You take a deep breath and notice there were spectators jumbling about, ready to take their seats in the stands. Anticipating for the showdown that's about to happen. They gym lights shone brightly, taking your breath away. The Interhigh preliminaries have finally arrived.

The day we've all been practicing for.

"The smell of Salonpas!" Hinata exclaimed into the gigantic gymnasium. It was Hinata's first official game ever. He had to take multiple trips to the bathroom to recover from his anxiety. Thankfully, Tanaka-kun prepared a barf-bag for him during the bus ride. That would've been a real mess.

You could see the TV crew setting up on the sidelines and banners hung proudly, representing each school.

"Mika, let's do our thing." You gesture to her and she nods in response.

Entering the hallways, you hear a few whispers as you pass by:

"Damn, Karasuno has girl managers??? A cute one and a hot one!? Unfair!" One boy gawked

"I dare you to talk to them." One of them challenged their friend as he nudged him in the arm.

Mika towers over them and makes a face at the boys. They shriek in terror and start running away. Giggling at their horrified response, Mika taunts,

"Ya you better run! Karasuno is going to win and beat your ugly asses!"

Hurrying upstairs to the stands, you hold onto the black banner in search for the perfect spot.

"Here. It's perfect." Mika points and you hurry over and open your backpack.

Taking out twine and unfurling the banner, you shake it until it reveals its full length.

"Got it Mika?" You ask and she nods in response

Carefully throwing the banner over the railings, you tie the edges and smile downwards. The rest of the team already reached the gymnasium and noticed the banner that read "FLY" in a dazzling white. They huddled underneath the banner and smile upwards to both of you.

You and Mika gleam down at your friends and their faces were all in awe, as you and Mika said simultaneously,

"Do your best!"

Mika boasted with more confidence than you but regardless, the boys were speechless.

You make eye contact with Suga and make the hand signal you both shared. It looked like the "rock and roll symbol" and you wave it side to side just a bit. Suga did the same from below, making you smile. He was blushing a bit when his teammates asked him what it meant. He lied saying it was another signal for a C-quick, but in reality it meant 'I love you'

Turning back to Mika you could see her waving at Tsukishima, who waved back unenthusiastically. Even so, you could see the tiniest smile creep up his face.

"So, are you and Suga... you know?" She smirked

You flinched at her question but you retorted,

"Psh, no of course not! W-what are, are you and Tsuki a thing?"

She blushes on the spot and someone else calls out,

"Ya Mika-chaaan? Are ya?"

Turning around, you're greeted by Oikawa-kun and the rest of Aobajohsai's team. They were dressed in white and turquoise and held intimidating faces.

"NO! Crappykawa!" Mika yelled as she held out her arms to distance herself away from him. Her face turned a bright red.

"Or is it that you guys aren't because of that kiss huh? I know I'm pretty irrisitableee" Oikawa teased.

He came closer to Mika and his face was an uncomfortable inch away from hers. She pressed her hands against his chest to restrain him. Her head was turned slightly sideways as she tried to avoid looking directly at him. The rest of the team were snickering and hooting.

Kiss?!

"OW WHAT THE HELL!" Oikawa yelps in pain. He rubs the back of his head and winces.

"SHITTYKAWA STOP TOUCHING MY SISTER!" Hajime yelled as he retrieved his thrown volleyball into his palm.

What an accurate throw

"Until next time, Mika-chan..." Oikawa says dauntingly.

Hajime grabs Oikawa by the collar and drags him away. Before he leaves, you and Hajime make eye contact; you could see Hajime blushing.

"Byebye beanpole! I WILL WIN AND IM NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT PRELIMS!" He yelled down at Tsukishima who witnessed the whole thing. Tsukishima threw a middle finger at him and Oikawa blew a kiss at Mika's direction. Tsukishima grew more irritated as he strangled the volleyball in his hand. Yamaguchi came over to calm him down.

Kindaichi and Kunimi pass by you as well and they pat you on the back.

"Goodluck (F/N), wish we were playing against you to be honest." Kindaichi exclaimed

"Second that." Kunimi added

You blushed at their compliments and say,

"Well I hope you're prepared." You turn and gesture down below. Holding onto the railings you say into the gymnasium air,

"Like Kageyama says, 'who remain on the court are the strongest'"

They smirk and Kindaichi quotes your dad,

"'It's a battle between the strongest team that matters'"

You smile at him and Kindachi and Kunimi wave bye to you before joining the rest of their team.

Turning to Mika you say, "You've got a lot of explaining to do Mitsuki."

You point a threatening finger at her and she snickers, "Psh, its not like you're not chalk-full of secrets"

You blush and quickly add,

"We should head down for team huddle yes?"

She rolls her eyes at you and you both laugh until you head downstairs to the rest of the team.

"Let's try this word" your speech pathologist gestured to you. She held up a big word card in bold letters that read 'strong'. It had a picture of a muscle man flexing his bicep.

"S-st-r...." you try to let out the words but your mouth refused to comply.

