Haikyu!
Higher
Chapter 29: Ride

The day came that Karasuno was coming to Tokyo.

It was early in the morning on a hot day in late July, but Aika was awake before the sun.

It's just a weekend, but I get to see my boys!

She quickly bustled around on her crutches, trying not to wake Kenma or his parents. She quickly bathed, rinsing herself thoroughly and borrowing some of Mrs. Kozume's hair products. Seeing herself in the mirror, she noted that her shoulder-length hair had grown again, even if it was just a few centimeters. She twirled the strands around her finger before quickly finishing up in the bathroom.

Since she was seeing them again at for a volleyball practice, she couldn't dress too fancily. But, checking her phone, she realized it was going to be pretty hot out, so she chose to wear her black shorts, ones that fell just above her knees, and a bright red T-shirt.

The thing she wanted most, though was something she rummaged through her suitcase to find.

Sitting at the bottom of all of her clothing was the black Karasuno jacket she'd been given when she first decided to join the team. Clutching it tightly, she couldn't fight back the smile that took over her face as she realized just what seeing the Karasuno team meant.

Even if it's only a weekend, it's one less weekend without seeing them.

Kageyama was stuck.

The day that he was supposed to go to Tokyo with the rest of Karasuno, he was trapped in Miyagi, at Karasuno High School, taking supplementary classes with Hinata.

He wasn't just stuck.

He was in his own personal circle of Hell.

Two points were all that had stood between him and the bus to Tokyo, but he'd gotten one question wrong, and it'd been game over.

I hate this, I hate this, I hate this so much.

The bus pulled around the corner, and Aika felt her heart rate speed up.

From next to her, Yaku laughed. "You're excited to see all of them again. Anyone in particular?" he asked, referring to their conversation about a week beforehand.

She flushed. "Maybe," she shot back, sticking out her tongue. Tetsu raised an eyebrow on her other side and she just laughed.

As the bus pulled to a stop, Aika grinned. She held onto the hem of her jacket tightly, waiting to see who would be the first off the bus.

The first was, as she should have guessed, Sawamura, who greeted her enthusiastically. He surprised her by offering a hug, something that was perhaps unexpected from him, since both Tanaka and Nishinoya, the next two, gaped at the sight. However, both had been excited to see her, too, and had nearly jumped on her. They would have if it wasn't for Ennoshita.

Ennoshita greeted her with that typical serene smile she'd learned to expect from him, and she smiled right back, happy to see him, Kinoshita, and Narita, even if she didn't socialize very much with them. Azumane also greeted her with a smile and a short bow.

"Your hair looks good," she said, gesturing to his hairband.

He blushed a bit and bashfully replied, "Thank you. So does yours."

Both Tsukishima and Yamaguchi greeted her, although Yamaguchi's was much warmer than his friend's. Yamaguchi even extended a bouquet of flowers to her with a pretty ribbon wrapped around it, plus homemade cookies, also neatly wrapped in plastic with a ribbon around them.

"It's to celebrate your recovery," he explained with a soft grin. "I got you the flowers, but Tsukki made the cookies. Don't tell anyone, but he actually likes baking sweets, even if he doesn't like eating them."

She couldn't help the laugh that escaped her, causing Tsukishima to look over at the two suspiciously. "I won't tell a soul."

Sugawara was the last person to greet her, coming over with that familiar warmth radiating from him. She wanted nothing more than to jump up and hug him, but since she was trying to keep stress off her leg, she stayed still, waiting for him to approach her.

"Suga senpai," she murmured, smiling up at him.

He said nothing, just held out a small, wrapped box. "I found this a few days ago, and I wanted to give it to you. I feel bad, since none of us visited because of final exams, so this is my apology for not keeping in touch with you," he explained quietly as she opened the box's lid.

Inside the box was a cellphone strap with a golden feather charm hanging from it. Although it was simple, it was extremely pretty, and Aika gaped at it, knowing it must have cost Sugawara a lot.

"S-Suga senpai, this is too much," she quickly said, putting the lid back on the box.

As she pushed it towards him, he shook his head. "I want you to have it. I felt really bad that I wasn't able to see you as often."

"But you and several others messaged me almost all the time. I wasn't lonely at all."

