A/N: Hello, readers! Welcome to another chapter! Enjoy!
edited on july 24th, 2021 @ 7:43am
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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE - CENTER ACE
IT WAS A LONG DRIVE from Miyagi to Tokyo, but the Karasuno volleyball team eventually made it. Excluding Hinata and Kageyama since the duo had to stay back to do their supplementary exams. Hideaki felt bad about leaving them behind, but it couldn't be helped.
When Hideaki exited the bus with everyone else, Nishinoya and Tanaka quickly looked up to see a transmission tower, to which they mistook it for something else entirely different.
"Is that..."
"Could that be..."
"The Skytree?"
Hideaki snorted at his two juniors, since it was clearly not the Skytree. "No, that's just a transmission tower." Kai Nobuyuki, Nekoma's vice captain, had corrected with a sheepish but amused look.
Kuroo, who was beside his teammate, had turned away and hunched over a bit, while grabbing his stomach and letting out a hyena-like laugh.
"Here we are, Tokyo!" Nishinoya and Tanaka shouted. Hideaki could feel a headache coming on. "Could you two be any louder?" Hideaki mumbled.
"The scenery's different from Miyagi." Hideaki heard Asahi comment, as he looked around with Sugawara at his side.
"Well, we're in the suburbs." Sugawara informed with a smile, as Hideaki noticed behind the two third-years to see Nishinoya was pushing Tsukishima around with Yamaguchi tiredly following.
"Walk faster!" Nishinoya ordered as Tsukishima had a look of annoyance.
Hideaki blinked at the two, before sighing in disappointment. "Hey, darlin'." A familiar voice spoke, making the hawk-eyed male cringe and look to his side to see Kuroo hovering over me.
"Didn't I tell you not to call me that?" Hideaki questioned, deadpanning at the Nekoma captain who chuckled.
"But it fits you." He teased, wrapping his arm around his shoulder and pulling him close to his chest.
"Let go of me." Hideaki hissed, not liking the male invading his personal space.
"Hmm... no. Why should I?" He said, gripping him tighter making Hideaki groan. "Say, will you join my school yet? I want you with Nekoma. Don't you think being a cat suits your personality more than a crow?"
"I already told you I'm staying with Karasuno."
"You can still change your mind though."
"You're unbelievable."
Daichi came to his rescue as he got in between him and Kuroo, which Hideaki was thankful for. Kuroo and Daichi had a mini stare down before Kuroo realizes something as he leaned closer to Daichi.
"Hey, come to think of it... Aren't you missing some people?" Kuroo questioned, noticing that Hinata nor Kageyama were around. Daichi and Hideaki shared a look.
"Actually..."
(Flashback)
The team was in the clubroom, showing their exam results. Hideaki got a 85-mark score, so he passed, as Nishinoya, Tanaka, Hinata, and Kageyama were showing them their exam results. Seiya stood by Tsukishima as both of them stared at the papers, Hideaki dead panned at the sheets, to see that Hinata had 21 points with Kageyama getting a 38.
"I shouldn't even be surprised at this point." Hideaki thought, sweat dropping at the marks Kageyama and Hinata got.
Nishinoya and Tanaka then smirked in accomplishment. "This is how awesome..." Nishinoya began.
"...your upperclassmen are!" Tanaka finished as the duo posed with their marks, since they got a passing result.
Sugawara and Hideaki dead panned at the two. "You both got over 40 points." Sugawara stated as Hideaki nodded in agreement, as the two stiffen and robotically walk away. Hinata and Kageyama were both looking down as Tsukishima was looking at the sheets.
"What? Hinata, you failed English?" Sugawara announced, peering over as Hideaki did the same.
"But you were so confident..." Hideaki added with an audible sigh.
"Apparently, he figured out right before time was up that all answers he filled in were off by one." Tsukishima stated, glancing at Hideaki and Sugawara.
