If one thing has changed since the beginning of this tournament it's Hoshikin's excitement. He slowly discovered that maybe japanese teams, even if very strong, were held to some unreachable expectations. Of course, the fact that his father was putting some unreasonable pressure on him to come and work for the firm isn't helping, especially since he's just got a few free days before the grand finale.
As they finished the semi finals against Mujunazaka with no problem at all even with that strong ace of their, Hoshikin had to take care of yet another set of emails for the firm and headed to the other semi-final between Itachiyama and Inarizaki. When he is just about to open the doors to the public access for the court he sees a team coming outside, their heads lowered indicating they didn't manage to defeat the opponents. He stops in the hallway, hoping he'd find someone in the mood to talk about this team that just moved to the finals. He looks through their players, a set of twins catching his eye as they both, even mad and frustrated after that game, look just gorgeous.
"move." one of the players growls in a low tone and he wants to pass by but doesn't want to move around Hoshi.
"And here I was just trying to find some info about the match directly from someone who played it. No need to be mean now." the brunette smiles and moves closer to the wall, having his hands up in a joking attitude.
At his little show most of the team just looked at him in disgust but he could see the twins just glaring from the distance as they were the last of the players to get out of the court.
"Hey, cuties. Please don't sulk, I promise I'll win for you." he keeps the joke when they finally pass by him, before the teen heads inside to at least see the scores.
×××××××××
Wakatoshi never quite understood how people can work from the office all day so when Hoshi told him that he has to take care of some work for his father's firm when they need to train for the finals he did throw a fit. Finally Hoshi did calm him down with the promise that they'll definitely win the finals with no problems.
With all of the insane work hours he had to pull these last few days, unfortunately, volleyball got to be the very last thing on Hoshikin's mind, until someone decides to pull him back into this world he loves so much. Just like that Kageyama gave him a message that he's in Tokyo for a couple of days for a training camp with plenty of other teams and he just had a fight with Hinata after telling him that he just needs to hit without thinking and that he won't toss to him anymore.
"Man, is it a trend nowadays to fight with your partner?" he thought to himself as he arrived at the gymnasium the camp is supposed to be at.
"So let me get this right, you went to that shithead who made your middle school experience a hell before calling me? Did you really lose your mind when Hinata hit you?" Hoshi exhaled in frustration when hearing that Kageyama actually met with Oikawa before to ask for advice.
"...Shouldn't you be busy with training for the finals? How can I bother you when your match is in two days and you'll be facing one of the best teams in Japan?" the young boy is still as sincere as ever, he really must've been desperate to contact Hoshi but held back just so he wouldn't disturb his practice.
How can anyone be mad at that line of thought? Hoshi shakes his head before ruffling Kageyama's hair and finally picking up a volleyball that was left in the court for late practice.
"Soooo... What seems to be the problem here? Why exactly did you and Hinata fight?"
"He wants to stop trusting my serves blindly and start thinking for himself before hitting. We tried that, keeping his eyes open for the super fast attack but he can't hit the ball like that. So he went to train with the old coach from Karasuno who taught him about tempos and how to pace himself, while our coach instructed me on how to make a falling toss that will stop when reaching the desired place but no matter what we're extremely uncoordinated now and nothing works anymore in the team." sadness, disappointment and frustration all painted Kageyama's face as he was mindlessly tossing the ball in the air.
Hearing all of these, the star actually got mad at the reasoning behind this fight. By all means the baby crow is his best friend and seeing him fight with his crush over something so stupid is just annoying, but there's something different that actually bothered him. And that's the fact that by not tossing to Hinata, Kageyama actually is stopping someone who has an insane potential to evolve.
He jumps in the air and catches the ball before throwing it up in the air and then doing what could be described as a falling toss that he was struggling so much with.
