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

edited on september 24th, 2021 @ 5:15am

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CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE - THE LOSERS

TAKASHI WATCHED AS TANAKA JUMPED up to spike, but the ball got blocked as Ennoshita dived down to save it, but it was too late as WakaNan gets the point.

The volleyball was tossed up to Ennoshita who spikes it down. "It's out!" Number 10 from WakaNan called out as he was correct and the opposing team gets a point.

"Don't mind! Next, next!" Asahi reassured Ennoshita who turned to him.

"I'm sorry." He apologized.

Takashi saw how Ennoshita narrowed his eyes in annoyance at himself, he looked over and saw that WakaNan was at match point.

"You think he'll be all right?" Nagata asked, referring to Ennoshita.

"I hope so. But the pressure might be making him stressed." Takashi replied.

Everyone on the court gets in their positions as the volleyball gets served and Tanaka crouched down and saved it.

Hinata charged forward as Tobio sets to him, the blocker from the other side managed to get a one touch, the ball soon gets set by the setter as Hinata and Ennoshita jump up to block, the ball bounces off Ennoshita's fingertips and out of the court, making WakaNan win the second set.

They get off the court to prepare for the third and final set. This last set will determine if Karasuno will go forward or not.

"That Nakashima guy seriously pisses me off!" Takashi shouted in anger as he put Uyeda in a headlock once more.

"Why is it always me?"

"Does he only piss you off because he plays exactly like Udai?" Nagata questioned as Takashi sighed and released Uyeda, much to his relief.

"It's not just that, Nagata. It's the fact that he's trying to be him." Takashi explained. "The difference between him and Hinata is that sure, Hinata idolizes Ten. But he doesn't want to become him. He's making a name for himself. Nakashima isn't doing that."

TWEEEET!

Karasuno got back onto the court as the final set began. WakaNan's setter tosses the volleyball up to their captain. "Takeru!" He called out as Hinata and Tobio jump up to block, but the ball got passed them and WakaNan scored the first point of the third set.

The ball gets served again as it hits the top of the net, and rolls to Karasuno's side. Tobio reacted quickly as he saved the ball. Tanaka went over to cover for him.

"Hinata, get the last!" He encouraged as Hinata runs over to spike the ball.

The ball goes far over the blockers hand, making Karasuno stare in shock and annoyance that the spike was out of bounds and the opposing team got the point.

"I'm sorry!" Hinata apologized as Tobio was yelling at the orange haired male at how stupid he was.

Hinata was growling at Nakashima as the volleyball gets served and over to Karasuno's side. "All right!" Nishinoya shouted as he receives the ball. Tobio tossed the ball as Hinata charges over and swings his arm down, but he was a decoy as Asahi came up behind him and smacked down the ball, the ball bounces off the opposing team's arms and into the air.

Nakashima runs to the side to spike the ball, Hinata jumped with Tanaka as the ball bounced off his fingertips.

The ball goes towards the edge, Takashi sighed thinking it was going to be another point for WakaNan, only to be in shock when Hinata chased after the volleyball as he watched with widened eyes as Hinata dived forward and saved the ball, sending the ball back up. Takashi also saw how Keishin picked up the bench him and Takeda were sitting on to prevent Hinata from crashing into it.

Takashi was impressed that Hinata did a perfect slide on his stomach and came up with no injuries. "It's a counter!" Keishin shouted from the sides, Tobio sets the ball up high as Hinata jumps up and slams it down, getting Karasuno a point.

"Yeah!" The two of them cheered as Takashi blinked in surprise when Hinata crashed into Tobio. "Are you all right?" Asahi shouted in concern while Takashi sweat dropped.

"I had too much momentum there."

Asahi was trembling as he panicked that the two got hurt. "Be careful! Seriously, be careful!" Asahi begged as Tobio turned to him.

"Colliding with a lightweight like this guy doesn't faze me at all." Tobio stated. Takashi snorted in amusement as the duo start to throw hands at each other, but Hinata was dodging with ease at Tobio's  punches as Kageyama was dodging Hinata's.

Uyeda laughed out loud. "It's you and Udai-san all over again!" He exclaimed, making Takashi irked at his comment as he whacked him on the head.

