A/N: Hello, readers! Well, here it is! Enjoy the chapter!

TW: Panic attack.

edited on march 3rd, 2021 @ 9:53pm

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CHAPTER SIXTEEN - REMOVING THE LONELY KING

HIDEAKI CRINGED EVERY TIME HE heard Seijoh's cheering squad from the stands. "Why is it always the powerhouse teams that have the most annoying cheers?" Hideaki thought, drinking his water.

"Hey, you guys are amazing, Hinata, Kageyama!" Nishinoya grinned, patting the two on their heads as Karasuno smiled at them. Hideaki just took a deep breath. He had to concentrate on the game if Karasuno had any chance of winning.

TWEEEET!

"Let's go!"

"Yeah!"

Karasuno headed onto the court, ready to win. It was Hideaki's turn to serve as he bounced the ball up and down. Sugawara and the rest of his teammates were yelling encouraging words out to him, but he blocked them out, needing to focus on the game.

Hideaki looked up and stared at Oikawa, who narrowed his eyes at him in concentration. Hideaki soon tossed the ball up and ran forward, spiking the volleyball only for it to get saved, making him growl lowly.

Aoba Johsai jumped up to spike, but Karasuno blocked it, or at least, Hinata got a one-touch. "Chance ball!" Nishinoya announced as he received the ball back in the air, Hinata charges over and Kageyama tosses the ball to him as Hinata had spiked it down, Aoba Johsai's libero dived down to save it, sending the ball back up.

"Chance ball!" Daichi exclaimed as he saved the ball and sends it back up.

"One more ball!" Hinata announced running forward, Kageyama did the usual toss, but Hinata's spike was saved by the libero once more. Hideaki starts to get anxious, wanting to win this set and the game.

Hinata runs back to Asahi's side to help him block, the duo jumped up to block but Hinata gets a one touch.

"Nice one-touch!" Daichi yelled as he sends the ball back up.

"One more time!" Hinata exclaimed to Kageyama.

Iwaizumi scowled a little as Hideaki sees him following his junior. "I know you're getting the toss, so I ain't gonna leave you unmmarked!" Iwaizumi announced. Hideaki widened his eyes when he saw that Hinata was trying to delay the jump, but his jump power and the timing was off.

"No!" Hideaki thought, as they were going to lose a point against Seijoh.

However, Hinata did manage to softly hit the ball with his finger tips and send the ball over Iwaizumi's figure, Hinata slides across the floor but got back up to see the ball touched the ground and Karasuno was winning. Hinata was the first to cheer.

"All right!" Karasuno announced as Hideaki sighed in relief.

"Shoyo!" Nishinoya exclaimed as he and Hinata high five, Tanaka came over and patted Kageyama on the back. "Hey! Hinata saved our butts!" Tanaka stated as he soon left the court as the game was starting.

"We're rushing them!" Daichi announced.

"Yeah!" Everyone replied as Hideaki was serving once more.

He heard the whistle as he did a jump serve, the ball once again gets saved, but just barely, Aoba Johsai gets a point as they were neck in neck with Karasuno with both teams having 25 points. Hideaki grumbled as it was Oikawa's turn to serve.

"His serves are monsterous. If we want to win, we have to stop them." Hideaki told himself, his eyes darkening a little.

The referee blows the whistle as Oikawa did his usual powerful jump serve, the ball was heading straight towards Nishinoya.

"Nishinoya!" Daichi yelled out, however, Hideaki saw that if Nishinoya just let the ball go past him it would be an out and Karasuno would get a point.

Nishinoya moved his head as the ball flew past him and out the court. Karasuno gets a point. "Nice judgement call, Nishinoya!" Daichi praised.

"Yes, sir!" Nishinoya exclaimed. It was once again match point for them.

Hideaki was sweating, feeling the pressure. "We have to win. I want to stay on the court for as long as I can!" Hideaki thinks to himself.

The game goes on as Iwaizumi spiked down the ball and got tied with Karasuno again, making Hideaki growl to himself, as him and Tsukishima did try to block him.