"I don't think you two realize how scary you are. I too didn't see it until I got that plaque with no. 1. You're first years. Hinata started playing seriously just a couple of months ago. Even though I am one year older than you and have more experience. To the rest you're just plainly terrifying." Hoshi says tossing the ball to Kageyama and indicating to him to try again.
"I understand the desire to get better and win, but don't drag someone down while you step up. That's not a cool thing to do to a person you love..." the last past of that was maybe meant more to himself than for the setter, his past slipping out for a second as he was talking.
"You have to let him grow and make his own choices. Even if that means he won't depend on you in the future... Believe me, I know it's hard to do this, but doing otherwise is just toxic." this subject hits too close to home as memories of Hoshi's past start to resurface and a sharp pain takes over his heart, hitting Kageyama's toss a bit too hard and forgetting their practice purpose.
"Do you want to tell me about it?" the setter asks, probing the field as the atmosphere around his friend changed drastically when he mentioned what seems to be a past experience.
"Maybe someday... but let's change the subject for now, you come practice and I'll toss the ball" he manages to snap out of the dark place his mind went to but a certain anger is still lingering at the back of his mind.
"I always wanted to ask that but if you came to our team do you think we could actually win the nationals?"
"Hmmm...that's a loaded question. Actually I don't think I'm a great match for Karasuno." and after a long pause he finally continued his explanation as he thought it out loud "Don't get me wrong, we could win easily, but I'm more suited for the player oriented teams. That's why I tend to lose my temper at these highschool games you play here which are heavily team oriented. I think from the whole team I'd actually play extremely well with that Nishinoya kid. He's got enough raw talent to keep up with me and I could cover all of the other positions." Hoshikin's explanation made a lot of sense so Kageyama intensely listened to them, taking mental notes of what he said. After all, his playstyle was formed by years of focusing on the national team and the matches from there. He needed to learn to play all of these positions and be a well rounded player if he wanted that first place.
"Don't look at me with such a scary face!" Hoshi says half joking when he sees how serious his friend has gotten.
"Ah sorry for that. I'm just making sure to remember what you say for later. Do you think Oikawa-san is a more apt player? He perfected those killer serves and he has much better team control than I have. Maybe he could even help Hinata evolve..."Tobio trails off as he still keeps missing the water bottles from the ground.
"Well, it's true that Oikawa can bring the best out of everyone in the team but if he was to play with Hinata I don't think he could do anything better than you. He'd be much worse... There are setters better than him, you know? And I believe you can be too!" the brightest smile rises on Hoshi's face as he gives a thumbs up to his friend and demonstrates to him that stopping the toss once again.
"Could you... talk to Shoyo now?" the setter finally sees a light at the end of this tunnel and he knows that Hinata needs the same kind of support even if he can't be the one to give it for now.
When he exited the gym he coincidentally bumped into a familiar face for a change. He puts up one of his best smiles as he waves to a kid that's extremely focused on his gamepad as he is walking to the canteen.
"The boss fight guy! Didn't know you're a volleyball player too. And you never texted me back!" Hoshi pouts looking over his screen just to see he's still playing Death Traps again.
"Hatz-san! I think you accidentally forgot to write a digit when writing it in a rush, if you can give it to me again it'd be awesome. I found some really well hidden easter eggs after starting the game again and I'm curious if there's more." Kenma nods more excitedly and energetically than he's been the whole day.
"Ahhh bonkers! I'm so sorry, I was late to the game that day and had to run. Let me write it down again. Also we seem to be around the same age, please just call me Hoshi, otherwise I feel like my father." he jokes around while typing his digits yet again and saving his number in Kenma's contacts.
"By the way, Hoshi, what are you doing here? This camp was supposed to be only for the invited schools and you guys also have the finals for the Interhigh, right?"
"Yes indeed... Actually I've been in a couple of meetings about Death Traps since this morning since the opening event is about to end, we're gonna start sending the prizes out soon and had to decide on some budgets. And a friend of mine needed some advice so I dropped by to try and help him, but now I'm searching for someone. Karasuno's number 10, Hinata Shoyo, extra energetic shrimp that jumps higher than the net and has tangerine hair, if you happen to know him?" he asks, a bit at a loss as to where he could be considering there's plenty of gymnasiums around here and most still have a light on even if training is supposedly done.
