Her heart felt like it weighed a hundred pounds in her chest. Standing on the court, hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. Yesterday had been bittersweet. They'd won their second game, successfully securing their place in the finals. However, Niko had had to make the heart-wrenching decision to bench herself. Halfway through the second set, she found herself unable to keep her hand off of her wrist. During a timeout, she finally came to the realization that she was in more than just a little pain.

She'd cried, sitting on the bench as her teammates continued pushing forward. The pain itself wasn't unbearable, but the fact that she couldn't continue to stand on the court with her teammates…. That was what hurt the most.

Despite that, and of no surprise to Niko, Aoba Johsai barrelled forwards. Their opponents were defeated, after three gruelling sets. She'd celebrated with them, allowing them to fret over her as she updated them on what her physical therapist had told her to do after she'd texted her about her wrist. There was no guarantee that she'd be totally fine tomorrow. It was a frightening thought.

Beyond that, though,Karasuno had won their second match as well, meaning they were going to the finals today as well. On the flip side… that also meant Tōru, Hajime, and their team lost. Their dreams of going to Nationals were cut short.

Which was, in part, why it meant so much today for the girls to win. She would push through and beat Niiyama with her team, not only for herself and her team, but also for Tōru, Hajime, and all of the boys. The ones who had helped her become who she was.

Today, if she focused and took the time to calm her heart and breathing, Niko could feel Asahi's spikes and receives. The finals were held in the same building, but separate gymnasiums. Which was probably a good thing. She's not sure how he might have reacted if he knew she'd been benched for the first two sets. It'd been a long discussion between her and her coach, but the benching had been a mutual decision.

Niko had to push all of the annoying, persistent thoughts of 'I'm abandoning my team' and 'I should be on the court right now' away. They wouldn't help her, and she needed to focus on this game. On her team and their opponents. Observe them from the sidelines calmly so she could defend better against them when she stepped onto the court. The third set was upon them, and Niko was finishing warming up as the team huddled together briefly.

It was disheartening for all of them that Niiyama had just won the second set. The first set had also been won by their opponents. With scores of 22-25 in the first set, and 29-31 in the second, it was frustrating. They were so close, yet so far. Swearing under her breath, Niko straightened up from her stretch.

"You're all frustrated and upset, I know." Coach Takahashi had her hands on her hips, frown pulling the corners of her lips down. "But you're letting your anxieties get the better of you. Take a step back. Calm down, clear your minds. You can do this."

Niko licked her lips, shaking herself. She was going to protect them all, at any cost. That was her duty. Guard her team's backs as they fought the battles in the air. Together, they were striving for greatness. She couldn't let them down. Standing up straighter, she stepped a little closer to the center and looked around at her teammates. "I am here. I will be behind you all, watching and guarding your backs. I can't fight our battles in the sky like you all can, but I can protect you from the ground. Please, believe in me - and believe in yourselves."

She took a moment to meet each of her teammates' gazes. Smiles turned up their lips as their shoulders dropped just a bit. "I will fight their captain with all of my might." A daunting task, but Niko had to. And she knew that she could. Niiyama's captain had hit her kouhai with intense spikes at the end of the match, one after another.

They'd been difficult to receive - especially for a first year. On the sidelines, Niko had watched the opposing captain like a hawk every time that she spiked. Taking in every minute movement, absorbing the details of her spike. Information processing through her brain as she readied herself to receive the same spikes. Several times while on the sidelines, she caught herself making the motions to receive them as they soared towards Kisuke.

The whistle blew, and they all headed onto the court again. Sucking in a slow breath, Niko rolled her shoulders and lifted her chin. They needed to win this. They were going to win this. The Queens would be defeated.

It was a breath of fresh air when Aoba Johsai managed to score the first point of the set. The crushing force of the Queens was inched up. They were making headway. Tora was serving, and Niko followed the ball as she tossed it in the air. Her lips curled up. Her captain had been pushing herself hard in the past few months in particular. Increasing the power and accuracy of her serves beyond what they already were - and it clearly was paying off. She appeared to have taken a page out of Tōru's book as she leapt up and basically sent a high-velocity missile to the other side of the court.

