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

edited on august 6th, 2021 @ 9:52am

════ ∘◦ᵒ 𓅓 ᵒ◦∘ ════

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - GEARS

TAKASHI WAS SITTING INSIDE A pub next to Ukai and across from Matsuda. "But, wow... To think we played over sixty sets and only won three... We've definitely gone down a thorny path." Takeda stated.

Ukai laughed. "That's for sure. Well, if they were like they were doing the Seijoh match, they could have probably won a few more. The team's offense was styled around Hinata and Kageyama's weirdo quick and their bait routine, and they executed them well. But we could see the limits of that strategy." He explained.

"The truth is that they lost to Seijoh, and that's why they started changing things up." Ukai finished.

"I know." Takeda said. "They're all developing their own cogs. There's no way they could beat the powerhouse schools of Kanto while they're still incomplete. But... Once all the cogs fit together..."

"They'll be unstoppable." Takashi finished as both Ukai and Takeda looked at him.

"All of their opponents better watch out, because I believe once this training camp is over, they're gonna have a tough time beating Karasuno." Takashi thought.

Nekomata slapped Takeda on the shoulder. "Hey! Don't think that you can beat Nekoma that easily." He informed.

Takeda raised his hands up in defense. "I certainly didn't mean to say that it would be easy! But we'll still do our absolute and win." He claimed.

"You sure talk big now, Sensei." Nekomata stated as he chuckled. "You, too, Ukai-chan."

"You as well, Taka." Matsuda added, swinging his arm around Takashi's shoulder. "Nekoma won't go down without a fight!"

"Shut up, Ren! And get off of me, you smell like piss!"

════ ∘◦ᵒ 𓅓 ᵒ◦∘ ════

It was now the next day as Karasuno was getting ready for the match against Fukurōdani.

"This is the final set. We've been losing throughout this training camp. We'll rip at least one set away from Fukurōdani, the most powerful team at this camp, before going home!" Daichi encouraged as his team smiled at his comment.

"Yeah!"

They all pulled apart and turned to stare at Fukurōdani, who looked back at them, with Bokuto challenging smiling at them.

"Let's play!" Karasuno shouted at the opposing team as they get onto the court.

"We're gonna get this one!" Daichi announced.

"Yeah!"

"All right! Bring it, Karasuno!" Bokuto challenged, the referee blew the whistle as Asahi was serving the volleyball.

"Asahi-san, nice serve!" Nishinoya called out.

Takashi watched as Asahi did his jump serve. Takashi thought they were going to get the point but Fukurōdani's libero saved it.

"Bokuto-san!"

"Right!"

Takashi watched as Akaashi sets to Bokuto, as Tsukishima moves to the sides near Tobio to block the attack.

"Left, Number 4!" Daichi shouted. Takashi watched as the duo jumped and blocked Bokuto who blinked in surprise.

"Out!" Fukurōdani's libero exclaimed, as the ball went out.

"All right!"

"A wipe, huh..." Ukai mumbled.

"So close!" Takeda added.

"You guys keep getting better every day, and it's annoying." Takashi heard Bokuto mumble, making him chuckle.

They played a few more rounds with Karasuno at 5 points and Fukurōdani at 6.

"Left, left!"

Asahi spiked the ball but Konoha saves it. Takashi  watched as Akaashi follows the ball into the air and tosses it to a spiker on his team as he slammed it down and got a point.

"A quick from there?!" Takeda exclaimed.

"Even if the receive is a little off, they confidently pull off a quick." Ukai said. "Their setter's pretty skilled, as well."

"I have to agree there." Takashi added as Ukai and Takeda look at him. "I'm pretty amazed with his skills, and that's a lot for me to admit that."

"Break it off after the first one!" Kinoshita shouts from the sidelines.

Takashi watched as Bokuto moved up front, he kept his eyes on the ball as it goes up and it was served. "Nishinoya!" Daichi called out as Nishinoya received it.

"Nice receive!" Tanaka praised as Tobio sets the ball up and Tsukishima slams it down, but the ball got saved by the libero.

