The next day Tanaka was absent from morning practice, and he showed up in the afternoon with his right arm in a sling. "Nee-san made me go to the doctor," he said, sullen and frowning. "I'm not allowed to spike for at least two weeks, and I have to do physical therapy." It seemed that he had never heard a more dirty phrase in his life—his lips twisted around the words as if they tasted bad in his mouth. Noya patted his back in rough comfort.

Takeda-sensei, usually as kind and caring a teacher as anyone could ask for, was less than sympathetic. When the team meeting began, he stood with his arms crossed over his chest, looking sternly over the gathered players seated on the floor. Coach Ukai sat next to him, his arms folded and his eyes closed.

"I'm sorry you got hurt, Tanaka-kun," Takeda said. "But really, what were you all expecting to happen? I was extremely disappointed to hear the rumors spreading around school, though I know they're not all true. But I have no trouble believing that you all deliberately got in a fight with those bullies. What were you thinking? Or were you thinking at all?"

He proceeded to give them a rather severe scolding. Daichi firmed his shoulders and accepted it, his face stoic and set. Suga and Asahi also put on a mask of composure, but most of the second-years fidgeted where they sat. Kageyama figured it didn't apply to him, since he'd been against the idea from the beginning, and he started to tune out the lecture before it was halfway done. Tsukishima looked bored of the entire affair, but Yamaguchi sat there with wide eyes and heated cheeks, his shoulders hunched around his ears even though he was at least as innocent as Kageyama, if not more so.

The most strongly affected seemed to be Tanaka. As Takeda went on, he looked more and more morose. Still in observation mode from watching Hinata for almost two weeks, Kageyama couldn't help but notice. It was uncomfortable seeing their boisterous senpai looking so downhearted. It reminded Kageyama too much of the time right after Hinata got hurt, when Tanaka was wounded just as deeply as Kageyama and Hinata had been.

It was Yamaguchi who stopped it. He raised his hand while Takeda-sensei was in the middle of repeating, once again, how irresponsible they had all been. Takeda cut off, blinking in surprise and raising his eyebrows. "Yes?"

"Takeda-sensei, I know we were wrong to fight, even though we didn't start it," Yamaguchi said. "But Hinata is much happier now. Didn't we see that at lunch?" He looked around at the other first-years. Kageyama, Yachi, and even Tsukishima nodded at once, backing him up.

Yamaguchi looked Takeda in the eyes, facing him head-on. His back was straight and his expression was earnest. "We all saw how scared Hinata was on Friday after he found that note in his locker. It's only three days later, but now he's not scared at all. That's how much of a difference we made yesterday. And I'm sorry, but no matter what you say, none of us are ever going to regret it."

A moment of silence. Then, "That's true," Ennoshita said. "We all saw it."

A chorus of agreement broke out, though subdued, the majority of the boys still cowed and chagrined under their sensei's disapproval. Yamaguchi looked in Takeda's eyes, daring him to disagree. Kageyama caught the faint shiver in Yamaguchi's shoulders that told just how much effort he was expending on this stand of resolve.

Takeda held his stern face for another few seconds. Then he cracked and threw his hands up in the air with a sound of frustration that was probably supposed to be a yell, but came out as more of a squeak. "Fine! I know!" He covered his face with his hands. "Just go play volleyball, you idiotic children!"

The boys scattered. Tanaka stood slowly and awkwardly, hindered by his immobilized arm. Noya tugged on his left elbow in an effort to help, and Tanaka finally found his feet.

"What are you planning to do?" Noya asked with a cheery grin, Takeda's speech having flowed over him like water over a leaf. "Maybe you should learn to spike with your left hand, like Kuroo-san!"

"He'd better not!" Ennoshita yelled from the other side of the gym. Noya and Tanaka startled. "If he jumps around he'll hurt his shoulder more, and I'll never forgive you for wasting all the hard work I did yesterday!"

"I think you should stick to ball handling exercises," Kageyama said. "You need more control, anyway. Your handling with your left hand sucks."

Tanaka squinted at him. "Thanks, Kageyama."

Kageyama nodded, pleased that his helpful advice had been well-received. "Maybe you could practice with Hinata, too, as long as you're both careful not to overdo it. His mom might be willing to let him come to practice again if she knows you'll be looking after him. She likes you a lot."

