A/N: Hello, readers! Welcome to another chapter! Enjoy!

edited on december 5th, 2020 @ 8:47pm

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CHAPTER TWELVE - REVIVAL

IT WAS FINALLY THE DAY. Rei was nervous but excited. He got up and got dressed for the day. He grabbed the things that he needed and headed out of his house.

The Karasuno team finally made their way to the Sendai City Gymnasium, however when they were walking over, they couldn't help but overhear some people, talking about them.

"Let's see, this block..."

"Tori... Torino?"

"I think that's Karasuno."

"They were strong once, not too long ago."

"Oh, yeah. But not anymore. There's a saying about their team."

"What's that?"

"Fallen powerhouse. Flightless Ravens."

As the two were conversing and looking down at Karasuno, Rei and his team all stood behind the two guys and they stare with a dark and annoyed look. One guy from the duo seemed to notice them as he gulps and whispers to his friend.

"Hey, shut up." He hissed in a whisper.

"Huh?" His friend commented, confused. Suddenly, Tanaka gets in between them.

"Flightless, you say? Is that what you said?" Tanaka growls, his face looking intimidating. Rei watched as Daichi pulled him back.

"Come on. Let's go." Daichi scolded as he looked at the two guys. "I'm sorry." He bows as he drags Tanaka away. Rei followed his team into the building.

The moment Karasuno walked in, Rei felt all stares on them. And he managed to hear all the comments directed to them as well.

"All black..."

"That one guy doesn't look like a high schooler."

"Hey, is that guy... that's Karasuno's Azumane."

Rei noticed that Asahi tenses up at this as he gulps, making Rei glance at him in confusion. "What? Who's that?" A guy asked.

"Don't you know? I heard guys from Kita High worked for him to extort money." The guy stated making Rei hold back a snicker since he knew Asahi would never do such a thing.

"I also heard he sold illegal substances on the street." The guy adds once more. Rei could tell Asahi looked defeated by these rumors.

"And I heard he's been in high school for five years."

"He's an adult, then."

Daichi and Sugawara looked amused but also tired of these comments as they looked at their ace. "Oh, well. It's the usual gossip." Sugawara commented as Daichi hummed in agreement.

"All because of his appearance." Daichi sighed as Asahi panicked.

"But I like to have sort of a wild appearance." Asahi stated as the two third-years turned away.

"You wouldn't say that if you were really wild." Sugawara stated.

Nishinoya then laughs as he looks at his teammate. "Who cares about how they view you?" He grins as Rei saw Daichi and Sugawara put a hand on the second-year's shoulders.

"Now this is what you call 'wild.'" The two spoke in unison as Nishinoya looked in between them with confusion.

"Hey, check it out." A voice spoke up, making everyone look to see some guys staring at Kiyoko.

"Cute."

"Go say hi. I dare you."

"Should I? Should I try?"

Rei looked over to see Tanaka and Nishinoya who had evil like expressions as they glare at the guys and started circling Kiyoko to 'protect' her.

"Stop that." Kiyoko scolds the two as she uses her two clipboards and smacks Nishinoya and Tanaka on the head before walking off with Takeda. Nishinoya and Tanaka seemed very pleased instead of in pain.

"That little guy... Isn't he Nishinoya from Chidoriyama?"

"He won the Overall Best Libero Award."

"Really?"

Rei continued to walk with his team. "That's not all. That guy over there..." A man from another team spoke as Rei saw him look at Kageyama. "They say he's a genius setter. That's Kitagawa Daiichi's King of the Court." The man announced. Kageyama paused and glanced over at the two guys and gave an intimidating look over at the two before grumbling and walked off.

Rei walked over to Kageyama. "Don't mind them, Kageyama-kun. They're just trying to get under your skin." He reassures his friend as Kageyama only nodded.

"What's he doing at Karasuno?"

"Dunno."

"He wasn't very popular in junior high, though."

Rei continued to walk, having his hands stuffed in his volleyball jacket as he popped his neck.

"Hey, doesn't he look familiar?"

"Hmm? Oh... Oh you're right! That's Oshiro Rei! The sixth player of The Inhumane Players!"

"Seriously? He's apart of that prodigy group? I thought they all went to powerhouse schools? What's Karasuno doing with a player like him?"

"Who knows. There's a rumor that he mysteriously disappeared right before Jindai went up against Shiratorizawa Junior High last year..."

Rei scoffed at this as he continued walking, ignoring them.

"Then, what about that guy over there?"

