OMG, THE NEW EPISODE KILLED ME! TWICE! Smol Ushiwaka was cute in the manga but in the anime he looks even more adorable.

AND...

I have to make a confession.

This was suppose to be much longer but i split it into three chapter since I want to get in the details of the episodes. The Anime will be done with the match in a week or two and till then you guys have to be patient. It is an important match after all. Tamiko's brother made it to the finals and it's the first time she watches the Shiratorizawa boys in a match. I know, she is a third year and has never seen one of their matches. But anyway...

A BIG THANK YOU FOR ALL THE SUPPORT!

makes me really happy inside. I'll do my best to write it. I am even trying out some new vocabulary. And please let me know if you guys are reading this. I really try to answer everyone, even if they have questions.

LilweenGalatrass: Tendou is hard to read. What book he will choose, that remains to be seen. You can take as many bets as you want. If you get one right, I might just name a new character after you.

PandaHee: From what I have found out from Wikipedia and all the other statistics, Tendou is the eldest. His birthday is on the 20th May. Tamiko is an April child and if you really want to know, it's on the 15th April. Yes, he is clueless in that matter and it doesn't surprise me.

rheascarlet: He is a clueless cinnamon roll. And thanks. I thought their interaction was a bit too much, especially with the kiss on the forehead, but I just had to put it in.

darkpercy5: Thank you and I'm glad you like it. Of course I will continue.


Chapter 10 - A big moment

Behind a strong man

stands a woman cheering him on

For the last month she had been reminded of it everyday. Tobio had made a big red circle on the calendar around the date of the finals and they were today. Tamiko was already up and doing chores in the kitchen when Tobio joined her for breakfast that Sunday morning. She could tell he was excited. He was fidgety and wore that suppressed smile of his. She didn't say anything about it. Instead she made him breakfast with his favourite glass of milk. After breakfast he quickly got ready since the team wanted to meet up nice and early.

"See you later." she said as he walked out of the door.

The rest of the morning she cleaned school had already arranged the busses for the students to see the finals so she still had some time left. Since it was a school event, she put on her school uniform and drove to school. A lot of students were already gathered on the big carpark when she arrived. The bus for the volleyball team was already gone.

"Kageyama-senpai!" two girls called and waved.

She waved back to them. Those two were her juniors in the music activities and they adored her. She didn't know why but it didn't bother her. A teacher told her which bus to go on and when she climbed in, she was greeted.

"Tamiko-chan." a girl called. "I got you a seat."

Her name was Izumi and she was the only real friend she had in school apart from the boys of the volleyball club. They have gone to the same junior high school and have known each other for a while.

"Thanks, Izumi-chan." she said to the blond as she sat down.

"I can't believe Aoba Johsai lost. I wanted to see Oikawa-san." Izumi complained.

Tamiko didn't say anything to that. Every girl was complaining about that. Tamiko gazed out of the bus while more students climbed into the buss and took their seats.

"You saw their match yesterday, right?" Izumi asked.

"Yeah." she nodded.

"Karasuno must have a strong line-up." she ventured a guess.

"They have a few strong players. But I think it is their playing style that did the trick." Tamiko stated.

"Playing style?"

"Crows always flock into groups. One is lost without the others. They have beautiful teamwork." Tamiko smiled to herself.

"But Tamiko-chan, volleyball is a team sport. Of course they use teamwork. Our team included." Izumi reminded her.

"Not really. They focus on Ushijima too much to get the points. Like a single eagle." she persisted.

The drive to Sendai City Gymnasium didn't take too long. A lot more cars were parked by the stadium than for the other matches. It was clear that this was a big match. The stream of students flooded into the stadium and everyone took their seats. Tamiko and Izumi sat at the front just opposite the bench. It was a good view. A wave of black and orange sat at the other end. The players of Karasuno were also already on the court. Cameras were placed, the buzzer was checked, people were chatting. It was a lot of noise.

"Alright guys." one of the boys said. "Let's get ready for the cheering."

All of the students stood, all except Tamiko. A teacher saw this and walked over to her while the students started their chanting. With whispers she explained and the teacher nodded in understanding. She felt a little like a stranger amongst the chants. Izumi didn't ask since the players walked onto the court. Everyone cheered but Tamiko just gazed down at the boys as they started to warm up. She could tell their were in tip top shape. But Karasuno wasn't lacking. When Hinata hit a spike straight down, everyone was shocked.

"Wow, that #10 has some skill. But he is so short." Izumi smiled.

"162." Tamiko muttered.

"What?"

"162 cm. That's how tall he is." she repeated.

"Wow."