"Oh, Shoyo is practicing with some people from Nekoma and Fukurodani. I can walk you to the court if you want." the neko kid is a bit disappointed that his idol couldn't stay and chat for a bit longer but he starts walking nonetheless.
"So you're a volleyball player! I didn't get to see your team in the nationals, did you guys not qualify?" Hoshi couldn't really imagine the teen actually playing on matches since his physique seems so frail and untrained, he'd get exhausted quickly and eventually slow the team down unless he has some other hidden talent.
"Oh... yeah, we lost in the qualifiers, but next year we'll win for sure. I promised Shoto that we'll meet at the nationals."
"Heh, he has to get through me first unfortunately, but I do look forward to playing them in the finals."
At this Kenma stops and looks at Hoshi with the brightest and most serious golden eyes.
"They'll win. Shoyo will win."
Hoshi could only smile and shake his head at this change in demeanor. It looks like Tobio has a rival and this guy is dangerous.
"The best will win. If that's Karasuno then I have no problem coming to cheer for them during the nationals." he is as sincere as possible. His goal is not some high-school games that can barely count as practice for him, but the mondials, the Olympic games and so on. What happens at some local championship holds little meaning to the boy who climbed to the top of the world.
After that, the door to one of the gyms finally opened to reveal Hinata playing with the cutie setter and the unstable owl against Tsukishima and two other insanely tall boys. At almost 185cm, Hoshi can't be considered short in any way, but in this court, he is the third shortest after Hinata and the cute setter. All six players turned to see who opened the doors, but somehow only Hinata was jumping happily in the air.
"Hooooooshi! Kenmaaaaa!!! We're doing a 3v3, come join us!!" he excitedly says while the brightest and most innocent smile rises on his lips, unfortunately he didn't really think it through considering Fukuroudani just lost to him a few days ago and the wounds are still open from being kicked out of the nationals.
While everyone is breaking a sweat and hoping that he will practice with them and teach them a couple of things, Hoshi just looks down at Kenma to check if this would be okay. The pudding head just nods and they step inside to play for a while.
"I have some free time before I need to return, but are you sure you're okay to play on the same team with me Akaashi, Bokuto?" he politely asks as he stretches a bit and steps closer to the side he wants to play on.
"Of course! Good opponents make the best practice buddies!" the tall owl nods excitedly because now he can hit more and more spikes with two setters on the field, but the brunette only gives a small nod to agree to this.
Hoshi smirks at Kenma, slight annoyance because he can't set for him but in the end they start practicing, with Hoshi and Akaashi doing a one point two setters to pierce through the tall wall that is blocking their spikers. Hoshi actually tries to get Hinata accustomed to the special sets that Tobio is trying to learn for him and thankfully Akaashi lets him practice even if he catches on the trick. If anything actually surprised him it's how good of a player Kenma actually is. He might not like moving too much but his game sense and technique are at the peak. If he'd train more than he'd be a formidable player, a worthy rival for Hoshi even.
They ended up playing for a full round before being called to eat and Hinata being pulled aside by Hoshi to talk about what's happening at this camp and hopefully solve the dispute between him and Tobio.
Hinata starts telling him about how he learned tempo and how to control his body better to save a bad set. But for blocking he has been doing these three on three where Bokuto and Kuuro taught him how many ways there are to block and how to do a feint but he can't do that fast attack perfectly. Also the tension between him and Tobio have been pressing on him, the poor mochi is upset with Kageyama and he realizes that without his amazing setter skills it's been incredibly hard to actually exercise those attacks. Because of this dependence on Tobio he wants to focus some more on becoming a better middle blocker so he won't lose to Tsukishima. Finally, after listening to all of this, Hoshi tries to come up with some solution to the baby's problems.
