A/N: Hello, readers! Welcome to the beginning of season two! Enjoy!

edited on may 17th, 2021 @ 11:12pm

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CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE - LET'S GO TO TOKYO!!

ATSUSHI WAS ON DAICHI'S TEAM as he had crouched down to save the ball. "Nice receive!" Daichi praised him. Atsushi panted in exhaustion but still wanted to continue. Hinata smiled happily as he saw the ball and ran forward, Atsushi noticed Kageyama looked over at him and got ready to toss.

Currently, the club was put into two teams, the red and white team, with the red team having 20 points and then Atsushi's team, which was the white, were at 23. Not to mention they were at their fourth set, so he was getting tired.

Tsukishima and Asahi get ready to block the quick attack, only to be misguided when Kageyama had set to Tanaka who grins and runs forward. "All right! Here I go!" Tanaka announced, as he jumped up and smacked the ball, getting a point for the team.

"Yeah!"

Hinata bounced over as him and Tanaka high five happily. "Whoo!" The two cheered, as Tanaka grins and turned to Kageyama and Atsushi. Kageyama and Atsushi flinched, as they knew what Tanaka was asking for, but they weren't used to it just yet.

Kageyama held his hands out first, looking unsure.

"Wh-Whoo..."

Tanaka laughed as he went over and high fived the awkward first-year.

"Get used to it already."

Kageyama was taken aback by the high five but nodded. Tanaka turns to Atsushi and held his hands out for a high five. Atsushi sweats since he wasn't used to high fives, but he held his hands out for a high five, Tanaka grins happily and smacked down Atsushi's palms powerfully, which made him hiss.

"That hurt!"

"Sorry, sorry!"

He laughed, which Atsushi huffed in embarrassment. Soon, they continued the practice match with Daichi being the one to serve. "Daichi, nice serve!" Tanaka encouraged. Daichi threw the volleyball in the air and hit it over the opposing team.

"Got it!" Nishinoya reassured on the other team as he receives the ball. "Left!" Asahi called out to Sugawara, as Atsushi watched their ace spike down the ball pass Kageyama and Hinata who tried to block him.

Atsushi dived down, and managed to send the ball up. He was playing as libero on his team, since he needed to work on his receiving more.

Daichi came over to cover for him as he sends the ball up higher. "Chance ball!" Sugawara announced as the ball goes over the net, Ennoshita sets the ball up and Atsushi saw Tsukishima run forward.

"It's coming again." Atsushi heard Kageyama mutter to Hinata as the duo get ready to block.

The two jump, once Tsukishima had jumped up to spike but they were surprised when Tsukishima did a feint, Daichi and Atsushi dive down for either of them to save the ball, but they were too late as the red team got their point which made Atsushi sigh.

"It's just too easy to fool you guys." Tsukishima teased Kageyama and Hinata, who both had irked faces.

"What'd you say?"

"Now, now..."

Soon, Yamaguchi was serving on the red team, Atsushi watched him, curious to see if he improved at all with his serves as he noticed him breathe in.

"Nice serve!" Sugawara encouraged as Yamaguchi did a jump serve, Daichi easily saves it by crouching down and sends the ball up in the air.

Tanaka and Hinata run forward as they then crossed positions and Kageyama tosses the volleyball to Tanaka who slams it down. However, Nishinoya was quick on his feet as he did a rolling save and grins at his teammates when he saved the ball in time.

Atsushi watched as Sugawara sets the ball to Asahi who spiked it down to their side, Atsushi crouched down to save the ball, but the ball hits his arms and bounced off him and out of the court, making the red team get a point.

Atsushi rubbed his arms as Asahi had a powerful spike. "Damn... That was strong." He thought as his arms were red and throbbed a bit.

"Was that the Rolling Thunder?" Hinata had beamed at Nishinoya who smirks back.

"Yeah! Rolling Thunder!" Nishinoya announced, lifting his arm up, as he thought he looked cool.

Atsushi sighed as he rolled his eyes and turned to his teammates. "Sorry about receiving the ball. I'll try and save it better the next time." He said.

"Don't mind." Daichi reassured him, patting his shoulder.

"Rolling Thunder's so cool!" Hinata exclaimed as Atsushi turned to him.

"All right! We're starting fresh!" Daichi announced, clapping his hands as his team nods.

"Yeah!"

Soon, Yamaguchi was serving once more as Nishinoya yelled at him, "Yamaguchi, nice serve!" He called out.

The ball hits the net but rolls over to the other side, Kageyama had dived down and received the volleyball in time. Atsushi ran over to the ball and send it to Hinata.

