Some games have bosses which are stronger than normal mobs.

Even if a boss doesn't seem clearable at first, after playing it over and over again, you can conquer it.

~~~

"We're like the blood in our veins. We must flow without stopping. Keep your oxygen moving and your mind working."

Chiyuri kept silent, coughing slightly to hide the giggle that wanted to come out after hearing Kuroo's... chant. It was the most scientific one she'd ever heard, but she wasn't expecting any less from the boy who had been asking her to cook them fish for dinner to increase their levels of docosahexaenoic acid, whatever that was. Unfortunately for Kuroo, she had told him that Coach Naoi had already set out a meal plan for the weekend, of which did not include fish. Kuroo had stomped off, insisting he was going to overthrow the meal plan by the end of the day.

Holding the manager's notebook in her hand, Chiyuri padded over to the two coaches, bowing slightly in greeting as she sat down on the bench with a small distance between the coaches and her. They barely seemed to pay attention to her, which she didn't mind in the slightest. After all, coaches had to focus on the players more. Plus, she was getting more than enough attention from the team and didn't expect more from anyone else.

Maybe the amount of positive interaction I get is limited daily, Chiyuri pondered as she opened the notebook and quickly set up a chart with each team member's name going down the left side of the page. She left more than enough space to write down what was working well and what needed to be improved. She didn't have too much time to wonder as the whistle blew for the first serve.

"Nice Serve!" the team called, Kuroo's voice ringing louder than the others. Kai seemed calm as he threw the ball up and sent a strong serve to the back line on the Tsukinokizawa side. They received it, the ball bouncing a little lower than preferred, but still fairly playable. Their setter tossed to the left and Kuroo and Inuoka immediately reacted. They jumped as the spiker from the other side jumped, their hands looming over the opponent and arched slightly over the net to prevent a waterfall ball. Chiyuri's grey eyes took in the shakiness of the spiker. He must've been a first year. It was unfortunate he was up against Kuroo on the very first spike. Had Chiyuri not been through more than enough glares, Kuroo's smirk would've been enough to scare her into missing a spike or two during their warm up.

As expected, Nekoma successfully blocked the ball, the power from the spike working against Tsukinokizawa as the volleyball hit the floor before their Libero could save it. Chiyuri nodded to herself, writing down a few notes about the positioning of the members during the block.

The second point went to Nekoma again, with Yamamoto successfully sending a spike hard enough to completely knock back the middle blockers on the other team. The third point went to Tsukinokizawa after a long rally as they sent a cross shot that barely slipped by Yaku by a hair. The game went on, with Nekoma scoring some and maintaining long rallies in others. Chiyuri couldn't help but be impressed with how easily they flowed and how they managed to dig the balls each time, keeping it in play. The first set ended 25-21 in favor of Nekoma.

"Good job," Chiyuri said quietly, handing them towels and water while they rested a bit. Kenma trudged over by her, sighing tiredly as he sat down on the bench behind her. She glanced over at him, not saying anything as she continued handing out the water. Once all the members were well hydrated (a few of them asked for a refill, to which she was glad she had filled up the small gallon bottle), she sat down next to Kenma, opening her notes.

"This team isn't really that fun to play against..." Kenma said quietly as he looked over to her notebook. The organization made it pretty simple to see what was being written about their opponents and about their team. Chiyuri glanced at him, then at the other team.

"They're easy to read, aren't they?" Chiyuri giggled. Kenma nodded, dropping his head.

"You can't level up with a low level boss like this."

"I think they're trying to learn a thing or two from you though?" Chiyuri commented, pointing to the other team's setter. Kenma took a look, seeing how the setter was doing a familiar wrist motion.

"Is he practicing a setter dump?" Kenma frowned. Chiyuri nodded, going back to her notes.

"Tsukinokizawa number 7. He tried a dump earlier after seeing you do it half way through the set, but he was too obvious and you guys managed to score in a two-attack." Kenma rolled his eyes a bit.

"He didn't even try to pretend like he wasn't going to dump. His hand positioning made it too obvious."

Chiyuri nodded in agreement. As much as Kenma claimed he didn't care about practice and volleyball, he sure was eager to find a strong opponent. Volleyball was like a real life game to him it seemed, which amused the grey-eyed girl slightly.

"Chi-Chan!" Kuroo called from further down the bench. She raised her head from Kenma and looked to Kuroo. The third year waved his hand as if telling her to come over, to which she obliged as she hugged the notebook to her chest and scurried over. "What are your notes on the other team. I want to wipe them next set."

Chiyuri rolled her eyes slightly upon seeing the devilish grin on the third year's face and handed her notebook to the captain who quickly flipped it open and began scanning the pages.

"Try not to scare them too much, Kuroo-Senpai," Chiyuri said as she saw a scheming smirk wash upon the third year. Her notes may have made it a bit too easy to counter Tsukinokizawa. "I think the first year almost wet himself when you blocked him so mercilessly with a full-blown smirk."

"I wasn't trying to, Chi-Chan, Plus, if anything, you should be telling that to Yamamoto," Kuroo defended, gesturing his head toward the second year ace who was currently trying to intimidate the other team by glaring and growling. The two of them sighed, choosing to ignore the riled up ace. "Anyways, what does this note mean?"

Chiyuri glanced down at the notebook, reading over the notes. She pointed a discreet finger at the number 8 of Tsukinokizawa and Kuroo glanced up.

"Their middle blocker, number 8, doesn't react to our spiker or setter, but instead he reacts to his own teammates. He glances to the other middle blocker before he moves. And their libero, number 3, doesn't have good aim when he receives on the right side. Also, I think their spiker, number 9 is ambidextrous, but he served with his right only the whole time despite being a little shaky. His expression after the serve said that he was pretty proud of himself, so I think he might be trying to hide that he's stronger with his left to try to surprise you later."

Kuroo seemed pretty impressed as she listed off her observations.

"It's nice to have a manager like you." Kuroo gave her a grin, ruffling her hair as she blushed at the positive words.

"No, I'm sure Kenma noticed this too..." Chiyuri tried to brush off. Unfortunately, Kenma was right behind her, scaring her slightly as he spoke.

"Nope, I only noticed the number 8 one."

"Oh goodness!" Chiyuri yelped as she spun around, Kenma let out a small 'pft' as she huffed and gave him a light hit to the arm. Kenma didn't seem sorry at all for scaring her out of nowhere. Instead of pursuing that, she turned to the rest of the team who had gathered around to listen to her part of the way. "Anyways, are you all ready? I can tell Coach Nekomata you are all good for the next set."

