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Description
After a brief intermission, everyone was getting into position for the 2nd Set of the Karasuno – Date Tech match.

You blinked curiously, noticing that they’d changed their rotation up ever so slightly. They had moved the rotation around 2 plays ahead. Ah! This was probably to try to avoid Aone-san marking Hinata so closely in this set!

But that didn’t rule out the odds of being blocked… and now the others had to worry about Aone-san blocking them.

Still, this could be a good move nonetheless.

“Go, go, let’s go! Let’s go, Dateko! Go, go, let’s go! Let’s go, Dateko!”

You pouted. Great! The obnoxious Date Tech Cheer Squad started up again…

Well that could only mean one thing.

“Looks like the 2nd Set is starting!” Yui-senpai said, leaning forward in anticipation. The rest of the girls and you nodded in agreement, focusing our attentions on the resuming match.

Tanaka-senpai was up first to serve.

Date Tech received it, bumping it up cleanly and bringing it towards their Setter, who passed it on to one of their Spikers. They were able to make it through Karasuno’s defense and scored the point.

Karasuno quickly brought it back around though, in the next play, using Hinata’s Decoy position to sent a toss Asahi-senpai’s way. He scored, narrowly avoiding an incoming diagonal block from Aone-san.

The next play had one of Date Tech’s Spikers get past Kageyama-kun’s block, only to be bumped up by Tanaka-senpai. Kageyama-kun sent a toss towards Asahi-senpai again, but this time, he was blocked. The point went to Date Tech.

Next up to serve was Date Tech who sent it flying towards what looked like an empty space on the court.

But Daichi-senpai swooped in at the last second and swiftly bumped it back up. Next to you, Yui-senpai and the other girls cheered happily for him.

But the situation was quickly changed when that receive went towards another blocked spike. Date Tech was staying ahead in points, but it was still close.

Karasuno's next play closed the gap between points and put us at a draw for 4 points each.

It was now Hinata’s turn to be in the front of the rotation again. Perhaps he could score some points.

No, you had faith that he could do something. If not directly, then he could help indirectly with a Decoy jump.

Date Tech’s player got a Spike through Hinata’s one-man block, but Tsukishima-san shakily bumped it back up. Kageyama-kun went in catch the free-flying ball, as Hinata yelled out for a toss and jumped.

Kageyama sent him the toss and he got it by Date Tech’s players, scoring a point. Now, we were in the lead.

You cheered quietly, pumping your fists with rosy cheeks. The girls started giggling at your reaction and you blushed harder.

Clearing your throat nervously, you smiled bashfully at them, before looking at the match.

From Hinata’s spike onwards, Karasuno managed to use his Decoy ability to score a couple more points in a row, pulling further ahead.

Date Tech’s Assistant Coach called for a Time Out, and the match paused, both teams going to their respective end of the court to speak with their coaches.

You glanced over towards the scoreboard, seeing that the score currently stood at 10 – 12 to Karasuno.

So far, so good - Karasuno was about halfway to a possible Match Point.

“I hope it’s this easy…” you murmured to yourself under your breath, and bit your lip, looking down towards Karasuno’s huddle.

…

After the Time Out had run out, Karasuno resumed the match with Hinata’s Serve. They went on to go through a few plays, taking turns in scoring points, until Date Tech was just one point behind, at 16 – 17.

They weren’t going to make it easy after all.

If Karasuno could keep the advantage though, it would still be okay.

Up next to Serve was Date Tech’s Futakuchi-san; he went in with a running jump, before sending it Karasuno’s way. Tanaka-senpai managed to get it back up, and had Kageyama-kun cover it again as it was slightly off on trajectory.

As Kageyama-kun got to the ball, Asahi-senpai called for the toss and your attention turned to him.

Despite the stories you’d heard about Karasuno’s one-sided match beating from Date Tech last year, where every one of Asahi-senpai’s spikes were brutally blocked, this year seemed to be different.

And not just because of Hinata and Kageyama-kun’s combination attack, or the new Decoy tactic. Asahi-senpai seemed like a more confident spiker than what I’d initially seen from him when you had first met. It was a miraculous transformation, really!

He’d been a really reliable player so far – deserving of the title of Ace…!

Bam!!

…

Huh…?

“RAAAAAAAAGHH!!” Aone-san’s roar caused your heart to jump up in your throat, as you pucker your lips in shock, eyes wide.

Aone-san, at the last second, had changed the angle of his block to block Asahi-senpai’s spike at the last second, sending it back down to smack noisily against Karasuno’s side of the court.

And with that, Date Tech’s cheering squad erupted into another period of loud chanting and water bottle drumming. You looked down to the court to Asahi-senpai, anxious.

What kind of reaction would senpai make…? You had to hope he was taking it well.

The scoreboard stood at 17 – 17. It could go either way from this moment.

If things ended up like last year, maybe Asahi-senpai wouldn’t be able to recover a second time.

