A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry for the long wait, but I'm finally back with a new chapter. After Jiro explained what his condition is, the team travelled to Tokyo to start the National Championship. Karasuno girls' volleyball team is facing this chapter its first opponent. I'm not a volleyball expert and my English writing skills are far from good, so I'll keep it simple and the matches won't last long. Anyway hope you enjoy the reading and thanks for the reviews!

I do not own Haikyuu or its characters

CHAPTER FOURTY FIVE
The beast awakens

Nagisa sat in the armchair next to the bed. He turned on the television and changed channels until he found the broadcast. It was still early, but they had already connected to the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, where everything was already prepared for the opening ceremony of the national championship.

"Ahh... I'm so envious. I wish I was there," whined Jiro.

"You could have been there if you hadn't been stubborn and hadn't kept your mouth shut"

Jiro glanced at Nagisa. His friend had his eyes glued to the televisión screen. "You're mad at me because of Noa, aren't you?"

"I'm mad at you because you thought you could do everything by yourself and you didn't take proper care of yourself, even though I warned you"

Jiro shighed.

"But the truth is that I'm actually worried about Noa-san," Nagisa confessed after a long pause. Jiro was surprised, because that was the first time Nagisa was honest with him about her.

"Since when are you on a first name basis?" Jiro joked, trying to take some of the heat out of the issue.

"Since I've come to terms with my feelings towards her," Nagisa turned to look at him. He was being serious.

"I know. Furi-chan told me and Mayu-san what happened on New Year's"

"I wanted her to focus on the championship, so I didn't tell her exactly how I feel about her. But you, on the other hand, ended that stability that I wanted to keep"

Jiro blinked several times and then chuckled. "How little do you know her..."

"About as long as you," Nagisa frowned.

"But I've spent more time with her. Furi-chan is very easy to read and she may have feelings for you too, but she has never thought about it. And she won't see you the same way you see her if you think she doesn't take volleyball seriously enough to be unsettled by you -or any guy- confessing"

"Noa-san-"

"She's not weak. She's just having a hard time bringing out her full potential," he cut Nagisa off. "You haven't seen her play in official championships, but I have." Jiro fixed his eyes on Nagisa's. When he had been in the United States, he had discovered Noa on television, playing a beach volleyball match. He had been so fascinated by her level of performance and competitiveness that he had searched for more videos of her on the internet. So he knew what she was capable of.

"I'm not sure of what you mean. Is it that Noa-san plays differently depending on the situation?"

"When the game starts, you'll know"

Noa wasn't the kind of player the others thought she was.

…

Noa could feel the stares of the rest of her teammates on the back of her neck during the subway ride. The atmosphere was heavy, everyone was silent, and she kept her head down. That morning, Noa felt physically quite well. Her dinner wasn't heavy, so she had slept well, and the previous day's stretching had helped her legs feel lighter. However, she hadn't opened her mouth except to say good morning. But unlike what her teammates probably thought, she wasn't still thinking about Jiro.

Earlier that morning she had woken up to a message from the manager.

Today you're going to shine

It was a simple but effective text message. It encouraged Noa and, above all, and strangely enough, it had given her a high level of concentration, something she hadn't felt for a long time.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium was packed with people, students who like them were excited and nervous to start the championship. They thought they might run into the boys from the Karasuno volleyball club, but no matter how hard they tried to catch a glimpse of them in the crowd, it was impossible. Who they did see were the girls from Niiyama. The group enthusiastically went over to greet them and stayed with them the whole time, explaining how the opening ceremony worked and what exactly they had to do.

Yui didn't separate from Niiyama's captain, as Karasuno would go out after them. They could all sense that Yui was on edge. Her hands were so sweaty that she felt the sign slipping out of her hands again and again, so throughout the ceremony she held it tightly, while Noriko behind her quietly instilled words of encouragement.

Without any doubt, the gym was imposing, much more than they could have imagined. Noa looked up. The ceiling was very high and had many lights lined up along its length. It wouldn't be easy to get used to it, so she spent most of the ceremony looking up every few minutes to fix her eyes on it.

"You seem distracted," Mayu told her when they were already in the hallway of the gymnasium, after the ceremony.

"I'm not. I'm just trying to get used to the ceiling"

"To the ceiling?" Mayu tilted her head.

"Noa-san is right," Hatsue spoke. The girls stood around her to listen to the coach. "Ukai-san warned me, that the ceiling would be our first enemy. As you can see, the Tokyo Metropolitan Gym is a hell of a lot bigger than the one we have in Sendai. In addition to the larger space, we have to add the higher ceiling, which has spotlights that extend the length of the gym. It will affect you when doing jump serves or tossing the ball"

"So in conclusion it will affect our perception of distances," concluded Ayako.

