A few days later, all the hopes and dreams of Aoba Johsai high were ultimately crushed.
The boys lost to Shiratorizawa and not only that, the girls lost to Niyama... both in the final rounds. It was a hard pill to swallow for both teams. So close and yet so far.
At least they have the fall prelims... right? Although, the stakes will definitely be higher. Their last ACTUAL shot at nationals...
"I-"
"I can't believe we lost..." Sakura dropped to her knees
"Listen up ladies!" Mei stood up as Leila followed
"There's no time to be sad. We still have a shot at this-"
"We do?" Hana questioned
"Fall prelims." The brunette spoke
"You know this was actually good for us-" Leila started
"Mei, Ami and I with a whole team of first years?!" The blonde boasted with hands on her hips
"And we made it to the finals?!"
"That's insane-" Ami nodded agreement
"We can do it-" She smiled
"Now you guys know what it's like out there- get comfortable..."
"Because from this point forward... we're just going to keep on going up" Mei narrowed her eyes in seriousness.
Karasuno Gymnasium
"I'm sure your all itching to know who was the winner of the interhigh final was-" Ukai began
...
"It was Shiratorizawa."
"A-Are you telling me t-that-" Hinata stuttered
"Seijoh lost?" Kageyama bit his lip
"Don't get all hung up on Ushiwaka though-"
"Don't forget, both Seijoh's girls and boys team made it to the finals-" Ukai went on making the all their eyes widen
"Two team's of the same school making it to the finals? Aoba Johsai is definitely strong, but Shiratorizawa is a power house!"
'Poor Lei lei chan...' Nishinoya drew small circles on the court with is finger, pouting
They heard that the girls lost to Niyama Academy.
"We need to step it up!"
"We're going to make it to Spring Nationals boys. You can count on it-"
"Alright!"
Aoba Johsai Courtyard
"Leilaaaaaa, pleaseeeeeeeeee-" Mei had her hands in a praying position begging the blonde seemingly all day
"We have a few weeks of summer vacation left Mei-" Leila sighed trying to get the brunette off her tail
"I'm sorry, I feel really bad throwing this on you last minute, but my cousins are flying in from Australia and we never get to see them!"
"So why don't you just cancel?"
"Cancel? I can't cancel this last minute!" She spazzed making Leila facepalm
"I kinda already said someone from our team will be going... I was going to ask Ami first, but she and her family went to Kyoto for a week-" Mei went on
"It'll be fun, andddd it's in Tokyo~" She teased making the blonde halt
'Tokyo?'
"Hey and I heard Karasuno is going, so you won't be alone-"
'They're going to the training camp? In Tokyo?'
"Daichi will be there... oh!"Mei jumped
"And their crazy chaotic libero that you know from Chidoriyama!"
Slowly, Mei's convincing was working.
Going to Tokyo for summer break, enjoying the game she loves, being able to spend time with Nishinoya and Karasuno... Oh, how she missed her young protegé so much.
"M-Mei..."
"LEILA ABARAI PLEASE I BEG OF YOUUU-" The captain dropped to her knees now creating a scene as other students began to turn catching their attention
"A-Alright! F-Fine I'll go! Now get up-" She blushed in embarrassment
"R-Really?!" Mei's eyes sparkled
"LEI! T-Thank you so much~" She comically cried sneezing into her arm
"But you owe me-" Leila shot back
"Yes ma'am..." The brunette sighed in defeat
"When is it exactly?" The blonde questioned waiting for Mei's response as she scrolled through her texts.
"July 16th to the 23rd-"
Leila's eyes widened realizing the dates.
'Oh...but that's the week of Toori's birthday...'
"Tokyo?" Tooru questioned in surprise on the other end of the line
"Yeah, she guilt tripped me into going in her place-" Leila spoke holding up her cell phone between her cheek and shoulder trying to do multiple tasks at once
"Apparently she volunteered months ago and now she's not able to go..."
"I see..." The bruenette sat on the edge of his bed
"I told her she should just cancel, but Mei promised the other girls that are going... so here I am packing for Tokyo-" She nervously laughed grabbing some shirts out of her closet
"That's Mei-Mei for you-" Tooru sighed laying down
Leila scrunched her eyes shut and pursed her lips before saying the next sentence.
'He's going to be disappointed, I just know it...'
"It's next week-"
The phone was dead silent.
"Tooru?"
"..."
Her stomach clenched.