"Shut up, Uyeda!"

"That was awesome! Nice kill!" Ennoshita praised the two, making them stop and stare at Ennoshita.

"Even if we're backed into a corner, we still have the firepower to break through. That's our weapon." Tobio stated.

"I think you said something like that before, Ennoshita-san." Tobio added.

"Yeah." Ennoshita smiled at Tobio.

"Go! Killer serve!" Hinata exclaimed out happily, wanting to play more. Both teams eventually had six points each. Tsukishima had also joined with Hinata on the sides.

"A feint!" Nishinoya exclaimed as Ennoshita was quick to react as he dived down and saved the ball in time.

"Nice receive!" Asahi praised as Nishinoya covered for Ennoshita and sending the ball up, making the ace spike it but it turned out to be an out.

Nishinoya yelled in frustration. "That toss was low! Sorry!" He exclaimed as Takashi sighed and glanced over at Ennoshita who stared at the ground with gritted teeth, making him frown and run a hand through his black locks.

Takashi watched as he bowed to everyone. "I'm sorry." He apologized. Tanaka raised an eyebrow before grinning.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tanaka asked as Ennoshita looked at his fellow second-year. "If you're trying to do exactly like Daichi-san does.. You're 10 years— No, that's too long... you're a year too early!" Tanaka exclaimed.

"That just now was a nice receive, no matter what anyone says!"

Ennoshita had continued to stare at the second-year before smiling at him. They all get back into their positions, as he glanced back at the other team who stared right back.

The game went on with Karasuno at 6 points and WakaNan having 7, Tobio tossed to Tsukishima who spiked it, but the ball got saved, as Nakashima jumped up to spike the ball, he does so as Ennoshita chases the volleyball, but was too late as the ball went out of bounds and WakaNan gets the point, making Takashi sigh a little in disappointment.

Tobio tossed the ball up, as Hinata was a decoy as Tanaka rushed in and slammed the volleyball, in which WakaNan's Number 2 saves it, the other player sets the ball up to their captain with Hinata and Tobio about to block.

The volleyball grazed Hinata's hand, as Takashi watched with nerves as Ennoshita chased after the ball, he dives forward, his hand extended to connect the ball, he succeeded making Takashi sigh in relief.

"Ennoshita!"

Takashi jumped at the sudden voices of Yamaguchi, Sugawara, Narita, and Kinoshita, as Tsukishima stayed silent. Nishinoya ran over and sent the ball to Hinata.

"Hinata, get the last hit!" Nishinoya shouted, as Hinata rushed in as Takashi saw three blockers jump up.

At first, Takashi figured there was no way Hinata was going to get through the blockers, until he flinched when he did a rebound.

"All right! Got it!" Nishinoya said as he receives the ball.

"One more!"

Takashi watched as Hinata ran forward for a spike, however he was a decoy with Tobio setting to Tanaka instead who jumped up and hits the volleyball, as the ball bounces off a players arm and Karasuno gets the point.

Both Hinata and Tanaka yell out to cheer for the point and Tanaka bonks him on the head. Takashi then saw Tobio was questioning Hinata on where he learned the rebound before he saw that Nishinoya said something to Ennoshita before walking away, making Ennoshita smile brightly at whatever Nishinoya said.

The game resumes before the whistle blew to change sides. The match continued with WakaNan's setter tossing to their captain in which Uyeda cheered when Tsukishima blocks it and gets a point.

"We caught up!"

Takashi saw how both teams were now at 13 points. Soon Ennoshita serves the volleyball, but the other team got the point when their spiker slams it down. After that Karasuno gets the point back and now Asahi was serving, as he did his jump serve, the ball did get saved but it was a long one as the ball was coming over to the net.

Tobio and Nakashima jump up to see who can push the ball in, in which Takashi smirked when Tobio got the ball in but then Number 2 from the opposing team came in and saved it as Number 5 covered for his teammate.

The ball gets sent over to their captain as Takashi gulped in nerves, as he gets a point when the ball grazes Tobio's fingertips and onto the court.

TWEEEET!

Takashi looked over to see Karasuno panting in exhaustion. "Tobio... you better remember what I told you." He thought, thinking back to what he told his younger brother.