You sucked in a breath. You had to do something. And this was literally the only thing you could do, being unable to join them on the court.

“Push, Push, Karasuno!! You can do it, Karasuno!!” As you cheered as loud as you could, you felt the startled eyes of the girls team around you only momentarily, before they quickly repeated the same cheer after you.

You looked to them as they did, a smile spreading across your face. They were grinning too, some of them blushing at the attention they were undoubtedly getting.

You nodded, and you repeated the cheer a third time, altogether.

By now, the boys were looking up at your group, surprised, but only slightly so. Maybe they were getting used to your random outbursts. It’s not something you had thought you’d become known for… if Michiko could see you now….

'She’d never stop teasing me for it.' You thought to yourself.

But it was worth it, seeing the reinvigorated smiles of the boys. They nodded up at you, before quickly turning back to the match.

“Geez,” you heard a nearby male comment, “What, do they think they can stand up against Date Tech’s cheering squad. Not a chance…!” he laughed.

His friend next to him seemed to agree, “They must be embarrassed.” He added.

Mao-senpai glared at them, and they flinched, muttering about how they’d been heard. Like they were even being subtle.

“It’s fine. Let them talk. We’ll keep supporting the boys anyway, right?” you said to Mao-senpai, Yui-senpai and the rest of the girls. They nodded in agreement.

This time, when Asahi-senpai went for a spike against Date Tech’s block, he managed to get through, across the tips of Aone-san’s fingers. They started getting the ball ready for a spike of their own, from Aone-san.

You clenched your fists, “Come on…!” you muttered.

The spike bounced back off Tsukishima-san’s blocked and you hissed out a ‘Yes!’

“Yes!!” Yui-senpai echoed, a bit louder, and Sasaki-san continued.

“Next is to widen the gap!” she commented. You all nodded, agreeing.

Tanaka-senpai scored the next point, bringing us ahead by a point again. Karasuno was getting close to 20 now. If all went well, this set would be theirs… If.

And now, Hinata was in the front of the rotation again. Could he give Karasuno enough of an edge…?? He certainly looked ready to try.

‘You can do it, Hinata-kun…!’ you thought to yourself, nodding resolutely.

It was Tsukishima-san’s serve; it was received by Date Tech’s Libero, and bounced back up a second time, before their Spiker went in for the Kill.

Asahi-senpai received it, and Kageyama-kun went in to cover it.

“BRING IT TO ME!!!” Hinata yelled out enthusiastically, and Kageyama-kun sent it his way. Hinata scored his point, and you cheered.

“Nice Kill, Hinata-kun!!” you called out, happy. That put Karasuno at two points ahead. Just 4 more points and they'd be at Match Point…! “You can do it, Karasuno!!” you called out again, and the girls’ echoed you.

The Date Tech player with bleached hair managed to score next, closing the gap a little, and their cheering squad began enthusiastically cheering ‘Kamasaki’.

You pouted, “Can’t they tone down their cheering a little…” you complained, and Manami-senpai laughed at you.

“Isn’t that a little bit like ‘pot calling the kettle black’?” she asked you and you blushed a little, turning to her.

“I-It’s different. We could count our group on my fingers. Meanwhile, they’ve g-got an army for a cheering squad…!” you tried to reason, and the girls only shrugged and smiled at you weirdly.

After a few more plays, the gap between points hadn’t gotten any less narrow, with only two points in between, but Karasuno still had the lead. 22 points.

You loosened your shoulders, feeling like you could finally confidently call this match. Just three more points. The fact that we were in the lead didn’t seem to stop the cheer squad though.

You felt Yui pat your shoulder and you blinked up at her; she leaned in to whisper in your ear. “Let’s cheer for Azumane together, okay?” she said to you with a smile.

“For Asahi-senpai?” you repeated, and she and a few of the other girls nodded in response. “Okay!” you nodded with a smile, agreeing.

We turned back to the match to see Kageyama-kun already tossing the ball. Hinata jumped up in a Decoy move, and the ball sailed past him towards Asahi-senpai.

As he spiked the ball down, it bounced off Date Tech’s captain’s arms, and hit the court.

3… 2… 1…!

“NICE KILL, AZUMANE!!!” the girls around you cheered, and a beat after them, you added mine.

“THAT’S KARASUNO’S ACE~!!!” you cheered, with a big smile. The girls agreed, patting your shoulders and smiling, as Asahi-senpai blushed and looked up at you, before bashfully bowing his head in thanks.

‘It’s just one point until Match Point now…!’ you thought, watching with eager anticipation as the match went into the next play.

Nishinoya-senpai received the next serve from Date Tech cleanly.

The ball went over to the other side of the court, but eventually made its way back into Kageyama-kun’s possession. He sent the ball to Asahi-senpai again, but out of nowhere that bleached-hair guy Kamasaki did a diagonal jump block.

Date Tech’s players rejoiced their point heartily.

And then, Aone-san came into the front of their rotation again.