"Nice, Saru! Give me the last one!"

"Right now, our front row is in the rotation where the wall is at its highest. Make sure you stop the ball!" Ukai exclaimed.

Asahi runs over and aids Tsukishima and Tobio as the three block Bokuto's spikes, however Bokuto did a cut shot, making Fukurōdani gain a point.

"Talk about an insane cut shot." Takashi thinks to himself. "And I thought Kimura's were insane."

"All right! Did you see that, Akaashi? Hey, did you see my awesome cut shot just now?"

"I did. Amazing."

"It was pure luck, though!"

"That's amazing, even if it was luck." Tanaka said.

"I'd love to hit something like that." Asahi said in determination.

"Fukurōdani's Bokuto-kun is a real puzzle. Even when he's your opponent, you kind of want to cheer for him. Though that might be because I think he's a player on a completely different level." Takeda said.

"True..." Ukai agreed before looking over to Hinata. "He might just be a player who lifts the spirits of both his teammates and his opponents."

Soon, Hinata was swapped in with Nishinoya swapping out and Tsukishima's turn to serve the ball.

"Leave it to me!" Nishinoya assured as he re-entered the game and saved the ball.

"Nice receive!" Hinata praised as Tobio sets the ball up and Hinata jumped up to hit it.

Takashi gasped out loud as he watched Hinata perform a feint, making not only his teammates but also Fukurōdani shocked as Karasuno scored a point.

"Hinata just..." Ukai began.

"...did a feint?!" Takashi finished, blinking in shock at what he just witnessed.

Takashi looked towards Bokuto who started to yell.

"A feint?"

Takashi saw Akaashi growl a little as he looked towards his captain.

"You're the one who taught it to him."

Bokuto tensed a little before sheepishly looking away as the three players who dived down to save the ball but failed, all growled and glared at Bokuto.

Takashi saw that Tobio look totally shocked by Hinata.

"You actually used your head? You're gonna get a fever." Tobio said as Hinata gave him an irked look.

(A/N: As a manga reader, this sentence hurt me the most. Haha, I'm in spain without the s).

"You are the only person who doesn't get to say stuff like that to me."

Takashi looked back at Bokuto who crosses his arms. "I won't let them get another point from now on!" He declared.

"I think it's impossible to completely shut them out—" Akaashi began but was interrupted by Bokuto.

"Akaashi, back me up once in a while! Damn, that shorty! We're not gonna lose!" Bokuto announced as Karasuno stared at him.

The game continued onwards. "Number 2! Number 2!" Daichi called out as the ball gets spiked, Daichi crouched down and saved it.

Tanaka jumped up as Tobio sets the ball to him as he slammed it down.

"All right!" Tanaka cheered as he got past the blockers.

They continued to rally until Takashi saw his brother perform a dump and Karasuno got a point. "All right!" Karasuno cheered.

"Wow, a dump!" Takeda exclaimed. "Kageyama-kun's doing very well. He hasn't missed a jump serve today, either."

"Yeah, Kageyama today is like... Calm and collected. He gives you the same uneasy feeling as a calm before a storm."

Ukai then looked towards Takashi who had a proud smile on his face. "Almost similar to Takashi's Emperor aura when he plays." He added in his head.

Soon enough, Tsukishima was serving. "One more, Tsukishima! Nice serve!" Daichi called out as Tsukishima serves the ball forward. The ball got saved as it then made its way forward to Karasuno's side, Daichi dived down to save it.

Tobio sets the ball to Hinata who spiked it down, but it got saved. Takashi watched as Asahi saved it.

"Asahi-san, nice receive!" Tanaka yelled. Hinata ran forward with Tobio about to set.

Hinata was in the air as Takashi could tell he was watching Tobio, it was eerie and intense as Takashi watched Tobio set the ball to Hinata, the older Kageyama widened his eyes.

"Is this... their new quick?" Takashi thought as he watched the ball get slammed down by Hinata and Karasuno got the point.

Everyone was silent, much in shock wondering what they just witnessed. Takashi saw Tobio and Hinata look at one another, until they both smiled and had amazed and flustered looks.

