Haikyuu!
Higher
Chapter 11: Shine

Sugawara stood in front of Aika, watching as she fought back the tears that were already rolling down her face. She wiped them away, but they still fell, leaving her eyes raw and her cheeks wet.

Within a split second, Sugawara planted himself next to her, his body as close as he could possibly be to offer her warmth. He silently wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her tiny frame into his much larger one. He said nothing as he used the thumb of his free hand to wipe her tears away as they fell down her face. Offering a small smile, he held her close, allowing her to bury her face into his shoulder as her shoulders shook.

"I'm not going to ask what's wrong," he said. "I know it's got to be big to have you sad like this, but I don't want to push you. You don't need me stressing you out. Just know that we can sit here as long as you need to. We don't have to go back until you feel better."

She muttered a quiet "thank you" into his jacket, her voice muffled, but he could still hear her devastated voice. He rested his cheek on the top of her head, feeling her hair rubbing against his skin as she cried as quietly as she could. He held her a little bit tighter, conflict settling in his chest. Her sniffles were the only thing that he could hear, and it was painful to listen to her cry.

"I… I told the team that they could aim for Date Tech's pillar, their-their captain," she confessed softly, her voice breaking. "I told them to… to hurt someone. But I-I don't want to see anyone else get hurt, but I don't want t-to lose. I don't… I don't want this to be the last game we get to play with our seniors. I-I'm not ready to leave the c-court yet… I want-want to help bring you all to victory here." Her voice became quieter and quieter until it was practically nothing more than a whisper, so much that Sugawara had to strain in order to catch her last sentence.

Realization dawned on Sugawara, and his eyes widened.

She'd taken on the immense pressure of being the person that a lot of the team trusted to identify the clearest path to victory. She'd felt as if she'd failed during the Nekoma game, even if there was nothing that she could have done to change the outcome. She'd worked as hard as any of them, studying their strengths and weaknesses, and attempting to hide whatever weaknesses she found.

This was her tournament to lose, just as much as any of the players on the court.

Perhaps it meant even more to her, since she'd failed to lead Hinata to victory against Kageyama and his much more experienced team less than a year prior. She'd lost her ability to lead her own team to victory due to a mistake she blamed fully on her own selfish desire to win.

It had probably worsened after seeing Ikejiri and the Tokonami team so disheartened after their own loss. She didn't want to see Sugawara or Daichi or Asahi like that.

So, she'd taken the easiest path to victory, and had told them to destroy a player's mentality by breaking him over and over and over again through spikes that he couldn't receive. She had faith in her team, but it was herself that she didn't believe in.

His grip tightened again as he pulled her even closer, something that he didn't realize was possible until that moment. "Winning the game on the court isn't your responsibility," he finally said, his tone as gentle as he could possibly make it. "It's more than enough that you and Coach Ukai pushed us to practice so much. You've done everything right. You don't have to take on anything else."

She shook in his arms, and his heart cracked a little as he finally began to see the true façade of the girl he'd seen as nothing but strength began to shatter. "I just don't want this to be the end for you," she murmured. "You deserve to be out there, just as much as Sawamura senpai and Azumane senpai."

"Thank you for saying that. But it'd mean so much to me just to see us earn the right to play one more set." There was reluctance in his voice, but he tried to hide it. "This won't be the end. Not by a long shot."

She was silent. Her only response was to let her head fall onto Sugawara's chest.

He swore that his breath caught in his throat for a moment. His pulse quickened, and he felt blood rushing to his cheeks. He hoped that his heart wasn't beating out of control. That would be far too embarrassing for him to recover from.

"Thank you, Suga."

Now he was sure that his heart was about to beat right out of his chest.

Kageyama wiped the sweat from his brow as he prepared for the second set. He looked around Karasuno's side of the court for any sign of the familiar red or silver hair, only to see neither of them. A frown tugged at the corners of his lips, his mind barely registering what Ukai had to say.

Two figures darted through the gymnasium doors, and the entirety of Karasuno's team, including the tall coach who'd been speaking about their change in rotation, turned to look at them, more than one person noting how close they seemed.

Sugawara had the decency to look sheepish about his and Aika's sudden entrance. "Sorry," he said, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. The girl simply kept her gaze down, her eyes hidden from Kageyama's sight.

