A/N: Hello, readers! Another chapter is here! Enjoy!

edited on august 4th, 2021 @ 6:58am

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CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE - MOONRISE

ATSUSHI YAWNED AS HIS BACK was against the bus that was parked in front of the school. He had to wake up early to catch the train in order to arrive at school since they were leaving to Tokyo again.

"Oh, man! Oh, man! Taking off in the middle of the night is pretty exciting!" Hinata exclaimed.

"It's way too early to deal with his energetic mood..." Atsushi thought.

"Oh, right! You guys were late last time." Tanaka commented as Atsushi watched Tsukishima walk over.

"Being an idiot must be nice. You can fall asleep anywhere." Tsukishima stated.

"What was that?" Hinata and Tanaka growled.

"Well, we're scheduled to arrive early in the morning once again. Ukai and I will take turns driving." Takeda announced once everyone was gathered. Ukai yawned.

"Sorry I nod off." Ukai said.

"Counting on you, sir!" Daichi spoke up, bowing.

"Sir!" Everyone exclaimed. Tsukishima and Atsushi were the only ones who didn't bow or yell. Mostly because Atsushi didn't have the energy to do it.

"All right, Ryu!"

"All right, we're heading out."

"Let's show 'em what we're made of!"

"Heck yeah, Noya!"

"Just shut up and get on."

"Let's do this."

Atsushi was the first one to board the bus as he took a seat near the back. Just as he was about to close his eyes, his phone buzzed, making him sigh and take it out of his pocket.

"Messages from Kenma, Kuroo, and Lev..." Atsushi thought. He replied to the three of them before shutting off his phone and closing his eyes.

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When Atsushi had gotten off the bus, he was met with a bright light, making him wince and hide behind the nearest person to block out the sun. "Didn't know you were a vampire, Atsu." Atsushi heard Kageyama say.

"The sun is too bright for my liking."

Atsushi then looked around and saw Kenma and Yaku. Kuroo was heading over to talk to Daichi as the brunette grabbed his things before heading over to Yaku.

"Greetings." Atsushi greeted, yawning as he did so.

Yaku chuckled. "Did you get enough sleep?" He questioned.

"I slept on the bus on the way here, if that counts." Atsushi answered.

"Hey, hey! Where's the Skytree?" Atsushi heard Hinata ask Kenma.

"Huh? The Skytree?" Kenma questioned in confusion.

Atsushi watched as Hinata pointed to the transmission tower. "Oh! Is that the Tokyo Tower?" He asked in excitement as the brunette snickered.

"Huh? That's just a transmission tower." Kenma replied as Atsushi chuckled to himself. Everyone started walking as Kuroo stood in the middle of Daichi and Atsushi with Kai on Atsushi's other side.

"What the hell? Are there no transmission towers in Miyagi? Pretty sure I've heard that conversation before." Kuroo said with a sly look.

"To us country folk, all steel towers in Tokyo look like the Tokyo Tower!" Daichi stated.

"That's a bit unreasonable. Also, we're in Saitama." Sugawara said in an exhausted tone. They continued walking as Atsushi stopped next to Kenma.

"Hey, Kenma." Atsushi greeted, tiredness still laced in his voice.

"Hey." Kenma greeted back. Before the two could catch up, Hinata came over.

"We're going to be playing in a different high school than last time." Hinata noted as Kenma nodded in reply.

"Apparently, all the summer training camps are held in Shinzen. It's nice and cool here." Kenma informed as Atsushi jumped when he suddenly slapped his arm. "Though, there are tons of bugs."

"Hinata! Atsushi!"

Atsushi raised an eyebrow at the sound of his name being called. Lev was running towards them. "Have you grown any taller?" Lev bluntly asked Hinata.

"Lev, shut up." Kenma sighed at him in annoyance. Lev stopped once he faced them.

"How rude for that to be the first thing you say. Like anyone grows taller in just two weeks!" Hinata hissed as Lev just smirked.

"I grew two milimetres." He stated, making Hinata jump back in shock. Both Kenma and Atsushi decided to leave them.

"Anything interesting happen lately?" Atsushi questioned.

"Oh. I have videos of Kuro being dumb. I didn't bother sending them because I knew you'd be here. If you want, I can show you them after practice." Kenma replied.

Atsushi laughed. "I'd love to see them!" He commented.

"I'm so grateful to be alive right now. To hear Atsushi laugh. I should just force him to come to Nekoma." Atsushi heard Kuroo from behind him.

"Not a chance!"

