A/N: Hello, readers! Welcome to another chapter! Also, "Deadchi" jokes will not be tolerated. I will delete them if I see them. Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

edited on september 28th, 2021 @ 2:53am

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CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT - NEXT

IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT JOHZENJI was more focused and no longer pulling anything reckless like in the first set. Atsushi was still on the sidelines, since Ukai hasn't switched him back in yet. Atsushi watched as Kageyama and Tsukishima jumped up to block a spike. But the spike was a feint.

"A feint!" Nishinoya exclaimed, as Daichi dived down to save it but was unsuccessful.

"Yahoo!" Johzenji cheered as Atsushi sighed and looked at the scoreboard.

Karasuno

19

Johzenji

15

Atsushi looked back at the game as he saw Tsukishima spike down the ball, but it got saved. He sees Johzenji's setter jump up to spike, as Kageyama also jumped up to block, however the setter instead changed position in mid-air and tossed the ball to someone else. Atsushi held back a snicker at Kageyama's expression.

Terushima spiked the ball and got a point. "Back attack!" Yamaguchi exclaimed as him, Hinata, Sugawara, and Atsushi watched with wide eyes.

"A break point, huh?" Sugawara mumbled as Atsushi ran a hand through his hair.

"Those guys are seriously annoying me with their tricks." He mumbled.

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Atsushi watched as Tanaka spiked down the volleyball, but the ball got saved by their Number 7, in which Terushima quickly sets the ball up.

"It's up! Last hit!"

Atsushi watched with narrowed eyes, focusing on the ball. He smirked in pride when Tsukishima jumped up and blocked the ball, making Karasuno get a point when the volleyball hit the court.

"Shut out!"

Atsushi chuckled at Hinata and Yamaguchi who cheered for the block as Tsukishima glanced at Ukai. "If you can stop it, I have no complaints!" Ukai reassures him as the tall blonde nodded. Atsushi gave Tsukishima a thumbs up as he was up to serve.

"Tsukishima, nice serve!"

Hinata was back in the game making Atsushi huff in annoyance as he looked over at Ukai, silently begging his coach to let him play, who was either purposefully ignoring him or was too focused on the game. Either way, he sweat dropped at the brunette.

Atsushi watched the game continue when Tsukishima served, Daichi managed to receive the ball as Hinata raced off. "Nice receive!" Tanaka complimented. Atsushi widened his eyes when he saw that Johzenji's blockers weren't crowding Hinata like they were before.

Hinata spikes down the ball, in which someone receives it, but the ball almost touched the court when it bounced off the libero's arms, Terushima was quick to react when he kicked the ball back up, and Atsushi watched as their Number 7 jumped up and slammed down the ball, getting a point.

Atsushi narrowed his eyes a little. "Oh, man... Don't tell me they're getting used to the fast attacks already?" He thought as he saw Karasuno had 20 points with Johzenji catching up with 18 points. He looked over to see Hinata whisper something in Kageyama's ear.

Soon the game continued when Johzenji served the volleyball into the air. "Got it!" Nishinoya called out as he received the ball, in which Kageyama tossed it up to Hinata. Atsushi was a little surprised on how Hinata zoned in on an open spot as he slammed it down and got Karasuno a point.

A few more plays later, Karasuno was at 23 points and Johzenji at 19, Atsushi watched as Hinata and Kageyama do their attack again, but this time Terushima was there to touch the ball, and sent it back up. Atsushi watched as Johzenji's Number 9 spikes down the ball and it bounces off Tanaka's arm and got a point for Johzenji.

"All right!"

Atsushi tapped his fingertips on his chin. "So their aim is to touch the ball before we can hit it into an open space we cannot reach." He thought, sighing a little. "Let me play, damn it!" He groaned as he once again looked at Ukai, who ignores his stares once again.

The game continues as Atsushi watches Hinata and Kageyama do their quick attack. "Bring it!" Terushima challenged. Atsushi smirked when he saw Hinata tap the ball lightly over the net and got Karasuno a point. He sees Daichi give a thumbs up in his direction.

Atsushi couldn't help but laugh and point to Johzenji.

"That's how Karasuno gets shit done!"

He knew his teammates were sweat dropping at Atsushi's sudden outburst as Yamaguchi had to pull the brunette's arm down to stop him from pointing at them while Sugawara patted his back to calm him down.

"We're at match point!" Atsushi noted.

