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

edited on march 9th, 2021 @ 3:00pm

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CHAPTER EIGHT - DEFEAT

KARASUNO WAS BACK AT THE Sendai stadium the next day and Takashi was feeling anxious as Aoba Johsai's cheers dominated the court. Shimada, Takinoue, and Nagata were there just like yesterday.

Nagata noticed his childhood friend gripping the railings of the balcony and quickly conversed with him to calm down his nerves. Karasuno also shouted reassurances to their assistant coach once they saw his tense face. Takashi could feel his anxiety going down as he thanked Nagata and his players.

"Oikawa-kun! Do your best!"

Two girls suddenly screamed beside Shimada, Takinoue, Nagata, and Takashi. Takashi rolled his eyes as Oikawa looked up at the direction of the screaming only to wave at Takashi. He ignored him and turned his gaze to Karasuno, who were beginning their warm up. Oikawa looked offended and looked away when Iwaizumi hit him on the head.

"By the way, how is that student of yours?" Takinoue asked Shimada out of the blue. Takashi and Nagata raised an eyebrow in question.

"What do you mean by "student"? It's only been a week and he is able to get some lucky shots, but he has yet to control it." Shimada replied.

"So, Yamaguchi is doing well?" Takashi spoke up. Shimada looked startled by this.

"How did you even know it was him?"

"He's the only first-year on Karasuno's team that's not a regular. I can't imagine what that's like for him, seeing his fellow first-years as regulars. I figured he would want to get better so he can play in more games." Takashi responded as the referee signaled for Aoba Johsai to start warming up.

Down on the court, Oikawa seemed to be interacting with his teammates very well.

Almost everyone.

"Iwaizumi! Don't kill Tōru before the match! How else is Karasuno supposed to beat him?" Takashi called out.

Iwaizumi paused in Kindaichi's hold and nodded before cooling down. Kindaichi let go of his senior and gestured his thanks to Takashi.

"Thank you, Taka-chan!" Oikawa shouted, smiling brightly.

"Are you deaf, Tōru? You're still getting your ass kicked by Tobio!"

Oikawa screeched in protest while Tanaka and Nishinoya praised their assistant coach for bullying Oikawa in their place. The referee blows his whistle again, this time, to start the match. The two teams lined up.

The game began with Tsukishima's serve, which was received by Kunimi. Iwaizumi and Matsukawa ran up to the net. But it was Oikawa who spiked instead of setting.

"You can tell that kid learned from you." Nagata commented.

"Tōru may be an idiot sometimes but in volleyball he isn't." Takashi said.

Matsukawa then served and Daichi received it, sending the ball towards Tobio. He set the ball to Hinata, performing a quick, but it headed straight into Hanamaki's waiting arms. Everyone watched as Oikawa rushed into what looked like a setter dump in the previous play, except his form was more obvious.

Tanaka and Hinata jumped to intercept the ball. At the last second, Oikawa changed the spike into a set and gave the ball to Iwaizumi, who spiked it onto Karasuno's side of the court.

"Another move that Kags would've done, and he has done back in high school." Nagata thought. "How many tricks does he have up his sleeve? It doesn't calm down my nerves that he knows Kags' signature toss too."

Matsukawa served again. Nishinoya easily passed the ball. The awaiting Aoba Johsai blockers watched as Hinata ran forward. They also noticed Tanaka was coming up beside Hinata as well. What caught the blockers off guard was Asahi, who was running up in the back. But instead of tossing to either one of them, Tobio caught them off guard and did a setter dump, stunning both Aoba Johsai and Karasuno.

"You see that? That's how a Kageyama gets things done!" Takashi shouted. "Nice one, little bro!"

Nagata snickered at Takashi's enthusiasm as Tobio turned his head back to flash an evil grin at Oikawa before telling him something that clearly pissed him off. Tobio walked away since it was his turn to serve. He ended up putting too much power into it as the ball went way out of the court.

"Home run!" Nagata laughed. Shimada and Takinoue chuckled at the first-years mistake too. Tobio flushed in embarrassment.

Nagata's laugh was cut short when it was Oikawa's turn to serve. Oikawa tossed the ball up and slammed it straight at Nishinoya. Just when it looked like Nishinoya would receive it, the libero moved, right when the serve curved. The crowd cheered in excitement.

Just as he was about to set the ball, Tobio looked from behind, fooling Kindaichi into moving in that direction and opening a way for Hinata.

"I remember doing that same move with Ten. It's still a move I use today." Takashi commented.

Soon, Aoba Johsai called for a timeout, which confused Takashi and Nagata. "It's way too early for them to call for a timeout..." Takashi thinks to himself.

