Aftermath

The team had returned to their school after the loss. It had been the first time in a while since they failed to qualify for the Nationals. Even Bokuto was quiet during the entire trip. The one most affected by this was Murasakibara. It was him that caused them to lose. He never knew how to work with others. Not since the incident in his second year.

A part of him was happy when he could let go of basketball and be free but volleyball was yet another restriction. He knew that it was HIM and not the other parts of him that was responsible but he could not stop. Everyone beleived him to be a dumb brute but that was not true. He simply did not care.

At a young age he was just like other kids albeit much taller. It started when he joined basketball and started to win against all the elementary kids. He crushed all his opponents but he was too strong and ended up destroying his own team as well.

Thankfully his middle school was much more tougher than his previous team but even they split up due to too much talent. He was never able to go all out using every bit of his strength and power until the match against Itachiyama. He never had to get in contact in volleyball which meant that he could use all of his strength on the ball.

During the Nekoma match he never gave it his all. But when their team started losing he started playing even more rashly until he wanted to do everything himself. Unfortunately reality hit him when the setter started evading him. They lost the set because of his arrogance. Others could have stopped the spike but they couldn't due to his aggressive blocking. Their defense fell with only him blocking.

Only now was he able to see the destruction he had caused on the team. He finally knew what he had to do.

"Coach. Could you remove me from the team?" he said standing directly in front him.

Coach Takeyuki was suprised. This was the first time he had directly spoken to him. "Why do you want to quit?"

"I will only end up dragging them down."

Takeyuki understood how Murasakibara felt. He knew ho good of a player Atsushi was. He had the capability to enter the Japan national team if he were to not quit. The best option was to give him time to think and allow him to understand how you could be a better player.

"How about this. A training camp is coming up and we are hosting it. Why don't you decide after the camp?"

Murasakibara relplied hesitantly, "I don't want to play anymore."

"And I will allow you to leave after the camp. Just wait until its over. Atleast save me some paperwork ok?"

"OK"

Takeyuki watched him leave. He saw his great read blocking ability and knew that he could easily reach great heights. The only problem was his own mental blocks. Not knowing when it is too much or too little. The camp would atleast wear his stamina down and push him to his limits with his team. The team building would help him realize that this is a team game and not an individual one.

***

Takeyuki quickly realized something during the team practice. The team still did not forgive Murasakibara. While Bokuto behaved just the same with him and Akaashi following him and doing the right thing as Fukurodani's setter and Vice captain, the others kept a distance from him. Atsushi was just like before though this time it was for different reasons. He did not care much for practice and gave a bare minimum.

The second year had never failed to reach the Nationals and this was a huge blow to them. The third years were coping relatively better but were still very disappointed. Perhaps the biggest change was in Bokuto. He had declared in front of the entire team, "It was my fault that we lost. My constant changes led you to lose. I should have been there leading you at the front as a captain and more importantly as an ace. I always gave a 100 percent but from now I will give 300 percent to victory. This spring I will show everyone why I am Fukurodani's ace."

Bokuto since then had been training even more diligently and improved his spiking to a great extent. His biggest change was his serve. He had managed to get an idea of doing a serve like his line spike and was working on hitting it right at the edges of the court. He had to work a lot on aiming but it was slowly showing results.

The other members were also showing a great result. The wake up call that they were not invincible was harsh. They threw themselves into training working on their offense. Out of them the biggest change was Surukui. While he had always used a jump serve he wanted to learn jump floater. This led him to having two types of serves. It wasn't the best of serves but he was slowly developing a way to use the same number of steps for both. He had some troubles but for the most part he was constantly improving.

Wing spiker Konoha who was the second highest scorer in spiking was going through a tough time. The only reason he was chosen above Surukui was his balance. He had the ability to do good on offense and defense. He could even do emergency sets when required. While on the short side when compared to others he could block decently well. He was a 'jack of all trades and master of none' in a more offensive team. He was extremely angry at the nickname but now realized that the team needed stability. Someone who was consistent in all aspects to keep them going.

***

The Summer camp was arriving soon and the mood picked up. The camp while grueling was very fun. They met several teams and played against them which trained them against various playstyles. The best part was when the coach arranged something fun at the end of camp. Last year they had a massive dinner and it was the highlight of the summer.

All the players had already gotten permission for the camp and were preparing for it. The camp was being held at Shinzen High which was part of the Fukurodani academy group.

It was a week long camp involving mainly the Fukurodani academy group. They consist of Fukurodani, Nekoma, Shinzen and Ubugawa. Apart from them this year they would also be inviting Nekoma's rival Karasuno to the camp. This camp would often be where the teams can try new things and improve themselves in actual matches.

AN: I did not know how to end this so I just cut it off. Sorry in case you hate the abrupt ending.