A/N: This story includes Daichi/Yui, OC/Sugawara, and OC/Oikawa (though this comes much later in the story). There are other ship drops here and there (ex. Asahi has a slight crush on the protagonist, but it isn't touched on enough to warrant a tag or little hints at other potential relationships). Just thought I'd put a little disclaimer if that bothered people (or made them more willing to read it haha). Anyways, this is my first time posting a work of mine so I hope you enjoy and please feel free to leave feedback in the comments!


"Chance ball!" Karasuno's #8 flew across the floor with a thirst clear on her face. Eyeing her prey, the second-year dropped into a low defensive stance before rocketing the ball upwards.

"Nice receive Michimiya-san!" Their #4 called out to her senior. Holding her own arms outwards she bounced the ball back around once more. "Finish it off Sasaki-senpai!" The aforementioned brunette rushed into position raising her arms to the sky.

A setter was the control tower for a team; bring the ball to them just right, and victory was never too far behind. The same logic applied to their black-haired third-year whose face relayed unsettling calmness. Successful setters were never shaken by what occurred on the battlefield. They always stood ready. Ready for the next attack, the next kill.

For Sasaki Kumi, it was as if the ball was falling in slow-motion. Colored stripes rotated around as the ball fell closer and closer to her outstretched arms. Her indomitable focus desensitized everything else around her: the sweat trickling down the right side of her face, the clamoring of their fervent fans, the intense aching spread across her body. All that mattered was the key descending towards her, the key to their victory. Closer…closer…and…

Strike! Her hands pushed underneath the ball like a cannon propelling its ammunition forward. The ammo regained its momentum and began hurtling towards its point of impact, her point of impact. "Takahashi-chan, it's all yours!" Elated, the setter glanced with glistening eyes to the one who'd finish it all, the one who her sets were always for; but to her shock, she wasn't there.

Not exactly, anyway.

Takahashi Saika was there, just not quite the way you'd expect. Her thin, built figure stood exactly where it should be, though what was there resembled more of a lifeless husk. An empty body in the server's position, "in prime position for a back attack" as their coach had put it when explaining their strategy. But this spiritless girl wasn't in any sort of prime condition for a spike. In fact, she looked like she wasn't in a condition to be standing. Her breaths were heavy and low, each one looking like her last. Orbs of sweat glistened against her fair skin, matting jet-black hair to the edges of her face. Though still standing, her stance was poor, sloppy. Usually taut arms lay limp and lifeless by her side, equally shaky legs supporting her. This wasn't their Takahashi Saika, this wasn't their ace.

Like a gunshot, the ball fell to the ground, thudding softer with each bounce it took. Profound silence filled the gym, all eyes on the failed assault. The only thing to shatter the silence was the sharpness of the referee's whistle signaling the end of the play. Breaking out of the trance, a confused scorekeeper flipped over the board next to him.

Spring High-Miyagi Prefecture Representative Playoffs

Shiratorizawa vs. Karasuno

5th Set

15-14

"Shiratorizawa! Shiratorizawa!" Prim high school students all dressed in the same uniform chanted from their respective bleachers. While the point was because of a simple error, they weren't about to let up on their obnoxiously loud cheering. They seemed more like robots than humans to the Karasuno team. The way their cheers were always in sync, like cheering was a mere formality.

"D-Don't mind! We'll get the next one!" The captain, Kawaguchi Naomi, clapped her hands encouragingly, though the look on her face betrayed otherwise. Fear, confusion, and just the slightest bit of frustration. It wasn't like Saika to miss a spike. It definitely wasn't like anyone to not even move! But she looked to be on the brink of collapsing, even the cross captain could tell that much. They had been pushing her even harder than before in this match. Now more than ever, they desperately needed their ace.

Saika Takahashi was somewhat of an anomaly to the volleyball world. Daughter of famous retired player Takahashi Masaru, Saika had been playing volleyball for as long as she could remember. It didn't come naturally, much to her dismay, but with time and effort, Saika soon became one of the strongest players in the region. After helping the Karasuno Crows regain their lost dignity by winning the Inter-High Preliminaries, teams had begun calling her "The Assassin of Karasuno High". The somewhat cheesy nickname came from Saika's oddball arsenal of talent where she could play any position on the team with incredible accuracy. Whether it be service aces, insane quick attacks, or lightning fast libero receives, Saika was anywhere and everywhere on the court at all times. That's where it came from, the Assassin: completing any job at any time for any set price.