When each team member nodded, she lightly jogged back to the coach, giving a quick update on the team and their status. Coach Nekomata nodded, thanking the girl before making his way to the referee and the other coach who were talking a bit. A minute later, they disbanded and the two teams were back on the court.

As Chiyuri predicted, the Tsukinokizawa team tried another setter dump on the first serve, but Kenma easily read it again and set it up for Kuroo to spike in another two-attack. The third year was blocked, but it was a waterfall ball as Nekoma got the first point again. The second point again went to Nekoma as the Tsukinokizawa server hit the ball out of bounds.

Point after point, Nekoma pulled ahead, leaving Tsukinokizawa in the dust as they had a ten point lead by the time they got to 20 points. Tsukinokizawa subbed in their pinch server, earning them two points, but it did nothing to slow down Nekoma. When Nekoma got to match point, another of Chiyuri's predictions came true. Number 9 made a small signal that Chiyuri caught briefly, to which she quickly turned to Kenma, her eyes locking with his. He tilted his head in question, and she nodded. Immediately, he turned to Kuroo, the third year smirking as Kenma made a small plan. It wasn't very nice, but they were going to play with Tsukinokizawa a little bit until their number 9 showed his ambidexterity.

Tsukinokizawa served, the ball going right to Yaku who easily received it and sent it high to Kenma. The pudding-haired setter barely moved as he purposely looked to Kuroo, letting the middle blocker move to stand in front of Kuroo as he ran up to spike the ball. The third year made it easy, spiking to the libero directly and Tsukinokizawa dug up the ball easily and spiked it across. Inuoka received the returned ball, launching it over the net again.

Back and forth the ball went, making this possibly the longest round they had played since they started. Kenma clearly was getting tired, his golden eyes focusing on the other team's number 7 and 9, trying to find when they could do the left-handed spike. It didn't take long before they finally showed the signal that Kenma had been looking for. He let out a sigh of relief, ready to end the game. Kuroo noticed, getting ready for his role.

As expected, the setter tossed the ball farther to the side than usual, seeming confident. The number 9 came running up, his left hand positioned for a spike. Hitting a straight shot, his eyes widened as Kuroo dived and received it, sending it to Kenma. Kenma watched it soar over the team, arching perfectly as the golden-eyed setter raised his arms, tossing it forward to Inuoka who spiked it and gave them the winning point. The score ended at 25-13 in favor of Nekoma.

"All right!" the team screamed, tired, but still excited.

The Tsukinokizawa team were panting heavily as they stared at Nekoma in shock. Chiyuri couldn't help but hide a small smirk. Nekoma were cats indeed. flexible and relaxed, keeping their connections strong and flowing.

"It's not like there's a genius player among them, in offense or defense..." Tsukinokizawa's number 11 voiced. Chiyuri raised her head, her grey eyes locking onto the first year who spoke from the back of the court. "Why are they so good?" Chiyuri's eyes bore into them, expressionless but still unnerving. Was this the response that normal team members got? A bit of fear and awe at the same time? She had been slightly worried that the Tsukinokizawa team would be upset and mad, but she couldn't detect any of that, thankfully.

With the match over at 2-0, the team lined up at the net and the coaches met by the referee. Tsukinokizawa didn't have a manager, so Chiyuri lined up by Coach Nekomata and Coach Naoi to greet the opposing team's coaches. Again, they didn't seem to acknowledge her presence as she bowed her head to them and thanked them for a good game quietly.

"TSUKISHIMA-SAN!" Yamamoto called excited as the coaches finished giving a little speech and dismissed the teams to cool off for a bit. She turned to him as she slipped the manager notebook into the bag she had brought.

"Yamamoto-San?" The ace bounced up to the girl, his eyes sparkling for praise as she took a small subconscious step back from the overwhelming second year.

"YOU SAW MY SPIKE RIGHT?! THAT'S THE ACE FOR YOU! DON'T YOU JUST WANT TO BECOME OUR OFFICIAL MANAGER ALREADY?!" Yamamoto was excited, but the excitement only frightened Chiyuri a bit.

"Uhm," Chiyuri looked to the side, glancing to where Kenma and Kuroo were standing and pleading for help with her grey orbs. Kuroo caught her eye, then saw Yamamoto bothering Chiyuri. The third year smirked at her, then turned to Kenma and tapped the setter on the shoulder while tilting his head toward Yamamoto and Chiyuri who had gone back to trying to avoid answering his question.

Kenma frowned, not liking how Yamamoto had snatched her hands in his as he practically begged her to become their manager. Kuroo kept quiet as he observed his setter grow irritated before slipping away from the third year and making his way to the other two second years.

Instead of stopping Yamamoto with words like a normal person, Kenma found himself physically separating the two of them. He brought his hand down in a chopping motion, coming down hard on the back of the ace's hand. Yamamoto immediately released Chiyuri, yelping at the surprising strength of the seemingly nonathletic boy. With the little space between Yamamoto and Chiyuri, Kenma squeezed himself between them, sliding his foot in first to push Yamamoto away while keeping Chiyuri behind him.

"Tora, stop bothering Yuri." Kenma said with a small glare as Chiyuri let out a small relieved sigh. Yamamoto was friendly, but it was still a bit overbearing for her.

"It's okay, he was just asking me to become the official manager..." Chiyuri defended weakly. Even if she was overwhelmed, she felt a bit bad that Yamamoto kept being pushed away despite only being friendly.

"Just take your time deciding, Yuri," Kenma reassured. "Don't listen to Tora's begging." He didn't want her to feel like she was being forced to. He just figured that she'd find that the team was made up of decent people that wouldn't treat her like her old team did. Chiyuri nodded, smiling a bit as she looked down.

"Kyanma! I just want a female manager!" Yamamoto whined to Kenma. Kenma snapped his head to the ace, making a face that screamed absolute disgust.

"What the hell? Why're you calling me that too?"

"Kyanma!"

"No.We're leaving you here. Don't come back to Nekoma with us." Kenma turned to Chiyuri, putting his hands on her shoulder as he spun her and pushed her toward Kuroo from behind. "Yuri, don't you dare laugh."

"I'm not laughing," Chiyuri denied, but she was unable to hide the small 'pft' that Kenma caught. He looked at her, which only caused her to burst out laughing for real. He tried to keep a glare on his face as she doubled over in laughter, holding her stomach, but he couldn't help but smile a tiny bit at her amusement, even if it was because of a stupid nickname.

"It's not even that funny," Kenma said with a roll of his eyes. He looked away, hiding a blush from her as she took deep breaths to control her laughing.

"It sort of is," she replied on the verge of tears from laughing. "It was hard enough holding in the laugh when Kuroo called you that back at Nekoma."

"Shut up, Yuri." Kenma started pushing her toward Kuroo, keeping his embarrassment as he forced her to face away.

"Call you what? Kyanma?" Kuroo interjected, overhearing them. Chiyuri burst into another fit of laughter at the nickname as Kenma immediately spun her around and began pushing her toward Inuoka.

"Nevermind. We're leaving Kuroo here too."

