The morning of the Spring National Tournament finally came. The teams were eagerly chatting with each other as they helped to load all of the luggage and equipment onto the busses. Riza and Watanabe were busy going through the final checklists with the Coaches to make sure they had everything. The fresh energy was contagious at 5:30 in the morning. Everyone had this renewed sense of determination.

The new semester was just beginning. Thankfully, it was only syllabus week. So, there was nothing major to worry about missing. Students were walking past the gym looking for their first classes of the day. Some would stop and stare for a moment before continuing to pass by. Others would wish the team luck. One car pulled up by the bus and honked to get the attention of everyone. The volleyball players all looked at each other confused. None of them recognized the vehicle.

"Good luck at Nationals!" Surely enough, it was Dr. Tanaguchi. She was just getting to work for the day.

Mitsumi pushed through the crowd of her teammates and waved. "Thanks so much, Dr. Tanaguchi!" She gave her professor a thumbs up. "Tell Dr. Ito I'll be sure to break my hands!"

"I will! Go kick some serious assets out there!" The professor had managed to rile up everyone.

They all threw a fist into the air and cheered. "OSU!!!!"

Coach Ueno clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. "It's time to load the busses and roll out. Let's make this a good one this year!"

...

Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium was located on the opposite end of Tokyo from the University. Traffic was always nasty in the city, so it took them an hour and a half to get to the hotel that wasn't far from the arena. Everyone was a bit shocked to see that the school had booked such a nice hotel for them. They all got their room keys and took their time to rest and settle in. Opening ceremonies weren't until 11:00 a.m. The ladies' first game was slotted for 4:00 p.m. The men had one of the first games of the day at 2:00 pm.

Chie decided to take a thirty minute nap before changing into some running clothes to go for a jog. Takuma, Matsuda, Kuroo, Bokuto, and Suga were all headed out for a jog just so they could get to know the area a little bit. And to scout out breakfast options. Kuroo insisted that she join them. He knew she wouldn't eat breakfast and sleep instead if he didn't make her come.

Kanagawa Yuki: I'm headed out for a jog if you want to come.

Mitsumi Chie: I was just about to head out to catch up with the boys.

Kanagawa Yuki: LOL! Me too! I'll meet you down at the lobby.

Yuki was waiting in the lobby with the boys. It looked like Makoto and Shimura were coming too. Everyone was wearing their team joggers and jackets. Chie fiddled with her smartwatch underneath her jacket sleeve. They were ready to roll out. "Sorry for the hold up!"

"Nah, don't sweat it." Matsuda zipped his jacket up, "We were just trying to decide where we should grab some food."

Bokuto was hungry like always. He was currently scrolling through a list of nearby restaurants on his GPS app. "Hey, what's brunch?" His eyes caught a hold of a photo of a stack of fluffy pancakes.

Makoto's eyes lit up like light bulbs. Her mouth began to water at the word 'brunch'. She dashed to Bokuto and peered at the pictures over his shoulder. "Brunch places sell breakfast and lunch. Which means they have American Breakfasts!!!!" She was a Japanese-American who moved from America to Japan during her sophomore year of High School. To her distaste, she had four years of high school because her sophomore year in America was the equivalent of being a first year in Japan.

"American breakfast?" Everyone turned their head to the side.

"Eggs, meat, pancakes and waffles, all the good stuff." Makoto licked her lips and was trying to sell the idea to everyone.

Bokuto put his phone away and placed his hands on his hips. "Well I'm sold!"

"I am too!" Kuroo added.

The decision was unanimous. Mitsumi smiled and looked up at Koushi as they all went outside. "Morning sleepyhead." She teased and poked his cheek.

He had been pretty quiet so far. It looked like he had fallen asleep on the bus and hadn't fixed his hair. The silver strands were sticking out in various directions. Suga jogged at Mitsumi's pace behind everyone else. "Kaori wouldn't stop talking my ear off last night. I think she's nervous about her game today."

"Oh geez, I'm sorry." Mitsumi kept her pace going.

Shimura heard their conversation and looked over her shoulder. "Suga! Your cousin is playing in the high school tournament, right?"

"Yeah, she'll be playing at the same time as we are. So, I won't get to see her." The setter knew it was bound to happen. It didn't really bother him. Although, he secretly wished he could replicate himself for the day.

"That's a bummer." Takuma chimed in, "The high schoolers are playing on the south end of the stadium too. So we are all on opposite ends."