Kageyama-kun got ready to toss; Hinata called out for it to be sent to him before leaping to the air, and was given his chance. It bounced off Aone-san’s arms and you almost yelped in dismay, until you’d seen what had happened, and strangled out a relieved laugh.

The ball had indeed bounced off of Aone-san’s arms, but it had also hit off the net and tumbled down to his feet on Date Tech’s side.

That was a close one…!

But thanks to that little miracle, they didn’t close in on us on the points, and now, it was Match Point!

Against Date Tech…!

“This is incredible…! Who’d have thought…? Against the prestigious Date Tech!” Yui-senpai said happily beside you.

“Go for it, guys!! It’s just one more point!!” You called out to them, and Yui-senpai nodded in agreement.

But now, Hinata was in the back of the rotation. He was also up to serve. So it was up to our other Spikers to try and get in that last point, or to successfully block Date Tech.

How would this next play go…

Time to find out.

“Nice Serve!!” you heard some of your boys on the reserve call out to Hinata, as he threw up the ball, and hit his serve.

You cringed along with Hinata, as his serve went out of bounds. You put your palms to your face and groaned, before peeking out from between your fingers as you listened to Hinata apologise to Daichi-senpai, while Kageyama-kun hurled insults with no weight to them his way.

You glanced at the rotation for Karasuno.

At the point it was now, Asahi-senpai was still up front. Yes. In tough situations, it’s best to rely on your reliable Ace.

‘I believe you can do it Asahi-senpai! This year will definitely be your redemption…!’ you nodded to Asahi-senpai, watching as the next play began.

This could well be the final play of the match.

It was Date Tech’s serve, and they sent the ball hurtling over. However, Nishinoya-senpai was there to reliably bounce it back up, and it went to Kageyama-kun.

Tsukishima-san went in to spike, and sent it over the blockers before they could jump high enough.

It was received by Date Tech’s Libero, and went back up into play for their side. Their Setter tossed it to Aone-san, and Tanaka-senpai managed to send it up again for Kageyama-kun to toss.

He sent it again to Karasuno’s Ace.

Asahi-senpai went in for the spike, but it was blocked and was sent hurtling backwards where nobody stood to catch it.

Daichi-senpai whirled around, turning his attention to the ball and was about to chase after it. Nishinoya-senpai got to the ball first, catching it with a Flying Fall receive.

“Cover it!!” senpai yelled after getting up.

You let out a yelp of relief, smiling wide. Thank goodness for Nishinoya-senpai…!

“Left! Give me one more!!” Asahi-senpai called out for the toss. Kageyama-kun bounced the ball up, accurately sending it Asahi-senpai’s way, and the third-year ran in for the spike.

“Senpai, go for it!!” you called out, gripping the bars of the railing in front of you.

The ball was flying a little too close to the net. And Date Tech had three of its players lined up to create a wall of blockers, including Aone-san…! Would Asahi-senpai be able to pull it off.

‘He’s Karasuno’s Ace…’ you thought to yourself as you nodded and smiled.

Asahi-senpai, one handed, went to push the ball over the net, facing off against the two handed block of Aone-san.

“It’s a joust!” those guys from earlier gasped out, “Don’t let him beat you, long-haired guy!” they added.

As if angered, and fueled by those words, Aone-san pushed through Asahi-senpai’s hand and the ball flew back.

“Oh no…!” Sakaki-san gasped from behind you, putting her hands to her mouth.

Bu yet again… Nishinoya-senpai saved the day. With agility and reflexes we’d come to know him for, he swiftly moved his leg towards the ball, and managed to catch it.

“…with his foot…!?” you laughed out, surprised and pleased. There was still a chance for to win in this play, yet.

“Wow...!” Yui-senpai gasped, as the gymnasium erupted into cheers for that great receive.

“Nishinoya, nice follow-through!” Asahi-senpai called to Karasuno’s Libero, not phased by being blocked. He quickly began moving again, unperturbed.

And then, someone called out for another toss, and you turned to the reserves area in surprise. Suga-senpai…!

Next, it was Asahi-senpai that called out for the toss from Kageyama-kun, who obliged.

“Go, Asahi!!” Suga-senpai called out.

“Blast through them, Asahi!!” Daichi-senpai followed up.

Spurred on by the third-years support, the girls and you joined in, calling out “Go!!”

Asahi-senpai hit the ball as best he could, but was blocked by Aone-san and Futakuchi-san. However, the path of the flying ball was different this time. Instead of flying back to Karasuno’s side, it flew along the net, and bounced on the top of the net.

The fate of the match would be decided by which side if fell to. You watched with eager anticipation.

…

To Date Tech’s side…!

Futakuchi-san dove for the ball, hoping to bump it back up, but it was no use. He couldn’t make it in time.

The ball bounced off the floor of the court.

And the whistle was blown.

The match ended, with 22 – 25 to Karasuno.