"I still feel guilty." He smiled gently at her, grasping her hands and pushing the box back towards her. "Please, take it? It'll make me feel better about not being able to come see you." Aika nodded reluctantly, holding onto it.

She smiled up at him, although for some reason, her smile was much sadder than it should have been. "Thank you," she managed. She then looked around him, searching for the blur of orange that would usually be the first one off the bus, constantly fighting with the black-haired setter. "Eh? I thought Kageyama was kidding when he told me that he and Shoyo failed…"

Sugawara sighed. "They studied really hard, but they didn't manage to pass. I feel awful about it, but they're going to have to stay there until they pass the supplementary exams. I don't know how they're going to make it here."

As soon as he said that, he noticed that Aika was sending a message to someone.

"I'm sure they have it covered. They want to come, right? If they don't figure out how to get here, I'm sure someone else will!" She beamed, and Sugawara couldn't help but laugh at her. "By the way, how did your exams go? I'm sure you did really well, considering it's you."

He shrugged. "I got an eighty-nine. It wasn't so bad, considering I spent a lot of time tutoring everyone who was at risk of failing. How about you?" He was sure her exam results were going to be high, considering she was in an advanced class.

"Ninety-six." At his surprised face, she just shrugged as well. "I wouldn't say I'm smart, I'd just say I absorb information really quickly." She paused. "I also know how to observe the area around me."

Raising one eyebrow, he crossed his arms and asked, "So, you cheated?"

"Just on the stuff that Nekoma teaches that Karasuno doesn't. Plus, it's not cheating if Shibayama offered his paper to me. It's… helping a friend. It teaches good social skills and the power of teamwork," she replied, a smug grin on her face.

She was much more open than she had been when she left Karasuno. She was laughing and joking, smiling openly and without much of a push. If she'd been like this before, Sugawara was that she would have been extremely popular among the male population of the school. After all, she was cute, smart, and talented, everything that a guy looked for.

It was just her personality that was awfully difficult for some people to handle.

Knowing this, he laughed. "You're really something, Aika."

Flipping her now-short hair, she grinned back at him. "I know I am."

Kageyama focused really hard on his supplementary exams. He focused as hard as he focused when he was playing a game. He focused on the words written before him like he focused on the movements of his fellow players.

It wasn't going to be for nothing, either.

While it was definitely taking up a lot of brain power, it was entirely worth it, just to be able to go to Tokyo, to participate in the training camp with some of the best schools in the country, and see Aika again. He had told her that he'd work hard so he could go.

"Just be sure to work hard, so I can see you guys at the training camp, alright?"

She'd asked that of him before he and Hinata had to leave to catch their train back to Miyagi. The way her eyes had looked at him, like she was begging him to come back, were enough to drive him to realize that he had to pass.

Even though he hadn't passed his final, he only had to pass his supplementary test.

It was nearly too easy to pass, considering he'd studied so hard.

I'll be there soon…

He and Hinata practically ran out of the school, stopping as they saw two people standing there, waiting for him. One was familiar to him, but the other was not.

The woman, a blonde woman who looked remarkably familiar, perked up. "Hey there, failure boys," she greeted cheerily, a familiar grin on her face. Gesturing to the car behind her, she told them one thing. "Get in."

"Saeko, you haven't even introduced yourself," the boy, who Kageyama recognized as Shinji, Aika's brother, reminded her.

She turned to glare at him. "They know who I am. After all, they know my little brother, Ryu, right? So they should get in the car if they want to make it to Tokyo."

Shinji grinned, resting his chin in his hand. "It's a four-hour drive," he shot back with a raised eyebrow. Saeko, now clarified as Tanaka's older sister, simply rolled her eyes.

"Doesn't matter. I'll get them there in the blink of an eye."

She's kinda cool…

Kageyama thought this for just a moment, until Saeko actually started to drive.

Then, there was only one thought in his mind.

I'm gonna die.

"Ai-chi!" a voice called out to Aika as she and Karasuno entered the gym, somehow ringing out loudly enough to be heard over the yells of the other boys in the gym.

She stiffened, then sighed. "Oh, no. Here we go. Sugawara senpai, please go warm up with the others." He looked at her in concern, but she just shook her head. "He's just a kid. I can handle him." Although he let go of her wheelchair, he watched as a tall, silver-haired boy approached with a wide smile on his face. "Yes, Lev?"