~~~

A whole day of practice later, the team was finally allowed to rest. Chiyuri had finished preparing dinner with Yaku and Kai's help. Kuroo offered, but was quickly kicked out when he started bickering with Yaku about why they had no fish on the menu. Chiyuri tried to convince the two third years to rest as well, but they insisted on helping her since the team had once again dragged her into their practice. To the surprise of the coaches of the other team, Chiyuri effortlessly kept up and even surpassed the boys at Tsukinokizawa, easily moving around the court and seamlessly fitting in with the Nekoma boys' team. When Tsukinokizawa asked for a break, Nekoma played a 3v3, with Chiyuri, Inuoka and Kenma on one team and Kuroo, Teshiro and Yamamoto on the other. The team learned that match that putting Chiyuri with a setter who knew her well enough was a deadly combo when they lost to a 25-18 in favor of Chiyuri's side.

The beef curry served for dinner was finished and the plates were cleaned of every grain of rice within half an hour. Despite serving almost twice as much as the coaches originally wanted to, the boys wasted no time in scarfing down the food. Aside from Kenma, that was, who split his plate and gave half of it to Chiyuri since she didn't eat all that much either.

When dinner ended, the boys made their way back to the room with Yamamoto being rowdy as he usually was and Kuroo scolded him to shut up. Since most of them had showered before dinner while Chiyuri was prepping, it left Yaku, Kai and Chiyuri to shower. Yaku and Kai came back first, then Kenma disappeared for a second and came back with Chiyuri trailing behind him, a pillow in her arms and a towel around her shoulders. The team gathered in the large room with the futons spread out, chatting and just unwinding after the day.

"About our destined opponent, Karasuno..." Yamamoto started, staring seriously at Inuoka and Shibayama. "Do they have a female manager or not? I bet a yakisoba bread that they don't."

"What? I'd prefer that they did, so my bet is that they do," Inuoka replied.

"Me too!" Shibayama added.

Chiyuri glanced up, hearing their conversation nearby. She was sitting by Kenma who was on his phone as they played a cookie clicker game. Her legs were to her left with the pillow over them as she leaned toward Kenma who was to her right. Her slightly damp hair was pulled over her shoulder as she rubbed a towel on it. Kenma barely acknowledged her slight movement as he continued tapping on his phone. He sat in a butterfly position with his feet touching.

"They do have a female manager, actually," she whispered, the words only audible to Kenma. "She is really pretty. Tadashi sent me a photo once." He looked up at her, then back to his phone.

"Tadashi?"

"Kei's friend. He's on the volleyball team too."

"Are you going to tell Tora?" Kenma asked, nodding to the information she just gave him as he directed the conversation back. She shook her head.

"Nope. Inuoka looks like he wants the yakisoba bread."

"You're mean," Kenma joked, to which she ignored. Instead, she poked the back of his left hand.

"What's with the slow taps, Kenma? You getting tired?"

"Shut up. I don't think you could tap faster than me, Yuri."

"I can too."

"Can not."

"Can too." Chiyuri held out her hand for the phone, but the pudding-haired boy shook his head and used his left arm to keep her away from his phone as he tapped away with his

"Jackasses," the ace scolded the two first years. "We don't have an official female manager, so won't it make you made if they do?" Yamamoto pointed a finger at Inuoka and Shibayama. "What if they had a beauty for a manager?" He burst into tears at the thought of it. "I won't ever forgive them! I never will!"

The first years watched on, not sure what to do as Yamamoto ran to the window, sliding it open as he yelled "and if that's the case, you better watch out, Karasuno!"

"Shut up, Yamamoto!" Kuroo yelled, clearly ticked at the amount of noise Yamamoto was causing.

"Hey, Kenma. What do you think?"

Kenma glanced up from his phone, wiggling his toes slightly as he took a second to think. While he responded to Yamamoto, Chiyuri dropped her towel onto her pillow and successfully stole his phone, holding it in her hands as she tapped away.

"I don't care either way," Kenma replied finally.

"Tch." Yamamoto turned away. "I knew you'd say that.

"But," Kenma spoke softly, causing Yamamoto to turn toward him again. Kenma smiled. "I'm kind of looking forward to it. Our match against Karasuno."

Yamamoto and the first years gasped.

"Kenma, who has no will to play, is looking forward to a match?!" Yamamoto jumped back, his hands raised defensively as he stared at Kenma like he just said he was an alien.

"Yamamoto," Kuroo interrupted, a vein showing on his forehead. "You seem full of energy. You can practice double the amount if you'd like."

"S-Sorry." Yamamoto immediately sat down on his knees, quietly avoiding looking at Kuroo.

Kenma ignored them, turning back to Chiyuri and watched as she indeed was tapping the screen faster than he had been. Her nails, although still considered short, made small clicking sounds on the screen protector.

"Aw, Kyanma, you're excited to play tomorrow." Chiyuri giggled a little, her eyes glued to the screen as she surpassed his previous score.

"I will delete your save file, Yuri," Kenma threatened meaninglessly, snatching his phone back as she failed to pull it away from him. He was petty and didn't want her to get an inflated ego about beating his score. He had his position as the best gamer to keep, even if it was against Chiyuri who was quickly catching up. It was scary how fast she could learn the games. "Plus, aren't you excited too? You're seeing your cousin tomorrow."

