His Warrior Queen: A Haikyuu!! Novel (Tsukishima x OC)

Chapter 102: Take Me Home (TW)

(TW: Attempted drugging of an unsuspecting victim, discussion of date rape, dubious consent)

Sawamura Daichi was content.

He smiled as he looked around the room from his position at one of the tables.  He was stretched out, lounging, leaning back in his chair so he could see as much of the room as possible.  He knew the party would be coming to an end soon, and, just for a few moments, he wanted to take it all in.  Take them all into his memory, as they celebrated their great achievement together.

When he'd first come to Karasuno, he'd hoped to make a name for himself at the powerhouse school that had produced the Little Giant.  But he'd quickly discovered that the powerhouse was gone, Karasuno had had their day, and was no longer the school he'd thought it would be.  There was still a volleyball club, but it was nothing at all like the Karasuno he'd seen on television, playing in the National tournament.

By the end of his first year, he'd changed his goal.  His great desire was no longer to make a name for himself at Karasuno.

His desire was to make the name of Karasuno great again.

He was proud of that.  He'd grown that first year.  It would have been so easy to just choose another goal for himself - to forget about volleyball and find some other thing to focus on.  But something inside him had ignited when he saw how far Karasuno had fallen.  Suddenly, it was no longer enough for him to just do something great for himself.  There were Sugawara and Asahi to think about.  There were his senpais, who'd wanted to do more, but couldn't quite seem to figure out how.  And yes, there was still selfishness there, because part of him wanted that legacy.  To be the ones who turned Karasuno around and make it a powerhouse again.

And they had done it.  He was captain of the Karasuno boys' volleyball team when they made their triumphant return to the National stage.  Top eight in all of Japan.  Not too shabby for a team that at the start of this season had been considered a total joke by virtually everyone.  

Daichi was proud, and content.  He'd done what he'd set out to do.

He was also...feeling a little sad.

It was the end of an era, here at this little party.  Oh sure, for the next month they'd still have practice several days a week, he'd still be the captain a little longer.  But the games were over.  Now it was just about making the transfer smoothly.  Making sure their juniors had every benefit the third years could possibly give them before they left for good.  But honestly, that wasn't what was making him feel sad.  Wistful, yes, but he was ready to pass the torch on to Ennoshita.  To let their kohai carry forward.  He would miss this team, absolutely, but he couldn't ask for more, to be fair.  He'd shed a few tears when they lost out of the tournament, but it didn't hurt the way he thought it would.  He was too proud, too amazed at how incredible their season had been, to feel all that much sadness at not making it to the top spot.

No, what was making Daichi feel sad was...he no longer had a goal.

He was sure a new one would present itself soon, but right now, he felt a little empty.  Entrance exams were over, and in a few weeks he'd know how things had played out and he would set himself a goal for his college years.  But right now...all he could do was wait.  It was always a little strange, this period between goals.  There was the pride and elation of having completed what you'd set out to do...but once that started to fade, he always found himself in this weird headspace.  

Daichi was always happiest when he had a goal he was working towards.

He'd spent a little time thinking about his future with volleyball.  He was a good all around player - a skilled receiver, a good wing spiker, and his passing and serves were respectable.  But as he'd considered the idea of playing volleyball at the college level, he'd had to ask himself - were his skills good enough that a college team would want him?  Or a pro league?  Was that even something he was after?  Could he really expect to do anything greater with volleyball than what he'd done right here at Karasuno?