A/N: Hello, readers! The last part of the match is finally here! Slight KnB crossover? It's only for this chapter and another one. Enjoy!

edited on may 22nd, 2021 @ 12:18pm

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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE - REMOVING THE LONELY KING

REI CRINGED EVERY TIME HE heard Aoba Johsai's cheering squad from the stands. "I feel like my ears are bleeding." He thought. "Why is always the powerhouse schools that have the most annoying cheers?" Rei added, drinking his water.

"Hey, you guys are amazing, Hinata, Kageyama!" Nishinoya grinned, patting the two on their heads as Karasuno smiled at them. Rei just took a deep breath. He had to concentrate on the game if Karasuno had any chance of winning.

TWEEEET!

"Let's go!"

"Yeah!"

Karasuno headed onto the court, ready to win. It was Kageyama's turn to serve as he bounced the ball up and down. Sugawara and the rest of his teammates were yelling encouraging words out to him.

Kageyama looked up and stared at Oikawa, who narrowed his eyes at him in concentration. Kageyama soon tossed the ball up and ran forward, spiking the volleyball only for it to get saved.

Aoba Johsai jumped up to spike, but Karasuno blocked it, or at least, Hinata got a one-touch. "Chance ball!" Nishinoya announced as he received the ball back in the air, Hinata charges over and Kageyama tosses the ball to him as Hinata had spiked it down, their libero dived down to save it, sending the ball back up.

"Chance ball!" Daichi exclaimed as he saved the ball and sends it back up.

"One more ball!" Hinata announced running forward, Kageyama did the usual toss, but Hinata's spike was saved by Watari once more. Hinata runs back to Asahi's side to help him block, the duo jumped up to block but Hinata gets a one touch.

"Nice one-touch!" Daichi yelled as he sends the ball back up.

"One more time!" Hinata exclaimed to Kageyama.

Iwaizumi scowled a little as Rei sees him following his teammate. "I know you're getting the toss, so I ain't gonna leave you unmmarked!" Iwaizumi announced. Rei widened his eyes when he saw that Hinata was trying to delay the jump, but his jump power and the timing was off.

"No!" Rei thought, as they were going to lose a point against Seijoh.

However, Hinata did manage to softly hit the ball with his finger tips and send the ball over Iwaizumi's figure, Hinata slides across the floor but got back up to see the ball touched the ground and Karasuno was winning. Hinata was the first to cheer.

"All right!" Karasuno announced as Chiharu sighed in relief.

"Shoyo!" Nishinoya exclaimed as he and Hinata high five, Tanaka came over and patted Kageyama on the back. "Hey! Hinata saved our butts!" Tanaka stated as he soon left the court as the game was starting.

"We're rushing them!" Daichi announced.

"Yeah!" Everyone replied as Kageyama was serving once more.

The whistle blew as Kageyama did a jump serve, the ball once again gets saved, but just barely, Aoba Johsai gets a point as they were neck in neck with Karasuno with both teams having 25 points. Rei grumbled as it was Oikawa's turn to serve.

"His serves are monsterous. If we want to win, we have to stop them." Rei told himself, his eyes darkening a little.

The referee blows the whistle as Oikawa did his usual powerful jump serve, the ball was heading straight towards Nishinoya.

"Nishinoya!" Daichi yelled out, however, Rei saw that if Nishinoya just let the ball go past him it would be an out and Karasuno would get a point.

Nishinoya moved his head as the ball flew past him and out the court. Karasuno gets a point. "Nice judgement call, Nishinoya!" Daichi praised.

"Yes, sir!" Nishinoya exclaimed. It was once again match point for them.

Rei was sweating, feeling the pressure. "We have to win. I want to stay on the court for as long as I can!" Rei thinks to himself.

The game goes on as Iwaizumi spiked down the ball and got tied with Karasuno again, making Rei growl to himself, as Kageyama and Tsukishima did try to block him.

"That evens the score. A point is a point either way." Iwaizumi told his team and Rei saw them staring in awe at him, even Oikawa was amazed with his friend. Rei scoffed and turned away in annoyance.

