows is a loud 'bang' sound that resonates throughout the gym, and the score marks 25 - 19.

"Our move!" Osamu and 'Tsumu finish Suna's sentence together as they immediately recognize the move.

Karasuno's players and supporters burst into cheers when the battle of third-years versus third-years comes to an end, with Karasuno as the victor.

"Well," 'Tsumu says with an unreadable expression as he watches Karasuno celebrate. "I guess we now know who we're dealin' with tomorrow," he says as he turns around and starts walking in the direction of the exit, and Osamu and his companions follow him without any complaints. "Let's go. I think it's 'bout time we watch that Shiratorizawa match."

Meanwhile...

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

São Paulo, Brazil.

It's the same dream as before, Tobio thinks as he finds himself back in that court, and this time, he mentally fights with his dream self to not toss to Hinata.

If you set to him, he'll disappear, Tobio thinks, but his dream self looks for Hinata once again.

Don't toss to him. You'll lose him if you do, Tobio thinks as his dream self locks eyes with the dream version of Hinata, and a silent understanding passes between them.

No, don't! Tobio shouts as his dream self tosses the ball.

Stop! Don't jump! Tobio tries to stop dream Hinata this time, but his efforts are in vain.

Just like in all the other dreams, Hinata trust Tobio's dream self and jumps as high as he can, and just as he's about to spike the ball and earn Karasuno the win, there's a loud bang, a bright light, and someone screams. Hinata disappears, the ball falls to the floor, and black feathers dance in front of Tobio.

It actually takes some time for Tobio to realize that something is different from before, and it takes longer for him to understand what exactly it is.

This time he managed to hear everything better, a little clearer than before. This means that he now knows that that scream is not just a scream, but someone is actually shouting Hinata's name, and he also manages to recognize that someone.

That's Yachi-san's voice, Tobio thinks and then wakes up with a start.

Chapter Text

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

São Paulo, Brazil

No, don't!

Tobio-kun

Stop! Don't jump!

Tobio-kun

HINATA!!!

Tobio-kun!

That's Yachi-san's voice.

KAGEYAMA!

Tobio woke up with a start and his head hit something hard in the process.

"Shit!"

Tobio could hear someone cursing but he didn't pay them any mind.

That dream...

It had been the same dream as before or at least similar enough but something had been different today, it had been more clear and vivid, as if he had been right there. It didn't look like a dream, it was like a moment he was living. Tobio is sure that not even his memories are that clear.

Besides, he was finally able to hear what the person screaming was saying, they weren't just screaming, they were shouting Hinata's name.

And the person screaming had been Yaichi-san. Tobio was sure of it. He knew her voice very well and that had definitely been her, there was no doubt about it.

But why?

It doesn't make any sense.

None of this does.

"Y'know? When Shouyou-kun said ya were hard-headed, I didn't think he meant it literally," Miya-san muttered, words a little hard to understand due to him massaging his nose.

Tobio wasn't going to lie, he did feel a little bad for accidentally hitting the guy. Just a little, though. It had been Miya-san's fault after all.

What the hell was he even doing?

"Sorry," Tobio apologized and Miya-san sighed in resignation and told him that it was okay. "What are you even doing here, anyway?"

Tobio still didn't understand what the guy was doing here. It was Tobio's turn to sleep in Hinata's room after all. Everyone else was sleeping in the guest room or the living room at the moment.

It was even more surprising that it was Miya-san instead of Pedro-san, who was the one that normally slept in this room until Sakusa-san came up with the new sleeping arrangements.

And Sakusa-san and Kozume-san liked to spend time in this room during the day whenever they wanted a little bit of privacy, the rest of them normally avoided this room like the plague. Miya-san included.

"I came ta wake ya up, ya overslept and Kenma-kun is gettin' antsy 'bout it," Miya-san replied while nodding in the direction of the kitchen.

Overslept?

What?

What time is it?

Tobio glanced at the clock and realized that it was almost nine in the morning. Sure, it was way later than he would normally wake up but this was his first time sleeping alone since he came here. Could they really blame him? And why would Kozume-san get 'antsy' about Tobio's sleeping schedule, anyway? Does he need the room or something?

And then it hit him like a bucket of ice cold water.

"Shit!" Tobio cursed.

Tobio quickly tried to get out of bed, but his sudden movements only helped him in getting all tangled up in the big fluffy blanket he was using as a cover and he ended up falling face first into the floor with a loud 'thud' sound that clearly disturbed Hinata's downstairs neighbor, if the guy's shouting was anything to go by.

Tobio was so thankful that he didn't understand Portuguese at all in that moment because he was pretty sure that the guy wasn't saying anything nice about him.

"Instant karma," Miya-san said with an amused smile on his face. At least he wasn't laughing.

A loud shout of "Did you die?!" could be heard coming from the direction of the kitchen. It sounded like Bokuto-san.

Tobio groaned.

Me? No.

My pride? Probably.

Miya-san chuckled and Tobio gave him a dirty look.

Tobio was sure that if the guy had wanted to, he could've easily stopped his fall. Tobio had seen him doing way more complicated stuff on the court after all. He could've stopped Tobio's fall in his sleep.

This is what I get for almost breaking his nose.

Miya-san rolled his eyes at the look but he did end up helping Tobio up anyway.

"Are ya okay?" Miya-san asked and Tobio nodded.

"The only thing hurt is my pride," Tobio said and sighed in resignation.

"Oh, I know. But I didn't mean that," Miya-san said while pointing to where Tobio had fallen. "I mean, are ya okay mentally? Ya looked like ya were havin' a nightmare," Miya-san said while nodding in the direction of the pillow. Obviously talking about Tobio's dream from earlier.

Are any of us mentally okay right now? Tobio asked himself but he didn't dare to ask the question out loud, he might be socially awkward and a bit clueless at times but even he knew that mental health was a touchy subject for many people. Even when they were the ones that brought it up in the first place.

"It wasn't a nightmare, just a weird dream," Tobio answered smoothly but Miya-san didn't seem convinced and he even looked a little bit worried. "I mean, it makes sense, right? We're worried, stressed, mentally and physically exhausted, our sleeping and eating schedules are a mess, it makes sense to not have a restful sleep, right?" Tobio added to ease Miya-san's worries but the guy just frowned at him and if possible he even looked more worried than he did before.

Tobio didn't understand why. He hadn't lied, though. They really were a mess at the moment, had been for quite a while.

Is this like an older sibling thing? Are Miya-san's big brother instincts kicking in? Is Miya-san even the older brother?

Come to think about it, Tobio never asked and he never heard anyone mention anything about it before. Sure, he had witnessed some of the twins' fights about who is the older one of the two but those weren't exactly reliable and most of their fights had been background noise to Tobio anyway.

Is he worrying about him as a friend? I mean, friends do that, right? And they are friends, right? Right?

"Ya there, Tobio-kun?" Miya-san asked while waving his hand in front of Tobio's eyes.

"Yeah," Tobio answered distractedly and then he suddenly remembered what he was supposed to be doing. "I need to get ready! I really need to hurry before Kozume-san gets mad at me," Tobio said while quickly looking for his bag of stuff.

"He's already mad at ya," Miya-san said, all matter of factly. Tobio paused in his search for clothes to throw him another dirty look.

"What? Just the facts," Miya-san said with a shrug. "Meet us in the kitchen in ten," Miya-san said and finally left the room but not without throwing another worried glance Tobio's way while Tobio pretended not to notice.

Miya-san had acted weird. Or well, weirder than normal. Was he really worried about Tobio? Or was there something else going on here?

Am I becoming paranoid? Insane, maybe?

Tobio managed to take an extremely quick shower, brush his teeth, and get ready in a record time that would make his coaches proud and his mother and sister scream. He could've skipped the shower but even he had to admit that doing that wasn't an option.

