A/N: Hello, readers! Another chapter is here! Enjoy!

edited on april 15th, 2021 @ 2:45pm

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CHAPTER TWENTY - THE POINT THAT CHANGES THE MOMENTUM

"OSHIRO, YOU'LL BE SWAPPED IN FOR TANAKA." Ukai informed him. Rei nodded and held up the number sign, Tanaka came over and gave his junior a small squeeze on the shoulder before taking the sign and heading to the sidelines as Rei jogged back onto court.

"The final set... if the ball drops now... it's over." Rei thought to himself before getting into position as Karasuno stared determinedly at Aoba Johsai who does the same.

The game continues as Daichi receives the ball. "Nice receive!" Rei called out, as Kageyama gets ready to set, Hinata had already jumped into the air to spike. Hinata swung his arms back and then slammed down the ball, only for Kindaichi to block it, Rei narrowed his eyes that Aoba Johsai were already blocking quick attacks.

"Chance ball!"

The volleyball goes to Aoba Johsai as Kunimi jumps up to hit the ball, but it was a feint. "A feint!" Daichi called out as he and Hinata had jumped up block, Nishinoya dives down and saves the ball. "All right!" He announced as Rei continued to concentrate on the game.

"Asahi!" Nishinoya called out as Kageyama tossed to their ace, Asahi spiked it down but Oikawa received it.

"He's a setter, now he can't set to anyone. Just like with Tobio-kun." Rei thinks to himself. He suddenly saw Hayashi running forward, and sees him jump from the back and into a setting position which made Rei widen his eyes.

"That was one of the first moves that Fuji-kun taught us!" Rei noted as Hayashi sets to Oikawa who spiked it down and got his team a point. "Actually, with how talented Noya-senpai is, I'm shocked that he doesn't know that move."

Soon it was Oikawa's turn to serve as he gave the ball a spin before staring at Karasuno.

Oikawa did his jump serve, as he slammed the ball and Daichi runs over and saves it. "All right!" Daichi announced.

"Daichi, nice receive!" Tanaka yelled from the sides as Kageyama sets the ball to Asahi.

One of the players did try to save it, but instead gave Karasuno a chance ball. "The ball's coming back!" Daichi commented as Rei saw Hinata jump to push it back over the net to get a point, but was suddenly stopped when Oikawa had stopped the ball from going to their side and sets it to Iwaizumi who spikes it down.

"Take that!" Iwaizumi exclaimed.

"All right!" Aoba Johsai announced as Rei watched Oikawa and Iwaizumi high five, he scowled at them. "That toss was so close to the edge." Rei thought as he glanced to Hinata and Kageyama who pant.

"Incredible..." Rei heard Hinata comment with an eerie look.

TWEEEET!

Karasuno calls for a timeout as they head off the court to go over to Ukai. "Okay, we're playing well! Keep calm and carry on!" Ukai announced.

"Yes, sir!"

"They're starting to get used to our central attacks, so use the full width of the court as much as possible!" Ukai stated.

"Yes, sir!"

TWEEEET!

"Let's go!" Daichi yelled as they headed back on the court.

"Thank you, sir!" His team shouted back in reply, their eyes focused on Aoba Johsai who walks onto the court, the air was tense with both teams not wanting to back down.

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The ball goes into the air as Tsukishima did a feint, and got Karasuno a point. "Nice, Tsukishima! It's the dirty diversion that hits when they least expect it!" Tanaka calls out to Tsukishima.

"Phrasing." Tsukishima mumbled as Rei deadpan at the two and focus back on the game.

The ball goes into play, Rei watched as Kageyama gets ready to toss. Kageyama looks up at the volleyball and tosses it to Daichi, who slammed down the volleyball and got Karasuno a point.

Rei looked at the score.

Karasuno

12

Aoba Johsai

14

Soon, Hinata walks back onto the court, as Kageyama and Rei greet him. "Welcome back!" Rei chuckled. "You ready to win this match?"

"Y-Yes!" The two responded. Rei grinned and pat their shoulders.

"Then let's show Aoba Johsai what we're made of, shall we?" Rei suggested as Kageyama and Hinata just nodded.

The ball goes into play, as Rei watched Oikawa set it up, Kageyama jumps up and managed to get a one touch. "Kageyama, nice one touch!" Tanaka called from the sides.

"Chance ball!" Daichi called out as Rei gets in front of the ball and saves it.

The ball goes to Kageyama who gets ready to toss, as Hinata runs forward and jumped up, Rei noticed he had his eyes closed this time as he spiked down the ball and got a point, the gym was silent until the audience cheers and so did Karasuno.

"Nice kill, Hinata!"

"Shoyo!"

"Yes!"

