Chapter 4

NO ONE'S POV

Kenma served and Nishinoya got it. Kageyama set it quickly to Hinata for a freak quick, thinking that, without Inuoka, they could get one it. However, when he went to spike, the ball ended up hitting the floor on their side instead. When they all looked up, Kaneko fell to the ground. They all looked shocked that she could keep up with it.

Kaneko gave a high five to Yamamoto and then turned to smirk at Karasuno. "Did you really think that I would take it easy on you? If I'm gonna play, then I'm going to go all out."

She walked away from the net and the Karasuno team all looked at each other in concern. Nekoma got two more points before Karasuno finally made it on the board. Tanaka was the next to serve and Yaku was the one to receive it. Kenma made it look like he was going to set the ball to Yamamoto, but really did a quick setter dump, getting another point. That made it Nekoma's serve, which happened to be Kaneko.

She bounced the ball a few times and just held the ball for a moment with her eyes closed. "Kiki, nice serve!" both Kuroo and Yamamoto yelled out.

The whistle for the serve rang out, and Kaneko took a deep breath before opening her eyes. She tossed the ball into the air, running forward, and jumping into the air. She slammed the ball with her left hand, and it slammed onto the opposite side without being touched. Karasuno looked absolutely terrified, aside from Nishinoya, who looked ecstatic. Nekoma cheered for a service ace but paused when they looked at Kaneko.

The blonde female was staring at her left hand that was slightly red. There were several emotions running through her. The most prominent was the excited adrenaline filled warmth that spread from her hand. Kaneko clenched her hand closed and looked up at the rest of the team. All of Nekoma had proud smiles on their faces as they looked at her. Both Yamamoto and Yaku ran up to her with Tetsuro and the rest of the team right behind them.

They each slung an arm around both of her shoulders on each side and sandwiched her in a hug. "You haven't lost it one bit!" they shouted gleefully. "That was amazing!"

Kaneko laughed at them as the rest of the team came up to them. "Looks like the Alley Cat is back," Kuroo complimented, giving her a high five.

The blonde smiled wide and then turned to Kenma. "Say Kenma? Do you think that you could do that toss that we used to do?"

Kenma actually looked surprised at first, but that turned into a particular look, and he nodded firmly. To anyone else, it looked like Kenma's normal bored look. However, to Kaneko and Kuroo, they could see the determined fire in his eyes.

The ball was returned to Kaneko, and everyone got back to their spots. The whistle blew and Kaneko did the same jump serve, only this time she used her right hand.

'She can used both hands?!' Daichi thought in surprise.

Even though it wasn't as powerful as the one with her left hand, it was still very powerful and Nishinoya dove to get it. He managed to get it to Kageyama, who set it to Asahi. Fukunaga was able to pick it up and got it to Kenma. Kenma met Kaneko's emerald green eyes and she ran forward. As she jumped, Kenma set the ball. Asahi jumped to block it with Tsukishima.

As Kaneko's hand came down, she spun her hand and put a spin on the ball. The ball spun around the block and then spun the other way to slam on the floor. Kaneko quickly went to hug Kenma as soon as her feet hit the ground. "That was an amazing set, Kenma!" she gushed.

"You hit it perfectly Kane," Kenma complimented, patting her back with one hand.

Yamamoto cam running up for a double high five. "Man, it's like you haven't been off the court at all!" he exclaimed with a wide smile.

Hinata came bounding up to the net. "Kitamura-chan! That was amazing!"

She smiled at him. "Thanks, Hinata, but that was thanks to Kenma's set."

"How did you do that?" Asahi asked, and Kaneko only giggled which caused him to look confused.

"Like I'm going to tell you when we still have a game to win," she told him with a giant smirk.

Asahi smiled at her confidence. He had to admit, seeing this side of Kaneko was refreshing as apposed to how she would push them in training. But he could see the talent that she possessed, and he couldn't wait to learn more about what she could do.

The game continued, and Karasuno was able to pick up more of her serves. It was a close match up this time around. Karasuno was able to keep up more. Although they still fell for the backrow attack when Nekoma did it with Kaneko.

Karasuno was starting to see how well Kaneko could play. She could do the backrow attack and a personal time difference attack. She also did her signature spin spike. She received perfectly and her serves were powerful, and her blocks were solid.

