A/N: Hello, readers! Here's another chapter! Enjoy!

edited on july 23rd, 2021 @ 8:01pm

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CHAPTER FOURTEEN - MOONRISE

TAKASHI GROANED AS HIS ALARM went off. He had to be up at midnight in order to arrive in Saitama for the Tokyo away games.

He looks over to Tenma, who was still sleeping. He reached over to kiss him.

"I love you, Ten."

Takashi got up and gently got off the bed so he wouldn't wake his sleeping fiancé. He put on a black tank top with gray joggers and grabbed his Karasuno coach jacket, putting it over his tank top.

"Phone... keys... okay, I think I got everything." He mumbled to himself.

He walked out of his apartment and towards his car. "Midnight... couldn't be any other time, no. Had to be midnight." Takashi thought.

Meanwhile, Karasuno was getting ready to board the bus. "Oh, I almost forgot. Where's Coach Takashi?" Hinata asked, realizing their assistant coach wasn't around.

"Kageyama-kun lives in Tokyo, so he'll be meeting us there." Takeda answered.

Takashi parked his car next to the bus and got out, making sure to lock it.

"Hey, hey! Where's the Skytree?" Takashi heard Hinata ask Kenma.

"Huh? The Skytree?" Kenma questioned in confusion.

Takashi watched as Hinata pointed to the transmission tower. "Oh! Is that the Tokyo Tower?" He asked in excitement.

"Huh? That's just a transmission tower." Kenma replied Takashi let out a long sigh. Everyone started walking.

"What the hell? Are there no transmission towers in Miyagi? Pretty sure I've heard that conversation before." Kuroo said with a sly look.

"The transmission towers in Tokyo all look like the Tokyo Tower to us countryfolk!" Daichi stated.

"That's a rash thing to say. Also, we're in Saitama." Sugawara said in an exhausted tone. They continued walking as Takashi walked with Matsuda.

"You look dead, captain." Matsuda laughed.

"I had to wake up at midnight and then drive the time it took to get here." Takashi mumbled. "I need coffee."

"It's not really that bad. Us pros are used to waking up early."

"There's a difference between five in the morning and midnight, Ren!"

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Karasuno was changed into their yellow vests that they used for practice games. Everyone was gathered around Ukai as they were playing against Fukurōdani. "All right, we're gonna swap out members constantly this time around, so be prepared." Ukai informed.

"Right!"

TWEEET!

"Our goal is zero penalties!" Bokuto exclaimed as everyone got onto the court. Fukurōdani was serving first. The ball went towards them as Takashi saw it going towards Nishinoya. "Noya-san!" Tanaka shouted as Nishinoya nodded and saved the ball in time.

"Yeah!" Nishinoya cheered.

"Nice receive!" Daichi praised as Tobio rushed to his position to set the ball to Hinata.

Takashi looked as Hinata charged forward to do the quick attack, it made the black haired male anxious. "That weird fast attack is coming!" Bokuto announced as another member got ready to lock.

However, when Tobio had set it as Hinata had jumped, making Takashi's eyes widen. Hinata landed on his feet as the ball fell to the ground. It made everyone stare at Tobio in shock and some in confusion.

"What the heck? Kageyama, that wasn't like you." Tanaka chuckled as Tobio grew flustered.

"I'm sorry." He apologized, turning away. Takashi noticed Hinata look at him in surprise.

"All right! One more! Nice serve!" Bokuto said.

The ball gets served again. "Got it!" Nishinoya yelled as he saved it and it went towards Tobio once more, who gets ready to toss to Hinata.

Hinata jumped up as Tobio tossed to him, however, it was too far this time.

Takashi sighed, thinking they weren't going to get a point, but was shocked when Hinata used his left arm to send the ball back up as he came tumbling down.

The ball rolled over the net and Karasuno gained a point.

"Nice, Hinata!"

"Nice, Shoyo!"