"Wait! You've got to be kidding! If we're gonna do that, let me know beforehand!" Tobio scolded.

"I just felt like we could pull it off! Didn't you?!" Hinata grinned happily.

The two of them began to bicker, as Takashi smiled. "Those two... really are amazing together." He thinks to himself.

════ ∘◦ᵒ 𓅓 ᵒ◦∘ ════

Hinata and Tobio do their quick attack again, and Karasuno gains a point once more. Takashi took a look at the scores to see they were tied with both teams having 9 points. Hinata and Tobio seemed to be happy their new quick attack was working out.

"All right!"

"What the heck was that? That was awesome!"

"All right!"

"Nice Hinata, Kageyama!"

Ukai and everyone else from the sides all cheer for the duo, making him smile.

"Hey, Akaashi. Was that really that amazing? Could we do it, too?" Bokuto asked.

"That's something we should never try. Hinata hit it like it was nothing but I believe it would take a lot of practice to hit a toss like that. Not to mention..." Akaashi said as they both looked at Tobio. "Making a toss float at the point of impact is an incredible move. At my skill level, that's impossible."

Akaashi then turned his gaze over to where Takashi was. "I can see how he's related to one of the best volleyball setters in the country. If his younger brother is like this, I can't even think to imagine what he's like on the court." Akaashi thought.

Takashi felt someone looking at him but decided to ignore it. He saw Tobio stare down at Hinata.

"What? You wanna start something? But that's awesome! So cool! It stopped right before my eyes! It was like shoop! This time I felt like it would totally succeed and stuff! But when it actually stops in front of my eyes, it freaks me out! You really are amazing after all!" Hinata ranted as he complimented Tobio.

He seemed incredibly shocked by the compliment, as he shook a little. "Wh-What... You dumbass..." Tobio stuttered as Hinata jumped up and down.

"Awesome! So awesome!" Hinata grinned happily.

"Kageyama's facial expression is turning into something very difficult to describe." Daichi said.

"What's up with his facial muscles?" Tanaka teased.

"It's not often Hinata praises Kageyama in a straightforward manner." Asahi noted.

"I'm glad we actually believed in this and waited."

"Yeah."

"Anyway, next time, make sure you—" Tobio was interrupted by Yachi.

"You did it! You did it! You did it!" She cheered for the two, jumping up and down on the spot. "Nice kill, Hinata, Kageyama-kun!" Yachi announced.

"It only took them three weeks to be on good terms with one another again. It's nice to see them back in action." Takashi thought. Hinata smiled down at his hand.

"One more time!" He announced.

"I'm so jealous! Let me look cool, too!" Tanaka whined.

"We can't let them beat us." Daichi added as Asahi smiled as well.

"Let's keep up!" He encouraged.

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't get cocky, you guys! Hey, hey, hey!"

"All right!"

"U-Um, Ukai-kun..." Takeda began as Ukai looked at him. "To be honest, at first glance, I can't tell the difference between this and their previous weirdo quick."

"Ah... In the previous quick, the toss would go right through Hinata's point of impact. Conversely, with this new quick, they're trying to make it so that the spiker's highest point of impact equals the ball's point of arrival. Once the ball's forward momentum reached zero, there's a brief moment that you wouldn't have if the ball was going straight through. The difference is ultimately that one moment." Ukai explained.

"It means that Hinata has more options while he's in the air." Takashi finished.

"Oh!"

Both Ukai and Takashi had a grin on their faces as they chuckled, making Takeda flinch.

"I need to make sure I bring that geezer to the spring tournament. I'm gonna show him their quick in person." Ukai stated.

"I'm gonna see if I can bring more of my high school teammates too." Takashi added. "They're gonna piss their pants when they see Hinata and Tobio in action."

"Especially Uyeda." Takashi thinks to himself. "He's probably still traumatized after almost being hit by my Emperor toss."

The game continued, as Daichi crouched down and saved the incoming ball. "Nice receive!" Tanaka praised as Takashi watched Tobio set the ball, however it was short and Hinata missed it.

