A/N: Hello, readers! Welcome to another chapter! This is where you'll finally get to find out about Hideaki's past with Ushijima! Enjoy!

edited on february 21st, 2022 @ 4:11am

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CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE - THE VOLLEYBALL IDIOTS

"GLASSES IS BACK!" Hyuga announced as him and the rest of Seirin saw Tsukishima running onto the court with Kiyoko right behind him.

"Isn't it too late?" Kagami questioned, looking back at the score. "Shiratorizawa's at match point."

"It's not gonna end!" Hyuga and Shun shouted at him, making Kagami flinch.

Tsukishima headed towards Ukai. "Tsukishima—" He began. But Tsukishima had cut him off, making Ukai be taken aback.

"The bleeding has stopped. They immbolilized the part that was dislocated rock hard. Because it was my pinky, it'll effect my play extremely little." Tsukishima interrupted as Ukai glanced over to Kiyoko.

"That basically sums it up." Kiyoko confirmed.

Shiratorizawa's cheering squad continued cheering as Kawanishi was switched out with Yunohama.

"It's probably going to be a jump float serve. We need to move up our defenses." Daichi informed as both Nishinoya and Tanaka nodded.

The whistle blew as Yunohama served the ball. "Daichi-san!" Nishinoya called out as Daichi received it.

Kageyama got into setting position as Narita jumped up to spike. However, Kageyama did a setter dump, making Karasuno get a point as they cheered.

Both teams had 15 points. "He did a dump right there?!" Hyuga exclaimed.

Shun sighed. "This whole match is shortening my life span. Much more than the semifinals did." He commented.

The buzzer sounded as Tsukishima was switched in with Narita. "We're counting on you, Tsukishima." Narita informed as Tsukishima just nodded.

"Tsukishima!" Tanaka shouted, causing Tsukishima to glance over. "Look at you, showing up like some hero, you jerk!"

"Um... about when we do a 3-person block..." Tsukishima began.

"Not phased one bit, are you?" Tanaka questioned.

"Tsukishima!"

"We're counting on you!"

Karasuno was huddled in a circle. "We're gonna get through this!" Daichi exclaimed.

"Yeah!"

"Serving toward the end while being at a disadvantage... Not good!" Kagami exclaimed.

"Come on, please Nii-san! Make this!" Shun pleaded.

Hideaki was next to serve as he spun the ball around in his hands. He could hear Nishinoya's shouts of encouragement as his eyes were closed.

"Hey, don't be getting cold feet now!"

Hideaki opened his eyes as he spotted Oikawa in his Aoba Johsai uniform, who sent him a smile. "Go out there and show Ushiwaka what you're made of, Aki-chan!" Oikawa encouraged.

"We're right here with you."

Hideaki glanced over and spotted Iwaizumi who was also in his Aoba Johsai uniform. "What are you so afraid of, Hideaki?" Iwaizumi asked.

The whistle blew, knocking Hideaki out of his thoughts as he threw the volleyball up in the air. before slamming the ball against his palm. Leon barely had time to dive down and receive it.

"Yes!" Leon cheered.

Hideaki gritted his teeth before glancing at Oikawa and Iwaizumi's backs. "Thank you, Tōru, Hajime... You two always know how to reassure me." He thinks to himself.

Shirabu sent a toss back towards Ushijima. Tsukishima and Kageyama both jumped up to block him as the ball had hit Tsukishima's injured hand.

"One touch!" Tsukishima shouted.

Iwaizumi widened his eyes in surprise. "They managed to stop it again." He commented.

"What happened to Four-Eyes?" Oikawa questioned before continuing. "At the first practice match, I thought he was just a tall guy that was slightly intelligent."

Hideaki quickly dived down to save the ball as Nishinoya quickly covered for him. "Nice, Nishinoya!" Hideaki complimented.

Daichi then received the ball over. "Chance ball!" Yamagata called out before receiving it. "Ushijima-san!" Shirabu shouted, tossing the ball over towards Ushijima.

"We're going to open it up!" Tsukishima informed as him and Tanaka jumped up to block.

Ushijima spiked the ball as Nishinoya received it. "Nice receive!" Daichi complimented. Tanaka nodded over to Tsukishima.

Kageyama tossed the ball. "Hideaki-san!" Tanaka shouted out as Hideaki spiked the ball.

"Tsutomu!" Ushijima shouted as Goshiki dived down to save the ball.

"Nice! Get the last!" Yamagata said, sending the ball over.

Ushijima jumped up as Tsukishima and Tanaka jumped up to block. Ushijima ended up hitting the net as Nishinoya dived down to receive it.

"Yes!" Ukai cheered.

"This is our chance!" Takeda shouted.

"I'm going to hit it!"