Exactly ten minutes after Miya-san left the room Tobio had joined everyone else in the kitchen.

Miya-san was the first one to notice him, he glanced at the clock and smirked proudly. "I told ya that he'll meet us in ten," Miya-san said and Tobio quickly became the center of everyone's attention.

"About time," Kozume-san huffed in annoyance and Tobio quickly apologized to everyone for his tardiness.

"Oh, come on, Kenma! Give the poor guy a break, we're all tired and the time zone thingy isn't helping," Bokuto-san said and Kozume-san sighed in defeat while Tobio looked at Bokuto-san gratefully.

"Fine!" Kozume-san said while throwing his arms in the air, clearly this wasn't the first time he had heard something similar. "But don't do it again," he said while pointing at Tobio and giving him a look that made him resemble the grumpy cat from next door that sometimes liked to sneak into Hinata's apartment. "And that goes for all of you," he added while pointing at the rest of them.

"Yes, sir!" Bokuto-san, Miya-san, and Pedro-san said while saluting him, Sakusa-san just nodded and sipped his tea.

"We saved you some breakfast, it's probably cold by now, though," Pedro-san said while pointing at the counter where a white paper bag with Tobio's name on it was. "Don't worry we didn't cook, the lady from next door brought it," Pedro-san quickly added once he noticed Tobio's wary look.

"Hey, we're not that bad!" Bokuto-san tried to defend their cooking.

"Yes, we are," everyone else said while sighing in defeat and Tobio was sure that if the apartment could talk, then the kitchen and the bathroom would also agree.

The only one that was kind of good at it - (mainly due to his brother) - was Miya-san but he only knew how to cook simple things and Sakusa-san knew how to make healthy things like smoothies and salads. Everyone else was a disaster in the kitchen and the lady next door had quickly realized it and she sometimes brought them food which they were thankful for, living on takeout wasn't the smartest or healthiest idea.

Bokuto-san pouted but he gracefully accepted his defeat. The guy had almost burned the kitchen after all.

Tobio quickly fixed himself a cup of coffee, he normally didn't drink it, but he could tell that today was gonna be one of those days, today he was gonna need that dark liquid to function properly, he was sure of it.

Tobio grabbed his cup of coffee and little bag of food and quickly joined everyone else at the table and started eating his breakfast. Now that the smell of coffee and food had reached his nose, he realized how hungry he was.

"Aren't you going to heat that up?" Sakusa-san asked in surprise.

Tobio looked at Sakusa-san and then at his food, his breakfast was a cointainer with two hard-boiled eggs cut in half with some spices on them, Tobio knew those were from Miya-san, since he had made them for them before. Another container full of sliced fresh fruit, which he knew was Sakusa-san's doing. And finally some buns wrapped in a napkin, Tobio knew those were from the kind lady next door.

She brought some of those before, according to Pedro-san the buns were pretty popular here in Brazil, Tobio had forgotten their name, though. And the first and only time Tobio had called them 'cheesy buns' Pedro-san had looked a little offended about it for some reason, so he just referred to them as bread now.

Tobio looked at Sakusa-san again and said, "I don't mind eating it cold." And that was mainly because he felt like he needed to say something, he didn't understand what the problem was.

He wasn't about to heat up some fruit, that's disgusting and probably unhealthy and while the eggs and the buns aren't warm anymore, they're still soft and tasty.

"But-," Sakusa-san started to say but was interrupted by Miya-san.

"Omi-san, not yer tummy, not yer taste buds, keep it ta yerself and let the guy eat," Miya-san said while Bokuto-san nodded in agreement right beside him. Clearly this wasn't new to them.

Sakusa-san huffed in annoyance but he went back to sipping his tea without saying another word. Tobio shrugged and continued eating his breakfast.

"Anyway," Kozume-san started to say and everyone turned to look at him. "Now that Kageyama has finally decided to join us, let's see if everyone remembers what we're doing today. Pedro?"

Pedro-san quickly swallowed his coffee and nodded. "Right," he said and then cleared his throat once he realized how raspy his voice sounded due to how quickly he had swallowed the dark liquid. "I'm gonna go to the hospital today, see if I can get any information from them. Kenma decided to go with me for some reason, don't ask me. I also talked to Coach Paulo early today and he's gonna bring whatever they find in Shouyou's locker tonight."

"Alright," Kozume-san said with a nod of approval. "Bokuto?"

Bokuto-san threw some keys in the air and then caught them. "I'm gonna be searching Hinata's car."

Kozume-san nodded and told him to be careful with those keys and then turned to Sakusa-san.

"I'm looking for more clues around the apartment."

Kozume-san then turned to look at Tobio and raised an eyebrow, Tobio quickly tried to swallowed his food but thankfully Miya-san saved him.

"And we're gonna go investigate the place where that lil' girl appeared and the place where Shouyou-kun disappeared," Miya-san said while pointing between him and Tobio.

Kozume-san gave him a dirty look but Miya-san just shrugged. "Let him eat, he's gonna need the energy," Miya-san said and Tobio looked at him gratefully.

"Alright," Kozume-san started to say and everyone turned to look at him. "Any questions? I'm not currently accepting complaints," Kozume-san said with a stern look on his face, left with no other options, everyone else shook their heads.

Thirty minutes later, Tobio was inside a taxi sitting alongside Miya-san while Pedro-san talked to their driver.

Alternative ways had been tried in the span of those thirty minutes, the first one was Pedro-san trying to teach them how to have a 'touristic conversation' with their taxi driver - (whatever that meant) - but after many failed attempts at trying to speak broken Portuguese, Pedro-san had given up on them.

Knowing that none of them were big fans of Google Translate, Bokuto-san had suggested that Pedro-san filmed himself saying whatever they needed to say in one of their phones and for them to just show the driver the videos, but Kozume-san quickly shut down that idea because it only took for them to play the wrong video to have them driving around in circles and then that idea would become a very expensive one.

Sakusa-san had suggested to get a driver that spoke English. Sure, they weren't fluent in the language, but they at least knew it better than Portuguese. But the very few drivers that Pedro-san managed to contact were either stuck in traffic or were very busy at the moment and they could only pick them up around midday and none of them wanted to waste any more time than they already have. The quicker they do this, the better.

Then Miya-san had suggested walking, since both of the locations that they needed to investigate were within walking distance and Hinata himself had walked there and back many times before. But Pedro-san wasn't confident in that idea, saying that him and Hinata knew the area and the people pretty well and they could easily find their way back to the apartment and if they happened to get lost they could easily ask anyone for directions. A foreigner on the other hand could easily get lost and unless they came across someone who spoke Japanese or English, asking for directions wasn't the smartest idea.

Which lead them here, to Pedro-san talking to their driver and the guy writing some things down in a little notepad.

"Okay," Pedro-san said to them, quickly and smoothly switching to Japanese. "He wants to know where you guys are going first and if you guys are gonna go together to each location or separate?"

Tobio and Miya-san shared a look, Kozume-san hadn't specified, he just said he wanted them to investigate the locations.

"Well," Miya-san started to say and Pedro-san turned to look at him. "Dividin' the locations between us would probably be quicker but both of us at one location would probably be more thorough."

Pedro-san and Tobio nodded.

"You're right," Pedro-san said and then turned to look at the building and seemed to come to a decision. "I think both of you guys investigating both locations would be best. As you mentioned, the investigation would be more thorough that way and we can't come back to the apartment until Sakusa finishes, anyway."

"What do we do if we finish before him?" Tobio asked.

Investigating random public locations would probably be quicker than investigating every nook and cranny of Hinata's apartment.

Sure, Hinata didn't live in a big apartment and he was also very minimalistic but it was still a lot to go through and knowing Sakusa-san, he'll probably won't rest until he searches literally everywhere.