"Tobio, a word please?"

Tobio looked over to his older brother. "Sure thing, Nii-san." He replied, walking over to him.

"Considering you're up against WakaNan, I want you to use my toss if you feel like Karasuno is in trouble."

"Huh?"

"I wanted you to save it until you're up against much stronger teams, like Aoba Johsai and Shiratorizawa, but I figured this would be best." Takashi explained. "Do you trust your teammates?"

"O-Of course!"

"Do you trust Hinata?"

Tobio stopped for a moment as Takashi chuckled. "I have no idea what WakaNan is like, but my toss was once Karasuno's powerful weapon. It's right where it belongs. Use it wisely." He said.

"I wish you had that mindset before you taught it to Oikawa." Nagata scolded.

"Sh-Shut up, Nagata!"

"You know he's right, senpai."

"Kobayashi! Not you, too!"

Tobio let out a long sigh at his older brother and his high school teammates. "I hear you, Nii-san." He said, making Takashi smirk.

"Good. Now go out there and show everyone that you're related to the best pro setter in the country."

"Your ego is getting to your head, Nii-san."

"Shut up!"

"WakaNan may have a player who is just like Ten. But what they don't have is an Emperor to easily back him up. Karasuno has both." Takashi thought.

The whistle blew as Hinata served the ball over the net, the ball gets saved as Takashi saw how they were coming in with a fast attack. Tanaka also took notice as well.

"They're coming in with a fast attack!" He told everyone.

Tsukishima jumped up to block as the spiker slams the ball and Tanaka receives it. "Nice receive!" Tobio praised as he gets under the ball to set. Asahi, Tanaka, Tsukishima, and Ennoshita all ran forward in unison for the synchronize attack while Hinata stayed behind.

Tobio tosses the ball to Ennoshita as he jumped up and slammed it down past the blocker as WakaNan's captain failed to save it.

"All right!" Karasuno cheered.

"He set to their #6, who's only gotten a few hits in, despite this chance coming in the last part of the game." Hanayama thinks to himself as he looked at Tobio. "That first-year setter's definitely gutsy. But I wouldn't expect anything less from someone who's related to a pro setter."

After a few more plays Takashi checked the score once more.

Karasuno

23

WakaNan

21

"They're ahead. That's good. If they keep this up, they'll definitely win this match and move onto the semifinal." Takashi thought as Asahi was up to serve.

"Asahi-san, nice serve!" Nishinoya encouraged as Takashi watched Asahi doing his jump serve, he winced when he saw that it was going to be an out. He turned out to be correct as WakNan got the point.

"I'm sor—"

Nishinoya cut him off by smacking Asahi in the sides. "Next! One more!" He praised as Takashi sweat dropped.

Soon it was WakNan's turn to serve the ball, the opposing team was at 22 points with Karasuno having 23. Takashi watched as the player serving smacks the ball. However, he saw that it was going to be an out.

"Out!" Nishinoya announced as he was correct and now at match point.

"Nice call!"

They rotated with Hinata at the front. Soon Tsukishima served the volleyball, as the opposing team saved it and the setter tosses it to their captain. Hinata and Tobio jumped up to block, but Takashi widened his eyes when the captain did a feint instead. Tsukishima dived down to save it but was too late.

Number 2 on the opposing team smacks the ball, as the volleyball hits the net, but it was a net in, as Nishinoya dived down and receives it.

"It's up! Nishinoya, nice!" Ennoshita praised as Takashi watched Tobio toss to Hinata. However, he widened his eyes when he noticed the ball was a little high for Hinata to reach.

But to his shock, Hinata used his other hand and tapped the ball over the net.

"Chance ball!"

"Hinata!"

Everyone glanced at Ennoshita at his sudden shout to Hinata. "Don't thrash about! What is a good jump?" Ennoshita yelled as Hinata was taken aback before looking forward.

"One that starts with good footing!" Hinata announced, making Takashi blink a little but then chuckled.

Hinata goes where Tobio was standing. "Watch the ball!" He stated.

"Yeah!" Hinata replied.