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Karasuno was changed into their yellow vests that they used for practice games. Everyone was gathered around Ukai as they were playing against Fukurōdani. "All right, we're gonna swap out members constantly this time around, so be prepared." Ukai informed.

"Right!"

TWEEET!

"Our goal is zero penalties!" Bokuto exclaimed as everyone got onto the court. Fukurōdani was serving first. The ball went towards them as Atsushi saw it going towards Nishinoya. "Noya-san!" He shouted as Nishinoya nodded and saved the ball in time.

"Yeah!" Nishinoya cheered.

"Nice receive!" Daichi praised as Kageyama rushed to his position to set the ball to Hinata.

Atsushi looked as Hinata charged forward to do the quick attack, it made the brunette anxious. "That weird fast attack is coming!" Bokuto announced as another member got ready to lock.

However, when Kageyama had set it as Hinata had jumped, making Atsushi's eyes widen. Hinata landed on his feet as the ball fell to the ground. It made everyone stare at Kageyama in shock and some in confusion.

"What the heck? Kageyama, that wasn't like you." Tanaka chuckled from the sides as Kageyama grew flustered.

"I'm sorry." He apologized, turning away. Atsushi noticed Hinata look at him in surprise.

"All right! One more! Nice serve!" Bokuto said.

Atsushi sighed and rolled his shoulders so he wouldn't pull a muscle.

The ball gets served again as Atsushi kept his eye on it. "Got it!" Nishinoya yelled as he saved it and it went towards Kageyama once more, who gets ready to toss to Hinata.

Hinata jumped up as Kageyama tossed to him, however, it was too far this time.

Atsushi sighed, thinking they weren't going to get a point, but was shocked when Hinata used his left arm to send the ball back up as he came tumbling down.

The ball rolled over the net and Karasuno gained a point.

"Nice, Hinata!"

"Nice, Shoyo!"

Atsushi blinked at what he had just witnessed. Hinata hadn't done that before. Not to mention Kageyama was setting differently. Everyone was improving, making Atsushi huff in annoyance.

"Everyone is trying their best to sharpen their skills. Then there's me who hasn't improved at all." Atsushi thought, clenching his jaw. He felt someone's eyes staring at him from the opposite side of the net. But he couldn't be bothered to see who it was.

Asahi was now doing his serve, as he bounced the ball up and down, he threw it up and did a jump serve, making the ball go over the net. However, he hit the ball too powerfully and it was an out.

"Out! Out!"

Asahi clicked his tongue in annoyance when the ball goes out and Fukurōdani gets the point. "That's fine! Keep it going!" Ukai encouraged.

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Kageyama and Hinata had been swapped out and were replaced with Sugawara and Tsukishima. Atsushi knew that Ukai wanted to try out the synchronize attack, so that's what they did. Atsushi charged forward from the back, however Sugawara tossed the ball too late making Atsushi along with everyone else tense a little as the ball dropped to the ground.

"Well, we shouldn't expect it to go completely right the first time..." Atsushi thinks to himself.

The game continued as the ball goes up and Sugawara saved it. "Sorry! Cover!" He announced as Atsushi watched Nishinoya smirk happily and run forward.

"Leave it to me!" He exclaimed, jumping up to do his own set, however, he jumped too far, he realized his mistake and the ball bounced on the ground once more.

"Hey, what's up with you guys today?" Bokuto questioned with a smile on his face as Nishinoya was trembling with a flustered look. "Are you all right?" Bokuto added.

Nishinoya groaned looked to the side. "Damn it!" He hissed to himself.

Atsushi glanced at the score, which made him frown a little.

Karasuno

12

Fukurōdani

24

The game resumed as Atsushi watched the ball get served into the air, it goes to the setter who tosses it to Bokuto who happily jumped up. Daichi and Tsukishima also jump up to block him but the spike was too powerful and Bokuto got through them. Atsushi dived down to save the ball, but he was too late as he huffed in annoyance.

"Yes!" Bokuto cheered when he got through the two blockers.

TWEEEET!

Everyone lined up once the game ended with Bokuto's team winning. "I need to get better." Atsushi thought as Karasuno lined up and bowed at Fukurōdani.

"Thank you!"

Daichi then lead everyone outside. The sun blinded Atsushi, but his eyesight quickly adjusted. "The penalty for this camp is apparently something you see only at Shinzen: A refreshing uphill dash through the forest behind the school!" Daichi announced as Atsushi paled.