Seeing Karasuno's alarmed state, Takashi had finally realized what made them so alarmed.

"They figured out the signals..." Takashi mumbled. "That was fast."

Aoba Johsai went back on the court and Kindaichi served. It headed straight towards the back where Tobio would rush out, causing Asahi to mess up the receive as Tobio passed in front of him.

"It wasn't one of Oikawa-kun's serves. Then why can't they get it?" One of Oikawa's fangirls asked. Takinoue cleared his throat loudly.

"Ahem. Well that is because... When the setter is in the back line, he can't move in front of the players on the front lines until after the serve is hit. So when they serve the ball, they have to rush forward toward the net at the same time. If they happen to serve right where this is mixing of people's occurs, they tend to receive late and it's easy to miss." He explained.

"But, as soon as they figure out where the ball is going, it's not an impossible serve to get." Nagata added as Karasuno covered up for their previous mistakes and scored a point. The girls turned to Takinoue and Nagata.

"Thank you so much, old guy and ginger-san!" Shimada and Takashi snorted in the background as Takinoue and Nagata stood shocked by the girls' words.

With Oikawa in the front along with Matsukawa and Hanamaki, things became a bit more pressuring for Tobio. This allowed Oikawa to block Tobio's panicked setter dump Aoba Johsai was now four points ahead and Karasuno were determined to even out the score. Hinata ran forward to spike, but barely made it passed Kindaichi, who knew right where the set was going.

Tobio sent a soft serve over to Aoba Johsai, causing Oikawa to having to toss the ball back to Karasuno. Oikawa wasn't letting Karasuno have it easily and Tobio was the first to touch the ball, making it impossible for him to send a toss. Daichi passed the ball to Tanaka, who was blocked.

It was then Oikawa's serve. After a failed receive by Tanaka, Karasuno called a time out.

"Tōru is really putting the pressure on them. With those brains of his, I'm starting to wonder why Seijoh never made it to nationals." Takashi huffed out in annoyance. Watching his former student take control of the match was interesting, but not fun to watch. Nagata tried his best to comfort his friend.

The game went on as Oikawa's serves were terrorizing Karasuno, especially Tanaka. Who kept getting shut down. It was until after Karasuno's second time out when Tanaka managed to blast his way through the blockers. Takashi sighed in relief.

Unfortunately, Tobio was the one to break first. His sets began to fall back to his old "King" toss. Things didn't improve for him as Aoba Johsai continued to score point after point.

"The ball is heading towards the net! Push it over, Kageyama!" Daichi shouted.

Tobio and Oikawa both jumped as the two struggled with the ball. However, Oikawa was the one to push it back. Tobio landed on the ground and stared up at Oikawa, who simply smirked at him. Tobio hastily set the ball to Tsukishima. It was too fast. Asahi saved the ball, hitting it over the net. Aoba Johsai wasted no time in taking the point.

Aoba Johsai were in the twenties when the referee blew his whistle. All eyes turned to Karasuno's side of the court to see Sugawara holding a plastic sign with the number nine. Tobio's eyes widened as Takashi just gasped.

This scene looked familiar.

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(Flashback)

The whistle blew as Takashi looked over, seeing that his coach had called for a time out. The team walked over. "I'm having Okamoto being subbed in for Kageyama." Ikkei informed as Takashi widened his eyes.

"You're benching me, coach?" He questioned.

"Coach doesn't have a choice, Kashi. You're panicking and getting overwhelmed. You almost had a damn anxiety attack on the court." Tenma replied. "He's doing this for your health."

"That's what Sarukawa Tech's goal is! They're targeting me! What's to say they won't do the same thing to Okamoto?"

"Then we'll figure it out then!"

Tenma then wrapped his arms around Takashi. "Please, Kashi. Just listen to coach and don't argue. I don't want you to collapse." He said.

"Alright, Ten..." Takashi muttered. "Okamoto."

"Yes?"

"Kick their ass."

"I will, senpai."

(End Flashback)

Tobio walked over and switched out with Sugawara. Sugawara spoke a few words before stepping onto the court. Hinata immediately confronted Tobio and talked him into feeling a bit better.

Leave it up to Hinata to lighten up the mood. Takashi turned his attention back to the court, where Sugawara was approaching the others.

"Hey!" Sugawara punched Daichi in the chest.

"Hey!" He rubbed his palm on top of Tanaka's head.

"Hey!" He karate chopped Asahi's side.

"Hey!" He hit Tsukishima's head.

"Hey!" He high-fived Nishinoya, who was just as enthusiastic as Sugawara.

