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Previously, on Ball of Sunshine

As it turned out, Bokuto-san played the finishing move effectively, and Karasuno had officially not won a single match at this training camp. It’s kind of disappointing, you’d think, but looking at the boys, it seemed more like it had stoked the fires of their determination.

With what you’d seen in that final match, you had hope, too.

Shoyo-kun and Kageyama-kun’s new combo attack, Nishinoya-senpai’s newfound Setting skills, and the technique with multiple attackers jumping at the same time... along with the experience gained by fighting tough opponents all throughout this week... It was clear that Karasuno was starting to evolve, into something great.

Now, if only they refine their new skills and get used to applying them in a match, then we may really have a chance at Inter-Highs next time...!!

...

"It’s been a while since I’ve seen you so inspired to improve, after all! Did Akaashi-kun managed to help you out okay?!” Michiko asked you.

You nodded, smiling, “He was a big help. I already thanked him. And told him to take good care of you on your not-date.” you said to her.

“Eh?! Y-You didn’t... tell him about-- did you...?!” Michiko gasped, flushing pink and looking nervous.

You shook your head, “I didn’t say anything, but you should tell him if you’re sure your feelings are real, Micchan,” you told her.

She blushed deeper, and huffed out a breath, “You’re one to talk. I don’t see you confessing to Hinata!” she grumbled.

“I’m going to confess to him though.” you said in response and she was startled.

She looked to you with wide eyes, “Huh? What did you say...?” she asked, taken off guard.

You nodded, smiling, “I made the decision when we were in bed yesterday. I decided I’m going to tell Shoyo-kun how I feel if they win at regionals and qualify for Inter-High.” you explained.

And now, continuing on with the next chapter

“If we win tomorrow’s preliminaries, we can advance to the representative playoffs in October,” Takeda-sensei told everyone in the gym at practice, holding a sheet of paper with details written on them, “The eight schools that make it through this first preliminary, along with an additional eight veterans, will compete in the representative playoffs in October.” He elaborated.

“We only have two matches in the first preliminary?!” Shoyo-kun asked, looking surprised.

“We made it into the best sixteen during the inter-high prelims, so, we’re exempt from the first game this time around.” Suga-senpai explained.

“Whoa! We’re awesome!” Shoyo-kun breathed.

“The way you guys are now, you can definitely make it through11 Let’s do what we always do!!” Takeda-sensei enthused, and everyone let out a cheer of agreement.

You nodded and smiled. You really hoped that their dreams would come true this time.

Seeing them cry last time was really difficult...

But at the same time, you were kinda nervous. I mean, what if they really do win? I’ll have to confess to Shoyo-kun... I put it out there, with Michiko, so it’s not like I can wimp out again... You thought.

You glanced to Shoyo-kun who was messing around excitedly with Tanaka-senpai and Nishinoya-senpai, and felt your cheeks heat up.

You shook it off, hoping nobody noticed.

“W-We’re fi-finally having an o...official match... I’m g-g-getting nervous...” you heard Yachi-san say, to your side and looked over to her and Shimizu-senpai’s direction.

“This will be your first official match after all. Don’t worry, [Last Name]-chan and I will be there for you,” Shimizu-senpai said, and after a beat, added “As for me, it will be my last.” She said matter-of-factly.

Oh...that’s true. Shimizu-senpai is a third year after all...

“Ah, sorry, sorry, don’t cry...!” Shimizu-senpai then proceeded to comfort a tearing-up Yachi-san.

“I...I’m not! A mosquito just flew into my eye is all...!” Yachi-san denied.

“A mosquito?!” Shimizu-senpai gasped.

You smiled a little, but it left as quickly as it came. Shimizu-senpai, Suga-senpai, Daichi-senpai and Asahi-senpai are all graduating after this year...

This is their last chance...

‘I’m sorry, that I’ve ended up making you cry... This could be Oikawa-senpai and the rest’s last chance, to beat their long-time rival. Their last chance to go to Nationals…!’

Ah... that’s right. It’s Kindaichi-san’s senpais’ last chance as well. The stakes are high for both teams, but there can only be one team that gets to the finals of the preliminaries...

Sorry, Kindaichi-san. Once again, I can’t choose you.

...

It was the first day of the preliminaries, and Karasuno’s first match was against a team from Ougiminami. They were tall, intimidating, brutish looking guys, and they kept giving the stink-eye to Tanaka-senpai, who of course threw a stink eye of his own right by him.