The first set ended with Nekoma winning twenty-five to twenty-two. The next set was much the same which again ended with Nekoma's win. Karasuno managed to get a duce at twenty-four, meaning that they would have to score two more in order to win. However, Kaneko broke out with a surprising move.

Yaku had saved the ball from Tanaka's spike. It was going up towards Kenma for the toss and Kaneko called out to him. "Kenma!" she yelled, raising her arm for a toss. "Go left!"

Kenma looked shocked but quickly nodded. Kaneko ran to one side and shifted her stance. As the toss went up, Daichi and the other players noticed that she raised her left arm to spike instead of her right. As the blockers went up, Kaneko swung her left arm and slammed the ball across the court in a cross shot past the block. The entire room froze as the ball rolled to a stop.

The Karasuno players looked surprised at Kaneko, mainly that she could do that. Takeda was completely gaping at Kaneko in astonishment. "She can use both hands?" he muttered.

"Kaneko has always been ambidextrous," Keishin told him. "She's also been far stronger than she looks. So, a lot of the time she has to hold back her strength. But she's evenly strong in both arms."

"Really?!"

"That was insane Kiki!" Yamamoto's yell brought them back to the court where Kaneko stood staring at her hand. Yamamoto stood next to her with a crazy grin on his face. "When did you learn to do that?"

Kaneko didn't look up from her hand. "Kaito suggested it," she muttered, and Yamamoto's face fell a little bit. "But I never managed to do it like that before."

The Nekoma boys all looked at each other in slight concern while the Karasuno boys looked confused. Kuroo, Yaku and Kai walked over to her with Kenma trailing behind them. Kuroo and Kai tossed their arms around each side of her shoulders while Yaku stood in front of them, and Kaneko looked up startled.

"Well, you did now when we needed it," Kai commented.

"And Kaito would be incredibly proud that you were able to do it," Kuroo finished.

"Now, cheer up and quit getting so down on yourself," Yaku scolded with his hands on his hips. "You've done plenty of work to get back to this level, so quit doubting yourself!"

Kaneko blinked a few times in astonishment at them. That was when Kenma walked up next to Yaku. "You hit that ball perfectly Kane. You're doing better than you think you are."

Kaneko slowly smiled with the fire returning to her eyes. "Thanks boys," she said sincerely. "One more point!"

The Nekoma players all cheered. Across the net, Daichi smiled at the friendship they all shared.

The next point, Kaneko did a spike with her left hand again. Nishinoya then tried to receive the ball, but it went off. Nekoma won that set and game again with twenty-six to twenty-four. Hinata then asked for another game.

The next two sets went much the same with Kaneko doing much of the same with both hands. The first set went a little farther with Karasuno getting another duce, but only getting twenty-five and Nekoma reaching twenty-seven. The second set went even farther with Karasuno reaching thirty and Nekoma getting thirty-two. At the end though, everyone was breathing heavily in exhaustion, even Kaneko.

"One more time!" Hinata yelled out, frustrated.

"Hey!" Coach Nekomata said looking a little freaked out. "You've been moving around like crazy. Is your stamina limitless?"

Keishin had to pick up at still fired up Hinata in order to get him to listen. "Hey, that's enough. They have to catch the Shinkansen. Not to mention it would be bad for Kaneko."

Everyone turned to an exhausted Kaneko, who was laying on her back. She looked up at everyone by simply putting her head back. The blonde smiled wide and let out a laugh. "I'm gonna be feeling this for a few days."

A few of the boys let out shaky laughs. Both captains called for a huddle in order to get coaching by the other coach. While they did that, Kaneko was doing cool down stretches. Her doctor had given her many different cool down stretches for her to do if she was going to play at all. Coach Nekomata glanced at her as he spoke to the Karasuno boys.

"There is one more thing that I want to ask of you," he stated, causing them all to look confused. "Kaneko-chan has been through a lot, but this is the happiest that I have seen her in a while. I hope that when she's able to play in a real game, that you will use her to her full potential, and let her play with you on the court."

Daichi, Suga and Asahi all exchanged a glance, and then looked to the Nekoma team, who were also looking at them after hearing what was said. The third-year players nodded firmly at them before turning back to Coach Nekomata. "We promise that we will use her to her full potential," Daichi promised.