The game went on as Atsushi kept his eyes trained on the ball. However, he was surprised when Johzenji did another synchronized attack.

"Be careful! It's different from before!" Ukai warned.

Daichi jumped up to block Terushima, but the Johzenji captain spiked down the ball as no one had time to receive it as it touched the court. Everyone stared at the referee with the flag to see if Johzenji had gotten a point.

TWEEEET!

The referee raised the red flag, signaling that the ball was out, and Karasuno won the match.

"All right!"

Atsushi rushed over and gave everyone who played a huge hug with Tanaka ruffling his hair. Soon they all lined up and stared at Johzenji who looked as though they still wanted to be on the court.

TWEEEET!

"Thank you very much!"

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They exit the gym to rest since the other team would be arriving. As they exited the gym, they see Yachi rushing up to them. "You guys did it!" She cheered, as Tanaka jumped up for a double high five.

"Yay!" He announced.

Nishinoya copied him. "Yay!" He exclaimed as Yachi nervously held her hands up.

"Y-Yay!" She stuttered.

Ennoshita was quick to grab the two second-years from pouncing onto Yachi for their high fives. "It's impossible for her to jump for two high-fives at the same time." He scolded.

"R-Right..."

The three second-years all took turns on giving Yachi their high fives, as Atsushi chuckled and took a look around. He smiled when Aone walked over, Hinata jumped at the sudden sight of him when he rolled out the volleyball trolley.

"I'm going to stop you tomorrow."

Atsushi was a little taken aback by Aone suddenly speaking before he turned away and walked off. "And I'm going to get through!" Hinata declared back at him, as Aone stopped and glanced at Hinata, who smiles up at him. Aone grunted in reply with a small nod and went back to walking away.

Hinata suddenly raised his hands up and yells in happiness. "Shut up!" Kageyama shouted at Hinata to be quiet.

"Was he waiting here to tell Hinata that?" Yamaguchi mumbled.

They suddenly heard a whistle go off, making them look curiously at the courts to see their opponent. "The game on Court B's done?" Hinata questioned as they walked over to see who they would be up against.

"If so, the winner is our next opponent."

Atsushi didn't bother to go and see who the team will be as he walked away with Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. He suddenly stopped walking when yellow uniforms caught his eye as he saw Terushima walking away with his team.

Atsushi frowned a little before looking over at Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. "I'll be right back." He informed as he took off.

"Don't get lost!" Yamaguchi called out as Atsushi gave him a peace sign before chasing after Johzenji.

He was finally able to catch up to them as he saw Terushima heading into the bathroom. He really only needed to talk to him, so he headed inside the bathroom. When he entered, he saw that Terushima was just looking into the mirror until he saw the brunette and flinched a little before letting out a sigh.

"If you came here to make fun of me or something—"

"Of course not. That wouldn't be good sportsmanship. I just wanted to say, you played extremely well." Atsushi interrupted, sending him a small smile as Terushima was taken aback and smiled back at him.

"You serious?" He questioned as Atsushi nodded.

"Your team has a pretty unique playing style. I was impressed." He complimented as Terushima walked closer to him.

"Have you ever thought about switching teams? Join mine, you're pretty good, and we would welcome you." Terushima said as Atsushi chuckled.

"I honestly feel like I'm repeating myself when I say this, but if my older brother couldn't convince me to go to Shiratorizawa, then you can't convince me to join Johzenji." Atsushi stated. "I'm happy being in Karasuno."

"Can we at least exchange numbers?" Terushima asked.

"I don't see why not."

"Yahoo!"

The two of them exchanged numbers as they headed out of the bathroom. "I should get going." Atsushi said as Terushima nodded in agreement.

"Good luck on your next match!" He beamed as Atsushi sent him a nod before jogging off to catch up with his teammates.

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They had arrived back at their school gym once the day was over as they surrounded Ukai and Takeda. "Thank you for all the hard work on Day 1!" Takeda stated.

"Thank you!" Everyone shouted back in reply as they were all sitting down.

"Wakutani Minami, our next opponent, is not like any previous opponent. They have third-years like us. They're a highly polished team. Their defense and tenacity are close to Nekoma's. Don't lose your temper just because you can't get your attack in. Especially you guys, you psyched-up simpletons." Ukai stated as he looked towards Kageyama, Hinata, Nishinoya, Tanaka, and Atsushi.

Atsushi gave his coach a deadpan look.

"Why am I being paired up with those idiots?"