Number six on the opposing team received it - or, rather, got hit by it. The ball flew off away from the court and nearly took out a camera in the process. Number five had raced after the ball, but it was of no use. It hit the floor and Aoba Johsai scored another point. The next serve, Tora swore under her breath when the libero seemingly manifested out of nowhere and pulled her serve up. Then the ball went into play.

Number two set the ball up high - and a glance at Yuki confirmed Niko's suspicions. The captain's spike was coming. Throughout the whole game, Yuki had been keeping a close eye on the opposing team. Between that and the videos they'd pored over last night, she had managed to figure out a pattern to their attacks. She mentioned it after the last set was lost. Now, she was holding up a hand behind her back - index finger pointing towards the ceiling.

Just as Yuki suspected, the captain leapt up for the ball and hit it towards Niko. It was fast, with the girl's full force behind it. It was designed to break the team's spirit. Break her spirit. A deep breath in, and Niko found the world slowing around her.

One rotation, two, three. The ball spun towards her, and the blonde slid her feet wider apart and lowered her torso. Adjustments she'd realized she'd need to make, after observing Kisuke and other teammates try to receive it during the last two sets. Arms stretched out for the receive, Niko squared her shoulders and let her body move with the push of the ball. Her arms were pushed downwards into her thighs, and then she pushed them right back up, angling them slightly.

All the air left her lungs as the ball slowed and arced right to Tora. Finally, finally, finally! Just like she promised, Niko got the ball Niiyama's captain spiked. It was a relief - to her, and to her teammates. With renewed vigor, Tora set the ball behind her all the way across the court - to Hitomu as she leapt from the back to spike it across the net.

Three points in, and Niiyama called a timeout. Heading off the court, Niko found that she couldn't hold back her grin. "I'm sure you're all aware, but the only reason for this timeout is to try and stop our momentum. Niko just received the captain's spike - a feat they'd thought would be difficult if not impossible. That will lift everyone up, and they want to keep our momentum to a minimum. Don't let this stop you. Keep powering forward."

And so, they did. Five points in for Aoba Johsai, Niiyama scored their first point of the set. Even that didn't bring Niko's team down. They scrambled together, pushing ever forwards. Back and forth, the teams see-sawed. One point to Aoba Johsai, two to Niiyama, one to Aoba Johsai, one to Niiyama, two to Aoba Johsai, and so on and so forth.

Nearly three-quarters of the way through the set, Niko and her team were positively radiant. They'd managed to keep the lead, and kept the gap to three points. It was clearly frustrating Niiyama, but they'd still been able to keep cool heads.

With her mind clear of everything besides this game, this volleyball, this point, Niko slid across the gymnasium floor to put her hand between the ball and the floor when Niiyama's setter dumped it. As the ball flew back up into play, she rolled to her feet and dashed to the side as Hitomu spiked the ball. The blockers caught it, sending it back down.

Again, Niko found herself sliding across the floor, ball hitting her hand and soaring back up for her waiting teammates. When the opposing team managed to spike past the blockers, she was running forward, chasing the ball as it soared towards the floor. When it hit her arms, it wobbled and sailed towards the left. Michi connected with the ball and sent it back to Tora.

They put their all in. Pushing back against the overwhelming force of the Queens, who demanded that they kneel before them. Niko and her teammates struggled to their feet together, pushing the incredible weight of their opponents off of them. Aoba Johsai won the third set at a score of 29-27.

It was all that she and her team needed to feel confident and re-motivated. The fourth set was just as tight. The point gap stayed about the same throughout it, narrowing a few times before they managed to pull forward again. Somewhat surprisingly, albeit incredibly exhilarating, Aoba Johsai won with a score of 25-21.

Four sets in, and one more to go. Two wins, two losses. It was all riding on this.

They were all tired, but a glance around told Niko that none of them were willing to give up. Neither her teammates nor her opponents.

"AOBA GIRLS! YOU CAN DO IT!" The yell came from the stands, followed by another, then one more, then a chorus of them. Both teams turned towards the noise - and Niko found the grin stretching across her lips as she was met with the sight of several members of the boys' team standing at the railing, gripping it tightly and leaning over to call for them.

Heart leaping into her throat, Niko lifted a hand and blew them a kiss as one of the TV crews chided them for the noise. "We're gonna win for you!" It was a bold statement, and she knew it. Despite this, she was met with a confident smirk from Hajime and Tōru.