"Ah, Yamada." Ukai seemed unperturbed by her reappearance, although Kageyama caught the slightest bit of concern. "You're good?" She nodded. "We're just going to change the rotations so that Hinata won't go up against 6 or 7. Our rotation now goes—"

"I know how it'd go." She finally looked up, a frown on her face. Kageyama was taken aback for a moment by her bloodshot eyes that seemed to go against how strong her stance was. She ignored his gaze and continued, "But that matches Azumane senpai up against 7 on our first rotation, then it'd match Kageyama against him. I don't like that. It takes away two potential routes. It should be either Tsukishima or Sawamura senpai to go up against 7."

Ukai hummed for a moment. "But 6 is a threat, too," he argued.

She shrugged. "If your priority is keeping Shoyo away from 7, then moving rotation two spots is our best bet, but I don't know how the rest of the matchups will work."

Sighing, the coach put the whiteboard down. "Well, a matchup against 7 is unavoidable. Just shifting players around won't do anything for us unless we can show up. Even if we take Hinata out of the mark, we're just moving another person against 7." He ran his hand through his hair, looking somewhat stressed about facing the Iron Wall in the second set.

"It's fine. I'll face him." Azumane, for once, looked strong, resilient, even though he was usually terrified of everything. It was a nice change to see him so ready to fight for his right to remain on the court. "If Hinata is on, Karasuno is, too. I'll fulfil my role as ace, and I can promise that."

Kageyama looked towards Aika, whose teary eyes contrasted her proud smile as she watched Hinata and Azumane animatedly cheer each other on. She seemed as if she was lighter, like she'd gotten rid of something that was bothering her for a while.

His feet took him forwards, approaching her. "Are you okay?" he asked, his words surprising both of them.

Her red, wide eyes stared at him in disbelief for a moment. She managed a smile as she nodded up at him. "Yeah. I'm good, I promise. There was just some stuff I had to sort out. I let it affect my judgment of the situation, but no more. I'll be better from now on." She quickly bowed, and it was his turn to stare at her with wide eyes.

He recovered after a moment of shock, watching her stand back up, a determined fire in her eyes. That was all he needed to see to be convinced. "Good," he declared.

Aika watched as both Karasuno and Date Tech took one point after the other, neither of them willing to give anything to their opponent. She scanned the boys on her team, watching them for any sign of a weak point.

"Tsukishima's receives are getting better," she muttered to herself, moving to jot down an update in her notes, "but they still suck. You can tell by the look on his face. It's taking everything he has to just get the ball into the air while keeping it on our side."

Ukai nodded, agreeing with her. "We haven't had enough time with him. Or even on receives in general." He leaned forward, resting his chin on his hands. "At least it's in the air. That's all we can ask for." He bit his lip, trying not to grin as Hinata moved to the vanguard.

Aika, however, let her feral grin take over her face, knowing that Shoyo wouldn't be facing the Iron Wall. His quicks and decoy plays would work even more easily on an unsuspecting blocker. He was fearsome, that was for sure.

Three points in a row went to Karasuno thanks to Shoyo rotating to the front. One from Shoyo's quick, one from Tanaka's spike, and one from Azumane's fearsome power hit, which blew past the blockers before they could think of stopping it. There was panic clearly written on the Date Tech coach as he called for a time out.

Karasuno gathered around the bench, Ukai throwing some last minute receiving advice at each of the boys. All of them took it in stride, even Tsukishima, who looked bitter about his poor skills.

Aika, however, pulled Shoyo aside as Ukai spoke to a few of the other players. "Shoyo, they're locked onto you," she murmured. "You're relying on your quick too much. It's a good thing that the blockers in the front are much slower than numbers 6 and 7, but even idiots like the blockers you're facing now will eventually catch up. Don't be afraid to take it a little bit slower."

Shoyo's bright orange hair moved up and down as he nodded vigorously. "I got it, Aika! I'm gonna take more points than ever, 'cause I'll make sure they don't see me coming!" he declared, a grin on his face.

Sighing at her friend's boundless enthusiasm, Aika ruffled his hair, eliciting protests from him. "Just take it easy. Don't wear yourself out before we can even show what we really have when we face Aoba Josai," she muttered to him.