The guy had asked as Rei glanced over to see him gesturing to Hinata. "That little guy." He adds as Hinata was looking around in amazement. "Is he awesome, too?"

"No... I don't think so." The guy replied as Rei glanced over at the orange haired first year to see him looking around. He reminded him of an excited puppy, seeing the world for the first time. Rei sighed and walked over to him.

"Oi, hurry up, Hinata-kun." Rei said to him as he nods enthusiastically at him.

Karasuno soon entered the room where it was filled with other volleyball teams. "This place is packed!" Hinata gasped as Rei saw him make his way to a stranger who wore a shirt that said 'Top.'

"I'm... I'm aiming for the top, too. I'll do it."

Rei facepalmed at Hinata's awkwardness as he nudged Sugawara. "Stop him, Suga-san. Before he embarrasses the team and himself." He begged and Sugawara had a panicked expression, quickly rushing over.

"Idiot. What are you doing? I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Sugawara lightly scolds at Hinata before he apologizes to the guy Hinata was bothering.

"It's fine..." The guy reassured as Sugawara drags the first year back to the team.

Rei saw the big court up ahead as Karasuno walked inside. It was filled with spectators and other teams. "This gym is huge!" Hinata beamed as Rei saw him smell the air.

"It smells like Air Salonpas..." Hinata added as the rest of the team gave him a confused and questioning look.

"What are you talking about?" Tsukishima questioned.

"That's the smell of tournaments." Hinata replied as Nishinoya bounced over.

"I know, right?" Nishinoya grinned.

"It's them!"

"T-They're huge!"

Rei looked over as well as the rest of his team to see another team walking towards them. He growled when he realized who they were. They were Dateko. Karasuno stared at them with intense silence. Rei sees one of Dateko's members, point at Asahi and then points back at Rei, making him raise an eyebrow.

"You got a problem?" Nishinoya hissed, ready to defend his teammates.

Nishinoya was about to walk over but got stopped by Rei who held his arm out to stop Nishinoya from advancing. Asahi didn't seem to look nervous as he stared down the opposing team.

"Noya-senpai, don't make a scene. We don't want to get into a fight right before our match." Rei warned, though somewhat grateful that Nishinoya cared about his teammates.

It was quiet until Rei saw one more guy from Dateko run over. "Hey, hey, hey. Stop that." He scolds as he tried to make his teammate lower his arm. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He apologized as he was struggling to lower his teammates arm.

"No..." Daichi replied, looking a bit shocked at his apologizing.

"Nakano, help me out." The guy pleaded to the giant purple haired male who just looked at him with a bored look as he sucked on his lollipop.

"Eh? Sure." Nakano mumbled. "I apologize about Aone-san. He targets our opponents ace whenever he sees them."

"So... You better be ready." Nakano added. He turned to Rei and smiled. "Shiro-chin, it's nice to see you again."

"Likewise, Kano-kun." Rei replied.

Nakano followed his team as they walked away. "You guys are too rude. Why must you always do that?" The short man from Dateko huffs.

Once they were gone, Sugawara turns to his teammates. "That was a little jarring." Sugawara informed.

"Yeah." Daichi agreed as Sugawara smiled and turned to Asahi. "I'm amazed you stared back at him—" Sugawara praised but stopped when he saw Asahi was pale as a ghost.

"Th-That was nerve-wracking."

Nishinoya huffs at his friend. "Why are you such a wimp off the court?" He bluntly asked.

"Are you alright?" Tanaka asked as Rei just sighed and ran a hand through his black locks.

"Sawamura."

Rei looked over to see a guy smiling at Daichi. "Long time no see." He greeted as Rei glanced back at Daichi who seemed to recognize the stranger.

"Hey, Ikejiri. Sorry, I'll catch up with you guys in a minute." Daichi greeted back as he turned to his team.

"Yeah." His team replied as they all leaved so their captain can have a chat with his friend.

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Rei and the rest of his team were changed into their volleyball uniforms. Rei had put away his phone and stuffed extra clothing into his volleyball bag so he can change after the games are finished.

"Hey, is your stomach upset again or something?" Rei heard Kageyama ask. He looked over to see Hinata was shaking like a leaf.

"Tumbling with excitement!" Hinata announced, making Rei raise an eyebrow at him.

"What?" Kageyama questioned as Rei sighed and walked over to them.

"I think he meant 'trembling with excitement.'" Rei replied.

