Disclaimer: I do not own Haikyuu! or anything associated with it. I only own the OC's Akumu Yuki and Akumu Shiro. All rights go to Haruichi Furudate.

A/N: Hello again my snowflakes~ It has been a while, my apologies. Here's a long chapter to make up for it! Also if there are any confusions with the story please feel free to ask. I've been writing this story for myself and my friend, so there might be parts that I forget to clarify. Also this scene starts right after Yuki gets pulled from the match because she wasn't giving proper sets to her team. There's a familiar character in this chapter too! Enjoy~

Somewhere in the audience…

"I thought you said she was a really good setter." A grey haired boy asked the tall black haired boy sitting next to him.

Honestly, Kuroo had no idea why the other boy was still with them. After the match, he had bugged Kuroo, and by association, Kenma, for a one-on-one match. When Kuroo had told him they needed to stay and watch their friend play, he had insisted on staying and waiting with them, determined to get his rematch with Kuroo.

"She is…" Kuroo trailed off looking worried. Even Kenma had stopped his game when he realized what was happening. "I don't know what's wrong."

"Maybe she's worried about Shiro?" Kenma speculated. His cat-like eyes tracked the white haired girl as she sat down on the bench after her failed set. It had been far too quick for anyone at the middle school level to hit. Normally, Yuki's sets were controlled with just the right amount of height and positioning. She even spun it a certain way for Shiro. He couldn't imagine how she was choking this badly.

"I think it's more than that." Kuroo replied with narrowed eyes. He wanted to run down there and ask her what was wrong or just shake her until she returned to her normal self. The girl standing down there right now was not the girl he knew. She seemed so unsure of herself and her playing. While she was normally calculated, she never over thought things like this before.

Bokuto could tell the two were genuinely concerned for their friend, so he opted to stay quiet for once. As he looked down at the girl's court at the white haired girl, he couldn't help but cheer in his head, You've got this.

A little while after the time out…

13-22.

They had fallen so far behind. The points they were scoring were mostly service aces from Yuki's jump serves, the occasional setter dump, or the rare moments when the set was just enough for a decent spike to get through. All the points lost, however, seemed to all stem from the same problem: the set.

Yuki was not taking it well. As the game wore on, her sets were getting worse. They were always either too fast or too low. Sometimes she would forget to call out and the spikers would be too late. Others she accidentally added too much spin and the ball would fly out of control. Then, of course, there were all the balls that were shut down by the blockers.

It was the other team's serve. Yuki panted softly. The ringing was still present, but she had managed to push it to the back of her head. Her breathing was out of sync, but she couldn't do anything. The whistle blew. The serve was hit.

"Chance ball!" Hiro called to her.

Running up, she looked at the ball, but the flash of the blockers caught her attention. Trying to look around, she attempted to make note of which spiker was where so she could give them a warning. Before she knew it, the ball was in her hand, but she had yet to determine where to send the ball. Hesitating for a second, she sent it to Emiko for a back attack which managed to make it past the scrambling blockers who had expected a right spike from the pink haired captain.

Before her team could celebrate, the whistle sounded again and they saw the ref holding out his hand to the opponents. Yuki's hesitation had been counted as holding the ball, so the other team got the point. The whole team's attitude fell again, especially Yuki's who was staring intensely into the ground.

It's like I forgot how to set. She gritted her teeth with worry. What do I do? What do I do?

She didn't dare look up. The last thing she wanted to see right now were the disappointed looks of her teammates. She barely heard the whistle blowing signaling for the other team to serve. Trying to focus, she took in shallow breaths and watched for the receive. Tracking the ball, she ran up and bent her legs for the jump. Suddenly, the ringing that had been persistent yet quiet buzzed loudly in her ears. Feeling the vertigo, Yuki's feet refused to leave the ground and she watched as the ball slipped past her finger tips and fell to the floor.

Heat flushed her face from embarrassment and shame. She had missed the set. For the first time ever, she had let the ball fall. Not even her teammates could say anything at this point. The last point passed by in a haze for Yuki. She didn't even remember the ball ever coming to her. Not that she blamed her teammates. If she didn't have any faith in herself, how could her teammates?

