"Look! It's Karasuno!" I hear and look in the direction of where the little kid is pointing.
At first glance, they don't look like anything special, but before they even get to you, and as they walk past you, this aura fills the air and sends chills down your spine. They have very few tall players compared to us, but each one holds themselves with so much confidence that it's still intimidating. They look really serious, and cool.
"Hinata boke!"
"Kageyama, the floor isn't wood!"
"Tanaka, there's so many girls here! My heart is about to burst."
"I-I need a bathroom."
"Asahi?!"
"God, you're all idiots."
"Gomen Tsukki!"
...
Okay, maybe not. They look a mess.
"TANAKA, A GIRL!" The little guy shouts and suddenly the two are in front of me.
"Hi, I'm Nishinoya. I may be short but height doesn't matter when you're in bed." He winks.
"I'm Tanaka, my heart is taken by another woman but I don't mind if you fill in until she marries me." He puts a hand on his waist and grins.
"TALL!" I hear before I can even respond and the little ball of sunshine I've seen on the recordings of their games come running up to me.
"You're so tall for a girl! I bet I can jump higher than you though. My name is Hinata Shōyō" He says and I stare at him, my face is flushed from the other two and I just can't seem to find any words. "What? You wanna fight?" He holds up his fists.
"Boke! She's a girl." Their setter Kageyama Tobio comes up to us.
"Oh, right. I'm sorry about that." Hinata laughs, rubbing the back of his neck awkardly.
"I-I'm Sasaki Eri." I bow to them. "Yoroshiku onegaishimasu."
"Oh my god, she's shy. How cute!" Tanaka closes his eyes, hugging himself.
"Yoroshiku!" The four of them yell, bowing back.
"You know, they say the quiet ones are louder in be-"
"Eri" I hear my friend whine. "You left to get water like 10 minutes ago. I'm thirsty." She comes up beside me and then her face turns into one of realization once she sees the boys.
"THERE'S TWO!"
"Are you guys sisters? Hell yeah Tanaka, one for each of us!"
"Actually, we have boyfriends" I say, and I give them a nervous smile
"Huh? Who? We'll fight them for you." Nishinoya crosses his arms and smiles.
"Do you really expect to win?" A deep voice is heard and two strong arms wrap around my waist from behind. I turn and look to see Tendou doing the same to Hana.
"JAPAN!" Hinata looks shocked.
"Of course Mr. Perfect is going to have a pretty girlfriend." The boy I think is Suga says from the behind the boys.
"You know she's a model?" The captain asks him.
"Really? How do you know?"
"Yeah, we'll win." Nishinoya's voice rips me from the other conversation.
"Noya...let's go." Tanaka grabs the boy's arm. Ushijima and Tendou stand in front of Hana and I and stare at the shorter guys.
"I don't like fighting, so we can take it out on the court." Ushijima crosses his arms and Tendou laughs.
"Man, I'm really looking forward to this game now." He grins.
"Me too. I'll love to see the looks on your faces when we beat you and go to nationals." Nishinoya smirks.
"J-Japan!" Hinata says, but in a much quiter voice now.
"Oi, boke! Is that all you can say? You're embarrassing us." Kageyama hits him on the back of his head.
"Hinata Shōyō, Kageyama Tobio." Ushijima turns to face them. "I see you've passed your baseless confidence on to your teammates."
"Ushijima Wakatoshi." Hinata steps forward, and his whole demeanor has changed. He looks...scary. His expression sends chills down my spine again, and I take a small step backwards. "I hope you remember our conversation well, because I intend to keep my promise. Today, we're going to show you what teams made from the concrete can do." He says, and Ushijima doesn't say anything for a moment.
"Good luck." He responds, much to everyone's shock. He turns around I can tell he is irritated even though his expression is blank. "I'll go now, see you after the game." He leans down and kisses me.
"Good luck!" I give him a small smile before he walks off with Tendou.
"What lucky guys." I hear one of the boys say before I turn back to the boys of Karasuno.
"Good luck today, I'll go now." I smile at them.
