𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐖

xiii - nishinoya returns

The next day, Kageyama arrived at the gym early to work on his serve again. Crow was already there, as usual, taking his afternoon nap. Surprisingly, he had gotten there just as Crow was settling down, which not many had the privilege of witnessing.

Ever since the night before, Kageyama could barely keep his mouth shut. While he had wanted to tell the team immediately, Crow had suggested they show them rather than just say it, for a bigger impact. "I like being extra," were his exact words.

As he served another ball at the bottle he had placed where he was aiming, Kageyama's face twisted as Hinata appeared out of nowhere, tried to pass the ball, only to fail and fall on his back like a total loser. "Oi, don't get in my way, Hinata boke!" He yelled, only to remember that Crow was sleeping and waking him was not a good idea.

"Did I get it?!" Hinata sprang back up, only to also remember that Crow was there, so he lowered his voice. "Did I dig it out?"

"Hell no, jackass," Kageyama rolled his eyes, sighing to relieve some of the tension in his body. "You knocked it out of the park, more like."

"I'll go get it back.." The ginger sulked, moving to the ladder that would take him upstairs where the ball now resided.

"Aho," The setter scoffed before going for another serve. This time, however, someone neither of the first years had seen before came bursting in and passed the ball right to the setter's spot. The dude smirked as he watched the ball land, then grabbed his fallen jacket and moved it over his shoulder.

"Y-you're shorter than me?!" Hinata gasped. Everyone in the vicinity that had heard the exclamation deadpanned.

"What the hell did you just say?!" He immediately went off the rails, managing to wake Crow up with his shout.

"S-sorry!" Hinata whimpered.

"Noya, keep it down dude," Crow grumbled from the stage.

"No! This bitch just called me short!"

"Then take it outside, you know the rules."

"Um.." Hinata was just asking for death at that point. "How tall are you?"

"159cm!" Nishinoya announced proudly, making the ginger reel back in shock. "Nandayo?" He frowned at the expression on the first year's face.

"This is the first time," He cried. "I've looked down at someone since I joined a high school team!"

"QUIT SHEDDING TEARS OF JOY! YOU'RE BARELY TALLER THAN ME!"

"Hinata, Noya, shut the hell up."

"You can't say jack 173-san!"

"I never mentioned my height, just let me sleep. I was having a good dream just now too," Crow sort of pouted as he glared at the two making a ruckus.

"Oh, hey Noya-san!" Tanaka suddenly came through the door, flinching as he saw Crow's expression.

"Hey Ryuu!" The newcomer greeted in return.

"Dude, what'd you do to piss Crow off?"

"Woke him up."

"Ah, that'll do it."

"Nishinoya!" The two third years grinned, so he raised a hand in greeting.

"Hey!"

"Oh yeah, you haven't met him before," Daichi realized as the two first years stood beside the newcomer. "This is Nishinoya, a second year."

"Hello!" Kageyama and Hinata greeted.

"Yo!" Nishinoya grinned. "You guys are first years, huh? You there," He pointed at Kageyama. "The tall guy with the mean look who served earlier, what junior high are you from?" He asked excitedly.

"Kitagawa First," The setter responded.

"Majika?" The dude was immediately into it. "That's a powerhouse team! No wonder you had a killer serve! I had to play them back in junior high and lost 2-1! They had a third year with a killer serve back then too."

"He's as loud as ever," The third years grimaced, glancing over to see how Crow was handling it. Somehow, he was already back deep in sleep-land, causing the two to sigh in relief.

"Nishinoya-san... What junior high did you go to?" Kageyama returned the question.

"Chidoriyama!" He exclaimed with his fist in the air.

"That's a powerhouse in its own right! Why'd you come to Karasuno?" He suddenly had a look on his face. "Was it because you heard that Coach Ukai was coming out of retirement too?"

"Nah," The sun beamed through the window, giving Nishinoya's face an edge to it. "The reason I came to Karasuno.." He trailed off, leaving the first years in suspense. "Was because the girls' uniform was right down my alley."

"Huh?"

"Of course, the girls themselves didn't let me down either. The biggest reason, though," He went on excitedly. "Was the boys' uniform. Guys have gotta wear black, yo. I had to put up with blazers in junior high, so I always wanted to wear these. And not in brown or gray, either, it had to be black!"

"I hear ya!" Tanaka agreed readily.

"Karasuno had black uniforms, the girls' uniform was cute, and it was close to my place. It was an easy decision to make," Nishinoya finished, grinning smugly until suddenly, his nose twitched and his head swerved. "KIYOKO-SAN!" He ran at her as she was trying to change her shoes. "I crossed the seven seas to come see you!"

The man got slapped.

"As usual, the guy's like a hurricane," Suga sweatdropped.

"More like a guerrilla downpour," Hinata mumbled with wide eyes.

"I bet you think he's rowdy," Daichi laughed. "But you know, he has a shockingly calm game."

"So, where's Asahi? Is he back yet?" Nishi asked as he walked back over to the group, a red handprint on his cheek. He didn't seem to mind at all.

"Ah, I'm right here," Asahi said as he came through the door. "Welcome back Nishinoya."

"Thanks!" He beamed, running up to him. "I've been practicing a lot, so that game won't ever happen again! What about you?"

"Yeah, same," He nodded. "Crow's been giving me pointers, so it's been really helpful. He was the one to convince me to come back.."

"That's awesome man!" The high-haired dude grinned encouragingly. "I'm glad he did, but it's weird he actually tried reaching out to you since he usually wouldn't care, plus he might've gotten to switch to left side if you were gone so comparing the pros and cons for him, it made more sense not to help..." Nishinoya looked thoughtful as he spoke, trying to deduce the situation.

"I did it because we have a better chance of winning with more skilled people," Crow yawned as he made his way over to them. "Just cause I hate being a middle blocker doesn't mean I won't do what's best for the team."

"Oh, you're up!" Nishi trilled with a grin, pouncing on the guy in a hug. "Thanks a bunch! Knew I could count on you!" He kissed him straight on the mouth.

And then there was a thud; it was all the jaws in the gym.