"The Nekoma girls don't play until tomorrow." Mitsumi was a bit relieved by that. "So, hopefully us alumnus can go cheer them on." She wanted to see how Yui was holding up as captain. Obviously, she had to be doing good for her team to make it to Nationals again.

Kuroo shrugged, "Hopefully they do well enough so we can see them in other rounds." He was more interested in seeing the more entertaining matches. Regardless of who was playing them.

"Fukurodani is going to wipe you guys out!" Bokuto laughed with a grin. "You can't change my mind."

"No! Inarizaki will take center court this year!" Matsuda was still supportive of his high school.

Yuki and Takuma stuck their tongues out at each other. Their high school's boy's team had advanced to the Nationals just barely. "No! Kanagawa Prep will!"

"Karasuno will definitely be one to watch for." Sugawara was rooting for his former team.

Everyone argued and discussed about all the up and coming rookies this year. The conversation stretched the entirety of the jog and their meal. Makoto seemed to be too distracted by her massive stack of pancakes to really be paying attention to the conversation. The wing spiker out ate Bokuto and Takuma. Which was a disgusting record.

"So, you all came from powerhouse schools then." Suga set his empty glass down on the table. "Pretty impressive." He felt like the odd one out. Karasuno had made it to the national court because of Hinata's and Kageyama's raw talent. To him, they were the ones who made the crowd known again.

Takuma finished off his meal. "Just about all of us have stepped on the orange court at some point. Even those who haven't are about too."

"My high school went to Nationals all three years. Two of those years, we were eliminated in the first round. My third year, we made it to the quarter finals and lost there." Shimura let out a nostalgic sigh. It wasn't as impressive as Mitsumi or Ichiyama, who both held National titles. But, it was something.

Yuki shrugged, "I never made it in high school. I managed to get selected for our team during open tryouts." Her statement shocked the freshman.

They all stared at her with stunned expressions. Their eyes and jaws were open as wide as they physically could be. Bokuto pointed his finger at the setter. "Seriously?! That's insane! You had some serious luck during tryouts then!"

Kuroo pushed the spiker into his seat with Suga. "Is this your first time?"

"Nah, I went last year. But, I wasn't on the starting line up. So, this will be a whole new experience." Yuki's blue hair hid her worried expression. This was going to be the first time she would be in the spotlight.

Makoto grinned as she threw an arm around her setter's shoulder. "Hey! You've got us out there too! You'll love it!"

Mitsumi looked down at the time. "We should head back and get ready."

...

The opening ceremonies were always a spectacular sight. The ladies changed into their court shoes and left their jackets with their bags in the storage room. The arena was bustling with people from all over the country. Reporters were flooding the hallways with their cameras. They had already started looking for their first victims to interview.

Mitsumi clung to Suga's arm as they stood in line and waited behind a zillion other teams to walk out. The crowd was already grating on her nerves and the ceremony hadn't even begun yet. All you have to do right now is wait to go and stand on the court. The games haven't started yet.

"Mitsumi, chill. You've done this before." Kuroo snapped the girl out of her thoughts.

Her boyfriend let her hold onto his arm. He could only imagine how she was feeling. "We'll be out there together." He smiled at her gently. His nerves were growing as well.

Mitsumi let go as it was time to head in. The anxious energy suddenly skyrocketed. Shimura led the ladies in a quick deep breath before taking the white sign with their school's name on it from Riza. The captain was leading her team onto the battlefield.

The glare of the stadium lights was blinding on the neon blue and orange floor. The crowd went wild as each of the representatives were introduced. It was deafening. The stadium floor was flooded with neat lines of various colors. The press and television crews sped around the sidelines as they tried to get as many shots as possible.

Mitsumi glanced to her right and then to her left. Nihon University was on her right side. To her left was Ryosuke, the men's back up middle blocker. She didn't know him that well, but he looked as stiff as a board. The Nihon women's team had serious expressions on their faces that were hard to read from a glance. In a way, she was grateful they weren't placed next to Miyagi.

Everyone split up after the ceremony. The men went to warm up on a side court while the exhibition match went on. The women decided to walk around the arena and explore.

"So, the guys are playing Iwate University first? I've never heard of them." Nomiya picked up her carton of apple juice from the vending machine. She stepped aside and let Mitsumi get her drink. "Do you know anything about them?"

Mitsumi detached the plastic straw from her yogurt drink and stabbed it into the foil circle. "Mm, all I know is that they are from the Iwate prefecture." She leaned against the wall with one foot against it. "My guess is that they are an up and coming group. Nothing to worry about."