"All right!" Fukurōdani cheered.

"Don't worry about it, Kageyama-kun!" Hinata smiled. Tobio leaned over Hinata's form with Hinata holding Kageyama's wrists to stop him from tumbling forward onto Hinata.

"Damn it! That pisses me off!" Tobio exclaimed.

"Why's that? There's nothing else I can say in this case!" Hinata whined as Tobio growled a little.

Asahi sweat dropped at the duo. "Well, it's not something that will go all that perfectly in the first place." He spoke to them.

"And what better time..." Daichi grins as Tanaka spoke up.

"...for the senpais to shine!" He smirked.

Takashi looked over at the scoreboard in curiosity.

Karasuno

10

Fukurōdani

12

They go on with the game, as the player from the opposing team spikes the ball as Hinata one touched it. Tobio ran over and receives the ball, however that just meant he couldn't set to anyone.

"Got it!" Nishinoya assured as Takashi watched him run over.

"Is he going to try and set?" Takashi thought.

Nishinoya looked at the line and jumped in time to toss the ball, Asahi was quickly there to spike it past the two blockers, however it was an out, making Takashi sigh.

"Sorry, my toss was a but low. Damn it!" Nishinoya apologized. Asahi panicked and went over to reassure his friend.

"I-It was great! I think that was more a mistake I made there." Asahi reassured him as Nishinoya snapped his head up to the ace.

"If it's not good, you gotta say it's not good, Asahi-san!"

"Oh, okay..."

The two of them lightly bickered, well, Nishinoya was the one who was bickering.

"That's it! Keep it up!" Ukai called out, as Daichi nodded in agreement. They continue the match, with the ball now up.

"Got it!"

"Left! Left!"

They had played a bit longer with the opposing team now at 15 points with Karasuno at 12. The ball went up, as Takashi kept his eyes on it.

"Now!" Daichi shouted.

Asahi and Tsukishima nodded as Daichi, Tsukishima, Asahi, and Tanaka all run forward to try their synchronize attack.

They all jump up as Tobio sends the ball to Tanaka, making him grin as he let out a yell and spiked the ball, getting Karasuno a point. Everyone was a little stunned.

"All right!" Tanaka cheered. "It feels so awesome when a spike goes through..." He almost broke into tears as Nishinoya jumped onto his shoulders.

"Kageyama, nice toss!" Daichi praised.

"Thank you!" Tobio replied back.

Takashi was in deep thought. "I wonder..." He began to think. "No, that idea is too dangerous not to mention hard to do in a synchronize attack. I haven't even done something as crazy as that. But..."

He looks over at Sugawara. "With Suga and Tobio, those two might be able to pull it off."

It was Asahi's turn to serve, as Takashi watched him do his jump serve. Karasuno gained a point when the ball bounces off a players arm from the opposing team.

The game goes on as Takashi kept his eyes on the ball, Akaashi sets it up, as Bokuto slammed the volleyball down, but Tsukishima and Daichi stopped him.

Or at least, Tsukishima one touched the ball. Tobio saved it and sends it back up, with Nishinoya doing his toss, and Daichi spiking it, getting a point for Karasuno. Takashi was impressed by the team.

"Everyone is improving..." Takashi noted.

TWEEEET!

"All right!"

It was a timeout as each team had 18 points. "Yes, yes, yes! We're actually neck in neck with Fukurōdani at the end of the game." Tanaka stated with a smile.

"Yeah!" Nishinoya responded in happiness.

"That doesn't mean you should get too confident. The real battle begins now." Ukai informed as everyone nodded.

"Right!"

"It's true that you shouldn't let your guard down. But it's also true that the cogs that all of you have created are starting to mesh with one another." Takeda spoke, stepping forward. "In the course of fighting out this set, please work on honing them even further!" He announced as everyone nodded at his words.

"Right!"

"Also, just as planned, you haven't been letting their ace spike too freely. Though there was that one cut shot. But that was because Kei was able to put in that one-touch." Takashi informed, making the tall blonde nod.

