A/N: Hello, readers! I'm finally writing about the Inter-High! Enjoy!

edited on january 25th, 2021 @ 1:39pm

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CHAPTER SIX - THE INTER-HIGH

TAKASHI HAD ARRIVED AT Lil' Tykes Volleyball Classroom. His high school coach, Ukai Ikkei, coached kids there, and he figured he should pay him a visit before he headed towards the Sendai Gymnasium for the Inter-High.

"Coach!" Takashi greeted as Ikkei turned around.

"Ah, Kageyama. It's been awhile since I've seen you." Ikkei said.

"Y-You're Kageyama Takashi! A well known volleyball player on Japan's National Team!" A younger kid exclaimed.

"Kageyama, this is Ogasawara Hiroki. He's one of my students. He's been wanting to meet you ever since you inspired him to be a setter." Ikkei explained.

"Funny, Ten and I were just talking about that topic after my match last week." Takashi stated.

"Speaking of which, how has he been?" Ikkei asked. "I heard you guys got engaged. I always told Sakai back then that you two would get married."

Takashi smiled at the mention of the manager that was there when he played for Karasuno. She was only a first-year when he was a third-year.

"He's fine. Drawing his manga as usual. I keep telling him to get an editor to make things easier for him, but you know how he is." Takashi replied as he rubbed his forehead.

"Senpai! Can you teach me how to set like you?" Hiroki asked, still amazed that he met his volleyball inspiration.

"Sorry, Hiroki. I'm on a tight schedule. I'm an assistant coach for my old high school. The Inter-High will start soon." Takashi replied as Hiroki looked down. "Perhaps next time."

This made Hiroki brighten up. "Yes!" He exclaimed as Takashi chuckled.

"Assistant coach, huh?" Ikkei questioned. "No matter where you are, you'll always find yourself back at Karasuno."

"Yeah, Keishin actually offered it to me, and my younger brother is their current setter now." Takashi explained.

"Taking after his older brother, eh?" Ikkei teased.

Takashi scoffed. "Don't tell him that." He said. "It was nice seeing you again, Coach. But I gotta go before I'm late."

"Good luck with the Inter-High, Kageyama."

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"Sorry I'm late!" Takashi shouted as the current Karasuno team looked at him.

"Oh, Takashi. I was about to text you. You're just on time actually." Ukai said as they walked into the building. Takashi could hear what other players were saying about each of the members. That is, until someone spotted him.

"H-Hey... Do you have any idea who that is?"

"Oh! That's Kageyama Takashi, right? Famous volleyball player and the captain and setter for Japan's National Team? What's he doing here?"

"My guess is that he's scouting for people who would be great at National level."

"I heard that Karasuno's current setter is related to him. I mean, they have the same last name."

"Kags!" Takashi heard someone shout as he froze up, memories flooding into his head.

"The only person who called me that was..." He thought, looking up to see a very familiar ginger haired male wearing a black hoodie, denim jeans, and white sneakers.

"Nagata!" Takashi shouted, hugging the ginger haired male, which shocked Karasuno. He released him. "It's been so long! What are you doing here?"

"I figured I would watch the Inter-High." Nagata replied, looking over at the current Karasuno team. He spotted Tobio.

"Tobio, it's been awhile. You've grown a lot since I last saw you." Nagata stated.

"It's good to see you again, Nagata-san." Tobio said respectfully.

"Everyone, this is Nagata Sho. He was Karasuno's captain when I played." Takashi introduced him.

"That means you knew the Little Giant as well?" Hinata asked in amazement.

"Udai has a fan? Pfft, I never would've guessed that shorty would end up being an inspiration." Nagata chuckled.

"Watch it, Nagata!"

"Sorry, sorry..."

"I'm Sawamura Daichi, Karasuno's current captain." Daichi introduced himself to the male.

"Oh? It's good to know Karasuno is in good hands." Nagata said.

"I'm gonna catch up with Nagata while we walk to the stands. Good luck with your match and make sure you win." Takashi said.

"We will, Coach Takashi!"

"Hey, Kageyama. How did you know that guy?" Tanaka asked him.

"You mean, Nagata-san?" Tobio questioned as Tanaka nodded. "He's Nii-san's childhood friend, and I used to interact with him sometimes when I would go to Nii-san's practices."

"Makes sense."

Nagata and Takashi were walking towards the stands. "Coach, huh?" Nagata questioned, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, Keishin sort of convinced me to become assistant coach for the team. I can't be with them on the bench on the court, so I'll be watching from the stands." Takashi explained.