"You think so?" Tanaka brightened at this, a spark igniting in his eyes. "That would be great!"

Tanaka still looked dampened and discouraged, though, not back to his usual levels of energetic good cheer. Kageyama frowned, not sure what else to offer, or even how to ask what was wrong. He was getting better at helping out Hinata when he was unhappy, but he still didn't know how to translate those skills to other people.

Noya had no such doubts. He punched Tanaka's left arm. "Hey, why so glum? Everything's looking up now!"

Tanaka's gaze slid over to the side of the gym, where Takeda-sensei and Coach Ukai were deep in conference over a clipboard. "Take-chan was really mad, wasn't he?"

Oh. Kageyama blinked. Tanaka was such an unruly guy that it was easy to forget that he held their teachers in the highest regard. He called Takeda "Take-chan" out of affection, not disrespect.

There was a delicate clearing of the throat, and Tanaka, Noya, and Kageyama turned around. Shimizu stood there, blushing under their combined scrutiny. Noya and Tanaka fell back in shock, but Kageyama stood firm, watching her with curiosity.

"Um." Shimizu coughed into her fist, looking away from a moment. Then she looked back to Tanaka. Her cheeks were flaming red. "Takeda-sensei isn't really angry at you. He was just worried. He cares about you all very much. When he heard about your shoulder, Tanaka-kun, he was very upset."

"Ah." Tanaka stood frozen, blinking at her.

Shimizu managed a smile, shaky though it was. "If anyone is irritated, it's Coach Ukai. And that's just because his petition to get Isao kicked out of school is useless now. He worked hard on it."

"That's right." Kageyama looked at Tanaka and Noya. "My mom told me about that. All of the adults have been working hard."

"I see." Now Tanaka was blinking at Kageyama, too.

"But we're all glad that Hinata is feeling better," Shimizu said. She held so still for a moment that she barely seemed to breathe. Then she reached out, lightning fast, and touched Tanaka on his unhurt shoulder. "Thank you."

Then she ran away.

Tanaka and Noya clutched each other, staring after her in gap-mouthed astonishment. They continued to stare and to clutch for what began to feel like a very long time. Kageyama shifted from foot to foot and cleared his throat.

"Shimizu-san...talked to me," Tanaka whispered.

"I know," Nishinoya whispered back.

"Shimizu-san...touched me."

"I know. I was there too."

"I can die happy now."

"I know."

Kageyama expected them to fall to the floor, weeping and wailing as they hugged each other, overcome with emotion. He was proud of them when they didn't. Maybe they were growing up. Maybe this experience, as difficult as it had been, had given them a measure of grace and maturity.

Then, of course, they did exactly what he'd been expecting. Kageyama slumped, eyeing the pile of limbs and tears his senpai had turned into, then walked away to text Hinata about the news. Hinata had asked at lunch how Tanaka was doing and had been disappointed to learn he'd missed morning practice.

Kageyama was sure that Hinata would want to do some easy, therapeutic practice with Tanaka. Telling them both to keep an eye on the other to make sure they didn't overdo it would keep them under control, too. Hinata would no more let Tanaka hurt himself than Tanaka would let Hinata do the same.

X

The first-years continued to have lunch together. It became tradition for them to meet in one of their classrooms, pull enough desks into a circle to accommodate them all, and then sit facing each other as they ate and talked and joked their way through the period. Kageyama continued to surprise himself with how much he enjoyed it. He'd never realized before how funny Yamaguchi could be, and how insightful Yachi was. Hinata's dumb comments became in-jokes in the group, making them all laugh. Even Tsukishima's company wasn't unbearable when he was surrounded by three bright, sunny people who kept his bad personality under control just by being themselves.

"I don't think we'll have to testify," Tsukishima said during one of these lunches about a week after the party at Tanaka's. "We all gave our statements to the police, and they have the footage. Why would we all need to repeat our stories again?"

Yamaguchi shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe. I don't know how it works." He took another bite of his onigiri, tucking the food into one cheek like a chipmunk, and looked at Kageyama. "Your mom is a lawyer. Do you know how it works?"

Kageyama shook his head. "My mom is a different kind of lawyer. She works on deals and contracts for corporations, not this kind of thing. But she said we don't have to worry about Isao and his friends anymore. They've caused too much trouble and left too much evidence."