"Oh yeah." She looked to Kenma, her eyes wide. "I forgot to tell Kei I'm here."

~~~

Chiyuri blinked, rubbing her eyes as she felt her neck cramp up from the awkward sleeping position. The girl hadn't made it back into her own room after Yaku had insisted they do a bit of team bonding before their match tomorrow. Much to Chiyuri's confusion, Yaku and Kuroo kept sharing weird scheming glances as they put everyone in pairs to play some games. Thankfully, they paired her with Kenma who seemed fairly comfortable with that as well.

Halfway through their game of blindfolded hide and seek, it turned into a game of tag as Inuoka, who seemed to have endless amounts of energy, led Yamamoto on a wild goose chase out of the room. In the half hour they were gone, Chiyuri had fallen asleep, her head on Kenma's shoulder as the two of them sat against a wall in the corner farthest from where Yamamoto kept somehow making his way to. It didn't take long before Kenma decided he couldn't focus on his games with his mind reeling about why his heart was beating so fast and decided to sleep instead. It was safe to say that Kuroo and Yaku both got photos of the two second years. Kuroo had been a bit surprised to see Kenma so relaxed around someone he barely knew for a month, but he had a feeling they clicked together right from the start.

The black-haired girl gave up on trying to sleep again when she saw the mess that was called the Nekoma boys' team. Of course, Kenma was acting as her pillow with his own head against the wall in the corner. A blanket was thrown around them and his phone was sitting on top of it. Kuroo was sprawled out on one of the futons and had stolen Kai's pillow as he pressed two of them against either side of his head. The third year's blanket had been kicked off to the side. Yamamoto had somehow rolled off the futon entirely, one leg sticking out from his blanket with his arms out like a starfish. Yaku was huddled up next to the wall, facing away from the rest of the team and cocooned in his blanket. Inuoka was sleeping with his feet on his pillow and Shibayama had disappeared under the mass of his blanket somehow. Kai, Fukunaga and Teshiro seemed to be the only ones who slept normally that night.

Slowly shuffling out of the blanket, Chiyuri slipped away back to her room, taking a few minutes to get herself ready before sleepily heading to the kitchen to prepare the boys breakfast. After living by herself for so long, she was pretty confident in her cooking skills. The only question was if she could be able to cook enough for the whole team. Aside from Kenma, most of them ate like they'd never seen food before.

Settling for some simple congee with the mackerel that Kuroo had persistently insisted they needed, Chiyuri prepped some simple side dishes and some vegetables before she got started on the fish. By the time the girl was done, some of the boys were just starting to wake up. Kuroo was the first, scaring Chiyuri half to death as he slammed the door to the kitchen open when he smelled fish. Yaku was the next to wake, and the demonic third year wasted no time in literally kicking everyone else awake. Even Kenma had been kicked, but Yaku immediately regretted it as Kenma woke up like a hissing cat.

"Itadakimasu!" the team all called before digging into the breakfast. As Chiyuri expected, they gobbled down the food like there was no tomorrow, reaching for seconds and thirds while Kenma and her were happy with their one serving.

"Have you told your cousin that you're here yet?" Kenma asked between bites of food. He was sitting between Kuroo and Chiyuri, with the girl at the very end of the table. Much to his annoyance, Kuroo had piled on tons of fish and greens on his bowl and the game-loving boy was bothered by how full his bowl was. Thankfully, Chiyuri saw the slight annoyance on his face and 'stole' a few pieces of the steamed greens from his bowl so he didn't have to worry about Kuroo yelling at him to finish his food when he was already full.

"Not yet." Chiyuri replied. "I think he'd tell me to go back to Tokyo if I told him, so I'm just going to surprise him."

"Sounds like a nice cousin..." Kenma quietly turned back to his food as she stuck her tongue out childishly at him. As she grew closer to the team, the different sides of her were really starting to come out.

It gave Kenma mixed feelings.

He was glad she was getting along with the team, but he had this sinking feeling that he somewhy didn't want her to get too close to them. It was like a selfish wish for him to be the only one that she felt this comfortable with, but he couldn't understand why this feeling came up. The idea that he wouldn't be the only one to see the weird sides of her bothered him to no extent, just like when she said she was glad to be his friend. It felt like an uncomfortable tightness in his chest that awkwardly persisted.

Maybe he was getting sick.

~~~

Kenma felt absolutely stupid.

He had left his phone charging during breakfast since he fell asleep before plugging it in last night, and he forgot it in the room. And then Kuroo insisted that they had to walk onto the Tsukinokizawa campus in a straight line with their jackets on to look more intimidating to the Karasuno team, so he didn't let the boy run back to the inn and grab the phone. The only one that seemed to understand the boy's desperation to have at least his phone (since Kuroo had taken the initiative to hide his PSP for the day so Kenma wouldn't play hooky) was Chiyuri and she had kindly offered to run back and get it.

So here he was, standing in a line facing the Karasuno team uncomfortably as Hinata stared at him in shock. He should've gone with Chiyuri to avoid this awkwardness. Kuroo was the first to move, smiling competitively as he and the captain of Karasuno filed into the gym where the two teams had come face to face. The rest of them followed slowly.

"Kenma!" the orange haired boy called, going up to the Nekoma setter. He turned around, facing the energetic boy. "Hey, you're with Nekoma?"

"Oh. Yeah."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Hinata whined, slumping over.

"Because you didn't ask." Kenma turned away awkwardly.

"But you said, 'see you soon.' You must've known something."

"Your t-shirt said 'Karasuno High School.'"

A shadow towered over them as Yamamoto came in, his signature 'intimidation glare' on his face.

"Hey, hey, hey. What business might you have with our setter?" Hinata stiffened, his face paling as he stared up at the ace of Nekoma.

"Chotto," Kenma scolded with a slight frown.

"S-Sorry!" Hinata panicked, backing up step by step until he bumped into someone else. It was Tanaka, who was giving off a similar glare to Yamamoto.

"You, too... What business might you have with our first-year?"

"Is there a problem?" Yamamoto gritted out as he went face to face with Tanaka.

"Wanna fight, city boy?"

"We're going to 'fight.' That's why we're here to play the match," a silver haired boy interrupted. "And stop with the 'city boy' thing. It's embarrassing." The comment seemed to hit Tanaka, the second year flinching and immediately stopping his glaring.

"Yamamoto, you're always quick to pick a fight," Yaku cut in, reigning in his own team's loose cannon. "Stop it. It makes you look stupid." Yaku walked around Yamamoto and Tanaka who were both frozen from the insults by their seniors. He met Sugawara to the side as he apologized. "I'm sorry about that. He's an embarrassment."

"I'm sorry, too." Sugawara replied. "I'm embarrassed."

Out of nowhere, Yamamoto screamed, holding his chest as if he just got a heart attack. Kenma flinched, turning his attention to the dramatic second year. Yamamoto's gaze was locked behind Tanaka who seemed just as shocked at the sudden reaction. It was Karasuno's manager. A female manager.

"A lady... manager... beauty..." Yamamoto stuttered out.

"Score!" Shibayama said, beside Inuoka.

"A lady manager!" Inuoka turned to Shibayama and they clapped their palms together. "We win yakisoba bread!"

"I'll make you regret this!" Yamamoto cried, running inside the gym with tears in his eyes.

"Taketora-san, you can't escape." Inuoka and Shibayama chased after him, ready to insist on the yakisoba bread.

"Was that Yamamoto-San crying?" Chiyuri asked, popping out from behind Hinata. It was Hinata's time to flinch as the orange haired first year quickly spun around, not expecting her to be behind him. He shivered as her grey eyes landed on him, recognizing him from their brief encounter when she and Kuroo went to find Kenma. She nodded her head slightly to him before making a beeline to Kenma. "Here. Your phone."

"Thanks," Kenma said, retrieving the device from her. It was only 70% charged, but he supposed it would have to do for now. "You missed Tora's reaction to Karasuno's manager."

"Was the reaction not him crying about how he was going to make them regret it?" Chiyuri asked, tilting her head. As she turned to look at the gym where Yamamoto had fled, her grey eyes landed on Tanaka, who seemed surprised they too had a girl on the team. Her look gave him shivers, as if she was figuring out his strengths and weaknesses with one look. She was scarier than Yamamoto. Kenma tugged Chiyuri slightly by the arm to bring her attention back, seeing the hint of insecurity in her eyes that no one else around noticed past her cold exterior facade.