"Keishin? He's Coach Ukai's grandson, right?" Nagata asked as Takashi nodded.

"Anyhow, how have you been, Nagata?" Takashi questioned.

Nagata shrugged. "I've been okay. University is really stressful. But at least it's my last year." He responded. "What about you? I see that you went pro. Not to mention you're a famous volleyball player now. Well, more famous than before."

Takashi chuckled. "It's been going well. My team is amazing." He replied.

"I watched the match that you had against the USA. You're amazing as I remember." Nagata stated. "How have you and Udai been?"

"We're engaged now, actually."

"Shut up!" Nagata exclaimed, shocked. "Are you serious?"

Takashi raised his left hand, where a silver engagement ring rested on his ring finger. "Dead serious." He responded.

"I owe Shibata 100 yen." Nagata said.

"I'm surprised you still remember the bet you made with him." Takashi stated.

"In all seriousness though, I'm really happy for you, Kags. Hope I'm invited to the wedding."

"Of course. It'd be nice to bring the old team back together again." Takashi said. "On second thought, perhaps our team and Karasuno's current team meeting will be a bad idea."

"We were pretty chaotic back then, weren't we?" Nagata snickered as they reached the stands. "Does Tobio know?"

"No. Things between us hasn't been well." Takashi admitted.

"He needs to know, he's only ever met Udai a few times when he was young." Nagata informed.

"I know." Takashi muttered.

"Taka-chan!"

Both boys turned to see Oikawa and Iwaizumi walking towards them while the rest of the Aoba Johsai team went to take a seat.

"Tōru? I thought you would be getting ready for you match." Takashi said.

"We don't play until the second round, senpai." Iwaizumi told him.

"Who's this, Taka-chan?" Oikawa asked, noticing the ginger haired male who was next to his senior.

"This is Nagata Sho. He was Karasuno's captain when I played for them. He's also my childhood friend." Takashi replied. "Nagata, this is Oikawa Tōru. He's the one who I taught how to serve and set."

"Nice to meet you, Oikawa." Nagata waved at him.

"You as well, Naga-chan."

Oikawa and Iwaizumi continued on as Nagata and Takashi looked down at the court to see the match starting. Karasuno's first opponent is Tokonami High. Takashi looked at the opposing team, scanning their players stats.

"Hmm... Tokonami's players have definitely put a lot of training in." Takashi stated. "But their numbers aren't as high as Karasuno's."

The whistle blew as the captains from both teams shook hands. Takashi saw Tokonami look confused as to why someone with Hinata's height was a middle blocker and laughed.

"Their opponents are confused, but I can't blame them." Takashi commented. "I mean, a middle blocker competes with the tallest players."

"That's true. You usually don't see the tallest players on a team being benched." Nagata agreed.

"Then again, players thought the same way with Ten, no one thought someone with his height would be the team's ace." Takashi added.

The whistle blew again as the match between Karasuno and Tokonami started.

"Asahi really does have the qualities of an ace." Takashi said as him and Nagata watched Asahi score a point for Karasuno.

Takashi watched as his younger brother tossed the ball to Hinata, who jumped up in the air and spiked down the ball onto the other side of the court, gaining another point for Karasuno. Tokonami stared in shock. As did the other teams and audience.

Takashi chuckled. "Their shock faces amuse me. Hinata may lack height, but he's someone you shouldn't look over." He said.

Karasuno kept gaining points. Takashi and Nagata watched as Nishinoya received the ball. "That's Nishinoya Yuu, right?" Nagata questioned as Takashi nodded. "He reminds me of Kobayashi. He was always right on those receives."

Then, Hinata and Kageyama ended up doing their quick attack as Nagata stared in shock while Takashi chuckled at his surprised face.

"Kags... Did you ever get around to teaching Tobio your Emperor toss?" Nagata questioned.

"I haven't." Takashi admitted. "I taught it to Tōru instead."

"You mean their potential opponent knows how to do your famous toss?" Nagata questioned.

"Yes." Takashi responded.

"And you didn't even think about that they can use it against Karasuno in a match?" Nagata asked angrily as a tick mark appeared on his head. He smacked Takashi's head.

"What was that for?!"

"For being a dumbass!"

Takashi rubbed his head. "You have to understand where I'm coming from, Nagata. I taught my toss to Tōru because he has the potential. Plus, Iwaizumi is an amazing ace. That toss could only be spiked successfully by Ten. Tobio is only a first-year. I don't want him to injure Hinata or another spiker on his team." He explained.

