Chapter Twenty-Five: Senpai’s True Abilities

KAGEYAMA WASN'T EXPECTING THIS TO HAPPEN, SEEING his number being held up by Suga. He wasn't expecting to be subbed out like this. Though even he knew that he was speeding up too much. Hell, Tsukishima completely missed that last set he sent him. Perhaps he was just getting too overwhelmed over this game. He could only blame Oikawa for that, the Great King was getting under Kageyama's skin. 

He walked over to take his number from his senpai, gets some encouraging words from him, and walked over to wait to be subbed back in. All the while, he was thinking of how this was reminding him of his time in middle school. He had gotten so far on this new team as well. His team has trust in him, most of them anyway, and he has someone who can hit his quick sets. Though that didn't matter at the moment now that he was being subbed out of the game.

A shout from Shōyō broke him from his thoughts as he approached the rest of his team. "I said I'd be the one that defeats you!"

Yamaguchi whisper-shouted at him, "Hinata, you're gonna get in trouble-"

"So don't lose to anyone else before that!" He continued to passionately shout, disregarding his friend's warning.

The rest of the team watched the two of them with wide eyes. Most of them were inspired by Shōyō's constant, blazing passion for this sport. The way that Shoyo constantly did everything he could to challenge Kageyama. Kageyama stared at him for a moment before he pursed his lips, "The match isn't over yet, so I haven't lost." everyone could see the way that Shōyō's eyes gleamed at that.

Yamaguchi then came up behind Shōyō and grabbed his arms to haul him backward, "You're going to get in trouble!"

Endo laughed at the rambunctious group, "you guys always seem to be full of energy!" It was quite entertaining to watch them like this. The lively first-years were so full of energy over this sport. Though as he watched Kageyama talk with their coach and then head over to the rest of the team, he had a sinking feeling.

Kageyama was reverting back to his old ways, in some capacity. While he hadn't gotten upset and shouted at anyone, he was slowly speeding up his plays which was causing no one to be able to spike anything. Endo knew that Kageyama had been humbled by the team and wasn't as much of a tyrant as he used to be. Though it's only been a short time, there's no telling if he might go back to his old ways. Especially in a game against his old teammates, that would definitely bring up some bad memories.

One upside to this was that Endo is more than glad to see that Suga was on the court. He knew that Suga belonged on the court since he's also a talented setter. Not a prodigy like Kageyama, but Suga has a connection with everyone on the team that made him easy to work with. He lost his spot as a starting player, so Endo was just a tiny bit grateful to see Kageyama on the bench. Even if it's for a short while, he's happy to see Suga play!

He smirked widely as the younger setter marched over to them. "Don't you worry about anything, Little King." Endo patted Kageama's head, "Suga can hold down the fort while you calm yourself down."

The younger boy swatted away Endo's hand roughly, "Don't call me king!"

Endo just chuckled, the cheeky expression on his handsome face not moving at all. "To be fair, I called you Little King."

"Shut up!"

With Suga now on the court, the game continued on. Sakura thought to herself about how interesting it would be to see how the third-year worked with the team. After all, he lost his starting position to Kageyama. She couldn't really imagine what Suga might have felt about that, though she's been around him long enough to know that he isn't necessarily jealous of that. Perhaps a little bit, but Suga wants the team to succeed. So Sakura likes to think that he would put the success of the team over his own wish to play on the court. Besides, he was getting to play now, so he didn't have to be on the bench the entire tournament.

Aoba Johsai served the Karasuno which was received perfectly. While Tanaka tried to spike it over thanks to Suga's set, it was still saved and passed to Oikawa. Though when he tried to give Iwaizumi a clear path for a spike, they were blocked by Karasuno's glasses-wearing middle blocker.

"Denied!" Shimada laughed smugly, "I guess they figured out they'd be aiming straight forward."

