Lost

Sawamura Daichi - Captain of the Boy's Volleyball Club at Karasuno High School - doesn't know what to do anymore. For the very first time in his - almost - three years of High School, his team is finally about to go to Nationals, and they're a total disaster.

Daichi, Suga, Asahi, and Shimizu are trying very hard not to think about their last Tournament. All of them are quitting Volleyball after this, a decision that they made a long time ago.

Daichi, Suga, and Asahi have finally made their dream of going to Nationals come true. The dream of those three bright-eyed first-years that came to Karasuno full of hopes and enthusiasm has finally become a sweet reality. They're so excited and nervous, they can barely keep their feelings at bay, but they hold them in.

They're the older ones now. They need to make an example. They need to be strong, to be calm, and collected. They need to support their younger teammates. They need to be strong for them, to be there for them when they need them. They need to take them to the top, just like they took them to the top. They're the old crows now, the ones with big and strong wings. Wings that already know how to fly. They need to teach the younglings how to fly too.

Then there are the second-years. Most of them are at the bench right now, with only Tanaka and Nishinoya taking center stage. Daichi can tell that they're trying hard, even harder than before, but he also knows that they still doubt their place on this team.

They aren't the bright-eyed baby crows eager to take flight and test their new wings. They're not the old crows, either. Their wings aren't that strong yet. Their flying isn't that smooth. They aren't the little kids trying to test anything and everything. They're not the veteran parents who already know what works and what doesn't. They're the in-between. They're the older brothers. The ones who calm down the parents and help them when things become a little difficult. They're the older brothers who support the younger brothers when they need them or scold them when things become dangerous. They're the ones that keep everything together. They're the referees of this match.

The Guardian Deity of Karasuno, who always has everyones' back. The Reliable Ace in the making, the one that you know you can always count on no matter what happens. And the new level-headed Captain, the one that fills every hole his team might've. Daichi knows that next year, those three and the rest of the other second-years are going to be a force to be reckoned with, but right now, they seem lost. They aren't the stars of the show, and they know it. This isn't their year. They have to wait for the perfect time.

Then there's the first-years, those five unbelievably gifted rookies. There's Yamaguchi and Yachi, those two shy first-years that don't seem like much at first glance but who are full of surprises once you get to know them. Daichi knows that, in a few years, Little Yachi will be one of the best managers out there. As for Yamaguchi, he's going to be an incredible player and a fantastic Captain. Daichi can recognize one when he sees one, and Daichi can't wait for the day that he gets to see the young man proudly wearing the same jersey that now belongs to him.

Then there's Tsukishima, a great blocker in the making that doesn't seem to care much about the game at first glance but whose hunger for winning grows more and more with every game. Daichi knows that Tsukishima will go far, but the kid will do it at his own pace, he isn't going to be left behind, but he isn't going to rush, either. He's flying at a steady pace, and it's working wonders for him.

Then there's Kageyama, an outstanding setter and a well-rounded player. There are no doubts about him going far. If there's someone here who will make it into the pro-leagues, then it's him. The guy isn't perfect, of course. His attitude and social skills need one heck of a job. The guy stretches the line between being amazing and annoying way too much that it snaps way too often. As a Volleyball player, he's perfect. Way too perfect many would say. But as a person, he leaves much to be desired. Daichi wants to help him with that, but with Kageyama, it always feels as if you take one step forward and two backward. You never really know how the guy will react until he does it, and it's kind of scary at times.

And last but not least. There's the overwhelming rising talent of Hinata Shouyou. If someone here can one day surpass Kageyama - and many others out there - then it's him. But right now, the kid is lost. He hasn't found his place in the world yet, or in the sport that he loves so much. Daichi sometimes thinks that Kageyama is like a cage around the little crow. Never letting him go, never letting him grow, never letting him free, never letting him fly as freely as he so much desires. Hinata is a free spirit. He always wants to try new things. He always wants to go farther, faster, to do more. The little guy is the definition of freedom and evolution.