Tsukishima nodded with satisfaction. "It doesn't matter anymore how wealthy Isao's parents are, or how many buildings they own in Karasuno and the surrounding area. This is too big to cover up now."

"And Tanaka and Captain Daichi will never drop the charges," Yamaguchi said.

"Did they figure out who threw the brick?" Tsukishima asked.

Kageyama frowned. "Just some guy, one of Isao's friends. Mom told me his name, but I can't remember it." It hadn't seemed important. The guy was going away, and he would never bother Hinata or the rest of the team again. Why should Kageyama remember his name? He wished he could forget who Isao was, too. But he was pretty sure he was stuck knowing about that particular bastard for the rest of his life.

Yamaguchi hummed. "The guy must have pitched baseball, to throw a brick with that much force and accuracy. It was pretty amazing, really."

Tsukishima cast a glance at Hinata, narrow and concerned. His voice was low. "Shut up, Yamaguchi."

Yamaguchi flushed and glanced at Hinata, too. But Hinata and Yachi were both oblivious to the discussion of the other three, bent over the project they'd been working on together. Yamaguchi's shoulders slumped in relief when it became clear that Hinata hadn't been listening. Hinata still got solemn and cloudy whenever something reminded him of how Tanaka had gotten injured.

The three of them fell silent for a time, eating their food in easy contemplation. Kageyama stared off into a back corner of the room. They had met in Hinata's class today, as chance would have it. Something seemed familiar about the girl who sat alone back there, but he couldn't place her at first.

She was very short, and her expression was very sad. Her long, straight hair was held back from her face with a decorated headband. As Kageyama watched, she glanced at their circle, then looked down at the cellphone in her hands, hunching uncomfortably over her desk. Maybe she'd caught Kageyama staring at her.

Kageyama looked away, frowning down at his bento box. He still couldn't figure out who she was, but something about her was familiar...

Oh. Kageyama blinked and sent another swift look to the back corner for confirmation, then frowned at his bento again. The girl was Kimura-san. Kageyama hadn't recognized her at first because she looked so different. The last time he'd seen her—the only time he'd noticed her—had been right before Isao hurt Hinata. She'd been happy then. She'd been almost ecstatic with Hinata's company and attention. The difference between then and now was startling.

Kageyama's first impulse was to ignore her. Her inconsiderate messages had wounded Hinata when he was already vulnerable. After the fear he had experienced in Tanaka's house while facing off with the bullies, Kageyama understood a little better how terrified she must have been. But that still, in his mind, did not excuse the way she had treated Hinata.

Kageyama did not want to forgive Kimura. But he was aware that Hinata might not feel the same way. Hinata was not the type to hold a grudge. Even his determination to keep Kageyama—his self-declared lifelong rival—at arm's length had crumbled after a few weeks. They had gone from enemies (in Hinata's estimation) to teammates, to partners, to friends in an astonishingly short time.

It wasn't up to Kageyama to decide whether Hinata and Kimura became friends. That was Hinata's job. After another few moments to brood and think, Kageyama decided to let Hinata know that he had a choice to make.

Kageyama pressed his hands to his desk and stood up, then moved around the outside of the circle to where Hinata sat between Yachi and Tsukishima. He touched Hinata's shoulder to let him know he was there, though Hinata still jerked at the contact, and leaned over to talk into his ear.

"Kimura-san is watching us."

Hinata spun his head to stare at him. From this angle Kageyama could only see one bright, round eye. Kageyama grimaced and backed off a little.

"Really?" It might have been excitement in Hinata's voice. It might have been hope.

Kageyama tilted his head toward the corner where Kimura sat, blushing over her Kitty-chan phone. "Do you want to talk to her?"

Hinata was silent for a long moment, staring down at the project on his desk. It was a thank-you card with a drawing of a stegosaurus holding a volleyball on the front. Yachi had designed the art on her computer, but now she and Hinata were tracing the sketch on each card by hand. For fun or something. Kageyama didn't get it.

Finally, Hinata gave a decisive nod and pushed himself to his feet. He moved past Kageyama, pressing his arm to tell him to stay where he was. And he went to the back corner and talked to Kimura.