"That's right. The good thing is that our first opponents are just as inexperienced as we are. It's their first time in the championship, so we're all starting from the same base"

The team entered the secondary arena. The gymnasium was quite a bit smaller, although all the seats were full. They were one of the first matches of that day. Afterwards other schools played, and some of them must have been big because they had cheerleaders and a marching band.

"Don't pay too much attention to them," Hatsue advised them before her players began their warm-up. "You'll be nervous because it's your debut and we can't say for sure that any good is expected of us, but I really think you can do well. Use the early stages of the game to adapt to your new surroundings"

The team nodded with determination. During the warm-up, all of them barely talked. The atmosphere was heavy, but Noa noticed that from their opponents as well. According to the data the coach had collected, Beppu Shousei High was a team with few members, just like them. They were all consistent players, with no one standing out in particular, but all sharing the same level. Perhaps that balance was what had brought them so far that year. Although they had not earned their place 100%, again just like them.

Noa looked around. There were television cameras at various points in the gymnasium. She was used to beach volleyball championships which were sometimes broadcasted, but she didn't know that in Japan there was such a high level of deployment for broadcasting a national championship as well. She felt a tingling in her stomach, something she hadn't felt in a long time.

When the warm-up time was over, everyone formed a circle.

"We have to win this match," Yui said full of determination. "We must win this first match for Aoyama-kun, because he can't be here today"

"All the points we score today will be to honor him," Noriko patted Chizuko on the back, who smiled. Next, they turned to look at Noa and smiled trying to reassure her, but Noa didn't even flinch.

"Okay..." Yui followed, trying to overlook Noa's apathy. They stretched their arms out in front of them. "Karasuno..."

"FIGHT!" Everyone yelled at the same time.

KARASUNO HIGH

Michimiya (3rd year – WS) | Furihata (1st year – WS) | Oka (2nd year – MB)/Shiraiwa - 2nd year – L)

Harada (2nd year - S) | Harada (2nd year - MB) | Nagano (3rd year – WS)

NET

BEPPU SHOUSEI HIGH

Ishikawa (3rd year – S) | Nishimiya (3rd year – MB) | Takada (2nd year – WS)

Ishida (3rd year – WS) | Sakisaka (3rd year – MB)/Yoshida (3rd year – L) | Yamashita (2nd year – WS)

The match started with Beppu Shousei serving. Yamashita made a normal serve, which Chizuko received with ease. The ball came to Ayako, who quickly tossed the ball to Yui. However, as the setter looked up to set up the ball, her eyes were blinded by the spotlight and the toss wasn't accurate. Yui finished it off using her fingertips. The shot wasn't good enough, and Yoshida received the ball. Ishikawa tossed it and Yamashita scored the first point of the match.

"Shit," Ayako gritted her teeth.

"Don't mind," Yui encouraged her. "We'll get used to it"

1-0

My hands are shaking, Takada, the opposing team's wing spiker, had to serve. She tried to breathe, but she was running out of time and her heartbeat wouldn't slow down. She tried to adjust her serve, but she couldn't control her nerves and her serve came up short, hitting the net.

1-1

It was Ayako's turn to serve. The ball flew over the net to be received by Yoshida. Ishikawa moved to get under the ball and toss it to Ishida. Chizuko and Ayaka jumped to block the spike and indeed Ayaka's palm touched the ball, but her hands weren't steady, and the ball slipped into Karasuno's half.

"What the hell?" The coach muttered. It was an easy spike to stop. Since when did Ayaka's hands look like butter?

2-1

Nishimiya put the ball on the move for Beppu Shousei. The girl made a jump serve that was received by Chizuko. The middle blocker failed to accommodate the ball well, so the ball went up in the air erratically. Ayako moved to get under its trajectory and tossed it for Noriko to spike again, but the light from the floodlights blinded her again. The ball was once again going too high. Noriko on this occasion was able to foresee its trajectory and grasped it with her fingertips, not wanting to give it too much force, simply to get it over the barrier. Takada dived, but failed to lift the ball high enough and it hit the net.

2-2

Hatsue clicked her tongue. Both teams were putting on a sorry show. Their inexperience in official high-leveled championships was evident. They were all nervous, space was working against them and the points scored were the result of mistakes.

It was clear to the coach, and from the look on Beppu Shousei coach's face, she knew it was also clear to him. The first team to score two points in a row would be the one to win the game. All they needed was for one of their players to finally focus on the game.

