Chapter 56 - Let's Do This

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"If we win twice in tomorrow's preliminaries we can advance to the representative playoffs in October," Takeda explained as he looked at the matchup sheet. "The eight schools that make it through this first preliminary, along with an additional eight veterans, will compete in the representative playoffs in October."

"We only have two matches in the first preliminary?" Hinata questioned.

"We made it into the best sixteen during the Interhigh Prelims, so we're exempt from the first game this time around," Suga answered.

The ginger gawked. "Woah! We're awesome!"

"The way you guys are now, you can definitely make it through!" (Y/N) exclaimed, her hands on her hips. "Let's do what we always do, but 100% better!"

"HELL YEAAAAH!"

Kiyoko, Yachi, and (Y/N) all watched as the boys ran to the courts.

"W-We're finally having an o...official match... I'm g-g-getting nervous..." Yachi stuttered out, trembling.

"This will be your first official match after all," Kiyoko replied, smiling.

"Uh huh..."

"It will be my last," Kiyoko mumbled and Yachi began to tear up. (Y/N) paused, looking at her with wide eyes.

"Sorry, sorry, don't cry!"

Yachi rubbed her eyes. "I-I'm not! A mosquito just flew into my eye is all...!"

"A mosquito?!"

"Hitoka, here! Use my handkerchief." (Y/N) held out the cloth to her but the girl continued to cry, making the older two panic.

"What're you looking at so enthusiastically, sensei?" Ukai asked his partner who was sitting beside the girls.

"Oh, Ukai-kun. Well... Our first years are incredible, but... I was wondering if other schools also have amazing first years, so..."

"Ah... Him, huh... He sure is." Ukai sweatdropped. "Looks like tomorrow will be tricky, too..."


Taking in a deep breath, I dribbled the basketball between my hands.

The street court was empty with only me being there. It was barely lit if not thanks for the street lights.

Closing my eyes as I continued to stabilize my breathing, honing my scenes, I slowly opened them, a zap of a yellow stream appearing.

The world seemed quiet as I entered the zone, the only sound filling my ears was my breathing and basketball which sounded echoey.

As I continued to dribble the ball hand to hand, between my legs, I visualized my opponent.

His pink-red hair, those mismatched colored eyes, his height, his expression, everything.

Taking the first step, I began to move, the image of Akashi moving as well.

It was as if I were playing against the real him with how he moved to block and defend against me. We both continued to move back and forth at speed worthy of members of the Generation of Miracles.

The game I was playing out seemed like a dance with how fluid and fast paced it was. Though, to the outside eye, I probably looked like an idiot who was playing by herself.

Passing the ball to my right hand behind my back, I rushed forward, dribbling the ball between my legs and through Akashi's as his weight shifted ever so slightly. I charged towards the basket, jumping up into the air, twisting as I dunked the ball through the hoop.

Letting go of the rim, I let myself fall down to my feet and sighed, looking up at the sky, a puff of air visible from my breathing. Looking at the ball which stopped bouncing and rolling, I walked over to pick it up.

"You've changed," he said as I picked up the basketball, holding it between my hands.

"I know," I replied, looking back at Akashi, his expression ever so stoic.

"Do you regret it at all?" the redhead asked, keeping the distance between us. "Falling to such a level."

"Regret?" I repeated, a smirk emerging on my face. "Not at all. I don't regret anything." My hair moved, falling over my shoulder when I nudged my head. "I'm still just as strong, if not stronger thanks to those guys."

Akashi frowned. "So you no longer care about winning?"

"What's the point of winning if I can't have fun playing the sport I love?" I shot back, our auras clashing. "I do love winning, sure, but you know what I love more?" I put my hand to my chest, making eye contact with him. "This feeling of thrill and excitement that I get when I see them play, when I play."

"...You're a fool."

"I don't mind being a fool in your eyes. Because if I'm a fool in your eyes then you're an idiot in mine." I grinned. "Just wait, you will fall from your throne during the finals of the Winter Cup."

His eyes narrowed as the image of him began to vanish. "Is that what you tell yourself?"

"No, it's what I know."

When I blinked, leaving the zone, the image of Akashi I visualed was no longer there. The only thing on the court was myself and my shadow which seemed to connect to the darkness.