"Seriously? Sadly, the English teacher, Ono-sensei, won't let things like that slide." Asahi spoke up, frowning in sympathy as Yamaguchi looked over at them.
"Yachi was really shocked by it, too." He added, and Hideaki could almost imagine how Yachi reacted.
"As for Kageyama, his issue was Modern Japanese." Daichi spoke up, reading through Kageyama's papers. Ennoshita who was beside Daichi turned to him.
"Apparently, there was a lot of reading comprehension questions this time. He was concentrating on all the memorization of short answers, so..." He said.
Asahi soon walked over, and widened his eyes. "Oh, the kanji portion of the exam is perfect! Amazing!" Asahi gasped at this. Hideaki sighed and looked at the duo who continued to sulk. He then nudged Sugawara who jumped a little but nodded as he knew what his fellow third-year was trying to ask him.
"Well, don't be too discouraged. This won't be the only time we have away games—" He began, but he was interrupted when the two had a fiery aura around them.
"How are we gonna get to Tokyo? Should we run?"
"Nah, we need bikes."
Hideaki jumped back along with Sugawara. "They're totally planning on going!" Hideaki thought with a slight panic. He then watched as Tanaka went over to the duo.
"Hey, you two." Tanaka spoke as everyone turned to him, but he was addressing Hinata and Kageyama as they blink up at him. Tanaka gave them smirks.
"You guys only failed one test, right? Then you should be able to finish your supplementary exam in the morning. After that, I'll call your savior." Tanaka announced as he gave the two a determined look. The two stared at him in confusion, but had appreciation.
"However, your safety and comfort during the ride will absolutely cannot be guaranteed. Thank you for understanding." Tanaka bowed, apologising in advance which made Hideaki sweat drop.
(End Flashback)
Hideaki walked towards the building with Kuroo and Daichi on either side of him. Yachi and Kiyoko were ahead of them. "So, the power duo's taking some supplementary exams right now?" Kuroo grins as Daichi and Hideaki stare sheepishly.
"Yeah, but well..." Daichi spoke up, but he was cut off when a loud cry was heard, and Hideaki flinched back, accidently bumping into someone's chest. He jumped back into someone's chest when he heard a loud wail.
Hideaki looked forward to see the Yamamoto guy on the ground staring at himself, Kiyoko, and Yachi. "G...G... Girls! There are two of them now! Not to mention they have the hot guy with them too! Now they've got a pretty one, a cute one and a smoking hot one!" Yamamoto cried out, making Hideaki raise an eyebrow in confusion as what he was rambling about.
Hideaki noticed that Kiyoko stood protectively in front of Yachi as he stayed back with Daichi and Kuroo.
Tanaka walks by with a grin. "Do you see, Tora?" Tanaka spoke as he stood in front of Kiyoko and Yachi looking like a buddha. "This is what Karasuno's true ability looks like." He announced, making Yamamoto look away.
"So bright!" The mohawk guy cringes from the light. Tanaka just laughed.
"Let's go." Kiyoko told Yachi who nodded sheepishly.
"O-Okay." Yachi stuttered, walking away with Kiyoko.
Hideaki didn't even realize he was close to someone's chest until they wrapped their arms around his body and pulled him closer, making him blink as he looked up to see Kuroo smirking down at him.
"I knew you couldn't stay away from me." He teased, gripping Hideaki tightly.
"Kuroo, let go." Hideaki mumbled but he shakes his head.
"Nah, this is much more enjoyable for me." Kuroo stated as Hideaki sighed in annoyance.
He did the one thing he could think of and elbowed Kuroo in the stomach, making the male release him and stumble back.
"How many times do I have to tell you that I have a boyfriend for it to go through your thick skull?" Hideaki mumbled before walking away.
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Karasuno had gone to get their gym uniforms which was their white shirts with their uniform shorts that they wore for official games. When they got to the gym, Hideaki's gray orbs scanned every team that was there.
