Haikyuu!
Higher
Chapter 04: Ace

The game went quickly, with the boys of Karasuno making sure to take heed of Aika's advice. They scored as many points as they could, with about twenty-five minutes passing with forty-four plays ending in points. The game was fast-paced, an almost desperate air coming from both sides. It was down to the wire, with match point towards Karasuno.

"Oikawa's going in now," muttered Takeda, the kind teacher who had allowed Aika to stay at the bench as his "assistant coach."

The girl nodded, looking towards the advisor and temporary coach. "I just hope it doesn't psych the boys out. They've gotten into a rhythm, and Oikawa's a new variable." Takeda and Shimizu, the boys' manager, nodded, understanding exactly what was at stake here.

Takeda crossed his arms and frowned. "I don't like it," he admitted.

Oikawa's first serve, a powerful jump serve, aimed right towards Tsukishima. It bounced off his arms, causing him to flinch as it hit the railing with a loud clang.

"No way…" Aika's eyes widened. "A jump serve that strong… and he controlled where it went? He's crazy…" Takeda and Shimizu both looked to Aika, as if they were asking her to explain. "It's… it's just that being able to do that requires a lot of stamina and technique, a balance between powerful and controlled, and it's incredibly hard to do… I haven't seen a high school student who's able to do something like that. It was aimed so precisely, too…"

Takeda's frown grew even deeper as the next serve was also aimed right towards Tsukishima, bouncing off of his arm again, earning Aoba-Josai another point. It was almost tied up, and with Oikawa serving and no libero, the chances of receiving the serve successfully rode completely on whether or not Tsukishima would be able to get the ball into the air.

He didn't have to have a perfect receive, but he had to at least be able to hit it back into the air, preferably on their side of the court.

"Change the rotation a little," she mumbled. "Sawamura is our best chance."

As if the team could hear her, Sawamura immediately ordered the rest of the players to go further towards the edges, so he could have more of a chance to receive the serve. He stood confidently in the center of the players, glaring at the other side of the net.

Sugawara, who sat next to Aika, continued to glance at her. She continued to be right about everything, one step ahead of the players themselves.

Something was different about her at that moment. She had always been able to read each player like a book, which would be a dangerous skill to face. She was more talkative than usual, though, and it seemed like her normally apathetic expression was gone from her face. Her eyes were filled with a fire that wasn't usually there. It was a fire that Sugawara recognized.

Aika really did love volleyball, even if she no longer played. She still loved the thrill of it, and she knew what she was doing. It was almost comforting to know that there was a hint of the Aika that may once have existed back when she was a player.

She was smart about the game and the players. It was something that their team needed. They needed someone who could teach them in ways that they couldn't teach herself.

However, for all her smarts, even she hadn't been able to predict what happened next. Her fiery eyes went as wide as everyone else's as Oikawa aimed another pinpoint serve towards Tsukishima. It seemed like she'd frozen in place as the play continued, with Tsukishima finally being able to return the serve.

But it was all he could do just to keep it in the air. He couldn't control where it went as it flew right back to Oikawa, who allowed his team to set it up. Number six leapt for it, but that was when life seemed to come back to Aika.

"Our rotation has no blocking power!" Sugawara realized, panic filling his voice.

She shook her head, her eyes shimmering with excitement. "We don't need power. We just need a single touch. That'll change it back to our favor… just one touch."

Once again, she was ahead of the players themselves. It was like she'd seen Hinata leap for it, jumping higher than ever, his hand outstretched so he could reach the ball.

It thudded as it bounced off his fingertips. Sugawara gaped, seeing the ball flying in the air rather than hitting the court. Almost immediately afterwards, Hinata sprinted, crossing the court within a matter of moments.

"The ball is the only thing that can catch Shoyo," muttered Aika. "It's the only thing that can touch him."

Sugawara heard her words, but didn't stop to think about them as Hinata spiked the ball. It rushed towards Oikawa, slamming down in the corner behind him. It was too fast for Oikawa to even move, even think, as the point was counted.

Karasuno had won.

