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

edited on november 14th, 2021 @ 3:10pm

════ ∘◦ᵒ 𓅓 ᵒ◦∘ ════

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE - THE FORMER COWARD'S FIGHT

TADAHIRO WATCHED AS KYOTANI THROWS the volleyball high in the air as he did a jump serve. He winced when he saw how he slammed the ball over the net as Daichi managed to receive it, but he fell over from the impact of the powerful serve.

"Sorry! It's long!"

"Mattsun!"

Tadahiro's eyes followed the ball as it goes towards Aoba Johsai, as Matsukawa scores a point when he spiked the ball down. Tadahiro took a look at the scores.

Aoba Johsai

23

Karasuno

18

Tadahiro grunted, wanting to go out there and play. He looked back as he sees Asahi telling the others to scoot back a bit, making them do so, as the ball gets served once more. Kyotani does his jump serve as Tanaka was quick on his feet as he crouched down and saved the ball.

"Tanaka!"

"Yeah!"

The volleyball goes to Kageyama who jumps and sets to Hinata who quickly hits it down, getting Karasuno a point, making Tadahiro sigh in relief. He hears Sugawara chuckle making the red head blink and look over to him.

"It's obvious you want to play." He informed.

"Of course I do. I still have that extra adrenaline from my joust with their Number 16." Tadahiro admitted.

"By the way, that joust was insane." Sugawara commented. "If anyone could counter their Number 16, it's you."

"That's what I was thinking."

The two focus back on the game as Hinata was serving. "Shoyo, nice serve!" Nishinoya encouraged.

Tadahiro widened his eyes when he saw how Yamaguchi was taking Hinata's place as pinch server.

"I'm sorry, we're making a subsitution." Takeda informed as Tadahiro saw Yamaguchi walk onto the court with confidence. He watched as Hinata jogged over to grab the number plate from Yamaguchi.

"Yamaguchi, go get 10 points!" Hinata exclaimed, making Yamaguchi stare at him.

"That would end the match."

Hinata then offered the ball to Yamaguchi. "I'll forgive you." Hinata told him as Yamaguchi smiled and nodded. Tadahiro smirked when he saw Tanaka and Asahi look at Yamaguchi with nerves.

"G-Go give 'em one, Yamaguchi!" Tanaka stuttered as Asahi was stiff.

"Y-You gotta k-keep your cool!" Asahi added on as Tadahiro sweat dropped at the two.

"Nice serve!" Kageyama spoke bluntly to Yamaguchi, making Tadahiro snicker in amusement.

"Nice serve." Tadahiro heard Tsukishima sigh out, but at least he was providing some encouragement. He saw Daichi walk over as he must've been telling Yamaguchi to give it his all.

Suddenly, Sugawara smirked as he grabbed Tadahiro's arm, making him blink in confusion when suddenly Sugawara, Hinata, Nishinoya, Ennoshita, Narita, and Kinoshita moved in unison.

"One, and..."

As they pose and point at Yamaguchi, Tadahiro was just offering a smile.

"Yamaguchi, one more! Nice serve!"

Tadahiro chuckled as he looked over at Sugawara. "Suga-chan, do you ever feel embarrassed when you do that?" He questioned.

"Not at all!" Sugawara replied.

Tadahiro let out a long sigh before looking ahead. "Of course, you don't." He mumbled under his breath.

Tadahiro watched as Yamaguchi calmly breathed in, noticing that he wasn't as tense whenever he was up to serve, making him smile.

"He can do this if he believes in himself." Tadahiro thought.

The whistle blew as Yamaguchi took in a deep breath. It was silent as everyone focused on what would happen. Yamaguchi eventually throws the ball up in the air as he jogged forward and jumped up, as Tadahiro smirked when he performed a perfect jump floater.

"Out!"

"I wouldn't be so sure."

Tadahiro grinned as the ball landed in the court, as the referee held up the flag, signaling that Yamaguchi scored them a point, making Karasuno go to 20 points. Tadahiro saw how Yamaguchi was happy as him and the others cheered.

"All right!"

Sugawara and Ennoshita held back Hinata and Nishinoya from running over to Yamaguchi and engulfing him into a hug as Tadahiro let out a chuckle.

"All..."

"...right!"