As they walked over to the bench for the quick break before the next set, she saw the back up setter already standing next to the coach all warmed up. Nodding her head dazedly to her, she simply grabbed her towel and water bottle and walked over to the other back up players.

"You really screwed that set up for us, ice princess." Sen gibed, tossing her red pony tail over her shoulder with a smug look on her face.

"Oi, Sen. Not now." One of the others chided the second year.

Yuki didn't say anything. She just sat there with her towel over her head. The second set flew by. Her team had lost, though it was closer than the first set had been. It had nearly been a deuce, but the other team managed to hold a 3 point win streak at the end, winning them the game.

As she warmed down with the others, Yuki apologized quietly. A few told her it was okay while others, like Emiko, simply tsked and looked away in anger. After they finished, Yuki gathered her things and started to walk out of the gym.

"Kitten! Wait up!" A familiar voice called.

Not wanting to face her friend after such a disappointing play, she pretended not to hear and walked faster; nevertheless, it was all in vain as a large hand clamped down on her shoulder making her turn around to face the messy bedhead and the gamer boy along with the strange grey haired boy from the other team.

Seeing her facial expression, Kuroo grabbed her hand and dragged her to a quieter place. Pulling her into a hug, he pretended not to hear the quiet sniffles as he felt the front of his jacket get slightly damp. "I'm not going to tell you that was a good game. I just want to remind you that you are more than just this game. Yes, you sucked just now." He told her bluntly before continuing in a more soothing voice, "But there were so many games before this that you were amazing. You are a great setter okay? Shiro's spikes are as amazing as they are partially because she has you as a setter. So don't let this get you down."

Yuki didn't have the strength for words, so she just nodded her head into his chest. She tightened her hold on his waist wanting to take comfort in his presence for just a little longer. She still felt like shit about the game, but Kuroo's words managed to make her feel a little better. The hug definitely helped.

"Thanks Kuroo." She mumbled, pulling back from the embrace. "Congrats on winning your game by the way. I loved your last block especially."

"Ready to go back?" He asked her gently. He pretended to ignore the rush of pride and warmth he felt when she mentioned his block. "There's a really annoying guy who wants to meet you for some reason."

"Ritaki wing spiker? What does he want with me?"

Kuroo shrugged. "He wants to go a rematch with me because I took down his last spike, so he watched your match with us."

Yuki winced as she recalled the awful match. She wasn't sure she was up to meet a stranger right now, but she also didn't want to get in the way of a blooming rivalry for Kuroo. She could see the two becoming good friends. Rubbing her eyes one more time to get rid of the last tear streaks, she turned to Kuroo ans asked, "Can you tell I was crying?"

"Nope! You look just as pretty as usual." Kuroo said before tensing up. He hadn't meant to let the second part slip out. Luckily, Yuki seemed to take it as his usual teasing remark and just gave him a deadpan stare before walking over to Kenma who was playing on his PSP while Bokuto tried to gain his attention.

"Hey, Akumu-san." Kenma greeted her as she reached within hearing range. "How's Shiro doing?"

"She's fine. She just has a fever." Yuki informed him. "Thanks for staying to watch my game, Kenma-san."

"Mm." He shrugged off her thank you knowing it was because she felt guilty that she had performed so badly. Treating her any different would probably just make her feel worse.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" A loud voice interrupted them. "I'm Bokuto Kotaro! I watched your game too! Your jump serves are really cool!"

Yuki blushed a little at the praise. "Thank you, Bokuto-san. You have an amazing spike. I was impressed."

Bokuto's golden eyes started to sparkle with excitement, "I know right? My spikes are awesome! That's why I'm going to become the ace." He struck a pose by flexing his arms, trying to show off his amazingness.

Yuki gave a half chuckle at his enthusiasm. It was kind of adorable; however, she shirked away at his disregard for her personal space. He was much taller than her, so it felt a little intimidating, especially with his excited temperament.

"Oi, Bokuto-san. Please back up. Yuki's tired from the match." Kuroo told him off for her.

"Oh, sorry, Yuki-san." Turning to his target, the owl haired boy smirked, "So, are you up for a match?"

