A/N: Hello, readers! Welcome to the first chapter! Also, just so you know, when I mention "Shun" it's not Shimizu Shun who's in my book "Falling for the Libero". It's Izuki Shun from KnB. Enjoy!
edited on october 27th, 2020 @ 4:57pm
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CHAPTER ONE - THE SHARPSHOOTER
"You're quitting volleyball?"
Hideaki was walking with his two childhood best friends, Oikawa and Iwaizumi. Well, he was dating Oikawa so they walked hand in hand. "Yeah. Karasuno lost to Dateko because of me. I don't want to burden them." Hideaki replied.
"Karasuno will be without an ace then." Iwaizumi commented.
"I'm sure they'll find someone better then me. Furthermore, I'm surprised you two aren't trying to talk me out of quitting." Hideaki raised an eyebrow at them.
"It's your choice, Aki-chan." Oikawa stated as Iwaizumi nodded in agreement. "You just have to promise you'll come watch our matches next year, and cheer us on."
"Of course. But only if you're not going up against Karasuno. I can't do my former teammates dirty like that." Hideaki chuckled.
HIDEAKI WALKED INTO SEIRIN'S GYM. "Watch out!" He heard someone yell as a basketball came hurdling at him. He stopped it with one hand as it was spinning. Once it stopped, he dropped the basketball to the ground, seeing Seirin's basketball team looking at him.
"Oh, Nii-san. I didn't know you were visiting." Hideaki's younger brother, Shun, greeted.
"Nii-san?" His team exclaimed.
"Everyone, this is Izuki Hideaki. My older brother." Shun introduced his brother, walking up to him.
Riko used her Scan ability as she scanned him. "His numbers are higher than any basketball player I've seen!" She thinks to herself.
"Nice to finally meet you guys." Hideaki said.
"Excuse me, Izuki-senpai." Riko said, gaining Hideaki's attention. "This might be a dumb question, but do you play basketball?"
"No, actually. I was a volleyball player." Hideaki responded.
"Of course. That makes so much more sense." Riko thought. "Wait, was?"
"Was?" Kagami questioned.
"Yeah. I don't play anymore. However, my boyfriend and childhood friend still play, so I still go to their matches." Hideaki answered.
"Nii-san was the ace for his volleyball team. A pretty amazing one at that." Shun explained. "His eyes are like mine. Except better."
"You possess the Eagle Eye as well?" Hyuga asked.
Hideaki chuckled. "I don't. From what I remembered about your match against Shutoku, you went against someone named Takao, correct?" He asked.
"What about him?"
"I possess the same ability as him. The Hawk Eye." Hideaki responded, shocking the Seirin team. "From what you already know about the ability, it allows him to see the full court. It's the same for me. It allows me to see the opposing court clearly, making me be able to hit the ball on the other side of the net without the opposing team receiving it."
"However, like in basketball, it also has a weakness in volleyball. If someone knows about Nii-san's eyes, they can use it to their advantage and place blockers on him." Shun added, making Hideaki clenched his fist.
"Anyways, Shun. I came to say goodbye before I head back to Miyagi." Hideaki said, quickly changing the subject. "It was nice to meet you all."
"Bye, Izuki-senpai."
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Meanwhile, back at Karasuno, Nishinoya was walking back to his team after being slapped by Kiyoko. "And? Where's Hideaki? Did he come back?" He asked as Daichi, Sugawara, Asahi, and Tanaka all tensed up.
"No." Daichi replied.
"That wimp!"
Kageyama and Hinata flinched at Nishinoya's words. "Hey, Noya! Don't talk like that about your senpai!" Tanaka scolded.
"Shut up! A wimp is a wimp! If Hide's not coming back, neither am I!" Nishinoya declared as he walked out of the gym.
"Hey, Noya!" Tanaka called out to him.
Eventually, Nishinoya was teaching Hinata how to receive. "Who's Hideaki?" Hinata suddenly asked, making Nishinoya stop.