"Right? Well done. The blockers switched places right before the opponent's spike." Takinoue explained just how Suga and Tsukishma switched their spots to stop Aoba Johsai's number four.

Sakura pursed her lips and glanced down at her camera. The photo of the block stared back at her. It was a perfect shot of Tsukishima blocking the spike, it encapsulated his focus and strength on that block. His golden eyes were wide as he stared through the net at his opponent. Sakura will admit that she'd never seen him express an emotion other than smugness and annoyance, so seeing him appear almost determined gave her pause. Tsukishima is good at what he does, and he is smart. Though that doesn't make him any less of an asshole. Sakura clicked her tongue and focused back on the game. She's allowed to think that he was talented and a jerk at the same time. 

The next point was played with Tukishima serving it. Shimada exclaimed, "Whoa, they totally returned it!" Which Aoba Johsai did in fact receive the ball and passed it to Oikawa.

Takinoue questioned, "Are they gonna do a quick?" Though even if they did a quick, Shōyō was there to make the block and get Karasuno the point. That earned him some praise from Suga who ruffled his hair. Suga seemed to be really good at giving some advice on plays and such. 

Endo cheered along with the others. He gazed at all of his friends happily as his blue eyes sparkled. Though there was a small, bitter part of him that kind of wished to be with them. To play alongside his fellow third-years. After all, it was the four of them that decided to take Karasuno to nationals when they were first-years. It took until this year for it to happen, but still. Then again, he always told them that he would do it for their sake. Endo didn't care about winning nationals or any tournament for that matter. Being with his friends was what mattered, getting to have a real bond with them was his goal. So sue him for being even the tiny bit sad about not getting to be on the court with them.

A few more points were played with it being obvious that Suga was an amazing team player. He just provided the team pointers and strategic plays just about every point that was played. The point gap between the two teams would fluctuate, though Aoba Johsai kept the lead the entire time. Eventually, it was then Oikawa's turn to serve. As per usual, it wasn't a good thing since he got a point on his first serve due to both Nishinoya and Tanaka going after it.

"Now he's aiming between them," Shimada grunted.

Takinoue shook his head, "He's aiming at the optimal spot!"

"It's almost frustrating how strategical he is," Sakura huffed.

Oikawa served again, though this time it was a soft serve that no one was ready for. The score was now 24-15 with Aoba Johsai obviously in the lead. It was match point. This meant that the Aoba Johsai was most likely going to win this since Sakura didn't see Karasuno catching up at this point. It was still a bit impressive that her brother's team kept up with them. That's one way that she can look at it. She was told to be optimistic and find a good aspect to situations, so she's doing just that. Karasuno held up against Aoba Johsai pretty well. They most likely won't win, but they did better when compared to other teams in the tournament, in her mind.

"Seijoh at their set point. Damn." Takinoue pouted, "Just how many points did that guy's serves get them?" 

"If volleyball had an ultimate play," Shimada hummed in thought, "it'd be to take 25 points just by serving, not giving your opponent even a single chance. That's what a service ace is."

Sakura pursed her lips. Was it bad that she figured Oikawa could certainly do that? Maybe, maybe not. She could believe that with his skill set, against the right team, Oikawa probably could win an entire set just because of his serves. Then again that's only assuming that whoever he plays against wouldn't be able to adapt to his serves at all. His serves are strong for sure, but a player could learn how to receive them eventually. 

Daichi was able to save the ball after calling out for it. It was returned to the other side of the net by Asahi with a back attack. Though Hanamaki saved it at the last second which basically gave Karasuno a chance ball. Shōyō used it for a direct attack and tried to spike it over the net, but it was so soft that it was easy for Iwaizumi to receive. Kindaichi jumped up to spike the ball, himself and Oikawa quite confident in this being the set winning point. Though before he could get that point, Shōyō was there to block it. The ball went soaring towards the back of Seijoh's court which meant that Watari had to chase after it. For a brief moment, as the ball hit the floor, everyone was in awe. Karasuno was keeping their head afloat in this match, it seemed. 