Gripping the edge of your seat, you sit in the tiny office of the clinic. This is where you were also treated for physiotherapy and where you met up with a psychological therapist three times a week. This was practically a second home, but it could never feel like a real home.

"Good, good (F/N). Don't worry we'll get there." the doctor reassured. She wrote more notes down in her clipboard and remained smiling.

"We're making good progress here." she said gleeful

I don't know if she's saying that to make me feel better because I know I'm doing an awful job. I can't even get a single word out and it's been 2 months since the accident.

"Now let's try this word" she smiled and flipped to another card that read 'family'. A tiny stick family was drawn under the word as they were side by side. Holding hands.

Family. Something I don't have.

You couldn't make up this word even if you wanted to. It was beyond difficult to say, nonetheless hear that word. The speech pathologist notices that you weren't opening your mouth as you stared at the card with a blank expression. She looks at the card and back to your face. Before she could write more notes down in her clipboard you bring up your hands, palms facing upwards. She drops her pen and observes you more closely. You pinch your index fingers with your thumbs and encircle your hands, making a circle towards you.

"Yes (F/N)! That means family" she exclaims gleefully and picks up her pen in excitement. She jots more notes down and turns back to you.

You remained silent and looked down at your hands. The doctor jotted down more notes and you look upon a poster on the wall displaying all the hand gestures. Your eyes darted to the one that said 'love'

"L-love" you sputter out and make the hand gesture with your small hands.

The doctors eyes widen and your tired eyes meet her happy ones. She says all cheerfully,

"This is awesome (F/N)! Your first word! Looks like we've found a way to communicate!"

"Here (F/N), you almost forgot these" Suga places the yellow earbuds into your hand and he smiles down at you.

"Thank you but..." you say placing them back onto his palm and enclosing the earbuds with his fingers, "I think I'll be okay this time."

He flashes you a smile and Mika notices your hand on top of his. She clears her throat and says

"SO SUGA! EH HEM, GOT US A GAME PLAN?"

Suga jolts back to his sense and yells,

"YES, I DO ACTUALLY! IN FACT, BOTH ME AND (F/N) HAVE A PLAN" he clears his throat and you let go of his fingers.

"Alright everyone gather around!" Keishin called out and gestured the rest of the team towards the two of you.

You and Suga stand there frozen until you reach out and grab Suga's playbook. You never liked public speaking or being the centre of attention but for once you were okay because Suga was there. Suga holds up the white board with magnets that represent the each teammate. You take a deep breath and speak up,

"I know some of you may be having a nervous breakdown..." you look towards Hinata and Asahi who were scrunched up.

"And some of you are radiating determination." you look towards Nishinoya and Tanaka who were pumping up their fists and flexing their muscles.

"I know that we may not be as skilled as other teams, but what we have is far greater than Seijoh or Shiratorizawa could ever have."

"And what is that (F/N)?" Keishin asks with a smirk on his face.

"Family" you say as you sign the word at the same time.

The rest of the team look back and forth at each other and smile. Your words seemed to have hit home for them.

We've spent more hours together than I could've ever imagined. We were like family.

"We are family" Suga says completing your thoughts

"And here's how we work as a family." Suga points at the handheld whiteboard and everyone listens intently.

~

"A MISS!" A spectator yells as Kageyama set the ball too fast over to Tsukishima who couldn't keep up with it. The ball almost falls until Asahi hits it with full force over to the other side of the next.

"CHANCE BALL!" Oikawa-kun yells and the rest of the team immediately set themselves up to attack.

Oh no this isn't looking good...

You glance nervously over to the score board and it's 11 vs 20. Karasuno scoring 11 points.

Seijoh has scored almost more than half our points! How?!The other matches earlier was just as hard but this seems impossible. Oikawa knows his teammates at the back of his hand. They were a tight-knit family as well. I underestimated him.

You look over towards Kageyama who was breathing hard and wiping off his sweat with his forearm. He's still determined but the look on his face was similar to the look in middle school. Terrifying. I think he's slowly loosing himself and his connection with the rest of the team. He's acting impulsively and doing fast sets out of desperation.

A whistle blew and you and Mika were at the edge of your seats.

Was it a foul ball? Is Seijoh calling a time out? No...

Suga held the number 9 and Kageyama switched out with Suga. Kageyama was silent as he was sent to the bench and Suga stepped up to play. Your eyes were wider than ever as Suga marched over to the centre of the court to face his opponents.

"Kageyama. Calm yourself." Mika instructed as he approaches the rest of the team with a stoic face. Everyone but Hinata was scared as they back away from him in their small square.

Kageyama doesn't rage at Mika's comment but stands as still as a tree, watching intensely at Suga's play.

This will be interesting.

The whistle blows, resuming the game and everyone was sweating buckets at this point. Seijoh was almost at set point for the first set and the tension has risen triple fold. Looking towards Kageyama, you both make brief eye contact and Kageyama signs the word 'family' back to you. Smiling at him, you thought he was honestly going to lose his cool from being benched but he didn't.

"He'll be okay" Takeda-senpai says beside you.

"Right." you agree and glance back over to the court.