"You'd better!" Surprisingly, it was Hajime who yelled out this time - before promptly pulling his teammates back to sit down and watch the game after they were chided again. She could see him shoving them into seats and threatening Oikawa with a water bottle before he sat down as well.

"Well, I think this means we have to win, now." Tora smirked at Niko as they readied to go back onto the court. Their teammates had grins tugging up their lips as they nudged one another eagerly.

Laughing, Niko nodded. "Absolutely." Despite the pressure on them, the expectations and concerns both within themselves and by the crowd… somehow, knowing that they had the support from the boys helped Niko's whole team stand a little straighter. Their cheering section roared to life as they stepped back onto the court.

The last set was a whirlwind. Both teams were giving their all. No holds barred, they spiked every ball like it was their last time, they received wildly, and they served intensely. They would not roll over. They couldn't. Neither would yield to the other willingly. They'd push each other to the brink.

The score was kept close throughout it. Neither team gained an advantage of more than two points at any given time. The entire arena seemed like they were on the edge of their seats, just like Niko and her teammates metaphorically were. There were no guarantees in this game. They had to keep pushing.

Aoba Johsai was at set point. Niiyama was one point behind. It was their opponent's serve, and the ball was received cleanly by Hitomu. Back and forth over the net, time and time again as it never touched the floor. Niko received a spike, stumbling backwards at the force of it. Her wrist twinged in pain. The strain of three intense sets was starting to show. Tora followed the ball, leaping up to set it from an incredibly awkward position. Tossing it behind her, she called for their ace.

Hitomu's back attacks were something else. It was beautiful, and her whole body arced with the force she put behind the spike. In the few seconds she had to make a call, the ace managed to target the spot between the libero and Niiyama's number six. They both moved towards it, in sync, until they spotted the other. The hesitation was barely a second, but it was a second too long. The ball hit the gymnasium and bounced up. The referee's whistle blew, and Niko felt like her heart was lifting to the ceiling.

Twenty-two points to twenty.

The rushing of excitement inside of her was drowned out only by the yells and cheers of the crowd. They'd- They won!

Niko yelled out, pumping her fists in the air. Aoba Johsai won!

The high that she and her team was on, it was incredible. Finally, they beat Niiyama. Even as they thanked each other's teams for the game, Niko couldn't keep the smile off of her face. Then they met with the other team's coach, who provided some pretty great advice to them all - including mentioning to Niko that she needed to work on her flexibility so that she could move better on a dime. She also made sure to tell her to rest her wrist.

"Congratulations." Outside of the gymnasium, Niiyama's captain came up to Niko, Tora, and Hitomu. "You earned that. You'd best take national's by storm - you're carrying our dreams on your shoulders, too, now." The tall blonde grinned wryly.

Tora laughed, nodding as they shook hands. "Absolutely. You guys killed it out there. Thank you so much."

They parted ways, and prepared for the celebration ceremony. At one point, Hajime had come to tell her that Karasuno had won against Shiratorizawa as well. She wasn't sure when he and Tōru had left to watch the end of the boys' game, but she wasn't bothered by that. In fact, she was glad that they had. Niko was on cloud nine. Karasuno was moving onto Nationals, and so was her team. They'd both be able to keep playing.

The ceremony went by in a blur, and Niko honestly couldn't really say that she remembered it all that well right now. Her mind was a jumbled mess of excitement and nerves. Some part of her was still trying to catch up, trying to make her realize that this wasn't a dream. Her team really had won. Later, when she calmed down, she'd be able to reflect more clearly on it.

The moment she was able to, Niko parted from her team and ran to Asahi when he and his team stepped out of the building. His only warning that she was approaching was Niko's squeal of excitement. Kudos to Asahi for his reaction time - he turned on a dime and caught her as she leapt at him. "Congratulations! You guys, I'm so proud of you!" She slid her arms around Asahi's neck and kissed both of his cheeks in quick succession. He was grinning, and she planted a completely unsubtle kiss on his lips in front of their teammates, unable to contain herself.

She could hear a few of her teammates snickering behind her as she pulled back, grinning brightly at her boyfriend and his teammates. The low rumbling of his chuckle vibrated through Asahi's chest as he leaned in to kiss her forehead as his cheeks grew rosy. "Same to you, Niko. I heard you all did great during your match. We'll be seeing you at Nationals." He lowered her to the ground slowly as she nodded exuberantly.