"Dang, you're a blunt one, Freshie." Nomiya scrolled through her messages to find the tournament bracket. "And then we are up against Nagasaki University. I played them last year, no biggie."

All of the upperclassmen seemed really laid back about the first day. But then again, they all knew their competition well. All of their major threats would appear in later rounds. Miyagi was in a different seed. So, unless they made it to the quarter or semifinals, they didn't need to stress about them. However, Kyoto University was in their seed. Along with the "new and improved" Matsukawa University team. They were on the roster of favorites this year.

If Tokyo U won against Nagasaki, they would have to go against them. Given Kyoto won against Yamaguchi Prefectural University, that is. Which was almost a given with the rumors everyone had been hearing.

Mitsumi crushed the now empty cardboard carton and threw it in the trash bin. "Nekoma girls are warming up for their exhibition game now. We should go get seats." She saw a message from Yui appear on her phone screen.

...

"And that's an out for Niiyama Joshi High School! Our current champions, Nekoma High School, wins the exhibition match!"

The crowd erupted into cheers. Mitsumi leaned against the railing with her hands cupped around her mouth. "Keep it up!!!! Let's keep the title!!!!"

Yui and Ritsu looked up at the stands after they bowed with the most demonic smiles. Yeah, they were going to give everyone hellfire this year. Just because they could. Mitsumi had an equally scary face which was terrifying to Nomiya and Makoto. The both flashed a big thumbs up, a habit they got from their underclassman.

"Mitsumi! I thought you had a game right now!" Ritsu and Yui tackled their former captain once they wrapped up an interview.

"Nah. We play our first game in a couple of hours. So, we had time to kill." Mitsumi patted their heads and pushed them off of her. She had stronger muscles now, so she could actually shove the tall girls off of her easily.

Yui almost fell over, but caught herself. "Dang. You're strong now."

"Scary as always. Set some hellfire on the court for us today!" Ritsu cheered.

"Heck yeah!" The alumni pumped a fist in the air.

Nomiya and Makoto spotted a booth selling t-shirts. They told Mitsumi that they would see her at warm ups and parted ways. The libero sighed and walked through the stadium hallways. She had her hands in her pockets as she trudged her way through the crowd. Some people stared at her as she passed by.

"She's smaller in real life." She overheard one guy talking with his friend.

"Yeah, isn't she a national candidate? Surprised she made it this far without blasting a limb off."

Mitsumi glared at the two men with everything she had in her, which shut them up. There were plenty of rumors flying around about Tokyo University this year. Last year, the team took home the bronze medal. They had lost to Miyagi in the semifinals. The word had spread that the two teams had declared war on each other this year.

Nationals was a place where you had to fend for yourself. Otherwise, you would be trampled. Mitsumi tried her best not to look at anyone as she walked around. Her eyes were fixed on the spot in front of her. The crowd was growing dense again. A game must have been let out. She got shoved to the side which knocked her into the person next to her.

Oh crap. She looked up at who she accidentally bumped into. It was that twisted egotistical chick from camp. I'm SCREWED!

Tsukibahara was in an interview talking about one of the universities she was the assistant coach for. She glanced at who bumped into her and raised a single eyebrow. "Anyways, I am convinced Kyoto will take the gold this year." She wrapped up her last comment.

"Eh! Mitsumi Chie? Do you mind answering a few questions?" The reporter jumped on the chance to have the two of them talk about National Training.

Mitsumi couldn't refuse without it being her cause of death. "Sure. Why not?" Her face went from completely serious, to having a fake smile that looked completely genuine.

"So, there are plenty of rumors around saying that you and Tsukibahara are fighting for the same spot on the National team. What was it like having to train alongside a division one V. League player?"

Every colorful word in the vocabulary flew through Mitsumi's brain. Although on the outside, she was completely unfazed. "Oh, it was definitely a special experience. And I wouldn't say we are fighting for a position. It's more of a friendly rivalry. Right?" She low-key glared at Tsukibahara and tried to force her into playing along.

"Of course!" The taller and older woman rested her elbow on her rival's shoulder. "It's nothing too crazy."

Mitsumi placed her hands on her hips and gave Tsukibahara a proper glare after the reporter left. "Still annoying as heck, I see. I didn't know you coached Kyoto University."

"Expect us to crush you again." Tsukibahara smirked and crossed her arms. The room dropped twenty degrees.

"Again? I don't believe I saw you at our practice match a while back." The freshman was quick to retort.

"I had a Red Rocket's game."

"Ah, that explains a lot." Mitsumi's voice was starting to become a little more aggressive.

