REINCARNATE

21, crossing the service line.

"You gonna be alright?"

Mae and Ayano stood with Y/n in the change room, already changed. Y/n stared down at the jersey in her hands, red on white instead of the familiar black and green. The others girls paused to listen, they had met early in Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium for the annual club volleyball  tournament, they had fought hard and were now in the finals. When she first joined a while ago she was shocked to see Mae and Ayano standing with the team's roster only to realize later that they entered the year that Y/n disappeared.

Pulling the jersey over her head, y/n stood in front of the floor length mirror and stared at herself. Mae slapped a firm hand onto the 2 on her back,

"Nah who am I kidding, you're going to be just fine. I know you're thinking about them-"

"I am, about what their faces would've been like." Y/n interrupted. The heaviness had faded from her gaze and she began to laugh, her body shaking with the effort.

"Kenta would be so betrayed, he'd be like 'ohh what?! When I said continue volleyball I didn't mean join Mooshijima!'"

The girls in the room laughed with y/n, those who remembered Kenta knew the hilarious and strange rivalry between the two aces. They were pretty evenly matched on the court but Kenta was always trying to poke and prod Ushijima into showing some emotion, to which the stoic boy would always stare back blankly and be like "oh......ok." 

"We're your teammates now, even when you leave you'll always have a place with us." 

She beamed, pulling her knee pads on and slapped Mae back. "Let's go."

Y/n's team lined up alongside the boys and she breathed deeply, feeling nerves fluttering restlessly inside her. She felt a large hand on her shoulder and looked up at the ace standing next to her,

"Ushijima." Y/n inclined her head in greeting.

The sudden memory of how Kenta used to greet the ace, yelling "Oi Wakatoshiitake mushrooms!" and the ever popular "Wassup MOoooOshijima!"  from across the gym ran through Y/n's head and she choked back a laugh, causing him to raise an eyebrow.

"Welcome back." He said before they turned, facing the front line.

The sound of the crowd could be felt rumbling underneath their feet even before the teams entered the stadium and they rose to deafening levels when the captains threw the doors open, leading their teammates in. The light blinded Y/n for a second and she blinked, inhaling the energy crackling through the air and relishing the sound of shoes squeaking and volleyballs hitting the court as they warmed up.

  'This is home.'

Y/n looked around the massive gymnasium, scanning the crowd for a couple black clad players before remembering that the boys were probably fighting for a spot in nationals. Suna had promised that if they finished early he'd drag the team over to come and watch. Y/n smiled into a camera, knowing that her friends and family were watching and brimming with pride. 

"Crowd pleaser." Himari teased from the back of the line which made Y/n snort, she looked back and winked. "You wish you could be me."

"You wish you could be as tall as me." Himari hissed back before Ayano pinched the both of them, rolling her eyes.

"Shut the hell up. We're in finals now, more people are watching." 

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