Daichi smiled. "It will be all right. We've got their backs." The captain reassured them making Nishinoya, Tanaka and Nishinoya beam at his comment. Kageyama and Atsushi stayed silent.

"W-We're counting on you guys!" Hinata, Tanaka, and Nishinoya said in unison.

Daichi then stood up. "All right, we're going to make it through tomorrow, too." He claimed as he held his hand out, his team getting up and getting into a circle with their hands stretched out in the middle.

"Karasuno, fight!"

"Yeah!"

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The next day, they were back at Sendai City gym on the court, warming up. However, Atsushi was more focused on the cheering coming from the stands.

"Hurray, hurray... Ta-ke-ru!" The male shouted as the whole family started to cheer.

"Hurray, hurray, Takeru! Hurray, hurray, WakaNan!"

Everyone stared up at the family. "There's more today than yesterday?" Sugawara commented. "A younger brother?"

Atsushi chuckled. "Why do you look so jealous?" Tsukishima asked Hinata who did indeed look jealous.

"I think it's amazing to have your family cheer you on." Atsushi commented as Daichi clapped his hands to get their attention.

"Come on, concentrate." Daichi stated as everyone nodded. Atsushi continued to do his stretching.

"Captains."

Atsushi looked over and watched Daichi and the captain of the opponent team walk over, as they shook hands. "Let's have a good game." The two spoke. As they were doing their own stuff to warm up, Atsushi jumped when he heard yelling from the stands.

"Ryu! Ryu!"

Atsushi looked over to see Tanaka's older sister. Nishinoya of course, was the first one to react. "Nee-san!" He exclaimed.

"I came to cheer you on!" Saeko announced as Atsushi saw Tanaka pale a little at his sister. Atsushi chuckled in amusement.

TWEEEET!

Both teams lined up as the game started and they bowed. "Let's play!" Both teams announced, as they get into position. Atsushi was fired up to play since he didn't get to play as much yesterday.

"Bring it!" Hinata challenged.

The ball gets served as Daichi received it and sends it up. Kageyama and Hinata do their quick attack right off the bat, as Karasuno gained the first point.

"Right on!"

"All right!"

"Hinata, nice kill!"

Atsushi was expecting their opponents to be scared after the attack, however the captain just smiled. "All right, we'll cut the next one quick!" He stated as his teammates nodded in agreement.

"Yes!"

"Yeah!"

Atsushi blinked in confusion. "They aren't surprised by the fast attack?" He thought as they get back into position to play. Kageyama was soon serving as Atsushi concentrated on both the ball and the opposing team.

"Hinata, a powerhouse school may be watching you closely, you know?"

Atsushi looked over at Daichi who was giving a pep talk to Hinata, Atsushi smirked, realizing what his captain was doing as he glanced at his orange-haired teammate.

"They've probably been doing research on you..." Atsushi spoke in a whisper, where only Hinata and Daichi could hear him.

Hinata kept silent, before having a happy look on his face. Excited as Tanaka had a dead inside look in the back with Daichi smiling as Atsushi stood beside Hinata with a lazy smirk on his face.

"Man, he's totally upstaging us!" Daichi added as Atsushi sweat dropped when he saw Hinata moving his body around in a circular motion.

"But I'm going to surpass yesterday's self." He stated as Tanaka then stood beside Hinata and gave a scary look to the opposing team.

"Hey, if you guys are just watching Hinata, I'm gonna peck yer eyes out."

Atsushi held back a laugh as he just coughed instead to hold his laughs, as him and Daichi gave each other a thumbs up.

Soon the game continued.

"Kageyama, nice serve!"

Kageyama did his jump serve, and just when Atsushi thought they might get a point, the captain of the other team appeared over at the ball and saved it, Atsushi watched as the players charged forward, as Hinata, Daichi, and Atsushi were getting ready to block.

However, Atsushi saw that their Number 2 was coming from behind, making him stop his jump in time and ran over to try and block him as Daichi and Hinata took the other guys in case he was wrong.

Atsushi turned out to be correct, but he didn't get the ball on time and only felt the ball graze his fingertips but it was still out. Atsushi clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"They're pretty fast... But that doesn't matter, I just have to be faster." He thought as he went back to his original position.

"Don't react to each and everything the spikers do! Go after the ball!" Kageyama scolded Hinata, who looked annoyed.

"I-I know that, in my head!" Hinata hissed out as Atsushi sighed at the duo.

