Chapter 22 - Aoba Johsai vs Karasuno (1)

"Ugh I'm tired" Shou yawned as he walked with Kyoko down the street of Tokyo at night

"What do you mean you're tired, this is our first date! You gotta be more excited" Kyoko pouted

"Yeah I was before you decided to take like 2 hours to buy a dress" Shou said with a joking tone

"Uwahh you're so meann!!" Kyoko complained as he raised her hand up and pinch Shou's cheek as hard as possible

"Ah shit I was just joking!! I'm sorry!! You looked very cute in that dress, have mercy!!" Shou hurriedly apologize

After a while Kyoko finally let go of Shou's cheek after Shou pulled out a dorayaki from his bag and gave it to her

"Is it good?" Shou asked as he pat Kyoko's head to calm her down more

"Um um, you want some? " Kyoko nodded happily and asked

"Yeah sure" Shou answered

"You can taste it from my lip" Kyoko said with a teasing tone

"Alright bet" Shou said as he leaned in for a kiss

"Uwa wait I'm jok-" before Kyoko could finish her sentence, a warm sensation engulfed her lip

After a few seconds Shou pulled his head away as he said with a smile, "It is pretty good"

"I was just joking, ba-baka" Kyoko said as her face slowly turned bright red

[A/n: Ughh I'm sorry reader-sama I had to include the signature "Ba-baka" I saw a chance and I took, it...]

After a while she finishes the Dorayaki and was back to her happy, jolly mood and continued walking

They arrived at Ramen Ichiraku and walked in

"Ah Kyoko and Shou!! How are you?" Teuchi asked as he spot his two favourite customers

"Pretty good! Can we have two extra large special?" Kyoko said cheerfully

"Two extra large special coming right up" Teuchi said as he walked into the kitchen

After a while the food came out and they began to eat and enjoyed the food as they both catch up with each others life and joked around

And after they were done Shou took Kyoko home and both exchange hugs and kisses before parted way

[A/n: Yeah that's it for the date, I am not gonna go into more detail cause I can already feel that I would fuċk up if I do so]

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[Monday, Nekoma High, Boys Volleyball Club]

"What is it Shou?" Nekomata questioned

"I think it's time..."

"Time for what?"

"I think it's time for us to make the Battle of The Trash Heap happen..." Shou answered

Instantly the nostalgia flushed over Nekomata as he remember that day and the time that him and Ukai waited for that battle of destiny

"Nyahaha very good, I ȧssume you have a plan?" Nekomata asked with a smile

"Yes sir, my friend Oikawa Tooru in Aoba Johsai said that they are going to have a practice match tomorrow with Karasuno.." Shou answered

"Eh? Aoba Johsai? Wanting to have a practice match with Karasuno? I mean I know that old fart Ukai is still there but it's seems that they haven't made any big achievements, other making it to the semi-final last year, but still..."

"Well you see coach, the reason why Aoba Johsai wanted to have a practice match with Karasuno is that, Oikawa's junior that 'King of the court' in Kitagawa Daiichi, just transferred to Karasuno" Shou explained

"Yes, and not only that, Kazuto's student Nishinoya Yuu is also a player in Karasuno so I'm just interested how strong they are and maybe if they are up to standard I could maybe invite them in our joint practice matches and training camps .."

"So I'm guessing you want to go there and scout and invite?" Nekomata asked

"Yes, tomorrow Kazuto and I were planning of going there and scout, would it be fine by you sir?" Shou bowed and asked

"Nyahaha, it's fine by me and say hello to that old fart for me tomorrow.." Nekomata agreed

"Yes, thank you very much!"

---

The next day Shou and Kazuto met up and took the train to Miyagi and took the bus to a bus stop near Aoba Johsai and arrived on time before the match

---

Oikawa was in a cheerful mood, as today is the day that we would finally defeat his 'genius setter' junior and put him in his place

But before Oikawa could finish his sentence a force came from behind and sent him face first into the floor

"Sorry for intruding!" Shou said as he kicked Oikawa away from the entrace and walked in to greet the coach who he is on pretty good terms with

"Good afternoon Coach Nobuteru!" Shou said as he bowed along with Kazuto

"Ah Shou what brings you here?" Nobuteru asked in surprised

In truth the reason why Nobuteru really respected Shou was because he was the person who helped Oikawa the player who he trusted the most, in his journey to being the perfect setter and he knew that very well and really appreciated it alot, so after a few interaction with him, he was pretty chill with him

"Oh we had some business here in Miyagi today so we decided to drop by to see the practice match after Oikawa told us that Aoba Johsai is having a match with Karasuno, so would you mind if we joined you guys" Shou asked

"Oh that's fine by me! Maybe Oikawa might actually play better with you here hahaha" Nobuteru laughed and agreed

"Yes thank you very much!" Shou bowed

"Anyways how is Nekomata-sensei?" Nobuteru asked

"Well that's good"

"Grr not even the coach hit me this hard" Oikawa muttered as he got off from the ground to find his ȧssailant