Kageyama is a perfectionist. A strong and well-rooted tree in the most fertile soil. He's growing strong and beautiful with the things he already has. He's happily living in his comfort zone. Hinata is a seed still looking for a place to bloom, and once he finds it, he'll grow even stronger and more beautiful. Hinata needs time, just a little bit of time. A time that Daichi sometimes feels that Kageyama isn't willing to give him. Hinata and Kageyama are so alike but so different at the same time. One always knew what he was missing, while the other never knew what he needed, and now that they have finally come together, they don't know how to act around each other.

Everyone is lost, no one knows their places yet, and it's a total disaster.

Daichi watches as Kageyama tosses another ball that is clearly for Hinata, but the little crow decides to act as a decoy at the last moment, and he lets Asahi do the spiking.

Daichi watches as Ennoshita is able to save the ball, and how he passes it to Suga, who perfectly tosses to Yamaguchi, who then gets blocked by Tsukishima, easily earning Daichi's team the match. Daichi watches as his team celebrates their victory and how they praise the tall first-year for earning them the win. Suga and Daichi share a look, and the both of them sigh in unison.

So, I'm not the only one who noticed what a disaster these three sets were, huh?

They won, yes. But it was more of a miracle than anything else.

"Nice one, Tsukki!" Daichi hears someone say.

For a moment, he wonders why Yamaguchi was praising Tsukishima when he was the one that blocked his spike, making Yamaguchi's team lose in the process. But then, Daichi realizes that it wasn't Yamaguchi, the one who just said that, but Hinata instead. The little crow raises his hand, clearly asking the tall middle blocker for a high-five. The taller boy smirks mischievously, and he then high-fives the smaller boy, a little faster and harder than it's necessary, and Hinata loudly complains about the pain in his hand.

"Bet you can't do something like that, you orange hamster. Are you sure you're a middle blocker?" Tsukishima teases the smaller boy, but Coach Ukai interrupts Hinata's retort.

"Alright, gather around. I'm gonna give you a few pointers," Coach Ukai says and then starts scolding them.

He's not sugarcoating anything, is he? Daichi thinks with a sweat as he listens to his teacher.

"You saw it too, didn't you?" Suga asks him after Coach Ukai finished talking to the team.

Daichi swallows his water and puts his bottle down. He looks at Suga in confusion and asks, "Saw what?"

Suga rolls his eyes at him. "Don't play dumb, Daichi. I know you saw it, too. I'm talking about that dark aura around Kageyama and the new developments of Tsukishima and Hinata."

Yeah, Daichi saw them, alright.

He noticed that Kageyama is snappier than usual today. Something's definitely bothering the guy, and it's starting to show on the court. Daichi doesn't want to say it, but he acts as he used to do back in Junior High. He's acting as 'The King of the Court' and not as the setter that all of them know.

There's also Hinata and Tsukishima. Karasuno's little sun and grumpy moon. Hinata didn't spike many balls in the three sets that they played against Suga and his team. Hinata went more for receives, blocks, and acting as a decoy instead of spiking. This is good in Daichi's eyes, to be honest, but at the same time, it's also a little weird. It also seems to be irritating Kageyama more than he already is. Then there's Tsukishima's growth. The tall first-year seems to be blocking even better now, he's also spiking more than before, but that isn't all.

Hinata and Tsukishima synced up with each other spectacularly today. When Tsukishima noticed that his blocks weren't going to be enough, he manipulated them in a way that the ball would go straight to where Hinata was already waiting for it, as if he knew all along that the ball was going to go that way. Daichi is delighted about that. He's pleased that Tsukishima and Hinata have finally realized that they're teammates and not opponents on the court. That they play the same position and that they need to work together, and not against each other. But it seems that the 'Tsukishima and Hinata' new teamwork comes with a price. Kageyama and Hinata didn't sync up with each other at all during the three sets that they just played, and Daichi can tell that it's pissing Kageyama off to no end.

Daichi sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "What the hell happened at those camps?" Daichi asks for what feels like the tenth time today.