"Hinata! Don't say that name so carelessly!" Tanaka warned.
"Izuki Hideaki. He's Karasuno's ace. For obvious reasons. He has this amazing ability called the 'Hawk Eye.' Therefore giving his nickname, The Sharpshooter." Nishinoya replied as Hinata widened his eyes as the two began talking about how Hinata wanted to be the ace.
"Hold on, did you say Izuki Hideaki?" Kageyama asked as everyone turned to him.
"Yeah." Nishinoya answered, raising an eyebrow.
"No wonder that name sounded familiar. He was my senpai back in junior high." Kageyama said, shocking the team.
"Is that why you decided to come to Karasuno?" Hinata questioned.
"No. I didn't even know Izuki-san came here. He's childhood friends with Oikawa-san and Iwaizumi-san. I thought he followed them to Aoba Johsai. It makes sense why I didn't see him there." Kageyama answered as his team gave him a look. "You didn't know he attended Kitagawa?"
"He never told us what junior high he came from." Asahi replied.
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Hideaki sat in his seat in Class 5, when a familiar light gray haired male walked up to his desk. "Hey, it's been awhile, Suga." The black haired male said.
"Please... come back, Hideaki. Nishinoya's coming back too. His suspension's been lifted." Sugawara begged.
"Oh, that's good. It must be reassuring to know he has your back." Hideaki said.
"The same goes for you! We all feel more at ease when you're there, calling for sets!" Sugawara stated.
Hideaki sighed. "I appreciate the thought, but I'd just be dragging you down again if I came back." He informed.
Sugawara took a deep breath. "Listen to this. As much as I hate to admit it, we have an amazing first-year setter now. We also got the greatest decoy. You won't have to shoulder the burden anymore! With these new members, all that's left is you and Nishinoya to come back, Karasuno won't be the fallen powerhouse anymore! Our team is about to undergo a radical transformation! Now is the time we need our ace—"
"Izuki. It's your turn for career counseling." A student informed.
"Sorry, Suga." Hideaki said, getting up from his desk.
Hideaki walked passed the two first years who were trying to talk to him, ignoring Sugawara calling out his name.
"Izuki?" Hinata asked.
"What?" Hideaki replied.
"Huh? What are you two doing here?" Sugawara asked, noticing the two.
"Hinata made me come here. He wanted to see the ace really badly." Kageyama replied.
"H-Hey!"
"Let me introduce you. This is Hinata and Kageyama. They're new members." Sugawara introduced them. "Though, you already know Kageyama."
"Mmm. Yeah. It's nice to see you again, Tobio. Didn't expect you to come to Karasuno." Hideaki stated, turning to the orange haired male. "I'm guessing you're a first-year too?"
Hinata and Kageyama bowed at him and greeted him. "How many joined this year?" Hideaki asked Sugawara.
"Four." Sugawara replied.
"That so?" Hideaki questioned. He places a hand on Kageyama's shoulder. "Do your best, Tobio."
"Wait, you're not playing with us?" Kageyama asked.
"I wanna be the ace someday! So, I'd love to see for myself how a real ace plays!" Hinata exclaimed.
"Izuki! The counselor's waiting!" The same student called again.
Hideaki smiled apologetically. "Sorry, but I'm no ace." He said and walked away.
"What? What does he mean by that?" Hinata questioned.
"Did Izuki-san get injured or something?" Kageyama questioned.
Sugawara shook his head. "Nah. It's not like that. The problem is that he might've just lost interest in volleyball." He replied.
"But why? He's so tall! And people call him the ace!" Hinata exclaimed.
"Hideaki was the tallest guy on our team, only an inch taller than Asahi, and he had the power to go with it. His amazing ability was a bonus. That's why all of us recognized him as the ace and placed our trust in him. However..." Sugawara trailed off.
"Did he get blocked?" Kageyama asked.
"There was a match in which the opposing team knew his weakness and blocked his vision of the other side of the court where he couldn't see. It hit him hard because he tends to take the blame upon himself." Sugawara explained.