"I'm not sure if I'm the best person to ask because even if I play with no set position, blocking is what I do the least. I could fully fill any position on a team but middle blocker. It's one of my weaknesses that I plan on working and people who watch my matches know that. I usually go for a soft block and touch the ball to kill the momentum or receive it from the back. But I think the role of blockers is not necessarily to just block the ball. It's to force the attacker into a position from which they can't mark. A three man block is effective because the spiker has to hit but his only options are to pierce the wall or send the ball in a different direction midair, none which are ideal. So as a single blocker shouldn't your goal be to force the spiker to send the ball somewhere he won't get a point out of?" he concludes the technical part of the advice before moving on to heart related problems.
"You are the only one who knows your feelings for Tobio. If you want to be more than just colleagues then you both have to give each other a place to grow and a lot of trust. It's good to depend on each other while playing but at the same time you have to be your own individual too. In the end, no matter what I believe the two of you can face any hardship there is, especially if you both put your mind to it so have some trust in him and yourself that you can do it!"
×××××××××
The day of the finals is here. The main stadium was freed for the moment and people from all around Japan came to watch the match. Definitely a battle worth enjoying, with two of the best aces in the country plus a world wide prodigy come to show who has the best team behind them. Of course such a day couldn't start in a good way and Elias Hatz made sure to call his son and remind him that after the finals he still has two more things to take care of in Tokyo, putting even more pressure on the already struggling teen. The marvelous call ended with a simple "Good luck" as usual, by this point Hoshi considers it a charm for his matches as this is all his father would tell him before any sort of important volleyball match.
They step inside the stadium with blinding lights and a gorgeous court all ready for them to play on it. Itachiyama is already there, just starting their warm up when Shiratorizawa makes their way to the benches. All of the players are extremely excited about today's match, especially the first years that have never seen how a professional court looks like. One of the opponents notices their entrance and nods his head at Ushijima who only returns the gesture, a simple greeting between the two as it seems.
"Should I ask which one I should have my eyes on?" Hoshi asks, curious about this team that they're gonna be playing as it seems they do have some really imposing people.
"Numbers 1, 10 and 13. First one is their setter and captain, aggressive style that matches that no. 10, Sakusa. He's one of the top 3 aces in the country, with a very nasty spike similar to Ushijima's. Then there's no.13, he's the tallest libero from any highschool teams, he's known for really connecting all of the attacks."
Hoshikin takes note of all of the info he's given, especially since with all of the work so far he didn't get a chance to really research them. They finally start warming up and the referee lets them know that in 15 minutes the match will begin. The gallery is definitely one matching the occasion with loud songs about both teams and even parts of the crowd joining in to show their support for them.
As a professional player you do however learn to blur all of the background and noise. The only thing you see is limited to the playing court and the only thing you hear is the players, your focus is the ball and only the ball.
Just like that they started playing on the court with both teams shaking hands before getting in position. The ball is given to the opponent team and Sakusa starts out with a solid serve, while not fully impressive, it is definitely not the easiest to receive due to its weird spin. Unlike Ushijima's serves that have monstrous power behind them, this one is softer, showing that it's probably still not perfected. The first point is scored by them nonetheless, with the main attack power of Shiratorizawa still being cautious and watching them. On the other side, the one who led to the point with nothing short of a perfect set is their captain. What is weird however, if anything, he doesn't give a vibe of someone who could actually win this match, out of all of Itachiyama he should be the the one that's pumping them up for the game but he feels unsure whenever he watches Hoshikin sitting right in front of him on opposite side of the net.
The brunette can't help but show an awkward smile from being watched so weirdly by this captain, before he focuses back on the match. Surprisingly enough, even though in the lead with a 3 to 0 so far, Itachiyama calls for a break right at the beginning.
"Did something happen to them? Seems very harmful to kill their own momentum with a break right now." Hoshi asks his grandfather hoping that he saw something more from the benches that they aren't aware of.