"No, he's just shaking with fear." Tanaka spoke up, Nishinoya crouched down to eye level with Hinata as Hinata was on the ground.

"I know. You got intimidated by Dateko, didn't you?" Nishinoya asked.

"O-Of course not." Hinata denied, looking flustered.

"Which is it?" Tanaka questioned as Rei sighed and looked at Kageyama and Sugawara.

"Asahi's cowardly too, but he doesn't seem nervous." Sugawara spoke up, looking over at their ace.

"Cowardly?" Asahi repeated with a defeated look. "I have a trick to calm my nerves. I try to remember the scariest experiences I've ever had. The scarier the better. Then I think to myself, 'whatever happens, I can never be as scary as that.'" Asahi informed, Hinata seemed interested in this.

"It puts me on an even kneel." Asahi added. Rei looked over at his orange haired teammate who seemed to be in deep thought, then he looked pale, making everyone confused.

"Hinata?" Sugawara commented, wondering if he's alright.

"You alright?" Rei asked, raising his eyebrows at him.

"I'm fine now." He assured his team.

"Hey, Hinata. What's the matter?" Sugawara panicked as Hinata looked a little too calm.

"If you know how to calm your nerves, why did you get so devastated when we battled Dateko?" Nishinoya blunty asked the ace, Asahi flinches at the bluntness.

"There you go again, Noya! You're rubbing salt in his wound." Tanaka hissed.

"Because I didn't have enough time to visualize. Visualizing requires time and concentration to be done properly." Asahi tried to explain as Rei nodded his head in agreement. Being a shadow, he knew everything about how observing his opponents took time and concentration.

"All right. Everybody ready?" Daichi spoke up as the team looked over at their captain. "Let's be the first on the court." Daichi added as he was halfway through the door to get to the courts.

"Yes."

Rei and the rest of his team followed Daichi onto the court, where they looked around. Other school banners were already up, and some people were about.

"Wow. It's spacious. It's huge." Hinata beamed as he looked around.

"Hey, don't get intimidated." Kageyama warned making Hinata hiss and gave him a narrowed look.

"It's you who's intimidated." Hinata commented but he just got lifted up by his shirt by Kageyama.

"By the looks of it, it's you." Kageyama sassed back. Rei just sighed at the two.

"Hey, don't get so mad." Hinata says to Kageyama. Rei then noticed Hinata widen his eyes a bit and stare at something, the others followed his gaze to see Kiyoko and Takeda putting up Karasuno's banner.

"All right. Let's start practicing." Ukai announced.

"Yeah."

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Rei and the rest of his team were doing receiving. Rei was paired up with Nishinoya as Rei spiked the ball and Nishinoya got down in a receiving position and let the ball hit his arms. The ball goes back to Rei as he did the same thing.

"Hey, it's turnip head." Hinata commented, making Rei raise an eyebrow at him and look up at the stands to see Aoba Johsai. The guy who Hinata was referring too look confused.

"Yoohoo." A voice called out. Rei looked over to see Oikawa grinning down at them, holding a peace sign.

"Tobio-chan, shrimp-chan. How's the freak duo doing?" Oikawa smiled.

"It's the Great King." Hinata mumbled out. Iwaizumi slapped down Oikawa's peace sign.

Oikawa flinches and rubs his hand. "That hurt, Iwa-chan..." He complained.

"Huh?" Oikawa added as Rei saw him looking over at Nishinoya. Rei smirked a bit, knowing that the star setter was shocked that they now had Nishinoya and Asahi back on their team.

Rei continued practicing his receives with Nishinoya until it was time for the match to begin.

TWEET!

The whistle blew, indicating the match was about to start as Rei and his team all paid attention. "Captains." The referee calls out to Daichi and the other captain they were versing, the two walked over and shook hands.

TWEET!

"Huddle!" Daichi yelled at his team, as they did so. "Line up." He added as they followed his lead to bow to the opposing team. It was silent as Karasuno stared down at their opponent.

TWEET!

"Let's play." Everyone announced as they bowed. They walked over to the net, shaking hands with the players for a good and clean game. Rei saw a few players blush when he touched their hands, making him confused, but didn't question it.

"Go! Go! Let's go! Let's go, Dateko!"

"Go! Go! Let's go! Let's go, Dateko!"

Rei looked up at the stands where he heard Dateko's cheering squad as they chant their lyrics out. "How annoying. I'm gonna throw something at them if they don't shut their mouths." Rei thought.