"No. He almost gave me a heart attack. You can probably still catch him crying about losing the yakisoba bread if we head in." Kenma motioned his head toward the gym and Chiyuri nodded, following the setter obediently into the gym.

"How come you know those two?" Karasuno's official setter, Kageyama, asked as he walked up to Hinata.

"I met him by coincidence during a town run," Hinata answered honestly. "He said he's Nekoma's setter. I think that girl is the same one who came to find him. "

"Setter..." The orange-haired boy flinched at the sudden intensity of Kageyama's stare at Kenma's back. The pudding-haired setter shivered slightly and Chiyuri worriedly glanced at him.

"Are you not going to go find your cousin?" Kenma asked as the turned the corner, blocking Kageyama's view of the two Nekoma students. Chiyuri scanned the room, seeing the tall blonde almost immediately. She hesitated, a bit unsure as she gently grabbed onto Kenma's arm.

"I feel like he's going to yell at me for showing up out of nowhere..." Chiyuri said. "I'll talk to him afterwards..."

"I think he's already seen you, though?" Kenma pointed to the tall middle blocker who had quietly said something to his captain before making a beeline to the girl. "I don't know him, so..." Kenma pried her hand off gently, giving it a small reassuring squeeze before he slipped away. "Bye."

"Wha- Kenma!" Chiyuri spun around, trying to run away from her cousin, but he grabbed her by the back of her jacket. She sighed, immediately giving up on escaping the teasing insults that would spew from her cousin.

"What's this? A lost cat?" Tsukishima raised an eyebrow, staring down his cousin as she sighed, turning around slowly.

"Kei." She glared, smacking his hand away. "I'm not lost."

"I think you're in the wrong place, shorty. Aren't you on the girls' team and not the boys' team? Don't tell me you scared the girls half to death with that stupidly strong serves. What'd you do?"

"I'm not short! And I didn't do anything!" Chiyuri huffed, crossing her arms. "I was on the girls' team, but not anymore. It's a complicated thing."

"Huh?" Tsukishima narrowed his eyes as she didn't meet his eyes. Something happened. "A volleyball demon like you quitting the team? What-"

"Kei, your teammates coming over..." Chiyuri interrupted. Her grey eyes were locked behind him with an unreadable expression. Her eyes were dull as they looked upon the crows, but Tsukishima felt a small shiver run through him as she eyed the team warily. The lack of emotion present made her own cousin highly uncomfortable. The Chiyuri he knew was the weirdest yet most cheerful girl he would ever associate with.

"Hi! I'm Shoyo!" The first year greeted as he ran up, leaving the other members behind. "I'm a first year!"

"Chiyuri..." The girl replied slowly. "Second year."

"Urk. Sorry! Another Senpai!" The boy bowed, but didn't stay down too long as he straightened up. "Ne! You're with Nekoma, right? You're friends with Kenma?"

Chiyuri nodded, not quite sure what to make of the first year. Behind him, a black haired boy started grumbling under his breath.

"Nekoma's setter..." Chiyuri turned her attention to Kageyama. She didn't seem fazed at the aura the first year was emitting at all. In fact, she seemed pretty calm as her grey eyes locked onto him. Her expressionless grey eyes snapped the first year out of his own thoughts and unnerved him as he faltered in his step a bit.

"Trying to intimidate our first year, city girl?" Tanaka suddenly appeared, blocking her view of the fired up first year. Chiyuri barely reacted as she darted her eyes to the second year crow coldly as he put on the most intimidating face he could muster in her presence. She blankly stared back; he wasn't as intimidating as some of the girls who literally looked like they wanted to rip through her for some reason.

"Tanaka! How many times do I have to tell you to stop with the 'city' thing!" Sugawara ran up. He quickly pushed the boy's head down, smiling sheepishly to Chiyuri. "Sorry about him! He's embarrassing us.... I'm Koshi Sugawara, third year."

Before she could reply, Yamaguchi popped up, a smile on his face as he stood a good 20 centimeters taller than her. He latched onto the black-haired girl, pulling her into a hug as he greeted her excitedly.

"Chiyuri-Nee!" Chiyuri blinked, patting Yamaguchi on his back gently to try to get him to let go.

"Tadashi? Wait-"

"Eh?! Yamaguchi has a pretty older sister?" Nishinoya joined in.

"I'm-"

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" Ennoshita asked Yamaguchi. Chiyuri sighed, giving up on trying to speak as Yamaguchi finally let go of her.

"Eh? She's not my sister." Yamaguchi seemed confused why they thought she was. Well, he supposed she looked even less like a relative of Tsukishima. After all, with his blonde hair and her black locks, they surely didn't look related at all.

"My name is Chiyuri Tsukishima. I'm Kei's cousin and I attend Nekoma as a second year," she finally managed to introduce. She bowed slightly. "I'll be acting as Nekoma's manager for today. I hope we have a good game." With a respectful motion toward her seniors, she fled from Karasuno, jogging back to Kenma and Kuroo as she let out a small breath she didn't know she was holding when she made it back to the setter's side. He glanced at her, then back at Karasuno before turning away.