Takashi prayed for those who got hit. There was a time he remembered Miura had accidently served a ball to his head during practice. Matsuda ended up chasing him around the gym, trying to kill the red headed ace.

Yeah, even Japan's National Team was chaotic outside of their games and the television crew.

Sugawara's violent greeting seemed to lift up the spirits of the team. After the player switch, Hanamaki went to serve the ball. Daichi went to serve the ball to Sugawara, who set the ball to Tanaka. Watari received the spike and Oikawa gave the ball to Iwaizumi. By the time Oikawa realized what was happening, he was too late in warning the ace. Iwaizumi was immediately shut down by Tsukishima.

"Hah! Denied!" Shimada laughed.

"Suga is a more experienced setter and knows Karasuno better than Tobio. Seijoh won't have it easy this time." Takashi stated.

Hinata was then swapped back into the court. Tsukishima served and Aoba Johsai performed a quick. When Matsukawa jumped up to spike, he was met with Hinata, who blocked it. Sugawara and Hinata did a quick, startling Aoba Johsai with the new attack.

The rallies continued until it was Oikawa's turn to serve. He pulled off a powerful serve. Tanaka and Nishinoya both went to get it, but stopped before they could crash into one another, letting the ball land on the court between the two.

Oikawa served again, this time a soft one, causing the team to slide down towards the front and miss the ball. Now, Aoba Johsai was at set point. Oikawa served a third time and luckily, Daichi received it. Hinata and Tanaka rushed forward, but it was Asahi who spiked from the back. The ball blasted through the blockers, but Hanamaki was there to receive it. Tobio shouted that the ball was headed towards Hinata.

Hinata ran up and fumbled with the spike. The ball flew back to Seijoh's side and Iwaizumi dived down to receive it. Kindaichi ran to spike, only for the ball to bounce off of Hinata's arms. Watari rushed to get the ball, but missed as it went off the court. Aoba Johsai ended up taking the first set.

"That was intense for the first set..." Nagata sighed.

"Not to worry! I'm sure they'll get the next one!" Shimada said positively. "Ah, it looks like they changed their rotation a bit. I wonder why?"

Though, the four Karasuno alumni understood when Oikawa was about to serve.

"There's only two people receiving in the back." Shimada pointed out.

"I see, they're using Daichi and Nishinoya, the two best defensive players on the team, to take care of Tōru's serve." Takashi said. The other three nodded. Back on the court, Takashi could see Oikawa was thinking hard about this new tactic.

"Daichi!" Sugawara shouted as Daichi ran to get the serve. He was successful. Sugawara set the ball to Tanaka who blasted through Kindaichi and Kunimi.

"All right!" Karasuno cheered.

Asahi scored a point, bringing Karasuno one point above Aoba Johsai. However, the opposing team quickly found a way to rack up points. Tobio soon switched with Sugawara. After Sugawara spoke to Keishin and jogged back to join the others on the sidelines. Takashi waved to get Sugawara's attention.

"Suga! You did great out there! You still have more opportunities to be on the court!" Sugawara's face grew blank as he struggled not to cry.

"I feel bad for him. Tobio's skills overshadow him. But Suga is a fantastic setter." Takashi thinks to himself. "You don't need overwhelming abilities to be the best."

To say that the team was surprised when seeing Tobio's attempt to smile was an understatement. Though, it was great to see Tobio better than before.

It was Tobio's serve and the setter scored a service ace from the libero. Tanaka went over to high five Tobio, except it appeared that Tobio didn't understand what Tanaka was trying to do.

Tobio finally understood with the help of Hinata as he high fived Tanaka. Kindaichi and Kunimi were stunned by this.

Tobio served again and brought a chance ball to Karasuno. Kindaichi and Hanamaki watched carefully as Hinata ran to spike. Without saying anything, Hinata slammed the ball down onto the other side of the net, startling the blockers.

The game went on with Karasuno scoring points until they went into their twenties. Nishinoya switched with Tsukishima. Tsukishima made eye contact with Tobio. Tanaka jolted at this.

After Asahi scored a spike, Seijoh called for a time out. Communication between Tsukishima and Tobio wasn't going very well, which concerned Takashi. Karasuno also called for a time out after a few rallies. Tsukishima and Tobio seemed to be discussing something.

When the time out was over and the team went to play, the two began to work a lot better with Tsukishima scoring. Karasuno was now at set point.