This time, it was Asahi-senpai roared out a victory cry. A cry that prompted you to tears, as your legs gave out and you fell back down into my seat, finally.

“Waah, are you okay…?” Sasaki-san gasped, as the other girls started cheering loudly for Karasuno’s victory.

“Y-Yeah…!” you said, letting out a breath of air you hadn’t known you’d been holding. You giggled a little bit, rubbing at the corners of your eyes as you looked up to her, “Looks like it’s my turn to cry…!” you added.

Sasaki-san smiled and laughed, tears budding at the corners of her eyes as well, “Happy tears are better than sad ones though, right?” she replied, as you nodded and got back up.

You’d gotten back up in time to see the two teams finishing up with shaking hands with each other. For some reason, Hinata and Aone-san were just standing there, shaking hands with each other still… really???

‘Aren’t you scared, Hinata-kun…? So tall…!’ you thought, cringing.

“Sawamura! Sugawara! Azumane!” you heard Yui-senpai call over the third-year boys; as they gathered below you, she continued, “Congratulations on clearing round two!” she told them.

“Ah, Michimiya! I thought I heard the girls voices.” Daichi-senpai nodded up to the girls.

Suga-senpai laughed, looking to Daichi-senpai, “Didn’t you notice them?” he asked, and turned up to look at you, “[Last Name]-san was cheering pretty enthusiastically today too!” he grinned at you, laughing when your face heated up.

Asahi-senpai smiled and nodded, “Thank you for your support today, everyone! [Last Name]-san too.” He said.

You smiled at that and nodded, “Asahi-senpai, I told you! I told you that you could do it, and today you guys got your redemption! Asahi-senpai and Daichi-senpai were both really cool, but today I got to see why your called the Ace!” you said with a smile.

“O-Oh… Um… Gee… Thank you, again.” Asahi-senpai flushed under the praise; he likely felt it was undue, but that wasn’t true. Daichi-senpai grinned and nodded in thanks.

“[Name]-san! What about me!?” Nishinoya-senpai asked, and Tanaka-senpai followed quickly after, asking the same thing.

You laughed, still blushing under the attention, and indulged them with some compliments. You then noticed Hinata standing a little bit away, fidgeting as if making up his mind.

Not a moment later, he ran over to join his senpai below you, “[Last Name]-san! We won again!” he said, and you smiled and nodded.

“Congratulations! You did so well!” you called down to him. Though you meant it for everyone who played today, you wanted him to know that you were especially proud of him. Hinata grinned happily.

Next to you, Yui-senpai nodded,

“Today was your revenge, right?” she said to her fellow third-years, who nodded with serious expressions, lifting their arms, fists balled.

“Yeah! And we’ll keep on winning!” Daichi-senpai promised.

It sounds like a lot to promise, probably. Because there was no way of saying for sure how their next match would go. But even though Oikawa-senpai had said you were likely making a mistake by putting Karasuno on a pedestal, you didn’t want to change your beliefs. You wanted to have faith in them until the end.

There’s just something about the friends you’ve made in Karasuno that makes you want to cheer for them with all your might, no matter the odds.

Just like they did when Hinata’s idol the Small Giant was playing all those years ago…

You really wanted to see them fly, all the way to Nationals, once again.

…

After clearing up the banner and rejoining the boys, it had been decided that Karasuno would sit in the stands to watch what was left of Aoba Johsai and Oomisaki’s match, as whoever won this match would end up being our next opponent.

What the team had learnt about an Aoba Johsai with Oikawa-san as their Setter from the start was sobering.

They had extremely smooth teamwork, which had been clear during the practice match but now it was undeniable. The synergy between Oikawa-san and Iwaizumi-san was especially amazing. Kageyama-kun had told us that it was because the two had apparently been on the same volleyball team since Elementary School. That’s amazing.

Another thing to worry about was Oikawa-san’s Service Ace, which you had seen an incredible streak of this time. Their opponents just crumbled under the brute force and superb control of Oikawa-san’s Serves.

Everything you’d heard about him as a Setter, from second-hand knowledge, was true.

You don’t think you’d ever be able to get on his level of skill…

You kept on thinking about this, on the bus-ride back to Karasuno, as you glanced out at the orange hues of sunset.

It was then that you got thirsty, and went to open your duffel bag, only to find it was slightly opened. Slightly curious, you opened it all the way.

As you dug around your duffel bag to retrieve your water battle, you found a scrap of paper that you're sure wasn’t there before. Carefully, You secretly opened the scrap to see what was written on it.

You blinked at the piece of paper for a few seconds, unsure if you were really seeing the scrawl of digits, followed by an address and a caricature of a smiley face with its tongue sticking out in the bottom corner.

You couldn't believe it. It couldn’t be him again, right?

‘Oikawa-san is a persistent one…’ you thought to yourself, with a muffled chuckle, putting the scrap back into your bag and taking a gulp of water.

Well… Who knows, right? Maybe it’ll come in handy.

