𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐖

lxxxiii - like a drug

In the end, the match was not as hard to win as one might have expected. From up in the stands, Ukai watched his prodigy shut down spike after spike from the giant newbie. Crow didn't hit at all that game, which was a good judgement on Kageyama's part. It was better to let him reign over blocking alone than make him divide his attention. He decoyed a few times, but only did the last hit once when he free-balled it over. Ended up getting the point on that one, too, from his placement of the free ball.

He's a monster, Ukai chuckled to himself as he stood with his arms crossed, how did I get lucky enough to help create this? And then he sweatdropped as Hinata scored the winning point with an umbrella shot, only to fall on his back in the lamest fashion the former coach had ever seen.

"You did it Hinata!" Asahi lifted him up happily as Daichi clapped.

"We got past the first round of the prelims!"

And then it was time to line up. With the whistle blown, the two teams bowed to each other, and went on their way. "Kiyoko-san, we'll carry all the bags!" Tanaka and Noya exclaimed a bit later after changing.

"Most of the stuff has already been taken care of," She skillfully declined.

"Hey," Daichi gave the rejected duo an annoyed look. "Let's go guys."

"Oh," Kiyoko seemed to remember something, smiling at Yachi. "I'll go check to see if we've forgotten anything. You go on ahead, Hitoka-chan."

"Hai!" The manager saluted.

"Jeez," Kageyama grumbled as he went down the stairs behind Hinata. "You've gotten good at attacking, but your receives are still so shitty," He rolled his eyes, now walking behind Tsukishima and Yamaguchi transversing the hallway. "What the hell was that ack?"

"T-the ball went up though, right?!" The ginger defended himself weakly.

"Ack!"

"Ack!" Tanaka and Nishi imitated a receive Hinata had done in the game, causing the boy to grimace in embarrassment.

"That reminds me," Ennoshita decided to do some damage. "You guys finished all your summer vacation homework, right?"

"ACK!" The two second years shrieked, definitely not having done that.

"You remember how I said I wasn't going to help you, right?" He smiled. "Right?"

"Ennoshita-san sure is scary," Yamaguchi commented as he stood with his friend, who also looked like he was enjoying the show of the two hardheaded second years' failure. Just then, Yachi noticed that Hinata was staring at his hand.

"Is something wrong, Hinata?" she asked.

"With this win," He clenched that hand into a fist. "We finally stand in the same ring as the Great King and Ushiwaka Japan!" The ginger said, then shrieked. "I forgot my lunchbox!" He dashed off to retrieve it, causing Kageyama to let out a yawn.

"Uh, is Crow still changing or something?" Yamaguchi suddenly brought up.

"I don't think so," Ennoshita frowned, then exchanged a look with Kinoshita.

"Oh!" Nishinoya suddenly raised his hand. "I know where he is!"

"Do we wanna know?"

"Probably not!"

"Then we'll just let him catch up with us. If he takes too long, I'll ask coach to call him," Daichi decided. Meanwhile, Crow was in a bit of a predicament. As he was leaving the bathroom, he'd caught sight of a certain someone who definitely looked like he was waiting for him.

"Come to see the competition?" Crow asked nonchalantly as he walked past the person.

"Here to see you."

"You saw me a few days ago."

"No matter how many times I see you, touch you," Ushijima's voice was rough as he spoke. "Have you, it will never be enough. I don't know how, but you're like a drug, Crow."

"So I take it you want your fix?" The ravenette hummed, running a hand through his hair which was loose for once. "Can't be long."

"That's fine with me," The ace swept him into his arms, smashing their lips together. Maneuvering so that he had Crow against the wall, Ushijima worked his mouth as he got Crow's hands trapped above his head. To his credit, the ace really didn't take long. In fact, Crow actually counted, the entire encounter took a little under two minutes. "I'll see you at the decider tournament," Ushijima said once he'd released him.

"Yeah sure," Crow peaced at him before making his way to the entrance, running into Hinata and Kiyoko a few steps away from the door. "Hey, forget something?"

"Mhm, a cutely-wrapped bento--" Kiyoko explained, only for the ginger to cut her off hysterically.

"GAAAAAAA YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL HIM THAT!"

"There's nothing wrong with cute wrap for bentos, dude." Crow remarked as they finally left the building.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Kiyoko nodded to the team, all of whom where waiting outside.

"Thank goodness you're safe, Kiyoko-san!" The two fanboys exclaimed in relief.

"Was anything left behind?" Daichi asked her, causing her to hum.

"There was a cutely wrapped--"

"YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL THEM SHIMIZU-SENPAI PLEASE!"

"And Crow, keep your personal affairs limited to your own time, or at least try not to keep us waiting so long next time," Daichi gave the second year a look, causing him to shrug.

"Sorry."

~*~

"All right!" Keishin called the next day. "Start your personal practice now! We now have less than two months until the qualifier at the end of October, so work hard on improving individually."

"Yay!" Noya and Hinata were very excited about this new aspect of practice. Crow, on the other hand, was not. He could serve well, he could hit well, he could set well, he could pass better than their libero, what was there for him to work on?

That was when he overheard Yachi and Kageyama by the door. "You could tell it was me?!"

"Yeah..."

"Dammit!" The setter took off his hat and glasses like he was mad at them for not properly hiding his identity.

"W-was that supposed to be a disguise?" The manager inquired with a slight smile, and the depressed waves coming off Kageyama answered that question quite quickly, making her sheepishly rub the back of her neck.

"There's someone," Kageyama spoke softly. "That we might face during the qualifiers, so I wanted to check them out no matter what."

"Oikawa probably won't let you scout them like Ushijima did," Crow commented as he leaned against the door, causing the two to flinch and Yachi to grab her heart with a gasp.

"I know that!" The setter snapped. "That's why I--"

"I don't have anything better to do, so I'll go with you to make sure you don't embarrass yourself like you just did," He shoved his hands in his pockets as he stepped out of the gym. "So how about it?"

"Y-yes! Absolutely, please!" Kageyama was immediately on board.

"Um," Yachi spoke up. "If you guys don't want to stand out at a school after hours, I think it's best to just wear plain training gear," She offered her thoughts, and the ravenette nodded.

"Yes, blending in rather than whatever the hell you have going on," He flicked the setter, making him scrunch his nose. "Come on, let's go change and get going."

"R-right!"