The same as last time, Shimizu-senpai was down on the court alongside Ukai-san and Takeda-sensei, and you were up in the stands with our school banner. This time, however, Yachi-san joined you at your side.

“Uwaaah...” Yachi-san trembled, looking down at Karasuno's opponents nervously.

You had to agree with her. They were seriously scary looking...!

“Ooh, the match between Karasuno and Ougiminami is starting,” you heard some passersby behind the two of us say, sounding interested.

The referee blew his whistle, motioning for the boys on both teams to give their greetings. Both teams bowed, and greeted loudly “Let’s have a good match!!”

Then, both teams huddled around their coaches. Since they were close by, and Ukai-san was speaking very loudly over the cheering squads of other teams, we could hear the pep talk he was giving the boys.

“The other team’s already lost its 3rd ears, but seeing as they only had one to begin with, the 2nd years have been the team’s main force since the inter-high competition. This time, they passed through the first round with a straight set. Be careful of number 1 on the left.” He said and the boys all nodded seriously.

“From the end of inter-high to the present, you’ve ben challenging things unfamiliar to you without backing down. You played practice matches against Kanto’s champions, roughly 70 times in total! But your new weapons, which started out as failures, are now beginning to take shape,

So go out there and get a victory that counteracts the frustrations you’ve felt so far!” Takeda-sensei said inspirationally, and pumped the boys up further.

“YEAAAAH!!” they all cheered, ready to get the match underway.

“Oh? So you came to watch too!” a man nearby Yachi-san said and you turned to look without thinking. An old man was approaching the man who’d spoken, and he seemed oddly familiar for some reason, although you’d never met him before.

“Yeah.” the older man said.

“It’s your grandson’s team after all, haha. I shouldn’t be surprised.” The middle-aged man said to the older man and you widened your eyes.

“That ain’t why!!” the old man snapped.

“Y’know, I saw their practice match with Nekoma back during Golden Week. Karasuno’s pretty good this year, wouldn’tcha say?! They’ve got this amazing 1st year combo!” the middle-aged man chattered, and folded his arms, “Well, they’ve always gotten through the first round so far, so I’ll bet they’ll be fine today, too.” He added.

“Huh. There’s no such thing as a match you can definitely win or one that you definitely can’t,” the old man, apparently Ukai-san’s grandfather commented, “Slight differences in a team’s condition, anxiety and impatience, no matter how great a championship school may be, its players are only human. There will be times when the slightest of upsets makes them fall apart... I wonder how today’s Karasuno will fare...?” he added.

You wanted to say he was wrong...but you couldn’t. He brought up some good points. He’s definitely an experienced coach, to know about that kind of aspect...

But you still want to have faith in your boys, no matter what.

“Asahi-san, give ‘em a good one!!” Karasuno was up first to serve, with Asahi-senpai at the helm.

“Bring it on!” one of Ougiminami’s players yelled, but their spirit was to no avail, as Asahi-senpai’s serve shot past them, and landed in bounds, scoring Karasuno their first point.

“It’s a no-touch ace, right from the get-go!!” you said happily.

“A-Ah...” Yachi-san nervously mad a noise of agreement; she must’ve been startled by your loud commentary.

“...Not bad.” Ukai senior said with a small grin, after glancing your way briefly before continuing with spectating the match.

The tides stayed in Karasuno's favour, consistently, for quite a while, until Karasuno stood at 16 points, to Ougiminami’s 11 points. A five point lead.

And then, all of a sudden, one of Ougiminami’s boys tried to get a ball past Tsukishima-san’s block by knocking it off to the outside of his range. But Daichi-senpai was there in a flash, and received it, sending it back up cleanly.

“That was fast! It was if he was waiting for it...!” Yachi-san gasped.

You nodded, smiling pleasedly, “Yup. Daichi-senpai’s specialty is his receives,” you said, feeling proud.

The ball went up from Daichi-senpai’s receive and arrived in Kageyama-kun’s hands; he quickly tossed it for Asahi-senpai, who got the ball past his marks, but it was caught by another player.

But Karasuno still had this point, as Tsukishima-san performed a skillful block, sending the ball to the floor on Ougiminami’s side.

“I kinda get the feeling that there’s much less hesitation in everyones movements, compared to before...” you heard Takeda-sensei speaking below us.

