It was hard to sleep last night. As a captain, you had to check everyone's luggage to make sure that they had packed everything they would need, especially the two sets of uniforms and medicine for those with motion sickness. Since the dorms are never fully occupied, some of your teammates were able to sleep at school, so it was easier to leave in the morning.
While in bed, you were constantly thinking that you would be finally leaving for Tokyo in just a few hours. So much had happened since your win against Niiyama. So much... in so little time... The stabbing incident, staying at home with nothing to do, your relationship with Ushijima evolving, the fight between you and the basketball team's captain.
You're not the only one that made progress though. With Washijou's help, the team improved significantly. More offers for practice matches came after you victory so you could see everyone's progress against actual players.
Your high-school life is coming to an end in two months. You still have to think about what you're going to do after, since you haven't chosen a career yet. You're hoping that the nationals will help you in a way or another.
After getting all the luggage inside the bus, you're ready to depart, until you see a tall figure approaching.
"What are you doing here at this hour?" You ask your husband. He's dressed in casual clothes over which he has a big puffy jacket.
"I came to see you before you take off," you can tell that he's still sleepy, judging by how small his eyes are.
Nari shoves everyone inside the vehicle, trying to give you two some privacy, but that doesn't stop them from staring.
"Keep me updated. Take care"
"I'm not the one driving so we should be fine. Now go back to bed, you have a train to catch later today," the driver starts the engine and that's your cue to get going.
Before you can move a muscle, Ushijima grabs you by your hand and brings you closer, wrapping your arms around you.
"Have a safe trip. I love you," it's rare for him to display affection in public, especially in front of people that know him.
"I love you too," you place a kiss on his cheek and jog towards the bus. You get in and find your seat next to Nari, who is already comfortably settled in.
Ushijima stays there until you leave, waving back at you as you start departing. As soon as you're out of the school's perimeter, the whole team turns to you.
"Spill the tea. Now. We need to know every little detail," Akane says with an evil grin.
"Girls! Leave her alone" The coach scolds them.
"No, because she always runs away. You're trapped here, so start talking"
"Fine, fine. What do you want to know?" Their eyes glitter when they hear this.
•••
You catch some sleep during the bus ride, texting Ushijima from time to time, informing him about your location. He's coming as well; do you think that he would miss the opportunity of seeing you play at the nationals? He reserved a room to stay in together with Tendou for the whole period of five days.
A lot of students from Shiratorizawa are coming as well, together with the cheering squad. Since the boys are 'benched' this year, the school is focusing all their attention on the girls' team. You wonder what they would've done if both teams were going, since you're also using their bus.
After more than five hours, you finally reach Tokyo and the hotel that you are going to stay at. A tall, fancy looking building stands imposing in front of you. Well, that's expected from Shiratorizawa. It's a private school after all.
The whole day is spent at practice. The girls are nervous and making mistakes here and there, but that's normal. This is everyone's first national tournament after all. Washijou is not here and won't be here to coach you anymore so you have to show the results of your spartan training.
You pride is on the line and you have to prove a lot of people that they were wrong about you.
Only after dinner you get to see Ushijima. He and Tendou are waiting in front of the hotel for you. He dragged your husband all around Tokyo today because he was too bored to stay inside.
"I got this for you," Ushijima hands you an omamori. You look at him, noticing how red his face is and assume that it has to do with the cold weather. You pick it up from his hand and take a look at the red amulet and at the message on it.
"Thanks, but you didn't have to"
"Oh, but he really wanted to," Tendou comments. "He checked if he had it with him like four times: before we left the dorms, during the train ride, at the hotel when we unpacked and now before we left the hotel. He was really eager to give it to you!"
Ushijima is glaring at Tendou, but the redhaired is pretending that he's not noticing. You place a kiss on Ushijima's cheek.
"I'll put it next to our towels," you smile brightly at him.
"Awww, aren't you two adorable? Anyway! How are you feeling?"
"I'm quite nervous, not going to lie. And the others are not doing better either. We had a lot of missed tosses at practice today, plus jumping too soon or too late. It was a mess," you go to sit at a nearby children playground.
"Ahh, this reminds me of my first time going to the nationals. My hands wouldn't stop shaking. Do you remember that, Wakatoshi-kun?"
"I do. Coach Washijou scolded you a lot that day"
"That's not the point!" Tendou yells at him. "You'll get used to being nervous, (Name)-chan. Some say that the first day is the worst, while others say the final day is the real challenge. I'm sure that you'll be alright. Do your best!" Tendou gives you a thumbs up, pronouncing the last sentence in English.
The middle blocker elbows Ushijima in the side after you thank him for his encouragement.
"Be confident in your own skills. You'll put more pressure on yourself by worrying about your opponents' strength. Trust yourself and trust your team," Ushijima says.