Suga shrugs beside him. "Dunno, Kageyama has been very open about it, but you can tell that he's hiding something. Or, well, it's more like something's bothering him, but he doesn't want to say what it is. Hinata has also been very open about it, but he apologizes to us more than telling us about the camp. As for Tsukishima. Well, he's Tsukishima."

Suga is right.

Kageyama told them a lot about his camp. He told them about #1 high school setter Miya Atsumu, and you can obviously tell that he's a little jealous of the guy. He told them about one of the top three aces, Sakusa Kiyoomi. He told them about #1 libero, Komori Motoya, and all the other players he met over there. He even made some jabs at Hinata about a 'Little Giant,' but the jabs don't seem to be bothering Hinata as much as Kageyama seemed to be expecting. But even after all that, everyone can tell that something is bothering Kageyama.

Hinata, on the other hand, seems to apologize more than actually telling them about how his little trip went. They learned more about his stay there during the match from his little comments to Tsukishima than from his actual story about it. That seems to be another reason why Kageyama is mad.

Daichi and Suga sigh in unison again.

This is gonna explode any minute now.

Coach Ukai calls them back to the court not long after that. It's time for another practice match against Suga and his team.

Time after time, Daichi watches as Kageyama tosses balls that are obviously for Hinata, but only sometimes, the little decoy spikes them. Most of the time, he prefers to act as a decoy instead, and he lets Asahi or Tanaka do the spiking. Or he receives, and Kageyama has no other option than to choose someone else.

It's the second set of their second match against Suga and the others. Suga won the first set, and his team is now at match point. If they score this one, they'll win the whole match.

Ennoshita spikes the ball as hard as he can, Nishinoya is able to save it, but it's a bad pass. Kageyama sets it so that it'll go to Hinata, but Hinata acts as a decoy once again, and he lets Tanaka do the spiking. Narita is able to save it, and Suga sets it for Yamaguchi. The first-year clearly learned something from the previous match, and he spikes the ball straight down, and nobody in Daichi's team can save it in time. Suga and his team cheer in delight as Coach Ukai announces them as the victors of the match.

Daichi hears Coach Ukai calling them, and he starts walking towards the bench, but a small 'thud' sound from behind him stops him.

Kageyama has Hinata pinned to the floor, and his face is an angry red. "Oi! Why haven't you been spiking any of my tosses today? What's wrong with you?!" Kageyama asks angrily, Hinata tries to get out of his hold, but Kageyama is not letting go that easily.

"I'm practicing my receives and my blocks more..." Hinata tries to explain, but that only seems to make Kageyama even angrier than before.

"And who said that you could practice them, huh?! Your receives and your blocking suck. The only reason why you're here is that you score points, so stop being useless!"

"Kageyama!" Daichi and Suga shout in unison but are ignored.

Hinata seems to lose his fight all of a sudden. "I know I suck. That's why I'm practicing."

"I already told you, as long as I'm here-" Kageyama tries to say, but a shout from Hinata makes him stop.

Daichi is sure that Hinata's following words are probably something that Kageyama has never thought of before.

"But you're not always going to be here! What do I do then?!" Hinata shouts, and with a sudden burst of strength, he manages to get himself free, and he runs away from the gym.

Suga immediately tries to go after him, but Coach Ukai and Sensei stop him. "Let him cool down first. He'll be back soon. As for you, Kageyama. Take a little break for a while. The rest of you take five and then start practicing your serves and receives," Coach Ukai orders, and everyone reluctantly obeys.

Daichi looks at Kageyama and notices just how down the poor guy looks. Daichi wants to say something, but he doesn't know what to say or do. Sure, this isn't the first fight that Kageyama and Hinata have, but something feels different about it. Daichi feels as if their relationship is in danger.

After a small break, the team continues their practice. Nishinoya is the better at receives, with Daichi coming in second. Asahi is the better one at serves, with Yamaguchi being second.

After about ten or fifteen minutes into their practice, Hinata returns and starts practicing his receives with Nishinoya.

Daichi looks at Kageyama, who has been practicing with a ball by himself in a corner of the gym. Clearly, he noticed Hinata's return if the looks he keeps sending Hinata and Nishinoya's way are any indication.