"T-That's great L-Leila!" He quickly sat up stuttering trying to cover up the uneasiness settling in his chest
"Toori..." The blonde repeated sensing the uncomfortable tone in the boys voice
"It's just... ahh forget it-" He scratched the back of his head
Leila looked down at her desk furrowing. 'Damn it Mei...'
She felt bad. Totally bad.
If I asked when it was before hand, I probably wouldn't me going'
"I promise when I get back, we can do whatever you want! You name it."
Summer vacation was her and Tooru's thing. Yeah they'd still train for volleyball that was a given, but they had more time as a couple.
"Whatever... I want?" His eyebrows rose
"Yup, that's what I said Tooriiii~" She smiled thinking she'd have the upper hand...
"Heh. Leila, my love-" He chuckled sending shivers down her spine
His voice was so sensual... so smooth...
"Next time, you say such things..."
"Think a little bit...before you say them~" He smirked before leaning over, shutting off his light getting under the covers.
The blonde instantly flushed red.
"TOORU!"
"Kidding Lei-Lei! You know that!" The boy broke out into a fit of laughter. He swore he could see the girls expression in his eyes.
"In all seriousness though-" His voice cleared
"There's a lot of...ignorant... stupid idiots at these training camps-" Tooru's cheeks began to tint pink biting the inner part of his lip
"I just don't want any of those dummies to bother you..."
'Aw, he's being protective~~~' She swooned
"I'll be on guard Tooru-" Leila smiled through the phone
"And plus I'll be with Karasuno and Daichi, I'm pretty sure it'll be okay" She reassured him
"I'll stick around with their manager- Shimizu I think her name was? We've talked before-" She scratched her head
Tooru stared at the clock pouting.
"Tooru?"
"Hmm..." He hummed slowly
"I love you-" She sung making him crack a smile
" I love you too."
"Good night Lovebug."
"Night buggy~"
1 Week Later
"Awesomeee! Leaving in the middle of the night makes my heart race!" Hinata jumped, eyes sparkling
"Oh right, you guys got there late last time~" Tanaka boasted crossing his arms
Leila sighed "It's too early for this..." She rubbed her tired eyes
She slept over at the Sawamura household for the night due to Karasuno leaving early in the morning. The blonde was planning on taking the train herself to Tokyo, but that could be dangerous for a girl her age. So Daichi asked their coach if Leila could tag along and obviously he said yes.
"Well as you know, we're scheduled to arrive early in the morning again. Coach and I will be taking turns being the driver to cut the driving time-" Takada began
"Sorry guys if I fall asleep..." The blonde coach yawned
"We're with you sir!" Daichi bowed as the rest followed
"Sir!"
Leila watched in confusion. They're all so... determined.
Getting on the bus, everyone sat in groups of two... though Leila had a seat all to herself. Ahh, perfect.
She sat across from their manager Kiyoko, who was next to a little blonde headed girl. Leila didn't mind though. A whole seat to herself? Who wouldn't be okay with that?
Seeing Tokyo on the horizon started to make the teens excited. This is where nationals are going to be held. Tokyo, Japan. The big city.
"Okay, everyone! We are here!" Takada stood up
"And not only that, looks like some cats came to see you-" He smiled looking out the window noticing red jackets and some familiar players
Hinata was the first one to jump up "NEKOMA IS HERE!?"
He ran to the front of the bus hopping down the stairs running out to a kid clinging onto a portable game device.
"Redhead sure does have a lot of energy- '' Leila leaned over on the top of her seat watching Hinata through the window as she fixed her long blonde ponytail, now waiting in line to get off.
Representing her school as well as their teams, she wore her classic Aoba Johsai turquoise t-shirt with a pair of white shorts and sneakers.
"After you, my lady~"
Nishinoya bowed comically holding up the line allowing Leila to get off ahead of the second and first years.
She giggled, grabbing her sports bag.
"Thanks Yu yu-" She smiled going on ahead following Sugawara
"Nice move Noya!" Tanaka slapped the boy on the back
"Keep the line moving would you? I need to get off this thing-" Tsukishima rolled his eyes now standing up
"Watch your mouth first year!" Nishinoya shouted
Getting agitated, the blonde twinged.
"Oh please, you just did that so you could stare at her a-"
"AHHH SHUT UP!" The shorter Libero spazzed turning around, face beat red making Tanaka break out into a fit of laughter
"Wow! Isn't that Tokyo tower over there?!"
"N-No... that's... just a normal radio tower..."
"You got everything Abarai?" The blonde haired coached questioned grabbing the teams bags from the undercarriage of the bus
"Yes, thank you Coach Ukai-" She picked up her bag throwing it over her shoulder along with a few other things
"Leila?"
