XXVI

February 19th, 2021I know I do a lot of flashbacks, but it's really hard to write out matches and not make it seem boring. And also, Inarizaki is a National-level team, so it's really unrealistic that they'd be having trouble this early, but it'd be boring if they just won all their games.

You know that thing Haikyuu!! does where right in the middle of a match it starts showing flashbacks of the other team and their hopes and dreams and makes you scream, 'Who the heck do you want me to cheer for?!' I'm going to start doing that because I love it. Also, there are new characters introduced here. Hinosa and Tamiko are the characters' first names; because they refer to each other by their first names, I didn't want to make it confusing.

"Yes, Samu!" Isuma sighed in relief as he scored from the left. She could see their libero was starting to have to move more. Every receive he messed up seemed to make his team's mood more sullen. She was pleased things were turning around...

But part of her still felt bad for the other team. 'Isuma! Stop it; that's not your burden!'

Isuma shook her head and focused on their #5. His caution was significantly less, and he attacked more. Once or twice she saw him glancing at their libero, who was being forced to dart back and forth, diving for one receive or another. Their attacks were growing wild, with no sense of pattern. Akagi, though, wasn't moving nearly as much as Kamino's libero.

<<Flashback, just a random practice before this match>>

"Receives? But your receives are good, Michinari-san!" Isuma straightened, looking at him. Akagi rubbed his nape, thinking about what to say. "It's not exactly that... it's just that, in a game, I never know exactly where a spike or serve is going to land. I have a good idea of where it's aimed, but it's not precise. But during practice, I know exactly how Atsumu's going to serve. I know him and the others too well. So it's not the same. But you're different; you can do that thing with the ball, and I'm not used to your serves yet."

"...my serves aren't great, but okay." She nodded. "Thanks."

"What type of serve should I start with?" Isuma asked. Akagi tossed her a volleyball. "Can you do a spike serve? It doesn't have to be powerful."

"I can try." Isuma got ready at the line, and Akagi walked to the other end of the court and nodded. "Go on!"

She threw the volleyball up and hit it; it sailed over the net cleanly and then swerved suddenly, forcing Akagi to jump sideways to receive it. The volleyball bounced off his arms and hit the wall. Akagi straightened. "Again!"

Isuma served again, and this time the ball went right. For the next fifteen minutes Akagi dove, trying to receive her serves repeatedly. Finally, after perfectly receiving the volleyball, he wiped his forehead. "Let's take a break. You good?"

Isuma pulled her hair back, tying it. "I'm fine. You're getting better."

Akagi took a long drink of water. "Maybe. Thanks. Also... is there any chance you could do a jump spike serve?"

"Um... maybe. I've helped my brothers with them a lot, it shouldn't be that hard." Isuma didn't seem completely sure about it, and Akago noticed. "You don't have to; it's fine-"

"No, I can." Isuma nodded. "You need the practice, and no one else can do it."

She sounded more certain about it this time. Akagi hesitated. "If you say so. At least get Atsumu to help you through it, though."

Isuma glanced over at her brother, who was setting to the other second-years one at a time. "He's busy. *I'm* not the one who needs to practice."

"I'll do it."

Both of them turned around; Kita was standing behind them. Akagi said, "Shinsuke, I know your serves."

"I won't serve; I'll just help Isuma." He glanced at her, and she immediately looked down. "...thanks."

Akagi wanted to signal Kita to change his mind- kick him, punch him, or just whisper- but none of those were very discreet. He would have to later berate Kita about it. "Okay. Let's do it."

He got ready and watched as Kita talked to Isuma. "You have to throw the volleyball much higher than usual because you need to give yourself time to run up to the ball and jump. Since you're not trying to deliver a powerful serve, the way your hand hits it doesn't matter now. Try it."

Isuma held the volleyball out. "How do I throw it higher- and farther?"

"You have to position your arm differently." He hesitated before taking her arm and lifting it slightly. Isuma, surprisingly, didn't show any reaction. Akagi, who had stopped breathing when Kita had taken her arm, sighed in relief; he flashed a peace sign. "You got this!"