Tsukishima clicked his tongue as Coach Ukai called them to gather. Nekoma might wipe the floor with Karasuno if Chiyuri was helping them.

~~~

Nekoma decided to play it safe, keeping their normal starting rotation as they gathered on the courts. Karasuno may have been in decline the past few years, but Nekoma had been in the same boat. They weren't about to underestimate the crows that their school had been waiting to play against. Chiyuri also warned them to stay on their toes before wishing them good luck. Before Kenma walked to the back of the court, Chiyuri stopped him briefly. She had a really bad feeling about Hinata's role on the team, but she couldn't tell what part he played in the overall scheme of things. What one lacked, they often made it up in something else.

Much to the relief of both teams, the two cousins rarely discussed volleyball and nothing other than complaints (from Kei) were said in their calls. It was as fair of a game as it could get, though the tall middle blocker had little confidence going against a team managed by the girl. For goodness sake, that girl and her team almost made it to nationals last year, stopping at Quarter-Finals when they lost to Fukurodani. Tsukishima couldn't help but expose that detail, causing the coaches and team to eye the defensive girl cautiously.

"We're like the blood in our veins. We must flow without stopping. Keep your oxygen moving and your mind working." Kuroo's familiar chant rang out between the members, his eyes darting to Kenma when he said 'mind' before scanning over everyone else. Kenma was the backbone of the group, though he sometimes didn't act it when he played hooky, but it was true nonetheless. His ability to analyze the other team and make a decision based on those was absolutely vital to the success of the team. "Let's do this."

"Osu!"

Nekoma's starting line up consisted of Kuroo, Kai, Yaku, Yamamoto, Kenma, Fukunaga and Inuoka, with Kenma the first to serve. They disbanded after the cheer rang out on the Nekoma side of Tsukinokizawa's court and headed to line up at the back line.

"Kuroo, imano yamenai? Nanka hazukashii."

"Who care? They help set the mood!" Yamamoto said as he passed by the two childhood friends. Kenma slumped slightly as the ace only smiled at him.

"They're supposed to be thought-provoking," Kai added. Kuroo gave the setter a grin.

"And that's that."

Kenma let out a defeated sigh, glancing to Chiyuri as if asking her to at least side with him. She noticed it, looking up from her notebook and shrugged a bit, indicating that she wasn't going to side with him or against him. The incredibly small smile on her face told him she found his embarrassment toward the chant incredibly amusing, much to his dismay. If Chiyuri wasn't going to say anything, he for some reason felt like he didn't want to pursue making Kuroo drop it.

A whistle blew, ringing in the gym as both teams face each other from the back sideline.

"We now begin the practice match of Nekoma High School versus Karasuno High School," the referee called.

"Onegaishimasu!"

The two teams, at the signal of the referee, quickly made their way to their spots. Facing Karasuno, Kenma started in the back right corner, as he was first to serve. Fukunaga was in the middle back row with Kuroo on the left. In the front row, from right to left, was Inuoka, Yamamoto and Kai. Yaku stood on the sideline beside Kenma. Nekoma was the first to finish setting up their position, Karasuno falling slightly behind, but didn't take too long.

Chiyuri tilted her head slightly as she took a look at the structure of the crows. Facing Nekoma, Kageyama started in the back top right with Tsukishima in the middle and Asahi, their ace, on the left. Nishinoya stood off the sideline by Asahi. The front row had Tanaka, Hinata and Daichi. Tanaka was making a face at Nekoma's ace, to which Chiyuri could only assume Yamamoto was making the same face back. Those two shared scarily similar traits.

Her gaze turned to Coach Ukai who had been looking at her since she turned her attention to Karasuno. She bowed her head politely to him before looking down to the managerial notebook open in her lap. Se would have plenty of time to analyze Karasuno during the game. Plus, she was confident that Kenma would catch small nuances in their playing and come up with a counterplay just as easily.

"Wow!" Inuoka exclaimed out of nowhere. "Short..."

"Don't underestimate me!" Hinata flinced, giving a defiant look to the other first year across the net.

"I'm not underestimating you at all," Inuoka replied easily, giving his opponent an easy smile. Hinata's expression changed in an instant, making Chiyuri a little curious about the excited and friendly boy. One thing she learned while on the court was that whenever someone said not to underestimate them, they had a reason to say that. She didn't look up, only taking the time to scribble a slight note on the journal.

"Shoyo," Kenma called to the boy. Hinata turned to face the pudding-haired setter, but Kenma wasn't looking at him as he spoke. "I told you I thought we're a strong team, but it's not me that's strong." Kenma raised his, the catlike golden eyes landing on Hinata as he smiled a tiny smile. "It's everyone together."

With that said, Kenma scurried off, heading to the side to grab a ball since he was first to serve. Hinata was left in a bit of a daze at the second year's words.

"Kenma, nice serve!" Chiyuri and Kuroo's voice rang out as the setter tossed the ball in the air and pulled his right hand back. Tsukishima, who had been taken off the court and replaced by Nishinoya for the receive, glanced at her, then to Kenma. Immediately, he knew that the boy he had been teasingly calling her boyfriend was the pudding-haired setter. No matter how she tried to tell him it wasn't like that, Tsukishima could tell that whatever happened to Chiyuri at Nekoma, Kenma had been making it better recently. The tall middle blocker turned back to pay attention to the game rather than his cousin with a small click of his tongue. He didn't want bring too much attention to the fact that he cared a lot about his cousin. She wouldn't let him hear the end of it.

Kenma hit the ball clean over the net and Asahi moved to the left to receive the serve. The receive fell a bit short, to which the ace received a minor teasing comment for, but Kageyama got into position for the ball. As the ball came down from the arc, Hinata burst into a small sprint, heading to the open spot of the court. With his eyes closed, the orange-haired boy jumped and drew his hand back, spiking the ball hard as Kageyama tossed it to him.

The Nekoma team was left in silence, Inuoka and Yamamoto still in position to jump and block. It all happened so quickly that there was no time for anyone to react. Even Kenma and Chiyuri were fairly surprised despite having expected something out of the ordinary from the boy, though the latter hid it behind an emotionless mask.

"Amazing speed," Inuoka said in shock. "Nani..."

"A fast attack from a place like that?" Yaku added.

"What the heck was that?" Coach Nekomata commented from beside Chiyuri. "He wasn't watching the toss."

Coach Ukai and Takeda-Sensei smirked at the older, red-clad Coach. However, Ukai's smirk died down a bit as he saw how unfazed Chiyuri was. She was impossible to read, but her gaze upon the team slightly terrified Ukai. How she sat so relaxed with a tilt of her head as her grey-eyes studied Hinata, how she let out a small sigh, and how he caught the slightest upward twitch of her lips made him wary.

"That was amazing," Kenma complimented. "I'm shocked."

Hinata smiled, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly as his teammates also praised his quick attack. Kenma's eyes focused on the orange-haired boy as the latter turned to face his own teammates. Both Kenma and Chiyuri were thinking the same thing.

You showed your card too soon. If we can adjust, this match is ours.