"Hinata!" Atsushi called out to his orange haired teammate as he runs forward once. The brunette sent the ball to him. He had jumped up high and spiked it down but got blocked by Asahi and Tsukishima.

Daichi however, saved the ball. "Nice cover!" Tanaka praised their captain, as Hinata uses his speed to run to the other end of the net and Kageyama sets the ball to him and they do their quick attack, getting the white team a point.

TWEEEET!

"All right!"

Ukai smiled down at everyone. "All right, that's enough for today." He stated but Hinata cuts him off.

"Can we do another set, please?" Hinata begged.

Atsushi sighed a little, exhausted, but didn't argue with him.

"Huh?"

"Please!"

Ukai sighed and rubbed his head. "You know, constant practice alone isn't going to cut it. Captain, talk some sense into them." Ukai informed before asking Daichi to speak up. But he paused when he saw his team's determined and eager looks to continue playing.

"You guys..." Ukai huffed at us but they did end up playing another set, as Atsushi did want to practice his receives more.

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Atsushi gulped down his water. "Kageyama, you can still go, right?" He heard Hinata ask, making everyone turn to him in shock.

"How he still has energy left, I'll never know." He thought.

"Give me some tosses!" Hinata begged.

"Right." Kageyama agreed without hesitation, which Atsushi shouldn't be surprised about, as the duo headed back onto court, no one else followed and just watched with deadpan looks.

"You guys are still gonna practice?" Tanaka exclaimed at the two.

Atsushi smiled. "What else did you expect from them?" He questioned out loud, as he drank up his water.

His teammates were doing some stretches. Atsushi was about to join them and do some of his own stretches but paused when he heard the gym doors open to reveal Takeda running in, Atsushi winced a little when Takeda tripped and fell, making the team crowd him.

"Sir?"

"Take?"

"You okay?"

Takeda however just looks up at them. "W-We're going, right?" He questioned, which made everyone confused.

"Going where exactly?" Atsushi asked, raising his eyebrow at him.

"Your nose is bleeding!" Kageyama exclaimed, pointing it out, but Takeda didn't care, as he instead fixed his glasses.

"Tokyo!" He announced holding up a sheet of paper, as well as stare at him in surprise.

"Tokyo?"

Takeda nods to Hinata in response. "Tokyo? You mean... Nekoma?" Hinata beamed as he looked excited about the news.

"A practice match?" Kageyama asked as Takeda nodded.

"Yeah, but it won't be just Nekoma this time." Takeda replied, which made everyone tilt their heads to the side in question.

"The Fukurōdani Academy Group... it's a group of schools from the Kanto region that includes Nekoma. They practice with each other all the time. But now, thanks to Coach Nekomata making arrangements for us, Karasuno's been invited to participate in their practice matches." Takeda explained as Atsushi widened his eyes in shock at the news.

He's heard of Fukurōdani Academy, they had one of the top five aces on their team, and he was just outside the range of the top three.

"Groups like that are created through relationships built up over the years, so it's not easy to get in without connections. We've got to make sure to thank Coach Nekomata. And the teacher here who probably kept asking and asking for this to happen." Ukai stated with a playful joke towards the end.

"No, I didn't, really... Coach Ukai's reputation had a lot to do with it too."

"Thank you!"

Everyone bowed to Takeda who had jumped back in surprise. "Over the years, we've lost connections with other schools in the prefecture that we were once close with." Takeda spoke up, making everyone stare at him. "Many of the coaches who knew Coach Ukai well have been transferred to other schools. We shouldn't miss this chance!"

"Yeah!"

"I'm going to be able to see that set up in person again." Kageyama stated as everyone jumped back at his expression and determined aura. Atsushi looked down at all the moments he had with Nekoma.

"It would be nice to see Yaku again. I don't know about Kuroo though." Atsushi thinks to himself.

"This time, I'll be the one who helps defend our reputation!" Nishinoya announced excitedly.

"We're gonna take down that City Boy Alliance!" Tanaka exclaimed, as Tsukishima and Yamaguchi hold back their own laughs.

"City boy..."

"...Alliance?"

Atsushi just stared in amusement at his team. His eyes lingered over to Hinata who shakes in excitement.

"This time, I'm going to break through for sure!" He announced happily.

"Um, the only thing is, their prelims for the Inter-High start this weekend, so it won't be right away. We have an invitation, but there are a lot of details to take care of and people we need to get permission from. We'll talk about that later. For now, I'll assume the team wishes to attend?" Takeda questioned.