Karasuno gathered around Ukai. "Listen up. This is everyone's first match. Everyone's nervous, everyone's anxious, everyone's not their usual self. But you have to overcome those things before they do. Score a big victory first and find your groove." Ukai spoke as the team nodded at him.

"Yeah."

"I mean what I'm going to say, and it's no empty compliment. You are all strong. Karasuno is strong. Let's show everyone in the gym how ravens fly." Takeda announced.

"Take, good one!" Nishinoya praises, getting hyped up.

"They say that inauspicious line everywhere we go." Tanaka adds with a smug look.

"Fallen powerhouse. Flightless ravens. But let's show them, 'Look! We Karasuno, are the champions of the old. We are winners.'" Takeda added to them with determination.

"Yeah."

Takeda then panicked. "Was that poetic? Was it moving?" He asked.

"It was fine. Fine." Daichi assured their teacher.

"What does he mean, 'champions of the old?'" Hinata asked, glancing at Sugawara, Rei, and Kageyama.

"How am I supposed to know?" Kageyama replied.

"We aren't really, but the nuance seems to be that we were strong in the past." Sugawara explained.

"Hey, let's get going." Daichi informed as the team formed a circle. Rei was between Nishinoya and Tanaka.

"Karasuno, fight!"

"Yeah!"

They all get into position. Rei stretched his arms, ready to play and also stretched out his legs. Rei noticed their opposing team was confused as to why Hinata was a middle blocker, making Rei smirk.

"Oh, they'll know soon enough Hinata-kun shouldn't be underestimated." He thought.

TWEET!

"Bring it on!" Hinata challenged as Rei saw the opposing team serve the ball. Rei kept his eye on it. "Asahi." Daichi called out as the ace saved it.

"All right." Asahi assured them as the ball made it's way to Kageyama.

"Nice receive, Asahi." Rei praised as he watched Kageyama getting ready to set the ball.

Tanaka jumps up. "This one's mine!" He announced as he spikes it down. Karasuno gets a point as Tanaka and Nishinoya yelled in determination. "Tanaka, nice serve—" Daichi started to say but was then cut off by Tanaka yelling.

Daichi then snapped at the two. "Shut up! That's too much!" He yelled at them. Rei just sighed at the two second years.

The referee blew twice at Daichi as a warning, making their captain bow at him in apology for Tanaka and Nishinoya's loudness. Some of the people in the stands laugh at Karasuno for already getting into trouble.

It was Tanaka's turn to serve. "Tanaka, nice serve!" Daichi praised as Tanaka serves the ball over the net, the ball got saved, as it made it's way towards the setter of the opposing team. Hinata was in front, ready to block.

Rei watched as the guy tosses to the Ikejiri guy that Daichi knew. Tsukishima moved over towards where Daichi was as him and Tsukishima jumped up to block, it touched their hands but went past them, however they were rescued when Nishinoya slides in and receives the ball.

However, he couldn't get it to Kageyama, so Daichi got the ball. "Asahi." He spoke up, receiving the ball towards their ace.

"This ones yours, ace." Nishinoya grinned as Asahi jumps up and spikes down the ball and passed three blockers, gaining a point for Karasuno.

"That old guy is awesome."

"I hear he's in his fifth year in high school."

"Are you serious? Is that even allowed?"

"Maybe he can't get out."

These comments looked as though it struck Asahi one by one, as he looked glum. "Asahi, don't let it get to you." Sugawara calls over to him.

Rei looked over at Hinata who kept giving a pleading look to Kageyama, making him snap. "Shut up, I know." He assured, as he was going to toss to him next. Rei grinned at this.

"Tanaka, another nice serve."

Rei watched as Tanaka hits the ball as it goes over the net and the opposing team saves it, its gets over to their spiker and he spikes it down. However, Rei quickly used his misdirection and saves the ball just in time, making him hear some people awe at him from the stands.

"It's the disappearing libero from Jindai!"

"Where the hell did he come from?"

"Has he been on the court this whole time?"

Rei had received it over to Kageyama who he sees glance at Hinata. Hinata runs forward as the ball touches Kageyama's palms as he tosses the ball quickly over to their orange haired teammate who spiked it down.

Kageyama was on Hinata's left, with Asahi on his right. Behind Kageyama was Daichi and Rei with Nishinoya right next to him while Tanaka was on his other side.

"Flightless ravens, they say? Just how pathetic do they think we are? This... is Karasuno's revival!" Rei thought with pride.

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A/N: Another chapter done! Hope you enjoyed!

Word Count: 3220 words.