The other second-years had momentarily paused to watch her. Isuma threw the volleyball into the air and ran up and jumped; to their surprise, she had jumped almost as high as any of them. She hit it with her left hand and the volleyball flew over the net. It was strong, and Akagi, who'd been watching Isuma, had to hastily dive for it. He missed it by milliseconds. "...wow. That was good."

"Again!" Isuma grabbed another volleyball and did the same serve. Atsumu and the others watched, slightly impressed. Ginjima murmured, "She's really good."

"Stop making me feel guilty," Atsumu answered. "How'd she get that good?"

Suna and Ginjima both exchanged glances as if arguing whether or not to berate them about it or not. Suna asked, "You're saying that, over the years, you've never once watched her play volleyball?"

"...no. Not really," Osamu answered, wincing. Suna's eyes narrowed. "You two are the most insensitive, dense, and blind people I've ever met-"

Ginjima grabbed his arm to stop him. "Rin!!"

"No," Atsumu murmured. "We deserve it."

Suna, who'd been about to launch into another tirade of insults, stopped in surprise. "...she's helped us practice for years. In elementary school, she used to come to the same practice as us. And then in middle school... that's when it was divided into girls and boys volleyball, so she stopped-"

"Hey." They looked up to see Kita standing in front of them. "Stop the guilt session and get to work."

"Yes, sir!" They hastily resumed their positions as Kita watched. "Farther back, Osamu."

"-back?" Osamu asked. Kita answered, "Your approach time isn't getting any faster. Work on it."

"Sure." Kita turned back towards Akagi and Isuma. Akagi was starting to pick up Isuma's random serves. "One more, Isuma!!"

After practice that day, Akagi approached Kita. "You're lucky she didn't jump away from you."

Kita understood what he meant. "I wouldn't have done it if I thought she would."

"-you knew she wouldn't?" Akagi raised his eyebrows. "I told you. She's a lot different when she's focusing on a volleyball. You've noticed too, haven't you?" Kita smiled slightly before lifting his bag and walking out of the gym. Akagi paused briefly and then hastily followed. "Hey! That doesn't mean you can just-"

He stopped himself- again. Kita asked, "What?"

Akagi wanted to say it more than ever. But he couldn't. "...nothing."

<<Back to Present>>

On the court, Akagi closed his eyes briefly in a silent thanks to Isuma. 'Thanks, Isuma-chan. I owe you.'

He was getting faster at reacting at the random spikes- but still, it was frustrating. Akagi was the only one quick enough to react and perfectly receive the volleyball. The others were still falling for Kamino's lured and distractions occasionally. "...what're we going to do?" Ginjima asked. Kita murmured, "I'm thinking. Give me a minute."

Just then, the referee blew his whistle. "Kamino Academy has called for a time-out!"

"This early?!" Kosaku and Ginjima asked together. Once everyone had gathered around at the bench, they all looked at Isuma and Kita. "So, we have their libero under stress. That's why they called for a time-out. What next?"

"Next we need to find a way for the rest of you to receive their spikes." Kita glanced at Isuma. "...why are you looking at me?"

"You're better at this than the rest of us, Suma-chan," Atsumu responded, raising his eyebrows slightly. "Well?"

Isuma looked down. "...watch the setter closely from now on. He's usually going to set where it looks like he's going to set. He's not like the others. He can't suddenly switch to a different plan. And with their libero busy... I think he'll take charge."

"...why didn't he do that earlier, when it became clear that they were falling behind?" Suna asked. Isuma answered, "That's the reason they called for a time-out, isn't it? Look over at them for a second."

They all glanced over; their libero was on the bench, talking to the others urgently, but he was mainly focused on their setter. "See? They're going to be playing differently from now on. Switching things up so fast is going to make them uneasy."

"...but we don't know how they're going to play," Ginjima said. Isuma tilted her head. "Yes, we do."

Everyone looked back at her so fast she was startled. "We do?!"

"...that's why I couldn't help you that much earlier. When Yuto and I went to watch them play, it was their setter who was seeing for them." Isuma glanced at Kosaku. "Remember that setter dump?"

"Yeah, but..." Kosaku trailed off. "You didn't mention it."

"What if we can't counter him?" Osamu replied. "What's your point?" She glanced at her brothers, her gaze so sharp they both swallowed. "You're saying you were having trouble countering them earlier?"