Daichi sighs and starts practicing receives with Suga.

"Man, you can feel the tension in the air, can't you?" Suga asks, and Daichi hums in affirmation.

"I'm worried about them, about the whole team, to be honest. I don't know what to do," Daichi admits, and Suga looks at him and sighs.

"You know, Daichi. Sometimes, I think that you worry too much, but right now? I'm with you. We're finally going to Nationals. The dream that we all share is finally coming true, but everyone seems to be on edge. Everyone seems lost, we were finally becoming a team, but now it's like we're starting all over again," Suga says, and Daichi nods in agreement and understanding.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. We're gonna have a lot of problems if those two keep arguing with each other like that," Daichi says with another sigh.

"But are you surprised, though? It feels like this has been coming for a very long time now. Hinata wants to fly, but Kageyama doesn't seem to want him to. For years, Kageyama looked for him, and now that he finally has him..."

"He doesn't want to let him go."

"Exactly. Hinata, on the other hand, never knew that he needed Kageyama, so when he found him..."

"He saw him as a rival, as a goal. He saw him as to where he needed to go, and not as where he needed to stay."

"Life is cruel, isn't it?" Coach Ukai suddenly asks from right behind them. Daichi and Suga both jerk in surprise. They didn't notice him at all. "You know, Captains. I think we need to do a meeting." Suga and Daichi nod in unison and start calling everyone for a meeting.

Coach Ukai asks them to make a circle and sit on the floor after everyone assembles near the bench. Ukai-san asks Shimizu and Yachi for some notes, and after they give him the notes, he sits down on the bench facing them.

Coach Ukai sighs and looks at his notes with a frown. "Okay," Coach Ukai starts to say, and everyone stiffens. "First things firsts. Serves, guys. Practice your serves every day if necessary. Serves are one of our weaknesses. Nationals are scary, guys. There are people with killer serves over there. The whistle blows, and next thing you know, the opposite team just scored a service ace. Kageyama, Azumane, and Yamaguchi, you guys are the better ones at serves right now, keep practicing, but please help me with the other ones a little bit. Especially with Hinata and Tsukishima, out of all our regulars, their serves are the weakest ones. Remember that we're a team guys, we need to work together, okay?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Next thing, receives. Everyone needs to practice their receives, which are also one of our weaknesses. Nishinoya, you're better at them than any of us. So please, help me during practice with the others. You too, Sawamura."

"Yes, sir!"

"Another thing is, blocking. Read block, guys. Observe first, see where the ball is going before you jump or make a move. Sometimes, we jump too early, and that's how the other team scores. Spikers, spice things a little bit more, don't always make the same moves, don't let your opponents get a read on you, change things around. If you're having trouble with something, then practice and practice, don't stop until you get it right, got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Kageyama, you're an excellent setter, but you're going to go against even better ones, and not just good ones. You're also going to go against experienced ones: setters who have already gone to Nationals before, setters who already know the rhythm of that court. So please, try to keep a level head. Relax a little bit more. Everyone in here is nervous, and everyone feels pressure. Talk with your teammates, make a game plan together. Relax, we're a team, okay? You're not alone."

"Yes, sir."

"Well, that's it for now. Rest for a while. We're going to have another practice match soon."

"Yes, sir!"

This time, things were even worse than before.

Tsukishima misses some spikes because Kageyama tosses them too high. Kageyama's serves are mainly out because he went at them a little too hard. He also keeps snapping at Nishinoya or Hinata for 'being in the way' when they receive. It gets so bad that Coach Ukai and Takeda-sensei call for a timeout.

"Kageyama, what's wrong? Did something happen at the Youth Camp? Or at home?" Takeda-sensei asks, and Kageyama shakes his head.

"Nothing happened. I'm fine," Kageyama answers, and Coach Ukai sighs in exasperation.

"You don't seem fine, Kageyama. Is something bothering you?" Coach Ukai asks, and Kageyama shakes his head again.