"All right... ready... go!" Daichi exclaimed as he clapped his hands and everyone started running up. Atsushi did more of a jog instead, not wanting to use up his speed.

"There's no way in hell I'm running up this hill. I already did that in Miyagi and that was just a complete disaster." Atsushi thought, thinking back to when him, Kageyama, and Hinata ran into his older brother.

Once everyone was finished, they all went back down as Yachi handed them their water bottles. "Here." She said, giving the brunette his water bottle.

"Thanks." Atsushi said, taking the water bottle from her and drinking it. He looked over at Hinata who was peeking inside, but decided not to bother him.

"I should practice more once everyone is sleeping." Atsushi thinks to himself.

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It was dark out, and everyone was done with practice. Atsushi left early to go into one of the gyms that he hoped no one was occupying. He peeked in and seemed satisfied when he saw no one inside.

He heads to the storage room and grabbed a volleyball. The net was set up, making Atsushi assume that someone had been there but must've forgotten to clean up.

"I'll work on my jump serves."

Atsushi stares at the opposite side of the net, he threw up the ball and jumped up, his hand making contact with the ball as it went over the net. The brunette couldn't help but think back to an old memory.

"You're such a try-hard!" One of Atsushi's seniors exclaimed. "If I didn't know any better, I would think you're trying to be Ushijima-senpai!"

"I'm not trying to—"

"You are!"

Atsushi flinched at his seniors tone. "You'll never be as good as your brother. Stop trying to be better than him."

The second-year shut his ears, blocking out his seniors voice from taunting him. "Please, don't—"

"Don't compare me to him!" Atsushi shouted with frustration as he slammed the ball powerfully, making a huge bang sound on the court.

Atsushi panted as sweat was running down his forehead. "All the things my seniors said back then... It's the sole reason why I stopped using my left hand. I hated being compared to Toshi-nii. It was the worst feeling in the world." He thought.

He didn't even hear the sounds of footsteps approaching him until he felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned around to find Bokuto looking at him.

"Kuroo heard sounds coming from the gym, so I thought I would investigate." Bokuto explained. "Say, you're related to Ushijima, correct?"

Atsushi snorted. "Unfortunately." He muttered.

"Oh, sorry. I bet that gets annoying." Bokuto said. "I'm Bokuto Kōtarō!"

"Yeah. I know who you are. You're one of the top five aces in the country." Atsushi commented. "I don't mean to be rude or anything, Bokuto-senpai. But why are you here?"

"Hmm... you seem troubled, and I want to help." Bokuto said before another person came in. "This is Akaashi Keiji. My setter. So, what do you say?"

Atsushi let out a long sigh. "Fine." He responded, knowing that Bokuto most likely wasn't going to let him decline.

They began practicing as Atsushi spiked every toss that Akaashi had given to him.

"Say, you're ambidextrous correct?" Bokuto then asked.

Atsushi widened his eyes. "No one knows that except my Nii-san and Tobio. So how did you—" He began.

"I saw you spiking with your left hand when you did your jump serve." Bokuto interrupted. "Why don't you use it in matches?"

Atsushi sighed. "All my life I've been compared to Toshi-nii. Every time I used my left hand in junior high my seniors would scold me. So I was forced to use my right hand all the time." He replied.

"Who cares?" Bokuto spoke up. "If you feel more comfortable using your dominant hand, you shouldn't hide it. That power gives your team the advantage they need."

"Can you... perhaps teach me how to use both of my hands equally, Bokuto-senpai? I would love to learn from you."

"You should've said something from the start! Of course I will!"

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It was the next day as Atsushi sat down at the table next to Sugawara. As he was eating the food from the cafeteria, he heard Nishinoya calling out to Tsukishima.

"Hey, Tsukishima. Eat up! Or you're not gonna last!" Nishinoya ordered as Tsukishima just smirked.

"Nishinoya-san, at least your stomach's big." Tsukishima teased as Atsushi chuckled.

"What'd you say? You cheeky brat! This is what you get!"

Atsushi watched as Nishinoya annoyed Tsukishima. "Your true self will pay!" Nishinoya exclaimed.

"H-Hey, stop! They're gonna break." Tsukishima stated, gesturing to his glasses. Yamaguchi and Atsushi watched from afar.

"Hey, Daichi's gonna get mad!" Sugawara warned them.

Atsushi let out a long sigh and went back to eating his food.

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Karasuno was currently in the gymnasium playing against Nekoma. Atsushi glanced over at the score since they had been playing for a while now. He sighed when he saw it.