Hideaki was walking through the hallways, thinking about the match with Date Tech last year. Where everything went crashing down.
Hideaki breathed heavily as he wiped the sweat from his face using the front of his jersey. Karasuno was currently going against Date Tech, which was going terribly bad for them. Nishinoya wasn't getting his receives, and Hideaki kept getting blocked.
The ball went over to Sugawara. "Hideaki!" He shouted tossing the ball up in the air.
Hideaki jumped up but was immediately met by three blockers. "Damn it! I can't see the other side of the court!" He thought. Hideaki ended up spiking the ball down on Karasuno's side as Nishinoya was too late to receive it, making Date Tech gain another point.
"You'll get the next one, Hideaki!" Asahi encouraged him.
The game continued as Nishinoya kept failing to save the ball, eventually he did, causing the volleyball to go back up in the air.
"Suga!"
Sugawara tossed to Hideaki as he jumped up to spike, his eyes turning to a lighter gray. Right when he was about to spike, three blockers immediately blocked his vision.
"It's no use. I can't see. They're blocking my vision." Hideaki thinks to himself as he spiked it down, making the ball drop on their side since Nishinoya was late at saving it.
15-25.
That was the final score. Karasuno had lost.
"You can't just quit!" Nishinoya shouted at Hideaki once they got back to Karasuno.
"I can and I'm going too, Noya! What's the use of me being on the team if I can't get past a blocker, huh? We lost that game because of me!" Hideaki shouted.
"You can't just take the blame for yourself, Hide! You might as well blame me too for my crappy receives while you're at it! It's not just your fault!" Nishinoya shouted back. Their teammates were watching, wondering if they should step in.
"You're the damn ace, Hide! You're not allowed to quit!"
"Watch me." Hideaki scowled as he pushed past Nishinoya and the rest of his teammates, walking out of the gym and slamming the doors behind him.
Hideaki opened the club room and closed the door. He dropped his volleyball bag on the ground as the plays from the match flashed in his mind.
"Damn it!" Hideaki shouted as he slammed his fist on one of the lockers. He kneeled down to the ground as he cried.
What was the point of being the ace for his team if he couldn't even make his team win?
Hideaki sighed to himself as he came back to reality. He couldn't play volleyball anymore. That match completely shattered him.
Karasuno was better off without him.
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The next day, Hideaki stepped out of the classroom and was met with Kageyama and Hinata. They were trying to convince him to come back to the team.
"I appreciate the thought, but why are you so hung up over me? We never even practiced together. Well, except for Tobio." Hideaki stated.
"B-Because if you don't come back, our seniors will never cheer u—" Hinata was interrupted when Kageyama stabbed the side of Hinata's stomach with his hand.
"Keep it down, dumbass." Kageyama said.
Hideaki laughed. "You two are hilarious. But I'm sorry. I had one weakness and it was found out. If completely lost that ability to be able to see the court. I keep seeing images of being blocked, or getting so scared that I just completely shut down."
"I'm just a first-year midget, so you might think I'm cocky for saying this." Hinata started to say.
"I won't. Go ahead."
"I get what you're saying. I have neither height nor the technique, so I keep getting my spikes blocked. But now, with this guy setting for me, I can envade any block, no matter how high it may be. The blockers vanish from my sight, and I get a clear view of the other side of the court." Hinata explained.
"Yeah, I know what that view is like." Hideaki thought.
"The ball hits my hand when I'm at the highest point on the court, and I can feel all of its weight in my palm. I love it!" Hinata finished.
"I loved that feeling as well." Hideaki thinks to himself.
Then, the bell rang. "Time's up, let's head back." Kageyama informed as the two first years walked away.
Hideaki looked at his hand. "Perhaps this is a sign that I needed. That I'm really meant to be on the court..." He thought.
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A/N: First chapter is done! Hope you enjoyed!
Word Count: 2131 words.