The next serve went to Tanaka on Karasuno's side. The wing spiker sent a strong serve over the net, to which Fukunaga received easily and passed it to Kenma. The setter didn't bother jumping as he set the ball to the ace and Yamamoto spiked it hard. Nishinoya made a short dash to his right, getting behind the ball just in time to receive it and get it to Kageyama. Hinata dashed again to the side, which Inuoka and Yamamoto followed, only for Kageyama to set it to Asahi. The ace drew back his hand mid jump, smacking the ball. Reflexively, Yaku lunged to the right, the ball hitting his arm and bouncing off to the side, making that Karasuno's second point.

Chiyuri's notes remained blank as she kept her blank stare on Karasuno. They were an interesting team with surprising power. Their movements weren't flowing as smoothly as Nekoma's, but they weren't in shambles either. With the way Tsukishima had described the team and their various personalities, it sounded like an absolute mess, not that Chiyuri underestimated them because of that.

Show us more, Chiyuri thought, the competitive nature in her coming out. A scary glint came across her eyes, hungry to see whatever Karasuno had to offer. The sooner you reveal your strengths, the sooner we can adapt and win.

Tsukishima and Nishinoya exchanged places, the latter slapping the middle blocker's arm hard as a form of encouragement. Tsukishima flinched from the impact, but didn't say anything as he rubbed his arm and passed the libero. His eyes fell upon the black-haired girl on the bench and he clicked his tongue.

That demon... Tsukishima turned back with a sigh, getting into position. It's just a practice match, Chiyuri-Nee. It's going to be tiring if you get too invested in this...

As both liberos switched off court, it did nothing to shake Nekoma as they were all strong receivers. On the other hand, the third point went to Nekoma as Hinata's receive was off and the ball hit the net. Kageyama turned to the orange-haired middle blocker, yelling at him for the improper receive. Both liberos switched back in, preparing for the next rally which went again to Karasuno as Takana spiked the ball past Yaku.

"Coach, a time out, please." Chiyuri said quietly as Nekoma lost yet another point to Kageyama and Hinata's freak quick. The score was now at 7-10 in favor of Karasuno. Coach Nekomata looked at her, then at her blank notebook. He was about to say something about it, but then saw the competitive glint in her eyes. This was the girl who had been on a team just last year that almost went to quarterfinals. He'd seen with his own eyes how she could rival even the boys' team.

"I agree." Coach Nekomata stood up, his two hands held in a T to the referee. "This is ridiculous." The team jogged to the back corner of the court where Karasuno wouldn't hear and gathered around the two coaches and their manager in a circle.

"Their libero and spikers are good," Coach Nekomata started. "The most ridiculous of all is that setter. He's a monster. He tosses with incredible speed to the highest spiking point. His control is as if he's threading a needle." Nekomata gave the team a slight defeated sigh. "So he's a genius. We can't help that. But, a genius in their midst doesn't guarantee their victory." Nekomata glanced to Kenma.

"If Shoyo is the heart of their offense..." Kenma spoke up, "all we need to do is stop Shoyo."

"Shoyo?" Yamamoto repeated.

"That speedy #10," Kuroo supplied.

"That #9 and #10 are in a manner of speaking... an oni and his iron club," Coach Nekomata compared. "For starters, we steal the oni's iron club." Nekomata stepped back, nodding to Chiyuri for her turn to speak. Kuroo smirked and noticed how she kept her notebook closed, her emotions suppressed as she focused on the match. Despite knowing her for less time than Kenma had, the couple warm up practices he played against her told him that the more expressionless she got in a match, the more she was analyzing her opponent and the more she would pick out their weaknesses.

"Their #10 is quick, but he's easy to predict. He relies solely on instinct and that #9 to set it to where it needs to be." Chiyuri's soft voice washed over the group, but there was an edge to it that told them she was absolutely confident they wouldn't lose this set. Her cold grey eyes met Kenma's, to which he saw that she was thinking the exact same thing he was.

"We can't let Shoyo move around so much," Kenma spoke for the both of them. "From what I've seen, Shoyo simply dashes to where there are no blockers. So if the blockers move to one side, he'll move to the opposite side. Then all we have to do is chase him." Kenma looked to Inuoka, silently telling him that following Hinata was his task

"Osu!" the first year accepted.

"I think anyone would be shocked the first time they saw that attack. But even if we can't clear the first round of the game... as they keep repeating the same move... we'll get used to it."

"They started off revealing their cards too soon." Chiyuri smiled a small smile, and the team's eyes widened as a glimmer of competitiveness and excitement glazed over her eyes briefly. They were glad she wasn't on the opposing team. "In Nekoma, we are known for our flexibility and our strong connections. Keep it flowing, steadily, slowly and comfortably. When matching an unknown player at equal or lower levels, the one who learns the moves of the other first will inevitably be the winner."

"Osu!"

"I'm getting the creeps," Ukai said from the Karasuno side bench. "Like we're being watched, and analyzed..." Ukai glanced to Nekoma, shivering slightly as the team's gazes seemed to just pierce through Karasuno. The female manager and setter's gazes were especially unnerving.

The set continued, and Nekoma put their observations into play. The red-clad team made a dedicated shift and moved their blockers to remain in front of Asahi. As Hinata sprinted to the open side, Inuoka followed. The blocker was forced to jump before he could come to a complete stop, but he felt the ball rush past the tips of his finger as Hinata spiked it. Chiyuri immediately looked to their setter; he was smart enough to figure out that they had set Inuoka onto Hinata specifically.

As the next rally continued, Kageyama sent yet another toss to Hinata. Inuoka reacted, dashing to block the orange-haired spiker. This time, the tips of his fingers touched the ball, but he was unable to control it. Yaku received the ball and aimed it to Kenma who was waiting. Hinata moved to the middle by Kenma on the other side of the net.

"Fast attack's coming," the boy predicted aloud.

You're wrong. Chiyuri thought as she examined Kenma's posture. She was familiar with his sets enough to see he was going to dump. You shouldn't voice it like that, you know? What would be the point of doing something you're already expecting?

Kenma jumped, his arms raised for a set, but then he extended his right arm just slightly before he touched it and dumped the ball over the net. Karasuno's libero dived for it, but failed to receive it in time. Hinata didn't even react to the ball, seemingly in shock. Slowly, but steadily, as Chiyuri had said, Nekoma was getting used to Karasuno. They were adapting to what the crows had shown them and reacting in a way that would fit their needs.

The rally's continued and Nekoma was starting to catch up. In one rally, Kai feinted the ball over Tsukishima and Daichi. Tanaka received it just in time, and Nishinoya sent it to Kageyama for the last hit on the ball. Fukunaga and Kuroo rushed to block him, but Kageyama spiked a straight just to the left of Fukunaga.

Eh~ A setter that can spike well? Chiyuri tapped her pencil on her notebook which she had finally started writing in. Despite her attention mostly on the match still, the page was almost filled. What a scarily talented first year Karasuno has.

As Kageyama yelled at Hinata, Tsukishima took a look at his cousin, clicking his tongue as he saw her grey eyes drilling holes in their team. He sighed and turned away. They weren't winning this match, that was for sure.

At 16-18, in favor of Karasuno, the set was getting closer to the end. The next point went to Karasuno as Tsukishima mimicked Kai's feint, hitting it over the blocker's hands. Kenma glanced at him through the net.

Yuri's cousin, right? This guy is intelligent. He observes and thinks carefully. The complete opposite of Shoyo. Kenma turned away as Tsukishima felt his gaze and looked at the setter.

