Hello and once again, thanks for reading this far into the story! Sorry for not updating sooner, I didn't really know what to put in this chapter and I also had to fix some inconsistencies I found in the last one. I hope this chapter doesn't have as many problems. Anyway, thanks to all of you who followed and favorited! Hope you enjoy!

~CavaKel

(P.S.: All bolded text in quotation marks is non-Japanese speech, usually English. Other languages will be specified immediately after the bold stuff.)

Once again, I do not own Haikyuu, just my OC.

TW: Death? (car crash) at the end of the chapter

-Kaida POV-

The days flew by, and before they knew it, it was the day before exams. Kaida had done everything she could to help Shoyo and Kageyama study, especially for English and Modern Literature to suit the weaknesses of each boy. She'd given Shoyo vocabulary flashcards, taught him every memorization tip and mnemonic phrase she knew, and given him numerous random pop quizzes on grammar rules and vocabulary. Shoyo had shared this all with Kageyama, to whom Kaida had given extra reading comprehension and short answer practice, and more than once during practice she had heard Kageyama muttering the same mnemonic phrases she was teaching Shoyo.

If she was being honest, Kaida was quite proud of her two fellow first years. They had made excellent progress since she had started tutoring them, and she had faith that they would pass their exams and go to the training camp. She still couldn't help much with grammar rules because most of the rules taught in class she had never even heard of in America, so she occasionally sought the help of an upperclassman when Shoyo and Kageyama were having problems with grammar, usually seeking out one of the three sane second years. She rarely approached the third years for help, as she knew their exams were very important and that they needed to study, too.

She'd also grown quite attached to the volleyball team during those few days, befriending pretty much everyone and becoming a sort of adopted younger sister for the entire team because she was the youngest person there, even though she acted much more like an older sister if anything. A week after her first day with the club, she was able to take the brace off of her knee, but much to her disappointment, her cast was still scheduled to be taken off in another 2 weeks.

Kaida and Shoyo both arrived at school the next day a few minutes earlier than usual, Shoyo gloating over beating Kageyama to the club room and Kaida going through her own flashcards once more in a last-ditch attempt to lock all necessary information into her brain before testing. Practice went as usual, though a few of them were a bit anxious, and soon enough classes started and everyone filed into their classrooms to face the hell called exams. Kaida hadn't had anyone to study with for her foreign language, as she was the only one who was taking Chinese and not English, so that was the only subject she really was nervous about. She pushed those worries aside as she walked into Classroom 1-4, hoping that she could focus and remember what she had taken so much time to study and memorize these past few days. She hoped the same went for Shoyo and Kageyama as well.

Everyone got their results back a few days later, and the first years on the volleyball team (and Kaida) met in the hallway to compare results. Hinata and Kageyama had each failed one exam: English and Modern Japanese, respectively. Yamaguchi was holding Kageyama's paper, looking a bit sad as he pointed out that there were more reading comprehension questions than usual, but the answers were indeed all in the passages. Tsukishima had Shoyo's paper in his hand, almost gleefully pointing out that Shoyo had marked every question in the wrong place. Shoyo came out of his depression to state that yes, he'd realized that just as time ran out, and Kaida looked sadly over at the two moping first years.

"Here, let me see." Kaida took the paper from Tsukishima and looked it over, her face growing slightly paler as her eyes went down the page. "How? But- they're all correct. They're all correct."

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi had both gotten pretty good scores on all of their exams, and Kaida had done well, too. Tsukishima laughed at the first year duo, gloating over his high grades. "So now you have to take supplementary exams because you failed, huh?"

Kaida glared at the taller boy and punched him in the arm, hard. "Don't say that. They did work really hard, I should know. I tutored them when they couldn't get anything from you."

Tsukishima glared back, rubbing his arm. "Well, they're a lost cause, so all your efforts were for nothing." He turned back to the two who had failed and said jokingly, "Well, your only option now is to plead your case to the principal. Good luck with that."