Pedro-san thought about it for a second and then nodded to himself. "See that bakery over there?" Pedro-san asked while pointing to a bakery that was close to Hinata's building.

"Yah, ya got us bread from there before," Miya-san replied and Tobio also nodded.

"Well, it's not just a bakery is also a coffee shop, we can hang in there until Sakusa finishes, if you guys wanna order something and I'm not there, just ask for Camila, she speaks English," Pedro-san said and they both nodded.

Pedro-san finished talking to their driver and then wished them good luck and with that they were off. Ready to investigate the locations they were given.

Kiyoomi had been waiting for it but it was still amusing when curiosity had finally killed the cat, or in this case, the owl.

"Omi-Omi, is all of that really necessary?" Bokuto asked but Kiyoomi didn't get a chance to reply due to the front door opening at that exact moment.

"And they're off," Pedro-san said and then he noticed Kiyoomi. "What's with all the cleaning supplies?" He asked while pointing at Kiyoomi's, well, everything.

"It's what I'm gonna need for my assignment," Kiyoomi replied and Pedro-san raised an eyebrow.

"Are you gonna be looking for clues or spring cleaning?"

"This is how I found the first clue," Kiyoomi replied. Wasn't it obvious?

Pedro-san probably realized that he couldn't argue with that logic and just shrugged. "Alright, you do you, then," Pedro-san said and then he started talking to Bokuto about some bakery outside.

Kiyoomi ignored them and started gathering more supplies. He was gonna need them all after all.

Once Kiyoomi finished gathering his supplies, Pedro-san and Kozume-san were ready to go.

"Alright, our taxi is gonna be here any minute now. You ready, Kenma?"

Kozume-san nodded and grabbed a black backpack, Pedro-san raised an eyebrow at it but didn't said anything about it.

"Bokuto?"

Bokuto nodded and grabbed a trash bag and Hinata's car keys.

"Alright," Pedro-san nodded. "You," he said while pointing at Bokuto. "Try to not get lost in the building, and you," then he pointed at Kiyoomi. "Don't forget to text us when you're done."

Both Kiyoomi and Bokuto nodded.

Pedro-san wished Kiyoomi good luck and with that the three of them left, leaving Kiyoomi alone for what felt like the first time in a very long time.

Kiyoomi put his gloves and mask on and looked around.

Alright, where do I start?

He decided to start with the living room and the kitchen since those where some of the places that got more traffic thanks to them being here.

Hinata was actually very minimalistic due to all the moving and traveling in his life and Kiyoomi was thankful for that because while it was a small apartment, it was still a lot that he needed to do.

Thankfully the living room doesn't have much storage space. There was a bookshelf full of books about Volleyball, yoga, nutrition, and other healthy and sporty things. So Kiyoomi decided to start there, he took a picture of how the books and decorations were organized and then he started taking everything down.

After cleaning the bookshelf he started going through every book in case there was a piece of paper or something that would give them some clue but Kiyoomi found nothing but bookmarks.

After he finished with the bookshelf he did the same thing with the TV stand, he found nothing suspicious there either. He had no luck with the coffee table and the little side tables either. He even moved the rug and the couches but he found nothing but dust and trash that he cleaned up.

The only thing left in the living room that he hasn't go through yet were some wicker baskets that were besides the TV stand, he knew that the big one on the left had a pillow and some throw blankets on it, since they had been constantly using those since they got here. But he didn't know what the three smaller ones on the right had.

They ended up having some toys that probably belonged to Heitor-san's kid and some beach Volleyball gear. But he did ended up finding something that was a bit weird.

There was a floorboard in there that Kiyoomi knew didn't match the floor on Hinata's apartment since it was a bit darker and the design on it was different. And underneath that floorboard there was a bag full of photograph paper, Kiyoomi had never used it himself but he had seen something similar in their manager's office, so he recognized it immediately.

Kiyoomi took a look around, photographs of Hinata's friends and family were pretty much the only decorations around the apartment. Did Hinata printed those himself? Using this paper? But why did he hide it under a random floorboard that didn't match his apartment at all?

Kiyoomi took a picture of how he found this stuff to show to the others later. It didn't look that suspicious, but it was a bit weird.

After he finished cleaning and going through everything in the living room he moved to the kitchen. Before he even started, Kiyoomi already knew he wasn't going to find anything suspicious in there since Hinata's kitchen was very well organized and he didn't even have a junk drawer.

He was mainly doing this because while Hinata's kitchen had been clean and organized before, it sure as hell wasn't now, and it was all their fault.

But Kiyoomi was now on a mission to get it back to how it was before. How embarrassing would it be if Hinata came back and found his clean and very well organized home a complete mess because five pigs - (Kiyoomi was not counting himself) - were living in it? Extremely embarrassing and definitely rude.

In the kitchen, Kiyoomi started by decluttering and cleaning the fridge since he had noticed that some of the leftovers had been there for quite a while now.

One of the first things Kiyoomi had done when he came here was ask Pedro-san how to read Brazilian expiration dates, Pedro-san had looked a little confused about the question at first but soon understood why he was asking when he noticed the bottle of orange juice in Kiyoomi's hand.

Once Pedro-san taught him how to read the expiration dates, Kiyoomi had been throwing away everything that he happened to come across that was expired. But he hadn't gone through everything like he was doing now.

So he started throwing away the old leftovers and everything that was expired and he separated what he noticed was about to expire soon. He would make sure that him or Miya cook something with that soon, that way it doesn't go to waste.

Once he finished cleaning, organizing, and decluttering the kitchen, Kiyoomi realized that a trip to the grocery store was in order, so he made a mental note to tell Pedro-san about that.

He then moved to the guest room, which was another room that got a lot of traffic too thanks to them being here. Kiyoomi had cleaned this room multiple times before, so he knew he wasn't gonna find anything in here but it did need another cleaning, so Kiyoomi got to work.

It wasn't until Kiyoomi checked under the bed that he found something interesting. There was a box labeled as 'Lost and Found' under there, it was full of things that Hinata's friends and family had probably left here during their visits. There was even a little bag with Kiyoomi's name on it and it was full of things that Kiyoomi thought he had lost.

Once he finished cleaning and organizing the guest room, Kiyoomi took the box to the living room, he had seen that some of the bags in that box had the names of his current roommates, so he was gonna let them go through it themselves, who knows what kind of things were in there that they probably thought were lost forever.

Kiyoomi then moved to Hinata's bedroom, the room that started it all. Since it was the room that started this little project Kiyoomi already knew that he wouldn't find anything in some areas but he also remembered that he hadn't finished the closet. So he decided to start there.

The first out of the ordinary thing he found in Hinata's closet was a bag full of clothes and shoes that was labeled as 'Donations' but then he remembered that Hinata had mentioned before that he donated to charity. Some kind foundation or something, Kiyoomi didn't remember the details very well.

The second out of the ordinary thing was a storage cointainer full of Hinata's summer clothes.

"Summer clothes?" Kiyoomi wondered out loud. "Shouldn't it be winter clothes?"

But then Kiyoomi remembered what he had seen in the news a few days ago.

"Oh, right," Kiyoomi said in realization. "Their winters are our summers. They just entered spring."

Suddenly, Pedro-san's 'spring cleaning' comment from earlier made so much more sense. Kiyoomi was technically spring cleaning, literally and figuratively.

Since it was already spring in here - (not that Kiyoomi had noticed the change, it had been hot as hell this whole time) - Kiyoomi decided to switch the clothes for Hinata.

He started hanging the summer clothes and putting away the winter clothes, that's when he found another suspicious thing, there was a Karasuno tracksuit in there, a tracksuit that looked a little too big to be Hinata's old one.

But Kiyoomi had only seen Hinata back then a few times, so he wasn't sure. But Kageyama would know, right? So he put it aside to show to Hinata's former schoolmate.