“Ah. That’s because they didn’t just go to the training camp to train new techniques. They went to give their all, in a series of games against champions unlike those in Kanto. Serving strength, spiking strength, attack variety, defensive power. They’ve gotten used to all of those at a far higher level.” Ukai-san explained, and he was right. The difference in strength was apparent between Karasuno and Ougiminami.

The score stood at 13-18, to Karasuno, and it kept going like that until Karasuno had won the first set, by a wide margin.

“Woaah?! Shou-chan’s amazing! He jumped sideways! But they still haven’t done that weird quick strike yet!” one of the kids that seemed to have come along with Ukai-san’s dad.

The other kid turned to me, looking excited, “Hey, hey, Nee-chan, you’re Sho-chan’s girlfriend, right?! Was Sho-chan always this amazing??” the kid asked you sincerely, as you felt your face get hotter and hotter.

“A-Ah, [Last Name]-san and Hinata-kun aren’t d-dating...” Yachi-san helpfully provided, and it left a sour feeling in your gut.

But, hey, it was true...

“That’s r-right. Shoyo-kun and I are just friends right now. But yes, he’s always been pretty amazing, ever since I first met him. Lately, it seems, he’s been seeming more and more amazing every time, though.” you said softly, looking down over the court, observing Shoyo-kun celebrating his set-winning spike.

“Hmm...” you heard Ukai-san’s grandad's voice rumble, “Don’t keep ‘im waiting too long. That shrimp is one of the most impatient kids I’ve ever met.” He commented.

Don’t keep him waiting, he says...

“Why’re you guys so spineless in volleyball, when you’ve got no problems picking fights?!” a voice called, from the other side of the court and you barely caught it. A guy in the stands was lecturing Ougiminami’s team.

“Y-You can threaten me all you want, but I’m on the 2nd floor, so I’m not scared at all!! Aahaha...!” he continued, sounding nervous; “This is your battle, so how you handle it is your business. Still, let me just say one thing! Being serious about it, being frantic about it, and giving it everything you’ve got... There’s nothing wrong with those at all!!!” he said.

After that, Ougiminami’s boys started talking amongst themselves for a moment, before the Number 1 suddenly yelled, “We’re gonna beat Karasuno!! Get through the first preliminary!! And overthrow Shiratorizawa!!”

Woah...

“W-Well, sounds like he’s all pumped up now...” you said nervously, startled.

“Y-Y-Yeah...” Yachi-san trembled.

Nonetheless, Karasuno accepted Ougiminami’s bold challenge, and the 2nd Set began. Ougiminami fought a lot harder than the first set, due to that pep talk, and the fact that should they lose this set, it would go to Karasuno, but despite their efforts, Karasuno still had a strong lead.

We were currently at 22 – 13. Three more points and Karasuno would win the game.

“See!? That Number 9-Number 10 combo is amazing, right?!” the middle-aged guy with us said to Ukai-san’s granddad.

“Yup. But, well... the second and third years are exceeding my expectations...! Right now, the signs pointing to Karasuno’s revival include an enthusiastic advisor and the new blood putting in a real effort. But that liveliness is also due to the sheer reliability of their foundations. I saw... Karasuno practice for only a short time last year, but even though the guys had both skill and guts, in some respects, it felt like they had no self confidence. A if they had unconsciously gotten used to losing.

When the current third years first started at Karasuno, the era where Karasuno was known as a champion had become a thing of the past. There must have been a gap between what they’d admired and the reality. They really came in at the worst possible time. And that’s exactly why those guys, who made it this far without growing disheartened, have a strength that isn’t easily shaken.” Ukai-san’s granddad explained.

It was so interesting to hear, about Suga-senpai, Daichi-senpai and Asahi-senpai’s early years. You could certainly see the determination they had, so to hear where it had come from, and the environment in which it manifested, was inspiring.

Again and again, Karasuno kept inspiring you, which you were so glad for.

...

Ougiminami put in a good effort to stop Karasuno getting their match point, but they were clearly outmatched from the beginning.

“We’ve made it through the first match...!!” Yachi-san cheered, beaming. You smiled and nodded in agreement.

“Way to go, Shoyo-kun...” you murmured to myself, smiling fondly as you watched the boys celebrate their first victory of the day. Hopefully, Karasuno has inspired not only you, but also Ougiminami’s players, to try harder for what they want.

You stood up straight and sighed out, “Yachi-san, we should take the banner and reconvene with the boys. We’ve got to congratulate them too!” you said to her.