The game goes on as Karasuno got a point, but then Aoba Johsai gets a point, it was tense around both teams as they all got a point each time. It was difficult to make out who would win the set. Rei's arms kept hurting each time he had to dive down and save the ball.

"It'll be worth it when we win. This won't be the third-year's last game! I refuse to have that happen!" Rei thought, glancing at the scoreboard to see where both teams were at.

Karasuno

31

Aoba Johsai

31

"A tie again... how irritating." Rei thinks to himself as he pants in tiredness, wanting this match to end already with Karasuno winning.

They were all getting exhausted as they all pant and sweat like crazy. Rei leaned onto Kageyama who supported him.

He sees that Oikawa was serving, making Rei gulp. "One play and he's gone!" Daichi encourages Nishinoya who nodded in agreement.

"Yes, sir!" He replied back. Rei narrowed his eyes. The mood around Oikawa seemed different. Relaxed? Focused? He couldn't tell what it was.

Rei saw him throw the ball up, as he spiked it down, Rei quickly used his misdirection and received it, only to give Aoba Johsai a chance ball.

"Shit, I'm sorry!" Rei shouted out, running into position to help his teammates out.

"Be grateful that you even got that up in the air!" Asahi shouts back at him.

Rei suddenly saw Oikawa toss the ball, going to the left for Kunimi to spike it. He spiked it down and Kageyama somewhat saved it.

"Chance ball!" Kunimi exclaimed as he runs to get into position. Kageyama stared at him with wide eyes.

Rei saw Oikawa toss the ball to Kunimi again, Asahi and Hinata jump up to block, Rei was a little surprised to see him do a feint, Kageyama went to save it but failed as Aoba Johsai was ahead of them with 32 points.

Rei could tell that Kageyama was shocked to see his ex-teammate smiling and laughing. "He must be shocked to see his junior high teammate be all happy." He thought.

Kageyama seemed fixed on Kunimi as Hinata walked over. "Kageyama?" Hinata called out, but the first year setter didn't respond.

"Kageyama?" Hinata said again.

"Kageyama!" Hinata yelled. Chiharu couldn't help but get worried.

"Earth to Kageyama!" Hinata yelled again. Kageyama jumped as Hinata had a smug and teasing look.

"Hey, don't tell me you're getting spooked out. Lame!" Hinata teased, Kageyama didn't respond but Rei smiled when he saw Kageyama just grab Hinata's face and squeezed it.

Hinata got free from his hold and glared a little. "Th-Think about it! Obviously, a Great King is gonna be better than a King." Hinata hissed.

"That goes name-wise too!" The orange haired male added. "Heck, he even looks smarter than you!" He insulted.

Kageyama still didn't respond and tried to hit his teammate again, but Hinata stepped aside and avoided it.

Kageyama went to grab Hinata again, but Hinata ducked down to avoid Kageyama's grip, Rei couldn't help but be amused by his teammates.

"I'm sorry, Kageyama!" Daichi apologized as Kageyama looked over towards the captain. "I'll get the ball back to you next time."

"Then we'll play it like usual and of the attack you think is best." Daichi added as Kageyama looked a little surprised by this.

"Kageyama, quit second-guessing!"

Everyone turned to Sugawara who shouts from the sides. "What is everyone on our crew?" Sugawara added as everyone, excluding Tsukishima, smiled.

"They're good at what they do." Kageyama replied as Rei was taken aback.

"Well... he's certainly grown from his junior high days." Rei thinks to himself as he glanced back at Aoba Johsai and frowned.

"My bad feeling is coming back again, and this time, it's gotten worse."

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"Okay, bring it!" Nishinoya challenged.

"Bring it on!" Tanaka yelled from the sides as Rei panted, his eyes focused on the volleyball, as Oikawa bounced the ball. He then shivered when Oikawa stared at Karasuno with such intensity.

Oikawa threw the volleyball up and did his power serve. "Front!" Daichi exclaimed as he dived down to get the ball back up in time. However, they had to break formation, so Kageyama and Hinata couldn't do their fast attack as Kageyama receives the ball.