"All right," Keishin called. "Let's start cleaning up." Kaneko came walking up after finishing her stretches. "Everyone but you Kaneko. You need your rest."

"Oh, come on!" she whined. "I'm not an invalid! I can still help!"

"Not gonna happen," Kuroo denied as he slung a heavy arm around her shoulders. "You've worked hard all week, had an intense doctors appointment yesterday, and did a full two practice games. You need to rest or you're gonna collapse."

Kaneko frowned and was about to reply, but Daichi cut her off. "I'm gonna have to agree Kitamura-chan," he said with a sympathetic smile. "You need to rest."

The blonde female sighed deeply before throwing her arms up, dislodging Kuroo's arm and went to change out of her uniform in aggravation.

*Cat Among Crows*

Kaneko's POV

I rubbed a towel over the back of my neck, clearing the sweat. Despite feeling exhausted and my limbs feeling like lead, I felt really good. Many of the muscles that were used, I had only been exercising. I remember what my doctor told me.

'The more you use them, the easier it will be. You'll feel more accomplished when you use all of your muscles. Doing so will make them stronger.'

It had been a while since I felt this good. The only way that I could compare it to would be the first time I was able to do a successful spike that got a point.

I changed back into my clothes slowly with how heavy my arms and legs felt. As soon as I was done, I let down my hair and ran my brush through it as I walked outside to see the coaches in the hall. Coach Nekomata was picking a fight by bragging about winning. I laughed when Keishin walked away in aggravation. Both Nekoma coaches turned to me with smiles.

"Ah, Kaneko-chan," Coach Nekomata greeted. "How are you feeling? I must say it was good to see you back on the court."

"Thank you for the opportunity to do so Nekomata-sensei," I said with a bow. "I feel like my limbs are heavy, but I feel good despite that." I then held out the bag with the Nekoma uniform. "I thought that I would return this."

Coach Nekomata waved me off, to which I raised an eyebrow. "It's a custom uniform. Keep it. That way you don't forget that we're always here for you whenever you need it."

My eyes stung as tears started to fill my eyes. I bowed to him again. "Thank you so much. I promise that I'll never forget that." As I stood straight, I wiped my eyes with my other hand. "Speaking of Nekomata-sensei." He gave me a curious look. "I was hoping that you wouldn't be opposed to inviting Karasuno to the summer training camps this year. I believe that they could benefit form playing against so many strong teams."

Coach Nekomata's smile turned mischievous. "I'm assuming that you want to keep it as a surprise."

I gave him a secretive smile. "That's the idea. While I want them to do well in the Inter-High tournament, I don't believe that they're quite at that level yet."

Coach Nekomata nodded his consent. "I'll be sure to call when it comes up. In the meantime, do take care of yourself."

I smiled at him. "Thank you, Nekomata-sensei. And I will if you take care of yourself as well."

He laughed as he walked with me to where the teams were saying goodbye to each other. Both Tanaka and Tora were crying as they shook hands saying goodbye. I sighed at the sight of Tetsu and Daichi shaking hands while trying to squeeze each other's hands, with hostile yet friendly smiles. Walking up to them, I smacked their hands hard causing them to pull back in surprise. "Act like captains, not children," I scolded them.

"Hold back your strength next time Kane," Tetsu whined. "That hurt."

"Don't act like a child Tetsu," I snapped. "I wouldn't have to hit so hard if you would behave."

Tetsu pouted at me while Daichi looked confused. "Kitamura-chan?"

"Hmm?"

"How come you call Kuroo-san by his first name, a nickname at that?" Daichi questioned. "He's a year older than you."

"Oh, I grew up with him," I explained. "I've known this goofball and Kenma since I was nine years old. We lived two doors from each other in Tokyo."

"Wow," Suga commented as he came up with Yaku. "Is that how you know all the third years?"

"Kuroo introduced us when we were first years," Yaku explained. "She would even play with us when we would practice together."

I nodded along as I glanced to where Kenma was speaking to Hinata. I smiled at seeing them getting along. "Hey Kenma!" I called and he turned to me. "Come over here and give me a hug!"

He walked over and gave me a tight hug. When we pulled back, Hinata popped up next to us. "Hey Kenma, do you know who Kitamura-chan's boyfriend is?"