Though when the referee blew the whistle, he made it clear that it was Seijoh's point. The ball that Shōyō had blocked had gone out of bounds!

"It's out?!" The alumni screeched together. Sakura sighed heavily and slumped against the railing. Even she had been holding her breath when it had hit the floor. Maybe for a moment she even felt a spark of shock and hope in her chest. Though despite her brother's best effort, it didn't work out in their favor. Oh well.

"Damnit!" Endo whined out in English, frustrated with the outcome. He leaned against Ennoshita and buried his head into his shoulder as he seemed to weep. "That was so dramatic, but it would have been such an underdog move for us to get that point!"

Ennoshita tried to push his senpai away from him, "hey, get off!" Though Endo just continued to wallow and hang off of him, much to his chagrin.

"We're switching sides." Ukai told the team, "Let's go!"

The boys then all trudged over to swap places, a bit disheartened by the end of the set. Though they moved on since they were determined to do better in this next set. Just because they lost the first set didn't mean that they were out of this for good.

"We'll go as-is with our second set," Ukai told the team.

"Right!"

He nodded his head, "Since the most troublesome thing we're facing is Oikawa's serves, we'll be charging up our defense to maximize efficiency with few players. When Oikawa does his super-fast serves, even the slightest hesitation or faltering is deadly. So we'll use Nishinoya and Sawamura, the few who received his serves, to counter. It's a formation we've never used in practice. But considering it's you guys…"

"We can do it." Nishinoya and Daichi chorused together.

Shoyo's eyes sparkled at his senpais, "So cool."

As they finished up discussing the game plan, Asahi handed Endo his water bottle. "Here."

Endo hummed, "you need this more than me, you're playing after all!"

"Still, you gotta drink something too," Asahi said while forcing his friend to take it. He's gotta look out for him from time to time, as any good friend should. 

"All right, all right, mom." Endo sassed as he grabbed it from him and took an exaggerated swig from the bottle.

Asahi laughed lightly, "just making sure you're okay."

Endo whipped his lips, "I should be doing that dummy, the most workout I'm getting today is shouting." It's not like he was the one playing his heart out on the court and ending up tired.

"I know, I can hear you over just about everything." Asahi wouldn't comment that he could hear most of Endo's cheering was mainly just for him, but it was implied. He also certainly wouldn't comment on how flustered it made him, that's for another time.

Endo shrugged his shoulders, "We both know I'm good at being loud."

Asahi sputtered as the statement settled in his mind. He blushed heavily, "Joji don't say stuff like that!"

He paused for a moment, thought about what he just said before smirking widely, "Whaaat?" Endo's sharp blue eyes peered at Asahi with his usual teasing glint in them. "I'm just saying I'm good at cheering you guys on, what are you thinking about Asahi~?" Asahi was growing slightly heated under Endo's intense, teasing gaze, and didn't dare look at his friend. Before Asahi could respond to Endo, even though from his flustered expression it didn't seem like he could, the referee blew the whistle. Asahi was more than glad to abandon that embarrassing situation with his teasing friend as he practically sprinted back onto the court. Endo just laughed loudly at his retreating figure.

Kinoshita stared at the interaction with furrowed eyebrows, "why are you teasing him so much?"

Endo turned to him with his own furrowed eyebrows at the ridiculous question, "He's my best friend! Why wouldn't I? Do you feel left out, huh?" Endo then pouted, "Want me to tease you too, Kin-kun?"

The second-year quickly shook his head, "No, no." There was no need for him to endure Endo's teasing like what Asahi gets. Though him, and just about the rest of the team, knew that it wasn't just teasing between Asahi and Endo. 

Endo then set his sight on the other quiet second-year that he caught staring at them as well. "What about you, Narita?"

"Please no." Narita grimaced, "Just focus on the game."

"What do you think I've been doing?!"