Although, it seemed like the price would be too high this time around by the looks of it. Her bright blue eyes had been reduced to dull spheres, lazy and unfocused. Her teammates words swarmed around her in a blur, what were they saying?

"'Oy, Takahashi! What were you doing in that last play?! You didn't even try for Sasaki's set!" Idle eyes scanned the area around her for the source of the noise. Where was it coming from? Why was everything so loud? "Hey, are you listening?! Takahashi!" Noticing a fast-moving blur, Saika focused all of her energy onto it to reveal her coach screaming and pointing at her like a maniac. His words still didn't process in her mind, but she could gather as much. She hadn't moved, not even a smidge. Why didn't she move?

…Or had she? Something was obviously wrong. An indistinct screech echoed through the air and repetitions of "nice serve!" bellowed from somewhere beyond her reach. A play was starting, their last play if they didn't get this point. No, they can't start yet! Not until I figure out what the hell is going on!

Nervously glancing about, her eyes desperately sought out something to keep her grounded, something to draw her out of this hellish world she'd entered. The guys…where are the guys? Frantic, she scanned what she thought to be the crowd for any familiar faces, but it all came out as one huge blob. They weren't there, or rather, she couldn't see them anymore.

"I've got it!" Kumi bent down low and received the serve nice and clean, though in doing so it took their main setter out of play. "You've got this Tsukuda-chan!" Reassured from the support of her superior, bobbed brown hair nodded in approval. Watching the ball drop, Tsukuda Ena let her eyes wander around their side of the court. Who should I set to?

Any of their wing spikers were strong and a good option, but Shiratorizawa's defenses were nothing to scoff at. They were going to need something more than just "strong" to break through. Instinctively her eyes shot over to their assassin standing behind her, but apprehension gripped her like a serpent choking its prey. What if she missed again? They couldn't risk something like that in the match point of the finals. Their eyes met for a split second, focused brown against dazed blue. I can't risk it Saika! Looking away she instead turned her attention to a prepared noirette on the left. I need to toss to-

"One more!" A screeching voice caused her to look back in surprise. "Toss it to me!" Their ace sprinted against the court floor, every step like a trudge through a muddy swamp. Her face screamed that of someone in unbearable pain, but there was a fire burning behind the haziness in her eyes. A fire that sent chills down Ena's spine. A fire that Ena simply couldn't resist.

"Go for it assassin!" Her toss flew high and free as if on a predestined path. Every step was like being stabbed everywhere at once for Saika, but she pushed through. All around her life represented more of a disparate pallet than the real world, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was the ball flying above her. All that mattered was one more point, one more hit, one more jump. Screams and roars reverberated around her as if bullets were being shot around a tiny room, but she kept going. Keep pushing…keep going until you reach the top! Her arms swung backwards in preparation to jump. Blockers all rushed to stop the ace's attack, but it was too late. Throttling off of her legs she swung her left hand forward thinking, one more set…and we beat Shiratorizawa!

Black. Everything was black. Everyone was expecting a slam, the sounds of cheers erupting from Karasuno's crowd, but nothing happened. All that was left was a crumpled girl at the bottom of the net, and the ball rolling away. Silence seemed to choke all life out of the room as everyone stared at the fallen ace. The sounds of gears moving in people's heads could practically be heard as everyone tried to figure out what had just transpired.

"Did...we win?" A blocker from Shiratorizawa whispered, not daring to move from her spot. No one replied, no one dared to break the silence that had fallen around them. "Is she okay?" Nothing, until that life-giving whistle blew and everyone spurred back into reality. The scorekeeper flipped the board showing Shiratorizawa's victory; though it didn't really feel like one to the dumbstruck team; and the scream that followed didn't do much to help.

"Saika…Saika!" Yui rushed across the court to her fallen friend's side. Blood had rushed out of her face so fast the girl's skin represented more of a snowy landscape than that of a human. Shallow breaths no longer racked the girl's upper body. Actually, her chest wasn't moving at all.

She wasn't breathing.

"Coach…coach help!" Prompted by the second-year's screech their coach propelled himself forward to the young girl's side. "Coach is she…is she…?"

"I don't know, Michimiya. We need to get the medics in here, stat." Gesturing for their captain to get help, he first took her pulse as he'd seen so many times on TV in this sort of situation.

But there wasn't anything to take.

There was no pulse.

"Shit!" His curse sent the girls into an uncontrollable panic, not quite knowing why their coach was so upset. "Girls, calm down! We need an AED here, quick! Sasaki, get that one off the wall!" The eerily calm vice-captain nodded and raced off to retrieve the life-saving device. "Himura, tell Shiratorizawa's coach that she's suffering from HOCM," a confused look from the libero, "Just go! He'll understand unless he's a complete idiot." Sputtering a quick response, the third-year raced off to the opposite side fumbling over herself.