"That evens the score. A point is a point either way." Iwaizumi told his team and Hideaki saw them staring in awe at him, even Oikawa was amazed with their mutual friend. Hideaki scoffed and turned away in annoyance.

"Hajime did always have the qualities of an ace. I feel like he could've been the ace during our time at Kitagawa. But with my hawk eye vision, I was the better choice." Hideaki thought. "Even though I'm Karasuno's ace, I still can't ease my team like he can easily do."

The game goes on as Karasuno got a point, but then Aoba Johsai gets a point, it was tense around both teams as they all got a point each time. It was difficult to make out who would win the set. Hideaki's arms kept hurting each time he had to dive down and save the ball and his palms were red from all the spiking he did.

"It'll be worth it when we win. This won't be my last game with Daichi, Suga, and Asahi! I refuse to let that happen!" Hideaki thought, glancing at the scoreboard to see where both teams were at.

Karasuno

31

Aoba Johsai

31

"A tie again... how irritating." Hideaki thinks to himself as he pants in tiredness, wanting this match to end already with Karasuno winning.

They were all getting exhausted as they all pant and sweat like crazy. Hideaki leaned onto Kageyama who supported him.

He sees that Oikawa was serving, making Hideaki gulp. "One play and he's gone!" Daichi encourages Nishinoya who nodded in agreement.

"Yes, sir!" He replied back. Hideaki narrowed his eyes. The mood around Oikawa seemed different. Relaxed? Focused? He couldn't tell what it was, and his guess was that it had to be something that Iwaizumi told him.

Hideaki saw him throw the ball up, as he spiked it down, Hideaki quickly moved and received, only to give Aoba Johsai a chance ball.

"Shit, I'm sorry!" Hideaki shouted out, running into position to help his teammates out.

"Be grateful that you even got that up in the air!" Asahi shouts back at him.

Hideaki suddenly saw Oikawa toss the ball, going to the left for Kunimi to spike it. He spiked it down and Kageyama somewhat saved it.

"Chance ball!" Kunimi exclaimed as he runs to get into position. Kageyama stared at him with wide eyes as he looked at Hideaki, both of them thinking the same thing.

"He has the energy still? That's not the Kunimi I remember." Hideaki noted to himself.

Hideaki saw Oikawa toss the ball to Kunimi again, Asahi and Hinata jump up to block, Hideaki was a little surprised to see him do a feint, Kageyama went to save it but failed as Aoba Johsai was ahead of them with 32 points.

Hideaki could tell that Kageyama was shocked to see his ex-teammate smiling and laughing. "Now that I think about it, I've never seen Kunimi happy. I always thought of him as another little brother since Shun was all the way back in Tokyo. Every time I went to watch Kitagawa's games, he always was emotionless." He thought.

Hideaki smiled when he saw his boyfriend ruffle Kunimi's hair. "Huh, kinda reminds me of how I tried to cheer Shun up when Seirin lost against Touou." He stated in his head, his younger brother popping into his mind. "Damn it... I really need to make another trip to Tokyo..."

Kageyama seemed fixed on Kunimi as Hinata walked over. "Kageyama?" Hinata called out, but the first year setter didn't respond.

"Kageyama?" Hinata said again.

"Kageyama!" Hinata yelled. Hideaki couldn't help but get worried.

"Earth to Kageyama!" Hinata yelled again. Kageyama jumped as Hinata had a smug and teasing look.

"Hey, don't tell me you're getting spooked out. Lame!" Hinata teased, Kageyama didn't respond but Hideaki smiled when he saw Kageyama just grab Hinata's face and squeezed it.

Hinata got free from his hold and glared a little. "Th-Think about it! Obviously, a Great King is gonna be better than a King." Hinata hissed.

"That goes name-wise too!" The orange haired male added, making Hideaki sweat drop.

"How many times do I have to tell him that Tōru isn't that great..." Hideaki thought.

"Heck, he even looks smarter than you!" Hinata lightly insulted.

Kageyama still didn't respond and tried to hit his teammate again, but Hinata stepped aside and avoided it.