The blonde stood frozen hearing her name slip out of a familiar yet unfamiliar voice...
She turned to see the tall raven haired captain of Nekoma.
"Tetsurou?"
.
.
.
"TETSUROU?!" Yamamoto and Tanaka spazzed
"YOU KNOW HIM?"
"HE KNOWS HER?"
"WHAT THE-"
"Cap it Tanaka-" Daichi scowled
"Yes sir..." The second year hushed
"Kuroo, it's been a long time huh?" She smiled now walking over to the raven haired captain
"So uh..." Tanaka let out a cough
"Can someone tell me what's going on?" He crossed his arms watching the two third years suspiciously
"Captain-" Hinata questioned turning to Daichi
"Do you know?"
"Wish I could tell you, but i'm just as lost as the rest of you-" He sweat dropped watching his cousin and the Nekoma captain share an embrace
Nishinoya had fire flaming in his eyes leaving Suga and Asahi to hold back the beast.
"H-Hey Leila-" Daichi walked forward
"You know Kuroo?" He questioned cocking his head slightly to the left
Hearing Daichi's confused tone, the blonde turned around to face him and the rest of Karasuno.
"Yeah, Dai-" She nodded before continuing
"Remember how I used to live in Tokyo before moving back to Miyagi?" She put a hand on her hip
"Well me and Tetsu were next door neighbours-" She smiled as all of their mouths dropped
But not only Karasuno... Nekoma too.
"What the hell Kuroo?!" Yaku spazzed
"You've been keepin' secrets from us man?!" Yamamoto raged
"W-What? Who do you think you're talking to?" The captain defended himself
"Anyways, it's not what you think-"
"Yeah, it's really not-" Leila shook her head back and forth
"Okay you guys, let's make our way to the school-" Ukai began as everyone started to once again grab their belongings
"That's right, we're going to be at a different school than last time!" The short first year boasted
"Hinata! Hey!" A voice shouted from the distance catching all of there attentions
"Are you any taller yet?!" The silver haired boy questioned almost making Leila do a spit take with her water
"Holy sh-"
"Lei, language-" Suga pointed as she apologized
"H-He... he's so tall! and he's a first year?!" She spazzed turning to the right looking up at Kuroo as he devilishly smirked
"It's only been two weeks since I saw you, don't you have anything else to say?!"
"Shut up Lev-" Kenma disregarded the first year
"Well, I grew a couple of millimetres-" He teased as Hinata fainted
.
.
.
"Alight, we'll be swapping players constantly to be prepared for that-"
"Right!"
As the boys began their practice, Leila stood alongside Kiyoko and Yatchi.
"A volleyball training camp is great and all..." The blonde began
"But I didn't realize how much I would want to play- this sucks..." The girl frowned, shrugging her shoulders making the two Karasuno managers giggle at the mopey Aoba Johsai libero.
It was now evening and Leila walked by the gym making her body pump with adrenaline.
She wanted to play so bad... and thankfully, that dream soon came true.
"HEY HEY HEYY!" A silver haired boy shouted
Leila jumped at the boisterous tone and quickly turned.
"Let's see what the queen of Aoba Johsai's got in store for us!" Noticing the girl as he threw on a scrimmage vest tossing some over to the rest
'Isn't that the captain of Fukurodani?'
"B-Bokuto?" She stuttered
"Hehheh. See that Kuroo? Your girl knows me-" He teased before getting smacked upside the head
"OUCH H-HEY!"
"Shut up-" Kuroo frowned
There were so many practice matches going on today, she didn't even notice that the owls were here.
"If he's here that must mean..."
"Bou you forgot your water bot-" The ace of Fukurudani's girls team walked onto the court
"Oh?"
'Dear god someone save me'
"Look at that, the Aoba loser's here-" Misa teased crossing her arms wearing their dark blue team shirts matching Bokuto and Akaashi
Leila clenched her fists and by her reaction, Kuroo could tell something was definitely up.
"Ha!" She scoffed
"You came all the way to Tokyo, and didn't think Fukurodani would be apart of this training camp?" She taunted as Leila stood frozen, mouth agape
"Wow, you really are dumb-"
The worst part about being rivals with an ace, is their positions. Aces are attackers and liberos are the defenders.
No matter what, Misa will always have the sheer will and power to back her up, while Leila has to rely on others to make the point.