"Of course!"

"We'll go!"

Everyone cheered, as Nishinoya had suddenly jumped on Atsushi's shoulders in excitement, making him yelp and almost lose his balance. Takeda smiled before he gasped and looked at his watch.

"I've got a staff meeting, so I've got to get going. Ukai, I leave the rest to you." Takeda stated as he glanced at Ukai.

"Sure." Ukai assured, as Takeda nodded and heads out on out the door.

"Thank you!" Everyone bid the teacher goodbye.

"Come on! Hurry and clean up, then go home!"

"Right!"

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During break the next day, Atsushi was talking with Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. Suddenly, one of his classmates poked his head in the classroom.

"U-Ushijima! There's a third-year looking for you!" His classmate stuttered.

Atsushi raised an eyebrow in question. "Who would be looking for me?" He wondered in his head. He apologized to Tsukishima and Yamaguchi as he excused himself from their conversation for a moment.

He exited the classroom. "Shimizu-senpai? What can I do for you?" Atsushi asked the third-year manager.

"Do you know any first-years who haven't joined a club yet?" Kiyoko asked. "I know it's in the middle of the year, but I need to find a manager to take my place once I graduate. I tried asking Hinata but he didn't know anyone, so I thought I'd ask you."

Atsushi thought about it for a moment, then sighed. "Sorry. No one comes to my mind. Besides, I only talk to Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, so I wouldn't know." He replied.

"I see." Kiyoko said.

"Sorry I couldn't be much help. But I wish you luck on your search, manager."

"It's fine. Thanks anyway."

The school day finally ended, and it was time for volleyball practice, which Atsushi instantly got up and bolted out of his classroom.

Atsushi soon arrived at the club room and entered it. "Hello, every—" He greeted everyone inside, but was interrupted by Tanaka yelling at something, as Atsushi blinked in confusion and walked over. He was reading a magazine, as everyone else, such as Nishinoya, Hinata, Kageyama, and Sugawara all came over to see what made Tanaka yell.

"Oikawa's featured in Monthly Volleyball, and there's a picture to go with it!" Tanaka hissed.

"Well, he's good enough to play in a national league. Right, Atsushi?" Sugawara spoke before turning to Atsushi.

Atsushi shrugged. "I guess." He replied.

"So, what does it say?" Sugawara asked in curiosity, as Tanaka continued to glare at the magazine.

"Um... Oikawa's favorite food is milk bread. His favorite saying is, 'If you're going to hit it, hit it until it breaks.'" Tanaka stated with annoyance as everyone else stared down with unimpressed looks.

"What the hell is that?" Sugawara mumbled as Nishinoya scoffs and went over to join them.

"Who cares? That's completely useless!" Nishinoya hissed as Atsushi glanced down at the page and noticed a picture of Iwaizumi, Matsukawa, and Hanamaki.

"Looks like all of Seijoh's third-year regulars stayed on the team to try and defeat Shiratorizawa." Atsushi muttered, reading the page from Tanaka's shoulder. But quickly jumped back when Tanaka got all fired up.

"Come on and bring it, Seijoh!"

"Bring it!" Hinata added as Sugawara quickly pushed Tanaka away and made him let go of the magazine.

"Hey! You're gonna rip it!" Sugawara scolded. Atsushi stood next to Kageyama, watching everything go down.

"For crying out loud..."

Sugawara looks down once he picked up the magazine, and he notices someone. "Hey, it's Ushiwaka." Sugawara noted. This got Atsushi's attention as Nishinoya and Hinata look at the page.

"Japan?"

"Hey! Get out here already."

Everyone looked over to see Daichi, Asahi and Ennoshita waiting for them outside of the club room. "We're going for a run." Daichi added.

"Hey, Ushiwaka's in the Youth World."

The three at the door look taken aback at this information. "Youth World?" Atsushi heard Yamaguchi mumble in confusion.

"Simply put, players 19 years of age and younger. He's the Japanese representative." Tsukishima explained in a bored tone.

"Only one high school can represent Miyagi in the spring tournament." Atsushi added.

Daichi came into the room and looked over everyone. "For us to go to Nationals, we'll have to defeat Ushiwaka and Oikawa." Daichi stated.

"The last time we went up against Aoba Johsai, we were defeated. Now, we have to defeat Shiratorizawa, and they have Nii-san on their team." Atsushi thought with an exhausted sigh.

"All right! Let's go running!"

"Right!"