Kageyama went to grab Hinata again, but Hinata ducked down to avoid Kageyama's grip, Hideaki couldn't help but be amused by his underclassman.

"I'm sorry, Kageyama!" Daichi apologized as Kageyama looked over towards the captain. "I'll get the ball back to you next time."

"Then we'll play it like usual and of the attack you think is best." Daichi added as Kageyama looked a little surprised by this.

"Kageyama, quit second-guessing!"

Everyone turned to Sugawara who shouts from the sides. "What is everyone on our crew?" Sugawara added as everyone, excluding Tsukishima, smiled.

"They're good at what they do." Kageyama replied as Hideaki was taken aback.

"Well... he's certainly grown from his junior high days." Hideaki thinks to himself as he glanced back at Aoba Johsai and frowned.

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"Okay, bring it!" Nishinoya challenged.

"Bring it on!" Tanaka yelled as Hideaki panted, his eyes focused on the volleyball, as Oikawa bounced the ball. He then shivered when Oikawa stared at Karasuno with such intensity.

Oikawa threw the volleyball up and did his power serve. "Front!" Daichi exclaimed as he dived down to get the ball back up in time. However, they had to break formation, so Kageyama and Hinata couldn't do their fast attack as Kageyama receives the ball.

"Left!"

"Center!"

Kageyama sends the ball up to Hideaki. "Left!" He calls for the ace, as Hideaki spiked it over the blockers. The ball goes in the air as the libero saves it in time. Oikawa then tossed it to Iwaizumi in mid jump, which Iwaizumi jumped to spike the ball. Nishinoya got in front and saved it, however, it went to Aoba Johsai's side.

"Do it, Kindaichi!"

Hideaki watched as Kindaichi and Hinata both jump to touch the ball, Kindaichi spiked it back, making Hideaki freeze it place.

"Get it!" Nishinoya shouted.

"I got it!" Kageyama shouts as Hinata runs forward. Kageyama sets the ball to Hinata.

However, he was in shock when three blockers had stopped Hinata's quick as the ball comes back down to their side. Kageyama, Nishinoya, and Hideaki all run to the ball, hoping that one of them could save it.

The ball gets closer to the ground.

"No..."

And closer...

"Don't touch the court..."

....and closer.

"We can't lose like this!"

SLAM!

The ball had touched the ground.

TWEEEET!

The crowd and Aoba Johsai cheer in happiness as Karasuno all stood in shock or were on the ground.

"We lost..." Hideaki thought. His bangs were covering his eyes as he clenched his fists. "Damn it... we lost. Our time on the court vanished. Just like that."

"Hinata, Kageyama, time to line up." Hideaki heard Daichi say. He hated how emotionless Daichi sounded.

"Captain, I'm sorry." Hinata apologized.

"You didn't mess that up. No apology is required!" Daichi informed as Kageyama stood up with a sour look. Hideaki stood up as well, his fists still clenched.

They all soon lined up. Karasuno tried so hard to get where they were at and they lost to Aoba Johsai.

"I can't cry... not in front of them." Hideaki thought, looking at his teammates.

TWEEEET!

"Thank you for the game!"

Karasuno bows, but they didn't yell as loud as Aoba Johsai. They head to shake hands with their opponents. Hideaki looked at the hand that was stretched out for him.

Oikawa.

"Aki-chan." He began, looking at him. "I'm—"

"Tōru, if you dare apologize to me for winning, I'm punching you." Hideaki said as Oikawa chuckled. "Hey, if you have time before your next game, I would like to talk to you and Hajime. I got some things I wanna say privately. Uh, nothing bad I promise. Quite the opposite actually."

"Sure, Aki-chan."

Hidekai followed his team off the court. "Form a line!" Daichi yelled as they formed a line to thank the supporters who came to watch them.

"Thank you for the game!" Daichi shouted and bowed.

"Thank you for the game!"

The crowd clapped for them, some from different schools.

"Well done!"

"That was a good game!"

Hideaki tensed at these words. "Gather round!" Daichi called out as his team followed him. They surrounded Ukai, as Hideaki saw Nishinoya had a comforting hand on Kageyama's back and Tanaka had a comforting hand on Hinata's back.