Takashi blinked at what he had just witnessed. Hinata hadn't done that before. Not to mention Tobio was setting differently.

"Has my dear brother finally took my advice? I wonder..." Takashi thought.

Asahi was now doing his serve, as he bounced the ball up and down, he threw it up and did a jump serve, making the ball go over the net. However, he hit the ball too powerfully and it was an out.

"Out! Out!"

Asahi clicked his tongue in annoyance when the ball goes out and Fukurōdani gets the point. "That's fine! Keep it going!" Ukai encouraged.

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Tobio and Hinata had been swapped out and were replaced with Sugawara and Tsukishima. Takashi  knew that Ukai wanted to try out the synchronize attack, so that's what they did. Tanaka charged forward from the back, however Sugawara tossed the ball too late making Tanaka along with everyone else tense a little as the ball dropped to the ground.

"Well, we shouldn't expect it to go completely right the first time..." Takashi thinks to himself.

The game continued as the ball goes up and Sugawara saved it. "Sorry! Cover!" He announced as Takashi watched Nishinoya smirk happily and run forward.

"Leave it to me!" He exclaimed, jumping up to do his own set. Both Nekomata and Naoi gasped in shock.

"Jumping from the back zone and into a libero's jump toss?" Naoi exclaimed while Matsuda smirked.

"That's right, that's right. Taught by yours truly. Per Takashi's request. I'm sure Noya will be fine." Matsuda said, having faith in his new student.

However, Nishinoya jumped too far, he realized his mistake and the ball bounced on the ground once more.

"I take back what I said. He could use a little more work." Matsuda commented with a dead panned expression.

"Hey, what's up with you guys today?" Bokuto questioned with a smile on his face as Nishinoya was trembling with a flustered look. "Are you all right?" Bokuto added.

Nishinoya groaned looked to the side. "Damn it!" He hissed to himself.

Takashi glanced at the score, which made him frown a little.

Karasuno

12

Fukurōdani

24

"I wonder what happened to Karasuno. Maybe they're in some kind of rut?" Naoi questioned.

Nekomata laughed. "I think it's the exact opposite." He replied.

"Huh?"

"Because they're crows, they're omnivorous. It doesn't matter if they're deep in the mountains, or in the middle of Kabukicho. They'll eat everything there is to eat, and take advantage of those stronger than them to survive. It looks like they're in the middle of evolving at an incredible speed." Nekomata explained.

The game resumed as Takashi watched the ball get served into the air, it goes to the setter who tosses it to Bokuto who happily jumped up. Daichi and Tsukishima also jump up to block him but the spike was too powerful and Bokuto got through them.

"Yes!" Bokuto cheered when he got through the two blockers.

Takashi frowned as he saw Tsukishima walk away. "I'm worried about him. Everyone seems to be trying their best to improve except Kei. Akiteru, you bastard. Your idiotic choices impacted your brother." He thinks to himself.

"I'm gonna punch Teru in the arm the next time I see him."

He looks over at Nekomata and Matsuda, realizing they must've noticed as well.

TWEEEET!

Karasuno lined up and bowed at Fukurōdani.

"Thank you!"

Daichi then lead everyone outside to do the penalty.

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It was dark out and Takashi was walking around campus. He took out his phone and scrolled through to find a certain contact, once he did, he clicked call.

"Takashi?"

"I'm totally kicking your ass the next time I see you." Takashi informed.

"Huh?!"

"You really are stupid."

"Hey! Where's this coming from?!"

"I'm talking about your issue with Kei." Takashi said.

It went silent on the other line. "He's okay, right?" Akiteru asked.

"Well, for the most part." Takashi responded. "Everyone on the team seems to be improving but him. I think what happened between you two affected him in some way, and while I understand your reasons, it was still a shitty thing to do."

"I know, Takashi. But you have to understand from my point of view."

"I'm understanding from both views, Teru. Yes, Kei looked up to you when he was younger. I get that. You know I would do anything for Tobio. But I can also understand from Kei's. He was lied to. If I was him, I would be pissed to." Takashi explained.