Once he finished with Hinata's room, he started working on the bathroom but he found nothing there. Once he finished cleaning the bathroom, he gathered all the trash and put it aside, Pedro-san was the one that usually took out the trash, so he was gonna leave it for him.

He put the cleaning supplies back to where they belonged and then vacuumed and mopped the entire apartment. Then he realized that while the apartment was now clean, Kiyoomi himself wasn't. So he decided to take a quick shower.

Once everything was done and ready, Kiyoomi texted the others that he was done then sat down and waited. He was anxious to hear how the day had gone for the rest of them.

Pedro sighed as he entered the taxi and told the driver where to go next. He took a look at Kenma and sighed again.

"Are you still mad at me for taking a detour?" Pedro asked and Kenma rolled his eyes.

"A little," Kenma replied. "We're wasting time."

"I know," Pedro said with a sigh. "But I really needed to do this. Look," Pedro said as he gave the fake driver's license he just got to the smaller man.

Kenma took it in his hands and looked at it. Pedro knows that due to the language barrier Kenma wouldn't understand what exactly it is, but he could probably get a good idea of what it's supposed to be by looking at the picture and the name.

"Your full name is Pedro Rodrigues?" Kenma asked with a raised eyebrow and Pedro smirked.

"It is now."

Kenma's eyes went wide and Pedro shrugged.

"You're not the only cat around here that knows a few tricks, you know?"

Sure, Pedro doesn't know how to hack cameras and all that other seriously illegal stuff Kenma knows how do by just clicking away on his computer, but Pedro is a local, and he knows people that know people that can do the illegal stuff for him.

"You got a fake ID?" Kenma asked in surprise and Pedro nodded and smiled proudly.

"Aha."

"Nice," Kenma said. He sounded very impressed. "See, this is why you're the useful one."

"Thanks?"

Once the driver found a parking spot, Pedro was ready to run to the hospital but Kenma stopped him by grabbing his arm.

"Wait, wait, wait," Kenma said and Pedro huffed in annoyance.

"What now?"

"Why do you think I came with you?" Kenma asked in exasperation.

"I don't know," Pedro shrugged. "Because I'm the one you tolerate the most?"

I mean, Kenma is like a cat, right? He's grumpy and antisocial, but every cat has a favorite human. And Pedro has a feeling that Kenma has already decided that his favorite human around here is Pedro.

"True," Kenma admitted. Not that Pedro needed him to but okay. "But also no, I have a plan."

"What kind of plan?" Pedro asked warily.

It's not that he doesn't trust Kenma, the situation is already complicated enough, adding another layer would probably make everything crumble to the ground and break into tiny little pieces.

Kenma finally let go of his arm and got something from that black backpack of his.

"Here," Kenma said and Pedro made a face once he noticed what the guy was trying to give him. "What is it?" Kenma asked in confusion once he noticed his expression.

"I hate those things," Pedro said. He knows he sounds like a child but he really, really hates those things.

Kenma looked between Pedro and his hand in confusion. "What? The ear buds? You don't like them? They're very practical."

No, they actually are not, like at all.

But he doesn't have the time or energy to have that conversation with a technology obsessed person like Kenma right now. So he kept it to himself.

"What do I need those for, anyway? I have my own."

"This ones are better than that tangled mess of yours and you need them because we're gonna be on a video call the whole time you're in there," Kenma said and nodded in the direction of the hospital.

That tangled mess of his didn't need charging or cut off everytime there was a gentle breeze, thank you very much.

"Why? You're not going to understand anything," Pedro said in exasperation and then quickly added. "No offense."

"Well, no. Obviously I won't," Kenma admitted. "But I have always been able to read people pretty well."

Yeah, Pedro had noticed that and he also remembered that Shouyou had also mentioned something about that once upon a time. But still...

Pedro sighed and looked between Kenma and the hospital a few times.

"Alright, how are we gonna do this?"

He doesn't know exactly how but about fifteen minutes later Pedro was inside the room of the nameless little girl. Pedro silently thanked whatever higher power has made this possible.

"Dr. Mendes would be with you soon," the nurse that accompanied him said and Pedro nodded and thanked her before she left.

"Are there any cameras around?"

Kenma asked in his ear and Pedro jerked in surprise, he had almost forgotten about him.

Pedro looked around the room, it looked clean and smelled like bleach, but there were no cameras in here.

"Not in her room. The hallway outside has one, though."

"Is it close to her room?"

"Yeah, it's very close to her door and window."

"Can you ask for the wifi password?"

"What for?"

"Because I'm gonna hack her camera."

"Of course you are."

Pedro looked around the room, public places would sometimes have their wifi password posted somewhere. And sure enough. He found it behind the door.

"Found it," Pedro said as took his phone from the front pocket of his shirt and showed the password to Kenma. Now he understands why Kenma had insisted so much on him wearing this particular shirt today.

"Okay, got it."

Pedro nodded even though Kenma couldn't see him and he put his phone back inside his shirt pocket.

"Well, while you do that, I'm gonna take a look around the room, see if I can find anything."

"Yeah, sounds great."

Once Kenma gave him the okay, Pedro turned around and finally took a good look at the little girl.

She looked so small and fragile sleeping in that big white bed, connected to all those machines Pedro has only seen in movies and shows. But she didn't look like she was in pain or suffering. She looked peaceful, happy even, as if she was sleeping and enjoying her dreams.

Pedro sighed and looked around, the couch was full of dolls, stuffed animals, and other toys and Pedro wondered if those were gifts from Shouyou.

There was also a clipboard near the bed that Pedro tried to read but that was more complicated to read than Kanji.

Not only was it filled with medical terms that Pedro was unfamiliar with, the handwriting was very hard to understand. Pedro is sure that doctors only go to school for so long because they learn their own made up language. Writing system included.

Pedro gave up on the clipboard and opened the drawers of the the nightstand that was between the bed and the wall.

The first drawer had some clothes that probably belonged to the girl, someone had clearly gotten those for her because they still had the tags on them.

Pedro didn't need to question if the one that had gotten those clothes for her was Shouyou or not because he was pretty sure of it, since one of the shirts was a child size version of Shouyou's ASAS São Paulo shirt.

"Well, it's not like we needed confirmation that he has been visiting her but it's nice to have it," Pedro said and he showed the shirt to the camera so Kenma could see it too.

He heard Kenma sigh and the familiar sound of a screenshot being taken.

Pedro put the shirt back into the drawer and he opened the second one. There was a notebook and some coloring books on it, and a bag full of crayons, pencils, and pens.

Pedro started flipping through the notebook and based on what was written on it, it was obvious that the little girl had been trying to learn Portuguese.

Pedro put the notebook back and that's when he saw it.

"Kenma?"

Whatever Kenma detected in his voice was enough to make him pause the furious constant typing that Pedro had been hearing for a while now.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

The urgency in Kenma's voice made Pedro basically shove his phone inside the drawer.

"Do you see that?!" Pedro whisper-shouted. "She has a tablet!"

"You need to grab that! Quickly, hide it in your shirt!"

It was actually the first time Pedro had heard Kenma lose his cool. He was shouting and there was desesperation and urgency in his voice.

Pedro was sure that if Kenma was here, he would've ran with that tablet in his hands the second he saw it, investigation be damned.

"But won't they notice that it's gone?"

"Who? It's definitely her tablet and if she's in a coma then no one is using it and we can always put it back."

Pedro sighed. "You make it sound so easy."

"Because it is."

"Wait, I have an idea."

Pedro put his phone back inside his front pocket and grabbed the tablet, there might be a way people won't notice it's absence even if they just open the drawer.

Pedro separated the tablet from the pink and purple, unicorn themed protective case. He put the protective case back in the drawer, just the way it was before, with the books and bag on top of it. That way it would look like it was still there when in reality it was just the case and not the whole thing.