She jumped to attention, even saluting, “Y-Yes!” she agreed, and you inwardly cooed.

Yachi-san is too cute...! You bet that Tanaka-senpai, Nishinoya-senpai and even Yamaguchi-san were thrilled to have her on board, heheh.

...

You and Yachi-san found them in the halls, near the court their next match would take place in. Tanaka-senpai seemed to be snacking on a banana, as he, Asahi-senpai and Shoyo-kun looked out at the current match going on. They looked nervous.

Yachi-san went over to see what they were so nervous about, and when she did, she instantly became nervous.

You went over to Shimizu-senpai’s side, “What’s going on?” you asked her and she turned to you.

“Ah, they’re gathering intel on their next opponent, Kakugawa. Apparently, they’ve got a really tall player.” She said. Uh-oh.

“J-Just how tall are we talking about here...” you said nervously, glancing over to the doorway.

“Hm? Don’t worry, you’re not the one playing against them.” Shimizu-senpai said, trying to reassure me. Well, that’s true. But still...!

There was a loud slap of a ball hitting the court, and Shoyo-kun and Yachi-san yelped, surprising Tsukishima-san.

“Ugyaa!” Tanaka-senpai gasped, then coughed to avoid choking on his banana.

“Urgh... a weapon.... that height’s a dangerous weapon...!” Asahi-senpai quailed.

“Looks like our next opponent’s been decided.” Kageyama-kun said, frowning as he munched on a banana of his own. Shoyo-kun flinched, but steeled himself, stepping back from the door.

“We’ve gotta beat that 2 meter giant.... or we won’t be able to advance to the representative battle...!” Shoyo-kun said, nervous, but determined.

Two meters.... What!?

“[Last Name]-chan, are you alright? You look quite pale,” Shimizu-senpai patted my shoulder lightly, concerned, but I barely heard her.

Two meters... is this David vs. Goliath...!?

You wondered if you'd be able to confess.... NO!!

You slapped your cheeks to snap yourself out of it, surprising Shimizu-senpai and your nearby senpai.

You promised yourself to have faith in these guys no matter what. They’re gonna get to the finals, make it to nationals, and you would definitely tell Shoyo-kun how you feel!!

This is no time to get nervous. You need to save that for the moment of truth...!!

Description
Previously, on Ball of Sunshine

As it turned out, Bokuto-san played the finishing move effectively, and Karasuno had officially not won a single match at this training camp. It’s kind of disappointing, you’d think, but looking at the boys, it seemed more like it had stoked the fires of their determination.

With what you’d seen in that final match, you had hope, too.

Shoyo-kun and Kageyama-kun’s new combo attack, Nishinoya-senpai’s newfound Setting skills, and the technique with multiple attackers jumping at the same time... along with the experience gained by fighting tough opponents all throughout this week... It was clear that Karasuno was starting to evolve, into something great.

Now, if only they refine their new skills and get used to applying them in a match, then we may really have a chance at Inter-Highs next time...!!

...

"It’s been a while since I’ve seen you so inspired to improve, after all! Did Akaashi-kun managed to help you out okay?!” Michiko asked you.

You nodded, smiling, “He was a big help. I already thanked him. And told him to take good care of you on your not-date.” you said to her.

“Eh?! Y-You didn’t... tell him about-- did you...?!” Michiko gasped, flushing pink and looking nervous.

You shook your head, “I didn’t say anything, but you should tell him if you’re sure your feelings are real, Micchan,” you told her.

She blushed deeper, and huffed out a breath, “You’re one to talk. I don’t see you confessing to Hinata!” she grumbled.

“I’m going to confess to him though.” you said in response and she was startled.

She looked to you with wide eyes, “Huh? What did you say...?” she asked, taken off guard.

You nodded, smiling, “I made the decision when we were in bed yesterday. I decided I’m going to tell Shoyo-kun how I feel if they win at regionals and qualify for Inter-High.” you explained.

And now, continuing on with the next chapter

“If we win tomorrow’s preliminaries, we can advance to the representative playoffs in October,” Takeda-sensei told everyone in the gym at practice, holding a sheet of paper with details written on them, “The eight schools that make it through this first preliminary, along with an additional eight veterans, will compete in the representative playoffs in October.” He elaborated.

“We only have two matches in the first preliminary?!” Shoyo-kun asked, looking surprised.

“We made it into the best sixteen during the inter-high prelims, so, we’re exempt from the first game this time around.” Suga-senpai explained.