"We need to vacate." Ukai told them. "The next team has to start warming up. We'll cool down upstairs or outside. Seijoh will take a break and proceed to the quarterfinal." Ukai added as Karasuno glanced at the team they lost too.

They all had proud and bright smiles on their faces, while Karasuno had emotionless ones. Hideaki followed his team out of the court.

"Daichi." Hideaki began as his captain looked at him.

"Yeah." Daichi replied, knowing what he was gonna say. "I'll tell the coach and the team. Don't forget to take care of yourself and take all the time you need."

"Thank you."

Hidekai stood outside as Oikawa and Iwaizumi came out. "What did you need to talk to us about?" Oikawa asked.

"Win, and then win some more. Win for us too." Hideaki replied, passing the words that Ikejiri had told Karasuno when Tokonami lost to them during the first round. This shocked both Oikawa and Iwaizumi, as they weren't expecting this.

After all, Karasuno had broken their promise to Ikejiri, Hideaki only felt it was right to pass it onto Seijoh.

"Aki-chan—" Oikawa started to say.

"I'm not angry, you know. In fact, Karasuno's lost just proved to me that we need to improve better. Ever since I came back, I realized there were a lot of holes. We didn't connect, we didn't communicate." Hideaki began.

"I want you to promise me something, Tōru, Hajime. Kick Shiratorizawa's ass. If not for your team, then do it for me. Show him that you're not the same as you were back in junior high." Hideaki said.

"Yeah, I promise, Aki-chan." Oikawa told him. "You have to promise us something too. Don't quit just because of your loss." He added, remembering how devastated his boyfriend was when Karasuno lost against Date Tech last year.

"Unfortunately, that isn't for me to decide. It's up to Daichi. If he makes the decision to leave, me along with the rest of the third-years will follow him." Hideaki informed as Oikawa and Iwaizumi looked at each other, knowing he was right. They couldn't imagine how many third-years decided to leave after their teams lost.

"There is one thing though." Hideaki added. "If we do decide to leave, the second and first-years will be out for your blood. So you better get ready because Karasuno will add revenge to our dictionary."

"We'll look forward to it." Oikawa said, smiling at the the hawk eyed male. By now, Iwaizumi had left, wanting to give the couple some space.

Hideaki smiled back as he hugged Oikawa. "I love you, Tōru." He mumbled, running his hands through his boyfriend's dark hair.

"I love you too, Aki-chan."

"Don't just play for you and your team. Play for me as well, alright?"

"Yeah, I will..."

Hideaki hugged him one last time and walked away. Once he was far enough away from his boyfriend, he was silent for a moment. Then, he leaned on the wall, slid down, and just started sobbing uncontrollably.

"Why am I so pathetic? I don't deserve to be called an ace." Hideaki thought as he continued crying.

He was interrupted when he heard his phone buzz. He opened his volleyball bag to find that his younger brother had texted him.

"Shit..." Hideaki cursed in his head as he clicked on the message.

Shun 🏀:
> Seirin just won against Touou. We finally defeated Aomine and got our revenge. What about you Nii-san? Did Karasuno win?

Hideaki smiled when he read that Seirin had got their revenge on Touou from defeating them in the Inter-High. But then frowned.

Hideaki:
We lost. <

Hideaki was shocked to see Shun calling him as he answered it. "Shun, what—" He began.

"Listen to me Nii-san, because I'm only gonna say this once." Shun interrupted.

"Oi, Shun. Show some respect to your brother." Hideaki said.

"I know you better than anyone. I know you're over there, feeling sorry for yourself and taking the blame. I'm right, am I?" Shun questioned when his older brother stayed silent.

Hideaki heard Shun sigh on the other line. "Remember what you told me when Seirin lost against Touou during our Inter-High?" He asked. "You told me that you can't win every match that you have. You have to lose at some point, because you have to be willing to fail to improve."

"Huh, who knew you could be so inspirational, Shun. Hyuga always complained to me that all you did was create puns during practice and games."

"That bastard!"