Rei ran over to Kageyama and Hinata, putting his arms around their shoulders and ruffling their heads. "Nice one, nice one! You two are incredible as always!" Rei complimented, making the duo fluster at him.

The game continued as Aoba Johsai gets their point, as Oikawa and Hanamaki high five.

Daichi receives the ball and the volleyball goes into the air, Hinata kept spiking it down, as the ball almost touched the court but the libero dived down and saved it.

Iwaizumi then quickly kept the ball in play. "Chance ball!" Daichi announced as Nishinoya saves it and sends it up, Hinata runs forward to the side to perform another quick, however, Tsukishima jumped up high and spiked down the ball that Kageyama tossed to him instead.

Hanamaki tried to receive it, but Tsukishima's spike was powerful and the ball bounces off his arms and Karasuno gets a point. "All right!" Karasuno cheered.

The game goes on as Karasuno did the same thing, Tsukishima jumped up to spike but got blocked, but Nishinoya was quick to dive down and save the ball before it touched the court.

"Nishinoya, nice cover!" Daichi praised. Rei noticed the ball was going back.

"Back, go back! One more time!" Rei shouted out.

"Left! Left!" Daichi yelled out.

"Bring it to me!"

Rei glanced to Hinata as Kageyama gets ready to toss, but Kageyama instead sends the ball to Asahi for a back attack. "A breach through the center!" Rei thought as Asahi gains a point for Karasuno.

"Nice kill!"

"Hinata!"

Everyone was panting, tired from the never ending playing, but Rei just kept reminding himself that they just had to win this set, they had to beat Aoba Johsai. His eyes lingered over to the score to see that both teams were at 15 points.

TWEEEET!

Karasuno got off the court for a break as Kiyoko and Yamaguchi hand out the towels and water bottles.

"Here." Yamaguchi said, giving Rei a towel.

"Thanks, Yamaguchi." Rei mumbled as he took it to wipe away his sweat and Yamaguchi also handed him his water bottle.

The Karasuno players all panted from exhaustion, gulping down the water and resting their legs.

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The game goes on as Tsukishima jumped up to spike the ball, he got the volleyball past Oikawa and Kindaichi and get the point. Rei sighed in relief.

"Tsukishima, nice kill!" Daichi praised. The scores were 16-16, tied once more.

"Hey, you doing okay?" Kageyama yells to Hinata who was in the back row.

"I-I'm fine!" Hinata assured, jumping at the sudden yell.

"Rack up lots of points before you go back." Kageyama stated as Hinata couldn't help but scoff at him.

"Duh!" He said as Rei chuckled at the two.

Rei watched as the ball goes back into play, the ball gets spiked down but Nishinoya saves it in time. "Nishinoya, nice receive!" Daichi praised as Rei saw Kageyama getting ready to toss, Hinata runs over, but Rei widened his eyes when he noticed Hinata was unmarked.

"No way... why aren't they marking him?" Rei panicked.

"All right, hit it unmarked, Hinata!" Tanaka called out from the sides but Rei had a bad feeling that something was gonna happen. Rei noticed the libero was eyeing down Hinata as Hinata spiked it and the libero saves it with ease, which made Karasuno be taken aback.

"He's deliberately unmarked! Barely any time passed! They change their game really fast!" Rei gulped in his mind as Oikawa gets ready to toss it, but he instead did a setter dump. Nishinoya and Rei dived down, but the two of them failed to save it in time.

Aoba Johsai praised each other, as Karasuno stares them down, as they panted. It was Oikawa's turn to serve, making Rei anxious.

"One point to end it." Daichi spoke.

"Yes, sir!" Nishinoya replied as they focus on the ball. Oikawa soon did his famous jump serve.

However, the ball hits the net and rolls over to Karasuno's side, Kageyama and Hinata dive down to save it, but they both missed.

"That was unavoidable! Get over it!" Ukai shouts at them from the benches, Rei narrowed his eyes.

"Shit, they have another two point buffer." Rei thinks to himself.

Oikawa does another jump serve, and Nishinoya slides in and saves it. "I'm sorry, cover it!" Nishinoya shouted.

"I've got it!" Both Kageyama and Asahi announce, making them confused as they almost ran into each other.

"Tobio-kun!" Rei called out, noticing the ball, as Kageyama recovers his composure and saves it quickly.

"Asahi, last hit!" Daichi yelled as Asahi sends the ball up.

"That was close! Too close for my liking." Rei thought, sweating at the tense air.

Aoba Johsai spiked down the ball as Rei quickly saved it as the volleyball goes up, Kageyama gets ready to set it, and Asahi spiked it down but the libero pounces to the side and receives the ball. Hinata jumps and got a one-touch.