"Let's play!"
Hideaki looked around to see what kinds of teams where present.
Ubugawa High Volleyball Club.
Shinzen Volleyball Club.
Fukurōdani Academy.
"And then there's also Nekoma and Karasuno. Sheesh, Karasuno are like crows rising from the ashes compared to these teams." Hideaki noted, feeling a little nervous.
"Once we're done with our warm-ups, we'll regroup, and the teams will play each other in rotation." Kuroo spoke up, making Hideaki glance up at him.
"Right!" Daichi responded, as Kuroo did his famous smirk.
"After each set, the losing team has a penalty of one lap around the court, flying." Kuroo informed as Hideaki just sighed.
"Hey, was that guy with Nekoma the last time we had a practice match with them?" Sugawara spoke up, gaining Hideaki's attention, as he glanced at him and Asahi.
Hideaki widened his eyes to see a tall and lean guy looking at them, with an intense stare, as if he was watching them like a cat.
"The one who's staring hard at us?" Asahi jumped back, also noticing the gaze of the young male.
"Yeah." Sugawara responded.
"No, I don't think so." Asahi mumbled, as the unknown male continued to stare at them.
Hideaki looked at his appearance. He had neatly parted light grey hair and catlike slanted green eyes framed with thin eyebrows. He was very tall, with exceptionally long arms and legs.
The male must've sensed Hideaki watching him as he turned and meets his gaze. The hawk-eyed male glared back. He smirked in triumph when he saw the unknown male flinch.
"Nice try, first-year brat. I'm not the type to get intimidated." Hideaki thought, walking away.
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Karasuno was currently playing against Fukurōdani, which was a powerhouse school from what Hideaki had read online. Sugawara was being the setter since Hinata and Kageyama couldn't do their famous quick attacks.
Hideaki glanced at the score and sighed at it.
Karasuno
16
Fukurōdani
24
"It's not like we're doing horrible... It's just that this school is tough to beat. As expected from a powerhouse." Hideaki thinks to himself.
"Number 7!"
"One blocker!"
The ball gets to their side as Nishinoya successfully crouched down to receive it. "Nishinoya, nice receive!" Sugawara praised as Hideaki kept his eyes on the ball, ready to charge forward.
"Left! Go left!" Fukurōdani's captain ordered. Hideaki narrowed his eyes and glanced at him. From what he gathered from his teammates, his name was Bokuto.
"Hideaki!" Sugawara called out to the third-year, making him blink to see that he was setting to him. Hideaki nodded and charged forward, keeping his eyes on the ball. He jumped and slammed down the ball once it was in front of him, however, he was blocked by three people, making him growl as the volleyball bounced back to Karasuno's side and gaining Fukurōdani won the game.
"Damn it." Hideaki growled lowly, unaware that a pair of eyes from Fukurōdani were watching him with curiosity.
TWEEEET!
The match ended with Fukurōdani taking the win, which shouldn't have been surprising. "One flying lap!" Daichi announced as he dived down for his penalty.
"Right!" Everyone called out as they individually do their flying laps.
Once they were done, Hideaki's ears caught the sounds of yells from another team, which made him glance over to see Ubugawa High School going against Shinzen. Hideaki observed the teams.
"Serving is their ultimate offense." Hideaki noted, looking at Ubugawa before his eyes moved over to Shinzen. Who saves a ball and they all do a synchronize attack, Hideaki watched as Shinzen's captain jumped up from the back and got a point.
"I shouldn't be surprised, Shinzen High School is known for their team combinations." Hideaki thought with interest, hearing more sounds of the volleyball being slammed. Hideaki looked over to see Nekoma versing Fukurōdani.
"Nekoma is known for their perfect receiving... If only Hinata could be like that at times." Hideaki thought with an amused look.
"Akaashi!"
"Bokuto-san!"