"Oika you better not be injured today" Shou said as he sat down on the bench next to Nobuteru along with Kazuto

"Eh? Sho-chan what are you doin here?" Oikawa asked totally forgetting about what happened a few seconds ago

"I'm just here here to watch" Shou shrugged

"Ohhh Shou, Kazuto! What are you doing here?" Iwaizumi asked as he entered

"We're here to watch, and also I think saw the Karasuno bus on my way here, you better get ready" Kazuto reminded them

"Oh yeah forgot! C'mon Shittykawa!! Move your ȧss we gotta do some warm up!!" Iwaizumi shouted

"Yes yes I understand" Oikawa said as he walked to instruct the team to do some warm up

"Thank you for having us!!" The Karasuno player shouted

"Let's have a good game!!" The Seijoh players shouted as they stopped their warm up

"H-huge... The gymnasium and the players..." Hinata said as he looked around nervously

"Aoba Johsai are no joke, their defense and offense level are real high.... It's unfortunate we can't have Nishinoya here with us.." Suga said as he looked around

"What are you guys worry about? We got Hinata here to mess with their blocks we will be fine hahaha" Tanaka laughed as he patted Hinata's shoulder putting more pressure

"We're going against the g-grand k-king.... Uwahh I'm s-sorry... I n-need...t...to go to the toi-let..." Hinata said as he walked to the toilet with struggle

"C'mon you shrimpy get it together! And you brats let's get ready, we're using the lineup we dicussed about yesterday!" the old coach Ukai instructed as he put the stuff down on the bench

"Yes sir!" the team shouted in union and got ready to do their warm up

"Ahh Sawamura-kun! How have you been?" Oikawa said as he walked over to greet the captain of Karasuno

"It's alright, Coach Ukai's training is still harsh as always" Daichi answered

"Well that's fant-" before Oikawa could finish his sentence another force came from behind and sent his face first into the floor again

Shou walked over to Coach Ukai after he kicked Oikawa out of the way along with Kazuto

"Good afternoon Coach Ukai.." Shou said as he respectively bowed with Kazuto

"Oh isn't it you demon brats, what are you doing here?" Ukai asked as he remembered the two demon who were overwhelming the court 5 years ago

"We're just drop by here to watch the match, as we had some business here at Miyagi" Shou answered

"Anyways hows that Bakeneko?" Ukai asked

"He's doing well, and also we have an offer from him to give you after the match.." Shou said

"Tch always with that mysterious shit, alright you brats can go back to your seats" Ukai said

"Oh Coach Ukai I have one more question" Kazito suddenly said

"What is it?"

"I was just wondering where is Nishinoya?" Kazuto asked

"Haizz that kid he's been suspended for causing a ruckus , he'll be back soon or later don't you worry" Ukai sighed

"Oh thank you very much" Kazuto bowed as he went back to his seat along with Shou

"Eh? So Noya-chan is not here? That's sad... " Oikawa asked as he got off from the ground

"Yeah he'll be back soon though, but.... Wait... aren't those two..." Daichi said as he pointed at the two players who just greeted their coach

"Yeah, they are who you think they are" Oikawa answered

"Eh?!?!?" Daichi eyes suddenly widened to the limit as he heard Oikawa's answer, "So those two are the real Asata Shou and Hiroshi Kazuto?!? What are they doing here?!?"

"Ehh?? Actually?!? Mr. Top 1 Ace and Mr. Top 1 Libero is here?!? " Suga asked as he buŧŧed in the conversation

"Yeah they're just here to watch, don't mind them" Oikawa answered

Oikawa then suddenly shifted his attention to another player of Karasuno before waving at him and saying, "Yahoo Tobio-chan long time no see"

"Uhh... Yes..." Kageyama awkwardly said

"Anyways that's it, and Tobio-chan don't get rekt too hard today hahaha" Oikawa said with a smile as he walked back to his team

"Uhh I'm sorry don't mind him too much, he likes to provoke people like that" Kageyama said in hopes of calming down Daichi

"Haha it's alright I know, but let's just give it our all today!" Daichi chuckled as he said

"Yes sir!" the team shouted in union as they went to do their warm up

After a while Hinata came back and joined in the warm up. And when the warm up is done, Daichi and Oikawa met in front of the ref to do a coin flip which ended up with Seijoh serving

"Let's have a nice game Sawamura-kun" Oikawa said as he stretched his hands out

"Yeah" Daichi said as he took the handshake

After a while the two captains went back to their teams to get ready to go to war

[Aoba Johsai side]

"Damn that shrimp is a middle blocker?" Kindaichi said mockingly

"It really is Kageyama what is he doing in Karasuno?" Iwaizumi asked

"Hey, hey c'mon let's focus! We got the two top players in Japan watching us, let's give it our all!!" Oikawa said with a smile

"And you, if you miss those serves, you owe me some ramen" Iwaizumi said as he pointed at Oikawa

"Ay us too!" Shou shouted

"Alright alright ya fatshits I'll treat all of you ramen if I miss any" Oikawa sighed as he took the ball and walked to the service line

"Good"

[Karasuno side]

