Nekoma High's volleyball team was known as The Cats because of their solid receives which depended on flexible players. As the volleyball was served to the far corner of their side of the court, the libero, Shibayama lunged and raised it.

"Sorry it's short, cover!"

Kenma got himself underneath the ball and bumped it towards their left. Inuoka jumped and was faced with a two-person block. He slammed it against their fingers. Just as the volleyball flew out of bounds, Noya threw himself to the side and sent it back over.

"Kageyama cover!"

"Left side!"

Kageyama jumped and set the ball to Shoji. He spiked it over only to be picked up by Shibayama. The libero winced as he rolled onto his back.

"Kenma!"

"Lev!"

He had begun his jump and was prepared for the attack. Kenma sent the ball above the net, and Lev slammed it down between Takita and Tanaka's block.

Mirae watched the players on the court with wide eyes. She had seen Karasuno play in matches before, but there was something else in the atmosphere that seemed to energize each spike and receive in a different way.

"They're destined rivals," Emiko explained. "Coach Nekomata and my great grandpa Ukai used to play games against each other all the time."

Yamamoto yelled as he shot a cross court spike.

"I saw a game once, I think."

"You did," Coach Ukai confirmed. "You were young, maybe five, Grandpa was watching over you and brought you with him to one of the last Trashcan Showdowns we held for a while."

Kenma attempted a setter dump but Tsukishima was quick and bumped it up to Kageyama who sent it to Takita on his right. Nekoma had a receiver waiting for a spike and bumped the ball back to their setter. From there, Inuoka spiked a straight shot.

Noya dove in again.

"Sorry, cover!"

"Tanaka!"

Tanaka jumped up, shifting his posture midjump and spiking the ball. It hit the tape on the net, falling in bounds. Nekoma's libero was one step short of receiving it.

The referee blew the whistle as the set finished in favour of Karasuno. 25:23

Mirae and Yachi began to hand out water bottles. Emiko tossed the towels at the boys' heads. She was grinning as she slapped their backs.

"Great job guys! Tanaka your jumping form was solid. Noya, your receives made you look like a superhero. Tobio, try harder. And captain," Emiko paused in front of Ennoshita, "you should try provoking the other team a bit. It'll be fun making them mad."

Ennoshita tried not to smile. "I'll think about it for next time."

Shoji was craning his neck, touching his shoulder blades. Mirae walked up behind him and began to massage his neck and back. "You played really well," she praised. "You too Takita."

"I barely touched the ball."

Her eyes softened when he pouted. He was a lazy middle blocker compared to Hinata and often fell for decoys unlike Tsukishima. But he was trying his best, that much she could tell.

"It'll just take some practice but I know you both will get there. Nekoma's lineup consists of second and third years. And you can tell that they've been training as a team."

"I don't like their Libero," both grunted.

"Is it because he kept receiving your spikes?"

Reluctantly, Shoji nodded. Takita frowned.

"There's a technique for shaking off blockers and avoiding the receivers. Lucky for us, Kageyama's sets are pretty advanced. Paired with Hinata's decoy skills, the spiker usually only has to worry about the receivers. With practice, you'll get past them too."

They were watching Nekoma's second years with mild annoyance. Lev was the tallest middle blocker either had been up against. His jumping power gave him an extra advantage.

Inuoka's quick reflexes were due to his stamina and speed. Though his jumping power was not higher than Shoji's, his spikes carried a punch.

And of course, there was the Libero, Shibayama. He was small but fast and he had great game sense. Every person on Nekoma's team was skilled at receives but the libero moved with the blockers in such a way that he always received the ball if it hit their blockers.

Mirae looked over her shoulder. "Fukurodani just won their game. Coach, are we using the same lineup?"

Ukai flipped through the pages on the clipboard.

"I think I'll start with Narita instead of Shoji this time, and Tsukishima instead of Takita. I want to test different line ups while I can. We should use different players in different situations for a greater advantage. I want to test that out while we play against other power house schools."

It was not about hiding their weaknesses.

Depending on the team they played, having a rotation with a stronger defence or a stronger attack line would be most advantageous.

"They lost?" Emiko glared at the score board. "Again?"

"Well it's Fukordani, what do you expect? They're the top team here."

"They suck, Karasuno literally sucks so bad. That's it, I'm transferring. I'm sure Akari would love to have me as a co-manager."

"Akaashi-san wouldn't." Mirae smirked as she tied her jacket around her waist. The Karasuno boys walked outside and prepared for their penalty sprint up the hill and around the school. "Come on, Emiko, or did you forget? The managers have to join in on the penalties from now on."

"Hell no," she growled. "I never agreed to that."

"That's too bad, now come on."

Coach pushed Emiko outside and crossed his arms in front of the entrance so she wouldn't come back in. Begrudgingly, she changed into her outdoor shoes.

"Takita," she called as soon as she saw him, "give me a piggy back ride."

"I'm tired."

"This isn't my penalty! It's not even my fault you guys lost!"

"As if it's my fault? I wasn't playing this game. Blame it on Yaotome."

"He's innocent, you leave him alone."

Emiko looked for Shoji and saw that he was with Mirae, Kageyama, and Hinata. The four of them were stretching their legs and preparing for the sprint.

Ennoshita called them to start and they began running.

"Ugh!"

The four of them disappeared over the hill. Tanaka and Nishinoya were the second to be gone.

"I'm not that fast either, let's jog together."

Emiko looked over, already huffing and puffing. "Thanks but no thanks Yachi. I will not let Mirae win."

"Good luck with that," Tsukki murmured as he slowly passed her as well. "She's got as much stamina as the freak duo. They're halfway done their penalty run and you're not even over the hill yet."

"Shut-up."

She pushed her legs to go faster but the inclination made it seem like she was running through sand. When she finally made it up the hill, she noticed that everyone else was gone. Looking down the hill, she saw that Mirae, Hinata, Shoji and Kageyama had made it back to the start and were finished.

"Well, that's not happening." Emiko sat down.

"Little Ukai?" Hinata called. "What are you doing?"

"Is she hurt? Are you hurt?" Shoji yelled.

"No, I'm protesting," she yelled back.

"You have to run," Kageyama glared.

"I don't have to do anything I don't want to, Tobio. I didn't lose that game, you did."

|Note|

Penalty sprints are no fun. Actually, sprints in general are no fun.

We hope you had fun reading this chapter :) There is going to be more scenes with the first years because we find them too damn adorable hahah

|End Note|