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

edited on november 1st, 2020 @ 10:38pm

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CHAPTER SIX - FORMIDABLE OPPONENTS

HIDEAKI WAS IN THE GYM along with the rest of the team as they were doing some practice. Hideaki had already completed his serves that they all had to do. Right now, it was Hinata who was the last one to do his.

"Back follow! Get in there!"

Hideaki snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Ukai yell, "Don't just stand there and watch." Ukai scolds Hinata.

"I'm sorry." Hinata apologized.

"'This is my last chance.' Always tell yourself that." Ukai informed as Kiyoko handed Ukai a volleyball. "Give it all you got." Ukai added as he spikes down as Hinata went to save it but failed.

"If you don't, the one you wasted could cost you the match!" Ukai exclaimed down at the orange haired first year. Hideaki couldn't help but recall last night when they got back from being defeated by Nekoma.

"Everyone, you all did a good job in today's matches against Nekoma. Inter-High preliminaries begin next month on June 2nd." Takeda spoke up.

"There are no district preliminaries in Miyagi, so we go straight to prefectural preliminaries. Out of about 60 teams in the prefecture, only one will go to Nationals. Lose one match and the journey ends. If you want to take revenge on Nekoma, you must take first place in Miyagi. There's no other way. Second place won't cut it." Ukai explained.

"Of course, they'll have to win the battle to represent Tokyo, as well." Ukai smirked.

"Those guys can do it." Tanaka assured as Nishnoya nodded.

"Yeah. They're strong." He added.

"Another match against Nekoma..." Hideaki thought, as he narrowed his eyes in determination at the thought.

Hideaki watched as Ukai spikes down the ball to Hinata who somewhat saves it. Hinata falls down. "Nice, Hinata." Tanaka exclaimed proudly.

"Get up quickly. One more." Ukai ordered.

"Yes, thank you." Hinata shouted back, quickly getting up to save more volleyballs.

The team practiced longer, working on their serves, spikes, and sets. It was hard work but hopefully it would be worth it.

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It was the end of practice, as Hideaki noticed it was dark outside now. He gave Kageyama his water bottle as he thanked him and starts gulping it down.

"You're right. That's amazing." Hideaki heard Nishinoya exclaim, making everyone turn to him. Nishinoya, Tanaka, and Sugawara were sitting together looking at a magazine.

"The picture's huge."

"Yeah!"

"What, what?"

Hinata, Kageyama, and Asahi all walked over as did Hideaki who gasps when he looks down at the magazine. "What? What's that?" Hinata asked.

"Look." Tanaka says holding the magazine to Hinata who takes the magazine to read it.

"Shiratorizawa's Ushiwaka is among three most-noticed high schoolers in the whole country." Tanaka informed.

"Shiratorizawa! That's where Kageyama couldn't get in." Hinata gasped at this. Hideaki held back his laugh.

"Shut up!" Kageyama hissed.

"Who's Ushiwaka?" Hinata suddenly asked, making everyone raise an eyebrow at him. It was pretty rare for someone in the volleyball community to not know who Ushiwaka is.

"You don't know?" Tanaka questioned.

"That's because you're only a fan of the Little Giant." Sugawara chuckled softly.

"Let me tell you about Ushiwaka. He's unmistakably the number one ace of our prefecture: Ushijima Wakatoshi." Tanaka announced.

Daichi walked over and looked at the picture. "Hmm. He definitely has "ace" written all over him." He commented as everyone looked at Hideaki who raised an eyebrow.

"Tch, now that's just rude, Daichi." Hideaki commented as he scoffed. "My boyfriend constantly talks about him. It gets annoying."

"You have a boyfriend, senpai?" Nishinoya asked as everyone was shocked with this news. They didn't know their ace was dating someone. Though, Kageyama had a good suspicion that he knew who it was.

"Yeah, he goes to a different school. So you've never met him." Hideaki replied as his team nodded in understanding.

"Anyway, Kageyama, you were trying to get into a place with guys like this?" Sugawara asked with interest.

"And you were going to yell at the super high school ace, "Move faster, clumsy oaf!" and stuff, right?" Tanaka teased making Kageyama flustered.

"I wouldn't say that." Kageyama denied.

"If we don't defeat him, we can't play against Nekoma." Hinata commented.

"Hey, hey, Shiratorizawa isn't the only formidable opponent." Ukai spoke as he walked over.

"Would the others be last year's best four?" Sugawara asked.

"Yes, but there are other formidable opponents this year." Ukai noted as he takes out a paper from his pocket to read the names of the volleyball teams.

"There's Wakutani Minami, which has superior defence and coordination."

"Date Tech is also known as the Iron Wall, which says it all. That team has the highest blocking rate in the country." Ukai informed as Hideaki went silent.

"If I recall, we lost to Dateko 2-0 in the prefectural tournament last March." Ukai stated. The third years stayed silent.

"I hear there's a second year named Aone who is particularly dangerous. Dateko is as strong as the other best four teams, but they lost their third-round match against the eventual champions, Shiratorizawa, and only made the best sixteen." Ukai explained.