"Please don't plead your case to the principal," Kaida said tiredly, "just study and get the supplementary exams over wi-" She looked up, but the two boys in front of her had disappeared. "Oh, no. Here we go, why did you have to give them the idea to harass the principal?" she muttered, switching to English again. Then she turned on her heel and went down the hall to look for the two boys, motioning for her two classmates to follow her. After searching most of the campus they eventually gave up, going instead to the club room.

Kaida walked in first, jumping slightly in fright when she saw Daichi's terrifying aura as he lectured the two first years she had been trying to find. Luckily, everyone in the room had their pants on, so no added shenanigans were necessary. The two other first years entered the room a few moments later, Yamaguchi having a similar reaction to Daichi's scary aura as Kaida did.

That afternoon, the volleyball team had gathered in the club room to compare results. Shoyo and Kageyama were sitting depressed on the floor in the middle of the room with one failing grade each, Tanaka and Nishinoya were showing off their barely passing scores to the two dejected first years, and the other 2 first years were standing in the corner watching the interaction in the middle of the room. The sane second years and the third years had all passed all their classes with flying colors, as did all 3 first-years in class 4. The first years explained the reasons behind Shoyo and Kageyama failing their exams, and some of their upperclassmen shook their heads in sympathy when Kaida explained how Shoyo's answers were all correct, just in the wrong place.

Sugawara tried to comfort the duo who had failed their exams, but as soon as he tried they started planning their own transportation to the training camp, apparently disregarding the fact that Tokyo was a 4-hour drive from Miyagi and that the entire team could probably make multiple trips to and from Tokyo in the time it would take to run or bike there, not to mention the fact that they probably had no idea where in the Tokyo area they would be going. Kaida stifled her laughter at the two first years' antics, although she did feel sorry for them for working that hard and still failing.

Then Tanaka stepped in, pointing out that they could finish their supplementary exams in the afternoon and join the team in Tokyo afterwards and promising to call in the cavalry (his older sister) to take them to Tokyo when they finished their exams, with a warning that their safety would probably be jeopardized and to please wear a seatbelt. The offer got the duo excited, and as they went down the hill, to her surprise, Shoyo asked Kaida if he could borrow her English notes and flashcards again to study for the supplementary exams, Kageyama doing the same for Modern Japanese. Kaida gladly lent them to her two fellow first years, and the team headed to the Sakanoshita store as usual. Tanaka left unusually early, saying he had to do something.

Ennoshita took a good look at the two boys' test results while they were at the store, and noted that they had both done worse than they had on the practice exam. Both admitted that the information they had crammed into their heads had left them when they started testing, and Kaida decided she would do her best to help the two once again to pass their exams, but this time train them to retain information. Tsukishima regarded her statement with skepticism, claiming that the two boys were certified idiots. Kaida ignored him, but after her statement Yamaguchi and some of the second years also volunteered to help Shoyo and Kageyama pass their supplementary exams. Tsukishima left early, saying he wouldn't lift a finger.

For the next few days, Kaida would help tutor and test the two first-years, helping them study and giving them more tips on memorization, then giving them mock exams and pop quizzes with the help of Ennoshita. At one point after class the first years (minus Tsukishima) were helping the boys study and Shoyo got the word "receive" wrong. Kaida gave him the mnemonic to remember: "'i' before 'e' except after 'c'." Kageyama insulted Hinata's receives, and the conversation careened towards volleyball until Yamaguchi put a stop to it.

The two boys worked hard studying for supplementary exams. Kaida had caught Shoyo asleep at his desk at home more than once a day and could see bags under Kageyama's eyes, and she'd seen both Shoyo and Kageyama with her notes (and, in Shoyo's case, flashcards) during breaks at practice. During their last practice test, the boys got 20 points below the required score: an improvement, but still not enough. The two boys put their heads down, defeated. Tsukishima saw their scores and gave the two a hard time about them, but as Kaida listened to his insults she realized this was his way of firing them back up, getting them to study and do well out of spite. She had to admit, it was effective, but fighting fire with fire was not what she had expected to work. Ah, well, she thought, I guess if it works, it works.