"Oi oi Hinata calm down!" Daichi said as he tried to calm the panicking Hinata

"Come !!" Tanaka shouted as he got ready

'This is bad... Hinata is unstable, the team line up is new and Oikawa-san is serving... What should I do.. ' Kageyama analyzed the situation to find a solution

---

*beep beep*

As the whistle blows, Oikawa stopped his pre-serve routine and looked up ahead at the Karasuno team and smiled

"Let's dance, shall we?" Oikawa said as he inhaled and threw the ball up perfectly

"Sawamura-san! Tanaka-san please cover as much as possible!!" Kageyama quickly shouted

"Alright! alright!" Daichi said as he moved back to cover for Tsukishima while Tanaka moved back to cover for Kageyama

---

"This going to be real hard for Karasuno, Oikawa's serve currently is the second best in the group just behind Shou. if there's no Nishinoya, they wouldn't have a chance" Kazuto commented

"I mean we've already seen this coming when we heard Nishinoya is suspended, but let's see" Shou sighed

---

Oikawa looked at the ball in the air before doing his approach and jumped up.

Oikawa twisted his body to the right, pulled his arm back, when the ball was in the perfect position, he held his breath, twisted his body back, swung his arm, and slammed his hand right into the ball with all his might

The ball immediately disappeared and reappeared on the ground between Daichi and Tsukishima

A No-Touch Ace.

"Nice serve Oika!" Kazuto cheered

"Hehe I feel good today!" Oikawa said in confident

"I could've done it better" Shou yawned

"Whatchu say?!?" Oikawa immediately shouted back

"Hey hey guys let's focus and get back this point!" Daichi clapped his hand and tried to cheer up his team

'Just what the fuċk was that serve?!? It just vanished and appeared next to me!!' Daichi thought as he was panicking inside

'This is hard, Oikawa-san seems to be on the top of his game..' Kageyama thought

The match continued with Oikawa completely dominating Karasuno with deadly serves without giving them space to breathe

But after 8 consecutive service ace, Karsuno managed to get the ball up and scored with difficulty

But even if they stopped Oikawa's onslaught they were still losing due to Hinata's anxiety and Aoba Johsai overwhelming ability

In the middle of the game when the score was 14-4 in favour of Seijoh, Shou stood up, went and sat next to Ukai

"What do you want brat?" Ukai asked without taking his eyes off the game

"Coach Ukai would it be possibe for you to sub that shrimp out for a minute? I want to have a word with him.." Shou asked

"What are you gonna say to him?"

"Something that would hopefully calm him down, cause clearly you had him on the starting order for a reason..."

"...." after a moment of silence, Ukai stood up and said, "alright I'll trust you lil shit this time" before calling a substitution and subbed Hinata out for Narita

"C-coach I-I'm sorry.." Hinata apologized as he walked to Ukai

"I don't want to listen to what you have to say, now just come and sit next to him" Ukai said as he pointed to Shou

Hinata, although confused, went and sat down next to Shou anyways

'It's the top 1 ace, the top 1 ace is sitting next to me.. The monarch of the court is sitting next to me...' Hinata thought as he started to panicked

"Oi Shrimpy.." Shou suddenly started a conversation

"H-Hai!!" Hinata shouted as he sat up straight

"Tell me why are you nervous?" Shou asked while letting out a bit of pressure

"U-Uhh... I-I don't know...." Hinata stuttered

"Well, then just stop it, when you became nervous because your opponent is strong and started playing shitty, you're pulling your team down, so what you should fear is not the strong opponent, but dragging your teammates down.."

"....." Hinata was silent as took a moment to take all of that in

"Ah right... And 5 years ago didn't you say that you would meet me at the top and become the next little giant?" Shou said as he looked forward

"Eh? 5 years ago?...." Hinata muttered as he traced and back his memory, and it was then that the memory of when his passion for volleyball started popped up

"Ehhh?!? So that guy was you monarch-san?" Hinata asked in surprise

"Yeah, and my name is Shou, don't call me that, it sounds stupid" Shou said casually,

But, anyways that's it, do what you gotta do. In the end, whether you get to the top or not is all up to you, don't let something hold you back for too long. " Shou said as he stood up and pat Hinata's shoulder

"And also, remember... those top players that you saw the other day, if you want to stand next to them, keep on moving forward and never stop, and only then will you earn the right to stand next to them...." Shou said his last words before walking back to Kazuto

"You heard him shirmpy, those top players ain't a joke. Let me tell you, your role model, that little giant, can't even be compare to them, they are way stronger... This is the monster generation shrimpy.... " Ukai said with a calm expression

"..." Hinata closed his eyes and thought for a moment before opening his eyes and said in determination, "Coach, I think I'm ready to take my first step...."

"Good... Now head out there and fight for your place.." Ukai said as he stood up to call. For a substitution

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[A/n: wassup guys, it's been a busy week but I've finally grinded chapter. Although its a bit short I think the quality is pretty good, and also apparently the voting system is back to normal now, is pretty weird tbh

But anyways that's it

Goodnight ❤️]