“Whoa! We’re awesome!” Shoyo-kun breathed.

“The way you guys are now, you can definitely make it through11 Let’s do what we always do!!” Takeda-sensei enthused, and everyone let out a cheer of agreement.

You nodded and smiled. You really hoped that their dreams would come true this time.

Seeing them cry last time was really difficult...

But at the same time, you were kinda nervous. I mean, what if they really do win? I’ll have to confess to Shoyo-kun... I put it out there, with Michiko, so it’s not like I can wimp out again... You thought.

You glanced to Shoyo-kun who was messing around excitedly with Tanaka-senpai and Nishinoya-senpai, and felt your cheeks heat up.

You shook it off, hoping nobody noticed.

“W-We’re fi-finally having an o...official match... I’m g-g-getting nervous...” you heard Yachi-san say, to your side and looked over to her and Shimizu-senpai’s direction.

“This will be your first official match after all. Don’t worry, [Last Name]-chan and I will be there for you,” Shimizu-senpai said, and after a beat, added “As for me, it will be my last.” She said matter-of-factly.

Oh...that’s true. Shimizu-senpai is a third year after all...

“Ah, sorry, sorry, don’t cry...!” Shimizu-senpai then proceeded to comfort a tearing-up Yachi-san.

“I...I’m not! A mosquito just flew into my eye is all...!” Yachi-san denied.

“A mosquito?!” Shimizu-senpai gasped.

You smiled a little, but it left as quickly as it came. Shimizu-senpai, Suga-senpai, Daichi-senpai and Asahi-senpai are all graduating after this year...

This is their last chance...

‘I’m sorry, that I’ve ended up making you cry... This could be Oikawa-senpai and the rest’s last chance, to beat their long-time rival. Their last chance to go to Nationals…!’

Ah... that’s right. It’s Kindaichi-san’s senpais’ last chance as well. The stakes are high for both teams, but there can only be one team that gets to the finals of the preliminaries...

Sorry, Kindaichi-san. Once again, I can’t choose you.

...

It was the first day of the preliminaries, and Karasuno’s first match was against a team from Ougiminami. They were tall, intimidating, brutish looking guys, and they kept giving the stink-eye to Tanaka-senpai, who of course threw a stink eye of his own right by him.

The same as last time, Shimizu-senpai was down on the court alongside Ukai-san and Takeda-sensei, and you were up in the stands with our school banner. This time, however, Yachi-san joined you at your side.

“Uwaaah...” Yachi-san trembled, looking down at Karasuno's opponents nervously.

You had to agree with her. They were seriously scary looking...!

“Ooh, the match between Karasuno and Ougiminami is starting,” you heard some passersby behind the two of us say, sounding interested.

The referee blew his whistle, motioning for the boys on both teams to give their greetings. Both teams bowed, and greeted loudly “Let’s have a good match!!”

Then, both teams huddled around their coaches. Since they were close by, and Ukai-san was speaking very loudly over the cheering squads of other teams, we could hear the pep talk he was giving the boys.

“The other team’s already lost its 3rd ears, but seeing as they only had one to begin with, the 2nd years have been the team’s main force since the inter-high competition. This time, they passed through the first round with a straight set. Be careful of number 1 on the left.” He said and the boys all nodded seriously.

“From the end of inter-high to the present, you’ve ben challenging things unfamiliar to you without backing down. You played practice matches against Kanto’s champions, roughly 70 times in total! But your new weapons, which started out as failures, are now beginning to take shape,

So go out there and get a victory that counteracts the frustrations you’ve felt so far!” Takeda-sensei said inspirationally, and pumped the boys up further.

“YEAAAAH!!” they all cheered, ready to get the match underway.

“Oh? So you came to watch too!” a man nearby Yachi-san said and you turned to look without thinking. An old man was approaching the man who’d spoken, and he seemed oddly familiar for some reason, although you’d never met him before.

“Yeah.” the older man said.

“It’s your grandson’s team after all, haha. I shouldn’t be surprised.” The middle-aged man said to the older man and you widened your eyes.

“That ain’t why!!” the old man snapped.

“Y’know, I saw their practice match with Nekoma back during Golden Week. Karasuno’s pretty good this year, wouldn’tcha say?! They’ve got this amazing 1st year combo!” the middle-aged man chattered, and folded his arms, “Well, they’ve always gotten through the first round so far, so I’ll bet they’ll be fine today, too.” He added.