Kuroo simply sighed, "Fine, let's go."

When they arrived, Bokuto immediately ran out onto the court. Setting down his bag, Kuroo looked skeptically at the large court. He was still tired from their match; he didn't understand how the grey haired boy could still run around like that.

"Why don't you just practice your spikes against my blocks? Your spikes are really easy to handle anyway." Kuroo taunted hoping the other boy would take the bait. Lo and behold, Bokuto did exactly that.

"Just watch, I'll blow through your block completely." Turning to the two setters, he looked directly at the white haired girl, "Can you set for me Yuki?"

The addressed girl flinched in surprise. "Why do you want me to set for you?"

"You're a setter right?" Bokuto asked with a slight tilt of his head, not comprehending the deeper meaning in her question. After her match, Yuki had lost all confidence in her setting for anyone except her little sister. Yet, somehow, here was this stranger, who had seen her fail, yet he still wanted her to set for him?

"O-okay." She agreed hesitantly.

"Yay!" Bokuto cheered in excitement. "Let's crush him Yuki-chan!"

Yuki just smiled nervously at the excitable boy. He really was a handful.

Seeing the two, Kuroo tried to hide his clenched jaw. The irked feeling was back. Now he wanted nothing more than to separate the two and show Yuki who was the better volleyball player. Unable to say any of that, he simply lowered his voice to a threatening tone and goaded, "Bring it."

Yuki grabbed the ball and handed it to Bokuto to throw for her. As she watched the ball fly to her, she froze, seeing the same scene in her memories, hearing the ball hitting the floor from the block. As the ball landed her hands, she awkwardly tossed the ball in the grey haired boy's direction.

Bam...

Yuki winced at the sound of the ball being shut down.

Not looking at the spiker, she whispered, "Sorry. I'll do the next one better."

Bokuto didn't seem to hear her and was staring dejectedly at his hand. His hair seemed to droop in his disappointment, but it didn't last long. Seeing the quick change in his emotional state, Kuroo smirked and continued to provoke the other boy, "Giving up so soon? I can't believe you guys even made it to the third set with us."

The insult seemed to perk Bokuto right up as he shouted back at the messy haired boy. Yuki chose to stay silent during all of this, instead reminding herself to focus. She knew the set just now was very off, but now she also had a better understanding of Bokuto as a spiker.

As the ball hit her hands this time, she tossed it with a little more strength. Her emerald eyes followed the ball as it flew in front of her in an arc. A flash of grey appeared. The smack of a hand against the ball.

Bam

It was another shut down.

She could hear Kuroo provoking Bokuto further, but she was too focused on the sound of the ball hitting the floor. It was the same as the match. The ball hadn't sounded right. It didn't have the satisfying Bang of a proper spike, and it was all her fault.

"One more time!" A cry broke her from her thoughts.

She snapped her head up in surprise. Bokuto wasn't angry with her. He didn't blame her at all. In fact, he looked almost apologetically in her direction. It seemed that the simple minded boy didn't understand that it was the setter's job to give a perfect toss for the spiker to make it past the blockers.

Determined to give him the set he deserved, Yuki quickly analyzed the two previous sets before preparing for the next one. This time when the ball landed in her hands, she felt a little more confident. Setting it with a little more strength and height than before, she watched as the ball hit Kuroo's hand but with a little give from the skilled blocker. She could see a little surprise and grimace on his face at that spike.

That one was better than before. Yuki thought with relief and happiness.

"One more!"

Yuki was more than willing to comply.

They continued for another fifteen minutes. Bokuto throwing the ball to Yuki for her to set for him while Kuroo shut out every single one.

After a particularly good toss and spike, Bokuto, in his excitement, rushed the throw before Yuki was ready. She had been in the middle of her analysis to get Bokuto the perfect set when she heard him running up for the spike. Looking up, she saw the ball right about to land on her head, so she quickly threw up her arms and set the ball off instinct.

Crap

The set was meant for Shiro. She watched as Bokuto swung, barely grazing the ball. He looked down at the ball then looked at Yuki with a confused expression on his face. Despair and embarrassment filled her. There was no way he wasn't mad at her for that; no one except Shiro could use that type of set.