Tadahiro cleared his throat. "Yama-chan, nice serve!" He called out, making Yamaguchi smile at his senior. Tanaka started to ruffle his hair, as everyone praised him.

Tadahiro saw that Tsukishima must've said something to him since Yamaguchi looked like he was about to cry tears of joy, which resulted in Tanaka to lightly punch Tsukishima in the chest a few times, smirking at him.

"Yamaguchi, one more!" Hinata exclaimed. Sugawara was anxious as he gripped onto Tadahiro's bicep.

"Give it all you've got. Give it all you've got, Yamaguchi!" Sugawara pleaded as Tadahiro smiled.

"He'll be fine." Ennoshita stated as everyone glanced at him. "You always feel worse after you run away."

"I'm pretty sure Yamaguchi feels that way, too."

Tadahiro hummed in agreement. "Running away never achieves anything." He spoke up, making his teammates look at him. "It's always best if you face your problems head on. You know all about that, don't you, Enno-chan?"

Ennoshita flinched but nodded at his senior's words. Tadahiro looks back towards the game to watch Yamaguchi serve again. The referee blows the whistle making Yamaguchi do another jump float, Kyotani went to receive the ball, but he was too close, making the volleyball bounce off his arm and out of bounds, making Karasuno get another point.

"A-A second service ace!"

"Yes!"

"All right!"

Tadahiro watched as his teammates all ruffle and pat Yamaguchi, excluding Kageyama and Tsukishima.

"Yamaguchi!" Hinata called out as everyone on the sides, including Tadahiro all yelled in unison.

"One more!"

The referee blows the whistle once more for Yamaguchi to serve again. Except this time, the jump floater was dug up with an overhand receive. Tadahiro watched as Oikawa sets the ball to the back row as Iwaizumi jumps up and spikes through the blocks, Yamaguchi was able to receive it with his body.

"Cover!"

Everyone shouted, as they wanted to win the match. Kageyama ran over and slid down to save the ball, sending it back up, soon Tsukishima jumped up and Daichi sets to him, as Tsukishima did a feint cross shot, getting Karasuno another point.

Tadahiro took a look at the score and smiled.

Aoba Johsai

23

Karasuno

22

Tadahiro felt himself wanting to play as Tsukishima picks up the volleyball and bounces it over to Yamaguchi who caught it easily.

TWEEEET!

Tadahiro turned to see that Aoba Johsai had took a time out, making him huff in annoyance. Sugawara noticed his irritation as he patted his arm.

"Coach might switch you in next." Sugawara reassured him.

"I hope so." Tadahiro hummed. "Actually, now that I think about it, I haven't used my Zone in all the matches we've played so far."

"Huh?!"

"You're kidding, right?!" Sugawara exclaimed.

"I don't kid, Suga-chan. I thought you knew this." Tadahiro pouted. "Zone takes a lot out of my stamina. Using it constantly tires me out, so I try not to use it in every game. I guess it's about time I bust it out."

The whistle blew as everyone got back onto the court while Tadahiro was still on the sides. "Yamaguchi!" Nishinoya shouted out.

"One more!"

Everyone on the sides including Tadahiro called out to encourage their teammate. Yamaguchi bounces the ball as he breathed in. The whistle blew and he did another jump float serve, the ball hits the net but it rolled off and landed on the court, making Karasuno get a point as they were tied with Aoba Johsai.

The crowd watching their game cheered for them. "It's in!" Everyone announced.

Tadahiro smiled, happy that they were tied with Aoba Johsai as the ball bounced back over to Yamaguchi.

"Yamaguchi, one more!" Tanaka called out.

"Yamaguchi, nice serve!" Hinata also shouted out.

"Right!"

Tadahiro blinked as he looked over and saw Oikawa smiling at his teammates as he extended his arms. "Let's calm down, now." He informed, smirking. Tadahiro fought back a laugh as everyone on his team just gave their captain a deadpan look.

"We're calm."

"Well, that one was unavoidable."

"We'll get the next one."

Oikawa sweats at how calm his teammates were. "That's it, you guys! You guys are too great. It makes your captain sad." He announced, as he seemed a little dejected that his teammates didn't appear to be annoyed.

Tadahiro chuckled as he also noticed Iwaizumi was laughing as well.

The whistle blew as Tadahiro turned his focus back to the game as Yamaguchi took another deep breath as he threw the ball up and did another jump floating serve. However, it wasn't changing direction as Iwaizumi received it.