KARASUNO HIGH

Furihata (1st year – WS) | Shiraiwa - 2nd year – L) | Nagano (3rd year – WS)

Michimiya (3rd year – WS) | Harada (2nd year - S) | Harada (2nd year - MB)

NET

BEPPU SHOUSEI HIGH

Yamashita (2nd year – WS) | Sakisaka (3rd year – MB) | Ishida (3rd year – WS)

Takada (2nd year – WS) | Nishimiya (3rd year – MB) | Ishikawa (3rd year – S)

5-5

Karasuno had managed to even the score thanks to a spike from Yui, which meant that it was Noa's turn to serve. Up to this point she had hardly been involved in the match, but it wasn't because she was actually hiding, but because Noa was aware that if she didn't get used to the new environment, they wouldn't be able to win.

Noa took the ball in both hands and spun it around. The sound of the crowd, even if they weren't cheering for her, the pilot of the red cameras, even if they weren't pointed at her, brought back feelings she thought she had lost in Japan. She missed being on the spotlight, and if no one noticed her, then she would make them notice her.

She shot a quick glance at the bench. Hatsue flinched because she noticed a certain glint in Noa's eyes that she had seen before. It was exactly the look her mother had when she competed in water polo.

Noa performed the same ritual she had seen Ushijima perform so many times during their practice together. She tossed the ball and waited for the ball to hit its peak. When she did her approach, her arms swung back and then forward to propel her up, arms lifted, attacking hand pulled back by her ear, eye contact with the ball, making sure to follow and flick the wrist to add topspin. She held some air while hitting the ball, which crossed the court at lighting speed, landing right in the corner.

5-6

The Beppu Shousei players didn't even move from their spot.

"W-What?" Nishimiya muttered. They hadn't seen it coming. They weren't even aware that Noa had such a powerful serve. In the few match videos they had seen she couldn't control her strength well.

"It's fine. Don't worry," Ishikawa told her. She will fail the next one.

Nishimiya nodded. But she had the impression that the Noa in front of them was not the same as the one in the videos.

Noa repeated the same ritual. She held her breath as she hit the ball hard. Ishikawa warned her teammates that she would receive. She stretched out her arms, but the serve was so powerful that the ball hit her forearms and flew off the court.

5-7

"Yesss!" Chizuko, Tomone and Yoshino cheered. "One more point, Noa-san!"

Hatsue smirked. She thought the pressure might also get to Noa, but surprisingly she seemed very calm and serious.

"Have you seen that?" A boy in the crowd asked his friends. "What two serves! I thought she'd rip her arm off. She's so short, but how strong she is!"

"It must have been mere luck," replied one of his friends. "Those two teams are the worst in the championship by far"

Noa served again. Ishikawa again asked to let her receive and this time she managed to do better, although she fell on her backside due to inertia. Yamashita positioned herself to pass the ball to one of her teammates. Ishida, the team ace, finished off.

"One touch!" Yui yelled.

Mayu received and lifted the ball for Ayako to toss it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Noa raise her arm, asking for the ball. Beppu Shousei was able to read the play and set up three players for the block. Noa shot a cross spike, but they were able to block it with forcefulness.

6-7

"It's okay, Noa-san," Yui encouraged her. "You'll get the next one"

Noa didn't reply to Yui but returned to her position. The opponent had surely studied them, so they knew that she was an expert in cross spikes, that's why they had managed to defend so well. How innocent, Noa thought, licking her lips.

It was Ishida's turn to serve. The ball went close to the net and touched it. It started to fall, but Mayu dived in and managed to lift it.

"Nice cover, Mayu-san!" Ayako saw someone move on the other side of their court. What the...?, she thought as she saw Noa sprinting parallel to the net.

"She's going for Furihata again!" Sakisaka warned Takada and Yamashita to join in a triple block.

Ayako set up the ball. Noa jumped up and hit it full of rage in an insane cut shot that left everyone's mouths agape, including her own teammates.

"Did you see that spike!?" Part of the crowd roared, their attention gradually shifting to what was happening on the match.

Noa smirked. Her opponents might be certain that her specialty was cross-court spikes, but what they didn't know was how many hours Noa had been training and how much time she had spent with Ushijima Wakatoshi, simply watching him move around the court and absorbing much of the confidence that the Shiratorizawa Ace exuded.

6-8

Yui's serve was easily received by Ishida. Beppu Shousei attacked, but Mayu prevented Takada's shot from touching the floor. Karasuno readjusted the team quickly to carry out the counterattack. Ayako once again felt Noa's powerful strength. The first-year didn't need to speak, Ayako could feel her asking for the ball.

Ayako clicked her tongue. They're going to close the cross spike to force her to hit a straight, the setter thought. Noa realized the same thing when she was already in the air. They were forcing her to do a straight and Nishimiya was waiting for it. It wasn't their most defensive formation at the moment, but Beppu Shousei girls were quite agile. Noa had to give them some credit.