I could feel an immediate blush come to my cheeks as both Nishinoya and Tanaka grabbed Hinata, scolding him for saying anything. I narrowed my eyes at them, remembering the confession. "So, you boys were listening huh?"

They all turned to me with awkward chuckles. Yaku looked at me with raised eyebrows, "I didn't know that you had a boyfriend Kiki."

I rubbed the back of my head with a nervous chuckle. Yaku and Kai both leaned in and stared at me, waiting for an explanation. Kenma then jumped in looking at everyone. "She's dating Kuroo."

Both Tetsu and I turned beet red and glared at Kenma. "Kenma! You said you wouldn't tell anyone!" we both shouted at him.

He just gave us a deadpan look. "You're not on the same team anymore. It shouldn't matter."

We were cut off by the Nekoma third and second years crowding in front of us. "You two have been dating?!" Tora yelled. "Since when?!"

"Um, her third year of middle school," Tetsu muttered, scratching his cheek. "So, about three years."

"Seriously?!" Yaku yelled. "Why didn't you tell us?!"

"We were on the same team Yakkun," I defended with my hands up. "We swore that it wouldn't interfere with the team. On the court or in practice, we were teammates, not boyfriend and girlfriend."

Yaku frowned at us, and Kai chuckled. "I guess that makes sense. And it worked too. We all had no idea."

"Well, if we're done with the interrogation, I would like to say bye to my boyfriend in peace," I said, grabbing Tetsu's arm and dragging him away.

We didn't stop until we were out of sight behind the stairs. "Well, that's not how I meant for that to happen," Tetsu commented scratching the back of his head and I sighed. "By the way, what did you mean about them watching? Watching what?"

"Oh, I got confessed to during Golden Week by a guy in my class," I explained with a sigh. "I guess the boys were watching and heard that I had a boyfriend."

Tetsu stepped closer to me and kissed me soundly on the lips. I kissed him back, my hands going into his hair. Time seemed to slow down as we stood there kissing. When we pulled away for air, Tetsu leaned his forehead on mine. There was a dizziness in my head that was always present when we would kiss. 'I'll never get tired of that.'

"I love you Kaneko," Tetsu whispered. "I promise that I'll always be there when you need me to be."

I giggled breathlessly. "I love you too Tetsuro. I promise to remember that, but I'll always be there if you need me as well."

He pulled me close in a tight hug, burying his face in my hair. I snuggled into his chest and held on tight. Again, we stood there just holding each other. A throat was cleared, and we separated to see Coach Nekomata smiling at us. "We're leaving you two. You will see each other again."

He walked away and we shared one last kiss before we walked towards everyone else. Tetsu held my hand the whole way. I guess Kenma was right though. We weren't on the same team anymore, so we don't have to hide anymore.

After giving each other one last hug, I gave hugs to the others was well. Tora even lifted me off my feet making me laugh. They were all waving at us as they left to the train station.

I already missed the goofballs and got a sad look that was apparently seen by the third years. "We'll make sure that you see them again Kitamura-chan," Daichi declared, which caused me to look at him in surprise. "I promise."

A soft smile spread across my face. "Thank you Daichi. And you know, you don't have to call me Kitamura-chan." They all looked surprised. "You can call me Kaneko. I think that you all earned it."

"Thank you for trusting us," Daichi smiled at me.

It was then that we heard Kageyama speak about the match, and we all turned to him. "If our match today was an official match," he said solemnly. "It would have been all over after we lost the first match. Completely."

"I know," Hinata replied.

"I'm glad you know," Keishin cut it, and we all turned to him. "And the official matches, the Inter-High preliminaries, are right around the corner. When we get back, we'll analyze and reflect on today's practice matches. Then we'll train."

"Right!" they all agreed.

I walked behind them as they walked confidently forward. I looked at each of them, a smile coming to my face. I may miss my goofballs, but I have a new team of goofballs to look after.

'I'm glad that you found them.' Kenma's words from earlier echoed in my head.

"Kaneko-chan!" Daichi called, knocking me out of my thoughts. "We gotta go!"

I smiled as I picked up my pace to follow them. "I'm coming! I'm coming!"

'I'm glad that I found them too.'