Almost immediately, his face became serious. It was that scary kind of serious that was rare to see from someone as happy as Shoyo. "I understand. I really do. But I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that we can stay on the court." His eyes weren't showing any trace of his childish beliefs that he clung to in order to keep himself grounded. Instead, they were filled with only the belief that Karasuno would win.

Aika grinned at him.

"Then go out there and get us another set."

Watching from the sidelines is painful, Yamaguchi decided. I… I want to be out there, too. I want to play with the other freshmen.

His hands clenched into fists as he watched Tsukishima and Azumane send number 7's quick sailing right to Date Tech's side of the court.

I want to be strong enough to support everyone, too.

His throat grew tired as he continued to cheer tirelessly with each cool toss Kageyama performed, or each impossible save Nishinoya got.

I know I'm not like them, but I want to be. I want to be like them.

His entire body shook with excitement as Hinata leapt for the ball, the blockers effortlessly following him, even though he wasn't the one who would be spiking.

I want to be as bright as the rest of them, standing tall in the spotlight. I want to be part of Karasuno, too!

It wasn't like he was jealous of Hinata, eating up the blocker's attention. That was just Hinata's job. He was the one who was supposed to shine the brightest so that everyone else could have a chance.

But it didn't feel as cool anymore.

Asahi couldn't rely simply on his own power to break through the Iron Wall. He couldn't force his way through the blockers, and he wasn't fast enough to see an open court before the blockers could jump. He could only rely on Hinata's bright aura, the one that struck fear into anyone who had to block his quicks, to get a chance to see that court open up for him.

He wasn't jealous, though.

He was grateful.

Maybe Asahi didn't shine as brightly as the ace anymore. Maybe the title of "ace" didn't mean anything, or at least not as much as it used to.

"You can't win by yourself, but you don't have to. There's five other people on the court."

Kageyama's words rang in his head. The words that helped him to return to the sport he loved so much.

Maybe he was a bit jealous. Hinata looked really cool.

But Hinata was his teammate, and no matter who the blockers followed, a point was a point. Even if Asahi had to rely on a tiny first year who couldn't serve very well, he could still earn a point. Even if he didn't get to be as in the spotlight as Hinata, that was okay.

He was still the ace, and his spikes would still find their home on the court of anyone who opposed him. Even if he got blocked, he'd continue to spike, continue to do his job as the ace, and continue to call for the toss. No matter how long it took, no matter who he had to rely on to help him, he'd spike the ball towards the empty court.

I am not alone.

Even without Hinata on the court, there were still others he could rely on.

Nishinoya saved the ball, tossing it up into the air. It arched right towards Kageyama, who lowered his arms to send it right towards Asahi, right towards the net.

I am not alone.

He could practically feel his team beside him as he pushed the ball against the Iron Wall, fighting with his own two hands against the blockers. He nearly cursed as his hand slipped, the ball falling towards Karasuno's side.

He could practically feel everyone holding their breaths. He could feel himself forget to breathe, too.

For a moment, there was no response from anyone around him.

I am not alone.

And then, as quick as lightning, a foot shot out to intercept, the ball never hitting the court, but simply the side of Nishinoya's sneaker. It bounced up into the air, sailing exactly to where Asahi need it to go, like it could hear his desperate thoughts.

His feet against the court kept him grounded, even as his gaze was focused solely on the ball overhead. He could see Kageyama running towards the ball, stretching out his arms to toss. He could hear Suga's voice, yelling for him to try, even just one more time.

I am not alone.

Kageyama's toss was perfect – a high toss, slightly away from the net. It was the one that Asahi knew best, the one that always came through for him. Even if it wasn't Suga tossing to him, like it had been the last time he'd needed to break through, it felt damn close. Daichi was yelling now, too, encouraging him to put all of his power into this one toss, this one spike. Other people were loudly chanting for him to spike, but Asahi barely heard any of them.

The only one that rang through his mind clearly was the voice of the bright decoy who had made his courage possible. Hinata's never-give-up attitude had somehow rubbed off on Asahi, and the ace felt a jolt in his chest as he leapt into the air, prepared to spike.

I am not alone.

And he swung his arm, hitting the ball with all his strength.

The final score was 25-22.

Karasuno took the final second set, defeating Date Tech in straight sets.