"Thank you, Toshi. I'll try to follow your advice"
"There's no way that you found that helpful! It made me feel depressed!" You laugh at Tendou's reaction and that angers him even more. "You two are a weird couple"
After some more chit-chat, the boys drop you off in front of the hotel. You take a long bath and go straight to bed, as there is a long day ahead of you and you need to be well-rested. The last thing you do before you fall asleep is to text Ushijima good night. He responds and adds a heart to the message as well. And then sends another one, saying that Tendou made him put that emoji.
•••
Forty-seven teams from all over Japan are gathered in a single space, impatiently waiting for the opening ceremonies to start. There's so much noise around that it's hard to talk to your other teammates without having to raise your voice.
You turn around and immediately see someone about to bump into you, so you lift your arm and stop him from falling by holding him by his head.
"Are you okay?" The boy quickly comes to his senses and pulls away.
"Yes! I'm all good!" His tone of voice and acting is weird, but he's probably embarrassed about what was about to happen.
"Oh! (Name)-san!" You hear someone call out your name and look behind the black-haired player to find Karasuno's ginger middle-blocker.
"Hinata, hi! I forgot that your team is here as well"
"Shoyo, do you know her?"
"Yeah, she's the captain of Shiratorizawa's team. We met during the training camp," Hinata suddenly stops talking and frantically looks around. You immediately catch on.
"If you're looking for Wakatoshi, he's in the stands," the ginger sighs relieved.
"(Name), can you come here for a second?" Someone calls for you.
"Coming!" You respond back. "Got to go, see you soon!"
"That was Ushijima's wife?" Daichi asks, coming to check up on his teammates after you leave.
"His wife?!" Tanaka and Nishinoya ask at the same time. "Dude, I would've hated you if I were her," the spiker says.
"Huh?! Why?!" Hinata asks, confused.
"Just think about it, dude, you are directly responsible for them not being together at the nationals!"
The opening ceremonies start soon after. The championship flags are the first ones entering, followed by the teams in the order they are called.
"Miyagi Prefecture representative, boys, Karasuno High School. Girls, Shiratorizawa Academy," Hinata's team starts marching, their captain holding their sign and you follow right after, aligning yourself next to them.
You look up at the celling from which all those big spotlights are hanging from and have a weird sense of tranquility.
The real battle is about to begin soon.
•••
After the warm-up practice, you are going back to the Gymnasium. The matches are moving faster than expected, but you had enough time to prepare mentally and physically for what's about to come.
While you're in the locker room, getting changed, someone else is getting restless in the stands.
"You know, if you keep glaring, her match won't come faster," Tendou tells your husband. Karasuno already won their first and only match for the day and left the court, while yours is about to start in a few minutes.
"It seems that we made it in time," the two hear from behind them and look back to see the whole team of Karasuno, now back in their zipper jackets and track pants.
When the two parties notice each other, they stare for a few seconds.
"Are you here for Shiratorizawa's match?" Daichi asks them.
"Duuh," Tendou says in a sarcastic tone and Ushijima just nods.
"Oi, oi, oi, what's this?" Kuroo and Bokuto join them.
"Kuroo-san, Bokuto-san, what are you doing here?"
"Isn't it obvious? We came to see Shiratorizawa's team," the black-haired blocker eyes Ushijima. "Probably everyone in the volleyball world knows what happened back in October. I'm glad to see that she's doing well," he addresses your husband.
"Yeah," it's all that he says.
"Are you two actually married?" Bokuto butts in.
"Yes, we got married a few months ago"
"Woah, that's so cool! Congratulations on your marriage!" Ushijima nods in a polite way.
"Now, let's see how they're doing"
During their chatting, your team moved to the court, but you're nowhere to be seen and your players are fighting against themselves. Then they suddenly stop and stand straight. You get in front of them, rubbing your temples.
"I leave you alone for five minutes! Five! Minutes! And you've already made a fool of ourselves," you sigh loudly.
"Did you manage to fix that?"
"Yeah, they had a problem with Minako's name since it was misspelt apparently. Let's start the warm ups," you remove your zipper, but not before taking the charm from your pocket and placing it on top of your towel.
You squeeze your ring behind your jersey in your fist, take a big breath and step on the court.
The match begins soon after and you feel more watched than ever. You've heard people all day talk about the player from Shiratorizawa that 'got into a fight and was badly injured'. Some even say that this player is the best from the whole team and since she's injured, it will be an easy win against her.
Easy win, my ass, you're here to play until the last day, not to lose in the first round.
During this set, everyone makes mistakes. From serving outside the limits, to not syncing with the setter, you are all over the place. But you pick yourselves up quickly enough to change the outcome of the first set.
