"You know, I would've thought you'd be more against dating someone you lost to." Kuroo said idly, scrolling through Oikawa's instagram. "Like, I can see the way your teammates reacted to it."

"To be fair, I had been interested in him since before that match." I pointed out, doing the same thing but with Iwaizumi's account.

"Alright, so no hard feelings whatsoever?"

"I mean…" I hesitated for a moment. "I did have a bit of a grudge against Oikawa. But I really should just get over that. I think I've long since gotten over it, but messing with Oikawa is just a whole lot of fun."

Kuroo hummed. "And you're sure he's gay?"

"Yep."

"A guy this hot?"

"Don't sell yourself short, you're attractive too."

"Oh I'm aware that I'm hot as shit." Kuroo waved my comment off. "Just that Oikawa is like, on another level."

"Good to know you've got an ego."

"Is it an ego if it's true?"

"Yes." I deadpanned, not looking up from my phone.

"Fair."

"What are you two doing?" Daichi walked in the room, judging both of us madly.

"Hey Daichi," I greeted him, "we're free on the 14th right?"

"We are… why?" He definitely sounded suspicious.

"Because we've got a date!" Kuroo chirped in happily.

"A date?" Daichi blinked. "Not… with each other right?"

The man actually sounded rather scared there.

I scoffed. "Of course not, Kuroo's cool and all but he doesn't beat Hajime. No, I set him up with Oikawa."

"...That's worse."

"Literally how?" How could that be worse than me cheating on my boyfriend?

"Ren." Daichi took a deep breath. "Think about it. Kuroo… and Oikawa. What does that equal?"

I thought about it for a few moments. I was missing something here, I could tell that much but I couldn't find what just yet. What was the problem with Kuroo and Oikawa dating, aside from the long distance?

Maybe I should think about… their… personalities….

Ah.

"I see the problem." I turned to Kuroo. "I don't suppose I can set you up with anyone else?"

"Too late for that!" Kuroo cackled. "Your idea, your responsibility."

"I hate seeing the consequences of my own actions." I murmured under my breath. "They're annoying."

"You are quite possibly the weirdest person I've ever met." Daichi remarked. "You two can leave on the 14th but that's not today. So get back to practice."

That last sentence oozed Daichi's dad energy. Which basically meant that I had to move my ass or face the consequences. And well, as fun as it could be to annoy Daichi, I could tell that he had a lot on his plate and I wasn't about to make it worse.

Did Daichi feel bad about us being behind the other teams in terms of strength?

That's not good… We've had a lot less experience than the other teams at this camp so there's absolutely no way for us to compare ourselves. More importantly, we're here to learn not to defeat everyone. I mean, that would be nice, but it's just not going to happen. Especially without the Freak Quick.

Maybe I should talk to him about that…

You know what? I will.

"Hey Daichi, can we talk?" I asked the same day just after dinner.

He blinked at me. "Uh… sure."

I led him away from the rest of the group, just behind one of the gyms that no one tended to use. Knowing that our team was hella nosy, I was no different after all, I made sure that no one followed us.

"What's this about?" Daichi asked, sounding slightly concerned for me.

For me. Bah, I'm here asking about him!

I sighed deeply. "Are you okay? You've been more… tense than usual."

Daichi looked awfully surprised at my question, like he couldn't believe someone would ask about his wellbeing. Now that just wouldn't do.

"What brought this on?"

"I'm just a bit worried." I explained. "You're doing your best for the team as always but I just get the feeling that something's bothering you. You know you can talk to me, right?"

"Ren…" Daichi seemed to be at a loss for words. "I… uh… well, it's a bit awkward to admit but… I'm worried."

"Worried?" I prompted him further. "About what?"

"About us, I guess. We haven't had this many people in the club since before our first year and it's the first time that I've experienced a coach that doesn't want to give up on us. We made it to the quarter finals but… I can't help but worry. Worry that things will go back to the way they were last year. I know that it's- well, it's unlikely to say the least but…" Daichi sighed deeply. "Then there's the fact that we're so far behind the other teams here. I feel like I should be better, like we won't catch up."

Yeah, I had thought that he was worrying about all of that.

I shrugged. "Well the inexperience thing is just that, inexperience. We haven't had nearly the amount of chances to improve ourselves compared to these guys. Hell, we had to fight to even get to practice after class! But I think you're missing something."

"What's that then?" Daichi looked at me curiously.

"Look at our skill levels and our experience, what do you see?" I smiled. "We might have a whole lot less experience, but we can still keep up with some of the most elite schools in Tokyo. Karasuno is amazing despite our experience, hell, I'm pretty sure we're amazing because of our inexperience!"

Understanding started the show on Daichi's face. "You mean…?"

I spread my arms dramatically. "Look at the teams around us! Nekoma? Defensive pros, no doubt about that. Fukurodani are an offensive menace. Datekou? Masters of the read block. Seijo has incredible combination plays. And what do we have? Absolutely nothing! And It's amazing! All those other teams have styles they stick to, they're stuck doing the same exact things over and over again, even if their players aren't the best at that particular thing! But us? We're changing. The super quick can be blocked now? Well it's a damn good thing Kageyama and Shoyo are working hard to create a new and better one! One attacker is easily blocked? Alright, we'll just throw more at you! Karasuno isn't glued to a single niche, we're not stuck doing the same things, our entire playing style isn't dependent on such a thing. We can change, we keep changing according to who we play and that's something that other teams hate."