Karasuno

15

Nekoma

24

It was Asahi's turn to serve as he waited for the whistle. Once the whistle blew, he served the ball, however it hits the net and Nekoma got match point, Atsushi sighed, knowing they would have to do the penalty.

Daichi lead all of them outside. Atsushi groaned at the sight of the hill.

"Go!" Daichi announced, clapping as everyone ran up the hill.

The game they had, they lost once more as they re-did the penalty. It was becoming a norm for them

"Go!"

Everyone rushed up the hill once more.

The same thing kept happening again and again. "I'm done!" Atsushi coughed out as they entered the gym once they finished their penalty run.

"Here you go, Atsushi." Kiyoko spoke as the brunette nodded in appreciation and gulped down the water.

"Everyone!"

They all turned when they heard the voice of Shinzen's manager. They saw the managers holding watermelons.

"The parents from Shinzen High gave us some watermelons!" She said as everyone cheered.

They were all given a break as they ate their watermelons. Atsushi was on his second one as he was seated next to Hinata, Lev, and Kenma. He sees Lev spit out the seeds, making Hinata stare in amazement.

"Whoa! That's awesome, Lev!" He exclaimed as Atsushi just ate the fruit.

Hinata kept trying to do the trick that Lev did with the watermelon, only to fail as Lev would laugh and Atsushi and Kenma watched with amused looks.

"Hinata, you suck." Lev grinned as Atsushi let out a long sigh.

Soon they were able to start some more matches once everyone had finished their fruit.

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At their next game, Karasuno was versing Nekoma in which they lost at 16 points. Nishinoya had failed to save the ball the last minute.

TWEEET!

Atsushi headed outside, the sun was setting. "Go!" Daichi announced, as everyone did so.

Atsushi watched as the ball went into the air. "Left! Left!" He announced, calling for a toss as Kageyama glanced at him and tossed the ball towards him. Atsushi jumped up and spiked the volleyball down, getting past three Ubugawa blockers.

"All right!" Tanaka cheered for him as Atsushi looked at the score to see where they were at.

Karasuno

12

Ubugawa

17

"Hey, you went idle just now!" Kageyama scolded to Tsukishima. "Even if you're a decoy, you need to jump!"

Tsukishima scoffed. "So observant... sorry, man." He huffed, jogging away.

"Tsukishima, your serve is next." Daichi informed as Tsukishima nodded and grabbed the ball.

His teammates cheered for him as he served the ball. Atsushi watched as the ball goes back and fourth, keeping it play. However, he widened his eyes when he saw Nishinoya and Daichi bump into each other. They both apologized before going back into the game.

Soon the ball goes into play as Atsushi watched Kageyama receive it. Atsushi ran forward to cover for him.

"Go for it, Asahi-san!" Atsushi called out to their ace as he set the ball towards him, but it was a bit short, making the brunette scowl in annoyance.

Atsushi noticed Hinata lick his lips, as if he wanted to spike it. But he suddenly froze, and he saw him look at Asahi who had an intense aura around him. Hinata took a step back for Asahi to spike it instead as Asahi jumped up and got past three blockers with a powerful slam.

"Nice kill, Asahi! That was an awesome spike!"

Even so, they had eventually lost, as Karasuno approached the doors, Atsushi saw that it was dark out.

"Go!" Daichi clapped as they all raced up the hill.

Once they were done, they headed back down the hill. Hinata was his normal happy self, bouncing around.

"Man, I wish I had his energy." Atsushi thought as he watched Hinata get excited, it made him even more tired.

"Time for personal practice!" He exclaimed.

"Another magnificent total loss today." Sugawara commented as Atsushi followed everyone else inside.

Once he stepped in, a familiar voice called out to him. "Atsushi, you wanna practice with us again?" Bokuto asked as Atsushi sighed.

"Sure." He replied as Bokuto beamed.

"Great, now where's Specs?" He asked as Atsushi was confused at first, but then realized he was referring to Tsukishima.

"Over there." He replied, pointing in the direction where Tsukishima was. Bokuto walked on over.

"Specs!" He called out which made Tsukishima tense a little. "How about you come help us with our spike practice again today?" Bokuto asked as Atsushi noticed Hinata was listening in.

"I'm sorry. I'll pass." Tsukishima replied, walking away from him.

"Oh, really? Kuroo!"

"Aw, man..."

"I haven't even said anything yet!"

Atsushi chuckled and patted Bokuto's shoulder. "I'll be in the gym." He informed and walked out.

As he was