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

edited on june 12th, 2021 @ 7:08am

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CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO - THE THIRD DAY

REI'S MIND WAS QUIET. EMOTIONLESS. When he had arrived home, that's when everything came rushing to him. They lost. His team lost and they were off the court just like that. What made it even worse was that he lost to his junior high teammate. He got up and put on his school uniform, getting ready for the day.

"Today, Haya-kun and Kawa-kun are facing off against each other." Rei thought. He looked at his orange jersey that was hanging on his closet door knob.

"To think that the match against Aoba Johsai could've been my last match with my seniors. Will Daichi, Suga, and Asahi really retire early and leave the mantle up to the second-years and us first-years? I'm not even sure any of us are ready for that responsibility." Rei noted in his head.

He just sighed to himself and looked away from his jersey, before grabbing his school bag and his phone before heading out of his apartment.

Rei arrived at school as he walked through the first year hallway with his head low. Nobody went up to question him. Then again, his presence was low, so he was used to rarely being noticed by his peers.

To be honest, he did think about staying home, but he didn't like the thought of him lying in bed all day. He needed to do something to get his mind off of the lost his team suffered against Aoba Johsai. It was finally break time at school as people chatted amongst their friends. Rei could tell that Yachi was looking at him with concern, but didn't say anything as she figured he needed some time alone.

"Wonder how the others are taking it..." Rei thinks to himself but then scoffed. "Of course, they probably feel like shit." He added as his mind wandered to the thought of Kageyama and Hinata. "I feel like those two are really taking this lost to heart... or they're the most effected by it."

Rei sighed as he stayed in his seat, opening up his bag to take out his lunch. He took out his bento and looked at his black volleyball jacket.

The black haired male looked up to see his blonde haired friend looking at him worriedly as she took a seat across from him.

"Sorry for being in a sour mood today, Toka." Rei apologized.

"It's fine, Rei. It has something to do with volleyball, right? I-I know I don't have much knowledge of the sport, but you can always talk to me." Yachi told him.

Rei smiled. "Thanks, Toka." He said then sighed. "We lost against Aoba Johsai in the Inter-High. Our seniors tried so hard to get where we were at. Only for us to lose in the end."

"W-Well, sometimes you gotta lose to improve, right?" Yachi questioned. "You learn from your mistakes, you find out what you did wrong, and you fix them. S-Sorry! That didn't make any sense!"

Rei chuckled. "No, Toka. You make a good point. No wonder you're in Class 5." He said. Yachi blushed at this.

"Thanks for that. I really needed an eye opener."

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It was the afternoon, with school now being officially over. However, Rei didn't go home. Instead, he went to the gym. He had a feeling that the others would be there, even though it was their day off.

Rei opened the door, only to be met with the second years as well as Hinata, Kageyama, Tsukishima, and Yamaguchi.

"Shiro!" Hinata exclaimed.

"Yo." Rei greeted, holding up a peace sign.

"Now all we need are the third-years." Nishinoya spoke as Rei noticed him and Tanaka were all dirty.

"But we didn't even have club scheduled today." Ennoshita said as Tanaka went over to him.

"Hey, hey, hey! You know the third-years would never retire!" Tanaka exclaimed.

"He didn't even say that though..." Rei sweat dropped at his upperclassman.

"Huh? What do you mean? No way..." Hinata gasped as he turned to Kiyoko. "The third-years are staying in the club, right? They're still going to Spring Nationals, right?"

Rei faintly heard footsteps approaching the gym and panting. "Oh, no, hurry!" Sugawara's voice called out. Rei smiled when he saw the three third years running inside.

"That's right. They still are." Kiyoko smiles at Hinata.

Tanaka went over to the third years. "You're late." He announced.

"Let's go to Spring Nationals." Sugawara said.

"All right!"

Everyone was practicing their spikes. That is, until the gym door opened, revealing Ukai who looked at them with shock.

"Afternoon, sir!"

Ukai blinked but walked in with a smile. "Why, you guys are doing fine." He said as everyone rushed over to him. "Please coach us once again!" Daichi exclaimed as he bowed as the team followed.

"Thank you!"

Ukai smirked and told everyone to sit down in front of him. "We lost in a game to determine the superior team. Seijoh was tough. We were inferior to them. That is the current result, and the reality." Ukai spoke as everyone stayed silent.