The street lights flickered above me and I looked back at the cloudy sky which covered the stars, but kept the moon visible.

"...Tetsu, Taiga..." I mumbled, staring at the shining moon. "I'll be counting on you, Serin. Show all those guys what underdogs can do..."

'Ryouta, Shintaro, Daiki, Atsushi, and Seijuro...'

"And please... bring those idiots back home to me when I return."


The day of the Nationwide High School Volleyball Championship aka the Spring High, the first Preliminaries to decide Miyagi Prefectures representative, August 11th.

"Look, that's them. That's Karasuno."

"Huh?"

"They're the ones who played a full set against Aoba Johsai in the last Interhigh Preliminaries, and were this close to winning!"

"Seriously?!"

"They've apparently got Kitagawa Daiichi's King of the Court and Chidoriyama middle's Nishinoya on their team."

"The one who won best libero in middle school?!"

"Yup! But, y'know, aside from the libero, there as one other guy who did solid receives on serves from Seijoh's Oikawa. Probably their captain.

"Yikes."

"Still, Karasuno's members aren't that tall, on the whole. There was one around 190cm, but I don't think he stood out much during the InterHigh Prelims. Then there's those two scary left side guys. They sure seem like power spikers. There's that too, but man, their manager's are cute!"

"More like beautiful! Or sexy!"

"They also have the Thief of Teiko, Kise (Y/N) on their team as an assistant coach! A sport's prodigy and one of the GOM in the basketball world, she was said to be their assistant coach in her second and third year of middle school."

"What?! That's too OP!"

"And of course, you've got him... That guy who's a middle blocker even though he's short, who hits this crazy quick strike... Karasuno's #10!"

"Woah, he looks insanely haggard!!"

"Y-You okay, Hinata?!" Yachi asked, walking up to him.

"I'm good. I puked on the ride over, so I'm completely refreshed. My stomach's empty though..." he answered.

"Coming along after filling up on katsudon in the morning, of course you'll get motion sickness," Tsukishima said, sitting down on the ground.

"You dumbass! Stupid dumbass Hinata!" Kageyamam yelled.

"Your insult vocabulary is kinda limited to dumbass, huh." Daichi made a face.

"I-I'll work hard to add more!" the setter responded.

"You can drink this to get your energy back," I said, holding some juice.

"Oh thanks!" Hinata smiled before turning to Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. "It's normal to eat cutlets on the day of a match!"

"Where is that normal?" the blond muttered.

"I... feel like I'm gonna hurl just thinking of Hinata throwing up on the bus..." Yamaguchi murmured, holding a fist to his mouth as he turned pale.

Tsukishima, who was sitting next to him, panicked. "Get to the bathroom, quick!"

"A-Add in anxiety, and I feel like it too..." Asahi grumbled, turning pale as his cheeks puffed out. "Urp."

"Wait, you were actually concentrating to keep from throwing up?!" Suga exclaimed in shock.

"Is this really your second time puking on the bus, Shoyo?" Nishinoya asked, laughing.

Tanaka patted his shoulder. "Holding on until the bus stopped without hurling in anyone else's lap... You've sure grown up, Hinata."

"Oi! Stop talking about this shit!" I yelled. "Topic change!"

"Bwahahahahah!" The idiot second year duo laughed.

"...Is that really the team who almost took down Seijoh?"

I wanted to cry as I clenched my fist, shaking. 'Y-Yes... this really is the team which almost took them down...'


"They've finished the match before us," Daichi announced. "Let's go."

Pushing the cart of volleyballs, the boys began to jog onto the court, Tanaka glaring at the Ougiminami players.

"Ougiminami looks like they're just a bunch of delinquents," he said, making a threatening face.

"You're one to talk," Suga retorted. "Quit making that face."

"Let's go!" "Let's go!"

"We're serving first," Daichi informed (Y/N) and Ukai.

"Got it."

Start of the official warmups began.

"The monk look is like seriously lame."

"Like, seriously."

Tanaka overheard them and made a calm expression as he collapsed his hands together. "...Please entrust the ball to this humble personage," he said, confusing Kageyama who set the ball up.

(Y/N) sighed, face palming. "Oh dear..."