"Left!"

"Center!"

Kageyama sends the ball up to Asahi. "Left!" He calls for the ace, as their ace spiked it over the blockers. The ball goes in the air as their libero saves it in time. Oikawa then tossed it to Iwaizumi in mid jump, which Iwaizumi jumped to spike the ball. Rei got in front and saved it, however, it went to Aoba Johsai's side.

"Do it, Hayashi!"

Rei watched as Hayashi and Hinata both jump to touch the ball, Hayashi spiked it back, making Rei freeze it place.

"Get it!" Nishinoya shouted.

"I got it!" Kageyama shouts as Hinata runs forward. Kageyama sets the ball to Hinata.

However, he was in shock when three blockers had stopped Hinata's quick as the ball comes back down to their side. Kageyama, Nishinoya, and Rei all run to the ball, hoping that one of them could save it.

The ball gets closer to the ground.

"No..."

And closer...

"Don't touch the court..."

....and closer.

"We can't lose like this!"

SLAM!

The ball had touched the ground.

TWEEEET!

The crowd and Aoba Johsai cheer in happiness as Karasuno all stood in shock or were on the ground in defeat.

"We lost..." Rei thought. His black hair covered his eyes as he clenched his fists.

"Hinata, Kageyama, Shiro, time to line up." Rei heard Daichi say. He hated how emotionless Daichi sounded.

"Captain, I'm sorry." Hinata apologized.

"You didn't mess that up. No apology is required!" Daichi informed as Kageyama stood up with a sour look. Rei just stayed on the ground.

"Come on, Shiro." Nishinoya said, holding out his hand.

Rei took it as he stood up. "Noya-senpai, I'm sorry." He apologized.

"Don't apologize, Shiro. We did our best." Nishinoya told him.

They all soon lined up. Karasuno tried so hard to get where they were at and they lost to Aoba Johsai.

"This is what losing feels like, huh?" Rei thought, looking at his teammates.

TWEEEET!

"Thank you for the game!"

Karasuno bows, but they didn't yell as loud as Aoba Johsai. They head to shake hands with their opponents. Rei looked at the hand that was stretched out for him.

Hayashi...

"Shirocchi..." He began, looking at him. "You played well."

Rei chuckled lowly. "Thanks, I suppose." He responded. "Hey, if you have time before your next game, I would like to talk with you. I got some things I wanna say privately. Uh, nothing bad I promise. Quite the opposite actually."

"Sure, Shirocchi."

Rei followed his team off the court. "Form a line!" Daichi yelled as they formed a line to thank the supporters who came to watch them.

"Thank you for the game!" Daichi shouted and bowed.

"Thank you for the game!"

The crowd clapped for them, some from different schools.

"Well done!"

"That was a good game!"

Rei tensed at these words. "Gather round!" Daichi called out as his team followed him. They surrounded Ukai, as Nishinoya had a comforting hand on Kageyama's back and his other hand on Rei's back and Tanaka had a comforting hand on Hinata's back.

"We need to vacate." Ukai told them. "The next team has to start warming up. We'll cool down upstairs or outside. Seijoh will take a break and proceed to the quarterfinal." Ukai added as Karasuno glanced at the team they lost too.

They all had proud and bright smiles on their faces, while Karasuno had emotionless ones. Rei followed his team out of the court.

"Noya-senpai." Rei began as Nishinoya looked at him.

"Yeah." Nishinoya replied, knowing what he was gonna say. "I'll tell the coach and Daichi. Don't forget to take care of yourself and take all the time you need."

"I will, senpai."

Rei stood outside as Hayashi came out. "You wanted to talk?" He questioned. That's when Rei suddenly hugged him.

"Win, and then win some more. Win for us too." Rei replied, passing the words that Ikejiri had told Karasuno when Tokonami lost to them during the first round. This shocked Hayashi, as he wasn't expecting this.

After all, Karasuno had broken their promise to Ikejiri, Rei only felt it was right to pass it onto Hayashi and his team.

"Shirocchi—" Hayashi started to say.