Daichi gained a grin. "If our serves need work then we will learn to do new ones, like Asahi and Yamaguchi are. If our receives are getting sloppy then the two of us and Nishinoya will refine them to perfection. Tsukishima is learning how to block from Kuroo, I saw that Tanaka took inspiration from Bokuto and is learning those super sharp crosses. That's Karasuno…"

"Karasuno's style is change." I lowered my arms again. "The moment we stop changing, when we stop adapting, that's when we lose. We strive for new things, not necessarily for perfection. We are the jack of all trades of volleyball."

"Honestly, Ren…" Daichi shook his head, a fond smile on his face. "Sometimes you really amaze me."

I laughed. "Thanks!"

"Really though, thank you. I needed that." Daichi grabbed my shoulder. "Now then, I need to show you that your jump serves still suck. Serve some will you?"

"That's just plain rude! But sure."

"Oh wow, you actually have style. I'm surprised." I dryly commented as Kuroo and I met up to go to Miyagi on the 14th.

He snorted. "Rude. I'll have you know I'm incredibly stylish."

"Sure you are."

The two of us boarded the train and I delightfully teased Kuroo about his nerves. He and Oikawa hadn't met before after all, so I could understand the nervousness. It wasn't like Oikawa had no idea who he was going on a date with though, and Hajime had said that Oikawa had approved, so I didn't fully get it. Maybe it was just because Oikawa's so pretty. That was probably it.

They seemed like a good match to me though, so I wasn't too worried about their compatibility. If anything I was worried about Oikawa's reaction to me. He knew that Hajime was dating me, I made sure of that because I didn't really want him to remain in the unknown after learning that Oikawa didn't even know Hajime had befriended me. I didn't want to be known to him as the person who took away his best friend, even if that would never happen.

Oikawa and Iwaizumi were far too iconic for me to dare to seperate them.

Oikawa didn't know that however, and there was the fact that I intended to apologize for my behavior towards him. Something that was long overdue.

I had called him childish and then proceeded to be even more childish as revenge. I did not live twice to act like that. Hence the need to make up with him. He might not forgive me, but that's entirely up to him and if he doesn't… Well, that'll be that. I'll just have to do better.

"I was going to just take Hajime to this place," I started up a conversation, "but I figured; why the hell not?"

"Cat cafes are pretty great." Kuroo admitted. "I've been to a few in Tokyo so I'm curious to see if the ones in Miyagi are comparable."

"The food is probably a whole lot cheaper."

"Probably. Rent in Tokyo is expensive. What I care about more are the cats themselves, if they're friendly enough."

"They are." I told him. "I've been multiple times already, the cats just flock to people but I think that mostly has to do with the snacks people usually have."

"Yeah that makes sense."

It took a bit of prying on my part, didn't want to spoil the surprise after all, but I managed to learn that Oikawa loved cats from Hajime. Which was a good thing, it'd be bad if I took him to a place that he'd hate in order to make up with him.

The train ride took a few hours, during which time Kuroo and I talked about a whole lot of things. Mostly either related to volleyball or our double date.

The most fun thing was that no one was judging us as we talked about it. The other passengers knew that we were going on a date, but because we were clearly talking about different partners they knew it was a double date and they all just assumed the other two were girls. Sike! We're gay!

Eventually we arrived back in Miyagi, well back for me and new for Kuroo but shush.

"Damn, this station's small." Was the first thing out of Kuroo's mouth.

I snorted. "That's because you're used to Tokyo, this is normal here in the countryside. Actually, it's pretty big for this area."

Kuroo gave me an odd look. "This is considered big for you? No wonder you guys were so overwhelmed in Tokyo."

We started walking towards the end of the station, where Hajime and Oikawa were waiting for us.

"Hajime!" I called out happily the moment I saw him.

He turned around and waved to me with a smile on his face, Oikawa right by his side.

"Hey," He greeted me properly, "how was the camp?"

"You say that as though it's over."

Kuroo laughed. "Yeah, you've got about 2 more weeks of penalties to go."

I glared at his assumption that Karasuno would lose every single set. Which had pretty much happened until now but he didn't have to say it!

"Penalties?" Oikawa asked.

Kuroo smiled. "It's a rule at camp to do a round of penalties if you lose a set and uh… how many sets has Karasuno won? Was it… 1?"

"2 actually." I grumbled. "You don't have to bring that up, you twat."

Oikawa laughed at my misery together with Kuroo, instantly telling me that they'd get along great even if it was through my misery.

Hajime's a great boyfriend though and gave me a comforting hug. "You can do this. I believe in you."

A good Hajime hug is more than enough to cheer me up on a bad day, it does wonders when I've only been mildly teased.

There's nothing quite like the feeling of strong arms enveloping your entire body and being warm in every inch of your body. Hajime is a great hugger.

"Alright," I stepped out of the embrace, "who's ready to pet some cats?"

"Cats?" Oikawa's eyes seemed to light up a bit.

I nodded. "There's this nice cat cafe nearby and they serve some damn good coffee, it's perfect."

Iwaizumi smiled at my happiness. "What're we waiting for? Let's go."