Tsukishima then ran sideways, as if he was doing a slide hit. Tsukishima jumped up as Kageyama sets the ball over to Tanaka who jumped up as Tendou went over to block him.

Tanaka slams the ball past Tendou and Ushijima, sending the ball down to the court and scoring Karasuno a point.

"I-It's a break!"

Karasuno now had 16 points. "They're at match point!" Shun exclaimed.

"One more point, and they'll beat Shiratorizawa!" Hyuga commented.

"They might just be able to make it!" Kagami informed.

Washijo then called for a time out. "I guess it's no surprise that Shiratorizawa took a time out." Oikawa commented.

"Karasuno really is versatile." Iwaizumi added on. "I've never seen Glasses do a slide hit... Even if he was just a decoy."

"We can't easily abandon a near perfect time difference attack, and Shiratorizawa's not gonna change their style of strengthening individual strengths. That's why we're called powerhouse schools now. But Karasuno probably doesn't have a style they need to protect. They may have had one when they were a powerhouse school. So they don't hesitate to try new things. They gave up that miracle-like quick immediately and made it new." Oikawa ranted on.

"The old and dependable Shiratorizawa... The new and reckeless Karasuno... Either one of them winning is going to piss me off, so they should both lose." Oikawa finished.

"You really are a crappy guy." Iwaizumi told him. "Makes me wonder what Hideaki sees in you."

"Could you stop calling me a "crappy guy"?!" Oikawa complained.

"Pick between that or a "shitty guy."" Iwaizumi offered.

"Well, then I guess I choose "crappy"!" Oikawa exclaimed. "And Aki-chan knows perfection when he sees it!"

"His taste in men are horrible." Iwaizumi insulted, making Oikawa yelp.

"I'm sure all of their legs are at their limits by now." Kagami pointed out.

"It's obvious for Ushiwaka, who's hit so many times, but for Karasuno's offense, they've done starting runs more than spikes. That may look like a lot of needle movement, but that's the primary factor in how Karasuno's offense is prying through Shiratorizawa's blocks." Riko explained.

"Since Tanaka, Nii-san, and Sawamura-san have been playing the whole time, I'm sure they're beyond their limits by now." Shun added on.

"This guy is as scary as he was back in junior high. I have to do this for Tōru and Hajime. I have to finish what we started! Even if they're not physically on the court with me!" Hideaki thinks to himself, recalling a certain memory.

"Damn it!"

Oikawa and Iwaizumi flinched as a third-year junior high Hideaki slammed his palms against the wall. "Aki-chan..." Oikawa mumbled.

"Don't, Tōru. Just... don't." Hideaki interrupted, making Oikawa frown. "I'm so pathetic it's laughable. For the past three years, we've gotten nowhere! And now... I'm going to a different high school from you guys."

This shocked both Oikawa and Iwaizumi. "You're not coming to Aoba Johsai with us?" Iwaizumi asked, making Hideaki shake his head.

"I've decided to go to Karasuno." Hideaki informed. "Which means I most likely won't be fighting Ushiwaka again. You two have the better chance of going up against him than me."

Oikawa and Iwaizumi shared a look. "For the record," Iwaizumi began. "You don't need to be like Ushiwaka to be a great ace."

"Huh?"

"We know how you think, Hideaki. Stop blaming yourself." Iwaizumi said. "As long as you can help your team move forward, that's all that matters, right?"

The sound of the buzzer snapped Hideaki out of his thoughts. "If volleyball was a one-on-one sport, we wouldn't be able to win against Shiratorizawa. We're smaller, and our individual attack strength falls short in comparison. But there are six of us on the court. If we win, it's not because a miracle happened. Our concept won't change until the very end! We're going to punch our way through!" Daichi announced.

"Yeah!"

Both teams were now back on the court. "Nice serve, Hideaki!" Daichi encouraged.

"Here comes that all-out serve again!" Hyuga announced.

"End it here, nii-san. End it with this one!" Shun stated.

TWEEEET!

As soon as the whistle gave him the signal, Hideaki threw the ball up in the air before it connected with his palm. It landed on Shiratorizawa's side of the court as Yamagata was late on receiving it. However, the referee raised up his flag, signaling that it was an out.

"Sorry!" Hideaki apologized.

"Don't mind!" Daichi reassured.

Hideaki let out a breath. "The serve toss was fine, but I was a little careless when stepping into the jump. Seems I'm more anxious than I thought." Hideaki noted.

Hideaki glanced over to see that Ushijima was next to serve as he bounced the ball. The whistle blew as Ushijima threw the ball up in the air, slamming the ball against his palm and getting a point for Shiratorizawa.

However, the flag was raised as well, signaling it was an out. "Sorry." Ushijima apologized.

"Don't mind!" Yamagata told him.

"Neither side has any intention of putting their guard up." Hyuga pointed out.