The other four remained in their circle of desks, pretending not to watch. Kageyama sat back in his chair and kept his head down, but couldn't help stealing glances out of the corner of his eye. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi started talking about music or movies or something like that. Yachi kept working on her cards, but she couldn't help looking, either. And she was a lot less subtle about it than Kageyama was.

The conversation in the corner was quiet. From the beginning, Kimura's body language was small and insecure. She held herself folded over her desk in a ball of sadness. Hinata's posture was hesitant at first, his arms at his sides and his feet shuffling on the floor. But he soon opened up and became more like himself. His arms swung wide in broad, sweeping gestures, his back straightened, and his smile lit everything around them.

Slowly, slowly, Kimura's sadness faded. She straightened in her chair, watching Hinata with her mouth open. The tears that had flooded her eyes and reddened her cheeks were dashed away. Her eyes began to sparkle. Then she smiled, sweet and happy and relieved.

Now Hinata was loud enough for the others to hear, too overjoyed to talk quietly anymore. "Come and sit with us, Kimura-san!" He pointed back at their circle, offering the invitation as if it was the only natural thing to do.

Kimura jolted, her eyes widening as she caught Kageyama's gaze. Kageyama looked away, trying to control his expression. He knew he looked scary. He didn't mean to. If it had been up to him, though, he never would have asked Kimura-san to sit with them. That was going a bit too far.

This is Hinata's choice, he reminded himself, gritting his teeth to hold it all in. You can't try to control who he sits with and who he befriends. You'd be no better than Isao.

"Are—are you sure?" Kimura asked, her words stumbling over each other. "I thought you guys looked happy keeping to yourselves..."

"Sure, we like each other's company, but there's room for more. Isn't that right, Yachi, Yamaguchi?" Consciously or not, Hinata appealed to the kindest among them.

And of course Yachi and Yamaguchi only answered in the affirmative. Yachi jumped up from her desk, scattering cards and writing utensils over the floor, while Yamaguchi stuttered and blushed but still came across as sweet and sincere. Yachi clapped her hands to her face in dismay at the mess she had made, and that did it. Kimura pulled Hinata's sleeve and tugged him over to help clean up.

Hinata, Yachi, and Kimura picked up everything that had fallen, and Yamaguchi pulled over another desk. In moments the circle was wider, Kimura now sitting between Yachi and Hinata. The three of them bent over the cards as Kimura oohed and aahed, admiring their handiwork.

"They're so cute!" she said. "But I don't...I don't understand why...why it's a dinosaur?"

Yamaguchi snickered into his hand, and Tsukishima scowled and looked away. Kimura blinked in confusion, glancing between them, but Yachi patted her arm. "Don't mind, don't mind! It's just a joke between us. They are cute, though, aren't they?"

"So cute! I didn't know Hinata-kun was friends with such a talented artist!" Her eyes were wide and shining with delight at this discovery, and, yeah, suddenly Kageyama understood what Hinata liked about this cowardly girl.

Yachi turned red from the bottom of her chin to the top of her forehead, and Hinata hid his smile in his hand. And just like that, they were all friends. Kageyama couldn't continue to be angry at anyone who complimented Yachi like that. Yamaguchi had been won over, too, it was plain to see. And Tsukishima was too lazy to object.

From then on, whenever they met in Hinata's classroom, Kimura sat with them.

X

Kageyama had been right about Hinata's mom—she warmed up to the idea of Tanaka looking after Hinata during practice right away. Nobody had liked how distressed Hinata was over missing practices, least of all his parents. This was a perfect solution.

Hinata still wasn't allowed to use his bike, so morning practices were out, but in the afternoon he and Tanaka would come in with everyone else. They'd join the team as a whole for warm up and the meeting, then split off to a corner of the gym to practice together. The rest of team couldn't help watching them now and then, because it was such a pleasant sight. It was reassuring to watch both of their injured teammates healing together.

They'd bump a volleyball happily between them, and it became common for the gym to ring with Tanaka's shouts of encouragement and Hinata's high-pitched giggles. Tanaka was restricted to his left hand, his right arm still in a sling, and Hinata was as clumsy as ever, so they were almost an even match. Both were careful to keep their power under control, ensuring that neither one was ever in any danger of straining their injuries. But both were enjoying themselves and were happy to be near their team, anyway. When they got bored of such simple exercises, they'd jog around the gym, slowly so as not to aggravate Tanaka's shoulder. If Hinata got dizzy or achy, they'd sit against the wall or lie on their backs on the floor and just rest.