"Got it!" Iwaizumi called out, as he sends the ball back up, as Oikawa gets ready to set it.

Oikawa tosses the volleyball to his teammate on the far-right side of the net, Tsukishima also saw this as he ran over and jumped up, getting a one touch in.

"One touch!" He shouted.

"Nice one-touch!" Yamaguchi complimented as Tadahiro kept his eyes on the ball.

He watched as Tanaka dived down and received the ball, sending it back up. Kageyama also runs over and sends the ball to Asahi.

"Azumane-san!" Kageyama announced as Asahi turned his focus on the ball.

"Nice, Kageyama!"

"Triple block!"

Tadahiro watched as Asahi jumps up, getting ready to spike the ball, he hits the ball, but Oikawa's hand managed to have the ball rebound back to Karasuno.

"Back!" Hinata and Tadahiro shouted in unison, Tanaka follows the ball, but Tadahiro quickly realized it was going to be an out.

"It's an out!" Tadahiro exclaimed as Tanaka trusted his words and paused himself from saving the volleyball as the volleyball goes out of the court, making Karasuno ahead of Aoba Johsai.

"All right!" Asahi cheered as Oikawa grumbled in annoyance.

"Kagami-san, nice call!"

Tadahiro smirked and gave Tanaka a thumbs up, in which he returned.

He turned to look at the scores and smiled when he saw Karasuno was at match point. "One more! Nice serve!" Daichi encouraged, Tadahiro looked back at Yamaguchi, as the whistle blew for him.

"Yamaguchi! Just one more!"

Sugawara, Ennoshita and Tadahiro covered their ears at Hinata and Nishinoya's yell. "Get it in there!" Hinata shouted as Tadahiro sighed anxiously.

"Come on Yama-chan... You got this." Tadahiro thought as he watched Yamaguchi throw the ball up as he hits it over the net.

"I'll get it!" Aoba Johsai's libero reassured as he managed to saved the ball.

"Damn, he's good." Nishinoya commented.

Tadahiro chuckled before patting Nishinoya's back. "Don't worry, Noya-chan. You're still the best in Karasuno's eyes." He reassured him.

"I appreciate that, Kagami-san."

Tadahiro focused on ahead as Oikawa sets the ball to Iwaizumi who spikes it down past Karasuno's blockers, it bounced off of Yamaguchi's arms as it swerves out of the court making Tadahiro's eyebrow twitch in irriation, as both teams were now at a tie.

"Kagami." The red head hummed as he looked over at Ukai who gestured for him to come into the court along with Hinata, making him smirk as he nodded as him and Hinata walked over.

TWEEEET!

Hinata was swapped in for Yamaguchi as Tadahiro was swapping in for Tanaka. Tanaka pats his back in reassurance as the red head nodded in response as both him and Hinata walked onto the court.

"It's about time." Tadahiro thinks to himself. Nishinoya was coming onto the court, as him and Hinata had to swap out.

"Concentrate on the one!" Hinata called out as Tadahiro grinned and got in position. The whistle blew as it was Aoba Johsai's turn to serve.

"This is a chance Yama-chan gave to us..." Tadahiro noted as he narrowed his eyes. The ball gets served and Daichi receives it, sending it back up.

"...don't let it slip away!"

Kageyama sets the ball to Asahi who spiked it down past the blockers, getting Karasuno a point. "All right!" Karasuno cheered as the huddled together. They were at match point once more. The game continued with Aoba Johsai getting a point as well, making it a tie once again.

"Every time we get closer to match point, Aoba Johsai scores another point. Damn it! They're really starting to piss me off! It's like they want this game to drag on forever." Tadahiro thinks to himself as he gave Aoba Johsai an annoyed expression.

The game went on as Tadahiro concentrated on the ball. Kageyama sets the ball as Tadahiro ran over and spiked it down, getting a point for Karasuno as he smirked at the surprised looks of Kindaichi and Oikawa.

"All right!" Karasuno cheered as Daichi playfully punched the red head's arm.

"Hiro, nice kill!" He proudly stated.

Asahi was now serving this time, as he bounced the ball. "Asahi, get this!" Sugawara encouraged.

"Nice serve!" Kinoshita shouted out towards the ace. The whistle blew for Asahi to serve the ball. Asahi did his jump serve but Hanamaki managed to save it.