The next five minutes were spent with the two teams slowly mingling. They were all too excited about their wins, and eager to revel in them with like-minded people. No one had any reservations about the others being from another team - they were just lost in the moment. Pretty much everyone was congratulating one another and talking rapidly. For a while, it made Niko forget about the other side of the coin.

After they were back home, and the high was ebbing away into determination and slow realization, it all came to a head. The girls' team met with their coach to discuss what the next steps would be, and afterwards, Niko found herself walking to the gymnasium where the boys always practiced. Her heart was hammering against her ribcage.

Inside, nearly all of the members were practicing. Their coaches were nowhere to be seen - which meant this was a last-minute decision by the boys themselves. Niko watched, silent, for a long time. Taking in their determination, their desire to overcome this defeat and better themselves. They weren't letting the loss bring them down. It made her proud.

She knew the team was strong - she'd always known that. Pitying them would do them no good. They were pressing forward, eager to improve and learn more. They were all shooting for the next shot at Nationals the following year. Eyes focused forward, they weren't allowing negativity enough room in their minds to pull them backwards.

"Oi, you guys have any need for another libero for a bit?" She called out, grinning when they all paused to look at her. Several hours of rest had let the ache in Niko's wrist subside, so she was more than happy to play more, should they allow her to crash their party. None of them answered her verbally - instead, Hajime simply jerked his head in a silent request to join his team alongside Tōru, Matsukawa, Hanamaki, and Sawauchi. Watari rolled his eyes and slid over to the other side of the net.

"Really? How is this fair, again?" Yahaba put his hands on his hips, eyes narrowed as he watched the six third years push one another around as Niko stepped onto the court. Not a single one of them even had the decency to look chagrined as their kouhai looked at them in varying states of exasperation or - in some cases - mild fear.

"All's fair in love and volleyball." Niko laughed, shrugging. "If it will make you feel any better, you can consider it a lesson, then." She winked, and Yahaba lifted his hand. She burst into a fit of giggles as he flipped her off and let out a huff. On the opposite side of the net, Yahaba, Watari, Kindaichi, Kunimi, Kyōtani, and Yuda all got ready to start the match in their makeshift formation.

To say the third years wiped the floor with the first and second years would be an insult. They absolutely obliterated them. Eventually, they did switch the teams up to make it more fair, though. That was when the real fun began. They spent probably a good two hours, playing match after match with one another until they were all exhausted. At that point, they hung around the gym for a while before cleaning up and heading out - after Tōru went and made them all cry, that is.

All in all, it was relaxing. Whilst the boys' team was still in a state of mourning, to some extent, they weren't letting it hold them back too much. They all wanted to push beyond it, and were diligent in doing so. She knew that even if she hadn't shown up to their practice, they'd still be just fine. It felt right, though. Like she was wrapping up the year just the way she'd begun it - by crashing their practice.


The month after Spring High was a blur. Practice was intense, but it was buffered by occasional days of rest. Niko continued with her physical therapy, as well as check-ins with Dr. Ichibata. Her wrist was doing well overall, healing nicely. She'd still been instructed to try and keep it easy on the heavy receives for a while, but that was to be expected.

By the time November was coming to a close, she no longer found herself absent-mindedly rubbing her wrist between receives. Practice with the youth team continued like normal, with the team truly bonding. They'd even gone out together once, which was a lot of fun. In fact, that's what Niko was currently getting ready for. A second outing with the youth team.

The first time, they'd gone to a cafe for a bit before heading to a nearby botanical garden to walk around for a while. This time, they'd decided to watch a movie and then go for dinner. They were doing all of this after practice, so Niko had gone back with Kasumi to her house in order to get ready. She lived nearby, so it was convenient. Several others went along as well.

Currently, they were all in Kasumi's bedroom, chatting away as they changed into the extra clothes they'd brought. "Feels like we're getting ready for one hell of a group date, doesn't it?" Rika laughed, nudging Niko as she pulled on her thigh-high stockings. A few feet away, Kasumi snorted and Yumi grinned crookedly, shaking her head.