Nevertheless, Noa was expecting something like this to happen and couldn't wait to try out her new straight shot, tight to the line and taking advantage of the very little space her opponents were leaving her to spike. Beppu High possibly expected the ball to go out, but the ball went straight down the line, and it landed quickly before Nishimiya managed to reach it.

6-9

"Yes!" Yoshino, Tomone and Chizuko shouted at the same time. Hatsue clenched her fist tightly. Noa had already gone through the ordeal of having to adjust to the new environment and had managed to do it so much faster than she initially thought. She was impressed.

"Have you seen that?" Noa turned to her teammates, who looked at her in surprise. Noa's eyes sparkled with excitement. But they were even more surprised when they saw her start to laugh. It wasn't that she was making fun of their opponent, but it looked like Noa was having a good time, that she was having the time of her life.

The lights, the cameras, the audience, even if they weren't supporting them or even if they weren't the main focus, it all awakened what Noa had been hiding for the past few months. Noa was beginning to look more like the version of herself that she liked so much, that had won so many championships in the United States. And it was all because Noa had regained what her ambition and confidence were fueled by.

"Aaaah…" Noa looked up at the ceiling and grinned. "This is so fun," she added, as she returned to her position.

Her teammates exchanged glances. That was Noa, but at the same time it wasn't like her. They could feel the hunger and excitement for the competition emanating from her. A few hours ago she seemed depressed about Jiro's condition Jiro. How was it possible that now she seemed like a different person? Maybe they had been worried for nothing and all Noa needed was her own time alone to reflect and recover on her own.

For the rest of the match, Noa became a force of nature. She asked for every ball, she played decoy, she defended and all her serves were well executed. It was a strong and renewed Noa, who put the team on her back without any fear and who could fix the mistakes her teammates made because of nerves. That new attitude surprised her teammates, but on the other hand it didn't because they practiced with Noa everyday, they were aware of her potential and knew that something, whatever it was, had been holding her back since she had arrived in Japan. And, as incomprehensible as it might seem to them, Noa had needed the competition to find herself.

Finally, they were only one point away from victory.

"Sorry! Cover!" Yui yelled as she received Beppu Shousei's serve.

"Noriko-san!" shouted Mayu as she saw that she couldn't reach it.

"Got it!"

"Center!" Chizuko asked for the ball. Noriko tosed it for her, but the pass wasn't perfect and Chizuko was blocked. However, Mayu dived, lifting up the ball in the air jumped again and screamed at the top of her lungs, catching the attention again of the blockers, who jumped to stop the attack.

Ayako smirked. She was certain that Chizuko didn't want to stay behind her kouhai, but she had decided to become the decoy. Chizuko made the feint of finishing. However as she and the blockers began to fall, Noa emerged behind her. They had seen those moves many times going over matches, but Noa had been so busy with her individual training that they hadn't had time to try them. And yet Ayako was convinced it would work.

Blaze a path for the Ace, she thought, remembering the phrase the coach had written on that piece of paper that was to become her motto for the championship. Noriko was their current Ace, but Noa was to become the next one.

When the ball hit Noa's palm, she knew she was going to score. She shot hard, centered, and the sound of the ball hitting the wood echoed in the gymnasium.

"Yes!" The coach stood up, clenching her fist. Yoshino, Tomone and Mayu hugged each other before running off to celebrate the victory with their teammates.

"Noa-san?" Tomone asked when she saw Noa with her eyes fixed on the ground. When she looked up, they were all surprised to see her expression. Although Noa was smiling, she gave off the same hunger as that of a hunter.

…

"They won", said Nagisa, looking at the laptop screen. Karasuno girls' game was not on TV, but they could watch it online. The camera was fixed on Noa, whose face wore an expression Nagisa had never seen before.

"I told you", Jiro laughed. "This is the Furi-chan that I was smitten with when I saw her in the United States! I knew she had to come out sooner or later and I know the coach did too"

"Is that why she practiced with Ushijima-san?"

"In part. I think Mori-san sensed that Furi-chan could learn a lot from him and regain some of that self-confidence. But the truth is that Furi-chan is a predator"

"Don't say it that way," Nagisa frowned.

"I mean that as a good thing. Furi-chan thrives on the attention of the public, on the tension of the atmosphere, on the competitiveness," Jiro paused. "What the National Championship has done is to awaken the beast that was sleeping. And I can't wait to see her continue to grow in the championship"

Well, Noa has finally overcome her fears. What she needed was the thrill of competing. Their first match has been a lot easier than expected, but we'll see how far our girls are going to make it in the championship.

See you next time!