A whistle was blown and everyone clapped when the teams lined up. The announcer spoke a few words, naming the teams. Everyone clapped again and the captains shook hands. Now the starting players were announced. The captain, their ace and Tanaka jogged onto the court and then Tamiko smiled proudly.

"Number 9, Kageyama Tobio." the voice announced.

"Kageyama-chan. Is that #9 related to you?" one student behind her asked.

"He's my little brother." she told them.

"Eeeh?" a few girls awed.

"You don't look related." a boy commented,

"I hear that a lot." she muttered, smiling to herself.

Izumi smiled as she gazed at the black haired setter from Karasuno. Of course, she remembered him.

"He's looks much taller now." she noted.

"He is." Tamiko confirmed.

"I can still remember how little he used to be." Izumi giggled.

Both girls smiled brightly as the players in black and orange took their place on the court. The name also didn't go unnoticed amongst the players of Shiratorizawa as they waited to walked onto the court.

"So #9 is Tamiko-chan's little brother." Tendou noted.

"They don't look alike at all." Goshiki realised as he peeked past Tendou's shoulder.

Then came the lineup of Shiratorizawa. When Ushijima jogged onto the court, the girls went crazy.

"Ushijima-kun!" one shouted.

"Waka-kun!" another shouted.

Tamiko cringed and slipped down in her seat. The last nickname she hated. It didn't suit him. But he did have a name where nicknames were difficult. She had settled on Toshi-kun and when she first called him that way, he didn't say anything about it. But he never did say anything about nicknames given to him. All starter players were now announced and they all stood ready.

When the match started, Tamiko just groaned. Shiratorizawa scored 3 points in a row. Karasuno seemed to be very nervous. It didn't surprise her. There were a lot more people watching with an intimidating chanting cheerleader group and drums, not to forget the camera crew. Her brother, however, seemed as calm as a lake. A sudden outburst from Sugawara seemed to calm the others down and they managed to score three more points. The gap grew bigger and bigger but then, a striking moment for Karasuno. Their libero got the ball up from Ushijima's serve. They all immediately acted. Tobio jumped to hit the ball but instead twisted in the last second to toss it to Tanaka who spiked it to the ground. Cheers roared through the air and Tamiko smiled. On the court, the players were also surprised.

"He went to set from a spike motion. Just what you'd expect from Oikawa's junior." Shibaru noted.

"That sucks!" Tendou groaned.

"He really is a genius, like his sister." Ohira smiled.

"I'm starting to see the resemblance between the two. Scary." Yamagata grinned.

Hinata was now switched in and the game continued. When he had the chance to spike a second time, Ushijima received seemed more serious than before. As if to make a statement, he spiked the following toss against Hinata's block and onto the ground. With that, Shiratorizawa won the first set.

"I guess Karasuno isn't in top form today." Izumi noted.

"They are warming up. Those guys have never been in the finals before." Tamiko defended them.

"True." her friend nodded with understanding.

For the start of the second set, Karasuno took the first point. They stayed close behind even with Shiratorizawa in the lead. Tanaka got a point after Ushijima's serve hit him in the face. Tamiko cringed. This was the reason why she hated Ushijima's serves. It brought back bad memories. Izumi noticed her shuddering. She also remembered.

"Bad memories?" Izumi grinned.

Tamiko frowned but didn't say anything. When Tendou was blocked, Tamiko suppressed a laugh. And when Goshiki and Yamagata nearly collided and let the ball hit the ground coach Washijo was not happy.

"That was you, Tsutomu, you idiot!" he shouted over the cheers. "If you're gonna stare at someone, at least stare at a girl!"

Tamiko giggled to herself. Tsutomu was really having a rough time. For the next serve, Sugawara was switched in and Tobio spiked a point.

"Your brother is very skilled." Izumi noted.

"He works hard everyday." Tamiko smiled.

The game went on and on. The second set came to an end with Karasuno taking the final point. How they took it, shocked everybody.

"He blocked Ushijima!" they shouted.

"What? Who is that guy?" some asked.

Tamiko grinned to herself. What would she give to see Ushijima's expression now. After all, what was the point of winning all the time.

"Tsukishima really is a smart one." Tamiko laughed.

"He looks so tall." Izumi awed.

"He is as tall as Ushijima. He only looks taller because he is thinner." she explained.

"He's a first year, right? He is probably still growing." Izumi noted.

"Yeah. He might reach the 190s very soon." she guessed.

"But that little #10 is impressive. He's jumping all over the place." Izumi smiled. "Must be tiring after a while. I wonder how long he will be able to do it."

"I wonder." Tamiko mumbled.

She gazed over to her brother. For some reason she had the feeling that Hinata wouldn't be the first to get tired.