"Coach, what's HOCM?" Ena dared to ask in nothing above a whisper.

"Plainly put, it means she's dying. Fast. We need to get her to the hospital as soon as possible." Like magic Naomi returned with several medics behind her at his words. "Thank God, took them long enough." Herding the shocked players, he stood up and got them all to move far away. It didn't take them very long to diagnosis what had happened just like the coach.

HOCM was the number one culprit of sudden death in young athletes, a silent killer. Hands flew as they ripped the device from the setter's hands. When someone fell to HOCM, every second was precious. They didn't have time for simple pleasantries. Tearing off her shirt they untangled her body like a jumble of knotted string. "And…clear!"

Everyone on the team screamed as their teammate flopped on the floor from the electric shock. It was as if their match had turned into some sort of soap opera with everyone in the gym looking down at them, all with a similar fear in their hearts. After checking her pulse, they shocked her once more, and a third. Each time it felt like a slap to the face.

It was like watching them operate on someone who was already dead.

"Shouldn't we do something?" Up in the stands stood three boys all in matching uniform and jacket. They were all watching them strike Saika over and over again. Every shock sent a sharp pain to their gut.

"I don't think there's anything we can do…" A boy with dark brown hair clenched his fists until they were white. "We're powerless…"

"I'm going to go down there." Both guys tore their eyes away from the scene to stare at their silver-haired companion. Straightaway, alarm ensued.

"Y-You can't! Coach is gonna kill us if we're late for our match!" The boy with longer brown hair immediately regretted his choice of words as his friend sent daggers at him on the word "kill".

"I don't care. She needs us."

"Koushi, I know how much you care about her but we'll just get in the way. It'd be best if we just go and-"

"And what, Asahi?!" He froze at the boy's strained scream. "Just wait for her to die? Wait for her funeral? Wait for her to wake up miraculously and for everything to be okay?" Guilt pricked Sugawara's skin. He knew he shouldn't be yelling at him; he knew he was worried too, but he couldn't stop. It felt so much better to lash out at someone, to be able to feel like there was something tangible to blame. Like there wasn't some hidden force toying with them from the shadows. "She might not ever open her eyes again. And I'll be damned if I'm not by her side every step of the way, tournament or no. Tell Coach Ukai that I'm not coming."

Without another word their friend stalked off to the exit.

"Sugawara, wait!" Asahi chased after him with worry laced into his voice. He had never seen his face like that. It looked as if he was the one dying, not her. However, the brunette stayed exactly where he was: frozen in time. He couldn't clench his fists any further but if he could, his fingers would shoot out through his palms. Saika…

At this point they had transported the unconscious player to a stretcher and were already departing the scene. "We'll bring her to her father's hospital and update you on her condition as soon as we are able." The man who had been instructing the use of the AED handed their coach a slip of paper with an address hastily scribbled on it. "Since we got here relatively quick, we think she'll be okay, but we won't know for sure until later."

"Of course, thank you for your help." Bowing, the medic ran out of the gym at full speed, concern clearly etched onto his face. With a sigh the coach stuck the piece of paper into his jacket. Damn Takahashi…what have you gotten yourself into?

"Um…coach?" Timid whispers broke him out of his stupor. The Karasuno Crows stood huddled around him like hatchlings waiting for food from their mother. It was like his team of evolved birds of prey had been reduced back to their original form.

"Is Takahashi-san going to be okay?"

I don't know. "We think so. Usually with this sort of thing the earlier you spot it the better so she'll be fine once they get to the hospital.

"Is she going to be back soon?"

Probably not. "I'm not sure, it usually depends on the person."

"Will she be able to play again?"

"Like I said, every case is special so we'll just have to see," his hand clenched the address inside his jacket pocket, "Now go line up, it'd be rude not to greet our new champions." His sarcastic comment was followed by groans. They'd lost, and it'd only just sunk in. Watching them run off the coach felt insane guilt building in his stomach, but what other choice did he have? Not only that, but he could feel something boring into his body from behind.

Stopping, he looked around the gym to lock eyes with a certain brown-haired boy whose glare could only be described as heart-stopping. He knew. And the coach knew too. The thought rumbled in his mind over and over again until he could feel pain creeping into his skull. Neither of them wanted to think about it, but both of them had been cursed with the knowledge of what HOCM really was.

No. She'll never play again.