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Description
Karasuno won.
They managed to get their revenge against Aoba Johsai. The days of frustration are over.
However, among the screams of joy of players and spectators, now far from the court or taking a rest, a voice has been missing. Shouyou is the first to notice it.
- Shimizu-senpai, Kogane wasn't among the spectators or am I wrong?
Shimizu shakes her head. - No. She told me she was coming. Maybe she got held up...
Tobio listens to the conversation. He has a bad feeling. As far as he know her, he knows that she wouldn't miss one of their very important matches without a good reason.
It's not long before Yachi steps forward.
- Um... guys... I was asked to give you this letter after the game. It's from Alice.
The boys look at each other. It is Shouyou who takes the letter.

"YO, ravens!
I'm sorry for doing something like this, but let me explain.
I know this is sudden, but today I had to move back to England because of my father's job. It's gonna take a while, a couple of months, maybe more. It's frustrating even for me, I know. I didn't tell you this before because I didn't want to give you guys something trivial to worry about before the match against Seijo. I managed to watch only half of it, but I bet you won. There's just no way you could lose to that prick again. So, congratulations! You're going to the finals! I'm sorry I won't be there to support you, but please, do your best. As always.
The time you're reading this I'm probably already at the Tokyo-Haneda airport waiting to check in. Tomorrow I'll watch your live broadcast from my phone, don't worry!
Sawamura-senpai, keep these jerks united as you always do. Crows still need an alpha crow to survive in a sky of eagles. Hehe, cool, right?
Alice"
Before Shouyou could read the last sentence, Tobio is already running in the corridors, dragging Shouyou with him, looking for the professors.
They almost bump into Professor Takeda.
- Takeda-sensei! - he bows, - Please, I need to ask you a favor!

Alice is dragging the heavy trolley almost twice her size with difficulty.
"Maybe I should have warned them before, after all, it's not like I'm such an important presence to make them 'worry'..."
With many thoughts in mind but above all hesitation, Alice follows her parents through the long corridors of the airport terminal.
- Alice, stop sulking - her father scolds her, - A couple of months pass in a flash.
"Yes, for me, but not for them."
I want to support them, she thinks. I want to help them as I can, with mere moral backup. I want to see them win and be by their side when they shout the last victory scream.
- Even if I explained it, you wouldn't understand, - says Alice. She's never got along well with her parents, so she doesn't even bother explaining what's going on in her life.
Check in stands appear before them. Alice sighs.
"That person... who do I wanna fool... I'm gonna miss him the most."
It's two long. Two months, two weeks or two days. It's still too much time passed without seeing his face. She knows what that means, but she can't help but keep that feeling at bay.
- KOGANE-SAN!
A scream makes her blood freeze for a moment.
There, in front of her, Tobio Kageyama. She thinks she's having a vision.
- ...Kageyama? What...
- I finally found you, damn it! This place is gigantic!
Tobio is panting. He seems to have run a marathon, and the fact of having just played a match doesn't help his stamina.
- Alice, who is he? - her mother asks, more intrigued than surprised.
Before Alice could answer, Tobio addresses his parents. He bows.
- Mr. Kogane! Mrs. Kogane! Please, don't leave! The Karasuno team needs your daughter.
Need. They need her?
- WH-?!
- What? Who are you, boy? - her father asks. Meanwhile, her mother starts giggling.
- Oh my. A guy asking Alice not to leave. Is this some sort of romantic movie?
- HUH?! - Tobio and Alice both screams.
- I... I mean... - Tobio continues, - I know this may sound selfish, but please. Kogane is... important to our volleyball club.
- Volleyball?! Are you playing volleyball? - retorts her father, worried, - You know about your arm...
- I know! - she replies, angry, - I'm not playing anything. I'm just... uhm... a manager.
Tobio looks up slightly and watches Alice's conversation with her parents.
- Manager? Even? Why didn't you tell us?
- I didn't find the chance.
Her mother sighs and turns to her husband.
- What do you think?
- We can't stay. I have a job that calls me.
Tobio gets up altogether.
- But...
Her father takes something from his pockets and throw it at Alice. It's a set of keys. Then he turns to Tobio.
- This girl can't take care of herself. Sometimes she doesn't sleep and she doesn't even know how to cook something for herself. She's a disaster.
- I know.
- He knows?! - Mrs Kogane exclaims.
- HEY! That's not true!
- It's true - Tobio intervenes, - The snacks you prepared for the club the last day tasted like fried air.
- WHA-
- You can't even tie your shoes properly. Look.
Her trainers have the shoelace untied.
- WHAT!
- But I promise we'll manage. The club will take care of her as well.
Silence.
Both her parents are completely taken aback.
- What's your name again? - Mr Kogane asks.
- Kageyama... Tobio.
- Well then, Tobio. I'm counting on you.
Alice can no longer hold herself back. Despite the much realistic insults of Tobio, she still thinks to have imagined everything.
Tobio gasps.
- Are you... crying?
- I'm not!
She quickly runs her sleeve on her eyes and turns to face her parents and says in English:
- Thank you... very much.
Her mother smiles. Her father does a little, but he seems kinda satisfied as well.
Maybe he's happy that someone actually needs his clumsy daughter for something.