Hideaki's ears heard the sound of two people from Fukurōdani, the captain and the setter. The male, known as Akaashi calls out to the captain as he sends the ball to him. "Bokuto from what I could see is like Ushijima... One of the top five aces in the nation." Hideaki thinks to himself as Bokuto jumped up and slammed the ball powerfully.
Hideaki noticed that the ball was about to hit Tsukishima. "Tsukki!" Yamaguchi called out as the tall blonde, widened his eyes at the incoming ball. Hideaki widened his eyes as the ball bounces off his arm and headed towards him.
"Hideaki!"
"Move out of the way!"
"Dodge!"
Hideaki blocked out the warnings from his teammates as his eyes settled on the ball coming towards him.
People who watched Hideaki tensed up when they saw the third-year's eyes darken. Before anyone could reach him or call out, they were surprised to see Hideaki crouch down in a perfect form to receive the ball, as the volleyball makes contact with his arms and rolled onto the floor.
"That... was a perfect save!" Some people thought.
"Such concentration!"
Everyone stared at the black haired male with their mouths opened, even the people who were always loud were quiet. Hideaki blinked, making the dark look he had in his eyes disappear as he looked around.
"What the hell are you staring at me for?"
"Nothing."
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Karasuno had just finished another game with Ubugawa, except they lost with 20 points. Hideaki was tired and felt like his legs were about to give out at any moment. "Man, I knew this was going to be tough, but not this tough." Hideaki thought, trying to catch his breath.
"Everything will be worth it in the end though."
"All right! Flying, one lap!"
"Right!"
Hideaki did his fair share of flying laps. Once everyone was done with their laps, Hideaki used the time that they had to rest his legs by sitting on the floor with his back leaning on the wall. Yachi came over to him and gave him a towel and water bottle.
"Thanks." Hideaki thanked her as she nodded shyly before returning to Kiyoko.
The guys from all the teams who weren't doing anything at the moment watched as Hideaki squirted the water in his mouth to cool down. They all gulped as their faces were red. Having a feeling that people were staring at him, Hideaki stopped drinking his water and looked around, making the guys who were staring at him look away.
"Hey, they're still at it. We totally made it. Not bad at all." A female voice announced, making everyone who heard looked over to the gym doors.
They saw a female slightly under-average in height, and had short, honey-blonde hair and four earrings on her ear. Her eyes were slightly slanted. She wore a green top that exposed her midriff and cleavage. She also wore two arm bracelets with metal spikes around it.
"Nee-san!" Nishinoya announced.
"That's Noya's sister?" Hideaki thought, blinking in confusion.
"Wait, that's your sister?" Asahi asked, also confused and shocked by this new information. Nishinoya however just looked down at Asahi who was busy tying his shoes.
"No, she's Ryu's sister." Nishinoya stated with his usual smile.
"Now that you mentioned it, they do look alike." Sugawara commented as everyone turned back to the female, but of course, Hideaki smirked tiredly when he saw Hinata and Kageyama.
"So, the stars are showing up fashionably late? Pisses me off!" Kuroo commented as he looked over towards the door, Kenma following his gaze as well.
Kageyama and Hinata panted but they were just glad they made it in time for another game.
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Hideaki kept his eyes on the ball in the air as Hinata and Kageyama weren't holding back, making him wonder if they've been itching to play all day. Kageyama took the place in the match as setter with Sugawara being swapped out.
Hideaki watched as the ball went to Kageyama in which him and Hinata do their famous quick attack, gaining Karasuno a point. "All right!" They all cheered. Hideaki saw some teams who were watching the match stare at Kageyama and Hinata in shock.
"We're stopping the next one!"
"Right!"
"We've heard that one before." Hideaki thought in amusement, it was amusing for him to hear Shinzen sound so confident with them winning. He looked back to see that Kageyama was serving.
"Nice serve!" Hideaki called out as Kageyama gave a nod in appreciation. He did his usual jump serve, the ball however gets saved as it went up in the air.