Hideaki chuckled. "You really know how to make me feel better. Thanks, Shun. I needed that."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm only doing my job as your brother."

Hideaki's phone buzzed again as he looked at the message from Daichi. "I gotta go. Daichi just messaged me saying our coach is treating us to food."

"You're away from your team?"

"Yeah, I didn't want to break down in front of them. So I let out all my frustration when I was away from them."

"I better let you go then."

"I'll make a trip to Tokyo soon, Shun. Good luck with the rest of the Winter Cup. Keep me posted."

"I will, Nii-san."

Hideaki hung up and placed his phone back into his bag, zipping it up and swinging it over his shoulder, before meeting with his team.

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Hideaki and his team all went to Sit Tavern, which was now closed but they were still inside. The food look amazing, but the air around Karasuno was depressing.

"Sorry to do this right before closing, ma'am." Hideaki heard Ukai apologize to the Tavern owner.

"Think nothing of it! This used to be the norm for you, remember?" The lady kindly replies with a smile.

Ukai smiled before walking away, and looking back at his team. "All that running and jumping puts stress on the muscles and tears the muscle fiber. At the end of the game, your muscle fibers will be in tatters. You recover by eating." Ukai explained as to why they had a big feast in front of them.

"That's what gives you muscle. That will make you stronger." Ukai added as he held onto his words. "So, eat up." He said, sitting down next to Takeda. "Eat a proper meal."

"Thank you for the food."

"Please, dig in!" The lady announced as everyone grabbed their chopsticks and start to eat their food, no one spoke a word, their emotions clear in the air. Hideaki was the one who barely touched his food. Which worried Daichi.

"He must be blaming himself again." Daichi thought.

Hideaki couldn't take it anymore. "I'm leaving." He spoke, his teammates were crying as they looked at him in confusion.

"W-Wait, you can't just leave." Sugawara tried to say.

"Suga." Daichi said as he just shook his head. The third year setter understood as Hideaki got up and left the Tavern.

Hideaki wiped a tear that escaped his eye. If Karasuno wanted to beat Aoba Johsai in the Spring, he needed to get stronger.

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Hideaki entered his apartment as he turned on the lights. "Home sweet home." He thought. He threw his volleyball bag on the side of the stairs and headed up to his room.

A few minutes later, he heard his apartment door open and close. Daichi and Oikawa were the only ones with his house key, so he wasn't worried.

He heard feet coming up the stairs as his bedroom door opened. "Hey, you okay? I just wanted to stop by and check on you before I head home." Daichi said.

"I'll get over it eventually, Daichi." Hideaki told him.

"I want you to know..." Daichi began as he sat down next to Hideaki. "That no one on the team blames you, I don't blame you. Just like I don't blame Hinata."

"I feel like I could've tried harder. I should've tried harder. What's the point of me being the ace if I can't even make sure we win?" Hideaki questioned.

"Suga, Asahi, and I met up to discuss our next move. We knew you needed some time alone, so we didn't text you about it." Daichi informed. "The four of us are meeting up tomorrow after classes are done."

"Sounds good."

Daichi smiled as his patted his friends shoulder and stood up, exiting his bedroom and then out of Hideaki's apartment.

Once he was gone, Hideaki grabbed his phone and clicked on Oikawa's contact.

Aki-chan:
> Hey, trash. I'm making a trip to Tokyo for a day. Shun and his basketball team are currently playing in their Winter Cup, so I'll probably arrive for their finals. Would you like to accompany me? You can finally meet my brother.

Tōru 💙:
Sure, Aki-chan. It would be nice to get away from Miyagi for a bit. <

Aki-chan:
> Wait, I just remembered you're almost as immature as Shun. I feel like I'm gonna regret this.

Tōru 💙:
Rude, Aki-chan, rude! <

Hideaki placed his phone on the charger, got changed and collapsed on his bed.

"I really hope Daichi, Suga, and Asahi don't want to retire early and leave the second and first-years to get our revenge in the Spring..."

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A/N: Another chapter done! Let me know if there's any mistakes! Hope you enjoyed!

Word Count: 3735 words.