But that happened rarely. Hinata was getting better.

The bruise on Hinata's forehead continued to fade. The bumps and bruises the rest of the team had sustained in the fight also healed, slowly at first, then faster and faster. The scratch on Daichi's cheek turned into a thin red line, visible only at the right angle and in the right light.

At last came a day when Tanaka came to the gym without his sling. "Doctor cleared me to spike again," he said with a sharp, satisfied grin, stretching his right arm across his body. "I have to stop if the discomfort level goes above three out of ten, though."

Suga watched with him narrow eyes. "Then we'll make sure to ask you often. I know how easy it will be for you to forget that particular instruction."

Tanaka shrugged, still grinning.

"And be careful with your warm up," Daichi said. "If you skimp on your stretching at all, I'll kick you out of the gym for the day."

Tanaka snapped straight and gave him a crisp salute with his right hand. "Yes sir, Captain-san." He was reveling in being able to move his arm again, and no could blame him.

Then they became aware of a loud, high-pitched yell outside the gym, steadily drawing nearer. The Karasuno players already in the gym turned to look at the door, their eyes widening. Kageyama already knew who it was, though, and he was pretty sure he knew why that noise was happening. His heart began to thump loud with excitement. Was it...was it today...?

"...YAAAAAAAAA!" Kageyama sprinted over and opened the door just in time. Hinata leaped over the threshold, landing on both feet with his fists in the air, grinning bright and blinding as the heart of a star. He turned that brilliant grin on Kageyama, pumping his fist in front of his face. "Kageyama!" he yelled, bursting with excitement. He danced from foot to foot, unable to hold still.

Kageyama winced and leaned back from the aural assault as he shut the gym door against the cold air outside. "I'm right here, dumbass. You don't have to yell in my face."

He didn't sound very irritated even to himself, though. He was pretty sure he already knew what Hinata had run here to tell them. It was impossible to be angry in the face of such joy.

"Kageyama!" Hinata cried again, throwing his arms to the side as if he was about to embrace Kageyama and the gym and the whole team and...everything in the world. "Kageyama, today has been a whole week since my last headache or dizzy spell!"

"I know," Kageyama said. He'd kept track of the intervals between symptoms as avidly as Hinata had. "And that means..."

"My mom called the doctor, and she pulled me out of my last class to go get a checkup, and then she brought me back, because you know why? You know why, Kageyama, huh, huh?"

"I think I can guess, but why don't you go ahead and tell us."

"I can play again!" Hinata threw both fists above his head in a gesture of supreme victory. "I can run and jump and spike again! As long as the symptoms don't come back, I'm cleared to play volleyball again Kageyama do you even understand how happy that makes me right now."

Kageyama couldn't help it. He began to grin back. The smile blossomed slowly at first, and then it grew and spread. He could feel it overtaking his entire face, and he didn't care. It was real and true. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this happy. He didn't know if he'd ever felt this happy.

"I think I understand," he said. "I really think I do."

Hinata blinked at him in confusion for a second, as if he was startled by Kageyama's smile. But then he grinned again, pure and beautiful. Kageyama held up his hands for a high five, and Hinata laughed like a thunderstorm and gave it to him. The sound echoed around the gym, and then the rest of the team closed in to ruffle Hinata's hair and clap his back and jostle his shoulders and just congratulate him in general for being back. For being healed. For being himself, Hinata Shouyou, their precious friend and strongest decoy.

Warm up and the pre-practice meeting passed in a blur. Finally, finally they got to practice their spikes. Suga tossed the ball, and Hinata began his run-up, his leap of joy and faith. Kageyama jumped, and he felt the ball touch his fingers, and he tossed it, a streak of color racing through the air. Hinata's hand was already swinging. Then the ball met his palm with a resounding smack, sending the ball flying into the floor on the side of the net. It was a perfect quick, a perfect connection.

The landed on the floor, watching the ball spin away toward the opposite side of the gym. "All right!" they yelled, pumping their fists in matching triumph. And they turned and looked at each other. And they smiled.

They were back.