Extra scene!

Uh, this isn't a cuddling chapter, and I don't really consider it a chapter since I wrote it out of sheer self-indulgence without any real thought process to it. I just wrote what seemed fun.

Yet another set, and yet another spike, more impactful than most of the adults in the gym. The sound of the ball smacking the ground, echoing against the gym walls. The spectators could feel the raw power being exerted, the gap in skill between the spiker and themselves.

And the perfect set. Practically able to reach the same spot, unfaltering. It was like a well-oiled machine working in perfect harmony with the peak of humanity.

Alongside them?

A tiny, tiny high schooler.

"Wow, that was awesome!" Hinata complimented, stars in his eyes as he watched Aran spike another ball set from Atsumu. "How'd you do that?!"

Aran put a hand on his chin, mind still rational and not 100% focused on the game, considering there wasn't an opponent to beat, "Well...the thing that I like focusing on would be momentum in your arm. I think cocking your arm back limits it to how far you bring it back. I like swinging my arm like...a catapult."

Hinata blinked, and Aran thought that he explained it too weirdly for the short boy to comprehend, but in a flash, the expression of confusion turned to one of absolute awe, "That's...so COOL!"

He whipped around to look at Atsumu, "Can I try that with you?!"

Atsumu, never one to refuse more practice, nodded with a shrewd smirk on his face, "'Course, Shouyou-kun. Where d'you want me to set it to ya?"

Hinata pointed to a place near the edge of the court, and Atsumu nodded.

As Hinata took a small breath, he let his shoulders relax before starting his sprint.

The others in the gym watched curiously, wondering why he'd even been allowed in the gym if he looked like a middle schooler. With each step, there was nowhere near the amount of power in them as there was in Aran's. There wasn't that intimidating frame of his, the muscle in his arms, nor the menacing height.

Yet, when Hinata got close to the net, he bent his legs ever so slightly...

And flew, like the wind was carrying him high into the air. Some of the spectators stopped their game entirely, incredibly intrigued.

"Ah, there?" Atsumu wondered out loud with a chill smile on his face, looking at Hinata's arm start to move.

Like...a catapult... Hinata told himself, thinking about how Aran had spiked just a moment ago. He let his arm start at the bottom before whirling it upwards in a circular fashion. As he watched the ball come towards him, his breath hitched.

Wait, am I moving my arm fast enough? Am I doing it good? He wondered, eyes darting to his arm and where it was. The ball was quickly approaching. No, I'll miss!

In a desperate attempt to recover from his focus being disrupted, Hinata quickly sped up the pace of his swing, only to whiff the ball, his pinky barely getting on it and sending it over the court in a clumsy fashion, the spin looking like it was thrown as a soccer ball across the entire field.

As Hinata landed, he looked at his hand with a frown on his face, "Huh..." He looked at Aran. "What'd I mess up?"

"Excuse me?" Aran wondered. His teammates were decently honest, but never so upfront about their shortcomings. Normally, there would be an excuse made. It was fine with him, considering how they were just high schoolers, but from a first-year? Didn't expect that from him.

"Uh...I know I messed up the swing, but like...is there something that I gotta look at?" Hinata started, before feeling a light tap on his shoulder. He turned around slowly to meet Atsumu's face.

From hearing about how good Atsumu was from magazines, he'd expect to be berated and mocked for missing the spike, similar to Kageyama. That'd been the main experience he'd had with setters so far, anyways.

Surprisingly enough, though, Atsumu seemed amused, "That's cool. Didn't think you'd just miss the spike."

Hinata flushed, embarrassed, "H-Hey!"

"I didn't mean it was a bad thing," Atsumu brushed it off, holding up the volleyball that he'd retrieved from the other side of the net. "Most people can't even catch up to my spikes. You were too ahead of it, is the thing. I can see why Tobio-kun likes being on Karasuno, and why he was so...underwhelmed by Hoshiumi."

"Hoshiumi?" Hinata chirped, dumbfounded. He'd never heard of that name before.

"Ah, he's a guy from the training camp we went to," Atsumu explained. "Kinda like you. Small, fast, all that stuff. But he's got a bit more experience. I think if you went up against him, you'd be fighting yourself."

"Really?" Hinata blinked, a little frustrated internally that there was someone just like him.

"Yeah, I've seen him play. I'm guessing you play just like him," Atsumu spoke more to himself than Hinata. "And I remember watching the recording of the game where you guys faced Shiratorizawa. You and Tobio-kun have a cool spike together. The...super quick?"

Aran quietly groaned, "You would not shut up about that earlier."

Atsumu snapped, "Hey, it's cool!" He turned back to Hinata, his expression completely pacified yet again. "So, lemme try something."

"Huh?" Hinata wondered. "Whaddaya mean?"

"I wanna try setting it to you, that quick of yours," Atsumu stated. "Lemme try."

Hinata blinked. He genuinely didn't believe that Atsumu would be able to, considering how they'd failed a normal quick just now. Plus, he may have been called the best setter, but Kageyama hadn't gone to Nationals in middle school to receive that sort of attention.

He nodded stupidly, before going back to the end of the court where people usually served from.

Atsumu tossed the ball to Aran, "Yo, can you toss it up in the air for me? I want this to be a real spike."