Nagata just sighed as they continued to watch the match. "Anyhow, Tokonami isn't losing their spirits." Takashi added, looking at the opposing team.

"What do you mean?"

"Tokonami knows they're a weak team, they know how much power Karasuno has over them. Any other team would've given up. Yet, they haven't." Takashi answered.

Takashi narrowed his eyes. "It all just depends on who wants to stay on the court the most." He finished.

Karasuno ended up taking the first set. The score was 12-25 as Karasuno cheered for their victory.

The second set began as Tobio was next to serve as he spiked the ball and it landed on the other side of the court, gaining Karasuno a point.

"A service ace..." Nagata exclaimed.

"Karasuno has stepped up their game, even after winning the first set." Takashi commented. "The question is, can they keep it up for the whole second set?"

Tobio did another serve as a Tokonami player was barely able to receive it. Karasuno was already ahead by 5 points.

Tokonami ended up getting a point since Daichi has touched the net. The score was currently 24-13.

"You can see the different determination in both teams eyes. But Karasuno has already won this. It's too late for Tokonami to have a comeback."  Takashi thought.

Soon enough, Karasuno ended up winning the second set as they cheered.

"You know, Hinata and your brother remind me of how you and Ten were back then." Nagata said as they went to congratulate Karasuno. "It kinda makes me feel nogalistic."

They finally arrived where Karasuno was. "Good job, everyone." Takashi said, getting their attention while Nagata gave them a thumbs up.

"Who are your next opponents?" Nagata questioned.

"Dateko."

"Huh? The Iron Wall? You guys lost to them last year, right?" Nagata asked.

The second and third-years looked down. "S-Sorry. A few of my university friends are Date Tech graduates. So I went to that match with them." Nagata explained. "Now that I think about it, Kags, don't you have a Date Tech alumnus on your team?"

As if on cue, they heard a voice shout, "Captain!" Everyone turned to see a tall brunette male throwing up a peace sign at Takashi. 

"Fukuda, what are you doing here?" Takashi questioned.

"I told you about my cousin who plays for Date Tech. He invited me to his game. Seems like I'm just on time." Fukuda responded. "Oh, I saw Miura-san earlier too."

"That makes sense. He's probably watching Shiratorizawa." Takashi said.

"I should probably wish Kenji good luck. See you, Captain!" Fukuda said as he went on his way to find where Date Tech was.

Takashi sighed. "Anyhow, do your best everyone." He told them.

"Show them that you're not the same as you were last year." Nagata added.

"Which reminds me. You have a few minutes until your match, right?" Takashi asked as everyone nodded. "Good. Asahi, can I speak to you for a moment?"

Asahi looked up when he heard his name. "Huh? Sure." He responded.

Nagata, Takashi, and Asahi were in the hallway, away from the team. "What did you need, coach?" Asahi questioned.

"I want you to place your trust in my brother." Takashi replied. "I understand Tobio is hard to get along with. But you have to understand everyone has high expectations of him, and that's partly my fault."

"Back when I was the setter for Karasuno, I always told Ten to place his trust in me. I told him as long as I'm by his side, he's invincible. And now, I tell the same thing to Miura." Takashi continued. "Don't dwell on the past. You have Tobio as your setter now, and as much as I hate to admit it, he's pretty amazing at what he does."

"I will, senpai."

Asahi went to join Karasuno once more while Takashi and Nagata headed back up to the stands. "Miura? Is he the same Miura from Shiratorizawa? As in their former captain and ace?" Nagata asked.

Takashi sighed as he rubbed his head. "That's the one." He responded.

"I vaguely remember this one memory when we had a practice match with Shiratorizawa. He straight up pointed to you and said that you were gonna set for him one day. Udai was so pissed." Nagata stated.

"Well, I didn't imagine him joining Japan's team or tossing to him 5 years later." Takashi mumbled.

The two of them watched as both Date Tech and Karasuno lined up. "Think they'll be okay?" Nagata questioned. "Last year's match against Date Tech was pretty brutal. I could somewhat understand why Asahi had done what he did."

"I know if that was our team you would've yelled some sense into Ten if he ever thought about quitting." Takashi said as Nagata huffed in annoyance, knowing it was true. "I'm sure they'll be fine. They have Tobio as their setter, and even though he can't bring out the best in his spiker's abilities like I can. He's still amazing at what he does."

Nagata looked at him and chuckled. "You really do have faith that this team will reclaim Karasuno's former glory, do you, Kags?" He asked.

"With Tobio and Hinata on their team, I'm quite positive that they will."

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

Word Count: 2461 words.