The volleyball continues to go back and forth from each team, as Hinata and Daichi get ready to block an incoming spike. The two jumped up when the spiker from Shinzen jumped up, Hinata managed to get a one touch on the ball. The second he lands his feet he races off to the other side of the net.
"Eikichi, stop their number 10!" Shinzen's captain exclaimed.
But of course, it failed as Hinata and Kageyama did their quick attack and Karasuno once again got a point. "Having Hinata and Tobio back sure makes a difference." Hideaki thinks to himself, panting in exhaustion.
TWEEEET!
It was the first time Karasuno had won against another school. Hinata and Kageyama were panting, as Hideaki watched Tanaka come up behind them with a slightly dark look.
"Don't be showing off, flunking tardy boys." He scolded at the two tensed at them.
Hideaki sighed and walked off the court, grabbing his water and towel to cool down. He gulped down his water and wrapped the towel around his neck.
"I'm starving!" Nishinoya complained. Hideaki closed his eyes. "You didn't have to yell." He thought, sighing at his junior. "I have to make a mental note to apologize to Hajime for what he has to go through with Tōru." He noted, feeling sorry for his childhood friend.
"Looks like it's Ubugawa versus Nekoma over there." Hideaki heard Tanaka spoke, which caught his interest and he glanced over at the match between Nekoma and Ubugawa. They both were doing well, as Hideaki looked away to glance at the clock on the wall.
"Considering how late it's getting, this might me the last game for today." Hideaki informed, making Nishinoya look at him with a small smile.
"Yeah..." He grinned. Hideaki blinked and looked over to his orange haired teammate who was quiet, he seemed to be deep in thought, so Hideaki didn't bother disrupting him.
"Yaku, nice receive!"
Hideaki looked over at the match and saw that Inuoka was on the sides and not playing. "Huh? Inuoka's on the sideline?" Hideaki heard Hinata question in confusion.
"One block!"
"Go, Lev!"
"Lev? Who the hell is Lev—" Hideaki thought, before his eyes wandered over to the new male on Nekoma's team and his eyes widened in shock when he jumped and saw his arm swing back like a whip as he slammed down the volleyball and got Nekoma a point.
"All right!" Nekoma cheered as Hideaki blinked. "Geez... and I thought my spikes were insane." Hideaki thinks to himself.
"Wow..." Asahi gasped at the male.
"That Number 11... At first glance, it's hard to tell because he's slouching, but he's pretty big. He might be over 6' 3." Sugawara spoke looking at the tall male in front of them.
"His arms and legs are so long."
Hideaki narrowed his eyes "Who the hell is he?" He asked to no one in particular. No one replied as they all stared at the tall guy.
The game ended with Nekoma winning and Ubugawa losing at 20 points.
Once all of the games were done for that day, they lined up to bow at everyone.
"Thank you for the good games!"
"Thank you for the good games!"
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Hideaki was walking through the hallways, looking for Hinata. He was tasked to look for him since Daichi was getting worried. He finally spotted Hinata with the tall giant from Nekoma from before. He had overheard the two first-year's conversation.
"Your spikes were really cool, since you didn't seem to care if there were blockers there or not."
Hinata stepped back to give Lev room to walk out the door. "Yeah, well..." Lev spoke as Hideaki watched him place his hand on his chest.
"I'm Nekoma's ace."
Hinata and Hideaki both raised an eyebrow at him in question. "Isn't Yamamoto the ace though?" Hideaki thought.
"Though, when I say that, Taketora gets mad at me." Lev stated as Hideaki sweat dropped, picturing Yamamoto getting angry at Lev.
"But you're a middle blocker like me, right? Center, right?" Hinata asked in interest and confusion.
"Aces are usually like the mohawk guy on your team, the wing spikers, right?"
"Do position names have anything to do with it?"
At Lev's words, Hideaki was taken aback by his statement. "The one who's able to score the most points is the ace, right? Simple as that." Lev informed.
