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●Chapter Twenty●

"Did...Did they just…" I heard a guy on the other side of the net ask. Our whole team started screaming and cheering. I don't know how we pulled that off, and I bet we can't do it again. It was definitely a fluke. But God, we fucking did something. 

"Alright, let's do that shit again." Daichi yelled. 

"Got it!" I smiled. Now, I wasn't going to have us try it again right away, because they could be expecting that. 

"What the hell…" I heard someone whisper as they walked away from the net. I smiled. 

You'll never do it again.

I know we won't, but the fact that we did it once is awesome enough. 

Daichi sent the serve and I watched as Shinzen deployed their own synchronized attack. I kept my eyes on the setter, as I usually do. He's smart though, he kept his eyes on the ball like I did, which is different from how Kenma sets. I couldn't tell where the ball was going, so I jumped alongside Asahi to block that person. Unfortunately, that wasn't the guy the ball went to, our back row couldn't dig the ball out, and we watched the other team get a point. 

I saw the cocky looks on Shinzen's faces. It was kinda passing me off. 

*~*

After losing that game, and failing every other synchronized attack we attempted, we decided to table that attack for our Nekoma game. 

"You know, that could be a crazy powerful attack if you guys practiced." Kenma said, getting in position across from me. 

"What do you mean?"

"Just imagine. Try combining Kageyama and Hinata's attack into that. Get another attacker to be able to spike like Hinata. Honestly, turn you into an attacker and practice with Kageyama." 

"I'm a setter, Kenma. I'm not that great of an attacker." 

"You're better than you give yourself credit for." Kuroo butted in. 

"Whatever you guys say." I just shrugged and left the conversation at that. 

You'll never be as good as them. 

I know. 

Halfway through the first set, Coach subbed me out for Kageyama. I sat on the bench next to him. 

"You pulled off a synchronized attack, stop beating yourself up for not getting more than that one."

"That's not what I'm beating myself up over…"

"So you do got something running through your head?"

"Kind of."

" Your playing is showing that you have something going on. Wanna talk?" He asked, not taking his eyes off the game. 

"I'll never be as good as any of them. Kenma, Kuroo, Kageyama, even Hinata. They're all so much better than I am."

"You have your strong points too. You're better at adapting than they are."

"Adapting doesn't mean shit when you get subbed for a first year."

"So what? You can play basically any position I put you in."

"Still. I hate knowing someone younger than me is doing better than me."

"There's always going to be someone better than you. Whether they're older, younger, or the exact same age. You don't want to be the best, you want to be able to improve. Improvement feels so much better than feeling stuck at the same level, which that's about where Kageyama will feel here soon I bet."

"I mean...I guess that makes sense."

"And just because he's good, doesn't mean that you're not good. You're an awesome setter, Suga. You led a synchronized attack and landed it the first time, without any practice I may add." He looked over and smiled. 

"Yeah, but did you see how many more we missed?"

"And? Point is, you got one. And once you guys practice it, you'll be amazing. And volleyball isn't about your individual skill, it's teamwork. Yeah, individual skill is cool, but once you guys level up as a team, you'll be unbeatable." 

"You really think that?"

"Yep." He said. 

"What do I need to work on? To get better?" I asked. 

"The way you think."

"No shit." I sassed. 

"Listen, the way you think is limiting what you do, whether you believe it or not. Try to contradict your intrusive thoughts. They come, say the opposite and try to believe the opposite. See if it works. If it doesn't, fine, but at least try it." He suggested. I mean, it makes sense.

"Fine. I'll try it." I gave in. 

"Good. Are you good if I start you for the second set?" He asked. 

"Let's do it." I smiled.  He smiled too as we both turned our attention back to the game. The team wasn't horrible, we really weren't. We just...we don't add up to the amazing players of these power house teams that we're up against. We didn't have a shot at nationals, and then our new first years came along. they're giving us the chance.

It hurts knowing we couldn't do it on our own. 

But hey...maybe Coach is right? There's always someone better, and maybe it isn't a bad thing.

Word Count; 832