"Bye Sasaki-San!" Hinata waves, a bright smile on his face which is a huge difference from his previous scary expression.
"See you later, Shōyō." I smile before Hana drags me away.
"I'm still thirsty." Hana whines and we get in line for the confession stand.
"Sorry, I got lost and then as soon as I found the stand someone yelled that Karasuno got here. And then somehow I ended up in a conversation with them." I chuckle.
"What do you think now that you've seen them in person?" Hana asks as we buy water and head back to our seats.
"What do you mean?" I ask, tilting my head. We sit back down and she purses her lips for a moment, looking down on both teams who are warming up.
"Since they got here, the atmosphere has changed. And I'm pretty sure the boys feel it, I feel it too. Don't you?" She asks, turning towards me.
I look down at our very own boys volleyball team, and then examine Karasuno. It definitely got more intense as they took the court, even though the game hasn't started.
But nobody actually expects Karasuno to win, right? There's no way that first years can make such a big difference on the team, for the past 2 years I've been in high school I haven't seen them come this far. Not that I paid attention that well either, since I only went to games for my club.
"I watched some of their games on recordings with Satori, and it's not just the first years who are amazing." Hana says, as if she read my mind. "When you see people doing better than you, especially if you're older, you strive for the praise and attention they're getting too. So you subconsciously work harder, work longer. The second and third years of Karasuno have made a tremendous improvement in their performance. I think part of it is also due to them finally having a coach again. Did you know that their captain, Sawamura Daichi acted as their coach for a while? Now they have Ukai, the grandson of former coach Ukai who lead them to Nationals with another great team of theirs."
Hana has definitely done her research.
"That's amazing..." I say, locking my eyes on Karasuno's number 1. "That's a huge role to take on as a high schooler." Coincidentally we make eye contact. My face heats up in embarrassment and I quickly look away.
"What's even more amazing is their number 2."
"Do you know all their backstories or something?" I laugh and Hana looks at me with a grin.
"Of course. My boyfriend loves volleyball, I'm in love with my boyfriend, so naturally I love volleyball now too." We both laugh.
"So what's with their number 2?" I ask, looking for the jersey number. Ah, there he is. Silver headed number 2.
"Sugawara Kōshi, also a 3rd year. Got replaced as setter by that supposed genius first year. Even though he doesn't play, he's like the backbone of the team. The players on the court feel like that can't complain, because he has it worse." Hana says and I gape at her.
"And that's amazing to you?" I ask, shocked. If I were him, I'd be totally depressed.
"No, that's not the amazing part." Hana laughs. "The amazing part is that he never once has complained about it, at least not out loud. He understands that it's probably best for the team and he's remained positive the entire time, their number 1 supporter. I have a lot of respect for him."
"He's been robbed of his third year. Doesn't that suck? Being on a team through it all. The losses, getting called all these nicknames because they aren't strong anymore, not having a coach, probably helping the captain plan practices and such- all to get replaced." I sigh, and subconsciously my shoulders drop. "Man, I feel so bad for him now. I hope he gets to play today." I pout and Hana pushes my shoulders lightly.
"We're not supposed to feel bad for them! I was simply telling you about the players! Cut that big heart of yours in half." She says and I giggle.
"So anyways...you were saying that since the first years are amazing, the second and third years also amped their game?" I ask and she nods. "Does that mean...do you think we'll lose today?" I ask, fiddling with my fingers.
"I'm saying, they're definitely not going to make it easy for us." Hana sighs and I nod. There's still hope.
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, the final game with Karasuno High School and Shiratorizawa Academy is about to begin!" The announcer says and both teams line up, saying their thanks.
The first set begins, and Shiratorizawa quickly takes the lead.
"It seems like we're worrying for nothing." I smile as I watch the boys.
"Don't speak too soon. It's best out of 5 today. Which means-"
"Which means we have to win 3 sets. I got it." I cut her off, looking at her with a grin.
"Mhm. Though, I hope it doesn't go to 5 sets. Playing at this level, and at this rate, they're both bound to be exhausted. If it goes to 5 sets, it would probably be a battle of stamina." Hana laughs and I nod.