“Huh. There’s no such thing as a match you can definitely win or one that you definitely can’t,” the old man, apparently Ukai-san’s grandfather commented, “Slight differences in a team’s condition, anxiety and impatience, no matter how great a championship school may be, its players are only human. There will be times when the slightest of upsets makes them fall apart... I wonder how today’s Karasuno will fare...?” he added.

You wanted to say he was wrong...but you couldn’t. He brought up some good points. He’s definitely an experienced coach, to know about that kind of aspect...

But you still want to have faith in your boys, no matter what.

“Asahi-san, give ‘em a good one!!” Karasuno was up first to serve, with Asahi-senpai at the helm.

“Bring it on!” one of Ougiminami’s players yelled, but their spirit was to no avail, as Asahi-senpai’s serve shot past them, and landed in bounds, scoring Karasuno their first point.

“It’s a no-touch ace, right from the get-go!!” you said happily.

“A-Ah...” Yachi-san nervously mad a noise of agreement; she must’ve been startled by your loud commentary.

“...Not bad.” Ukai senior said with a small grin, after glancing your way briefly before continuing with spectating the match.

The tides stayed in Karasuno's favour, consistently, for quite a while, until Karasuno stood at 16 points, to Ougiminami’s 11 points. A five point lead.

And then, all of a sudden, one of Ougiminami’s boys tried to get a ball past Tsukishima-san’s block by knocking it off to the outside of his range. But Daichi-senpai was there in a flash, and received it, sending it back up cleanly.

“That was fast! It was if he was waiting for it...!” Yachi-san gasped.

You nodded, smiling pleasedly, “Yup. Daichi-senpai’s specialty is his receives,” you said, feeling proud.

The ball went up from Daichi-senpai’s receive and arrived in Kageyama-kun’s hands; he quickly tossed it for Asahi-senpai, who got the ball past his marks, but it was caught by another player.

But Karasuno still had this point, as Tsukishima-san performed a skillful block, sending the ball to the floor on Ougiminami’s side.

“I kinda get the feeling that there’s much less hesitation in everyones movements, compared to before...” you heard Takeda-sensei speaking below us.

“Ah. That’s because they didn’t just go to the training camp to train new techniques. They went to give their all, in a series of games against champions unlike those in Kanto. Serving strength, spiking strength, attack variety, defensive power. They’ve gotten used to all of those at a far higher level.” Ukai-san explained, and he was right. The difference in strength was apparent between Karasuno and Ougiminami.

The score stood at 13-18, to Karasuno, and it kept going like that until Karasuno had won the first set, by a wide margin.

“Woaah?! Shou-chan’s amazing! He jumped sideways! But they still haven’t done that weird quick strike yet!” one of the kids that seemed to have come along with Ukai-san’s dad.

The other kid turned to me, looking excited, “Hey, hey, Nee-chan, you’re Sho-chan’s girlfriend, right?! Was Sho-chan always this amazing??” the kid asked you sincerely, as you felt your face get hotter and hotter.

“A-Ah, [Last Name]-san and Hinata-kun aren’t d-dating...” Yachi-san helpfully provided, and it left a sour feeling in your gut.

But, hey, it was true...

“That’s r-right. Shoyo-kun and I are just friends right now. But yes, he’s always been pretty amazing, ever since I first met him. Lately, it seems, he’s been seeming more and more amazing every time, though.” you said softly, looking down over the court, observing Shoyo-kun celebrating his set-winning spike.

“Hmm...” you heard Ukai-san’s grandad's voice rumble, “Don’t keep ‘im waiting too long. That shrimp is one of the most impatient kids I’ve ever met.” He commented.

Don’t keep him waiting, he says...

“Why’re you guys so spineless in volleyball, when you’ve got no problems picking fights?!” a voice called, from the other side of the court and you barely caught it. A guy in the stands was lecturing Ougiminami’s team.

“Y-You can threaten me all you want, but I’m on the 2nd floor, so I’m not scared at all!! Aahaha...!” he continued, sounding nervous; “This is your battle, so how you handle it is your business. Still, let me just say one thing! Being serious about it, being frantic about it, and giving it everything you’ve got... There’s nothing wrong with those at all!!!” he said.

After that, Ougiminami’s boys started talking amongst themselves for a moment, before the Number 1 suddenly yelled, “We’re gonna beat Karasuno!! Get through the first preliminary!! And overthrow Shiratorizawa!!”

Woah...

