A/N: Hello, readers! Welcome to the last chapter of season two! Also, slight spoiler for those who haven't seen the Aoba Johsai ending in the movie, I just decided to add it in this chapter. Enjoy!

edited on december 11th, 2021 @ 3:37am

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CHAPTER FORTY-TWO - DECLARATION OF WAR

KARASUNO HAD DEFEATED AOBA JOHSAI. "They won!" Shun cheered, happy that his older brother's volleyball team had been victorious.

"The whole match gave me goosebumps. I've never felt that way before..." Hyuga commented.

"All right. Let's do our greetings." Daichi told his team as they agreed.

Kageyama and Oikawa continued to look at each other. "Now we're at one loss, one win. Don't get on your high horse." Oikawa spoke up.

"I won't." Kageyama told him.

With that, the two setters walked away from each other as both teams then lined up and bowed.

"Thank you very much!"

Players from both teams shook each other's hands as Aoba Johsai was listening to what Takeda was saying to them.

After talking to Irihata, Iwaizumi thought back to the play he made when Oikawa tossed him the ball. "How can I be the ace when I couldn't even make that?!" He scolded himself.

Hideaki looked over and saw Oikawa slapping the back of Iwaizumi's jersey as he let out a long sigh. Karasuno had won, but he felt like he lost.

"Hey, hurry up!" Daichi called out.

"Yeah!" Nishinoya and Hinata shouted in unison. The two jumped up, knocking the rest of the team down in the process as Nishinoya laughed.

"We fell over!"

"You're way too worked up!"

"Hinata, you dumbass!"

Hideaki was outside of the stadium with his team, wearing his volleyball jacket as they were packing up for the day.

"Hey!"

A voice caught the team's attention as they saw Shimada, Takinoue, Saeko, and Yachi running towards them.

"You guys were awesome!" Saeko exclaimed.

"Nee-san!" Nishinoya said.

"Ryu! You did great, getting that last one!" Saeko complimented her younger brother. "You looked awesome!"

"Right... Or rather, I appreciate the support, but don't use my name so much..."

Saeko grabbed onto Tanaka's head as she gave him a noogie. "Don't be embarrassed!" She exclaimed.

"That was a great serve, Tadashi." Shimada told Yamaguchi.

"Thank you very much." Yamaguchi replied.

"The last one! The last spike was amazing!" Yachi was saying to Hinata and Kageyama.

"Thanks!"

"Thanks."

Daichi glanced over at Hideaki. "Hey, Hideaki. You okay?" He asked, making Sugawara and Asahi look over.

"I'm fine." Hideaki responded. "Let me know when we're about to leave. I'm heading to the bathroom."

"Hideaki!"

"Suga." Daichi interrupted the third-year setter as he shook his head. "Leave him be."

Soon enough, Hideaki entered the bathroom as he turned on the faucet. "Karasuno had won, but I felt like I lost." Hideaki thinks to himself.

"Tōru... Hajime... I'm so sorry. I really wish there was a way where the three of us could win together."

Hideaki clenched the edge of the sink as he sobbed silently.

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Later, Oikawa was getting the rest of his team, when he was stopped by Ushijima. Oikawa ignored him and just walked by him.

"This is a warning, Oikawa." Ushijima began. "Don't choose the wrong path again. You chose the wrong path. There was a place where you could have realized your true potential. Because of your worthless pride, you didn't choose it."

"So you're trying to tell me that I should have gone to Shiratorizawa instead of Seijoh, right?" Oikawa questioned. "No team is guaranteed victory."

"If nothing else, I can say... that my team is the strongest one here." Ushijima declared.

Oikawa stared blankly at him. "Wow, I see you're still laughably confident!" He exclaimed, closing his eyes.

"Worthless pride, huh? That's true..." Oikawa continued. "Listen up, Ushijima. I never thought my decision was wrong, and my volleyball hasn't ended at all. Don't you ever forget my worthless pride."

"Oh, yeah. If you keep all your attention on me, you're going to get stabbed from the direction you least expect."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"My junior... isn't smart, and isn't even close to my level yet... But now that he's not by himself, he's strong." Oikawa replied before turning to walk away.

"When crows flock, they might even kill a huge, white eagle." Oikawa stopped once more and looked back at Ushijima.

"Oh, and don't leave Aki-chan out either." Oikawa continued. "Even he can get pretty scary when he wants to be."