"It's long! Get this!"

Oikawa runs over as Tsukishima and Tadahiro both jump up to block in case Oikawa was doing a dump, but Oikawa instead just gave a one handed toss to his teammate, Kindaichi slammed it down and the ball bounces off of Asahi, making Aoba Johsai get the point.

Tadahiro gulped when he realized who's turn it was to serve for Aoba Johsai. "Damn him and his serves." He thought as he stared at Oikawa who had the ball in his hands. Karasuno all narrowed their eyes and focused onto Oikawa.

The referee blew the whistle as Oikawa throws the ball up with Tadahiro getting ready to receive if it came towards him. Oikawa hits the ball and Nishinoya dived down to try and save it, however it bounced off his shoulder and goes towards the audience, hitting the rail as Aoba Johsai gained a point.

Tadahiro glanced at the scores and huffed in irritation.

Aoba Johsai

27

Karasuno

26

"They turned the points so it would be match point for them. How annoying."

"Damn it!" Nishinoya exclaimed as Tadahiro turned to Daichi.

"This isn't possible with just the two of us." He stated as he gestured for Asahi to come over.

"Ah, I see. Dai-chan is expanding our defense..." Tadahiro thinks to himself as Daichi looked over to Asahi.

"Asahi, please. We're counting on you." Daichi informed.

"Yeah." Asahi responded.

Tadahiro turned his gaze over towards Oikawa who gets ready to serve again. The whistle blew for Oikawa to do his serve.

"Bring it!"

"Nice serve!"

Oikawa throws the volleyball up into the air as he runs forwards to do his jump serve, the ball comes at them.

"Daichi-san!" Nishinoya shouted for their captain who dived down and received the volleyball, however the volleyball was close to the net as Kindaichi slammed it down.

"I don't think so!" Tadahiro shouted out as he extended his arm out and received it.

"Hiro, nice!" Daichi praised as Tadahiro shot a determined look at Kindaichi who scowled a little at the red head.

"Kage-chan!" Tadahiro yelled as Kageyama jumped up and sets the ball.

"Asahi-san!" Kageyama announced as the ball goes towards the ace who slammed it over the net.

But Hanamaki was there to save the ball and sent it back up. Tadahiro saw how Kyotani charged forward, but he had a feeling Oikawa wasn't going to set the ball to him, as he saw how Iwaizumi jumped up from the back row.

Tadahiro was too late as Iwaizumi hits the ball and gets the point. Tadahiro huffed in annoyance at his slow reaction.

TWEEEET!

Karasuno had lost the second set, as they were now on the third and final set, making Tadahiro sweat with nerves as they changed sides.

"Let's change it up!" Daichi clapped his hands.

"Right!"

Tadahiro walked over to the sides to grab a water bottle, shooting the cool liquid down his throat before glancing over at Aoba Johsai.

"This is the final set... We have to play at our fullest. I was going to save it for Ushiwaka and Shiratorizawa... However, Aoba Johsai is a worthy opponent to play at my full potential." Tadahiro thinks to himself.

Red electricity flashed in front of his eyes.

"We have to win this!"

Daichi looked over towards his boyfriend who had a calm but intense aura. "I see. So you're finally playing seriously, huh Hiro?" He thought.

From the audience, Taiga smirked as he rested his chin on his hand. "Something tells me..." He began as his teammates looked at him. "...that Aoba Johsai is screwed."

"Hey, do you feel that?" Iwaizumi pointed out as Oikawa and the rest of his teammates looked at him.

"Feel what?"

"It's like the atmosphere changed."

Aoba Johsai turned towards where Karasuno was only to be met with Tadahiro giving them a deadly look that made them all shiver.

"Iwa-chan..." Oikawa started to say as Iwaizumi looked at him, along with the rest of his team. "I think things are finally going to get interesting."

════ ∘◦ᵒ 𓅓 ᵒ◦∘ ════

A/N: Another chapter is done! Tadahiro has finally entered the Zone for the third and final set! I forgot what season/episode it was (I haven't watched KnB in like forever, lmao) but do you guys remember when Taiga was trying to open the second door but Kuroko was standing in his way? (Or was that Aomine? See? I can't remember oops).

But anyways, it's gonna be like that for Tadahiro :)

Thanks for reading!