Hinata kept quiet as he took in the information. Hideaki was starting to feel off about this topic. He never heard anyone say something about the positions in volleyball.
"Oi, Hinata."
Hinata and Lev both turned as Hinata jumped at his voice. "A-Ah, Izuki-senpai!" Hinata stuttered.
"You're Karasuno's Number 0..." Lev mumbled.
"That's me." Hideaki replied. "Izuki Hideaki, third-year."
Hideaki then turned to his junior. "It's time to head back, Daichi is worried." He informed.
"R-Right, senpai."
"Oh, and one more thing..." Hideaki said, stopping and turning to Lev. "Being an ace is a lot more than scoring the most points. You're just an arrogant first-year, so you don't know much about what being an ace truly means."
Lev narrowed his eyes. "And you do?" He challenged.
Hideaki smiled. "Of course I do. I am Karasuno's ace, after all." He responded, shocking the tall first-year.
"Remember what I said, Lev. I have a lot more experience in volleyball than you do. I know what I'm talking about." Hideaki added before walking away. Hinata following his senior shortly after.
"Hey, Hinata." Hideaki began as Hinata looked at him. "Those words weren't just meant for Lev, it was directed to you as well."
"Huh?"
"I meant what I said back there. There's a lot more to being an ace than just scoring the most points. If you ever become the ace in your third-year, you'll soon realize what I'm talking about." Hideaki stated.
Hinata said nothing as they continued to walk back in silence.
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It was the next day of the training camp, Karasuno was currently playing against Ubugawa, it was only the first set, but they had managed to score 9 points with Ubugawa having 5. "Bring it!" Hideaki heard Hinata announce as he watched him run forward for a quick attack, in which Kageyama sets the ball to him and they get a point, making them cheer.
"All right!"
TWEEET!
The team called for a timeout as everyone surrounded Ukai to see what he had to say. "All right! Our opponents still aren't able to counter your deviant quick attack, so keep on using it!" Ukai informed, looking at Kageyama and Hinata who just nodded.
"Right!" Kageyama responded.
"Right..." Hinata added.
After they took the time to catch their breath as they took gulps of water and Yachi handed out towels.
"Number 4!"
The yelling caught Hideaki's attention. He glanced over to see Nekoma was versing Fukurōdani. He looked over to see Bokuto spike down the ball past three blockers, however a Nekoma player saved it.
"It went up! Kenma, cover!" Hideaki heard Yamamoto call out as Kenma followed the ball and got into setting position.
"Left! Left!"
"Give it to me!"
Hideaki looked over at Lev who was calling for a toss, a broad jump to be exact, Kenma seemed surprised but without hesitation he sent it over to Lev, who spiked it down and got Nekoma a point.
"All right!" Lev exclaimed as he cheered.
"Nice kill, Lev!" Yamamoto praised. Hideaki widened his eyes at how well Lev did with the broad jump. Lev then walked over to Kenma.
"Sorry for being rude. I overstepped my bounds."
"And I keep telling you not to worry about it. I'm more disturbed that you suddenly asked for a broad jump setup."
"So that thing just now is called a broad jump? That's so awesome!"
Hideaki widened his eyes at Lev, as Kageyama walked over to his side, hearing what Lev said as well. "That broad jump was just a spur-of-the-moment?" He asked in shock. Kageyama was just as stunned as his senior was.
"But we were able to do it." Lev added as Hideaki narrowed his eyes and glanced towards Hinata, who stayed silent as Kageyama went to grab his water bottle.
"Center ace..." Hideaki heard Hinata mumble, making him look at his junior in slight concern.
"If he does anything stupid, I won't hesitate to hit him like Hajime does to Tōru..." Hideaki thought, sweat dropping a little in slight anxiousness.
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A/N: Another chapter is done! Hope you enjoyed!
Word Count: 4240 words.