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Atsushi looked up at the massive hill ahead of them. He had an unamused look on his face. "Is Daichi trying to kill us?" He thought. "Here we are. Karasuno's famous Heartbreak Hill." Tanaka grins in determination.

"All right! Ten dashes uphill to the halfway mark! Two at a time!"

Atsushi stared at Daichi. "T-Ten dashes? Are you trying to kill me?" He shouted at him as Daichi gave him an 'innocent' smile. The first to go was Ennoshita and Tanaka.

"Ready..."

CLAP!

The two bolted up the hill, the next to go was Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, as they get ready to run off.

"Ready..."

CLAP!

"Tsukishima, run like you mean it!"

Next to go was Sugawara and Asahi.

"Ready..."

CLAP!

The two third-years run off, the next to go was Narita and Kinoshita.

"Ready..."

CLAP!

Kageyama and Hinata step up, ready to race each other, but before they could, Daichi stopped them. "Hold up. Since there is an uneven number, Atsushi, you'll be going with them." Daichi stated.

"Eh? Those two will just run off without me." Atsushi said.

"They won't." Daichi said, pushing him between the two.

Daichi didn't even say anything as he just clapped instead, the moment the clap was heard, the three of them ran up. Atsushi wasn't surprised when Kageyama and Hinata were ahead of him.

"Must you two compete in everything?!" He shouted to them but they didn't hear him.

"Assholes!"

Atsushi quickly tried to catch up, he passed Kinoshita and Narita, mumbling about how he was going to kill Kageyama and Hinata. He heard the two shouting from the distance.

"Hey! Where are you two idiots going?" Atsushi heard Tanaka yell out.

Atsushi eventually caught up to Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, Tanaka, and Ennoshita. "Just let them be." Tsukishima said.

Atsushi sighed as he shook his head. "I wish I could. But then Daichi-san will get mad. So I'll get them... again." He told him as he ran off.

"A-Atsushi! Don't go running off on your own!" Tanaka yelled at him to come back, but he ignored him as he tried to chase after his two teammates, mainly following their yelling.

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"I'm going to kill them!" Atsushi breathed out, as he noticed the sky was setting already.

He looked at his surroundings. "Wait, I know this area. It's by my house. Which means I'm close to where Shiratorizawa is." Atsushi thought.

"You totally went the wrong way somewhere, didn't you?"

"That'd be you, dumbass!"

Atsushi heard the two up ahead, as he finally saw them. "I finally found you!" Atsushi panted, as he stopped in front of them.

"Atsushi!"

"You followed us here?"

Atsushi scowled at them. "You idiots! How dare you leave me behind! I should have just let you two run off, but since I know you'd get lost again, I followed you. I'm already regretting it." He hissed at the two as they flinched.

"Where are we?" Hinata asked, changing the subject and looking around. The orange haired male looked up at the traffic lights.

"Wakano 3-chome?"

"Isn't Wakano near Shiratorizawa?"

"Shiratorizawa? You mean Ushiwaka's school?"

"Did you need something from me?"

Kageyama and Hinata tensed up while Atsushi just sighed. He turned around to see his older brother in front of them.

"Japan!"

Atsushi really wanted to smash his head against a wall.

"If you don't need anything, I'll be leaving." Wakatoshi stated as he started to run off. Atsushi sighed in relief, until Kageyama spoke up.

"We came from Karasuno! Would you mind if we did some recon at Shiratorizawa?" Kageyama asked as Hinata and Atsushi stared at him in shock.

"You idiot! Besides, isn't that basically spying on them?" Atsushi thinks to himself, twitching his eye a little.

"Karasuno... The team that uses that weird quick attack?" Wakatoshi said looking back at them as Kageyama and Hinata tensed.

"Do as you like. No matter what your abilities may be, we won't get weaker just because you watch us." He added as they stood in silence.

"I'm heading back to school now. If you want to look, follow me. If you can keep up."

Atsushi felt annoyed at his words of trying to keep up with him. "He's looking down on them." He thought as he took a deep breath.

"Of course we're going. We're going to defeat you at the spring tournament." Kageyama had scoffed as him and Hinata stretched.

"Of course we'll watch."

"Yeah."

Atsushi kept silent. "Are you out doing roadwork by yourself, Nii-san?" He asked as his brother looked at him.

"Everyone else is just slow. They're back there somewhere." He bluntly stated. Atsushi was taken aback, he then takes off as Atsushi quickly followed him.

In just a couple steps in running, Atsushi was already beside him. Wakatoshi glances at him, with an expression of shock. Atsushi couldn't help but smirk. "Why so surprised? You already knew that I could keep up