Description
After a brief intermission, everyone was getting into position for the 2nd Set of the Karasuno – Date Tech match.

You blinked curiously, noticing that they’d changed their rotation up ever so slightly. They had moved the rotation around 2 plays ahead. Ah! This was probably to try to avoid Aone-san marking Hinata so closely in this set!

But that didn’t rule out the odds of being blocked… and now the others had to worry about Aone-san blocking them.

Still, this could be a good move nonetheless.

“Go, go, let’s go! Let’s go, Dateko! Go, go, let’s go! Let’s go, Dateko!”

You pouted. Great! The obnoxious Date Tech Cheer Squad started up again…

Well that could only mean one thing.

“Looks like the 2nd Set is starting!” Yui-senpai said, leaning forward in anticipation. The rest of the girls and you nodded in agreement, focusing our attentions on the resuming match.

Tanaka-senpai was up first to serve.

Date Tech received it, bumping it up cleanly and bringing it towards their Setter, who passed it on to one of their Spikers. They were able to make it through Karasuno’s defense and scored the point.

Karasuno quickly brought it back around though, in the next play, using Hinata’s Decoy position to sent a toss Asahi-senpai’s way. He scored, narrowly avoiding an incoming diagonal block from Aone-san.

The next play had one of Date Tech’s Spikers get past Kageyama-kun’s block, only to be bumped up by Tanaka-senpai. Kageyama-kun sent a toss towards Asahi-senpai again, but this time, he was blocked. The point went to Date Tech.

Next up to serve was Date Tech who sent it flying towards what looked like an empty space on the court.

But Daichi-senpai swooped in at the last second and swiftly bumped it back up. Next to you, Yui-senpai and the other girls cheered happily for him.

But the situation was quickly changed when that receive went towards another blocked spike. Date Tech was staying ahead in points, but it was still close.

Karasuno's next play closed the gap between points and put us at a draw for 4 points each.

It was now Hinata’s turn to be in the front of the rotation again. Perhaps he could score some points.

No, you had faith that he could do something. If not directly, then he could help indirectly with a Decoy jump.

Date Tech’s player got a Spike through Hinata’s one-man block, but Tsukishima-san shakily bumped it back up. Kageyama-kun went in catch the free-flying ball, as Hinata yelled out for a toss and jumped.

Kageyama sent him the toss and he got it by Date Tech’s players, scoring a point. Now, we were in the lead.

You cheered quietly, pumping your fists with rosy cheeks. The girls started giggling at your reaction and you blushed harder.

Clearing your throat nervously, you smiled bashfully at them, before looking at the match.

From Hinata’s spike onwards, Karasuno managed to use his Decoy ability to score a couple more points in a row, pulling further ahead.

Date Tech’s Assistant Coach called for a Time Out, and the match paused, both teams going to their respective end of the court to speak with their coaches.

You glanced over towards the scoreboard, seeing that the score currently stood at 10 – 12 to Karasuno.

So far, so good - Karasuno was about halfway to a possible Match Point.

“I hope it’s this easy…” you murmured to yourself under your breath, and bit your lip, looking down towards Karasuno’s huddle.

…

After the Time Out had run out, Karasuno resumed the match with Hinata’s Serve. They went on to go through a few plays, taking turns in scoring points, until Date Tech was just one point behind, at 16 – 17.

They weren’t going to make it easy after all.

If Karasuno could keep the advantage though, it would still be okay.

Up next to Serve was Date Tech’s Futakuchi-san; he went in with a running jump, before sending it Karasuno’s way. Tanaka-senpai managed to get it back up, and had Kageyama-kun cover it again as it was slightly off on trajectory.

As Kageyama-kun got to the ball, Asahi-senpai called for the toss and your attention turned to him.

Despite the stories you’d heard about Karasuno’s one-sided match beating from Date Tech last year, where every one of Asahi-senpai’s spikes were brutally blocked, this year seemed to be different.

And not just because of Hinata and Kageyama-kun’s combination attack, or the new Decoy tactic. Asahi-senpai seemed like a more confident spiker than what I’d initially seen from him when you had first met. It was a miraculous transformation, really!

He’d been a really reliable player so far – deserving of the title of Ace…!

Bam!!

…

Huh…?

“RAAAAAAAAGHH!!” Aone-san’s roar caused your heart to jump up in your throat, as you pucker your lips in shock, eyes wide.

Aone-san, at the last second, had changed the angle of his block to block Asahi-senpai’s spike at the last second, sending it back down to smack noisily against Karasuno’s side of the court.

And with that, Date Tech’s cheering squad erupted into another period of loud chanting and water bottle drumming. You looked down to the court to Asahi-senpai, anxious.

What kind of reaction would senpai make…? You had to hope he was taking it well.

The scoreboard stood at 17 – 17. It could go either way from this moment.

If things ended up like last year, maybe Asahi-senpai wouldn’t be able to recover a second time.