"That's why they weren't seeded this year. In other words, depending on the matchups, we might or might not play against them in the first round. And the next one... oh yeah." Ukai spoke as he turned the pages. "I heard we recently had a practice match against them. The team's top attacker is their setter, and of course he's also the supreme setter. Their team's ranks include perhaps one of the best all-round players in the prefecture. Oikawa Tōru at Aoba Johsai."

Kageyama tensed a little at the mention of Oikawa. "The Great King!" Hinata exclaimed.

"So they have met Tōru..." Hideaki thought. "This might cause some problems for me. That trash better not expose our relationship to them."

"They were in last year's best four. Last, but not least... the defending champions, Shiratorizawa, and their super-ace Ushijima Wakatoshi. That about sums it up." Ukai said as the team kept silent, taking the information in.

"I'll save the details for later." Ukai informed, as Hideaki looked over at Daichi and Sugawara who were happy about something. "You guys are thinking something disrespectful about me, aren't you?" Ukai asked with annoyance in his voice.

Sugawara and Daichi just shook their heads. "Anyway. Those are the top four contenders this year. However, if you look up instead of straight ahead, we could lose our footing. There's no team that enters a tournament to lose. They all enter to win. While we frantically train, others will be frantically training. Weak or strong, they're all aiming to win. Don't forget that." Ukai states to the team.

"And... Don't let them call us 'Unflying Crows' ever again." Ukai announced as everyone nodded in determination.

"Yeah." Everyone shouted in unison.

Suddenly, the door swings open to reveal Takeda running in. "I'm glad you're all still here. Sorry I'm late. The meeting went long. However... Here it is. The matchups for the Inter-High preliminaries." Takeda informed as he hands them the paper.

Everyone looked at the paper. "If we win the first round, we might play against Dateko, assuming they also win." Hideaki commented, looking at the sheet.

"But that's not all... Aoba Johsai is one of the seeds in our block." Tsukishima informed.

"For real?" Tanaka commented as he looked over at the sheet. Hideaki noticed Kageyama and Hinata look determined and slightly fearful of the fact.

"Hey. Don't forget what I just said. If all you do is look up..." Ukai scolded them but Daichi assured him.

"We know." He said as Daichi looked back down at the sheet. "The first round match... I promise we'll win it." Daichi declared as the team all stared at Ukai in the eyes.

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Throughout the school day was normal. Hideaki sat on his desk in Class 3-5. He was currently on lunch as he unlocked his phone and went to a certain contact.

Aki-chan:
Meet me at the front of Aoba Johsai's entrance. I'm on lunch break right now. Also, bring Hajime. <

Tōru 💙:
> Skipping school for me are you, Aki-chan? Didn't think you were the type.

Aki-chan:
Shut it, trash. It's important. <

Tōru 💙:
> Rude, Aki-chan, rude! You hang out with Iwa-chan too much :(

Hideaki sighed as he turned his phone off and grabbed his black gakuran that was hanging from his chair and put it on him. He exited his classroom and rushed down the third-year hallway to the entrance of the school. Unaware that Daichi watched him rush by when he was talking with Michimiya.

"Where's he going off too in such a rush?" Daichi thinks to himself.

Hideaki finally arrived at Aoba Johsai as he got weird looks from the students. He was in a different uniform, so it was obvious he didn't go there. He spotted Oikawa and Iwaizumi.

"What did you need that was so important, Aki-chan?" Oikawa asked.

"Did you two see the matchups for the Inter-High?" Hideaki questioned.

Iwaizumi nodded. "It seems we're in the same block as Karasuno." He replied.

Hideaki glared at Oikawa. "Listen here, Tōru. I wasn't aware that my team met you. Something about you guys having a practice match with them or something." He said. "They're unaware that I'm dating you. So you better keep your mouth shut."

"All right, Aki-chan, all right! Not a word!" Oikawa said.

"If I may ask, why don't you want your team to know about your relationship?" Iwaizumi questioned.

"Well, if you haven't noticed, they hate Tōru's guts. I don't want them to think I'm betraying them or something." Hideaki replied. "Ah, shit. I gotta head back to Karasuno. Lunch break is almost over."

Hideaki pecked his boyfriend's lips. "I love you, Tōru. Don't hold back and don't be a sore loser when Karasuno kicks your ass." He said.

"Rude, Aki-chan, rude!" Oikawa complained. "Same goes for you."

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"Hinata, you jump in as usual." Ukai announced as everyone trained.

"Yes." Hinata replied back as everyone did what they were told to do by Ukai. It soon got dark, but the team continued their practice for a little longer.

"Good job." Daichi announced as everyone just repeated what he said. Hideaki waited in line as Kageyama was gonna do some tosses. Hideaki watched as Hinata spikes down the ball Sugawara sets for him. Hideaki was impressed. He definitely could make a good ace.

"Nice, Hinata. Awesome, awesome." Sugawara praises the first year who beams, soon Kageyama tossed to Hideaki who spiked it down with power.

"Izuki-san, how was that toss? Was it too high? Too low? How was it?" Kageyama questioned, making the third year sigh at him.