"I better let you get some sleep. Goodnight, Teru."

Takashi hung up and placed his phone back in his pocket. He could remember all the times he had stayed behind to help Akiteru with practice.

A 15 year old Takashi tossed the ball to Akiteru. However, he missed, making Takashi sigh.

"Teru, can we call it a night please? We've been going at this for hours." Takashi mumbled.

"I'm gonna keep practicing until I'm good enough to become a regular and eventually the future ace!"

Takashi sighed. "Well, anything's better than that stupid Udai." He admitted. "That shorty! He thinks he's all hot stuff because he has amazing jumping power. Well I say screw him!"

"The whole team knows you want to screw him, Takashi. Even the seniors."

"Like hell I'll do anything intimate with him! Much less sleep in the same bed! I hate his guts!"

Akiteru chuckled in amusement. "Once I'm the ace, we're gonna be one amazing duo." He said.

"Damn right we are!"

Takashi snapped back to reality and looked up at the sky.

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It was the next day as Takashi sat down at the table across from Sugawara. As he was eating the food from the cafeteria, he heard Nishinoya calling out to Tsukishima.

"Hey, Tsukishima. Eat up! Or you're not gonna last!" Nishinoya ordered as Tsukishima just smirked.

"Nishinoya-san, at least your stomach's big." Tsukishima teased as Tadahiro chuckled.

"What'd you say? You cheeky brat! This is what you get!"

Takashi watched as Nishinoya annoyed Tsukishima. "Your true self will pay!" Nishinoya exclaimed.

"H-Hey, stop! They're gonna break." Tsukishima stated, gesturing to his glasses. Yamaguchi watched from afar.

"Hey, Daichi's gonna get mad!" Sugawara warned them.

"I'm going to have gray hair by the time I'm thirty with this team." Takashi thought, rubbing his head.

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Karasuno was currently in the gymnasium playing against Nekoma. Takashi glanced over at the score since they had been playing for a while now. He sighed when he saw it.

Karasuno

15

Nekoma

24

It was Asahi's turn to serve as he waited for the whistle. Once the whistle blew, he served the ball, however it hits the net and Nekoma got match point.

Daichi lead all of them outside to do the penalty once again. Every lost they had, they had to keep running up the hill. They were taking a break when a voice caught their attention.

"Everyone!"

They all turned when they heard the voice of Shinzen's manager. They saw the managers holding watermelons.

"The parents from Shinzen High gave us some watermelons!" She said as everyone cheered.

They were all given a break as they ate their watermelons.

Daichi was next to Asahi and Tanaka when Kuroo came up to him.

"Sorry, by the way."

Daichi looked up to see Kuroo. "About what?" He asked in confusion.

"I think I might have pissed off your glasses guy yesterday." Kuroo replied.

"What?"

"Wow... Tsukishima actually helped out with free practice. Even if you cornered him into it..." Daichi stated. "So, what did you say?"

"I provoked him and said he was going to lose to your shrimp over there." Kuroo explained.

"I've definitely noticed that Tsukishima seems to feel inferior to Hinata somehow." Asahi admitted.

"I'm not sure if this is relevant, but my sister..." Tanaka trailed off as he began telling what his sister told him.

"Huh? Tsukishima has an older brother?" Daichi asked in shock.

"Oh, but I'm not sure. They could just have the same last name and not be related." Tanaka answered.

"Wait, Coach Takashi was on the volleyball team during the Little Giant's time. He may know him." Daichi said.

Soon, everyone was done eating their watermelons as they went back to play some more matches.

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At their next game, Karasuno was versing Nekoma in which they lost at 16 points. Nishinoya had failed to save the ball the last minute.

TWEEET!

The team headed outside to do the penalty.

