26

The sound of the whistle startled Hinata a bit. He had to admit a bit of the instincts he developed over time were rusty at the moment.

As Narita switched places with him Hinata saw the concerned look on the second-year's face. They didn't exchange any words, but the middle blocker knew there was a lot everyone wanted to say to him.

There was no doubt that everyone was on edge around him, and Hinata wasn't sure what he could do.

On the bench, Takeda shook his head in disapproval.

"I still don't think we should have sent him out there. He literally threatened to end his life, his mental health isn't exactly stable."

"Senseii, there was we could have done."

Takeda threw his hands in the air in frustration, accidentally smacking the coach in the face.

"Ah! Sorry Ukai-kun, I, I'm sorry-" Takeda nervously stammered, and in an effort to check if he was okay, he cupped Keishin's face in his hands.

Takeda found himself looking directly in his eyes. Keishin looked back with absolute shock and amazement. There was something behind Keishin's eyes that was more than the innocence he gave off usually.

Takeda quickly released his hands and pulled back.

"Gah I'm sorry I was trying to do check if you're okay." Takeda refused to look back into Keishin's eyes, in fear that he would have a nervous breakdown and start confessing random things.

Keishin was still in shock, missing the warmth of his big hazel eyes staring back at him. But he couldn't think about this right now he had to focus on the game.

Hinata felt the thrill of being on the court wash over him. Standing with these amazing players who were more than just his teammates now, was everything he could have asked for.

The other team was serving, and it was the intense server guy, jersey number 3. He was tall in stature but also had a more mature face. He was actually much more intimidating than Ushiwaka or anyone Hinata had every faced, because had a lot of facial hair and seemed big enough to be a wrestler.

Hinata watched as the server tossed the ball up and the server got into his running approach. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

The ball came towards Hinata's direction and he bended his knees and faced towards the ball.

All of the technical aspects were right but the skill wasn't there anymore. Or maybe it never was, Hinata knew he was never a strong receiver.

The ball bounced off Hinata's arms, hitting the ceiling.

He watched as Mr. Jersey Number Three snickered with his teammates and proudly boasting on how he knew Hinata wasn't a great receiver.

"Don't mind!" Hinata heard one of his teammates say to him but he wasn't exactly focusing. He knew the if Mr. Jersey Number Three was as good as he was, he'd serve directly towards Hinata again.

And sure enough he did.

This time the ball didn't even hit his arms.

"Nice! A no-touch ace."

Hinata felt himself grow frustrated. He didn't want to prove everyone else right. He knew the other players on his side were getting anxious as well.

It didn't help that Mr. Jersey Number Three was also annoying and being a moron.

He felt a hand on his shoulder.

Hinata was startled by the sudden touch, and swung around to see his setter staring at him.

Kageyama raised an eyebrow at how jumpy Hinata was being.

"You alright? Maybe we should call a timeout-"

"I'm okay," Hinata said. This time Hinata felt that he was telling the truth to himself, because Kageyama's presence calmed him a bit.

Kageyama remained unconvinced.  "Then I'll be expecting receives that actually come to my direction."

Hinata gulped and his breath hitched.

"Look at me," Kageyama said. "You're doing fine."

"Is there a problem?" the referee asked.

"No sir," Daichi replied, eyeing the duo.

And so it was still Mr. Jersey Number Three's serve. As expected, the ball came to Hinata again but he was a bit more prepared this time.

"It's long!" Hinata called out.

The ball traveled deep into the other side.

"Chance ball!"

The libero on the other team, a rather tall player, received it and it went right to the setter.

"Nice recieve- Itou-san!" the setter called out as he set the ball up.

Mr. Jersey Number Three did his running approach and his hit was even stronger than his serve, blowing away Tsukishima.

"One touch!" Tsukishima exclaimed.

"I got it." Nishinoya received it and went to Kageyama.

Hinata got ready to jump, getting ready for their quick. Kageyama seemed surprised by Hinata's forwardness, but decided it would be for the best.

As  Hinata jumped up, he felt a sudden jolt of pain through his leg. He cringed but it didn't stop him. Kageyama set it up but realized it was a bit too high.

Volleyball isn't a game where you "carry" the ball. It's only touched for a mere fraction of a second. In that instance when you control it, the ball becomes like an extension of your body.

Hinata managed to touch a bit of the ball with the tips of his fingers, pushing it over the net. But the other team's libero was quick to the scene, bumping it back up.

And the play ended with the ball dropping on Karasuno's side.

And the game continued on, with Karasuno barely sneaking a few points in, especially from Kageyama's serves.

And he fights to the very last point but at last nothing can be helped.

He knew he couldn't lose faith, but when the score turned to be 11-24 with the other team winning, Hinata could barely push himself to finish.

The ball came over the net towards the middle blocker, and he was able to get it in the air, but not towards their setter.

"Got it!" Asahi exclaimed. "Tanaka!"

Tanaka jumped and hit the set up by the ace, but it was rejected by the other team's blockers.

"Argh!" Nishinoya dived, the ball managing to hit his hand.

"Nice," Kageyama got to the ball and looked for someone to toss to.

The other spikers were too cluttered together at the moment, and Hinata was right in the open.

"Toss it to me!" Hinata yelled, running towards the net. He saw the ball come to him and... stop midair.

Avoid the block... avoid the block...

Yes!

The ball hit past the block, and Hinata was ready to celebrate the quick.

"Out!" a player from the other team called out.

And the referee blew the whistle, signalling the end of the game.

Hinata couldn't believe his eyes or his ears.

Was it really worth it now?

Only now did he see his life for what it was.

He threatened to end his life, putting forth everything for this game. He couldn't sit still, and wait for his leg to potentially get better.

And so he cried.

He cried his eyes out.

He didn't even know it was Kageyama giving him a comforting hug until a long while later. Soon, the entire team was embracing him in a group hug, tears flowing out of their eyes as well.

"W-why didn't you guys j-just... give up on me?" Hinata asked between sobs.

Kageyama let out a shaky breath. "You know we-"

"May I have your attention please?" a booming voice said from the other side of the room. "It seems that there is a problem here. Which one of you is Isamu Itou?"

A/N: @MutatedArrow thank you for your comments anD im TRYING MY BEST TO FIX IT BUT IT JUST SEEMS TO BE GETTING WORSE but keep reading cuz it'll get better I promiSE.  (You guys should comment more ;) I really appreciate the feedback)

Also I've realized it's been more than a year since I've started writing damn I'm a slow writer

I'M GONNA TRY MY BEST TO WRITE FASTER SO YOU GUYS DON'T GET BORED OF THIS STORY