"Oh, um... yeah, it was fine." He assured but Kageyama being Kageyama, wasn't giving up.

"If you have criticism, no matter how minor, tell me everything." Kageyama begged. "I'll fix it!"

"I see... then... maybe a little higher?" Hideaki replied as Kageyama nods in determination. "And a little further away from the net."

"Understood. Ten more spikes, please."

"What?"

"Is it not enough? Then twenty spikes."

"No, that's not what I meant..."

Hideaki sighed at his junior. "He shouldn't be nervous around me. He's known me since junior high. Perhaps its because Tōru had set to me throughout junior high. But even then, once I got to high school, I didn't judge Suga based off his tosses."  He thinks to himself.

"Hey, stragglers. Let's wrap it up." Daichi called out.

"Right."

Hideaki saw Kageyama and Hinata run around the gym, mopping the floor like it was a competition. He picked up some stray volleyballs to put away.

Once everyone was done, Daichi took the team to Ukai's store to get them pork buns. "One per person." Daichi told everyone, giving them each a pork bun. For Hideaki it was ramen.

"Thanks."

"Let's eat and then go home." Daichi added as Hideaki placed the ramen in his mouth.

Hideaki wasn't really that big of a fan of pork buns, so Daichi had always brought him ramen. "I'm shocked that he remembered." Hideaki thought.

"Hey, Tsukishima." Tanaka greeted to the blonde who walks over. "Daichi bought us pork buns." Tanaka added, giving the bag to Tsukishima who takes it.

"Oh, thanks." He responded. Hideaki looked around, noticing that Yamaguchi wasn't with him.

"Isn't Yamaguchi with you?" Hideaki asked.

"He said he had stuff to do. He left before I did." Tsukishima answered.

"It's weird seeing Tsukishima without Yamaguchi. From what I've seen so far, that guy follows him around like a lost puppy." Hideaki thought.

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Throughout the time, everyone was training. Hideaki practiced his serving, spiking, and receiving. Sugawara was learning signals that he gave to the first years. So that when he is on the court, they'll know what to do.

They were then at the All School Sports Club Pep Rally. Hideaki was standing next to Sugawara. Hinata was shaking like a leaf being up on stage with everyone watching as the rest of the team just stood in the back as Daichi gave the school a speech.

Hideaki noticed Tanaka try to sneakily hold up the peace sign but Sugawara noticed and lightly slapped it down, making Hideaki hold back a laugh.

Each day went by, getting closer and closer to the Inter-High preliminaries. The team were out the gym, washing their hands and such at the taps. Hideaki looked over to see Daichi staring up at the sky.

Hideaki walked over, not saying a word as he also looked up. It was a full moon, with stars sparkling in the sky. It made Hideaki smile. The rest of the team did the same, staring up at the night sky.

"Good job!" Everyone yelled as they all gathered around in the gym with Ukai, Takeda, and Kiyoko staring at them in the front. Tomorrow was the Inter-High preliminaries.

"Go home and sleep early tonight." Ukai ordered.

"Yeah."

"Okay, that'll do it." Daichi spoke but then Takeda interrupted him.

"Just a second. One more thing. Shimizu?" Takeda said, gesturing to Kiyoko as the team stared in surprise, wondering what she had to say to them.

"I'm good at cheering, but..." She said as she runs off and made her way to the second level of the gym, as the team watched her in confusion. "Sensei, if you will?" Kiyoko spoke.

"Leave it to me." Takeda told her.

Hideaki watched as Takeda and Kiyoko go to the high level, dragging something. "What's going on?" Nishinoya mumbled in question.

"One, two..." Takeda counted. Suddenly, Kiyoko and Takeda threw down a black banner over the rails.

On the black banner it just had one single but powerful word.

Fly.

The team gasped in amazement. "I didn't know we had that." Sugawara commented.

"I found it while cleaning, so I washed it." Kiyoko informed as Nishinoya and Tanaka get fired up.

"I'm getting fired up!" Tanaka exclaimed.

"That's our Kiyoko! Great job!" Noya exclaims as well.

"All right! Let's get fired up!"

"Wait."

Daichi stops the two from yelling and such. "She's... not done." Daichi said as everyone looked at Kiyoko with curiosity. "Do..." Kiyoko started to say, but paused. She blushed.

"Do your best."

Kiyoko looks down at the team as they all watched in silence as she ran off. The whole gym was silent. Hideaki had tears in his eyes, along with Sugawara, Asahi, Daichi, Nishinoya, and Tanaka, making the first years jump back in shock.

"Shimizu! No one ever did anything like this for us before!" Daichi cried. Nishinoya and Tanaka cried in silent, as they didn't move.

"Those guys... they're speechless." Tsukishima stated, freaked out.

"They usually never shut up." Yamaguchi added.

The third and second years cried out louder. "You're all out of control!" Tsukishima exclaimed as they all calmed down.

"We're going to win the first round for sure!" Daichi yelled as everyone nodded. Tanaka also lifts up Nishinoya like that scene in the Lion King.

"Yeah!"

"We have the strength of a hundred men!"

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

Word Count: 2720 words.