You sucked in a breath. You had to do something. And this was literally the only thing you could do, being unable to join them on the court.

“Push, Push, Karasuno!! You can do it, Karasuno!!” As you cheered as loud as you could, you felt the startled eyes of the girls team around you only momentarily, before they quickly repeated the same cheer after you.

You looked to them as they did, a smile spreading across your face. They were grinning too, some of them blushing at the attention they were undoubtedly getting.

You nodded, and you repeated the cheer a third time, altogether.

By now, the boys were looking up at your group, surprised, but only slightly so. Maybe they were getting used to your random outbursts. It’s not something you had thought you’d become known for… if Michiko could see you now….

'She’d never stop teasing me for it.' You thought to yourself.

But it was worth it, seeing the reinvigorated smiles of the boys. They nodded up at you, before quickly turning back to the match.

“Geez,” you heard a nearby male comment, “What, do they think they can stand up against Date Tech’s cheering squad. Not a chance…!” he laughed.

His friend next to him seemed to agree, “They must be embarrassed.” He added.

Mao-senpai glared at them, and they flinched, muttering about how they’d been heard. Like they were even being subtle.

“It’s fine. Let them talk. We’ll keep supporting the boys anyway, right?” you said to Mao-senpai, Yui-senpai and the rest of the girls. They nodded in agreement.

This time, when Asahi-senpai went for a spike against Date Tech’s block, he managed to get through, across the tips of Aone-san’s fingers. They started getting the ball ready for a spike of their own, from Aone-san.

You clenched your fists, “Come on…!” you muttered.

The spike bounced back off Tsukishima-san’s blocked and you hissed out a ‘Yes!’

“Yes!!” Yui-senpai echoed, a bit louder, and Sasaki-san continued.

“Next is to widen the gap!” she commented. You all nodded, agreeing.

Tanaka-senpai scored the next point, bringing us ahead by a point again. Karasuno was getting close to 20 now. If all went well, this set would be theirs… If.

And now, Hinata was in the front of the rotation again. Could he give Karasuno enough of an edge…?? He certainly looked ready to try.

‘You can do it, Hinata-kun…!’ you thought to yourself, nodding resolutely.

It was Tsukishima-san’s serve; it was received by Date Tech’s Libero, and bounced back up a second time, before their Spiker went in for the Kill.

Asahi-senpai received it, and Kageyama-kun went in to cover it.

“BRING IT TO ME!!!” Hinata yelled out enthusiastically, and Kageyama-kun sent it his way. Hinata scored his point, and you cheered.

“Nice Kill, Hinata-kun!!” you called out, happy. That put Karasuno at two points ahead. Just 4 more points and they'd be at Match Point…! “You can do it, Karasuno!!” you called out again, and the girls’ echoed you.

The Date Tech player with bleached hair managed to score next, closing the gap a little, and their cheering squad began enthusiastically cheering ‘Kamasaki’.

You pouted, “Can’t they tone down their cheering a little…” you complained, and Manami-senpai laughed at you.

“Isn’t that a little bit like ‘pot calling the kettle black’?” she asked you and you blushed a little, turning to her.

“I-It’s different. We could count our group on my fingers. Meanwhile, they’ve g-got an army for a cheering squad…!” you tried to reason, and the girls only shrugged and smiled at you weirdly.

After a few more plays, the gap between points hadn’t gotten any less narrow, with only two points in between, but Karasuno still had the lead. 22 points.

You loosened your shoulders, feeling like you could finally confidently call this match. Just three more points. The fact that we were in the lead didn’t seem to stop the cheer squad though.

You felt Yui pat your shoulder and you blinked up at her; she leaned in to whisper in your ear. “Let’s cheer for Azumane together, okay?” she said to you with a smile.

“For Asahi-senpai?” you repeated, and she and a few of the other girls nodded in response. “Okay!” you nodded with a smile, agreeing.

We turned back to the match to see Kageyama-kun already tossing the ball. Hinata jumped up in a Decoy move, and the ball sailed past him towards Asahi-senpai.

As he spiked the ball down, it bounced off Date Tech’s captain’s arms, and hit the court.

3… 2… 1…!

“NICE KILL, AZUMANE!!!” the girls around you cheered, and a beat after them, you added mine.

“THAT’S KARASUNO’S ACE~!!!” you cheered, with a big smile. The girls agreed, patting your shoulders and smiling, as Asahi-senpai blushed and looked up at you, before bashfully bowing his head in thanks.

‘It’s just one point until Match Point now…!’ you thought, watching with eager anticipation as the match went into the next play.

Nishinoya-senpai received the next serve from Date Tech cleanly.

The ball went over to the other side of the court, but eventually made its way back into Kageyama-kun’s possession. He sent the ball to Asahi-senpai again, but out of nowhere that bleached-hair guy Kamasaki did a diagonal jump block.

Date Tech’s players rejoiced their point heartily.

And then, Aone-san came into the front of their rotation again.