"If we win all our games today, will you go out with me?" he asked cheerfully.

She sighed. "Maybe if you manage to receive approximately ninety percent of all the balls that come towards you, I'll consider it," she deadpanned.

Lev, as she called him, smiled even wider. "That's the first time you haven't turned me down!" His voice was even more cheerful now that he said this.

"It's practically a rejection, considering your receives still suck." The Nekoma libero, Yaku, approached them, his hands on his hips and a glare on his face. "Now, go warm up and stop bugging Aika. She's a good kid, and she doesn't need your stupidity to rub off on her."

Although Lev seemed like he wanted to protest, he didn't get the chance.

Yaku immediately grabbed Lev by the collar of his T-shirt. "Don't say a word, and go practice!" he snapped, practically throwing Lev onto the court.

Aika sighed heavily. "Idiot," she muttered.

Although, her tone wasn't venomous, but almost affectionate, like how she was with Shoyo.

Shinji and Kageyama were stuck in the back, uncomfortably squeezed together as both of the boys attempted to sleep. Shinji kept the lunches on his lap as he snoozed, his head falling forwards, while Kageyama leaned against the window.

"It's a wonder they're able to sleep," Saeko joked. "Shin might be used to my driving, considering he's worked with me for three years, but your friend back there is out like a light."

Hinata looked back and laughed. "I'm surprised that Shin works at the Karasuno diner with you. I knew he worked after school, but I didn't know it was there," he admitted, watching his friend's older brother with something akin to amusement.

"You know him well, don't you?"

The orange-hair shook his head. "Not well. I wouldn't say well. But he's my best friend's older brother, so of course I know him at least a little bit." He paused. "Are you guys going to stay during the entire training camp?"

Saeko shook her head. "Nah." She snickered, looking back at Shinji once again. "Probably not. My job is to drive you guys there. I was probably already going to end up driving this idiot, since he wants to see his little sis super bad. He feels awful, probably, since he wasn't there for her surgery. Actually, I don't think he was able to go at all."

Hinata's eyes widened as he realized what that meant. "You mean, Aika hasn't seen Shin in… two months?" he wondered aloud.

"It's been killing him. But, he wanted to work hard for her, and bring her something that he's been wanting to get her for ages." She smiled softly as she kept her eyes trained on the red-haired boy.

"Something… she's been wanting?"

She shook her head. "He won't tell me. I just know it's something big."

Hinata stared out the window, wondering just what that something was.

"Don't go spoiling my secrets now, Saeko," a drowsy Shinji snapped. "It's a small car, and I can hear you from pretty damn far away. It's something I've been working on for a while, and it's hard to keep from her. And we've got two of those fools here, so don't start blabbing now."

Saeko huffed. "No wonder Aika tells you to get a girlfriend. You're not sweet to anybody but her, are you?" she retorted.

Chuckling, Shinji opened one eye. "Nope. She's my one and only."

"Jeez, with that attitude, you'll never get a girlfriend."

"Didn't you hear me, woman?! I said that Aika's my one and only!"

"Sis-con? Are you a sis-con, my dear Shin?"

"N-no!"

His protests fell on deaf ears as Saeko laughed boisterously, drowning out his words.

Aika watched as Karasuno took on Fukurodani, the, perhaps, strongest of the Tokyo schools gathered in the gymnasium.

She was back where she belonged, at the Karasuno bench, with Ukai, Takeda, Shimizu, and the new girl, a shy young thing named Yachi. She was a sweet kid, to say the least, and Aika knew that she'd be a great addition to the team, especially as Shimizu's replacement.

"Bokuto and Akaashi are a perfect team. Almost as perfect as Oikawa and Iwaizumi," she said aloud, causing Ukai to grin. He'd missed her bluntness. "You were never going to win against them in this kind of game. You can't beat them with pure power."

She grinned though, clutching her Karasuno jacket tightly. She felt right at home again as she looked towards the six boys on the court.

"When your reinforcements come, you guys had better work real hard." She looked towards Ukai. "If you want to beat everyone in this gym, you're going to have to work on every part of your offense and defense."

As if rising to her challenge, Ukai's own feral grin ripped across his face.

"We plan to."