A few rallies of the ball being tossed back and forth, it was impossible to keep up where the ball would land. You were gripping tightly on Suga's playbook and Mika was holding onto her camera for dear life.

If this keeps going, Seijoh's going to take the first set.

Turning back towards Kageyama, he's watching Suga like a hawk. Not out of hate or jealousy but he wanted to learn from his senpai. It was astonishing.

Just as Suga steps onto court he karate-chops everyone except for Nishinoya, who received a high-five. Suga looks towards his teammates and flashes the most reassuring smile ever,

"It'll be fine! We'll break their streak in one go!"

The rest of the team smiles back at him and yells in response,

"OSU!"

Hehe that's why I love him. He makes everyone's worries disappear.

After Suga played for a while, the team seemed to be pulling itself back together. Seijoh figured out you and Suga's code words for Hinata's and Kageyama's quick attack. You and Suga made those up together but now things had to change. During the time-outs, Suga and you had to quickly make up new hand signals, fortunately you remember a few that came in handy. You both approach Hinata and Kageyama to make sure they understood the new signals.

Thank goodness I learned sign language.

While intently watching Suga play, he put his hand behind his back and made the hand signals to Hinata. After each point, Suga would pat each spiker's back to know how they're feeling.

He's not only just smart, but he's using his genuine trait to his full advantage. To understand his teammates better and to gain their trust in him. Even if he's just on the sidelines, he made full use of it. I hope he realizes how useful he is to the team and how he's not just 'Karasuno's other setter'.

~

Score board: Karasuno 1 vs. Seijoh 1

It was a tied game and we were approaching the third set soon. Everyone was on their toes and you could feel the anxiety across the court. Though they were anxious, they all listened closely to Suga as he calmed everyone down. Kageyama was back on the court but Suga brought him aside to give him advice. Listening in to their conversation you could hear,

"Try to understand their teammates and where they're at." Suga instructed

Kageyama nodded as he was slowly understanding his words, but he still had a lot to work on. Suga flashed one of his breathtaking smiles and continued,

"Start off by talking. Especially to Tsukishima, he likes direct communication."

"Direct communication?"

"Get a feel of how each spiker is thinking."

Kageyama was still processing what was being said and Ennoshita chimes,

"Suga here, understands everyone's expressions and how they're doing. You need to do the same."

Kageyama's lips curled upwards into a "supposed smile" and everyone on the team backs away in fear.

"What the hell is on your face? What are you scheming Kageyama?!" Hinata yells, cowering away.

"I think he's trying to smile?" Mika chuckles making you laugh along at her comment.

"Ugh shut up alright! I'm trying my best." Kageyama argues. Before Suga lets Kageyama go to start the third set he pats him on the back and reminds him,

"Our family is undeniably strong, we'll win this." he makes the hand signal for 'family' and Kageyama follows Suga's hand gestures.

You smile from afar and notice that Kageyama is learning how to act like a family.

You're really influencing him too Suga.

"OSU!" Kageyama yells back with confidence to his senpai.

The ref blows the whistle signalling the third and final set was going to start.

Sitting quietly as a mouse on the bench, you and Mika look at each other without saying a word. You both had the same mirrored expression that read,

Here it is, do or die.

~

"This feels like the longest game of my life." you murmur to Mika who was still recording the game. She had to delete a bunch of files to make more space on her phone. Your leg was bouncing up and down out of nervousness, but Suga was there to comfort you. You hand him some water and wipe down his sweat with a towel.

The score board read: Karasuno 31 vs. Seijoh 32

The game was so tight it made you so uncomfortable in your seat. You were sweating buckets even if you weren't playing.

PLEASE LET US WIN!!!

Oikawa was up to serve and his serves were just as scary as anything else in this game. He takes a deep breath in and throws the ball in the air with all his might. He hits the jump serve with all his power and it goes soaring to the other side. Tanaka retrieves the ball and it goes flying back to Seijoh's clutches.

"CRAP! MY BAD!" Tanaka yells

It's make it or break it now... Who will Oikawa toss to?

"DON'T GIVE IT TO MY BROTHER!!!" Mika yells exasperated. She was just as tired as you were from all the anxiety this game gave off.

Oikawa tosses it precisely to Hajime and he hits the ball so fast your eyes couldn't keep up with it. In matter of seconds you blink and the rest of the team dives forward for the ball but none of them reached it successfully. The power of the spike was so strong the ball went flying upwards to the spectators and over Karasuno's banner,

The whistle blows, signalling the end of the game. The rest of the team was frozen on the floor, crushed by their defeat.

WE LOST AGAIN?!

You watch the ball as it comes soaring upwards to the stands and it lands perfectly in someones hands. Gazing upwards you see a girl in a wheelchair with a person assisting her from behind.

Kiyoko?!

You sat there, unable to make up any words. Your throat felt tight as you suffocated from your triggering thoughts. It felt like 1 month post accident. You couldn't believe your eyes.

"KIYOKO?!" Daichi yells from below and the rest of the team looks upwards in shock.

"Did you miss me?" she yells from above.

---------- end p. 38 ---------