Tanaka jumped up, spiking it with all his strength. "Take that, fuckers!!!" He yelled, shocking Tsukishima who was walking behind him and the two players from the other team who were badmouthing him.

"Nice spike, Tanaka!"

"Holy crap, what a super sharp angle! He hit it from right around the attack line..."

Tanaka bowed down to Kageyama with the same face and his hands collapsed together. "That was but a humble offering." Kageyama was still confused, but bowed down to him as well.

Setting up the ball again, Hinata spiked it down.

"Nice spike!"

"All the Karasuno guys have incredible attack power..."

"Still, we don't know how that'll play out in the match yet."

The whistle blew as warmups came to an end.

"Ooh, the match between Karasuno and Ougiminami is starting."

Yachi nervously stood behind the banner in the bleachers and (Y/N) sent the girl a reassuring smile and thumbs up.

'Don't worry,' she mouthed and Yachi blinked before letting out a wry smile.

The boys lined up, bowing to each other. "Let's have a good game!"

"The other team's already lost their third years, but seeing as they only had one to begin with, the second years have been this team's main force since the Interhigh competition. This time, they passed through the first round with a straight set. Be careful of #1 on the left," Ukai said.

"Osu."

"...From the end of the Interhigh to the present, you've been challenging things unfamiliar to you without backing down. You played practice matches against Kanto's champions roughly seventy times in total! But your new weapons, which started out as failures, are now beginning to take shape." Takeda smirked. "Go out there and get a victory that counteracts the frustration you've felt so far."

The boys then turned to (Y/N) who stood beside the teacher, arms crossed.

"Well, I don't have much to say since I think Takeda-sensei basically summed it up, but..." she paused before a small smile made it onto her face. "Don't think about the future. Think about the present and what you can do now. Go out there and have fun."

"Yeaaaaah!" they shouted, Hinata and Noya jumping into the air.

"Karasuno, fight!" "Ossu!"

"Ossu!" Yachi softly yelled.

"Oh? So you came to watch too!" a man said with a grin. "Ukai-sensei."

"Let's go, Kaji High!" "Go go let's go!"

"Yeah," the older Ukai replied.

"It's your cute grandson's team after all."

"That ain't why!" he yelled.

"Ooh, there's Shou-chan!"

"Y'know, I saw their practice match with Nekoma back during Golden Week. Karasuno's pretty good this year, wouldn'tcha say? They've got this amazing first year combo!" he crossed his arms, smiling. "Well, they've always gotten through the first round thus far, so I bet they'll be fine today, too."

"There's no such thing as a match you can definitely win or one you definitely can't," Ukai-sensei said. "Slightly differences in a team's condition, anxiety, and impatience... No matter how great a championship school may be, its players are only human. There will be times when the slightest of upsets makes them fall apart. I wonder how today's Karasuno will fare...?"

Asahi bounced the ball up and down as he got prepared to serve.

"Asahi-san, give 'em a good one!"

He took a deep breath in, waiting for the whistle. When he heard it, Asahi threw the ball up.

"Bring it!"

He jumped in the air, his palm hitting against the ball and sending it flying between two players right before the outside line.

"It's a no touch ace!"

"Right from the get go...!"

"Nice serve!"

Ukai-sensei crossed his arms. "...Not bad."

The younger Ukai grinned. "...Alright. Here we go."


16-11, first set, Karasuno's lead.

Kageyama and Tsukishima jumped up. "Two blockers!"

Daichi's eyes were wide as he analyzed the scene in front of him. 'He's switched to a feint!' He moved forward, the ball hitting against his forearms.

"Nice one, Daich-san!"

"That was fast!" Yachi exclaimed. "It's as if he was waiting for it...!"

'...It feels like I can see the spokers' movements more clearly than before.'

"Asahi-san!" "I got it! Cover it!"

'...Ougiminami's receives have been slightly disorganized since the first round, so they won't be using a quick.' Tsukishima followed the set. '...Left.' He ran, bending his knees and jumping straight up to block a spike, the ball hitting down on their opponent's side of the court.

"Nice on Tsukishima!"

"Nice spike!"

"I kinda get the feeling that there's much less hesitation in everyone's movements compared to before..." Takeda commented.