"What was that?" There was no anger in his voice. No accusation. No annoyance. Just pure curiosity.

"So-sorry." She mumbled out. "I usually set for my little sister, and she's left-handed. I wasn't ready, so I just set instinctively. I'll do better next time. I'm sorry." As she continued talking, she shrunk in on herself. Her hair was blanketing her face to hide the shame and tears starting to prick her eyes.

Bokuto nodded along slowly, but spoke up again. "No, I mean the ball felt different when I hit it. Like it was really strange."

Kuroo's eyes lit up as he figured out what had happened. "Oh, that was the spin."

"Spin?"

"Yeah. Yuki sets Shiro's balls with a spin so they're a little stronger because Shiro doesn't have the strength to hit an ace spike yet."

Bokuto's eyes started shining with excitement at the explanation. "Does this mean I can spike stronger with a spin too?"

Yuki shyly looked up, "I-I think so? I would have to change the spin for a right handed person, but the theory is the same." The calculations were already playing out in her head. If she just spun in the opposite direction and set the ball farther for a right-handed person to hit, the result should be the same.

"Can you set it like that for me, Yuki-chan?" He asked her, rushing up to her and holding both her hands in his. His hopeful puppy-like face made it hard for her to say no.

"I can try."

Suddenly, a hand came between them and pushed Bokuto away. "Come on." Kuroo said with an annoyed tone. "I thought you wanted to blow away my block."

Bokuto smirked at Kuroo in confidence. "I definitely will now!"

Yuki took a deep breath. She focused on the air coming in and slowly leaving her body, refocusing her attention. With a cleared head, she opened her emerald eyes. Kuroo could see the shift in her and readied himself for a strong spike. So far, Yuki's sets have been off, so Bokuto's spikes haven't been as strong as they could be.

"Here we go!" Bokuto yelled before throwing the ball. Watching the ball spin in the air, Yuki lifted her arms and jumped slightly, meeting the ball halfway. As soon as it landed in her hands, she tossed it, adding the spin. She felt herself descend, but she was focused on the ball as it flew towards Bokuto in a perfect arc. The grey haired spiker ran and leaped into the air along with Kuroo who set his arms into a strong block.

Bang!

Yuki felt herself grin widely at the sound of a beautiful spike hitting the ground. Kuroo landed on his feet with a slightly surprised look on his face as he rubbed his sore fingers. Bokuto cried his usual Hey! Hey! Hey! before running up to the white haired girl.

Yuki was staring at the spot the ball hit with a delighted expression on her face before she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her and lift her off the ground into a bone crushing hug.

"That was so cool! Let's try again!" Bokuto cried. The spike had been at least twice as powerful as his usual one, and it had completely blown Kuroo's block away. It was so satisfying.

The black haired boy watched with an annoyed expression at the sight of his friend being hugged by the excitable spiker. "Bokuto put her down. You're going to crush her."

"Sorry." the boy apologized to her as he placed her back on the ground. Yuki simply gave him a closed eye smile and said, "It's okay Bokuto-san." She paused before continuing. "Thank you so much." She said softly.

"For what?" His grey hair fell a little as he tilted his head in confusion.

"For giving me back some of my confidence."

She gave him a light hug but quickly let go when she spotted Kenma holding out her phone to her showing Shiro's contact number calling. Rushing over, she picked up the phone in worry.

"Shii-chan. What happened?"

"So weak. Help." Shiro croaked through the phone.

"Hold on. I'll be home in ten minutes. Just hang on okay?" Yuki turned frantically to the boys. Kenma was already standing. His PSP was actually put away in his bag, and he had a worried expression on his face.

"Kuroo, we have to go. Shiro needs help."

Kuroo rushed over as well with Bokuto on his heels. "What happened? Is she going to be okay?"

"I don't know, but I have to leave now. It was nice to meet you Bokuto-san. Let's meet up again soon." She quickly bid farewell to the other boy giving him one last smile before dashing off in the direction of her home. Her two friends were close behind her leaving the poor grey haired boy staring in blank confusion at their retreating forms.