"No!" they both hastily protested. She looked at them doubtfully but didn't call it on them. Akagi coughed. "Moving on..."

"Let's try that." Kita nodded.

On the other side of the court, Yoshi and the others had finished talking. Hinosa, their libero, felt tired yet impressed. "No one's ever figured out our strategy that fast, have they, Tamiko-chan?"

Their setter, Tamiko, glanced at Hinosa. "You aren't worried?"

"Oh, I am. But if they can figure it out that fast, then they deserve to beat us." Hinosa stood up, looking over at the Inarizaki team. Tamiko murmured, "Not that beating us is a big deal."

"...who the heck is the girl?" Hinosa asked. "I haven't seen her before."

"I saw her earlier." Niso, their captain said. "She's their new manager."

After a moment, Tamiko asked, "How do you think they found out? We haven't played Inarizaki for years."

"I'm betting it has something to do with those two." Yoshi's eyes landed on Kita and Isuma, who were explaining something to the team together. "Their captain... he's like me, right? He's not a starter." Niso said. Hinosa hit the back of his head. "That's because you had to go and hurt yourself, idiot."

Tamiko looked back at them. "Those two are the brains of Inarizaki. I'm sure they're the ones who plan everything out."

"Maybe it's not him. After all, Kita's been on their team for three years and we've never seen anything like that from him." Niso stood up. "Maybe it's just the girl. You said she was new."

"She's the Miyas' sister." Everyone whipped around to look at Yoshi. "She is?!"

"You can't tell? Just look at her eyes. She looks just like them." Everyone turned back to look at Isuma. "Nope. Don't see it."

"Trust me, she does. I saw them when they were coming in. These two guys next to me were talking about her and she and her brothers looked back. They had the same look in their eyes." Yoshi looked up at the referee just as he blew his whistle. Niso sighed. "Tamiko, you take the lead this time."

Hinosa slapped Tamiko's back. "Taking my position, huh?"

"Shut up... it's not for long." Tamiko mumbled. Hinosa laughed. "Come on. It's your time to shine."

Three minutes after they'd resumed, things had evidently changed. Both teams were trying to get used to the change in style- and Inarizaki was doing a much better job at handling it than Tamiko had thought they would. 'How did they adapt so easily...? Sure, our early time-out may have tipped them off, but that didn't tell them our entire strategy, did it? This is a totally different style- MY style. Hinosa-chan's technique is completely different. Our team can play either one, although it takes us a few minutes to shift. We're not even completely ready, and yet they're already countering us?'

Yoshi suddenly scored from the left, and everyone sighed in relief rather than celebrating. Hinosa came up beside Tamiko, who couldn't move. His feet were stuck to the floor, and his skin was cold. "Tamiko-chan."

"I can't. They're a National-level team; I can't lead us." Tamiko sank to his knees, overwhelmed. Concerned, Hinosa held up a hand, signaling to the referee and their coach, who started to stand up but stopped when Hinosa motioned him to stay. Hinosa dropped next to Tamiko. "What's wrong? Hey-"

"We can't win while I'm leading us, Hinosa. I- our team needs you. I'm not like you. I'm not aggressive or anything; whenever I'm leading, our defense is low too-"

Hinosa stopped him. "Tamiko-chan. We need you right now. Your technique is our secret weapon. Even if they've seen through it, they can't know the power it has. Use that. You don't need to be aggressive."

He was concerned: Tamiko hadn't been like this for years. He never showed his concerns or worries about anything, yet here he was, letting all his emotions out. Was it because... of their opponent? Hinosa couldn't pretend that he hadn't been worried even at the start of their game, but Inarizaki wasn't even at full power right now. Something was up with their #5, and their captain wasn't even playing. And their band, the one that everyone at Nationals was wary of, wasn't there to stress them out. The pressure must've been greater on Tamiko than he'd thought.

Hinosa looked up: everyone in the gym was watching the two of them. He reached out and placed his hand on Tamiko's shoulder. "Tamiko-chan, listen. Maybe we can't win. But right now, I don't care about the result. I care about the effort. Don't you remember?"

<<Flashback, 8 years ago>>

"Hey, Tamiko-chan!!" Hinosa exclaimed, running over to him. Tamiko was on the grass under a tree, reading his book. He flinched slightly at Hinosa's enthusiastic voice. "Oni-san..."