Kageyama-kun got ready to toss; Hinata called out for it to be sent to him before leaping to the air, and was given his chance. It bounced off Aone-san’s arms and you almost yelped in dismay, until you’d seen what had happened, and strangled out a relieved laugh.

The ball had indeed bounced off of Aone-san’s arms, but it had also hit off the net and tumbled down to his feet on Date Tech’s side.

That was a close one…!

But thanks to that little miracle, they didn’t close in on us on the points, and now, it was Match Point!

Against Date Tech…!

“This is incredible…! Who’d have thought…? Against the prestigious Date Tech!” Yui-senpai said happily beside you.

“Go for it, guys!! It’s just one more point!!” You called out to them, and Yui-senpai nodded in agreement.

But now, Hinata was in the back of the rotation. He was also up to serve. So it was up to our other Spikers to try and get in that last point, or to successfully block Date Tech.

How would this next play go…

Time to find out.

“Nice Serve!!” you heard some of your boys on the reserve call out to Hinata, as he threw up the ball, and hit his serve.

You cringed along with Hinata, as his serve went out of bounds. You put your palms to your face and groaned, before peeking out from between your fingers as you listened to Hinata apologise to Daichi-senpai, while Kageyama-kun hurled insults with no weight to them his way.

You glanced at the rotation for Karasuno.

At the point it was now, Asahi-senpai was still up front. Yes. In tough situations, it’s best to rely on your reliable Ace.

‘I believe you can do it Asahi-senpai! This year will definitely be your redemption…!’ you nodded to Asahi-senpai, watching as the next play began.

This could well be the final play of the match.

It was Date Tech’s serve, and they sent the ball hurtling over. However, Nishinoya-senpai was there to reliably bounce it back up, and it went to Kageyama-kun.

Tsukishima-san went in to spike, and sent it over the blockers before they could jump high enough.

It was received by Date Tech’s Libero, and went back up into play for their side. Their Setter tossed it to Aone-san, and Tanaka-senpai managed to send it up again for Kageyama-kun to toss.

He sent it again to Karasuno’s Ace.

Asahi-senpai went in for the spike, but it was blocked and was sent hurtling backwards where nobody stood to catch it.

Daichi-senpai whirled around, turning his attention to the ball and was about to chase after it. Nishinoya-senpai got to the ball first, catching it with a Flying Fall receive.

“Cover it!!” senpai yelled after getting up.

You let out a yelp of relief, smiling wide. Thank goodness for Nishinoya-senpai…!

“Left! Give me one more!!” Asahi-senpai called out for the toss. Kageyama-kun bounced the ball up, accurately sending it Asahi-senpai’s way, and the third-year ran in for the spike.

“Senpai, go for it!!” you called out, gripping the bars of the railing in front of you.

The ball was flying a little too close to the net. And Date Tech had three of its players lined up to create a wall of blockers, including Aone-san…! Would Asahi-senpai be able to pull it off.

‘He’s Karasuno’s Ace…’ you thought to yourself as you nodded and smiled.

Asahi-senpai, one handed, went to push the ball over the net, facing off against the two handed block of Aone-san.

“It’s a joust!” those guys from earlier gasped out, “Don’t let him beat you, long-haired guy!” they added.

As if angered, and fueled by those words, Aone-san pushed through Asahi-senpai’s hand and the ball flew back.

“Oh no…!” Sakaki-san gasped from behind you, putting her hands to her mouth.

Bu yet again… Nishinoya-senpai saved the day. With agility and reflexes we’d come to know him for, he swiftly moved his leg towards the ball, and managed to catch it.

“…with his foot…!?” you laughed out, surprised and pleased. There was still a chance for to win in this play, yet.

“Wow...!” Yui-senpai gasped, as the gymnasium erupted into cheers for that great receive.

“Nishinoya, nice follow-through!” Asahi-senpai called to Karasuno’s Libero, not phased by being blocked. He quickly began moving again, unperturbed.

And then, someone called out for another toss, and you turned to the reserves area in surprise. Suga-senpai…!

Next, it was Asahi-senpai that called out for the toss from Kageyama-kun, who obliged.

“Go, Asahi!!” Suga-senpai called out.

“Blast through them, Asahi!!” Daichi-senpai followed up.

Spurred on by the third-years support, the girls and you joined in, calling out “Go!!”

Asahi-senpai hit the ball as best he could, but was blocked by Aone-san and Futakuchi-san. However, the path of the flying ball was different this time. Instead of flying back to Karasuno’s side, it flew along the net, and bounced on the top of the net.

The fate of the match would be decided by which side if fell to. You watched with eager anticipation.

…

To Date Tech’s side…!

Futakuchi-san dove for the ball, hoping to bump it back up, but it was no use. He couldn’t make it in time.

The ball bounced off the floor of the court.

And the whistle was blown.

The match ended, with 22 – 25 to Karasuno.