"If you're sweet to me, I might even let you kiss me goodnight, Rika-chan." Niko straightened up, winking playfully at her teammate. "But only on the cheek. I'm a good, innocent girl. I'd never let you get further than that on our first date." Around her, the other girls burst into laughter.

"Oho, what a deal. Be nice for a while and I get to kiss Niko? Hell yeah, I'm down." The middle blocker winked back at her and they both shared a laugh. Niko plopped back onto the bed with a grin.

Curled up in the middle of the bed, Setsuna groaned and nudged her with a foot before burying her face in her arms and falling silent again. That was enough to send the room into a bout of laughter. "Sorry, sorry, sleepy-head." Niko teased, everyone following suit shortly after.

"Ne, random but serious question." Rika spoke up after several minutes of silence. All heads turned towards her (with the exception of the sleeping Setsuna) and regarded her curiously. Her cheeks colored slightly and she stared at the blanket. "Do you think… it's wrong, um… if you date someone that's not your soulmate?"

She swallowed, refusing to meet the eyes of her teammates. There was a moment of silence before Yumi shrugged. "Not at all. I mean, plenty of people don't 'wait' for their soulmates. Obviously, some do, but not everyone." She pursed her lips, watching Rika as her cheeks grew more pink.

Niko nodded and propped herself up on the bed with her elbows. "Agreed. I know what I say might not hold a ton of weight since I met mine, but I wouldn't blame anyone for dating other people before they met theirs. Some people get weird about it, and are like 'but they're the one you're meant to be with!' but if you find someone you want to be with… why miss out on that opportunity just because you might some day meet your soulmate? Who knows when that will happen, anyway."

Rika lifted her gaze to meet Niko's as the libero watched her calmly. Her cheeks were still bright red. "You really think so? I've heard a bunch of people say it's like… basically cheating, if you date anyone besides your soulmate. But like you said… we never know when we're going to meet them, right? And, like… some people meet their soulmates, and just stay friends with them, right? It's not always romantic?"

"Mhhmmm. My sister's soulmate is her best friend, but she's happily married to someone else. No two relationships between soulmates are the same. Like, I can't imagine not dating Yumi, but-" Kasumi cut herself off suddenly, bolting upwards as she clamped her hands over her mouth with wide eyes.

Several things clicked in Niko's mind suddenly. First, how comfortable Kasumi and Yumi were with one another. Second, the subtle feelings that they were closer than they'd let on during practice. Third, the time she'd walked in on them after practice one day and they'd leapt apart all of a sudden. Niko had assumed they'd just been talking quietly, and had passed it off as nothing. Now she was realizing they were most likely not talking.

Yumi rolled her eyes and heaved a sigh, shoving Kasumi lightly as Niko sat upright with a wide grin. "I'm not at all surprised by this."

Rika frowned, looking between the three girls in confusion. "Wait, what? You and Yumi are soulmates?" Kasumi let out a whine, then laughed and nodded slowly. "Oh. Wait. When-"

"Uh, we've known for a few years. Been dating for a year and a half… We weren't gonna tell anyone on the team - no offense!" The wing spiker sat up and whipped towards the other three as Yumi smirked. "It's just… we didn't want anyone to think any differently of us, y'know? Like… I dunno. Some people aren't… comfortable…. Around…" She waved a hand, unsure of how to continue.

"What, you thought if we knew you were not straight, we'd not want to change around you or something?" Rika frowned again, sitting on the bed cross-legged. Kasumi and Yumi exchanged a glance, and then both shrugged. "I think by this point, no one would care. Everyone on the team now is pretty chill and open. Though I can't say I blame you, given our previous teammate."

Niko cringed a bit, but found herself nodding. It wasn't that she'd thought Nao would've been rude towards them or bullied them for their relationship - it was more that there were times that she wished she hadn't been so open about Asahi, since all that gave the girl was more ammunition against her. She didn't blame the other two for wanting to keep their relationship a secret from everyone, so that level of toxicity was kept out of it.

There was a short silence before Kasumi laughed a little, rubbing the back of her neck. "I guess you're right, honestly. I trust everyone on the team now. I just hadn't thought about mentioning it. Not like there's really a good time to suddenly go 'oh by the way guys, Yumi and I are a thing'." Yumi snorted, then laughed and nodded in agreement.