All the boys then lined up for the next set. An air of determination was clouding around the entire court. Karasuno was determined not to let Seijoh run over them to win another set. Though Seijoh seemed just as determined to not let Karasuno win any set at all. It was going to be even more intense now than it was before.

"Oh?" Shimada tilted his head as they stared down at the formations of the teams. "Looks like Karasuno changed up their rotation a bit for the second set, and Seijoh kept it the same as the first set."

Takinoue pursed his lips, "I wonder why they changed it, though."

Sakura raised an eyebrow, already noticing why they would have done it."They've got Nishinoya and Daichi basically adjacent to Oikawa." She glanced at the older men from the corner of her eyes, seeing that they were giving her their undivided attention. "They're the best receivers the team has against Oikawa, maybe besides Endo. They're trying to combat his monster serves at this point." It was a logical assumption to make. Perhaps it was because she had some insider information about the team, but Daichi and Nishinoya were the best at receiving, not matter who spiked it or served. It made sense that Karasuno would want to try and keep the two of them in the perfect space to make those receives. 

On the court with the benchwarmers, Shōyō seemed to be buzzing in place as he talked with Kageyama. "Sugawara-san gives you nice compliments when you get one in!" He exclaimed with a large smile as he turned to Kageyama.

Kageyama just replied boredly, "I see…"

Endo, hearing the first-years talking about Suga, bend down and smirked. "Of course he does, he's one of the sweetest guys out there, you know!" He boasted about his friend, "He can read most people quite easily, and knows just what to say to make them feel good!" Endo says 'most' since, from time to time, Suga can usually read him. The blond is just pretty good at hiding his ulterior motives and his true feelings. Years and years of practice of this gave him the ability to hide his emotions even from the most observant. Even with that though, there are times when someone can get in through his mask. Though that's rare, and it's usually only just one specific person.

Ennoshita then also butted into the conversation, "It's not like being overly buddy-buddy, but I think he says what he does based on the spikers' expressions and how they're doing that day." He explained, "And unlike the second and third-years, I'm sure for Tsukishima, there are a lot of things he doesn't know about Sugawara-san." A sour expression then drifted onto Kageyama's face which caused Ennoshita to chuckle. "'Why do I have to match what I do with how others are feeling especially Tsukishima, that jerk?' That's what's written on your face."

Kageyama jumped, "Th-that's not what I…" Shōyō snickered at the setter being called out, which earned him getting attacked by Kageyama in retaliation.

"But Kageyama," Ennoshita said, ignoring the fact that Shōyō was now fighting for his life at the moment, "if Hinata-kun seems to have a hard time hitting the ball, you switch things up, right?"

"Yes, because he misses easily," Kageyama said bluntly, which caused Shōyō to deflate. Endo just patted the orange-haired boy in comfort, though he was entertained by his plight. 

"I think that everyone else also has their own techniques and that affects how they hit the ball. I might sound biased, but…" He smiled widely, "I think our spikers are pretty skilled."

Kageyama pursed his lips, "I think that, too, but…"

"Then, if they were all able to hit the ball with 100% of their ability, don't you think they'd be able to break through a block?" It seemed like that gave Kageyama to think about.

Endo then raised his hand, gaining their attention, "I may not be volleyball smart like you guys, but even I know it's best to build up your team." He shrugged his shoulders, "Having a good social standing with the team and knowing how your teammate's tick can be useful. Which is why Suga does so well!" If there's one thing he understands, it's how to be a sociable person. His father had instilled in him to be affable yet calculating. Watching how people react to certain things and what to do to affect that. In his line of work, it's usually a good skill to have for business deals and such. Before the group could say anything else to each other, they were interrupted by the squeals of the crowd.

Shōyō gasped as they looked back to the court, "It's the Great King's turn to serve!"

"Oh?" Shimada hummed, "Looks like twin-chan was right." 