"Hey. What the hell are you doing?" Tanaka had called out just as Hideaki was leaving the building. "Hurry up and load your stuff onto the bus."

"What's the matter, you two?" Yachi asked before finally seeing what they were looking at.

"I'll show you just how much we can grow from the concrete." Hinata stated as him and Kageyama walked away with Yachi following them. Hideaki looked back at the paper.

Finals.
Shiratorizawa. Vs. Karasuno.

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They soon arrived back at Karasuno. "All right. Get your things and head straight to the gym for a meeting." Ukai announced.

"Right..."

"You totally drooled. Gross." Kageyama told Hinata.

"My drool isn't gross!" Hinata said.

"Oh, they're back."

Hideaki looked up to see Michimiya running towards them. "Congrats on making it to the finals!" She said.

"Oh, Michimiya." Daichi greeted. "How did you know?"

"They just announced it on the school announcements. That's amazing. The fact that you were able to beat Seijoh and made it to the finals is just... is just... Amazing! It's insane!" Michimiya complimented.

"Your lack of vocabulary is insane."

"Wait, what happened to your face?! That bruise!" Michimiya exclaimed, noticing Daichi's bruise from the WakaNan match.

"Yeah... It happened at the match today..." Daichi explained. "It looks a lot worse than it actually feels."

"I see..." Michimiya said.

"Hey, boys' volleyball team."

A shout from above got everyone's attention as they saw students waving at them out the window.

"That was amazing!"

"Congrats!"

"Hinata! Kageyama! Well done!"

"Sensei!" Hinata exclaimed.

"Thanks!" Kageyama shouted.

"I'm gonna cheer you on tomorrow!"

"You better win!"

"Do your best!"

"You guys all stayed late for us..." Daichi stated.

Michimiya suddenly gasped, getting Daichi's attention. "M-Sta Miyagi is gonna start!" She exclaimed as both Sugawara and Hinata gasped.

All of us were gathered in the teacher's lounge. "Today, the Sendai Municipal Gymnasium in Tomizawa hosted the quarterfinal and semifinals of the Miyagi prefecture qualifiers for the National High School Volleyball Tournament, otherwise known as the Spring Volleyball Tournament." The lady reporter announced.

"In the first match, Karasuno High School defeated the powerhouse school, Aoba Johsai High School, earning them a spot in the finals for the first time in years. Wow, that is certainly surprising. To think that Seijoh would be eliminated."

"Precisely. With Oikawa-kun at the lead, they are an extremely well-balanced team, so it's sad that we won't be seeing them in the finals." A male reporter agreed.

"Come on! Show us a little more!" Tanaka complained with irritation. "We actually won!"

"Yeah! Yeah!" Hinata agreed.

"Stop showing just Seijoh!" Nishinoya added.

"This happens every time." Tsukishima spoke up.

"The lost in the semifinals. What do you expect?" Daichi agreed.

"Next, we have the second round of the semifinals. In this match, the school garnering attention rightfully won, and moved towards the finals."

"Now the headliner arrives." Ukai commented.

"It would be Shiratorizawa Academy, that has won this tournament the last three years, but is led by Ushijima Wakatoshi, who has played for the under-19 national team. Looks like they had no problems winning straight through the semifinals."

"Yes. This year, they've gathered members that might just promise them victory at Nationals. I think we can expect great things from them." The male reporter added.

"It'll be interesting to see how high Karasuno can climb against the powerful Shiratorizawa Academy. You can watch the finals live on this channel, tomorrow at 11 AM. The match will determine the Miyagi Prefecture representative... Be sure not to miss it!"

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It was now dark as everyone was in the gym. "Now, then. We'll be going up against Shiratorizawa tomorrow, but... In the three years since Oikawa joined Aoba Johsai, they have never beaten Shiratorizawa. Not even once." Ukai explained.

"They are undoubtedly the undefeated champions. Of course, there's Ushijima, but there are plenty of others that are top in the prefecture. It's no fluke that they are top in the prefecture. Shiratorizawa is far stronger than you can even imagine. No one actually thinks we're going to win." Ukai continued.

"Huh? What is it, Hinata?"

"That doesn't matter!" Hinata declared as everyone turned to him. "I think..."

"Hey, don't talk to the coach like that!" Daichi warned.

"Oh, uh... I didn't mean it like that..." Hinata defended himself.

"Just say it." Ukai told him.

"R-Right." Hinata said as he stood up. "No one thought that we were going to beat Seijoh, either. That's why it doesn't matter... I think."