"Exactly. Though it could've been a fun way to end practice one day. Can you imagine, you spike a ball and as you land you just casually flip your hair over your shoulder and say that? Or even better, what a way to get some points from the other team. Declare that and then use their confusion to your advantage." With every idea, Yumi was laughing harder and harder, until she was barely able to speak between bouts of it. Kasumi soon joined her, and the other two quickly found themselves wiping tears of joy from their eyes as they pictured those scenes happening.

Setsuna peeked at them, yawning as she lifted her head a bit. "If you want to go in for the kill, just kiss in front of everyone without announcing anything. That'd really fuck with them for a bit." She grinned tiredly as she slowly sat up. There was a brief moment of surprise from the other four on the bed - none of them realized their teammate was awake - but they all dissolved into laughter quickly once again.

After several minutes of this, they finally calmed down enough to continue the original conversation. Surprisingly, it was Setsuna who brought it back up. "On a serious note, Rika-chan, do what makes you happy. If you've found someone that does, then there's no reason not to explore that relationship. If you meet your soulmate later in life, then you can decide from there what to do. But living your life, just waiting to do anything at all in case you do meet them… well, that's not really living at all, in my opinion."

Niko, Kasumi, and Yumi were all quick to agree. It was a touchy subject for some people, but Niko never really understood why some people were so gung-ho about just waiting for their soulmate. It seemed so… empty? Honestly. Some people met their soulmates early on, but some didn't meet them until they were already middle-aged. Some never met theirs. Waiting could take forever - sometimes quite literally.

In her opinion, chasing your own happiness was what mattered. Fate gave them soulmates, but that didn't mean they had to wait for fate to show up or just go along for the ride. Everyone could make their own lives whatever they wanted. If they happened to meet their soulmate along the way, they'd also be able to choose what path to take from there instead of jumping on the most obvious one. Even if that's pretty much exactly what she did, given how she and Asahi started dating pretty shortly after meeting.

Eventually, Rika spoke up and broke Niko from her thoughts. "Thank you all, for saying that. It makes me feel a lot better…" She licked her lips, then lifted her chin and grinned. Her cheeks were dusted with pink once again. "There's this guy that I met recently that I really like, and he asked me out… but I haven't given him an answer yet because I was worrying too much about all of that. I'm going to tell him yes tonight."

Her declaration was met with cheers from three of the four, and one encouraging pat from the ever-tired Setsuna. The group then fell into a short discussion of said guy - which was mostly just Kasumi trying to get Rika to spill the details on what he looked like and where he went to school. Unfortunately for the wing spiker, Rika was nothing if not stubborn. She refused to tell anything about him.

Instead, she quickly diverted the conversation to remind them that they were supposed to be leaving to meet the rest of their team at the theater. This was followed by several half-hearted groans and then the five girls clamoring out of the crowded bed and grabbing purses or backpacks before heading out.

The movie was a riot, with the volleyball team ending up being the only people in the theater. It made for an incredibly entertaining experience. The film was meant to be a horror/suspense film (which Niko had been dreading) but it was anything but scary since every time one of the monsters would appear, Kasumi would yell about how she'd spike a ball right through its head if it turned towards her. Between that and several girls snickering about the plot holes and less-than-stellar graphics, the movie turned out to be more funny than scary (which was a relief for the libero).


A/N: Hello, hello. We will begin pre-nationals training shortly, including a little cameo by a certain training camp in particular (there will be spoilers if you haven't read the manga… will try to keep them to a minimum!) and a couple more fluffy chapters before we get into Nationals! Interestingly enough, this chapter sat at about 2k words for several days before my brain jump started and I got the inspiration to rewrite it. I then got wayyyy too into it... Ope. Sorry it's a little late!

Ranighastly - ;) ;) ;) hell yeah he does! It's definitely in the works, but won't be out until after I finish this one. No doubt you all will be seeing more of Kiharu in the future in here, though… ;) Not gonna lie… It was a real toss up between Dadchi and Kuroo for me for the basis of my next fic. Although I ended up going with Daichi on this one, I'll probably end up making something short for Kuroo at some point too!

eunoiapaint - Sorry to have made you wait! 3

Chocogirl24 - thank you so much! I'm glad to hear that 3