"Though, Wakatoshi doesn't seem to get tired. And the team has been having harder and extended practices lately. I feel like they'll be okay. They've done best out of 5 games before too, so they know what to expect and how to conserve their energy. " I note and Hana nods in response.
It's Karasuno's turn to serve. It goes straight to Reon, who receives it perfectly. The crowd starts chanting Ushijima's name, wanting him to score. However, Shirabu sets to Reon, and you can hear disappointed murmurs in the crowd.
What bastards.
As Reon spikes the ball and scores yet another point for us, Hana and I stand up to yell out at them.
"Nice toss Shirabu-Kun!" Hana yells.
"Nice kill Ōhira-San!" I yell and the two look over at us, laughing. We wave at them and they give a thumbs up back.
We get the next point too, Tendou completely shut down their number 5, Tanaka.
"SATORIIIIII!!!!" Hana yells loudly, jumping up and down.
"Good job Tendou!" I yell beside her and he winks at Hana, then waves at me.
"I'm so proud of him." Hana wipes away an imaginary tear. We sit back down and notice a few people staring at us because of how loud we are. The rest of the audience are doing the usual boring cheers.
We're just built different I guess.
Karasuno calls a timeout, and they look grave. I see Hinata say something, and not even a second later are they all laughing. Well, except the blonde guy. Tsukishima Kei.
They take the court once again, and Karasuno looks determined. We serve and their libero, but Nishinoya is able to perfectly receive it.
I don't even know that happens next. I swear, the ball was just in the air, about to touch Kageyama's hands. But now, the ball is rolling on the floor on our side of the court. The entire side of Karasuno's fans go crazy and Hinata jumps up in celebration of his and Kageyama's quick.
"They're...first years?" I ask, shocked. "That was incredibly fast."
"Mhm. And this is the first time they've played together. They went to different middle schools, Hinata Shōyō basically started volleyball this year. His school didn't have a team, though he somehow formed one and was able to play exactly one game in a tournament. He practiced with other teams, and just with whoever he can. Though nobody was interested in joining his team." Hana says and I let out a breath.
"Hinata Shōyō." I chuckle. "Those two are monsters." I say as I look at the first year duo.
The game continues, and though Karasuno fights hard, we manage to take the first set 25-16.
The second game though, is much different. It seems like both teams are still just getting started. It's constant back and forward points, and even when Shiratorizawa hits 25, the game isn't over because Karasuno is at 24.
One more point, just one more point. Please!
However, Karasuno gets another point off their quick attack. 25-25. We all watch in anticipation as Karasuno gets the next point again, then us, then us again, then them.
We end up tied again, but Azumane Asahi gets the break point for Karasuno, and then they take the set with the next point as well.
We lose 29-31
"Two more games we need to win."
25-20 we win the next set.
27-29 we lose the fourth.
"This is it." I take a deep breath. "This is the final match."
Karasuno has not been making this easy, just like Hana predicted. They're playing extremely well, and pulling off super human plays that are just absolutely insane. I mean- Hinata receives with his face!
"We just have to get to 15 points first, with them at the most, 13." Hana puts her hands together and closes her eyes. "Please"
The set kicks off, and Ushijima earns the first point for us.
"WAKATOSHI NICE KILL!" I stand up, yelling.
"USHIJIMA-SAN, NICE!" Hana cups her mouth and yells out.
He looks over at us and just nods.
The game continues, both teams giving it their all.
But they're tired. And you can tell because their movements are delayed, especially Karasuno's. The ball is going right next to Nishinoya, and he can't even move.
"What is he doing? He's going to miss i-"
Hana's words are cut off as Karasuno's libero sticks his foot out, and the ball goes up on the air.
"COVER!" Someone yells from the court, but I can't tell who it is because my eyes are glued on Nishinoya.
"Holy shit!" I laugh. "That was amazing!"
The crowd erupts into roars and Nishinoya looks up, a smirk on his face.
Kageyama runs, and sets backwards, getting the ball to one of his hitters, who scores a point.
"Sheesh, Karasuno really is amazing aren't they?" Hana grins, leaning forward.