"Do I take the charger too?" Pedro asked once the tablet was carefully secured under his clothes. He had never been more thankful for an oversized shirt before.

"Is it an iPad?"

"Yeah."

"Then no. I have a charger for it."

"Okay."

Pedro breathed a sigh of relief and tried to calm his heart down. God, the things he does for his friend. He didn't know if doing all of this just earned him Heaven or earned him Hell.

Pedro's heart was still beating like crazy so he sat down and started looking at the little girl again. She really was so small and fragile, and she was so, so pale. Pedro wondered if she was cold.

"Hi, I'm Pedro," Pedro started to say in his native language since he didn't want Kenma to know what he was saying. "You probably don't understand me but I saw that you have been trying to learn my language, that's nice."

Pedro knew that he was basically ranting but talking to coma patients was a good thing, right? At least that's what they always say on TV.

"Learning a new language is always fun and it's easier if you do it at a young age. Trust me, I know four," Pedro said and showed her four fingers even though she couldn't see them.

"You're probably wondering who I am and what I'm doing here. You see, my friend saved your life but now he's the one who's in danger. He has been missing for quite some time now, that's why he hasn't come to see you."

Pedro paused his little rant and waited for... well, anything really but nothing happened.

"He's your friend too, right? Do you miss him? I miss him. He's probably like your guardian angel, right? Because he saved you. You see, he saved me too, in a different way, but he saved me too. He's special to me, just like he's special to you. He's my best friend, the closest thing I have to a brother. Being around him is nice, right?"

Pedro asked but he didn't get an answer.

"I'm actually not the only one who misses him, you know? There's so many people out there looking for him. There's a lot of people who love him and who would be devastated if something bad happened to him. He's special to them too."

He thought of all those people, some he personally knew, others he had only heard about in passing. But it was amazing to see how everyone could put their differences aside just because they were missing the same person. A person that had once touched their heart in one way or another and stayed there forever.

"You're probably wondering why I'm telling you all of this. You see, we think that whatever happened to you and what's happening to him now are somehow connected, you were probably one of the last people around here to see him and talk to him before he went missing."

Pedro paused to take a breath and to calm his breathing and his heart. He wouldn't cry, not here, not now.

"Listen, I don't know what happened to you, I don't even know if you're okay or not, or if you can even hear or understand what I'm saying, but please, if you know something give me a sign. Please," Pedro pleaded and he tried to hold the little girl's hand that was closest to him but as soon as his skin made contact with hers a jolt of electricity went throughout his body and an image flashed in his mind.

"Shit!"

"Pedro?! What's wrong?!"

Chapter Text

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Miyagi Prefecture, Japan

Aoba Johsai High

Hajime can't help but hum in approval as Karasuno's third-years execute that flawless finishing move against their opponents. It's a clever move, he has to admit. Karasuno has the strongest six, and they easily took their first win at Nationals.

Sure, he still wishes it was them out there, but Karasuno is the one representing their prefecture, so it's kind of hard not to cheer for them. Looking at his underclassmen, their eyes practically glued to the court; Hajime knows he isn't the only one mentally cheering for the crows.

"So, they won," Kindachi-kun states the obvious as Karasuno celebrates on the screen.

"What? You expected them to lose their first game?" He hears a voice ask from right behind them, and his underclassmen jump in surprise as soon as they recognize it.

"It's Oikawa-senpai!" one of them whisper-shouts to the others, and they quickly fall in line. The former ace sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Well?" the setter asks with a raised eyebrow.

"No," Kindachi-kun hurries to reply, then hesitates. "Maybe," he admits, almost in defeat.

The former captain shakes his head. "If they're going to lose, it's not gonna be the first game. That'll just be embarrassing."

"Well, that was a better reaction than I was expecting," Hajime whispers under his breath, and his childhood friend turns to look at him with an indignant huff.

"Iwa-chan, I'm better than that!" the setter whines, and he raises an eyebrow. Hajime's sure that as soon as it's only the two of them, the setter will drop the 'mature young man that takes defeat with grace' act and the complaining session will begin. "I actually kinda pity the annoying crows," he admits with a pointed look at their underclassmen, much to their confusion.

Hajime gets it; Karasuno might be a rising unknown force at Nationals, but that won't be the case here. Miyagi is already watching their every move, and they're going to be ready for them once they come back home, be it as winners or losers; it doesn't matter.

As much as he hates to admit it, with their star players gone, Seijoh and even Shiratorizawa won't be the same next season, and the fact that Karasuno defeated the two big names around here and managed to go to Nationals has quickly turned them into the next kings to be dethroned.

But he has a feeling that things won't be as easy as Miyagi is expecting them to be. Sure, an argument can be made that now Miyagi has to only worry about one team instead of two. But there's a difference this time because the genius setter and the overwhelming spiker are going to be on the same team this time around.

Hajime doesn't know if he should wish good luck to Karasuno or Miyagi.

Shiratorizawa Academy

As soon as the referee announces Miyagi's little crows as the winners, Satori starts running in the direction of the dorm rooms. He has one particular room in mind, and he won't stop until he gets there.

He enters the room without knocking or announcing himself, but the owner doesn't even seem to be fazed by his unexpected arrival, almost as if he was waiting for him.

"Did you see?" Satori asks, a little out of breath, and Wakatoshi-kun puts his tablet aside and nods.

"I saw," he confirms. "Something changed."

The redhead frowns. "You don't seem to be bothered by it, or even a little interested in it," he points out, and his fellow third-year raises an eyebrow at him.

"Why would I be? They're not my problem anymore, and they shouldn't be yours either. Let the next generation worry about them."

"True. They're not my problem anymore, but I do like to be entertained; they're fun to watch," he admits with a smirk.

But Wakatoshi-kun is right; they should let the next generation worry about them, and they're already watching them like hawks. 

Satori sighs; he kind of pities the little crows. They're about to find out that the top is not lonely at all; it's actually quite noisy. People never leave you alone. 

They're the ones sitting on the throne now, the new kings, and if they think the rest of Miyagi is going to bend the knee and kiss the ring, they're truly mistaken.

It doesn't matter if they come home as the victors or as the fallen; they're the next monsters to defeat, and Miyagi is already readying their weapons.

Good luck, Karasuno.

Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium

Kenma narrows his eyes at Karasuno as soon as the ball drops on their opponent's side of the court. The referee wastes no time in announcing the crows' victory, which coincided with their small break between sets, almost as if they were meant to see it.

"Those third-years got interesting," Kuroo says, almost approvingly, then smirks as he sees the aforementioned third-years celebrate.

Kenma can't help but agree, and based on the murmurs of his teammates, he's not the only one who agrees with their captain's words. But the third-years aren't the only ones who look more confident and interesting now.

"Shouyou leveled up," Kenma says with a small smile tugging at his lips, and his eyes shining with interest. Kuroo laughs as he continues to observe the crows.

"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me."

But it isn't just Shouyou or the third-years; the second-years also seem more confident and interesting. Even the grumpy blond and that setter of theirs seem to have gotten some upgrades of their own and, dare he say it, some character development as well.

Every single member of Karasuno, even the backups, coaches, and managers, seems to radiate confidence now. A confidence that was definitely not there before.

This isn't the Karasuno that barely survived the big bosses of the first levels. They're no longer amateurs stuck on the first hard quest; they've upgraded. They have fought their way through several stages and are now playing on the same arena as the masters. They have gotten so good that it almost looks like they're holding back now.

He wonders if these new developments and newfound confidence are because of their victory against Shiratorizawa or if they're a result of Shouyou's brother.

He had been a little surprised to find out that Shouyou has an older brother, and funnily enough, he found out about him the same way he had found out about Natsu all those months ago: he heard him in the background telling Shouyou that dinner was ready during one of their calls.