"Oh, right."

"If we can keep Number 4 under control victory is in sight. Let's finish this!" Ukai finished.

"Right!"

They all get back onto the court, Takashi watched as the ball gets spiked and Fukurōdani gets their point as Nishinoya accidentally hit the ball out.

Karasuno

18

Fukurōdani

19

"Damn it! I'm sorry! It was our chance to turn things around."

"Don't worry about it!"

"Noya-san, nice fighting!"

Takashi watched as it was Bokuto's turn serving, as he looked a little grumpy. "All right, I'll leave them in the shadows with my serve!" He had yelled, making Takashi smirk, as he could tell he was getting annoyed by them.

"Bokuto, nice serve!"

Takashi looked at Akaashi who sighed at his captain

"Bokuto-san, stay calm."

"I am calm!"

Takashi almost choked on his laughter at Bokuto snapping. "This reminds me of that time when Miura served a volleyball to Ren's head during practice. Miura was telling him to stay calm when Ren replied that he was calm, when he obviously wasn't." He thought, sweat dropping at the memory.

"Gosh, my team's a whole mess."

"All right! Here I go!"

Takashi watched him hit the ball, however he almost hit the back of Konoha's head which the player shrieked in surprise as Karasuno gained a point.

"Damn it! I'm sorry!" Bokuto whined as Takashi saw Konoha still shaking at almost getting hit by a powerful serve.

"Calm down."

"Don't worry about it."

Soon it was Tanaka's turn to serve in which the second-head serves the ball, however he accidentally aimed it for the corner.

"You jerk!" Bokuto grumbled as he dived down and saved the ball in time. Tanaka seemed relieved as he jogged closer in the court.

"Give it to me! I'll finish this in one hit!" Bokuto yelled, as Takashi watched Akaashi get ready to toss, he was wondering who he will set the ball too.

"Bokuto-san!" Akaashi announced, sending the ball up.

"Huh, maybe Bokuto might score this time." Takashi thought as he watched in interest as the third-year jumped up and spiked down the ball.

However, Hinata, Daichi and Asahi block him, as the ball goes back to Fukurōdani. "Got it!" The libero assured as he saved the ball.

"One more time, Akaashi!" Bokuto yelled out, as Takashi could see the setter was getting troubled.

"Here."

"All right!"

Bokuto charged in again, as he jumped to slam down the volleyball. At first, Tadahiro thought he might score, but then he smirked when Asahi, Daichi, and Hinata block the attack and Karasuno gained a point. Takashi saw Akaashi tense a little at this, making him blink in confusion.

"All right!" Karasuno cheered, as they were getting close to winning the set.

"J-Just now, was that a block or something?" Yachi asked as Takashi decided to answer her question.

"No, that just now didn't go over the net, so it was a missed spike." Takashi responded as Kiyoko nodded in agreement at his words. Yachi just nodded in understanding.

Takashi looked over to the opposing team and saw how Bokuto was panting heavily, while his teammates looked at him in tense.

"Akaashi..." Takashi heard Bokuto mumble, making him gulp. Takashi watched as Bokuto raises his hand.

"Don't toss to me anymore!"

Takashi blinked a little in surprise before he deadpanned at Bokuto. "Huh?" He mumbled to himself in confusion, he also saw that Karasuno was confused.

"What the..." Daichi commented.

Takashi looked back at Akaashi who had a blank stare. "All right." Akaashi agreed, as Takashi saw Bokuto be taken aback a little.

"Then, while I'm not tossing to you, please calm yourself down." Akaashi scolded as he jogged to get back in position.

Takashi almost laughed at the blank look on Bokuto's face.

"Does this mean our chance has arrived?" Takeda asked.

"Yeah! We can win this match!" Ukai answered.

Takashi looked back to see Karasuno all determined to win the match.

"I believe in all of you... win this practice set!"

════ ∘◦ᵒ 𓅓 ᵒ◦∘ ════

A/N: Another chapter is done! Thanks for reading!

Word Count: 3578 words.