The night before the training camp, everyone gathered outside the bus to bid Shoyo and Kageyama goodbye. The two were moping again, and everyone took turns wishing them good luck, encouraging them, etc. Kaida hadn't been in a motor vehicle since the accident and was a bit antsy about it, but was much more calm about it than when it was first brought up. Shoyo picked up on her nerves and pulled her aside. "Are you gonna be alright? I won't be able to help you if anything happens."

"I probably won't be able to sleep at all, but I did bring a thermos of coffee for that exact reason. I think I'll be okay."

"Alright. You'll be fine, but if anything does happen call me, okay?"

"I will. Good luck, Shoyo!"

Shoyo smiled nervously. "Thanks. See you tomorrow, Kai!"

Kaida climbed onto the bus with everyone else, taking a seat at the very back so she wouldn't disturb anyone during the ride. As the vehicle pulled out of the parking lot, she waved to Shoyo and Kageyama, then turned to her bag once they faded from view. She put on her headphones and started her normal playlist, then pulled out her coffee, her sketchbook and pencil, and a small light, and decided to try sketching out the scenery passing by the bus. She could tell this would be a long 4 hours.

-Nishinoya POV-

Nishinoya was seated right behind Tanaka and next to Minasaki. During the ride he planned to do nothing but sleep and talk to his friend sitting in front of him, but he found something else interesting to do also: watch Minasaki draw. She was pretty, not prettier than Kiyoko, of course, but pretty nonetheless. Her wavy reddish-brown hair, up in a half ponytail instead of her usual braid, glowed orange in the moonlight, kind of like Hinata's hair in broad daylight, and her glasses glinted and hid her brown eyes. But she seemed too dark to look like an angel. Nishinoya couldn't pinpoint it, but something about her seemed… sad, or empty.

He decided to disregard that for now, focusing instead on the mechanical pencil in her hand and the sketchbook in her lap. Minasaki looked around at the people sleeping in the seats on the left side of the bus, then took a sip out of the large thermos cup at her side and proceeded to start drawing a person. Nishinoya watched as she made the outline of the person, then drawing in each crease in their clothing and the exact shape of their face, and eventually he could tell that she was drawing Sugawara, who was sleeping a few seats up on the left. Minutes passed, and the only sound was the deep breathing of the other people on the bus, the soft scratching of Minasaki's pencil on her sketchbook as she drew everyone she could see from her seat on the bus, and the rustling of paper as she finished sketching each person and flipped the page. Minasaki kept drawing after she'd run out of people, seeming to rely on visual memory as she drew flowers, animals, and people without looking up from her sketchbook except to take a sip from her drink, to gaze up at the stars through her window, or to cast a wary glance out of the window and towards the road ahead and behind.

Nishinoya asked her for her sketchbook, and as he flipped through it he marveled (loudly) at how realistic all of the drawings were. His loud compliments on her drawings woke Suga, and both of the people in the backseat apologized for the noise, promising to go to sleep soon. After that, Nishinoya drifted off to sleep as Minasaki stopped drawing and looked back up at the stars.

-Kaida POV-

Despite what she'd told Suga-san, Kaida knew she would probably not be getting any sleep. She'd gotten bored of drawing within the first half hour after Nishinoya had looked through her sketchbook, and she'd barely made a dent in her supply of coffee. She took another sip of the heavily sugared drink and looked out the window again, her face angled upwards to look at the stars. Astrology was something that had always been bittersweet for her, as it had been her mother's favorite pastime before she'd died. Her mother had taught her every constellation she knew, pointing them out during a clear night when it was just the two of them lying on a blanket on the roof back in Tokyo. Kaida continued to stare up into the night sky, naming each and every constellation she could see without noticing that she was doing it out loud, although nobody heard her anyway.