“W-Well, sounds like he’s all pumped up now...” you said nervously, startled.

“Y-Y-Yeah...” Yachi-san trembled.

Nonetheless, Karasuno accepted Ougiminami’s bold challenge, and the 2nd Set began. Ougiminami fought a lot harder than the first set, due to that pep talk, and the fact that should they lose this set, it would go to Karasuno, but despite their efforts, Karasuno still had a strong lead.

We were currently at 22 – 13. Three more points and Karasuno would win the game.

“See!? That Number 9-Number 10 combo is amazing, right?!” the middle-aged guy with us said to Ukai-san’s granddad.

“Yup. But, well... the second and third years are exceeding my expectations...! Right now, the signs pointing to Karasuno’s revival include an enthusiastic advisor and the new blood putting in a real effort. But that liveliness is also due to the sheer reliability of their foundations. I saw... Karasuno practice for only a short time last year, but even though the guys had both skill and guts, in some respects, it felt like they had no self confidence. A if they had unconsciously gotten used to losing.

When the current third years first started at Karasuno, the era where Karasuno was known as a champion had become a thing of the past. There must have been a gap between what they’d admired and the reality. They really came in at the worst possible time. And that’s exactly why those guys, who made it this far without growing disheartened, have a strength that isn’t easily shaken.” Ukai-san’s granddad explained.

It was so interesting to hear, about Suga-senpai, Daichi-senpai and Asahi-senpai’s early years. You could certainly see the determination they had, so to hear where it had come from, and the environment in which it manifested, was inspiring.

Again and again, Karasuno kept inspiring you, which you were so glad for.

...

Ougiminami put in a good effort to stop Karasuno getting their match point, but they were clearly outmatched from the beginning.

“We’ve made it through the first match...!!” Yachi-san cheered, beaming. You smiled and nodded in agreement.

“Way to go, Shoyo-kun...” you murmured to myself, smiling fondly as you watched the boys celebrate their first victory of the day. Hopefully, Karasuno has inspired not only you, but also Ougiminami’s players, to try harder for what they want.

You stood up straight and sighed out, “Yachi-san, we should take the banner and reconvene with the boys. We’ve got to congratulate them too!” you said to her.

She jumped to attention, even saluting, “Y-Yes!” she agreed, and you inwardly cooed.

Yachi-san is too cute...! You bet that Tanaka-senpai, Nishinoya-senpai and even Yamaguchi-san were thrilled to have her on board, heheh.

...

You and Yachi-san found them in the halls, near the court their next match would take place in. Tanaka-senpai seemed to be snacking on a banana, as he, Asahi-senpai and Shoyo-kun looked out at the current match going on. They looked nervous.

Yachi-san went over to see what they were so nervous about, and when she did, she instantly became nervous.

You went over to Shimizu-senpai’s side, “What’s going on?” you asked her and she turned to you.

“Ah, they’re gathering intel on their next opponent, Kakugawa. Apparently, they’ve got a really tall player.” She said. Uh-oh.

“J-Just how tall are we talking about here...” you said nervously, glancing over to the doorway.

“Hm? Don’t worry, you’re not the one playing against them.” Shimizu-senpai said, trying to reassure me. Well, that’s true. But still...!

There was a loud slap of a ball hitting the court, and Shoyo-kun and Yachi-san yelped, surprising Tsukishima-san.

“Ugyaa!” Tanaka-senpai gasped, then coughed to avoid choking on his banana.

“Urgh... a weapon.... that height’s a dangerous weapon...!” Asahi-senpai quailed.

“Looks like our next opponent’s been decided.” Kageyama-kun said, frowning as he munched on a banana of his own. Shoyo-kun flinched, but steeled himself, stepping back from the door.

“We’ve gotta beat that 2 meter giant.... or we won’t be able to advance to the representative battle...!” Shoyo-kun said, nervous, but determined.

Two meters.... What!?

“[Last Name]-chan, are you alright? You look quite pale,” Shimizu-senpai patted my shoulder lightly, concerned, but I barely heard her.

Two meters... is this David vs. Goliath...!?

You wondered if you'd be able to confess.... NO!!

You slapped your cheeks to snap yourself out of it, surprising Shimizu-senpai and your nearby senpai.

You promised yourself to have faith in these guys no matter what. They’re gonna get to the finals, make it to nationals, and you would definitely tell Shoyo-kun how you feel!!

This is no time to get nervous. You need to save that for the moment of truth...!!