"I'm not angry, you know. In fact, Karasuno's lost just proved to me that we could use some improvement. We have a lot of holes. We don't connect or communicate." Rei interrupted.

"There's a chance you guys will go up against Shiratorizawa, meaning you'll go up against Kawa-kun. So do you're best and play for me." Rei continued.

"Yeah, I will..." Hayashi promised.

"I just really hope the third-years on my team won't give up and leave us." Rei said. "If they do though, we'll have our revenge. You can count on it."

"I'm looking forward to it." Hayashi said, smiling at the black haired male.

Rei smiled back as he walked away from Hayashi so he could get ready for Seijoh's next match.

Once he was far enough away from him, he was silent for a moment. Then, he leaned on the wall, slid down, and just started sobbing uncontrollably.

"I'm so pathetic... If only there was a way I could get my teammates to have my misdirection... would that have helped changed the outcome?" Rei thought as he continued to cry.

He was interrupted when he heard his phone buzz. He opened his volleyball bag to find that his childhood friend had texted him.

"Shit..." Rei cursed in his head as he clicked on the message.

Ryu-kun:
> Did Karasuno win, Rei-chan?

Rei frowned.

Rei-chan:
We lost. <

Ryu-kun:
> Shit, Rei. I'm sorry.

Rei-chan:
Not your fault. <

Rei's phone buzzed again as he looked at the message from Nishinoya, saying that their coach was treating them to food.

Rei placed his phone back into his bag, zipping it up and swinging it over his shoulder, before meeting with his team.

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Rei and his team all went to Sit Tavern, which was now closed but they were still inside. The food look amazing, but the air around Karasuno was depressing.

"Sorry to do this right before closing, ma'am." Rei heard Ukai apologize to the Tavern owner.

"Think nothing of it! This used to be the norm for you, remember?" The lady kindly replies with a smile.

Ukai smiled before walking away, and looking back at his team. "All that running and jumping puts stress on the muscles and tears the muscle fiber. At the end of the game, your muscle fibers will be in tatters. You recover by eating." Ukai explained as to why they had a big feast in front of them.

"That's what gives you muscle. That will make you stronger." Ukai added as he held onto his words. "So, eat up." He said, sitting down next to Takeda. "Eat a proper meal."

"Thank you for the food."

"Please, dig in!" The lady announced as everyone grabbed their chopsticks and start to eat their food, no one spoke a word, their emotions clear in the air. Rei was the one who barely touched his food. Which made Nishinoya worry for his junior.

"He needs the energy more than we do. To see him not eating worries me." Nishinoya thought.

Rei couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't take seeing the pain and sadness that was around his team. "I'm leaving." He spoke, his teammates were crying as they looked at him in confusion.

"W-Wait, you can't just leave." Sugawara tried to say.

"Suga." Nishinoya said as he just shook his head at his senior. The third-year setter understood as Rei got up and left the Tavern.

Rei wiped a tear that escaped his eye. If Karasuno wanted to beat Aoba Johsai in the Spring, he needed to find some way to make his misdirection stronger.

And he knew just who to talk too.

Rei:
> Hey, it's been awhile since we talked. I need your help.

It didn't take too long for him to get a reply.

Kuroko:
It has, Shiro-kun. What can I do for you? <

Rei:
> Do you mind if I visit you and your basketball team in Tokyo for a few days? I want to ask you about how I can make my misdirection better.

Kuroko:
Sure, Shiro-kun. I'm sure my basketball team and coach wouldn't mind. <

Rei:
> Thanks, Kuro-kun. I owe you one.

Kuroko was the best person to help Rei with his misdirection. The two phantoms had very similar backstorys, after all.

Rei entered his apartment as he turned on the lights. "Home sweet home." He thought. He threw his volleyball bag on the side of the stairs and headed up to his room.

Rei got changed and collapsed on his bed. "I believe this loss was truly a lesson to all of us." He thinks to himself.

"We'll train constantly, and in the Spring, we'll come back stronger than ever."

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A/N: Another chapter done! Please let me know if there's any mistakes! Hope you enjoyed!

Word Count: 2974 words.