"Where's the volleyball court?!" Sugawara huffed. The team stupidly decided that it'd be quicker for them to drop their stuff off on the bus before sprinting to where the gym was supposed to be, their brains clearly malfunctioning when they didn't realize how much faster it would've been.

Therefore, they had all sprinted to the gym at lightning speed, Kageyama having to practically drag Tsukishima along after he decided it wasn't worth it, along with the help of Yamaguchi and Nishinoya.

The employee, dressed incredibly casually with sweats and a hoodie on, moved their tongue around, keeping the gum on the inside of their cheek to speak up, "Oh, just down the hall over there." He stuck his thumb out to the left of him, voice dull and lethargic, almost sleepy. "You see the sign over there? Just head down and it'll be the second door on your left. It's a huge door so you can't miss it." His attention drifted back to his phone the moment he finished his sentence, which was good considering he wasn't expecting a thanks that wasn't going to be given.

In a flash, like a pack of wild animals, the Karasuno team's eyes darted over to hone in on the sign like a sniper, before collectively going there as a herd without any caution for any poor soul that dared to get in the way of the shortest, most direct path there.

Kageyama, desperate to stop Hinata from being tainted by Atsumu, was the fastest, getting to the gym quickly. Grabbing the door handle, he quickly opened it up, almost breaking it to push the door open with all his might.

A wave of hostility flew through the gym, like malevolence manifested into a physical form. The lights seemed to get dimmer, the air became heavier, and the sound in the room had become almost nothing.

Step. The eyes of the spectators, almost frozen in time as they were watching the boy start his run.

Step. Aran, watching on in interest, curious to see the super quick in person, looking at Hinata approaching the net.

Step. Atsumu absorbed all the information available to him. The seams of the ball, the speed of Hinata's run, the placement of his foot when he was almost about to jump.

Step. The wind that carried Hinata's wings, pushing him upwards in a glorious force, one that could lead someone to think a permanent imprint had been left on where he'd leapt.

The Karasuno team clattered through the door the moment they'd caught sight of Inarizaki's jersey, the blonde hair catching their eyes.

They saw red, before seeing Hinata's orange hair and the Karasuno jersey. In the air, his jersey slightly flapping from the air around him.

The ball slowly approached Atsumu. Crash! With the elegance and grace of a tidal wave, Atsumu redirected the ball towards Hinata at a supersonic pace, eyes focused, expression determined rather than his typical arrogant smimrk.

Slash! Hinata's right arm cut through the air like a fine blade, looking near the corner of the court, exactly where he wanted to hit the ball. He watched the ball spin ever so slightly, before almost coming to a stop right in front of him.

Smack!

Hinata's palm and fingertips made contact with the ball, a snap being heard as the ball crashed onto the other side of the court similar to the force of an avalanche, all cascading down alongside Hinata before he landed on the ground with a smile on his face that'd Kageyama'd seen many times.

The same joyous smile that he'd seen when the two of them would do their quick.

Key word?

Their.

It wasn't Hinata's and Atsumu's.

It was theirs.

It was not Atsumu's. It would never be Miya Atsumu's set. It was theirs, and theirs alone.

Sugawara felt the power of the spike, the way that Atsumu landed with a satisfied smile on his face, and the pain of Hinata playing with such a douchebag without even knowing about his douchey-ness all struck his heart like twenty arrows honing in, moving as fast as missiles.

The others in the gym had their jaws almost drop to the floor, impressed, before everyone caught wind of the Karasuno team in a mad dash towards Atsumu, Aran, and Hinata.

They all snarled at Atsumu, looking more like a pack of wolves more than a murder of crows. He felt like he was being watched, every detail of his body scrutinized.

So this is what people feel like when they play Nekoma?

As Hinata cried out in protest as his team got in between him and Atsumu defensively, they took a step back.

"Hey! I'm practicing!" Hinata whined, trying to dig through the wall of his team before yanked back into Tanaka's arms, who held him defensively.

"You were practicing," Nishinoya corrected, hitting Atsumu with a ferocious glare. It was almost comical how they disregarded Aran's presence, as if he wasn't even a top 5 ace in the first place. "And you aren't practicing any more, especially not with someone like...this." He spat the last word out venomously, as if murderous intent was laced somewhere in there.

"What do you mean, Nishinoya-senpai?" Hinata tilted his head naively. "Atsumu's awesome! And his sets are so cool! Bakayama! Did you know that he can do our quick too?!"

And with that, something in Kageyama's head snapped, driving the rest of the team outside of the gym and far away from Atsumu, presumably back to their hotel, leaving the setter and ace of Inarizaki in the dust.

Aran sighed, before an amused smile wormed its way onto their face, "I mean, I guess we should've expected that."

Atsumu whistled, chuckling lightly, "Yeah, we should've. It's fine, though. I got Shouyou-kun's number, so I can end up texting him about whether or not he wants to practice again."

"Doesn't he live in Miyagi?" Aran questioned, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"It's fine, it's fine," Atsumu waved it off. "I'm the top setter in Japan. I've gotta have some sort of influence, I think. Or at least get a fan to drive me there for a signature or something."

Aran snorted, "Don't let that get to your head."

Ah yes, the Atsumu.

I'll be getting to the Tsukkiyama prompt next!

Sincerely,

SpiritBloodDragon