"Cover it!" Daichi yelled out as Asahi dives down and saves the volleyball in time.

"Center!"

Nishinoya nods to Hinata. "Shoyo, take it!" He yelled out, sending the ball his way.

"Get through!" Daichi, Kageyama, and Rei all yelled in unison as Hinata jumps up to spike it down. However Hinata was blocked by three people from Aoba Johsai which made Rei frown in disappointment.

TWEEEET!

Rei looked at the score and winced when he saw Aoba Johsai was at 19 with Karasuno being at 16. Karasuno heads off the court as they surrounded Ukai who talked to them, Rei wasn't really listening, too occupied on how they could win the match.

"Damn it all, how can we turn this match around?" Rei asked himself.

Rei looked up when he heard people cheering for them, he saw two people from the Neighborhood Association team, which made Rei deadpan at the duo before heading back on the court. Hinata had jumped when the volleyball came to him, but he got blocked.

However, Aoba Johsai had touched the net making Karasuno get the point. "That was pure luck..." Rei thought in relief.

However, Hinata was now in the back row, which was going to make things hard for Karasuno. Tsukishima and Nishinoya switched.

TWEEEET!

Rei looked up in confusion. He widened his eyes to see that Yamaguchi was being called to swap in for Hinata to do a serve. Yamaguchi was shaking like a leaf.

"Oh, that's right. This is the first official match that he's on the court. He's so used to cheering us on from the sidelines." Rei thought with a sweat drop. "That'll just give more pressure to Yamaguchi. Will he be okay?" He added in his head.

Hinata walks over and grabs the number sign, before heading off. "Yamaguchi!" Ukai calls out. "Go change the flow!" He added as Yamaguchi nods.

"Y-Yes, sir!" He yelped as he heads off to be the pinch server.

The second Yamaguchi crosses the line to enter the court, he was taken aback by the intensity from his teammates.

"Way to score a huge promotion, Yams!" Rei stated with a big smile, easing him a little.

"Yes, sir!" Yamaguchi exclaimed.

"We're in the same year..." Rei mumbled with a sweat drop.

"Take a shot at 'em, Yamaguchi." Daichi added with his own gentle smile.

"Nice serve!" Kageyama encourages.

"N-Nice serve." Asahi encourages as well. "T-Take it easy now." He added, but he looked like to be the one taking things nice and easy.

"Asahi, do you understand what 'nice and easy' means?" Daichi teased making the ace jump back, and shake like a leaf, worried for Yamaguchi.

Rei could tell everyone on the court was panicking for Yamaguchi, except for Kageyama who had an expressionless look. Rei also wasn't worried.

"You'll be fine, Yams. Just do your best." Rei continued to encourage him.

Yamaguchi goes to the serving line and stares at the ball. "Hey, Yamaguchi!" Rei heard Sugawara announce making everyone turn to him, Rei was taken aback when he saw Nishinoya, Ennoshita, Sugawara, Kinoshita and Narita do a pose and point at Yamaguchi.

"One point! Nice serve!"

Yamaguchi just nods at them, as he turns his attention back on the game, he then bounces the ball, getting the feel of it. Rei sighed loudly when the ball rolled away from his feet and he runs quickly to get it.

"He's awkward as hell..." Rei thought. Yamaguchi gets back on the line.

TWEEET!

Yamaguchi holds the ball up to do his serve, he throws the ball up, and he was in position to do a jump float, the ball goes forward, as Karasuno was dripping with anxiety.

"Come on!" Rei thinks to himself, keeping his eyes on the ball. However he widened his eyes when the ball hits the net and falls onto our side, getting Aoba Johsai a point instead of Karasuno.

Rei held back a sigh of disappointment, Karasuno stayed silent as Aoba Johsai looked relieved by Yamaguchi's mistake.

"Well, it's not Yams fault. He is the only first-year to not play in an official match." Rei told himself.

"I-I'm sorry." Yamaguchi frowned in guilt.

"Shake it off!" Asahi announces.

"D-Don't sweat it!" Rei added.

"Shake it off!" Kageyama responded.

TWEEEET!

Yamaguchi was called back to the sides. "Yamaguchi!" Rei heard Daichi yell out for him.

"I-I'm sorry!" Yamaguchi apologized.

"Make the next one count." Daichi said as Yamaguchi looked as though he was holding back a sob.

"Yes, sir!" He announced, his eyes teary.

The mood around Karasuno relaxes, Rei however was still feeling stressed.

The game goes on as the ball was in play, Kageyama sets it up and over to Asahi, as Asahi jumped up and spiked it down powerfully, getting Karasuno a point.

The ball goes into play again and he sees Aoba Johsai spike down the volleyball and Daichi receives it.