She'd taken out her headphones long ago, and now it was just her and the light breathing of the other bus passengers. Noya-san had gone to sleep some time after asking her for her sketchbook, his head resting against his window as he snored quietly. She looked back at the stars, thinking about her parents and her life in Tokyo and in the US. She hadn't made many friends in either area, and the only ones that had stayed with her were Tetsu and Kenma in Tokyo. They still talked from time to time, and Kaida wondered if they would be able to see each other in person anytime soon even though now she was living in Miyagi and not Tokyo. She certainly hoped so, because she missed them. She dug through her bag looking for something else to do, and pulled out a small notebook. She opened it to a new page and wrote the date in the corner, looking back up at the stars as she tried to see if she could find inspiration for a poem or a story. A poem line popped into her mind and she quickly jotted it down on the page, then closed the notebook again and put it away, deciding to find rhyming lines later.

There hadn't been any bumps or abrupt movements during the entire ride, and she hoped it would stay that way. If it did, she might actually be able to get some sleep.

It turns out that falling asleep was a mistake.

Kaida eventually drifted off to sleep about half an hour later, and managed to have a relatively normal nap for about an hour before her brain decided to replay the incident from about a month before, and if anyone had been looking at her during that time they would find her squeezing her eyes shut, trembling with fear. She had a better time with this sort of thing when conscious than she did when she was asleep, as when she was awake she was able to at least try to tell herself she was safe. Asleep, however? Not so much. Instead, she was trapped inside her own memory, and the only chance she had to get out was either with someone's help or to wait for it to end and for her to wake up. Neither was favorable.

It was right at that time that Takeda-sensei, who was driving, swerved to avoid a large piece of debris on the road. All of the passengers on the bus were unceremoniously jolted to the right, the ones seated on that side bumping their heads on the windows. A few of them woke up from the sudden movement, but some of the heavier sleepers slept on unperturbed. Kaida, however, was not having a great time. She let out a soft yelp at the sudden movement and curled up into an even tighter ball, tears forming at the corners of her eyes as her mind took her back to the US in even clearer detail than before.

Kaida sat in the front passenger seat of the car, chatting amiably with her dad, who was driving. He'd gotten a rare day off work, and the two of them were headed to the nearby Huntington beach for a day in the sun and the ocean. They drove through the city and reached a large intersection just as the light turned red. They waited for the few minutes it took for the cars to stop moving from left to right, and when it was their turn they were one of the first to go. Both Minasakis were laughing and joking and in general off their guard, and neither noticed the white car tailed by police that was speeding towards them from their left, running the red light. With a loud crash Kaida was thrown to the right into the passenger window, a large car-shaped dent making its appearance on the driver's side. Glass shattered, metal creaked, someone screamed. Maybe it was her. Kaida could faintly hear the wailing of police sirens and shouting from other cars, and her left wrist felt like it was on fire. Her vision went dark, and a voice in her head chanted the same phrase over and over in her head.

Your fault.

It was getting hard to breathe. Kaida clawed blindly at her throat, but nothing worked.

Your fault.

More tears streamed down her face. She could feel her lips moving, but she couldn't hear anything but the voice in her head.

Your fault.

No, no, no, no, no. She tried to wake up, to get out of the nightmare, but as always, she was trapped. She could hear distant yelling now, and it was getting clearer. But the voice remained.

Your faul-

"Minasaki! Minasaki, wake up! Please!"

Well, it's not the best chapter I've written, but I still like the way it turned out. Sorry if anything is inaccurate or something, I have no idea if it is, most of the story is just me writing whatever comes to mind off the top of my head and edited afterwards. As always, feel free to leave a review on what you'd like to see going forward, be it pairings, improvements, subplots, friendships/rivalries, pretty much anything. Thanks for reading this far, thanks to all of you who have followed and/or favorited this story, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

~CavaKel