Though, Shiratorizawa isn't having it. They want points of their own. Tendou blocks the next spike, and Hana and I cheer him on. Ushijima gets the next toss, and he smashes right through the blockers with so much force that the ball bounces into the audience.
"NICE KILL USHIJIMA!" Hana and I yell in unison, and when he looks at us he holds out a thumbs up.
The next set goes to him as well. I grin, awaiting his crazy spike to come.
But the inevitable happens. Karasuno's number 11, the guy who's been trying but failing to block Ushijima all day, finally does it. Ushijima's spike smashes right back into his own court, and there's no follow up by Yamagata. I highly doubt anyone ever expected Ushijima to get blocked. Especially not by a first year.
Yet again, the crowd is shouting and cheering. Even some of Shiratorizawa's fans are cheering for him.
I understand that though, you tend to want to cheer for the underdogs. But is Karasuno really considered to be one of the underdogs when they have players like that?
"H-He was...blocked?" I stare at the players on the court, shocked.
"YEAHHHH!" Tsukishima clenches his fists, screaming in joy. The action gives me chills.
His teammates scream and all run to him, congratulating him. My eyes tear away from them and look over at Ushijima, who's staring at his hand. My eyes tear up and I don't think I'm breathing anymore.
"Hey." Hana grabs my shoulders and forces me to face her. Her expression is serious and her eyes darken. "Don't start crying, we haven't lost yet." She says and I nod, willing myself to swallow the lump in my throat.
She lets go of me and I look back at Ushijima, who already has his eyes on me. He mouths his next words to me, and it makes me want to cry again.
'I'm sorry' he says and I quickly shake my head.
'I love you' I mouth back. I don't care if he got blocked, I don't care if he feels like he disappointed me just now. He's playing well, and that's all that matters. It's just one block.
He gives me a small smile before turning his back, getting back in position. He's in a rotation where he has to receive, and the ball goes straight to him. He gets it up perfectly, and immediately starts doing his approach.
Shirabu tosses to Tendou, and he spikes it.
"One touch!" Tsukishima yells out, and you can see Tendou give him an irritated look.
"One touch!" Again, Tsukishima Kei gets a touch off of Tendou.
"One touch!"
Seriously, what is this guy eating? Since he blocked Ushijima he's touching every spike.
"ONE TOUCH!" He, along with the other members of the team who aren't on the court yell as he gets another touch off of Ushijima's spike.
But the ball goes too high and too far, landing on the floor way far from the court.
Good, it's our point. A sudden time out is called and Karasuno's number 11 is walking off the court, holding his hand. Did his fingers get hurt because of Ushijima's spike?
I feel bad for thinking this, but at least we can spike freely now. I guess it was just in time though, because this is the rotation where Hinata Shōyō subs in. With him in the front of the court, I don't feel good.
And he gives me good reason to feel like that, because he gets a quick hit in as soon as Kageyama sets.
Damn it, we need him out again.
Thankfully, that's exactly what happens. Whenever Karasuno gets the ball, we take it right back and soon enough he's out.
But just in time, Tsukishima comes running back onto the court, to take his spot as the middle blocker.
We're passed 15 points now. The score is 18-19 with us down by one. It's technically anybody's game, though it seems like it's going in Karasuno's favor. I know we got this.
Ushijima jumps up to spike, and this time three blockers go up against him. He hits it right at Hinata, and it hits his face but goes up. Tanaka quickly saves it before it hits the ground and Kageyama passes it over.
Chance ball.
Ushijima is radiating an immense energy. He's hungry. Shirabu notices this and despite the ball being hit into a bad spot, he tosses it to him. He's up against three blockers now. He hits a cross shot and it goes directly to Kageyama. Not having enough time to adjust to receive with his forearms, the ball goes behind him and onto the floor.
Alright, 19-19.
"Wow, nice shot Wakatoshi-Kun!" Tendou calls out to him.
"To borrow one of your phrases," Ushijima looks up, a scary glint in his eye. "I'm on fire."
Sadly, the next point is taken by Karasuno. 19-20. It's anybody's game once again.