Shouyou wasted no time in gushing about his 'super awesome' older brother; the guy has apparently just come back from overseas and has quickly become a volleyball advisor for Karasuno. Because he's apparently a professional volleyball player in some country in South America. A setter, no less.

He had wanted to know more, but Shouyou had to go to dinner, and they had been so busy with training that their texting had been kept to a minimum. He didn't even get to meet the famous brother during the opening ceremonies; the man was nowhere to be seen.

Although he found out that he isn't the only one who knows about him, Bokuto also called Shouyou to wish him a happy new year, and they also talked about the man.

Kuroo suddenly turns to look at him, and he frowns at whatever expression is on his face. "What are you planning, Kenma?"

He looks at him in surprise. "How do you know I'm planning something?"

Kuroo rolls his eyes. "I know that face," he says while nodding at him. "That's your 'I got an idea' face. So, tell me, what are you planning?"

"You'll see," he smirks, then turns to look at their coach. “Maybe I’m just interested in a new quest…” The man takes one look at him, then sighs long and hard.

Hitoka starts jumping in excitement as soon as the ball falls to the floor on Tsubakihara's side of the court. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" she cheers while fist-bumping the air. "They won! They won! We're going to the second round!" An amused chuckle makes her suddenly remember who she's with, and she turns to look at Hinata-san in excitement. "Did you see that?!" she asks while frantically gesturing at the court. "They won!" she repeats, as if the man isn't already aware of the fact or hadn't already experienced it firsthand ten years ago.

Hinata-san openly laughs with delight this time. "I saw," he confirms with a smile. "Let's go celebrate with them," he says as he nods toward the court.

She nods vigorously with a smile. She's about to grab her backpack so they can go join the rest of the team, but Hinata-san suddenly goes rigid. Hitoka's smile abruptly disappears as the man quickly loses all color and starts swaying in his spot; he even has to hang on to the railing for support, his knuckles quickly turning white due to how tightly he's holding on.

Hitoka steps closer to him, her hand hesitantly hovering beside the man's arm. She's about to ask him if he's okay when the man suddenly gasps, and she jumps in surprise. The time-traveler clutches his chest and starts frantically gasping for breath, as if all the air had just been punched out of him by an unknown force and he's desperately trying to get it back into his lungs.

"Hinata-san? Are you okay?" she asks worriedly as soon as the man leans down, using the railing to support his whole body.

He grimaces in pain. "I'm fine," he claims through gritted teeth. "Just dizzy." He closes his eyes and starts taking several deep, shaky breaths.

Hitoka's mind desperately tries to come up with an explanation for the man's sudden condition.

Is it his blood pressure? Low sugar levels? Something he ate? Anxiety? Is he having a panic attack? He's too young and healthy for a heart attack, right? Right?!

She's panicking; she knows. So she shakes her head, trying to get rid of any unwanted thoughts, and she tries to concentrate on the problem at hand. The blonde looks around, desperately trying to find someone who can help her, but she only sees students and civilians around. 

Hitoka worriedly bites her lip.

What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?!

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Hinata-san suddenly cover his mouth with one hand, and he wastes no time in running to the nearest restroom, and she yelps in surprise.

"Hinata-san!" She quickly grabs her backpack and immediately runs after him, almost tripping on air and accidentally hitting a few people with her bag. They rudely tell her to watch out and be careful, and she shouts her apologies at them as she runs.

She abruptly comes to a stop once she's in front of the door, immediately realizing that she can't go inside the men's restroom. "Oh no," she whispers as she worriedly looks at the door.

Oh, no.

No, no, no. 

What do I do? What do I do?!

Almost as if some higher power has taken pity on her, she suddenly has a moment of clarity, and the adult men of their group flash in her mind.

She gasps, and her eyes widen in realization.

Takeda-sensei! Coach Ukai! They can help!

Hitoka wastes no time in running towards their court, tripping on air and bumping into a few people who curse at her. She shouts her apologies without stopping, and she quickly starts running out of breath, but she keeps going, mentally cursing herself for being so clumsy and so out of shape. 

She's considering joining the team during their runs as soon as all of this is over when she suddenly makes a wrong turn. Thankfully for her, she ends up bumping into someone, and that snaps her out of it. She shakes her head and apologizes to them, and quickly starts running in the right direction again.

She's so concentrated on running without getting lost, tripping, bumping into someone or accidentally hitting them with her bag that she doesn't even realize that she runs straight into someone yet again until they're stopping her from falling.

Her eyes go wide, and she loses her deathly grip on her backpack as soon as she realizes who her savior is.

"Coach Ukai!" Hitoka cries in relief.

The man's eyes go wide once he processes who exactly he had just saved from a very nasty fall.

"Yachi?" the coach asks in surprise, then takes a good look at her and frowns. "What's wrong? Did something happen?" he asks worriedly, then looks behind her, his eyes quickly scanning the crowd. "Where's Hinata-san?" His frown deepens.

"He... he..." she tries to say, but she's so out of breath that her words are nothing more than little puffs of air.

"Woah, woah. Slow down, breathe," the man soothes as he puts his own worries aside and tries to calm her down by slowing down his own breaths. She mimics him unconsciously, and slowly her breathing goes back to normal.

Takeda-sensei suddenly grabs her hand, and the next thing she knows, there's a water bottle in her grasp. She looks at it in confusion.

Where did my backpack go?

Takeda-sensei gently brings her hand with the water bottle closer to her mouth, like a parent encouraging their child to drink. She takes a sip, almost unconsciously. He then leans down to pick her bag from the floor, and she frowns.

When did I drop it?

"Feeling better now?" Coach Ukai asks gently, and the young manager nods. "Okay," he nods to himself, then the worried frown is suddenly back on his face. "What happened?"

She takes a deep breath. "I don't know," she admits in defeat. "Everything was fine, and then suddenly Hinata-san went pale, and he said he was dizzy."

The man seems to process that information slowly, then nods to himself again. "Where is he now?"

"He went to the restroom," she explains. "I don't think he's okay," she admits worriedly, and the men share a look.

"Thank you for the match!" Hitoka hears the team shout in unison as they thank the crowd, and she gasps in surprise; she had almost forgotten that they won the match with everything that happened.

The coach turns to look at them worriedly, and she follows his gaze. Their eyes land on the younger redhead, who is happily celebrating their victory with his teammates.

Coach Ukai sighs long and hard. "Don't tell the team, especially not Hinata-kun," he warns, and she nods almost hesitantly. He then turns to look at Takeda-sensei, and the two men seem to have a silent conversation with their eyes.

The coach nods to himself once again and then turns to look at her. "Takeda-sensei will help you; I'll distract the team," he says, and she nods hesitantly again.

She looks at the team again, who are now drinking water and wiping their sweat, big and proud smiles still on their faces. She sighs as her eyes land on the younger redhead once again, and she worriedly bites her lip. Takeda-sensei asks her to lead the way, which she does almost reluctantly. Her worried eyes never leave the team until they're out of sight.

Daichi stares at his hands in disbelief as soon as the ball drops on Tsubakihara's side of the court. And out of the corner of his eyes, he sees Asahi and Suga also staring in disbelief as the referee announces them as the winners of the match.

It worked.

It actually worked.

He knew it was going to work. Of course he knew it was going to work. They took the move from Coach Hinata after all, and they had done it countless times during practice before, but it was different this time; it felt different. Like it finally counted.

Daichi has to admit that everything around him disappeared at that moment. Their opponents, the referee, the spectators, and even his teammates disappeared. It was only him and his fellow third-years at that moment. Only them, the ball, and the net.