"That's because they didn't just go to the training camp to train new techniques. They went to give their all in a series of games against champions unlike those in Kanto," Ukai replied.

"Tanaka!" The male ran forward.

"Serving strength, spiking strength, attack variety, defensive power... They've gotten used to all of those at a far higher level," (Y/N) continued. "They're not the same team anymore, they are better than before."

He spiked it down, gaining another point.

"Dammit...!"

The game continued and Karasuno was at set point. Nishinoya received the ball and Hinata ran up, jumping diagonally as Kageyama sent the ball his way. He spiked it down, getting the winning point for the first set.

"...Holy crap...!" Towada blurted out as he watched the ball spin away.

"Woah?! Shou-chan's amazing! He jumped sideways! But they still haven't done that weird quick strike yet!"

"We'll defeat everyone and go to Tokyo."

'...He wasn't kidding. He really is planning to do just that. With that small body of his, he intends to defeat Ushiwaka.'

"Let's do our best! You guys doing your best is more meanfuling than whether you win or lose!" Ougiminami's coach tried to encourage them, but was only met with silence.

"Hey, c'mon! Don't get all quiet now! And you're all unusually so loud too!" a voice shouted from above.

"Haaah?!" "Eek!"

"Ah! Captain Akki-kun!" Towada shouted, seeing the man up in the bleachers.

"Why're you guys so spineless in volleyball, when you've got no problems picking fights?" the former captain questioned, only to get angrily glared at. "Yeeep!" he shrieked in fear. "Wahaha! Y-You can threaten me all you want, but I'm on the second floor, so I'm not scared at all!"

"..." "Why did he even come...?"

"...This is your battle, so how you handle it is your business. Still, let me just say one thing! Being serious about it, being frantic about it, and giving it everything you've got... There's nothing wrong with those at all!"

Ougiminami, and now Karasuno too, stared at the former captain.

"What?" "Who's that? What was that declaration?"

A dark aura surrounded Towada. "...Heh. Fufu. Fufufu... Fufu..."

"What the?! You're scaring me!"

"Have you finally lost it, senpai?"

"...Sensei. ("Yes?!") Y'know, seeing as we all came here to battle on either side of the net, I think our only aim is to win and continue on to the next match," Towada said, feeling determined. "I've had enough of acting like we're a bunch of weaklings and only caring about appearances. It's disgraceful. Alright... I'm gonna say it."

"Say what?"

"We're gonna beat Karasuno! Get through the first preliminary and overthrow Shiratorizawa!" he declared, making his teammates grin.

"Wahaha! Man, you've really said it now!"

"You better believe we will!"

Hearing their declaration, the boys faced them. "Challenge accepted!" They shouted and the two teams grinned at each other.

(Y/N) put her hands to her hips, taking a quick glance at the retired captain who was grinning ear to ear. "Glad to see that they haven't given up yet. A game is no fun when one side no longer wants to play to win. Alright boys. Since you've been challenged, go ahead and give them one!"

"Osu!"


"It makes me happy that they didn't give up, even until the very end," I said aloud, leaning against the wall with my phone against my ear. "Even though they were so worn out and were losing badly, they didn't back down."

"Is that so?" Ryouta hummed from the other side of the phone. "I'm glad then. Who are you playing next-ssu?"

"Ahh, some school that I never heard of," I replied shrugging. "But I heard they have a tall dude."

"Taller than Murasakibaracchi?"

I giggled. "No way bro, as if. Atsushi is taller than him. I mean the first year is 2m."

"Murasakibaracchi still towers over him-ssu." Ryouta chuckled. "Well, I know that you'll win. His height will be useless if he doesn't have any skills-ssu."

"True... By the way, how's it over there?"

"Everyone's busy practicing and with games," he responded and listening closely, I could hear the sound of basketballs, shouts, and sneakers squeaking against the floor. "But I'll make time to visit and see one of your games!"

"Really?!" I brightened up. "No way! Ryo you better promise!"

Ryouta grinned on the other side. "Hehe, I promise-ssu. We will be seeing each other before the Winter Cup, (N/N)."


The boys and Yachi watched the team they were going to play against later, currently playing and were freaking

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