Kuroo spotted the girl easily. She was the only one wearing colorful ribbons in her hair. And then he saw who she was with. "Hey I'll catch up." He said before speed walking towards Mitsumi. He grabbed her shoulder to break whatever tension he just stumbled into. "Mitsumi, the ladies are about to start practice."

Tsukibahara cracked one last smirk. "Well, Mitsumi, best of luck."

"I hope your team loses in your first round." Mitsumi grumbled and grabbed Kuroo's sleeve. "Let's go Kuroo. She's not worth our attention." She spat in a cold tone. She dragged the tall wing spiker away with a huff.

Kuroo took her to where her team was about to meet. Nobody was there yet, but it gave him the chance to talk to her. "Were you just picking a fight with one of the coaches?! Are you stupid?!"

"That was Tsukibahara. I accidently bumped into her and she started it." Mitsumi grumbled through her gritted teeth. "She has this thing against me apparently because she saw me as a threat at training camp." She started to explain what had happened. In a way, it was a good thing her childhood friend found her and not someone else. Namely, her boyfriend or Bokuto. Or any of her teammates. They would have fuelled the fire more.

Kuroo shook his head profusely. To him, it was childish. But then again, he had been in that situation many times over. "Change of topic. But, Sapporo University is in our seed this year. Which means-"

"Daishou Suguru." They said in unison.

"You better roast that stupid snake."

Coach Yamata walked into the court with Riza. "Woah, Mitsumi! What is with all this sudden aggression?" He had a smug smirk. "Save the drama for the court."

"Yes sir!" Mitsumi sighed heavily. "Oh! Can you give this to Koushi for me? I haven't seen him since breakfast this morning." She pulled out 200 yen out of her jacket pocket. "I'm sure he will need it."

...

Sugawara took the money from Kuroo and laughed. "How did she know I needed a drink?" He pocketed the two coins with a smile. He was missing her a little bit and had hoped to see her after their first game. The men had won their first game with ease. They were all off to go watch some other matches that were going on now.

"I think she feels bad that she couldn't bring one to you." Kuroo shrugged a bit. "Anyways, if you see her, she's in a feisty mood. She ran into Tsukibahara." He casually tossed a hand out to the side. "How was the Karasuno game?"

He didn't have time to react to hearing about Tsukibahara. "Uh- They won." He let everything sink in for a second. "Wait... Tsukibahara?! Did they fight?" He exchanged the coins that his girlfriend had given him for a sports drink from the vending machine.

"About too."

"You've gotta be joking with me."

Kuroo shook his head and turned on his heel. "I'm sure you'll want to see the girls play their first game." He waved the setter on. "Takuma is saving seats for us."

Surely enough, the girls were finishing their official warm up when they found their seats. Bokuto had decided to go off with Matsuda and Ichiyama to scout out other teams. They only had one game today, which was a relief. And since everyone was "responsible" adults, they were free to roam for the rest of the day. Well, until their evening practice that is. Coach Ueno and Coach Yamata still insisted that everyone work on their plays for the next day.

Takuma observed their counterparts as they wrapped up their drills and lined up. He watched his little sister bounce on her toes. A habit she had when she was nervous. It was her first time on a court of this size. She had every right to be nervous. He just wanted to be down there with her to at least give her a hug. But, that wasn't possible at the moment. So, he would have to hold out until after the game.

"Tokyo! Let's have a fight!" Shimura's voice could be heard above the noise of the stadium. She was pretty sure that they could win the match in straight sets. Same with Coach Yamata. This game shouldn't last long.

The rest of the ladies threw a hand in the air. "Dog fight!" And with that, the match was set to begin.

Chie closed her eyes as the teams bowed to each other and took a deep breath. Other than Yuki, who swore she was doing okay, everyone else seemed totally tame. Which really helped the libero to keep her nerves down. She grabbed Yuki's shoulder as she passed by her as they got into position with a smile. She didn't know what to say, but she knew that would be enough to get the message across.

Nagasaki had the first serve. Unlike other schools they had played, it was nothing super flashy. Makoto was able to get the ball up high for Yuki. Takahashi was open for the kill. She waited for a moment for the set to fall to the right height and slammed it over the net. The ball went in between the blockers and landed right in front of the libero. The first point was a piece of cake.

According to Coach, Nagasaki was one of those teams that was slow to warm up. So, as long as they could wear the opponent out, they would have no issues getting the win. And he was right. The girls took their first game in straight sets. That would most likely be their easiest win of the tournament. However, they still celebrated with a sweaty group hug. Every win was a major one on the orange court.