When her parents leave, Tobio and Alice are left alone with her big luggage.
She can't say anything yet. She just keeps shedding tears.
- Oi... what are you crying for, dumbass...
- Shut up! This is the first time I'm actually crying out in public like this!
- I know.
"You do?"
- Why did you say that? Karasuno doesn't need me. I'm just an ordinary acquaintance.
- Maybe. Who cares. I- We still need you.
"For what?" is what she was going to ask, but couldn't.
Eventually, she manages to smile at him.
- Thank you... you bowed to my parents. It was so weird.
He doesn't say anything back. He takes her luggage and starts walking.
- I can carry it myself.
- Shut up. It's double your size, two of you could fit in here.
- HAH! I could still carry it.
They continue like this until they're nearly at the exit of the gate, where the teacher and Shouyou are waiting for them.
Alice suddenly stops.
- You know...
He turns. - What?
She has a big smile on her face.
- I reaaaaaaally like you.
- WHA?! - he blushes deeply. - Don't say things like that so easily!
- Why not? You're not gonna get it anyway.
- HUH?! You like Karasuno, right?
- Exactly.
She pouts.
- Whatever. Maybe next year. Or the next one.

BONUS
- Anyway, you won, right?
- Of course we did.
- HAH, I knew it. Imagine if you didn't. My letter would have been soooo awkward.
- Ugh...

-----------------------

Thank you for reading until here! <3
You can find out more about Alice HERE

Art © Me
Haikyuu © Haruichi Furudate

Description
Karasuno won.
They managed to get their revenge against Aoba Johsai. The days of frustration are over.
However, among the screams of joy of players and spectators, now far from the court or taking a rest, a voice has been missing. Shouyou is the first to notice it.
- Shimizu-senpai, Kogane wasn't among the spectators or am I wrong?
Shimizu shakes her head. - No. She told me she was coming. Maybe she got held up...
Tobio listens to the conversation. He has a bad feeling. As far as he know her, he knows that she wouldn't miss one of their very important matches without a good reason.
It's not long before Yachi steps forward.
- Um... guys... I was asked to give you this letter after the game. It's from Alice.
The boys look at each other. It is Shouyou who takes the letter.

"YO, ravens!
I'm sorry for doing something like this, but let me explain.
I know this is sudden, but today I had to move back to England because of my father's job. It's gonna take a while, a couple of months, maybe more. It's frustrating even for me, I know. I didn't tell you this before because I didn't want to give you guys something trivial to worry about before the match against Seijo. I managed to watch only half of it, but I bet you won. There's just no way you could lose to that prick again. So, congratulations! You're going to the finals! I'm sorry I won't be there to support you, but please, do your best. As always.
The time you're reading this I'm probably already at the Tokyo-Haneda airport waiting to check in. Tomorrow I'll watch your live broadcast from my phone, don't worry!
Sawamura-senpai, keep these jerks united as you always do. Crows still need an alpha crow to survive in a sky of eagles. Hehe, cool, right?
Alice"
Before Shouyou could read the last sentence, Tobio is already running in the corridors, dragging Shouyou with him, looking for the professors.
They almost bump into Professor Takeda.
- Takeda-sensei! - he bows, - Please, I need to ask you a favor!