Takashi watched as the ball went into the air. "Left! Left!" Tanaka announced, calling for a toss as Tobio tossed the ball towards him. Tanaka jumped up and spiked the volleyball down, getting past three Ubugawa blockers.

"All right!" Tanaka cheered as Takashi looked at the score to see where they were at.

Karasuno

12

Ubugawa

17

"Hey, you totally slacked there!" Tobio scolded to Tsukishima. "Even if you're a decoy, you need to jump!"

Tsukishima scoffed. "So observant... sorry, man." He huffed, jogging away.

"Tsukishima, your serve is next." Daichi informed as Tsukishima nodded and grabbed the ball.

"Sensei, what do you think of Tsukishima?" Ukai asked Takeda.

"I think he's taking this seriously." Takeda answered.

His teammates cheered for him as he served the ball.

"I feel like Tsukishima gets a passing grade, but never tries for 100%." Ukai informed. "I'm not asking for him to become more passionate, but if he's not going to give it his all, I'm gonna have to change regulars. I need players who can win a match on the court. He's the tallest and essential to the team. If Tsukishima could become a strong blocker, our defense level would go up a lot."

"I see." Takeda said.

Takashi watched as the ball goes back and fourth, keeping it play. However, he widened his eyes when he saw Nishinoya and Daichi bump into each other. They both apologized before going back into the game.

"About Kei... I'll talk to him, Keishin. See what's been on his mind." Takashi informed as both Ukai and Takeda turned to him.

"Even though I already know what's bothering him." Takashi added in his head. "I don't want Kei to be on the bench. I know I'm always on Teru's ass about what happened in the past, but even he deserves to see his younger brother play as a regular. Something that he couldn't accomplish himself."

Soon the ball goes into play as Takashi watched Tobio receive it. Tanaka ran forward to cover for him.

"We're counting on you, Asahi-san!" Tanaka called out to their ace as he received the ball towards him, but it was a bit short.

Takashi noticed Hinata lick his lips, as if he wanted to spike it. But he suddenly froze, and he saw him look at Asahi who had an intense aura around him. Hinata took a step back for Asahi to spike it instead as Asahi jumped up and got past three blockers with a powerful slam.

"Nice kill, Asahi-san! That was an awesome spike!"

Even so, they had eventually lost, as Daichi lead the team to do the penalty once more.

Takashi leaned on the gym wall as he overheard Yamaguchi and Hinata's conversation. He was lost in his thoughts, thinking about how he could help Tsukishima.

"I wonder if he's available..." Takashi thought, walking outside and pulling out his phone once more. After a few rings, the other line picks up.

"Senpai! It's been a long time!"

"It has, Uyeda."

"So what's up? You never call me."

"I'm helping coach Karasuno's current team. They're trying to make it to the Spring nationals." Takashi explained.

"Ah, Karasuno, huh?" Uyeda said.

"Yeah. The thing is, one of my players, Tsukishima hasn't really been... improving, I guess you could say?" Takashi sighed. "Keishin is thinking about changing regulars, and I really hate for him to be benched. I was wondering if you could stop by and maybe talk to him? You and Suzuki were our best defense back in our glory days."

On the other line, the blonde fiddled with the pen in his hands. "I really wish I could, senpai. I would love to help out any way I can. But I'm extremely busy with university and volleyball, so I don't know if I have the time." Uyeda responded.

"That's fine. Thank you any way, Uyeda. I'll find some way." Takashi said.

"But hey, I'll most likely attend the matches for the Spring Inter-High. Nagata-senpai was mentioning it. I think Kobayashi-senpai was talking about going too." Uyeda informed.

"That's good. It'll be nice to see you and Kobayashi again. I have a really good feeling about Karasuno's current team. They'll all amazing in their own way." Takashi said.

He said goodbye to Uyeda as he sighed. "How can I help Kei from being benched?" Takashi thinks to himself, rubbing his head in frustration.

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A/N: Another update within a day of each other? Yes sir. Thanks for reading!

Word Count: 2821 words.