If Daichi has to guess, he'll tell you that Kageyama is biting his tongue, trying hard not to say all the things he wants to say, which is bad in many ways.

"Since the King is not having a good day, can we please go home?" Tsukishima asks, and that comment makes Kageyama snap.

"Don't call me that!" Kageyama shouts in anger, and Tsukishima just rolls his eyes at the young setter.

And why shouldn't I? You're acting like one. So, excuse me for pointing out the obvious, Your Majesty. Acting like a Goody-Two-Shoes isn't gonna fix what you did before, y'know," Tsukishima says with a sneer.

"What did you just say?!" Kageyama asks and grabs hold of Tsukishima's shirt. Tsukishima tries to push him away, but Kageyama isn't letting go. He's clearly furious now.

"Kageyama! Tsukishima!" Daichi shouts.

Daichi and Coach Ukai somehow manage to separate the two tall first-years before things get even more ugly than they already are.

"Both of you, calm down, or I'll bench the two of you!" Coach Ukai threatens, which makes both boys stop struggling.

"He started it," Kageyama says.

"Me? You're the one acting all Kingly," Tsukishima retorts.

"What?!"

"Enough!" Daichi shouts.

Daichi is about to tell everyone to go for a run to cool their heads, but then a bright light blinds all of them. A groan of pain accompanies the sound of something heavy falling to the floor, and then the bright light is suddenly gone.

After their eyes readjust, they look towards where the light came from. On the other side of the gym, there's a man slumped on the floor, and he's groaning in pain. Beside the man is a black gym bag with the words 'Bouncing Ball' on it. Daichi frowns. He has never heard of that company before in his life, but he guesses that what's more important right now is asking the man where he came from and if he's okay, but everyone seems to be in shock. Daichi doesn't blame them. He also doesn't know what to say or do.

Am I hallucinating?

Am I dreaming?

Maybe those brats hit me in the head. That's probably why I see things all of a sudden.

Yeah, that's it.

The man slowly gets up from the floor with his back turned towards them, and he gently rubs the mess of orange curls that is his head.

Is the man related to Hinata?

He pats his black tracksuit as if looking for something.

Is he looking for injuries?

The man sighs in relief after he finishes and looks around the gym.

"Huh? This looks like-"

Coach Ukai loudly clears his throat, and the man jerks in surprise. The poor guy probably thought that he was alone. The man slowly turns towards them. The first thing Daichi notices about the man is that his skin is very tan, a kind of tan that Daichi is pretty sure you won't get anywhere in Japan, but he could be wrong. The man looks Japanese, after all. The second thing he notices is that the man is well built. The man is clearly an athlete or just someone who really loves the gym. The third thing he notices is the man's eyes. They're sharp and too knowing.

Mature, Daichi thinks.

But what surprises Daichi the most about the man is the color of the man's eyes. An eye color he has only seen in one person so far.

Hair as orange as a tangerine, eyes the color of honey, and short stature.

Wait a minute.

"Hinata, I didn't know you have an older brother," Coach Ukai says, and everyone turns to look at Hinata. The little decoy's eyes are extremely wide for some reason.

"I don't," Hinata says. "I only have a little sister. Her name is Natsu."

"Then who is...?" Coach Ukai waves his hand in the direction of the man, who is looking at all of them in shock.

The man then starts talking in a language that none of them seem to recognize or understand. Daichi doesn't understand anything the man is saying, but he's pretty sure that he isn't saying anything nice, and Daichi isn't the only one who notices it.

Tanaka and Nishinoya make that face.

Suga sighs.

Daichi pinches the bridge of his nose and groans.

Asahi sweatdrops.

"Oh, here we go," the three say in unison.

"Oi, oi, oi. Who the hell are you?!" Tanaka and Nishinoya ask in unison while making that face.

The man stops talking and sighs. He looks at the ceiling as if asking for help, or maybe he's just asking the gods for a quick death, but the gods don't seem to be listening right now. The man sighs again, and he then gives them an intense look that all of them recognize immediately.

"It's Shouyou," the man answers. "Hinata Shouyou."