There was Oikawa at the end line, again. He brought up the ball and slammed it towards the opposite side of the court. Daichi called out as Nishinoya complied, diving to dig up the serve. The ball went back to Seijoh's side of the court. Tsukishima, seeing Kindaichi running up, was about to jump when Tobio pulled Tsukishima's jersey. The two ran over where Iwaizumi was and blocked his spike. Karasuno yelled out as they took the second set.

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"This rally is going on forever..." Shimada stated at the start of the third set. Nagata nodded in agreement.

"Overall, Seijoh's better at everything, but..." Takinoue watched as Nishinoya recovered the bal from the feint. "Their libero had far better defensive skills."

Back on the court, Oikawa was the one to dive down and get the first touch. He called for Watari, who jumped and set the ball to Oikawa, making Takashi gasp.

"I thought only Ren knew that move." Takashi stated. "It seems I was wrong."

"The move Seijoh's libero just did?" Nagata questioned. Takashi nodded.

"It's a move that let's liberos participate in the offense. They jump behind the attack line and perform the toss to either the ace or another teammate." Takashi explained. "It's extremely helpful for setters like me in circumstances where we're first to make the first touch."

Seijoh was now entering the double digits. Oikawa served and Daichi received the ball and handed it over to Tobio. Asahi spiked the ball over, but Hanamaki saved it. Hinata jumped when he saw the ball flying close to the net, determined to push it over. However, Oikawa caught the ball by the tip of his fingers and gave the ball to Iwaizumi, earning them a point.

At this point, Takashi's attention was out of focused. Watching the plays had only increased his anxiety. Nagata nudged Takashi as he looked up, his eyes widening in surprise.

Yamaguchi was trembling violently as he held up a sign with Hinata's number on it. Shimada's face was anything but excited.

"T-Tadashi's the pinch server?! What is Keishin thinking? He's an idiot! I told him that it's still mostly pure luck!" Shimada ruffled his hair while crouching behind the banner in frustration.

"Maybe he even wants that pure luck. You never know what might change the momentum." Takinoue said as he kept his eyes glued on the trembling figure of Yamaguchi. Takashi slapped Shimada on the shoulder, causing him to yelp.

"Have some more faith in your student, Shimada!" Takashi shouted.

"Don't hit your elders!" Shimada cried out.

"Whatever you say, old man."

"Old?! You're not that much younger than me!"

Karasuno was trying to convince Yamaguchi that he would be able to make the serve, but it was clear to Takashi that they were on edge as well.

"Hey, Yamaguchi!" Yamaguchi turned his head to see everyone on the sidelines posing with one leg up and one arm pointing at him.

"Hit a nice serve!" They all shouted.

Yamaguchi took a deep breath and tossed up the ball. Seijoh was shocked when they realized it was a jump float serve. Yamaguchi hit the ball forward, but it got caught in the net. Seijoh sighed in relief while Karasuno comforted Yamaguchi. Despite the failed receive, Karasuno's mood seemed to be much calmer.

"Eh? So he got brought out here because of a pinch, but if he fails, he's pulled out?" One of the girls asked.

"That's sort of sad." Another one said.

"That's the job of a pinch server." All eyes turned to Shimada. "That one shot has both the games momentum and pride riding on it."

"But now that Yamaguchi felt his first failure, it'll strive him to become better, no?" Nagata asked. Shimada nodded in agreement.

"Did the black team cheer up all of a sudden?" A girl spoke up again.

"It's just like Tattsun says... You never know what's going to change the momentum." Shimada replied.

Karasuno felt much better after Yamaguchi's serve. They began to play a lot more energetically. The opposing team continued to play the same as well. But no matter how hard Karasuno worked to get more points, they couldn't stop Seijoh from reaching match point. Seijoh was close to taking the third set.

"Guys, don't freak out!" The team frozed at Nishinoya's shout. "If we fall, fall forward!"

With Nishinoya's words, Karasuno earned point after point. Tanaka served and received a spike with his shoulder, sending the ball close to the net. Oikawa leaped to get it, but Tobio appeared out of nowhere and with one hand brushed the ball to Hinata, who swung the ball onto the other side of the court.

"All right!" Karasuno cheered. It was now a deuce. Now, Karasuno needed two points to win the match. A short break was called before the teams continued.

Both teams battled until the points were well over thirty. Takashi scanned Karasuno, seeing that their stats were slowly going down.

Tobio ran over to set the ball. Hinata ran forward. Time seemed to slow down as Tobio tossed the ball over to Hinata, who hit it with all his might.

BAM!

Hinata opened his eyes to see that his spike was blocked. Everyone watched the ball slowly fall to the floor. Asahi, Tobio, and Nishinoya falling for it shortly after.

TWEEET!