Aika stood, gathering her bag. Her hair fell into her face as she stared at her feet that took her away from the bench. "Simple. Sloppy, but simple," were the words that she muttered while walking away from the Karasuno bench.

"Yama—I mean, Aika?"

She paused, looking back to Sugawara, the one who had called her name. He nearly gasped, seeing that the fire in her eyes had extinguished almost as fast as it had started. "As amazing as your team was today, you made a lot of mistakes. Be sure to fix those before any actual tournament. If you don't improve on those mistakes, you'll never beat Toru Oikawa in a full best of three match." She sighed, looking at her phone, checking the time. "I'll wait on the bus. I'm sure there's some team stuff you guys want to take care of," she mumbled, turning to walk out of the gym.

He couldn't say anything to her. He was still trying to understand what had just happened. Not just in the game, but the sudden change, then reversion, he'd seen in Aika. She'd been so into the game, watching it with intent and concentration so rare in those who no longer played.

But that fire and concentration had died as soon as the game ended.

And when the game ended, she said 'your' team. Not 'we,' like she had only a few minutes earlier.

As nice as Takeda's speech at the end of the game was, Kageyama wished that he could have heard something from someone who actually knew the game. He was grateful for the kind words, for the encouragement from an adult that he'd impressed. He liked hearing that he'd done a good job, hearing that he would continue to grow.

But somehow, it wasn't enough.

He wanted to hear what he had to learn, what he had to take away from the game. He wanted to continue to grow, not be told that he was good. He needed to keep growing, or else he'd never be able to get better and eventually grow strong enough to defeat whoever was standing in his way.

"Sensei," he called. "Where's Yamada? Did she leave already?"

Takeda's eyes widened, then he looked down, looking almost upset. "She went to the bus already. She got up as soon as the whistle blew, like she was done watching as soon as the game ended. I don't think that she enjoyed herself much," he admitted.

"That's not true." Both of them looked to Sugawara, who was watching them intently. "I think she enjoyed herself more than she wants to admit. Honestly, I think she's trying to force herself away from volleyball, because she doesn't want to experience the pain of never being able to play. But she still loves it. I can tell by the way she looked when she saw your final play, Kageyama."

Kageyama looked down. "I see. Did she say anything before she left?" he wondered, his voice quiet.

Nodding, the vice-captain smiled, like he knew why Kageyama was asking. "She said that there's still a lot to improve on before we can take Oikawa on in a full match. She also called it sloppy, but she seemed to enjoy watching."

"I see."

Sugawara's smile grew gentler. "You and Hinata should go see her when you're done doing whatever it is you need to do. After all, Hinata brought her back to volleyball once, and you did the same today. Maybe you can convince her to stay," he advised, a kind smile on his gentle face.

Kageyama nodded. "Yeah," he mumbled.

Aika looked out the window, noticing just how long it had been since she'd gotten to the bus. Whatever the boys were doing, it was taking a long time. She sighed, pushing herself out of the bus to look for them.

It wasn't that she was concerned. It was just that she wanted to go home.

She walked back towards the gate of Aoba-Josai, only to freeze when she heard a familiar, grating voice that somehow managed to make her grit her teeth in anger. Her hands curled into fists as she stayed hidden behind the brick walls that surrounded to the high school.

"Let's play our best from the beginning next time. There's a lot we haven't shown you yet, and there's a lot we're going to improve by then. Including our serves," Oikawa declared, smiling serenely at the Karasuno team.

His intentions were clearly not to congratulate Karasuno for a well-played game. He was clearly bitter about having lost to a duo of freshmen, one of whom could barely control his attacks and the other who he clearly had an intense grudge against for some unknown reason. Oikawa was the type of person to take a loss hard, and continue to work for revenge against whoever had bested him. Now, Karasuno was on his hit list, and he was going to make that very clear.

Aika hated people like him.