This is the one Chiyuri-Nee befriended? Tsukishima couldn't help but size the setter up. Clearly, his cousin had grown quite attached to the boy, considering that she mentioned him plenty of times in their calls, albeit briefly and she would get embarrassed easily. He doesn't look like much. If anything happens, I don't doubt that I can take him on.

Tsukishima was forced to discard his thoughts and focus on the match as the next rally started. With Karasuno serving, Yamamoto received the ball and sent it to Kenma as the latter watched it soar towards him.

Who should I toss to? To the right? Kenma glanced to the right slightly, As he expected, Tsukishima, who was standing right in front of him, saw it and reacted, starting to move to the right. As the ball hit his hands and Tsukishima had already started heading right, Kenma tossed the ball to Fukunaga. To the left. Tsukishima flinched upon realizing he had been tricked, but there was no time for him to react. He wouldn't make it to block the ball in time.

I knew it. He's watching me, Kenma concluded. He also responds quickly... Kenma rushed away without looking at Tsukishima. The tall middle blocker locked a glare onto the setter's back.

"He's not good with people, so he's concerned about what other's think. Hence he's good at observing people. He comes up with good theories. Theories like, 'I bet this guy moves like this.'" Coach Nekomata said slightly to himself as he sat on the bench. Chiyuri glanced to the coach slightly upon hearing him talk about Kenma, but then turned back to her notebook. She knew how Kenma thought; she wasn't too much different herself. Granted, despite the two of them not being the best with people, they clicked really easily. He even told her himself once that despite not wanting to be noticed, oddly wanting Chiyuri's attention, even for a short 10 minutes. She was like an oddity in his life, and he never seemed to stick to his normal tendencies when it came to her, like when he called out the girls' team for trash talking Chiyuri when the girl herself stayed quiet.

"But that alone is not the strength of our team." Coach Nekomata smirked, his arms crossed as he confidently looked upon his team.

"Kenma's talent shines because he is supported by the team's receiving power," Chiyuri said quietly to the two coaches. They looked to the quiet girl who's gaze was trained on her pudding-haired setter. "The team's diverse offensive power is supported by their solid receives. It gives Kenma the best chance to set to the best person to spike. Karasuno's setter is talented, but the main reason they're keeping up with us is because of his overwhelming talent. Their receives, especially #10's, are weak and normally wouldn't make for a good set, but #9 can make it work."

Coach Nekoma nodded in agreement, watching as Hinata and Kageyama did another quick. Inuoka's fingers grazed the ball as Yaku dived to receive it.

"We have no superhuman ace. But all we have to do is modestly, carefully, keep scoring one point at a time." Coach Nekoma smiled as Nekoma reached match point. The scoreboard read 24-22.

It's our win. Chiyuri's eyes flashed as she watched Kageyama and Hinata set up for their freak quick. Inuoka immediately responded, following Hinata and raising his hand out. As Hinata reached the peak of his jump, he opened his eyes, slamming the ball right into Inuoka's palm. The Nekoma middle blocker had shut out their freak quick attack and won the first set.

"I got you, at last." Inuoka said proudly to Hinata through the net. The referee blew the whistle, signalling for the teams to switch sides. Inuoka didn't want for a response as he jogged to the rest of the team where Chiyuri was handing them their water bottles.

"Good job, Inuoka-San," Chiyuri said as she handed over his water.

"Thank you, Senpai!" The first year beamed proudly. She nodded, quietly handing him a towel to wipe his face before slipping away from the middle blocker and heading toward Kenma.

She quietly stood beside him as his gaze was focused on Karasuno.

"I think your cousin has something against me," Kenma said as Tsukishima glared at him.

"He's probably being salty about that feint you did earlier," Chiyuri tilted her head so she could see Tsukishima past Kenma. The blonde middle blocker childishly stuck his tongue out at his older cousin before turning back to Yamaguchi. She blinked, not realizing Tsukishima still acted like that. "Just ignore him. That cousin of mine won't actually say or do anything to you. If he does, I'll see how good of a blocker he is against my spike."

"Pft." Kenma gave her a small smile as he handed her his water bottle and started to head back to the court with the rest of the team. "Thanks, but your spikes are terrifying, Yuri. I doubt anyone would be able to block it easily." She rolled her eyes, but waved him off and went back to the bench with Kenma's water.

In the second set, it was clear that Nekoma had the advantage and had a strong defense. Karasuno's freak quick was getting shut out more and more as Inuoka continually followed Hinata. Even when Hinata tried to fake and changed directions last minute, Inuoka followed and successfully shut out yet another spike, leaving the orange haired first year panting.

I suppose I do feel a little bad for the boy, Chiyuri thought as she watched Hinata. There's only so many shut outs one can take... but...

"The 'human wall' that breaks the will. The more you run into it, the more discouraged you feel." Coach Nekomata voiced out the mental impact of a blocker's successful shut out. She nodded in agreement, though her attention was on Hinata. The gleam in his eyes didn't match the exhaustion present. Mentally, he was more ready to take on the Nekoma again and again. A smile spread across his face, as surprise flowed through the entire Nekoma team.

On the next rally, Kageyama sent another toss to Hinata, but this time, Hinata's eyes were opened. Oh? Chiyuri watched as his eyes locked past Inuoka, seeming to have a set point in mind, but then missed. A slight commotion sounded from Karasuno's side as the coach immediately called for a time out. While Karasuno was having their meeting, Nekoma gathered together.

"Shoyo tried to thwart Inuoka." Kenma said quietly to Chiyuri. She nodded, eyeing the opposing coach.

"I think they might change the quick. Having Inuoka follow him still might be good, but he should be aware that Hinata-kun won't be blindly spiking this time." She inclined her head toward Kageyama, which Kenma glanced to. The two stood quietly, their sharp eyes focusing on the genius setter. "The coach will probably tell him to change his sets to an indirect set."

As the set resumed, Chiyuri and Kenma had indeed perfectly pinpointed the changes. Kageyama tossed indirectly to Hinata, letting the ball hover and for Hinata to try to thwart blocks, but the boy was clumsy and unaccustomed to thinking fast in midair. When the score reached 5-10 in favor of Nekoma, Coach Ukai called another time out. Nekoma didn't bother walking off the court as Karasuno gave Hinata a quick pep talk. In no time, the match resumed.

Nekoma slowly pulled ahead, though not by much. As Hinata continued testing out thinking for himself during the spike, Nekoma easily received the balls and sent them back strongly. Chiyuri found herself watching Hinata, expecting and hoping (surprisingly) for the energetic boy to get a spike through. Despite that hope going against the team that she was temporarily managing, she found herself watching him carefully, waiting for any changes in his posture that told her he could do it.

At a score of 12-15 in favor of Nekoma, the small crow finally did it. As Inuoka reached his hands high to block, Hinata turned his hand mid spike, wrapping his fingers around the left side of the ball and sending it off in a cross-shot. It curved out of Yaku's reach, landing just outside the court lines. Chiyuri's eyes widened as a small but excited and competitive smile appeared on her lips. Their situations may have been different, but she recognized it all the same.

The feeling of thwarting a blocker successfully for the first time was overwhelmingly powerful.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Question of the Chapter: What is one of your most memorable moments so far?

Originally Posted: 02/03/2021
Edited Version Posted: 03/31/2021