"Okay, it'll be me, Akaashi and Bou vs you, rooster and skinny-" Misa crossed her arms making Kuroo and Tsukishima twinge at the nicknames
"Two aces and a setter vs two middle blockers and a libero? Pffft. Yeah, tell me Misa Misa- how exactly is that fair?" The blonde pushed as they got up in each others faces making Bokuto and Kuroo fearful of the girls
"Fine then, we'll take skinny and you take Koutarou-"
"M-Misaaaa... how could you just hand me o-off l-like t-that..." The frosted tipped owl comically cried
"Oh sweetie, you'll be fine-" She slapped him on the back as he walked to the other side of the court in melancholy
"Bro!" Kuroo rose up a hand catching Bokuto's attention as he bent down to go under the net
"Broooooo!" Bokuto's mood did a 180 high-fiving the Nekoma captain sticking out his tongue
Leila stood between the 6 foot captains.
Oh, what has she got herself into.
The first set went to Leila, Kuroo and Bokuto. Having one of the top 5 aces on their team, a solid middle blocker and a phenomenal libero. Of course they had the advantage. Kuroo and Bokuto weren't captains for no good reason.
But in the end, Misa, Akaashi and Tsukusima ended up winning.
What Do you say?
Well...
Misa and Akaashi know Bokuto wayyy too well and knew how to exploit his weaknesses.
"THAT'S IT-" Leila raged flinging off her elbow and knee pads
"LET ME AT HER-"
"Ah! What a joke-" Misa scoffed as she tore off her scrimmage vest putting it in the bin
Kuroo was quick and grab the blonde her by the torso holding her back
"See ya around... Aoba Loser-"
And with that jab, it made Leila squirm in Kuroo's arms.
Once the raven haired beauty was out of sight, the Nekoma captain let go.
...
"You know-" Bokuto grabbed his water bottle
"She's not as bad as everyone thinks-" He went on as Leila stared at him with a third eye.
"Pfft. Yeah, okay-" She rolled her eyes grabbing her water bottle in disbelief
"No I'm serious Abarai-san-"
"But enough about that, look at you Tsukishima!" Leila took notice of the quiet first year trying to escape from the gym
"You did pretty good against this guy over here-" She pointed with her thumb over to Bokuto sitting next to her on the court
"I mean, you need more work obviously-" Kuroo put his hands behind his head in a lax manor making the blonde headed boy twinge
"Well yeah of course! After all, I'm only a first year student, I still have a couple of years to grow and build up some good ol' muscle!" Tsukushima said with a jolly good smile that made Bokuto frown at his use of sarcasm
"You better stop dragging your feet there skinny or carrot top is going to take all the glory for himself-"
"He's a middle blocker too~" Kuroo teased as the gymnasium went silent
"..."
"Huh?" All three of their eyes darted over the quiet blonde
"Um, yeah... I don't think there's much I can do about that-" He scratched the back of his head
"I mean, let's be honest. There's a big difference in potential between Hinata and me-"
"Well anyway, looks like my job here is done-"
"What? No! Hey wait-" Kuroo reached out a hand as the boy began to walk away
"I think you might've just struck a little nerve there Kuroo-" Akaashi spoke
"Nice move-"
"You pissed him off! Come on Kuroo, I thought you'd have better people skills then that~" Bokuto teased
"Yeah well, I didn't know he'd be all like that-" The Nekoma captain looked down
"It's okay." Leila darted her head over before she got up
"I'll go talk to him-"
And with that, the girl ran out of the gym.
Outside
"H-Hey!"
"Tsukishima!"
"W-Wait up!"
"Yes?" He stop and turned
'Wowiee he's really tall-' Lelia took a step back
"Don't worry about dumb and dumber in there, they were just teasing you-" She motioned obviously talking about Bokuto and Kuroo
"Hey... um..."
"Can I ask you something?" The first year scratched the back of his head as his cheeks slightly tinted pink catching the libero by surprise
"Sure-" She replied patiently waiting for a response
"What drives you-"
"What drives you to play?"
"To play?" Lelia repeated
"I mean, it's just a sport or game I just don't get how everyone can get so invested in winning-" He clenched his fists in aggravation
"When most of us will only be playing until high school anyway-"
"It just... doesn't make sense..."
"..."
"I get what you mean-" Leila nodded
"Though, there are some of us that plan on going pro-" Flashes of Ushijima, Tooru and Bokuto twirled through her mind
"But no, you're one hundred percent right. When I go to college, I want to major in musical theatre..."