Karasuno serves, the ball going to our libero. He passes it and once again the ball it set up for Ushijima.
"One touch!" Tsukishima calls out, and I grit my teeth.
The ball is saved by Daichi diving and getting it up with one hand. That man is really a great defensive player. Asahi quickly goes up and hits it, but it bounces off the blockers hands.
Though of course, Tanaka is right there to save it.
"Chance ball!" He yells out.
"Their #10 is coming!" One of our three blockers calls, but is shocked to find out that he isn't.
No crazy quick attack? On a chance ball like this? All of Karasuno's members start doing their approach, performing a synchronized attack. I hate when they do this, I can never tell who the ball will be set to. I can't imagine how the players on the actual court feel.
All of them jump, but nobody hits.
Wait...but all of them jumped?
All but one, apparently. As the rest of the members of Karasuno are already floating back down from their jump, Hinata Shōyō is barely rising in the air. His form, the look on his face...he's soaring.
In this moment, I know he's going to score. I know that we're about to lose. Off of a first tempo quick back attack. He spikes the ball where no blockers are. Yamagata dives, but the ball bounces off of his hands and goes behind him, hitting the floor.
It's silent, as everyone stares at the court in shock. Not even the players move a muscle. It's so quiet you can hear a pin drop.
But then the ref blows the whistle and the score keepers add a point to Karasuno's side.
Ushijima is looking where the ball fell, in shock, and Yamagata is still on the floor. Daichi turns and a look of disbelief is on his face. He hugs their ace, and Suga quickly joins in. They yell in celebration as tears run down their faces. Everyone is crying except the players in shock. Even the coaches, the manager, Karasuno's fans. They're all crying.
I'm crying.
It's not until Tendou's voice can be heard that Hana bursts into tears.
"Farewell, my paradise." He says, a small nostalgic smile on his face.
"No!" Hana puts her face in her hands. "No, no. I don't want them to lose. This can't be the end." I take a breath and envelope Hana into my arms, both of us crying into each other's shoulders.
"It's over." I say quietly.
"B-But then Satori can't play volleyball anymore!" Hana sobs. "This isn't fair." She squeezes me and I close my eyes tightly.
"I know." I whisper.
It's not until we hear the boys say thank you to each other that we pull away and look at them. They're now in front of us, bowing and expressing their gratitude towards us.
With tears in our eyes, Hana and I yell as loud as we can that we're proud of them. The entire team looks at us, and the expressions on their faces only bring us more tears.
They leave to talk in the locker rooms while Hana and I quickly rush down to the court. As soon as Karasuno is done talking and start to gather their things, we quickly walk over to them. Hana stomps up to Tsukishima and I up to Hinata whos with Kageyama.
"Shōyō" I call out, and the two turn around. I'm not quite sure why I came over here. What did I even plan to say?
As I look at the face of the guy who scored the last point against my team, and robbed them of going to Nationals, my breath catches in my throat and my eyes well with tears again.
"Yes? Sasaki-Senpai?" He tilts his head. I clench my fists and bow to him.
"Good game." I say, and stand up. Hinata gives me a bright smile and bows back.
"Ushiwaka is definitely a force to be reckoned with. I'm glad I got the opportunity to play with such an amazing player." He says and the tears start to fall.
God, I want to hate him. I want to hate this whole team.
"He is, huh?" I laugh, wiping away the tears.
"You're not mad at us?" Their setter asks. "My name is Kageyama Tobio by the way."
"Oh, I'm very upset." I laugh, sniffling. "I'm more worried about Ushijima-Kun though. I hope he handles this well." As if on cue, I hear his voice behind me.
"Hinata Shōyō. Kageyama Tobio." He says, as he comes up beside me. His hair is wet, presumably from a shower, and he's changed into a Shiratorizawa Volleyball Club T-shirt and sweats.
"Ushiwaka-San!" The two boys say, and straighten up. Ushijima looks at them blankly for a moment, before he bows to them. The boys, including me, look at him in shock.
"I underestimated you. Good game." He says, before standing up straight.