Aoba Johsai screamed in victory while Karasuno fell on the floor. Takashi, Nagata, Shimada, and Takinoue hung their heads, upset with the loss. This couldn't rival how Karasuno was feeling though. The teams lined up and shook hands.

"Line up! Thank you very much!" Daichi bowed to Takashi, Nagata, Shimada, and Takinoue behind the banner. The others followed their captain's actions. The girls who cheered for Seijoh were the first ones to clap for the losing team, with strangers joining in as well.

"Great work!" Shimada smiled as he clapped.

"That was a great match!" Takinoue agreed.

"What the hell are you looking all depressed for?!" All of the Karasuno players looked up from their bow to see Takashi holding onto the railings to keep himself from falling over. Even Aoba Johsai paused at Takashi's loud outburst.

"You did your best out there, that's all that matters! You can't win every single game you have! Learn from your mistakes from this match and fix them!" Takashi pointed to Aoba Johsai, leaving them in shock. "So that way, next time, you'll kick Seijoh's ass and get your revenge!"

Karasuno was stunned by Takashi's words. They did their best to contain their tears as they yelled out their thanks to the male before jogging off. Nagata patted his friends back.

"Couldn't have said that better myself, Kags." Nagata stated. The four alumni brought up Karasuno's banner and walked out of the gym.

Meanwhile, Aoba Johsai watched as Takashi left the scene. When the male was out of sight, Oikawa spoke to his teammates.

"Even though we won, hearing Taka-chan say those words, makes me feel like I lost."

His team nodded in agreement as they changed into their alternate uniforms.

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"You know, I used to hate it when the audience would tell us we had a good game." Nagata stated as Takashi accompanied him to the train station so they can go back to Tokyo.

"As captain, every time we lost, I always blamed myself for not trying hard enough for the team." Nagata added.

"I know what you mean. I always felt like I failed Ten every time." Takashi admitted.

"When Tobio got switched out, you were remembering the time that the same thing happened to you during nationals when we went against Sarukawa Tech during the first round, right?" Nagata questioned.

"It was the only time I was benched, but it felt horrible." Takashi said. "Sarukawa Tech was mostly known for their unconventional strategy of targeting their opponent's setter. They had succeeded in wearing me down. Until we were able to come up with a strategy to where they couldn't."

"Do you want to come back to the apartment for a bit? I'm sure Ten wouldn't mind seeing you again." Takashi offered.

"No thank you. I don't want to intrude on you and Udai. You're an engaged couple after all. Besides, I got a test tomorrow to study for." Nagata denied. "Guess I should start calling you two by your first names. You'll soon be an Udai too, after all."

Takashi snickered. "Are you gonna watch Karasuno in the Spring High?" He questioned.

"Of course. I'll try to get some of our old teammates to come watch too. Perhaps Kobayashi will be available." Nagata responded. He waved goodbye to Takashi as they parted ways so he could take a bus back to his university.

Takashi entered his apartment and entered his and Tenma's bedroom to find his fiancé curled up in the blanket. Takashi took off his shirt and laid down next to him.

"You seriously suck, Kashi." Tenma groaned. "I have not moved from this spot all day."

Takashi chuckled. "Sorry, Ten. But you should know by now that I'm not just the Emperor on the volleyball court." He informed.

This receives a smack on the arm from Tenma. "How was the Inter-High?" Tenma questioned.

"Karasuno lost against Aoba Johsai." Takashi responded. "Tōru didn't use my toss but who's to say that he won't use it against them in the Spring."

"Are you trying to say you're gonna teach Tobio that toss?"

"Yeah. I think it's about time. If they end up going to nationals, they'll need it." Takashi answered, picking up his phone from the nightstand and clicking on a certain contact.

Yama-chan:
Are you free tomorrow after practice? <

Miura:
> Well, I was going to watch Shiratorizawa in the finals, but I already know they'll win so I guess I am. Why?

Yama-chan:
I want you to come with me to my old high school. Karasuno had lost today and I'm finally deciding to teach Tobio my Emperor toss. I don't want to hurt his teammates. Ten hasn't played volleyball since high school, So you're the only one who's coordinated with me for that attack. <

Miura:
> I'll be glad to help, Yama-chan. For a second, I thought you wanted to go on a date together.

Yama-chan:
Do you want 20 laps tomorrow? <

Miura:
> No! Forget I said anything, captain!

Takashi rolled his eyes and exited out of the chat, placing his phone back on the nightstand.

"If Karasuno ends up going to nationals, Tobio needs to learn that toss if they want to make it past the first round."

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

Word Count: 4266 words.