This time, it was Asahi-senpai roared out a victory cry. A cry that prompted you to tears, as your legs gave out and you fell back down into my seat, finally.

“Waah, are you okay…?” Sasaki-san gasped, as the other girls started cheering loudly for Karasuno’s victory.

“Y-Yeah…!” you said, letting out a breath of air you hadn’t known you’d been holding. You giggled a little bit, rubbing at the corners of your eyes as you looked up to her, “Looks like it’s my turn to cry…!” you added.

Sasaki-san smiled and laughed, tears budding at the corners of her eyes as well, “Happy tears are better than sad ones though, right?” she replied, as you nodded and got back up.

You’d gotten back up in time to see the two teams finishing up with shaking hands with each other. For some reason, Hinata and Aone-san were just standing there, shaking hands with each other still… really???

‘Aren’t you scared, Hinata-kun…? So tall…!’ you thought, cringing.

“Sawamura! Sugawara! Azumane!” you heard Yui-senpai call over the third-year boys; as they gathered below you, she continued, “Congratulations on clearing round two!” she told them.

“Ah, Michimiya! I thought I heard the girls voices.” Daichi-senpai nodded up to the girls.

Suga-senpai laughed, looking to Daichi-senpai, “Didn’t you notice them?” he asked, and turned up to look at you, “[Last Name]-san was cheering pretty enthusiastically today too!” he grinned at you, laughing when your face heated up.

Asahi-senpai smiled and nodded, “Thank you for your support today, everyone! [Last Name]-san too.” He said.

You smiled at that and nodded, “Asahi-senpai, I told you! I told you that you could do it, and today you guys got your redemption! Asahi-senpai and Daichi-senpai were both really cool, but today I got to see why your called the Ace!” you said with a smile.

“O-Oh… Um… Gee… Thank you, again.” Asahi-senpai flushed under the praise; he likely felt it was undue, but that wasn’t true. Daichi-senpai grinned and nodded in thanks.

“[Name]-san! What about me!?” Nishinoya-senpai asked, and Tanaka-senpai followed quickly after, asking the same thing.

You laughed, still blushing under the attention, and indulged them with some compliments. You then noticed Hinata standing a little bit away, fidgeting as if making up his mind.

Not a moment later, he ran over to join his senpai below you, “[Last Name]-san! We won again!” he said, and you smiled and nodded.

“Congratulations! You did so well!” you called down to him. Though you meant it for everyone who played today, you wanted him to know that you were especially proud of him. Hinata grinned happily.

Next to you, Yui-senpai nodded,

“Today was your revenge, right?” she said to her fellow third-years, who nodded with serious expressions, lifting their arms, fists balled.

“Yeah! And we’ll keep on winning!” Daichi-senpai promised.

It sounds like a lot to promise, probably. Because there was no way of saying for sure how their next match would go. But even though Oikawa-senpai had said you were likely making a mistake by putting Karasuno on a pedestal, you didn’t want to change your beliefs. You wanted to have faith in them until the end.

There’s just something about the friends you’ve made in Karasuno that makes you want to cheer for them with all your might, no matter the odds.

Just like they did when Hinata’s idol the Small Giant was playing all those years ago…

You really wanted to see them fly, all the way to Nationals, once again.

…

After clearing up the banner and rejoining the boys, it had been decided that Karasuno would sit in the stands to watch what was left of Aoba Johsai and Oomisaki’s match, as whoever won this match would end up being our next opponent.

What the team had learnt about an Aoba Johsai with Oikawa-san as their Setter from the start was sobering.

They had extremely smooth teamwork, which had been clear during the practice match but now it was undeniable. The synergy between Oikawa-san and Iwaizumi-san was especially amazing. Kageyama-kun had told us that it was because the two had apparently been on the same volleyball team since Elementary School. That’s amazing.

Another thing to worry about was Oikawa-san’s Service Ace, which you had seen an incredible streak of this time. Their opponents just crumbled under the brute force and superb control of Oikawa-san’s Serves.

Everything you’d heard about him as a Setter, from second-hand knowledge, was true.

You don’t think you’d ever be able to get on his level of skill…

You kept on thinking about this, on the bus-ride back to Karasuno, as you glanced out at the orange hues of sunset.

It was then that you got thirsty, and went to open your duffel bag, only to find it was slightly opened. Slightly curious, you opened it all the way.

As you dug around your duffel bag to retrieve your water battle, you found a scrap of paper that you're sure wasn’t there before. Carefully, You secretly opened the scrap to see what was written on it.

You blinked at the piece of paper for a few seconds, unsure if you were really seeing the scrawl of digits, followed by an address and a caricature of a smiley face with its tongue sticking out in the bottom corner.

You couldn't believe it. It couldn’t be him again, right?

‘Oikawa-san is a persistent one…’ you thought to yourself, with a muffled chuckle, putting the scrap back into your bag and taking a gulp of water.

Well… Who knows, right? Maybe it’ll come in handy.