"Performing arts-" She looked up to the sky catching his attention
"I play the guitar and have been in piano lessons since I was a kid. What's someone like me playing in a sport? Let alone volleyball for that matter?"
"Well, in all honesty, I was forced to play as a kid, it's as simple as that." The girl flat out stated making his eyes widened
"And when I felt the adrenaline rush during my first game, it was the most amazing feeling"
"I enjoyed the thrill... of winning..." She bit her lip with a devious smile making the first year slightly uncomfortable
"For me-" She quickly changed expressions
"I like to compare volleyball to an orchestra."
"An orchestra?" Tsukishima repeated
"Mmhm-" The girl nodded
"Me being a libero, I get to see everything from the back. Watching the setter be the conductor of the whole show. How one movement can drastically change a play-"
"If you hit the wrong key on a piano, it ruins the tone for the whole song" Tsukishima looked over as the girl's eyes sparkled watching the moon
"I have to admit, I was never good at spiking." She put a hand on her hip
"A lot of people just assume since you're short... Yup, the libero position is best suited for you." She then let out a sigh
"But it's not true at all."
"My teammates can count on me for catching that receive and saving us a point."
"It's funny actually, when I met Nishinoya for the first time back in junior high... he was so shy and timid-"
"You're kidding right? That ball of crazy?" The first year scoffed
"Yep! And look at him now-" Leila smiled thinking of her protege
"So you need to find your niche Tsukishima" She winked
"Obviously you don't hate the game since your still around-"
"Now the question is..." Leila walked closer to the boy
"What drives you?" She poked his chest looking up at him as her phone began to ring, breaking the moment
"Hmph-" Tsukishima let out a scoff as she scrambled to get her cell phone out of her pocket
Incoming call: Tooru Oikawa
"You think on that, and I gotta go take this!" She toothily smiled before turning around putting the phone up to her ear
"Toorriiiiii-" The third year comically answered the phone breaking out into song
"Lei Lei~~~" Tooru impersonated her singing back as she began to chuckle
"Hi my love-" She repeated mid laughter
"How was your day today buggy?" The brunette questioned as he closed his front door.
The boy just came home from an evening run.
"You'll never guess it-" She rolled her eyes putting a hand on her hip
"Misa Misa's here-" The blonde venomously rolled the Fukurudani's aces name off of her tongue following it up with a frown
"Uh oh..." Tooru gasped
"yeahhh..." She let out a sigh
"You just focus on you Lei, don't let her get to you-"
"I'll try..."
'Hey! Leila!'
The blonde turned to hear the Nekoma captain running in her direction.
Tooru's eyes perked up hearing the foreign voice casually saying his girlfriend's name.
"Who's that Lei Lei?"
"Leila-"His eyes narrowed, stopping what he was doing
"Hey Toorii, I'll call you back after kay?"
Beep*
Tooru moved the phone down from his ear and stared at the device skeptically.
He didn't like this...
"Hey Tetsu!" Leila smiled turning around
"W-We-" He huffed a bit out of breath
"Didn't get a chance to catch up earlier..."
"So how 'bout now?" The blonde beamed as the captain smirked
She didn't know where all of this positive energy came from all of a sudden. Was it because she helped Tsukishima? That he asked her in a way for help?
"You know, I never even knew you played for Nekoma-"
"I never knew you played for Aoba Johsai-"
"Touché" She nodded as they walked along
"I mean, we don't really hear about Tokyo teams in Miyagi-"
Honestly, it's all about Shirotorizawa-"
"Yeah, I could see that-" Kuroo looked up to the sky
"Ushiwaka... man, that guy is a force to be reckoned with-" He let out a small laugh
"Your tellin' me-" Leila joined in on the chuckle
"It's funny though, all they ever seem to show on tv is that damn pretty boy from your school-" Kuroo rolled his eyes in annoyance making the blonde stiffen
'Pretty boy?'
There's no way he could be talking about anyone else. It had to be Tooru. Who else at Aoba Johsai would be considered 'Pretty'? Iwaizumi?
Ha! Yeah right.
He has more of a stoic persona.
Trying to wiggle her way out of that conversation, the girl changed the topic.
"Anyways, how's your mom?"
"She's good, you know. Same old same old-"
"Ah-" Leila nodded
"Okay, well I'm beat-" The girl stretched her arms over her head ready for bed
"Hey-"
"Try not to kill Misa-"
"No promises there I can tell ya that-"
Kuroo smiled watching the blonde walk to the building.
'Man, she's something else isn't she?'
Next Chapter Title: Rivalry