"But whether or not the body moves is different. I know how that feels." Tanaka spoke from the back, as Atsushi deadpan at his teammates but didn't say anything. They went on with the game as the ball gets received.

"Nice receive!" Nishinoya praised as Kageyama and Hinata do their quick attack, but Number 4 from the opposing team saves it.

"It's up! Cover!" He called out.

Atsushi stood beside Daichi and Hinata as they get ready to block. "We're gonna stop this! Ready, and..." Daichi counted down as they jumped up. However, Atsushi saw that the spiker aimed for Hinata's fingertips as he slammed it down and the ball was sent flying into the stands where someone quickly caught it.

"Blocked out?" Tanaka mumbled behind them, as everyone was a little shocked to see what happened.

"All right!" The opposing team cheered for their point. The game continued as the ball went back and forth.

Atsushi was panting in exhaustion, as the opposing team got another point when they broke through his block. He glanced at the scoreboard.

Karasuno

14

Wakutani

15

Atsushi sighed and wiped away his sweat as he went back to focusing on the game. Nishinoya saves the ball when it got served as Hinata rushes in quickly and successfully did his quick attack and Karasuno got a point.

"Yeah!"

Soon, it was Tanaka serving. "Tanaka-san, nice serve!" Atsushi encouraged him.

"Yeah! Leave it to me!"

"You're seeing it, you're seeing it! You're sure to pick up the next one! Piece of cake, piece of cake!" Atsushi heard the captain of the opposing team reassure his own teammates, making him and Hinata a little annoyed. Atsushi had to control himself from spouting out insults.

"Half of that is just trying to get you riled up. Don't get provoked." Daichi said to Atsushi and Hinata, making the two blink at him, but they calmed down. Atsushi saw how Daichi and the captain of the opposing team both had a challenging look on their faces as they went back to their positions.

The ball gets served by Tanaka as Atsushi made sure to keep an eye on it. He saw how the ball gets spiked down and Tanaka receives it as Hinata runs forward, but he was a decoy as Asahi ran over and powerfully slammed through the blocks and got Karasuno a point.

Daichi and Asahi fist bump each other, but Atsushi snickered when the duo held their hands in slight pain, Nishinoya and Hinata just smiled at them.

"Asahi-san!" Nishinoya cheered.

"Nice kill!" Hinata added.

"Right..."

The game continues with both teams at 17 points. Tsukishima was in the game now, blocking beside Atsushi. He watched as they gained another point from Asahi who slammed down the volleyball.

"All right!"

Soon the ball gets served as Tsukishima, Kageyama, and Atsushi all saw the incoming spike, so the three of them jumped up and successfully blocked the spike, getting Karasuno an easy point.

"What?" Their number 2 exclaimed in annoyance. Both Atsushi and Tsukishima had a teasing smirk on their faces with Kageyama staring blankly ahead.

Karasuno was now at 19 points. "All right! This is our chance! Let's get some momentum!" Daichi announced.

"Right!" His team shouted in agreement as Atsushi stretched his arms.

"Tenacious WakaNan! Our best is yet to come!"

"Yeah!"

Atsushi raised an eyebrow at the opposing team but shrugged it off.

The game resumes as the ball goes back and forth, Tanaka managed to save one. "Asahi!" Daichi shouted as the ball got sent to the ace who spikes it through, but the Wakutani was able to dig it back up.

"Don't let it end, don't let it end! Let's make sure to get this one!"

"Yeah!"

Atsushi thought the long rally was exhausting, but he wasn't going to give up. As him, Kageyama, and Tsukishima jump up to block a spike from the opposing captain. It was a block out again, with Daichi running over and saving it, as Nishinoya came in as well and quickly dug the ball back up as well.

Daichi came running back to the court at full speed to save the ball, however Atsushi widened his eyes when Tanaka didn't see Daichi as he was in his way when Tanaka was going to save the ball.

"Tanaka-san, wait—" Atsushi called out but he was too late.

SMACK!

The volleyball rolls over the net and onto the court where Karasuno gets the point, but no one was cheering as they all stared at Daichi with widened eyes and fear.

Daichi lays on the ground as him and Tanaka collided, with Tanaka holding onto his shoulder, but he didn't seem all that injured.

"Daichi-san?"

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A/N: Another chapter is done! Let me know if there's any mistakes! Thanks for reading!

Word Count: 3276 words.