Daichi takes a deep breath and then lets it out slowly. He brings a hand to his chest, right over his heart, to feel his erratic heartbeats. Crap, he has been going through such a rollercoaster of emotions all day that he's pretty sure it ended up affecting his physical or mental health somehow.

He has been trying to keep it together all day. He has to; he's the captain. He has to be strong for the team. There were no doubts in his mind that his team was stronger than Tsubakihara's, but the yellow team would not go down easily.

Every team comes here with the same dream; they all have the same goal in mind, and no one is going down without a fight. Everyone is going to do whatever it takes to get to the top; it doesn't matter what sacrifices have to be made, who or what you have to leave behind, who you have to step on to get to the top, or how many dreams or spirits you have to crush. No one is going to stop until you stop them; otherwise, they're going to stop you.

Whatever it takes to get to the top, or watch someone else reach it.

So this is Nationals.

He looks at his teammates, sees the realization of their victory slowly sinking in, and a small smile tugs at his lips. It abruptly disappears when Suga almost tackles him out of nowhere; only his quick reflexes and the fact that he's physically stronger than the silver-haired setter keep him upright. Once he realizes what's happening, he smiles and tightens the hug.

"We did it," Suga says with emotion in his voice. "We won."

He doesn't even get a chance to reply, because Asahi suddenly joins the hug. "We made it," he says, emotion also strong in his voice. "We won."

Yeah.

We did it.

We made it. 

We won.

Daichi hugs his friends even tighter. "Yeah, we won."

How many people had said that they couldn't do it? How many people had laughed at their dreams and determination? How many people had told them to put their silly fantasies and distractions aside and concentrate on their studies? How many people had whispered about them behind their backs? How many people had been looking at them here and thought they would be an easy target? How many people were watching this match expecting them to lose? How many people had thought they would go home crying today?

But those hard times are now behind them; those laughing faces are nothing but a blur now, and all of those mocking voices are nothing but whispers in the wind. They proved them wrong. They're the ones celebrating on the orange court now, not them.

He notices that the rest of the team is celebrating amongst themselves, keeping their distance from them. They're probably letting them have their moment; they probably know that while this is important for all of them, there's something different about it for their upperclassmen.

But none of this could've happened without them. If they're enjoying this moment now, it's because they never gave up on them, they never abandoned them. Because they fought hard right beside them. They gave them strength, they gave them a will to keep going, and they believed in them when no one else did. They understood them like no one else did. They accomplished this together.

My little volleyball family.

Daichi pats his fellow third-years on the back to get their attention, and he nods toward their underclassmen. They smile, and together, the three of them join their teammates in their celebrations, much to their joy.

Their underclassmen waste no time in showering them with praise for earning them their first win at Nationals with that clever move of theirs, and even though the move is not originally theirs, they enjoy their moment. They will correct them later, when their emotions aren't as high.

Their celebrations have to eventually come to an end when the referee reminds them they have to give their thanks quickly because the janitors are waiting to clean the court for the next teams. They quickly get in line and thank Tsubakihara for such an incredible match. 

The yellow team looks a bit saddened that they're going home so soon, but they take their defeat gracefully; they congratulate them and wish them luck, and Daichi and his teammates give them an understanding little nod. They get it; they have been there before.

It isn't until he's lining up the team to thank the crowd and he hears some familiar voices cheering for them that he realizes that his former captains are in the crowd, watching them with proud smiles on their faces. Suga and Asahi quickly let him know that they have been there watching them for a while now, and once he's aware of that little fact, he realizes he was probably more nervous than he thought because he hadn't noticed them at all before. It's no wonder Coach Ukai has been throwing him worried glances all day.

Speaking of their coach, he wonders why the adults of the group haven't joined the celebrations yet, so he quickly searches for them with his eyes, and he finds them talking to the young manager near the bench, but their redheaded coach is nowhere to be found.

Daichi frowns, and he's about to join them when Shimizu suddenly materializes in front of him, holding water bottles and towels in her arms.

She smiles sweetly and proudly at them. "Congratulations! You made it!" she says to her fellow third-years, and they can't help but swoon at her.

They want to hug her; they really do, but they're so sweaty it'd probably be gross. So they settle for smiling at her, thanking her for everything she has done for them, and telling her they couldn't have done this without her.

Shimizu smiles at them again, then she quickly hands out water bottles and towels to the rest of the team, also congratulating them in the process. 

Daichi notices that while the second-years have an even stronger reaction than them, the first-years just smile politely at her and thank her for taking care of them.

He sighs and shakes his head with a smile. They don't get it now, but they'll get it one day. He turns in search of the blonde manager then, only to notice that she's walking away from them alongside Takeda-sensei, and she's worriedly looking at them, especially at the first-years.

Daichi frowns again.

Their blond coach joins them then, showering them with praise and congratulations, but he also reminds them to do their cool-down stretches and tells them that they have some bentos ready for them.

But of course, all the excitement and the thought of food aren't enough to not notice the absence of their team members.

"Where's Nii-chan?" Hinata-kun asks as his eyes quickly scan the crowd in anticipation.

"And Yachi-san," Yamaguchi adds as he also scans the crowd.

Suga frowns beside him and glances at the bench. "Where's Takeda-sensei?"

Coach Ukai sighs. "They're busy," he replies, and Daichi's frown deepens. "Go on, do your stretches; we have to leave the court soon," the man adds as he gestures to the still-waiting janitors and then at Tsubakihara, who are already doing their stretches.

The team nods, and they quickly start doing their stretches, but they're still thinking about their missing members.

Once they finish with their stretches, he notices that his former captains seem to be waiting for them, so he quickly drags his friends towards their once-upperclassmen.

Daichi and his fellow third-years greet them warmly, and he notices that while he and the others exchange some words with Tashiro-san, the second-years quickly fall in line and greet Kurokawa-kun, who was the captain last year when they were first-years.

He can feel the curiosity radiating from the current first-years, and he also notices the sparks of interest in their former captains' eyes, so he quickly calls the four first-years to join them.

As soon as the young men get in line, Daichi starts the introductions. "Guys, this is Tashiro-san, who was the captain when we were first-years." The man gives them a small smile and a wave, and the first-years give him a little bow. "And this is Kurokawa-kun, who was our captain when we were second-years." He nods at them, and his underclassmen bow again.

"Hello," they say in unison, and Daichi smiles.

He notices the teasing smiles of his fellow third-years, who probably already know what's coming, but Daichi doesn't care if he gets teased for this; he's going to do it anyway, and no one is going to stop him. His underclassmen deserve a little confidence boost.

"These are our current first-years," Daichi says, gesturing to the brown-haired teen first. "This is Yamaguchi; he's our go-to pinch server. He has mastered his jump float serve to perfection." The first-year gives them a shy smile, and the former captains nod at him.

He then gestures to the tallest first-year. "This is Tsukishima; he's an incredible middle blocker, and he also uses a jump floater." The blond gives them a little nod that the men return.

He turns to look at the raven-haired teen then. "This is Kageyama; he's an amazing setter and a well-rounded player. He's also a candidate for the All-Japan team." The young setter gives them a little bow, and the former captains nod at him. Daichi notices that they're a little taken aback by the new piece of information, but thankfully, they don't mention it.

He then nods at the smallest first-year. "And this is Hinata; he's technically new to the sport, but he has quickly gotten the hang of it and is now a force to be reckoned with." The ginger gives them a bright smile and a wave, and the men stare at him almost in surprise, but once they process that information, they return the smile. "But of course I don't have to tell you any of that, you already saw them in action," he finishes proudly.

Daichi's fellow third-years giggle, but he ignores them. So what if he's bragging a little? He's proud of his team.

Once the introductions are done, he quickly sends the first-years to Shimizu so she can give them their bentos.

"Those two are so tall. Are they really first-years?" Tashiro-san asks, and Suga confirms it with a resigned smile.