"Don't call me that, Tami-Chan!" he said, amused. "It makes me feel like I should be a good role model to you or something." Hinosa sat down next to him, lowering his voice. "You want to join us?"

"...you know I'm not good with other people." Tamiko closed his book, looking up. "You have to get out sometimes, Tamiko-chan. Come on, it'll be fine! Please?" Hinosa looked at him hopefully, and Tamiko hesitated. "...with other people?"

"If you don't want to, then just the two of us can practice!" Hinosa offered. Tamiko finally nodded. "Okay."

"Really? Thanks!" Hinosa pulled him up and backed away, tossing him the volleyball. "Say, Tamiko-chan... what position would you want to play?"

"Um... I don't know." Tamiko received the volleyball a little shakingly. "A safe one."

Hinosa laughed. "A safe one?"

"...one where I wouldn't have to receive a lot." Tamiko's fingers pushed off the volleyball and it flew towards Hinosa in a high arc perfectly. Hinosa jumped sideways to receive it. "Then be a setter!"

"A setter?" Tamiko shook his head. "Setters are in charge of the court, Hinosa. They have to lead the rest of their team during a game. They control the wing spikers and middle blockers. They all sync with the setter. I couldn't be one."

"If you don't want to, then that's fine. But I think you'd be a good setter and leader." Hinosa replied, throwing up the ball. He jumped up and attempted to spike it, but missed. He collapsed on the ground, groaning. "Hino-chan!!" Tamiko ran over, concerned. He helped him sit up and hastily made sure he wasn't injured. "Are you alright?"

"It's nothing. That happens every day." Hinosa rubbed his knees and elbows, which were red. His palms were shredded and had blood on them. Tamiko answered, "You shouldn't jump around like that outside. You'll keep getting hurt."

"You don't need to worry." Hinosa suddenly smiled. Tamiko tilted his head. "What?"

"You called me Hino-chan. You never do that." Hinosa stood up. Still on the ground, Tamiko murmured. "You're my only friend."

Hinosa's smile slowly faded. "Tami-chan..."

He sat back down on the grass. "...listen, Tami-chan. I'm a year ahead of you in school. I'll be in middle school in a few months, and then you the next year. I won't always be here. You have to start getting along with people. Please? I don't like seeing you alone at school."

"...I know people at school. I talk to them. I just... don't want to be friends with them." Tamiko got to his feet. "You don't need to worry for me, Hinosa. Come on."

He held out his hand to help Hinosa up. "Let's go."

<<Tamiko's first year of middle school, their first practice>>

At the first practice of the school year, the coach for their middle school went down the line of students, asking them all their names and positions. The second- and third- years were lined up behind them, watching. Hinosa looked up when the coach got to Tamiko. "And what's your name?"

"Altan Tamiko." He answered, his arms behind his back. "When did you start playing volleyball?"

"My first year of elementary school." He replied. The others looked impressed. "That early?"

"And what position do you play?" Tamiko met Hinosa's eyes, who raised his eyebrows, wanting to know what he would say. Tamiko looked at the coach for the first time. "I'm a setter."Hinosa's eyes widened slightly; had Tamiko remembered what he'd told him over a year ago? The coach nodded in approval. "I see. Hinosa, you said you know Altan?"

"-yes, sir!" Hinosa hastily straightened. "I know him."

The coach glanced at him but didn't say anything.

Tamiko became their official setter as a first-year. In middle school, both of them refined their skills and grew. With Hinosa's help, Tamiko turned into an amazing leader on the court during the three years he spent in middle school. As a libero, Hinosa couldn't be a captain, but even so, he rivaled Tamiko as a leader. Tamiko learned everything he could from his senpai- so, in his second year of high school, he didn't think his old personality could come back. The one that'd been reluctant to be a setter. To lead.

But it came back.

So... I'm betting 80% of you have already started shipping Hinosa and Tamiko😭 I imagine them with a brotherly relationship (so what they have lol,) but you do you. I love their characters and personalities a lot, so they're probably going to come up again later, especially Tamiko. I feel like he and Isuma would get along really well. I wrote extra cause the last two parts were shorter than usual. Thanks for 39K!💖