Takashi watched as the setter tosses to the captain instead, the volleyball grazed Hinata's fingertips as it past the two, making everyone tense at this. But he was shocked to see Ennoshita smack the ball from the back row, as Tobio got into setting position as Hinata ran with great speed.

"The time is now! Nii-san's toss will make us win the match!" Tobio thought.

Takashi smirked when he saw Tobio jump up and switch from his palms to his fingertips. Kobayashi, Uyeda, and Nagata could've sworn they saw a shadow of Takashi in his number one Japan jersey within Tobio. Nakashima's eyes widened at the familiarity of the toss.

"That's the toss the Little Giant spiked!" He thinks to himself. And he wasn't the only one who noticed. Other volleyball players noticed as well.

"Is that..."

"Yeah! That's the toss the pro setter on Japan's team, Kageyama Takashi does!"

"No way!"

Tobio tossed the ball as Hinata smacks down the ball with his other hand and it goes out of the court.

TWEEEET!

"All right!"

Karasuno cheered for the win as the players from the bench ran over to them.

"Yahoo! They did it!" Kobayashi cheered.

"Th-That toss is as scary as I remember." Uyeda mumbled, shaking with fear.

Karasuno was soon called to line up as they then bowed to the other team.

"Thank you very much!"

Takashi glanced over towards Nakashima and sighed. "Come on. I feel like I need to say something to him." He said.

"Hey, Kags. I know you were pretty pissed throughout the game, but be nice to him, okay?"

"The hell you talking about, Nagata?! I'm always nice!"

"No you're not."

Takashi spotted WakaNan walking with their heads down and spoke up.

"Yo. Nakashima Takeru, right? Mind if I have a word with you?"

The team turned around and spotted him looking at them.

"Y-You're—!"

"Your team played well out there. Even though I was pissed throughout the game, I have to admit I was a little impressed." Takashi spoke up. "You idolize the Little Giant like Hinata, right? Mind if I offer you some advice?"

"S-Sure." Nakashima responded.

"It's always okay to idolize a player that came before you, and to try to be a little like them is okay. But to be better or different is what you should always aim for." Takashi stated. "Be your own player and play volleyball the way you want to play it, not the way someone else used to."

Nakashima was taken aback by Takashi's words. "In fact, if he was here, I'm sure the Little Giant would agree with me." Takashi added on.

"I have younger players who idolize me just like he does. But I don't want them to be exactly like me. I want them to be better. It's what I always tell Tōru and my brother." He continued. "You are talented, Nakashima. I hope one day you can find an Emperor just like the Little Giant had. That's all I wanted to say."

Nakashima almost teared up at his words. Takashi jumps back when Nakashima bows to him. "Th-Thank you!" He exclaimed as the older male smiled.

He walked away with Nagata, Kobayashi and Uyeda. "Let's head back in. Karasuno's next opponents are playing." Takashi spoke.

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Takashi sat down comfortably on the chairs from the stands between Kobayashi and Nagata, watching the game below which was against Aoba Johsai and Date Tech. His eyes were more focused on Oikawa, who was conversing with his team.

His phone buzzed as he took it out of his pocket, seeing that it was his fiancé.

Ten 💕:
> Hey, Kashi. Did Karasuno win?

Kashi ❤️:
Of course they did, Tenma boke. We're currently watching Aoba Johsai and Date Tech's match to see who will be Karasuno's opponent for the semifinal. <

Ten 💕:
> My money's on Aoba Johsai. They do have your student after all. Not to mention, Karasuno needs to have their revenge.

Kashi ❤️:
Damn right they do. It'll be interesting to see how Iwaizumi gets past their Iron Wall, considering with what happened to Asahi. <

Ten 💕:
> Update me when Karasuno makes it to finals.

Kashi ❤️:
Will do. <

Takashi turns his phone off and shoves it back into his pocket before narrowing his eyes at the game down below.

"Now... who will Karasuno face off against in the semifinal? The Iron Wall? Or Aoba Johsai?"

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A/N: Another chapter is done! And yes, I did change Takashi's toss up a bit because what I had before was too much information and I was getting a headache from it.

How do you guys think Takashi will react when he meets Hoshiumi in season four? I'm curious to know your thoughts.

Thanks for reading!

Word Count: 3118 words.