His smile stayed on his face as his words grew more threatening and his voice grew darker. "You're powerful, but you can't receive well, which is a clear loss for you. I'm not the only powerful server in the prefecture, and definitely not the only one you'll face. Let's meet at the Inter-high preliminaries. Don't get eliminated before we do, okay?" he drawled. "After all, I want to crush my junior setter in an official match, where everyone can see."

"Don't think it'll be so easy, Oikawa." He dropped his hand back to his side to look at Aika, who had come to stand at the gates, glaring at the Aoba-Josai captain. "They're rough around the edges right now, but you're doing two things wrong. Overestimating your own ability and underestimating theirs."

He scoffed at her. "I saw you at the match, didn't I? May I ask who you are, little girl?" he asked as sweetly as he could, but with a dark look as she walked forwards, looking up at him.

Even though he loomed over her, she showed no fear. Instead, her dark eyes met his. They were practically fighting with their glares, lightning connecting the two of them as a storm raged in the background. Neither of them wanted to back down.

Finally, Aika stood, grinning a wild grin. "Aika Yamada, and I'll be the one to ensure that these boys come back even better than this. I'm gonna make you eat your words. No, wait. I'll shove them so far up your ass, you'll taste them for weeks."

"Oh? Those are strong words from such a small girl," Oikawa shot back.

"And you have a big mouth for someone who's going to lose again." She moved past him to stand next between Hinata and Tsukishima. She should have looked rather out of place with her height, but somehow, she fit right in next to them. "We'll fight you next time, and we'll see who's the better team."

Oikawa grinned darkly, glaring down at her. He turned, his glare still trained on Aika, and began to walk away. "It'll be us. I guarantee it." He waved. "I look forward to seeing you at the tournament. Good luck improving in such a short amount of time."

Gritting her teeth, Aika turned as well. "We're wasting time here. Let's go," she demanded, her voice filled with so much authority that the boys couldn't help but follow her.

Her agreement to join had been on a whim. Oikawa had just been pissing her off with his aggravating words, ones that had seemed to flow so easily from his lying mouth. He was the type of guy that pissed her off most. She couldn't help it.

"Hey, Aika." She looked at Hinata. "Are you really going to join us? And teach us, like you taught me back in middle school?"

She sighed. "No," she deadpanned. Hinata's face fell at first, but she grinned at him, a new spark of determination in her eyes. "I'm going to teach you much differently. After all, you can handle new techniques and new plays, can't you? Aren't you going to beat the shit out of Aoba-Josai? Aren't you going to make it to nationals?" she demanded.

A smile reached his face. "Of course!"

"Then we're learning the hard stuff now. If you can't keep up, I'm not waiting for you!"

Hinata cheered in response to her declaration, and the upperclassmen of the volleyball team smiled at the two who sat in the back of the bus. They knew that they had gained a powerful ally in Aika Yamada, and they were glad to have someone with them, who could at least help them for now.

The only two that remained were the Guardian and the Ace.

Takeda even smiled. He knew that there was someone that, if Aika could team up with him, could make the Karasuno coaching staff even more powerful.

Aika sat at her desk, studying the notes she'd hurriedly written on the Karasuno team. She'd written about each player, with their strengths and weaknesses in each area scribbled next to their names. Each player had a page on their stats, but there was something missing.

She frowned, pulling a post-it from the giant pile of post-its that lay on her desk. She quickly scribbled a few words on it, then stuck it right on top of the papers.

Power spiker and libero were written in bold letters.

The next day, she walked through the doors of the gym, only to see Kageyama, Hinata, and a boy she didn't know standing around one side of the court. The boy had spiked hair, his bangs a different color than the rest of his hair. He was short, with an almost wild gaze to him.

Her eyes narrowed, and she looked at him. She could see bruises all over his arms, the only part of his body that was bare, and she could already guess what position he played.

Aika stepped into the gym. "So, we do have a libero after all," she drawled, leaning against the wall, her notebook tucked under her arm.

For a moment, the attention was on her, but then, the rest of the volleyball club filed in. She watched, and pulled out her notes. She titled the next clean page with the name that Sawamura had uttered, the one that corresponded to the small, hyperactive boy.

Yu Nishinoya, libero.