Alice is dragging the heavy trolley almost twice her size with difficulty.
"Maybe I should have warned them before, after all, it's not like I'm such an important presence to make them 'worry'..."
With many thoughts in mind but above all hesitation, Alice follows her parents through the long corridors of the airport terminal.
- Alice, stop sulking - her father scolds her, - A couple of months pass in a flash.
"Yes, for me, but not for them."
I want to support them, she thinks. I want to help them as I can, with mere moral backup. I want to see them win and be by their side when they shout the last victory scream.
- Even if I explained it, you wouldn't understand, - says Alice. She's never got along well with her parents, so she doesn't even bother explaining what's going on in her life.
Check in stands appear before them. Alice sighs.
"That person... who do I wanna fool... I'm gonna miss him the most."
It's two long. Two months, two weeks or two days. It's still too much time passed without seeing his face. She knows what that means, but she can't help but keep that feeling at bay.
- KOGANE-SAN!
A scream makes her blood freeze for a moment.
There, in front of her, Tobio Kageyama. She thinks she's having a vision.
- ...Kageyama? What...
- I finally found you, damn it! This place is gigantic!
Tobio is panting. He seems to have run a marathon, and the fact of having just played a match doesn't help his stamina.
- Alice, who is he? - her mother asks, more intrigued than surprised.
Before Alice could answer, Tobio addresses his parents. He bows.
- Mr. Kogane! Mrs. Kogane! Please, don't leave! The Karasuno team needs your daughter.
Need. They need her?
- WH-?!
- What? Who are you, boy? - her father asks. Meanwhile, her mother starts giggling.
- Oh my. A guy asking Alice not to leave. Is this some sort of romantic movie?
- HUH?! - Tobio and Alice both screams.
- I... I mean... - Tobio continues, - I know this may sound selfish, but please. Kogane is... important to our volleyball club.
- Volleyball?! Are you playing volleyball? - retorts her father, worried, - You know about your arm...
- I know! - she replies, angry, - I'm not playing anything. I'm just... uhm... a manager.
Tobio looks up slightly and watches Alice's conversation with her parents.
- Manager? Even? Why didn't you tell us?
- I didn't find the chance.
Her mother sighs and turns to her husband.
- What do you think?
- We can't stay. I have a job that calls me.
Tobio gets up altogether.
- But...
Her father takes something from his pockets and throw it at Alice. It's a set of keys. Then he turns to Tobio.
- This girl can't take care of herself. Sometimes she doesn't sleep and she doesn't even know how to cook something for herself. She's a disaster.
- I know.
- He knows?! - Mrs Kogane exclaims.
- HEY! That's not true!
- It's true - Tobio intervenes, - The snacks you prepared for the club the last day tasted like fried air.
- WHA-
- You can't even tie your shoes properly. Look.
Her trainers have the shoelace untied.
- WHAT!
- But I promise we'll manage. The club will take care of her as well.
Silence.
Both her parents are completely taken aback.
- What's your name again? - Mr Kogane asks.
- Kageyama... Tobio.
- Well then, Tobio. I'm counting on you.
Alice can no longer hold herself back. Despite the much realistic insults of Tobio, she still thinks to have imagined everything.
Tobio gasps.
- Are you... crying?
- I'm not!
She quickly runs her sleeve on her eyes and turns to face her parents and says in English:
- Thank you... very much.
Her mother smiles. Her father does a little, but he seems kinda satisfied as well.
Maybe he's happy that someone actually needs his clumsy daughter for something.

When her parents leave, Tobio and Alice are left alone with her big luggage.
She can't say anything yet. She just keeps shedding tears.
- Oi... what are you crying for, dumbass...
- Shut up! This is the first time I'm actually crying out in public like this!
- I know.
"You do?"
- Why did you say that? Karasuno doesn't need me. I'm just an ordinary acquaintance.
- Maybe. Who cares. I- We still need you.
"For what?" is what she was going to ask, but couldn't.
Eventually, she manages to smile at him.
- Thank you... you bowed to my parents. It was so weird.
He doesn't say anything back. He takes her luggage and starts walking.
- I can carry it myself.
- Shut up. It's double your size, two of you could fit in here.
- HAH! I could still carry it.
They continue like this until they're nearly at the exit of the gate, where the teacher and Shouyou are waiting for them.
Alice suddenly stops.
- You know...
He turns. - What?
She has a big smile on her face.
- I reaaaaaaally like you.
- WHA?! - he blushes deeply. - Don't say things like that so easily!
- Why not? You're not gonna get it anyway.
- HUH?! You like Karasuno, right?
- Exactly.
She pouts.
- Whatever. Maybe next year. Or the next one.

BONUS
- Anyway, you won, right?
- Of course we did.
- HAH, I knew it. Imagine if you didn't. My letter would have been soooo awkward.
- Ugh...

-----------------------

Thank you for reading until here! <3
You can find out more about Alice HERE

Art © Me
Haikyuu © Haruichi Furudate