"That's lucky for Karasuno, but also a waste." Kagami added on. "I mean, it's all for naught if they miss."

"But just by hitting a powerful serve itself becomes pressure for the other side." Shun stated.

Nishinoya slapped Hinata's hand as he was switched out with him while Tsukishima was next to serve.

Tsukishima serves the ball as Leon receives it. "Ushijima-san!" Shirabu shouted, tossing the volleyball up in the air.

Hinata and Tanaka both jumped up to block him. Ushijima was able to score a point as the ball landed on the court.

"What the hell?" Shun exclaimed. "Does stress or being out of stamina mean absolutely nothing to Ushiwaka?"

Both teams were now tied with 17 points as Leon was next to serve. "Nice serve!" Shirabu and Tendou encouraged.

"Bring it!" Daichi, Hideaki, and Nishinoya shouted.

Leon did his jump serve as Hideaki received it. "Sorry, it's short!" He shouted.

"It's plenty!" Kageyama said.

"Bring it on!" Tanaka shouted out, running forward.

Kageyama tossed over to Hinata instead, who scored a point for Karasuno.

"All right!"

Kageyama was up to serve as he bounced the ball. "Nice serve, Kageyama!" Daichi called out.

"Go, Kageyama!" Sugawara shouted from the sidelines.

"Nice serve!"

"We're counting on you!"

The whistle blew as Kageyama threw the ball up in the air before doing his jump serve in which Leon dived down to receive it.

"Chance ball!" Nishinoya shouted, sending the ball back up in the air.

Hinata then jumped up to spike. Kageyama tossed the ball towards him, but Hinata got blocked by Tendou, making the ball fall down onto the court as everyone looked at the fallen ball in irritation.

TWEEEEET!

Shiratorizawa then cheered for their point. "Karasuno's #10 is being a lot quieter than usual." Iwaizumi pointed out.

"He's thinking." Oikawa replied, making Iwaizumi hum. "He just got shut down on a deuce in the final set, and since he can't waste time being sad, he's thinking about the next step."

"Don't mind! We'll get the next one!" Daichi reassured Hinata.

"Right!" Hinata said.

"How disgusting." Oikawa finished.

Both teams had 18 points. "Go, Tanaka!" Daichi encouraged as Tanaka slammed the ball past Shirabu and Kawanishi, scoring a point for Karasuno.

"All right!"

Tanaka was up next to serve as he spun the ball in his hands. The whistle then blew. "Here we go!" Tanaka shouted, throwing the ball up in the air and serving it.

"Leon-san!"

Leon then crouched down and saved the ball. Hinata then moved over to block Goshiki, who ended up getting a point for Shiratorizawa.

"You jerk!" Hinata exclaimed, hitting his leg in irritation.

"Forgive it, Hinata!" Tanaka reassured.

Shirabu was next to serve as he threw the ball up in the air, but ended up hitting the net instead as it began falling.

Nishinoya quickly dived down to receive the ball. Goshiki then jumped up to spike it as Hinata jumped up to block him. Goshiki slammed the ball as Nishinoya received it.

"Nishinoya!" Sugawara shouted.

Kageyama tossed the ball up in the air as Hideaki spiked it down past Ushijima in which Karasuno cheered.

"Nice kill, Hideaki!"

"Thanks, Nishinoya!" Daichi told the libero.

"Karasuno can depend on me!" Nishinoya said, pointing to himself. "But... There are things that I can't do, as well. I know I'm asking for the impossible when I say this, but even if your thighs were to split open, I'm counting on you guys in the mid-air battles."

"Yeah!"

"Right!"

Hideaki glanced over at the score.

Shiratorizawa

19

Karasuno

20

"I'm counting on you!" Nishinoya told Tsukishima, slapping his hand as he was switched out with him.

"Hinata, nice serve!" Tanaka encouraged as Hinata bounced the ball.

The whistle blew as Hinata served the ball up into the air in which Yamagata received it. "It went in." Hinata announced.

"Hinata, change positions with me!" Kageyama informed, moving Hinata aside.

Shirabu tossed the ball as Kawanishi jumped up. "They're going for the center at a time like this?!" Hideaki noted.

"Go, Taichi!" Shirabu shouted as Tsukishima jumped up block him.

Tsukishima was able to block Kawanishi successfully as everyone looked in shock.

"One touch!"

"Chance ball!" Ukai shouted out as Tanaka easily received it. "There's no other..." Tanaka thinks to himself.

"...choice..."

"...but to..."

"...attack!"

Hinata then began running forward as he jumped up while Kageyama tossed to him.

"Go!" Tsukishima shouted out.

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A/N: Another chapter is finished! I don't know where I'll put Hideaki's joust with Ushijima, but it'll be in the next chapter! Thanks for reading!