"So, the winner of today's Inter-High final... was..." Ukai spoke as he stared at the team.

"...Shiratorizawa."

TWEEET!

The whistle blew, indicating the match was over between Shiratorizawa and Aoba Johsai. Shiratorizawa had 25 points with Aoba Johsai being at 23.

Hayashi looked up at his former captain, his mismatched eyes staring back at him.

"You should know, Shou." The red head began. "That I'll always win in the end."

"Kawamuracchi..." Hayashi growled in his mind.

Rei was in shock. "Seijoh..." Hinata mumbled with his eyes wide.

"...lost?" Kageyama added, also surprised.

"There's a team that beats Seijoh without leaving our own prefecture. We have to be stronger. I'm sure you already know our next objective: The Spring Nationals. Obviously, this will be the final game for the third-year students." Ukai informed.

"Okay, now let's have a word of motivation from your captain."

Everyone stared at Daichi as he himself look taken aback, but he sighs softly and stood up. "It's a venue that Karasuno has only been to once. The Orange Court, Tokyo! And we're going there once again!" Daichi announced turning to stare at his team.

"All right!" Everyone yelled, it made Rei jump as some of his teammates, such as Hinata and Nishinoya had literally jumped in the air.

"Take five!" Ukai announced for them to take a break.

"Yes, sir!"

Everyone headed to the side to grab some towels and water. Rei gulped down his drink, thinking about Hayashi.

"Haya-kun..." Rei thought. "He went against Kawa-kun, and lost. Just how strong has he gotten since he went to Shiratorizawa?"

As if on cue, Rei's phone buzzed. He searched his bag for it as he turned it on, seeing a text from the blonde he was thinking about.

Hayashi:
> We need to talk.

Rei quickly sent him a reply.

Oshiro:
I'm at practice right now. But we can meet at a nearby park later. <

"Okay, break time's up!"

Rei placed his phone back in his bag. "Yes, sir!" Everyone shouted as they continued practice.

"Time for spike practice!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Here goes!" Nishinoya announced, holding up the volleyball as him and Rei help throw volleyballs into the air.

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It was late at night as Rei was at the park where he was meeting up with Hayashi. "Sorry, did you wait long?" Rei turned around to see the blonde still in his volleyball jacket with his hands stuffed in the pockets.

"No. I just got here."

Hayashi sighed as he looked at Rei. "We lost." He said. Rei paused at his words. He knew he was talking about the match. He shouldn't really be surprised since he already know, but to hear it come from the blonde's mouth still shocked him.

"Now I understand how you felt, when you lost to my team." Hayashi continued. "I was on the court. Defeated. Just like you were. Oikawa-san had to tell me it wasn't my fault."

Rei stayed silent. "Kawamuracchi... he's a monster." Hayashi continued as he clenched his fist. "Between him and Ushijima, we couldn't stop them. No matter how much we tried."

"Winning meant everything to him back in Jindai. Shiratorizawa was the obvious choice for him. They value winning, too." Rei said. "Just has strong has he gotten since then, Haya-kun?"

"He's much stronger than before." Hayashi responded. "He was able to put his teammates into the Zone at the last minute, boosting up their power. It's no wonder he's such an important player to Shiratorizawa even as a first-year."

Rei clenched his fist. "If even Seijoh can't stop Kawa-kun, what makes me think that Karasuno can?" He thinks to himself. "Sure, we have strong and talented players, but what happens if we end up facing off against Shiratorizawa in a match? Can we really go to Spring Nationals with Kawa-kun on their team?"

Meanwhile, a red head was sitting by the window wearing his Shiratorizawa volleyball jacket. His teammates were talking about the upcoming nationals while he just stared out the window.

"You alright, Kawamura?" His teammate and fellow first-year, Goshiki, asked him.

"I'm fine, Tsutomu. Just thinking about things." The red head answered. Goshiki just nodded in understanding, not saying anything more. Surprisingly, Goshiki and the red head got along well. Considering they were the only first-year regulars on the team.

The former Jindai captain looked back out the window. "Oshiro Rei... Never would I have thought that you would go to Karasuno. The question is, why are you wasting your talent on a fallen powerhouse?"

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A/N: And that wraps up season one! I'm gonna be beginning season two soon! Hope you enjoyed!

Word Count: 1656 words.