"The reason they changed things up a bit from the first set is …to bring this rotation around when it's Oikawa's turn to serve," Takinoue said before he and Shimada turned down to the girl beside them. "How did you figure that out before us?" They were former volleyball players who understand the game from that standpoint, so how had she seen that before them?

Sakura shrugged her shoulders, "I'm good at observing things." As long as someone paid attention, they could see the subtle plays and strategies that a team would come up with. For example, Aoba Johsai hadn't changed their lineup because they're confident in this formation winning another set. It had happened before, so why would they change what had worked?

Oikawa then jumped to hit his serve, which Daichi was able to save on the first try. The formation really did work! Suga then set the ball for Tanaka, getting them a point thanks to a wipeout. The spirit was raised as Karasuno all shouted in victory. The first point had gone to them!

Shimada shouted out, "They broke the serve streak!"

"Let's go, baldy!" Endo screamed alongside his teammates. This was going to be an interesting set. He could feel it in his bones.

Sakura watched the game, taking photos at the optimal times while a feeling was growing in her chest. The score was neck and neck for this set. Unlike before, Kararsuno wasn't stuck behind at all. They were not letting this set get away from them even a little bit. Once again, it almost gave Sakura a lick of hope for this game. Though the realist in her had to squash it. If she starts having hope that they'll win, she'll just be thoroughly disappointed when they don't. She can't even imagine how destroyed the boys will be over it.

At this point, the score for the game was 13-14, in Karasuno's favor! Finally a lead for the crows! Takinoue seemed about ready to start jumping around at this development, "All right! They're equal in the second set!"

"Yeah, but the blockers are keeping up." Shimada sighed, speaking out Sakura's own thoughts. They watched a few more points being played and Shimada observed, "It feels like their spikes are going through our setter a lot more."

Takinoue hummed, "Yeah."

Oikawa served again and Tanaka was meant to spike it but was blocked, Seijoh was able to gain the lead once more. Now with a score of 15-14 in Seijoh's favor, who knew where this game was going. Seijoh could win this right here if they just keep Karasuno at bay. Though the crows were certainly not going down without a fight and were doing their best to keep up.

The trio in the stands all seemed to slump at the turn of events. "Seijoh just scored multiple points," Shimada commented.

Sakura clicked her tongue, "If this keeps up, Aoba Johsai might not be stopped."

"A break happens when the momentum changes…" Takinoue trailed off, "Don't let Seijoh get it now."

If she had to choose who was better, Sakura wouldn't know who was a better setter between Kageyama and Suga. Before, she might have said Kageyama due to him being a prodigy. Though she might say Suga just to spite the king. However, after this game, Suga was just as strong and threatening as Kageyama. Sure, they were threats for quite different reasons, but they were important to the team. Kageyama has raw, monstrous skill and terrifying accuracy. Though Suga makes up for any sort of prodigal magic that Kageyama might have with his own strategy and social skills with the team. They both have their skill sets, their strengths, and weaknesses, but there was no definite answer to who would be better. At least, that's the conclusion that Sakura has come to.

Everyone then noticed how Ukai called Kageyama over to him. It seemed like he was going to finally be called back into the game. After Asahi was able to get a point thanks to Daichi's receive and Suga's set, that's just what happened. Suga was pulled out of the game, gave them some encouraging words, talked with Ukai, and then headed back to the bench.

Endo greeted his friend with a large smile, "You did amazing out there!"

Suga appreciated the encouragement as he approached them while whipping his eyes slightly. Ukai's subtle comment about getting to play again had gotten to him a little bit as he grew teary. "Not good enough-"

"Now, now. Don't say something like that! What is it you usually say to us," Endo put a hand on his chin as if in thought before striking Suga in the stomach harshly, "to be positive!"

Suga groaned at the punch to his gut. So this is what it felt like when he did it to his friends. Maybe he should reconsider attacking them like this if it hurt… then again, it was usually fun to do it. Oh, well.