"Tomorrow, we're going to be the challengers again. Let's turn the tables on them." Ukai said.

"Right!"

"The fallen powerhouse. The flightless crows. There's no one to call you that anymore. Birds with the wind in their wings are flying across the great blue sky right now. And all of you should be able to make it!" Takeda informed as everyone stood up. "To the highest limit, to the farthest limit! Now, everyone. The time has come! Let's win tomorrow and make it to nationals!"

"Yeah!"

"All right. Now get home and go to bed so you aren't tired tomorrow." Ukai ordered.

"Right."

"All right, dismissed!" Daichi announced.

"Right!"

Hideaki felt his phone buzz in his pocket as he hummed and took it out, seeing a text from Oikawa.

Tōru 💙:
> Do you got time? Iwa-chan and I would like a talk with you.

Aki-chan:
Sure thing. <

Tōru 💙:
> Meet us outside of Aoba Johsai. We can walk home together.

Aki-chan:
I'll be there. <

Hideaki sighed as he wondered what Oikawa and Iwaizumi wanted to talk about. Though, he had a pretty good idea what it could be.

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Hideaki stood outside of Aoba Johsai, scrolling through his phone. "Aki-chan, you came." Oikawa greeted as Hideaki hummed.

"Of course I did. Now, let's get moving."

The three of them began walking home as Hideaki was in between Oikawa and Iwaizumi. Neither of them spoke a word to each other.

"You probably won't become truly happy until you're a geezer." Iwaizumi was the first to speak, breaking the silence.

"The hell?! What kind of curse is that?!" Oikawa exclaimed as Hideaki snorted.

"No matter what kind of tournaments you'll win, you'll never be completely satisfied. You'll be that annoying guy who chases volleyball together." Iwaizumi continued.

"You always have to throw an insult, don't you?" Oikawa asked.

"But keep going without a second thought." Iwaizumi said as the trio stopped walking. "I couldn't be prouder to have you as a partner, and you're the absolute best setter! Even if we end up on different teams, those facts will never change. But I'll still give it my all to defeat you."

"He's right you know, Tōru." Hideaki spoke up. "You may not be a genius, but who needs to be one when you got the natural skills."

"And you, Hajime." Hideaki pointed to Iwaizumi. "You're an amazing ace. Don't forget that."

"You two make me really happy." Hideaki continued, closing his eyes as he grabbed Oikawa and Iwaizumi, hugging them close. He sighed before opening his eyes once more.

"I know this isn't fair to my teammates. But you two are special to me."

Iwaizumi pulled away from the hawk-eyed male. "Gross. Don't hug us while you still reek." He insulted playfully while Oikawa snickered.

"Way to ruin a nice moment, Hajime!"

Later, Hideaki was cuddled up to Oikawa, who was running his fingers through Hideaki's black locks.

"I need you to promise me something, Aki-chan." Oikawa spoke up.

"What is it?" Hideaki questioned.

"Promise me that you'll give Ushiwaka hell and go to nationals for me. Can you do that, Aki-chan?" Oikawa asked.

Hideaki smiled. "Hear you loud and clear, Tōru." He answered, before sitting up and kissing Oikawa, as if sealing the promise.

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"But man... Who ever thought that Karasuno would make it to the finals?"

"They beat Seijoh, so maybe they're becoming a powerhouse again."

"Hey, speaking of..."

It was the days of the finals as Karasuno had walked up to the gymnasium. Hideaki looked up when he spotted Ushijima standing in front of the entrance.

"It's Ushiwaka." Sugawara commented.

Kageyama and Hinata stepped forward with confidence. "H-Hey!" Daichi called out.

"Hinata Shoyo. Kageyama Tobio." Ushijima greeted.

"We made it to the finals." Kageyama informed.

"We, who grew from the concrete, will beat you and go to nationals!" Hinata declared.

Hinata's statement made everyone on the team smile. "I look forward to it." Ushijima finally answered. "Let's meet on the court."

Ushijima then walked away. "Damn it..." Hinata mumbled as Kageyama looked at him. Hinata was shaking in excitement. "I wanna hurry up and fight him!"

"All right! We're gonna make it to the spring tournament, no matter what!" Daichi declared.

"Yeah!"

"Tōru... I'll keep my promise to you... I swear it!"

✰ 𝗘𝗡𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗪𝗢 ✰

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A/N: And that's a wrap up on season two! Thanks for reading!