"That first-year setter and the tiny middle blocker…" Kurokawa-kun says as he follows the freak duo with his eyes. "-they're interesting."

"Yeah, they are. Kageyama is an amazing kid; he struggles sometimes with his social skills, but he'll get the hang of it eventually," Daichi replies. "As for the tiny one..."

"He's a stamina monster," Suga says.

"An athletic monster," Asahi adds, almost at the same time as Suga.

"Was the setter really chosen for All-Japan?" Tashiro-san asks, and Suga confirms it. "What about the tiny one? Is he really new? I really couldn't tell during the match."

"Well, technically yes," Daichi replies. "He was totally unknown during junior high, and sometimes he's like a completely unknown force. He had a team back then, but it didn't go so well for him. We don't really have the full story; we only know he struggled during his earlier years."

Sympathy and understanding quickly flash in the former captains' eyes; all of them know how that feels. He quickly tries to lighten the mood by adding, "His older brother plays in the international pro-leagues, and he has been helping us with our training since last month."

Because that's easier than the truth. He's pretty sure if he says, 'His older self suddenly fell from the sky, and we turned him into our coach with the promise that we wouldn't screw up the timeline,' he's going to end up in the nearest asylum.

"International leagues?!" Tashiro-san asks in surprise, and Suga laughs.

"Oh, yeah, they're both so daring. Wait until you hear what the younger one did; he picked a fight with Shiratorizawa's Ushiwaka," the silver-haired setter says with a chuckle.

"Seriously?! With the Ushiwaka?!" The three of them nod in affirmation.

"And that's not even half of it," Daichi says with a small smile, remembering everything those two have put them through. Life sure isn't boring with them.

"An unknown force..." Kurokawa-kun–who has been silently observing the rest of Karasuno this whole time–suddenly says, and the four of them turn to look at him. "I'm pretty sure that's what the other schools think of Karasuno right now." He suddenly gives them an intense look, and the third-years stiffen, suddenly remembering how it feels to be under that gaze. "Make sure you win the next match, too."

He's no longer their captain, but his words feel like an order anyway, so they quickly straighten themselves and give him a little bow. "Yes, sir!" they say in unison, and the former Karasuno captains wish them luck and say their goodbyes.

The third-years watch them leave with determination shining in their eyes. No, they won't go home tomorrow. They have to win; they fought so hard to get here, they won't let it all go to waste. All of those efforts and all of those sacrifices won't be in vain. 

They're not even doing it just for them; they're doing it for everyone who wanted to come here but never got the opportunity to. They're carrying their dreams with them now, and they're going to honor them and make them proud.

They're no longer the old Karasuno. They're no longer lost, they're no longer broken and bruised, and they're no longer unworthy, like everyone said they were. 

They're the new Karasuno, a team with a purpose. They're a well-oiled machine now. They are who they were always meant to be. They're no longer hiding their scars, they wear them with pride, because it's what got them here; it's what made them who they are now.

They're no longer going to pay attention to those laughing faces, and they won't hear those mocking voices anymore. All of that is now behind them. They know who they are now, and they know their strength now. They're no longer birds stuck in cages; now they're flying free. They won't let anyone stop them. They like this freedom.

Whatever it takes to get to the top, or watch someone else reach it. That's Nationals, and they're finally ready for it. No more hiding, no more holding back; they know that court now, and they're going to make it theirs.

This is the new Karasuno.

- Author's Note -

Hello, everyone! Did you enjoy that chapter? Well, I have another surprise for you. There's a playlist that goes with it! So, I decided to start sharing the songs that help me write this fic because music is a big part of my life and my writing, and I have a ridiculous amount of playlists for this fic and they deserve to be shared with you guys.

You can find the Spotify playlist for this chapter here. But for those who don't have Spotify, don't worry the YouTube links are down below as well as the reasons why those songs were chosen.

Who Are You - SVRCINA: Kenma's POV. 'You're not such an easy target. One minute I know you then I don't' tell me those aren't his thoughts throughout that scene.

WONDERLAND - Neoni: Daichi POV - This is Nationals. I'm gonna be honest with you guys, in my head this the theme song for this arc because it fits it so well. I can put this song in every chapter playlist for this arc and it would fit. Don't believe me? Just listen to it and you'll get what I mean. I have a little anime opening in my mind for this arc and this is THE song, okay? Don't judge me.

We Made It - Louis Tomlinson: Daichi POV - We Won. So, this one is a tricky one because it's technically a 'love song' but it fits this story so well? Like, in this chapter it fits the third-years but it also fits Karasuno as a whole and the Shouyous (but that's a story for another time).

This Is Me - Kesha (From The Greatest Showman): Daichi POV - This is the New Karasuno. Look at me starting the playlist with a question and then ending it with the answer. I'm so clever. Jokes aside, this song fits Karasuno so well, especially in this chapter. They know who they are now and they're not gonna listen to anyone who tells them otherwise.

So, since this playlist is so short (because the chapter is short, obviously) and because I'm such a good person, I decided to also give you the playlist that starts this arc, so Spotify users you can find the Day One playlist here. Everyone else, read below.

Welcome To New York - Taylor Swift: Hey, Karasuno, Welcome to New York Tokyo/Nationals. Just a fun little song to start the arc and the chapter and it oddly fits it.

Far From Home (The Raven) - Sam Tinnesz: Hikaru's Breakdown. So, I debated between three songs but I think this one fits the moment better than the other two.

The Greatest Show - Pentatonix (From The Greatest Showman): Pretty self explanatory if you ask me. The opening ceremony, of course.

Where We Rise - Neoni: This song just makes me think of everyone's doubts and nerves about Nationals, especially Ennoshita's in that chapter. That 'believing in yourself but also not' feeling everyone gets in moments like those.

The Greatest - Louis Tomlinson: Tanaka's & Hikaru's Pep Talks. 'Alone we're only just as good as the rest. Together we're the greatest'. In their talks, both are trying to convince their companions that Karasuno is stronger together. Teamwork wins tournaments, they can't do it alone. (Also the verses oddly fit Hikaru's situation).

Let's Do This - Outskrts: We started with a fun song that oddly fits the beginning of the chapter and we're ending with a fun song that oddly fits the end of the chapter. Just a fun song to get you excited for what's to come (First Battle).

Let me know what you think of my song choices, feel free to recommend one if you think it fits the chapter and stay tuned because there are more playlists coming soon.

- Elaine

Chapter Text

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

(Please read, it's kinda important)

Before we start this crazy chapter, I wanna share something with you guys. So, way back when I was first working on this fic (2021). I had this idea of giving this story a cover, I asked around but had no luck but now (2023) I was blessed with a wonderful and very talented soul who made my vision possible when I don't possess the talent to so. They understood all my little ramblings and probably annoying little requests, respected my vision and patiently explained to me all the little things and terms I didn't understand. That sweet and talented person is our wonderful editor (st0ned_pancake), they have done honestly a lot for this fic, you guys have no idea. Anyways, enough rambling, I'm technically not supposed to be sharing this yet but I'm so happy and excited about it and it's so beautiful that I just can't resist not sharing it. So, without further ado, here is the official cover of Heal Our Wings:

AAAAHHHHH!!!! Isn't it beautiful?! Thank you so much for this, Pancake! Everyone go praise our wonderful editor because this is stunningly beautiful and amazing, it has so many hidden details and references (like this fic) it's just aaaaahhhhh. (If you don't leave nice little comments for Pancake for this I'm going on hiatus again. (Just kidding or maybe not)

Another thing! Uh, we have a Discord server now! If you wanna join our little chaotic family, share or read crazy (or not so crazy 👀) HOW theories, get updates, sneak peeks, playlists, and many more things before they're made public go join us over there! The link is right HERE!

Now to the chapter!

Enjoy the chapter! Happy reading!

Earlier