"All I could see is that captain of theirs watching you and Ushijima like a hawk. Did he say something to you while at the net?" while this is very puzzling for them, the other team seems to really put up some gameplay at their benches.
"We all know how our Sakusa basically has no weak points and is a well rounded player, but we have to be aware because very similar to him it seems like Hoshikin has the same qualities." Izuna starts explaining and everyone is just eating up his words and making notes of whatever is important.
"However what I noticed is that none of the other players move unless he or Ushijima do. They are centered around them and depending on what attack they're about to pull the others act with them. Hoshikin, who doesn't seem to have a set position, even if he was listed as an outside hitter, dictates what positions the others need to go to. If he takes over the setter they move closer to the back and more spikers come up, if he decides to take over the libero they all move to the front and attack. I think if we watch him before hitting we can stop their attacks before they even begin." if anything, this explanation has to be one of the best there is for Shiratorizawa's game style and it's as accurate as possible.
Sakusa briefly looks in Ushijima's direction, he feels disappointed that someone he has been considering as a rival for such a long time is now nothing more than a filler in the team.
"We're not giving them a chance to take this trophy. Let's go." as stoic as always Sakusa returns back to the field just when the whistle is blown and all players get back in position.
Their theory was both right and working: Itachiyama scored some really easy earned 10 points before things started to take a shift. After all, they do have one of the top 3 aces in the country. Sakusa's brutal whip-like spikes are harder to receive than normal attacks, plus he doesn't just jump mindlessly in the air but he reads the court and is able to pierce even through or over a three man wall in order to score. With each and every point they got, his disappointment in Ushijima keeps raising, until the last point when finally his rival opened his mouth and ended this one sided war.
"Hoshi. Send the ball my way." while his tone is calm, the anger and spite fully leak through his words when Sakusa is just getting ready to serve again.
Maybe being disappointed is better than being defeated. Maybe having a rival that didn't completely match your expectations is better than seeing the floor wiped with your teammates. And just maybe looking despite the opponents thinking they aren't strong enough and easy to read is a stupid idea. What chance of winning the game? After those ten points, Itachiyama couldn't score even from the mistakes of their opponents. A simple 25 to 10 is showcased on the screen as the first set ends and both teams head to their benches.
"Watch me, please. And you won't know what hit you." Hoshi threatens as Ushijima pierces through yet another wall with strength worthy of his reputation. They played their game and every time Itachiyama changed positions to counterattack Hoshi, the player would quickly move and take yet another point. Sakusa's flexible joints that helped so much with his weird rotations were nothing when the player stepped to the back of the field and saved the ball just to send it back to Ushijima to score.
With the low morale and an ace that is beating himself up for underestimating them it would've been close to impossible to win against Shiratorizawa and so the purple team screams from the top of their lungs as Wakatoshi scores the last point on the third set. The audience is in tears, people singing and shouting in support of their small town team that just won the championship. The team rejoices and jumps around, all of the tiredness simply disappearing from their exhausted bodies as they let out tears of joy and laughs after this amazing match.
In that moment of happiness, all Hoshi wanted to do was jump into his lover's arm and at least hug him, but the thoughts of them being in the same pic together still haunted Ushijima who pulled back and switched places to be closer to another teammate. Hoshi looks at him with big eyes and a disappointed face, yet he does nothing as Wakatoshi walks away to give an interview as the team's captain. Long streams of tears roll down his eyes, as Hoshi storms out of the stadium, the hurtful rejection stinging his heart still.
×××××××××
Hope you're enjoying the story so far~ we're around chapter 90 in the manga and a whole new part is about to start. Get ready for lots of steamy scenes, heartbreaks, sexy new characters and much more! I'm hoping to finish this story asap, maybe even this summer but we shall see ✨ until then don't forget to leave a star and a comment! Next chapter is gonna be a fruity one 😉