The ball goes up as Asahi spikes it over the net, Oikawa slides on his knees and saves it. "Cover it!" He yells to his teammates, Kunimi saves it in time, as the ball goes up to Karasuno's side, Asahi gets ready to jump high, as Kageyama tosses the ball to him and he slams it down past the two blockers, however it was an out.

Kageyama sets the ball up, once the volleyball was in the air, Tsukishima jumps forward and spikes it down, getting Karasuno a point. However, the victory didn't last long as Aoba Johsai gets a point as well.

Hideaki watched as Aoba Johsai serves, he noticed that it was going to be an out.

"It's an out!" Rei called to Asahi. He nods at him and moves to the side.

"Nice judgement call!" Daichi praised.

Rei nodded and sighed of relief. The game continues as Kageyama crouched down and saved the ball. "Asahi, last hit!" Nishinoya yells for him.

Asahi charged forward and the ball went to him, he jumped up as Oikawa and Iwaizumi do the same, it got blocked.

"Hell no! I won't let us lose like this!" Rei thought as he quickly used his foot to kick the ball back up into play. The ball goes over the net and rolls off and Rei got his team a point since Iwaizumi failed to save it in time.

"Nice, Oshiro!"

"Break!"

"One more point!"

It was now Kageyama's turn to serve the ball.

"Kageyama, nice serve!" Hinata announced, as Kageyama did his jump serve.

The ball stays in play as Aoba Johsai spikes it down, but Daichi quickly saved it, as Hinata and Asahi had jumped up to block.

"Daichi-san!" Rei called out in shock.

The ball stays in play as everyone received, spiked, and saved the ball.

"We can't lose, not now!" Rei thought to himself as Tsukishima jumped up to spike, however Iwaizumi saves it as the ball gets spiked and Aoba Johsai gets a point.

"Shit..." Rei thought as he saw that Aoba Johsai has the match point, with Karasuno being at 22.

Karasuno's players were panting as Aoba Johsai's cheer squad from the stands was all that can be heard.

"Don't be intimidated, men!" Nishinoya yelled. "Let's throw ourselves into it!"

Everyone stared in surprise at Nishinoya. Everyone smiled and chuckle at him. "Noya-senpai really does know how to brighten everyone's mood." Rei noted.

The game goes on as Asahi jumped up to spike the ball, getting Karasuno a point.

"Yes!"

"Asahi, nice kill!"

"One point to go!"

Rei didn't pay attention to who was serving as he closed his eyes.

"I don't want this to be the third-year's last game with the team, I'll keep the ball in play!" Rei stated in his head. "All of us will move forward... together!" He added as he took a deep breath.

Rei opened his eyes and saw very familiar green and black jerseys and players with familiar hair colors standing next to him. Rei noticed that he wasn't in his orange Karasuno jersey, but his black and green Jindai jersey. Soon, Hayashi, Nakano, and Mizuki disappeared, only leaving three people with him, who were standing right next to him.

"Anxiousness doesn't look good on you. Not like I care or anything." A green haired male began.

"Fuji-kun..."

Rei felt a hand on his shoulder. "Never let your head hang down. Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way." A white haired male wearing a green and black number 9 jersey said.

"N-Nakamura-san?" Rei thought, shocked from seeing his old captain back when he was only a first-year at Jindai.

Another hand appeared on his other shoulder. "Remember what I always told the team?" A red haired male questioned. "Don't just beat them, make a lasting impression..."

"...that makes them never want to see your face again." Rei recalled in his head. "It doesn't matter if we're behind..." Rei added as he watched Kindaichi spike the ball and past Hinata, but Rei was there to save it on time.

"We're gonna keep playing until the ball drops!" Rei thought in determination, his eyes darkening. As the ball goes over the net to Aoba Johsai, Oikawa jumps up to spike down the ball and get a point.

But suddenly, Kageyama came into view and did a one-handed toss. Hinata came from behind and slammed down the ball, getting the point Karasuno needed to get to set point as well. The gym went silent before Karasuno jumped and cheered.

"All right!"

The gym cheered for Karasuno. Rei panted but smiled. "Just one more point." He stated in his mind.

"Fuji-kun, Kawa-kun, Nakamura-san... Thank you." Rei told himself. He knew that his junior high teammates and his former senior weren't there in the gym with him, but their presence was good enough to keep him going.

No matter how much he claims to hate his junior high teammates, they were his friends once.

Perhaps Rei still saw them as that...

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A/N: Another chapter done! And yes, I know it was Watari that did the move, but I realized I didn't get Hayashi any screen time (I forgot about him, lmao) so I switched it up. Hope you enjoyed!

Word Count: 3370 words.