"Imagine how different things would have been if she had been born a boy. Shiratorizawa would've been indestructible," Kuroo says after you complete another block, jumping in time to smash the ball down. Your speed is the key to your blocking.
"No. She doesn't have to be a man in order to show that she's an amazing player," your husband corrects him. He hasn't seen you play since the finals and can tell that you've improved more than he had expected.
It's your turn to serve. The score is 23-22 for your team. You want to keep the lead, as it makes your teammates feel confident towards victory.
It's time for you to show all that hard work you put into your jump serves. You throw the ball in the air and slowly watch it going down as you jump to hit it. Your mind is empty, focusing only on the spot behind your opponents.
"Out!" One of them shouts as the ball hits the ground with a powerful impact, the sound echoing in the whole Gymnasium. The point goes to your team as it didn't land out of bounds. You clench your fist, celebrating.
The first set is won by your team with the help of your second jump serve.
"You had me so scared in the first half," your coach says during the break. "I should get used to the idea that it takes you girls a lot to get in the mood to play well"
The second set doesn't take longer than fifteen minutes. Your team is the final winner.
As you're gathering your stuff to make space for the next team, the captain of Iwaki, the team that you played against, approaches you.
"I'm sorry for bothering you, but there's something I want to ask you," you tell her to go on and she continues by saying, "your team is so well coordinated. They listen to you and your commands. I have a hard time making my teammates even acknowledge my presence. How did you achieve this?" You want to laugh, but she seems extremely serious so you keep it in.
"I have a hard time with mine as well, trust me. Just before the match, they were fighting like children in front of thousands of people. You're a second year, right?" She nods. "Respect doesn't come with age, respect is earned. You need to make the team feel like they can rely on you, no matter what. Straighten your back and lose the shy attitude. Be confident in yourself"
"I don't know if I can do that. The third years chose me as a captain and I couldn't say no. Nobody really wanted me to be the captain"
"Then you have to show them why the third years chose you. In life, you will have to fight a lot to prove that you deserve to be where you are at. The path might be long and rough, but it's worth it in the end"
"(Name), come on! We have to go!" Your coach calls for you.
"You guys were pretty good. I hope to see you at the next year nationals as well!" You spin on your heels, ready to leave, but she shouts from behind you.
"Thank you and congratulations on your marriage!" You laugh awkwardly, bend down to thank her and dash out to join your team.
"I can't believe that you actually gave her a good advice," Nari teases you.
"Shut up, Nari"
Since this is your only match for the day, you go to change and head back to the hotel. Before you can put your winter jacket on, Nari drags you outside. There are not a lot of people around, since it is pretty late in the evening and the majority of the matches are over.
"Oi!" Nari suddenly screams, waving at someone in the distance. She then runs towards that person, still holding you by your hand. She stops right in front of them and it takes you a second to recognize her. Your ex-teammate, who you haven't seen in three years.
"Woah, Shimizu, you changed a lot! It's so good to see you, how have you been?"
"It's good to see you as well, (Name). I'm glad that you managed to recovered just in time. Also, congratulation on your marriage"
"Wait, you know?"
"We've been in contact since the finals. Apparently, she came to our match against Niiyama. We met outside after the ambulance had left with you"
"I'm happy to see that you're still into sports, even if it's no longer track"
"Well, what about you?" You ask her, since she's wearing a tracksuit.
"I'm a manager for Karasuno's team. I quit track after middle school since I wasn't that good at it. You and Nari were the stars of our team"
"Oh, come on, don't say that, you'll make me blush," Nari says.
"Wait, Karasuno?" She nods and turns to her teammates that wave at you. "It's a small world, huh"
"You actually got stabbed in the abdomen?" The boy that was about to fall on you earlier today asks. "Can we see the scar?"
"Uh, sure, I guess?" You lift up your T-shirt, revealing the now healed wound.
Someone wraps a jacket around you and you look over your shoulder to find your husband, jealousy spread all over his face, judging by his cold expression.
"It's really cold outside. Why didn't you take your jacket with you?"
"Nari dragged me outside before I could. I'm okay, don't worry"
"You're still sweaty, you can get sick," you roll your eyes, but let him help you put on your jacket.
"(Name), Nari!" Akane shouts, gesturing with her hand to come to her.
"I have to go grab my stuff. I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow. Good luck!"
"I'll come in a moment," Nari announces. You leave with Ushijima while holding hands as you talk about how your day went.
"She seems to be doing well," Kiyoko says, looking at how you get smaller and smaller in the distance.
"She went through a lot lately, but she has him to help her out"
"How ironic," Kiyoko comments and they laugh.
"Nari, move your ass, let's go!" You yell at her.
From not wanting to have Ushijima around you, to holding hands with him at the nationals after you won your first match... you've come a long way and there's still a long path ahead of you two.